-
I Survived My 20s – Dreams
[Guest Post by Caris Adel] – I love the movie Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. When I watch it, I relive my dream from high school. My dreams were to move to New York City and spend my 20s living the city life– whatever that meant. The issue of cost never did resolve itself. My more realistic plan was to get an apartment and go to school in a midwest town near my high school boyfriend. But alas, we ended up pregnant instead, giving birth right before his final exams his freshman year of college. We got married, and by the time we were 26, we had our fifth and…
-
I Survived My 20s – Fatherless
[Guest Post by Anonymous] – From a very young age, I knew the Lord. I was lucky to have grown up in the church, and was strong in my faith. God knew that he had to prepare me at an early age for what I would be up against. Secrecy. Shame. Pain. I am fatherless. As a teenager I was forced to hold a terrible secret, one I knew when change my life forever if I ever spoke of it. I did all that I could to hide the hurt of what happened to me. I walked through life as if in a dream or a daze, and put a…
-
I Survived My 20s – Regret
[Guest Post by Kristin Tennant] – What is this thing people call a “honeymoon period?” Because it’s something the first decade of my adult life was seriously lacking. We got married at 22. Sure, we had a honeymoon–a week-long trip to the Massachusetts coast–but it ended the day we pulled back into the driveway of our first home, a small, upstairs apartment in an old house. Within a week of trying to figure out what it really meant to be married–to share a bathroom and a bed, to make daily decisions together for two rather than just for one–I was sobbing on the phone with my mom. What had I…
-
I Survived My 20s – Moving
[Guest Post by Marie Osborne] – I survived my 20s by moving over and over and over again. In 2004, I was married to my best friend and at an amazing church. We had a fantastic support system of friends and family. The next 3 years, my job just kept getting better, our friendships deeper, our family closer, and our marriage stronger. Then in 2006, we decided my husband should go back to school. So we moved to Los Angeles for two years as he completed his MBA. Suddenly, our deep roots were gone, and I didn’t know a soul. I had worked hard for 6 years to build an…
-
I Survived My 20s – Dateless
[Guest Post by Lindsay Blackburn] – I survived my 20s. In fact, I survived my 20s–dateless. Yep, you read that right. No coffee dates. No dinner dates. And, most of all, no wedding date. This is my story. When I moved back to my hometown after graduating from college at age 21, my priorities were finding a full-time job, moving out of my parents’ basement, and reconnecting with some high school friends. Sure, I wanted to get married and have children someday, but I just assumed it would happen in the perfect linear fashion that most 20-somethings expect. Go to college → Graduate from college → Get a job &…
-
I Survived My 20s – Singleness
[Guest Post by Monique Pearson] – Trust in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. If you’ve grown up in the church you’ve probably heard this a lot. For me the desire of my heart was to be married and well it still is. Since I was a little girl I was told to pray and ask God to bring the perfect future husband into my life. I knew I wanted to be married at some point so I had faith and believed that God would bring the right man. When I started to date around the age of 25 I really prayed about who…
-
I Survived My 20s – Depression
[Guest Post by Addie Zierman] – I turned 20 on a warm day in July, and then, two weeks later, I got married. There was pink tulle everywhere and 200 roses that we ordered online and arranged into bouquets in the church basement. During the ceremony, two of my best friends from high school sang “Be Thou My Vision,” and their voices filled the room, haunting and sweet. This is how I began my 20s: eyes closed, heart raised. I was full to the brim with love and with Jesus, surrounded by all of my closest friends who felt the exact same way. From that alter, the future looked sparkling…
-
I Survived My 20s – Cancer
[Monthly Columnist – Wendy van Eyck] – My husband has cancer. I find myself wanting to insert this sentence into every conversation that I have. It doesn’t really matter what the conversation is about. It could be that the cashier says, “That’ll be 3.25 please”. In reply, I blurt out, “My husband has lymphoma”. Or I could be on the phone with a supplier telling me that they are upset about something and I hear a conversation in my head saying, “Do you think I really care? My husband has cancer!” I want everyone to know. I need to share this tragedy, this heartbreak, this disruption. I’ve thought about how…
-
What's Your Story — Mikey
I just want to say that it’s totally God that He brought Mikey into my life and crossed our paths. He spoke at my first book launch for Faithbook of Jesus hosted at North Coast Church. Then I asked him if I could interview him on camera for a second book project I was doing. And then that project was canceled. When I resurfaced and the book got picked up again by a different publisher–I asked Mikey. And then nothing. All I heard was silence. I’m so glad Mikey’s story is far from over. On June 29, 2012 he wrote this on his Facebook page after being silent for many…
-
Pre Engagement Questions
I want to thank every single person who wrote down pre engagement questions for Marc and before getting married. Thanks to my best friends, parents, and mentors for throwing me three separate Bridal Showers–I have notebooks full of encouragement, wise words, and tips. Here are 35 of my favorite pre engagement questions suggestions below: 1. Don’t Think…Enjoy! 2. All you need to know you can read in the Song of Solomon. 3. Remember, variety is the spice of life. Make each “encounter” a new adventure! 4. Tell him what you want and how you like it. He will appreciate you (get excited about) you sharing dirty details with him 🙂…
