Christa Smith, author of "Singled Out in a Couple's World", was single for thirty-nine years before marrying her husband. On her 35th birthday, she felt the grace lift and the desire and desperation for marriage rise. In this episode she shares:
- Why she things there is a stigma about singleness in the church
- How to live content while still contending and not giving up hope
- Her encounter where God asked her, "If you never get married, am I enough?"
I hear so many people talking about their longing for community and, all too often, lamenting their inability to find it. Maybe that’s you? Perhaps you’re reading this because you’re longing to find a place of belonging and just never seem to connect.
Being a gentleman feels like it’s a fading art in our culture, and our society feels that. I believe when strong gentlemen show up to use their strengths to benefit those around them, it will create stability and space for all to thrive. While we can’t conquer all of these things in one post, here are twelve ways to become more of a gentleman.
It’s not always easy being single: third wheeling it at the movies, persevering through some awkward dates, and scrambling for a good answer when well-meaning friends and family members ask if you’ve met anyone “special” yet. Although it has its fair share of uncomfortable situations and weekend nights sitting on the couch in pajamas, being single does not have to be the time in your life you barely get through.
If someone doesn’t like you, it’s okay. It’s not who you are, it’s just one guy. It doesn’t mean that no one will ever like you, or that you're unlovable, or not enough. Those are all lies from the enemy. Even if you’ve lost a few games or a few guys, that doesn’t mean you’re unlovable either. It just means you haven’t found the right one yet.
I’m going to tell you how to win after a breakup. I'm not talking about how to win, like how to egg your ex’s car or slit the tires and get away with it. I'm talking about how to win emotionally. How to win inside your soul.
Purity in God’s eyes is not something you lose, it’s a daily choice to walk in obedience according to His plan and purposes for your life. With that said if you are single, soon to be married, you’ve been married for a while or even if you’ve lived most of your life in rebellion against God- purity is something attainable to you.
If you want to be truly successful in life, aside from serving Jesus, the single most effective thing you can do is to choose your closest friends wisely.
We often talk about boundaries in dating. But we leave out why we don’t like boundaries (AT ALL!) and the purpose behind them... This is a conversation about why there’s so much skepticism surrounding boundaries in dating and how those same boundaries fuel the Kingdom calling that is on your relationship. Because yes. There is a Kingdom calling on your relationship and Jesus is waiting on you to see it, especially now, as you date.
I’d propose that numerous people have been seduced by things that masquerade as love but are just cheap imitations of the real thing. In fact, I have a growing concern that many within the Church associate God’s love with a version that looks noble on the outside but leads people into deep vortexes of emptiness and bondage.
Our friends are blessings (and sometimes seasons) as we mature throughout life. The people that God puts in our lives are meant to bring us closer to Christ by offering compassion, fellowship, humble correction, and forgiveness. If we want to truly maintain and strengthen our friendships, we need to have an open heart and mind on how to love them better as life goes on.
When most of us hear or use the words “just love them like Jesus” what we mean is the unconditional love and acceptance of the person irrespective of their behavior…