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I Survived My 20s – Change
[Guest Post by Tracy] – I tried to stifle the tears as I watched my parents drive off. What had I done? I graduated from college and secured my first job; that’s what. Earlier that week I said my goodbyes, loaded the car, and moved across state lines to New Mexico, the “Land of Enchantment.” Gone was the familiar sound of my parents’ voices. Gone were the opportunities to hang out with friends who knew my intimate details. It was just my mini cactus, “Larry,” and me now. We would face the change in my new life together. Ironically, my first year in the “Land of Enchantment”… sucked. Even Larry…
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Fifty Shades of Virginity
[Guest post by Arleen Spenceley] – In the twenty miles between my house and my office, there are at least six strip clubs. As I write this, ‘Magic Mike’ – a movie about a male stripper – has been in theaters a week and has grossed an estimated $63,322,000. Fifty Shades of Grey is novel about a woman who gives her virginity to a guy whose version of sex is violent and demeaning. It is now a New York Times bestseller. All this is to say I was not surprised that when my own grandmother learned that I am a virgin, her eyes were wide and her surprise obvious when she fumbled for the words: “You are?” It’s…
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Friends With Girls
[Guest post by Andrea Marbach] – I know the feeling of being friends with girls and being left out in a conversation. The feeling of being less important and ignored. Being single is all I know. I have never been on a real date. Never been asked out for drinks. Never been kissed. I’m almost 25 years old. Growing up in a Christian household did not protect me from some really bad, life changing things that happened to me when I was a child. For many years, I struggled with self-confidence. At the age of 22, I was finally able to look at myself in the mirror and like what…
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Friends With Boys
[Guest post by Clara Bastidas] – Sometimes I wish love wouldn’t have such a huge hold in our lives as women. Love is an important part of our lives whether we want it or not. I wish it was the topic of politics, or gardening. But I know God created us this way, and if He did, He must have meant it for good. I’ll try to get to the point of my post. Even though I know any advice on this earth will provide me with the peace that only my faith in Christ will bring, I could use some insights from others who have gone through some of…
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Singleness Is NOT A Disease
[Guest Post] American culture values independence. Somewhere between my twenty-fifth and twenty-seventh birthdays, my status as a single man in the church downgraded from laudable to questionable. People stopped celebrating my singleness as a gift affording me undivided focus on performing God’s will (see I Corinthians 7) and began seeing it as a problem. They also began analyzing why I had failed to solve it. The message was clear: My “malady” of being single was somehow my fault. It wasn’t anything I did. It was what I didn’t do enough of. I didn’t do enough to prove my independence. American men who cannot demonstrate enough independence begin to feel weak…
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I'm NOT Pregnant
I’m not pregnant. Now that I have your attention, I want to tell you a story. I am no Martin Luther King, but I had a dream that I was pregnant in a warehouse full of women about to give birth. We were all expectantly waiting on God’s promises. The very next day at work (this was back in 2005), a lady came in for a job interview. She walked into the room where I was the office receptionist and asked me, “Are you pregnant?” At first I was shocked. Then horrified. I said “No!” and she quickly apologized, but said she sensed something in the Spirit. Mind you, I…
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Marc's Thoughts on Dating
My husband and I were discussing the release of my book. I happened to ask him what his thoughts were on dating. He said he’d have to think about it, and knowing my husband, I knew he’d come up with something deep. Here are Marc’s 5 Thoughts on Dating: “If you pressed me to provide thoughts on dating you might be surprised on how little I would have to say. Of course men do not think in the same ways women do about these matters. Most of us guys have not dreamed about marriage since we were young, constantly thought about our knightness in shining armor, or kept a notebook of…
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Endorsements for Not Another Dating Book
In just 27 short days, my second book, “Not Another Dating Book” releases nationwide! Here are the endorsements for my book. I hope you’ll show your support by ordering a copy on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Harvest House for you or someone you know. Thanks again for coming on this journey with me. I’m so excited! “We live in a time when our college students don’t give two cents worth of time or attention to the local church. It is more important today than ever before in history to grab the attention of this age group. Its time for the church to wake up and realize the importance of…
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Uniquely You
Growing up, being uniquely you was considered a bad thing. I should know. I was the shy home school kid (yes, I said SHY) with no friends and very little social interaction. I mostly read–a lot and practiced piano for hours a day. That all changed when I entered college and finally found myself. I learned how to be comfortable in my own skin. Literally. The reason WHY I write and am heavily involved ministry is because I lost the skin off my face and feet due to severe eczema when I was 15, and it took me over 6 years to recover. Basically the years when a girl becomes…
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I'm Growing Up
I don’t know about you, but I think I’m growing up. I am feeling the stretch of my spiritual muscles as well as my emotional and physically muscles. “There are some shameful episodes in it; instances of meanness, unfinished tasks, weakness, and regrets. I had to ask myself, ‘If I live, who is it that I intend to be.’” (Lance Armstrong) Do I intend to be a protege of my parents? Or me? Do I intend to please the people around me, or forge an identity all my own, while scared at the same time of learning how to fly? One thing I’m learning is you’re never too old to…
