This afternoon I did a sex-talk for middle school students in the Catholic Diocese of Moorehead and Fargo. It’s not the most glamorous speaking engagement, but the energy was a thrill. It was easy to fill up an hour with funny stories when you have so many impressionable young people. I believe that living a chaste lifestyle has been very rewarding for me, and hopefully they’ll do the same.

My life perspective has changed as I’ve grown older. Five years ago I would have avoided speaking to middle school students. (Isn’t that kind of dorky?) But today was a joy. Before I even made it on the stage, I hung out in the back room with the organizers. I ignored most of the witty conversation because I was fascinated by this two-year-old boy running around the room. He was just so cute. I’ve always appreciated kids, but I’ve never been drawn to them like I am now in my mid-twenties. It would be pretty selfish of me to be bothered by this.

I know a lot of young adults feel like they have to apologize about being motherly or fatherly. But how stupid is that? Who wants a dad who doesn’t enjoy being a dad? –a mom who hates being a mom? When you consciously push yourself away from the next generation, you are sabotaging the future of the world.

Last weekend I was in Michigan, and there were a lot of young parents that were very comfortable having children. It didn’t bother them that they were unaware of all-things-fashionable. They were proud to be parents, and their children will better because of that.

Some people in society have children to accessorize their lifestyle. This sounds ridiculous: because it is.; Take a walk through trendy neighborhoods and you’ll find latte-chugging mothers decorating their children with $200 play clothes. (Ironically, these are the same people who mock Southern mothers who enter their children in beauty pageants.)

What good is a full-sized SUV if you don’t have telegenic children smiling in the back seat? The vanity will corrupt those children, and they, in turn, will grow up to be vain adults. Yippee.

:::

2 hours later:
I am on the airplane to Phoenix. I am sitting in First Class, which is quite a treat. The lovely lady behind the counter decided a friendly Real World star needed better treatment. I obliged.

Nearly an hour later, we finished our conversation with a prayer. I prayed that he could be a faithful pastor at his church in San Diego. He prayed that I could continue to minster on the Internet. We asked for the courage to do God’s will. Amen.