Eyes Wide Open. Avoiding the Heartbreak of Emotional Promiscuity

123 Pages·2011·2.08 MB·English

by  Brienne Murk

PRAISE FOR
Eyes Wide Open
Emotional purity is an issue that I, and many of my friends, face today. This
book opened my eyes to the consequences of an unguarded heart and motivated
me to act and think in a way that would be pleasing to God.
Kiersten, age 15
Bradenton, Florida
Who can know the heart and all of its deceitful desires? God, and only God.
Brienne Murk recognizes this truth with passionate conviction in Eyes Wide
Open. Her candidness allows young people like myself to relate to her
experiences and identify areas of conviction in our own relationships and lives.
Jennifer Barringer, age 20
2006 NCAA First-Team All-American Distance Runner
University of Colorado, Boulder
There are a lot of good dating and purity books out there, but most of them are
clearly aimed at one facet of relationships— finding the right person, choosing
purity, why to be pure, or how to stay pure. Brienne Murk writes about the total
package and provides a practical guide to living out purity in relationships.
Alyse Pritchard, age 23
Tacoma, Washington
In Eyes Wide Open, Brienne offers a fresh perspective regarding personal purity
and its effects on those relationships.
Tim Arens, Ed.D.
Dean of Students, Moody Bible Institute
Chicago, Illinois
Eyes Wide Open is definitely an eye-opener. Brienne takes guarding your heart
to a higher level and gives positive building blocks to lay the foundation for
saving many future broken hearts. Where was this book when I was in high
school?!
Shelly Ballestero
OnCourse magazine
CBN.com Beauty and Health Contributor and Lifestyle Beauty Editor Brilliant.
Purposeful. Brienne delivers a compelling message on how it is possible in an
age of sensational mass media bombardment to live in complete purity in body,
soul and spirit, following biblical principles through faith and obedience. Eyes
Wide Open is a godly manual for Christian relationships.
Rev. Renee Branson
President/Director, Mountain Top Ministries, Inc.
Pastoral Care Minister, Lakewood Church, Houston, Texas I am amazed by the
honesty and impressed by the truth that Brienne brings to the table. Eyes Wide
Open reminds us of the importance of emotional purity and of keeping our
thoughts pointed toward an even greater tie.
Eva Marie Everson
Coauthor of Sex, Lies and the Media and Sex, Lies and High School In Eyes
Wide Open, Brienne offers guidance and wise advice to avoid common traps and
live in emotional as well as physical purity before God and man. It is
encouraging to see a young woman so devoted to purity who is reaching out to
teenagers.
Ron Luce
President and Founder, Teen Mania Ministries It is so refreshing to see a
beautiful, talented young woman who marches to a different drummer. This
book can change the hearts and moral standards of this needy generation of
youth and serve as an important instrument for revival.
Shirley Rose
Author, Speaker, Executive Producer and Host of Aspiring Women

© 2007 Brienne Murk
Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www.bethanyhouse.com
Bethany House Publishers is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
www.bakerpublishinggroup.com
Bethany House Publishers edition published 2014
ISBN 978-1-4412-6669-9
Previously published by Regal Books
Ebook edition originally created 2011
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example,
electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the
publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of
Congress, Washington, DC.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy
Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Other versions used are:
HCSV—Holmen Christian Standard Version. Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002,
2003 by Holmen Bible Publishers, Nashville, TN. All rights reserved.
THE MESSAGE—Scripture taken from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © by
Eugene H. Peterson, 1993, 1994, 1995. Used by permission of NavPress
Publishing Group.
NIV—Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®.
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by
permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
NKJV—Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979,
1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
To my future husband—
I loved you before I even knew you.
Contents
Foreword: Dr. Gary Chapman
Chapter 1: I Never Saw It Coming
Chapter 2: Falling for a Fairy Tale
Chapter 3: Purity: It’s Not Just About Sex
Chapter 4: Understanding Our Feelings and Emotions
Chapter 5: Avoiding the Emotional Roller Coaster
Chapter 6: Protecting the Whole You
Chapter 7: Setting Boundaries: Putting the Playbook into Practice
Chapter 8: Dos and Don’ts: The Tools for Guarding Your Heart
Chapter 9: Waiting for God’s Best
Chapter 10: Guarding Your Heart on the World Wide Web
Chapter 11: Keys to Escaping Emotional Entanglements
Chapter 12: Finding Your First Love
Chapter 13: Life with No Regrets
Conclusion: Keeping Our Eyes Open
Other Books You Might Want to Read
Acknowledgments