There’s this delicate tension I have always felt here, writing at Triple Braided. I’ve told bits and pieces of its journey before, but I think I’ll tell some of it again because it doesn’t seem to go away. I say tension, but it’s not a bad tension. It’s a tension to want to serve all my readers with my words.

You see, I am obviously married. But I desperately want to disciple single women because no one discipled to me properly when I was single. And I was single for longer than I wanted to be. And it was painful. And now I know there was a better way. At the time I just didn’t know that way. I want to be for others what I didn’t have myself.

However, even though I’ve written here inconsistently at times and without a focus much of the time, I have found that I also have married readers. This is where the tension lies. I don’t think single women want to read about marriage and baby topics just like married readers probably don’t want to read about dating.

So there’s my delicate tension.

I bring all this up because recently I asked you to take a short survey. Personally, I love taking surveys. I don’t know why except I think they’re fun. Maybe it’s because I get to talk about myself. Anyway . . .

The results of the survey are just wonderful! All of you actually wrote out sentences to the answers! I know that takes more time and thought than just clicking an answer, and I want to tell you “thank you” tons because they have helped me tremendously.

So here is some of what I’ve learned about you, the readers of Triple Braided.

62.96% are single.

37.04% are married.

33.33% like posts about your relationship with Jesus.

29.17% like posts about mentoring younger women because you’re married.

16.67% like posts about singleness.

16.67% also like posts about dating.

4.17% like posts about current hot topics.

Most of the readers are in their 30’s with the 20-age-range coming in second.

So where do I go from now? I’m going to continue to write for both of you – single and married – to hopefully serve both of you well. Jesus is my favorite person to write about, so that’s good most of you like that, and the great thing is He’s for ALL of us and relationship neutral!

Mentoring is also very close to my heart, and so I am going to probably start adding in some of those posts. One reader mentioned that she’d like posts about preparing for marriage. That sounds like a good idea to me. I know some single women really don’t like to talk about marriage at all. If you stop by on a “marriage day”, please just come back another day. There will be something for everyone.

And in closing, thank you for being here above all else! You do not know how much joy you and this blog brings me!

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It’s hard to believe that it’s Friday again. I don’t know if the week seems to go by fast because I mark the end of each one with this post, or if it seems to go by fast because it’s truly going by fast.  Having a little 18 month old mini-me walking around the house, noticeably changed every single morning she wakes up, I have a sneaking suspicion it’s the latter. Time is going by fast.

On Tuesday this past week I took my toddler girl with me to vote. There was a Senate and House seat open here where we live in North Carolina, along with a Supreme Court Associate Justice seat. Typically I don’t think much about voting. It’s one of the many American things I take for granted. But this past Tuesday was different. As I walked out of the small church fellowship hall, the voting location for our area, holding my female toddler, and me of course a female too, the hundreds of girls taken captive in Nigeria flashed across my mind. I smiled at the three people handing out campaign flyers, two men and a young woman, told them to have a nice day, got in my car and started to cry. I couldn’t help it.

Here I was a woman – by the world’s standards, and even history’s standards as far back as the Old Testament, just merely a woman with no real worth or dignity – walking out of a place where I exercised my God-given right to a voice in our country’s political system. And there, on the other side of the world, young girls are enslaved primarily because they were going to school.

Pure grace.

That’s all there is to it. Pure grace reigning down on me from Heaven. Pure grace for being born in a country where the goal is for women to be treated with the integrity that God gave them. No, our country hasn’t always gotten it right. And no, in some ways it’s still not right. But at least I’m not enslaved for going to school. And not only that, I get to vote.

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I met with a sweet friend this past week who is 32 and single. During my time with her I was reminded of how badly I wish I could take it away for all of you – all the loneliness, all the uncertainty, all the fear. I wish I could snap my fingers and each of you meet the man God has for you. But then again, that would mean that I would I would get the glory, and you know a person getting the glory never works out well.

There’s only One who can meet your needs – all of your needs – right now in your singleness, and that person is Jesus. Do you believe that? Do you sincerely believe that Jesus can meet every one of your needs – physical, emotional, mental, spiritual? Because I’m here to tell you that He can and He already does.

Just think back to how God has sustained you already in your life. Think about the previous times you’ve felt full of despair. He was faithful then. And He will be faithful now.

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I hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend last weekend! Didn’t the week fly by? Here in North Carolina the weather was beautiful and warm and perfect. I love it when Easter comes later than in March. When it comes in March you can’t even wear the Easter clothes you plan on wearing! Here’s a quick look into our day because, you know, I just can’t help but sharing.

I remember growing up and thinking that only kids’ years revolved around the “school calendar” – starts in August and goes to June. Then I became a teacher, and my year still started in August and ended in June. But even now, without any connection to schools at all, my year still seems to come to an end in June. We’re wrapping up Bible Study Fellowship in just a few weeks, so I’m starting to think about what I’m going to do for Bible study this summer.

(Which, by the way, next year’s Bible Study Fellowship will be on the life of Moses, and I highly recommend it. There’s even young adult classes in some places. Check out more information here. I’ve learned so much and my Bible knowledge has increased exponentially!)

Have you started to think about a Bible study for the summer? Well, I have a thought for you! I’ll be leading a Bible study/book study this summer in-real-life for single women, and I thought I’d include you all and do it online too. I’ll let you know the study in the days to come, but for now, think about that!

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Okay, here’s the funny of the day, and this just happened today as I write this, but yesterday for all of you. My personality type is an INFJ. I just found out this about myself a few years ago, and it completely revolutionized my world. I love being an INFJ mainly because I finally have an explanation for my quirkiness which includes complete absent-mindedness at times, lacking in the common sense arena, and an overall scattered existence. Which also makes me accidentally leave groceries in the car when I get home from the grocery store. Not all of the groceries, but just a bag here or there.

Now if you knew my husband you would know that this kind of thing drives him completely out of his mind. I don’t know what his personality type is, but I do know that it’s not INFJ. Stong on the “I” – yes – but the others probably as opposite from me as you can get. He’s the math guy. The logical one. The one who barely says words much less writes them.

So anyway . . . today he sends me an email that says, “you know what’s not nice that I realized . . . I came home yesterday with some fresh eggs and they are still in my truck!!!!!!!”

I know I should have done the Jesus thing, but I so didn’t! Instead I told him God was serving him up some humble pie! And fortunately for me, I think he ate it!

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It’s the middle of the day on Friday, and I’m just sitting down to write you for the first time this week. Wow! It has been an unusual week for us around here, as normally our lives are pretty quiet and predictable, but this week we had the blessing of joy come into our home through my dear friend, Emily.

Emily and I met through (in)Courage when we served together as community group leaders for the single women’s group. We Skyped, we chatted, we prayed, and we became friends. So when she was coming to North Carolina for the Make It Happen Conference in Chapel Hill, it was only natural for her to extend her trip and us meet in person. She spend most of the week with us, and I cannot tell you how much joy she brought into our lives.

Let me tell you a little about Emily.

She’s who I wish I had been at 28 years old.

She is nine years younger than me. She is a single woman. She loves Jesus. She works with a non-profit organization for children with special needs. She leads a small group. She co-leads the (in)Courage single women’s group. She is passionate about creating community and a master at hospitality. She loves children. She desires marriage and children. She is a dreamer, leader, and encourager. God is revealing more and more of His purpose for her life a little each day. She is living a faithful and purposeful life, making her single years count for something bigger than herself.

I just love Emily.

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