That certain time things are "suppose" to happen!

For young adult women... the hardest thing to entrust God with is relationships. There is a certain time you are "suppose" to meet the boy of your dreams, a certain time you are "suppose" to fall in love, a certain time you are "suppose" to be engaged, and a certain time you are "suppose" to be married. I cannot figure out who exactly decided when all these things were suppose to happen... but whoever they are... YOU ARE WRONG AND I HATE YOU!!! (disclaimer: i do not actually hate anyone)

I am not saying this to teach you a lesson, or explain how to fix a problem. I am simply publicly announcing my own struggles in hopes it encourages someone else.

Two things are for certain. One, I know without a doubt that when God decides to place the man of my dreams in my life, He will also give me complete and total clarification that he is "the one." Two, I am certain that I wish this moment of clarification has already happened....it certainly has not!

That "suppose" to happen time is slowly slipping away, and I am faced with two options.
1. I throw a pity party for myself. I cry about how lonely I am, am jealous of all my friends who are dating, engaged, married, and having babies. I decide that God's timing is not working out and I can handle it by myself.

2. I realize that the "suppose" time is not decided by me, by Hollywood, by my friends, or my family. It is decided by someone much bigger than all these things. I trust that Gods time is perfect... mine is not.

I chose option two. Is this easy? No. Do I always do it? No. For the majority of days I can honestly say that I truly trust God with this area of my life. I truly am content in Him, and Him alone. But... some days I honestly have a hard time trusting God, because I want things my way. (how selfish right?) I want to be using all my wedding pins on pintrest to actually plan a wedding. I want to buy Alfred Angelo style 1816 wedding dress instead of selling it to customers at Louisas Bridal. I want to wear a square cut diamond ring on my left hand, instead of seeing it on everyone else's. I want to love someone who loves the Lord more than me...

God clearly says in scripture that singleness is a blessing. It was brought to my attention in a sermon...single does not just mean never being married. Being single means you simply are not married at any given moment. So, if God has not blessed me with marriage yet...He has blessed me with singleness. I need to embrace that blessing. How?

1. While I do not have distractions of a husband.... I should spend time with my precious Savior with no distractions.
2.Pray that God continue to grow my future husband into the man I know he will be.
3. Enjoy my great friendships I have been blessed with.
4. LOVE my pink, lime green, and zebra room while I can. (i would never be ok with marrying someone who approved of this room decor.)
5. Trust. Trust me? no. Trust God? absolutely.

I would venture out to say, this is not just a struggle of young adult women... but also young adult men.

So... you are not the only one struggling... I am too! : ) I am down for talking to any of you single folks who need a little encouraging. God is sovereign over our lives... I pray you remember that!

My Dad is such a great example of what a Godly man should be.
Thankful for his influence in my life!


(If you read my blogs...please become a "follower." It is motivation for me to keep writing!)

Become the person you would want to date, would want to date!!!!!

This semester at Providence Baptist Church our college ministry has been listening to a relationship series. I thought that it was going to be about all the things I have heard repeatedly my entire life, but it has been so much more than that. I have grown tremendously through this study so far.
Two weeks ago our pastor Nick said something that I will treasure forever. He said, "Become the person you would want to date, would want to date." Wow.... it hit me like a ton of bricks. Most girls have list they make of requirements of their dream boy, whether it be mentally or on a piece of paper. Most christian girls have two list. One about silly selfish things and one about real biblical based requirements. I am no exception.We spend our time searching and thinking about boys/men who will meet these standards....we look for someone that will have the most checks on our list.  

The thing is, is that dream boy is not going to fall in love with us unless we are dream girl. In other words...why would a man completely surrendered to God even consider dating a girl who wasn't completely surrendered to God? We need to be taking actions....we need to become our "list." Since I heard this quote I have been convicted over and over again. Here are some things I am working on to become the person I would want to date, would want to date:

1. Being Content: I would not want to date someone who is not reliant on God and content with the amazing love He provides for us. I have been working on seeing this season of singleness as a blessing and using it to be able to become depend on God.
2. Studying the Word: I would not want to date someone who does not value and treasure the Word of God. I have been working on being more passionate about reading and studying.
3. Being Joyful: I would not want to date someone who did not have the ability to be joyful through life's frustrations. I am trying to learn to be positive and upbeat all the time.
4. Not over committing: I would not want to date someone who was so committed to other things he did not have time for me and his future family. I have a SERIOUS problem with over committing. I have been praying that God show me what things to take out of my life and also show me what things are important and not important in my life. I want to break this awful habit so that I can be a good wife and mom one day... I wouldn't want to marry a man who has the problem I currently have.

These things are just my problems. We all have different struggles. If we daily think about becoming the person who want to marry one day.... it really will change our thoughts and actions. I am praying for my future husband, that he too is becoming the person he would want to date, would want to date.