What do you think is the biggest mistake women can make while dating? Premarital sex? Moving in together? Being unequally yoked? Today I’m featured on ChristianCrush.com sharing the answer to this question and it’s probably not what you think.
Head on over and join me there . . . but before you leave leave a comment. What do you think is the biggest mistake women can make while dating?
Ahhhh! How has your week been? Mine has been crazy busy! I hate saying that because it’s not supposed to be that way, but this week was one of those weeks. I’ve been cleaning out cabinets and drawers and you would not believe how much junk stuff I have. I mean three boxes of Arbonne products that have never been opened but are at least five years old. I’m so embarrassed! I’m actually not much of pack-rat compared to umm . . . my husband . . . but you wouldn’t have known it this week.
One of my goals here on this site it to be a resource and point you to other places around the web that might be beneficial. I was listening to a few Focus on the Family podcasts about singleness this past weekend (which I want to write more about later), and I heard about this conference/meet-up that Boundless is hosting called Pursuit. I’m not at all affiliated with it, but I thought you might like to know about it and maybe you can even go! I believe it’s their first conference.
So here’s the link to all the details!
If you’re not familiar with Boundless, I highly recommend it! It is a wonderful ministry with tons of great resources for singles!
The first time I thought about modesty was a few years ago. The subject took to the blog-world and everyone started debating it. Before that modesty was a non-issue in my life. My style never allowed me to really push the limits with immodest clothes. I’m more of a Banana Republic girl myself – clean, classic, timeless. Modesty is just not one of my struggles, even though I can name a dozen other areas that take its place.
Then I had my baby girl. When you have a baby you begin to think the most bizarre thoughts you never even considered before. Suddenly the gap between “maybe acceptable” and “not-at-all acceptable” tightens. This happened for me when I went to buy her first swimsuit.
It’s Friday, and I feel led to pray for you, my sweet readers, as we head into the weekend. I know how hard weekends can be sometimes when you’re single, so today I lift you up in prayer. I pray specifically Romans 15:13 over you – that the God of hope will fill you with joy and peace in believing that He is good, He is righteous, He loves you, cares about you, and hears you, and He knows every pain in your heart. Only through the power of the Holy Spirit will you abound in hope. So may the Holy Spirit hold you close and continue to intercede for you.
Please leave a comment if you would like for me to pray for you by name. You can either list your request or simple write “an unspoken prayer”. I don’t need to know what it is because God already knows, but I would love to call out your name specifically to Him. You can also leave your name and request on the Facebook page.
Love to you and have a good weekend!!
Last month I explained why I think Christian singles should go to church. About a month later Donald Miller wrote a few posts explaining the reasons he doesn’t go to church very often.
I will admit that after reading his posts I felt totally defeated. Here I am almost begging young women to get involved in a church and then there’s a hugely influential, culturally in-style author telling everyone that he rarely goes to church and explaining himself through a long list of reasons.
Now to be fair, he does say that this is his perspective and that he’s not saying that churches are bad or that no one should go to church. And I believe him. I actually agree with some of what he wrote. I, too, don’t connect to God through music. But I’m not a music person in any other area of my life either. Music has never been my thing. During church I sing, but for me it’s like the vegetables before the dessert. I’m really there for the message.
With my background being in education, learning styles are nothing new to me. One of the greatest keys to a child’s learning is understanding his style. My primary learning style is visual and then kinesthetic. So when I go to church I am prepared with my Bible, paper, and a pen. I approach the sermon like I’m going into a college lecture. Sure I probably look a little over-zealous to the people around me as I frantically write and flip the pages of my Bible, but I know my learning style, and if I don’t see it then I won’t learn it. Then I can’t teach it to further cement my learning.
I also don’t completely disagree with the idea of the church being everywhere. When people use the term “church” usually they are referring to a building where Christians meet. However, “the church” in the Bible is not a place but the group of brothers and sisters in Christ as a collective whole. All Believers make up the church. So I don’t necessarily think that “going to church” has to be in a church building with elders and deacons. I also agree that we are given the same authority as “priests in His kingdom” as any other person. Isn’t that why Jesus corrected the disciples when they complained that someone who wasn’t “one of them” was casting out demons in Jesus’s name (Mark 9:38-41)?
However, this is what I know and this is the reason my heart sank when I read Donald Miller’s posts:
This does not seem to be the case for Donald Miller, and quite frankly I am jealous that he has such a strong, “spiritually sound” community. I wish I did. But I don’t.
My world is filled with people in all places of maturity in their relationship with Jesus and with people who have no relationship with Jesus at all. If I did not intentionally meet together with other Believers, then I would starve and be unable to carry out the priestly duties God has assigned to me. I think this is the case for most people.
For me, church – whether in a building with a sign out front that says “Church” or in a home or under a tin-roof in the middle of Africa – is my home-base. It’s where I go to get recharged and equipped, through the Holy Spirit in the lives of my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, to do the work God’s called me to do. We are instructed to “not give up meeting together” (Hebrews 10:25) – that is meeting together with other Christians. Meeting together should be intentional and deliberate.
To you, young women, I want to continue to encourage you to find a church where you can meet with other Believers. Yes, you can meet in your home with your Christian friends and this could be considered “church”. My only hesitancy is that it’s so important for you to be in a community with mature, growing Christians – people of all ages and with many different life experiences from which you can learn and grow – and a place where you can hear the Bible taught truthfully. Plus, being involved in a church isn’t just about you. It’s also about those who need you – those who need your story, your testimony, your life. It’s about serving others.
My fear is that you read the words of influential people, like Donald Miller, and you think that if it’s best for him then it must be best for me. Maybe, but maybe not. And from my experience probably not.
I often wonder if my twenties would have looked any different with a mature community of God-growing people around me. I think so.
Beth Moore said it best in a recent tweet. I’ll leave you with this.
I’d love to know your thoughts! What do you think about church?
