Dannah Gresh - What Are You Waiting For?: The One Thing No One Ever Tells You About Sex

Praise for
What Are You Waiting For?

Dannah Gresh has hit on a simple yet undiscovered truth that puts seemingly random questions of sexuality in context. I love the way Dannah doesnt shy away from or water down the tough issues, yet she never compromises Gods best for you! This is a must-read for any single Christian woman.

D R . J ULI S LATTERY , clinical psychologist, Focus on the Family, and author of No More Headaches

Dannah Gresh has totally nailed it with this pertinent and hugely needed book. Written honestly and compellingly, this is a must-read for all teenage girlswait, this is a must-read for everyone, especially teenage guys! I am so grateful for this important resource and plan to recommend it to all my young adult readers.

M ELODY C ARLSON , author of Diary of a Teenage Girl series and the TrueColor series

Dannah Gresh hits another home run! What Are You Waiting For? is refreshingly real and relevantdefinitely a timely message for todays generation of young women!

S HANNON E THRIDGE , international speaker and best-selling author of Every Young Womans Battle

This is hands-down the best book about sexual fidelity I have ever readinformative, entertaining, and very inspiring. Dannah Gresh tackles the trickiest of topics with astonishing grace. Her explanation of the sacred power of sex is unblushing and revelatory. I know this is a book for girls, but every Christian guy should read it too. Im already reading it for the second time.

N ATE L ARKIN , founder of the Samson Society and author of Samson and the Pirate Monks: Calling Men to Authentic Brotherhood

If you are looking for the gospel truth on the very real issue of sex and sexuality that all singles face, this is the book for you. Dannah Gresh talks to singles where they really live. Not only is it refreshing, it is liberatingas truth always is. Dannah does not dance around the issues but addresses them with in-your-face clarity that is sorely needed. Sharing the spiritual implications while balancing the reality of the natural world we live in, Dannah practically addresses how singles can be victorious in the battle between the flesh and the spirit.

M ICHELLE M CKINNEY H AMMOND , author of What Women Dont Know and Men Dont Tell You

All I can say is wow! My assistants teenage daughter agreed to flip through this book for me as a favor and ended up absorbed in the entire thing! As she rightly put it, What Are You Waiting For? brings amazing insight into what no one tells you about sexand it really can strengthen the relationship you have with God and your future spouse. This book is a fantastic read. Dannah Gresh has such a special way of taking an important subject and making it appealing, practical, and accessible to everyone.

S HAUNTI F ELDHAHN , best-selling author of For Women Only and For Young Women Only

In an age where sex is perverted and belittledwhen it appears to be a tool in the hands of the Enemy rather than the God who created itDannah has shown us Gods pure intention for sexuality. Through an in-depth study of Scripture and confirmation in life experiences, she highlights the honest-to-goodness biblical truth behind one of lifes most precious and beautiful mysteries. Women young and old will read this book and find the inspiration and tools they need to treat Gods gift of sexuality with the respect and protection it deserves.

J ULIE H IRAMINE , founder of Generations of Virtue and author of Beautifully Made

What Are You Waiting For? is a well-written study of the sexual culture our teens are immersed in today and offers a culturally relevant perspective that aligns itself with the Word of God. Dannah has managed to walk the fine line of approaching this difficult subject in a way that will inspire teens to live holy lives and inspire parents to broach this delicate topic with their kids. This book is not for the faint of heart; however, neither is raising teenagers in our current society.

R ON L UCE , founder and president of Teen Mania Ministries

W HAT A RE Y OU W AITING F OR?
P UBLISHED BY W ATER B ROOK P RESS
12265 Oracle Boulevard, Suite 200
Colorado Springs, Colorado 80921

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. Scripture quotations marked ( NKJV ) are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked ( NASB ) are taken from the New American Standard Bible. Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org). Scripture quotations marked ( ESV ) are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked ( KJV ) are taken from the King James Version.

Italics in Scripture quotations reflect the authors added emphasis.

Details in some anecdotes and stories have been changed to protect the identities of the persons involved.

Copyright 2011 by Dannah Gresh

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published in the United States by WaterBrook Multnomah, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House Inc., New York.

W ATER B ROOK and its deer colophon are registered trademarks of Random House Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gresh, Dannah.
What are you waiting for? : the one thing no one ever tells you about sex / Dannah Gresh. 1st ed.
p. cm.
eISBN: 978-1-60142-332-0
1. Chastity. 2. Teenage girlsReligious life. 3. Young womenReligious life. 4. Sexual abstinenceReligious aspectsChristianity. 5. Sex instruction for youthReligious aspectsChristianity. I. Title.
BV4647.C5G74 2011
241.66dc22

2010034596

v3.1_r1

To Bob

who is writing a yada love story with me
so the world can see the mysterious love story
of Christ and the church.

this book is not for spiritual monks.

If you spend more of your time at church getting to know Gods Word than out in the world living it, you probably wont like this book. Its raw and real. If you cant handle words like masturbation, orgasm, and porn, you should just put it down now. These are real-world words that real people use.

Frankly, I wish I didnt have to use them. I find a more poetic, subtle approach to sexuality more romantic. Not to mention tasteful. It seems to me that the Biblewhile not lacking in sexual instruction, ethic, and purposeoften presents the subject in veiled terms, leaving us unblushed by its modest references to a gift so tender. Id like to write more like that, and I have in previous books, but not this one.