Archive of ‘Singleness’ category

Single or Dating? This blog is for you!

/ Christian Dating, Singleness, Singleness & Dating / Comments Off on Single or Dating? This blog is for you!

Sometimes the red flags are big and waving high, and sometimes they are hidden under the surface and will only be discovered over time. I encourage you to pay attention to them, no matter how small they may seem. Desiring to be fully known and fully loved in marriage is a good thing. This is a God-given desire!  But small behaviors are indicative of larger behavioral patterns, and ignoring these red flags could be costly in the long run.

Check out the post, Six Red Flags You Can’t Ignore In Dating on Authentic Intimacy!

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4 Ways the Church Hurts Single Women

/ Pornography, Singleness, Singleness & Dating / 17 Comments

4 Ways the Church Hurts Single Women

How many sermons have you heard on singleness and sexuality? Sadly, many churches fail to cover these topics in messages. Our singles are believing the lie that something is wrong with them for having sexual desires and curiosities. Can we free these women from shame and share the message that God created them as sexual beings? We need to talk about singleness and sexuality because our single members are asking questions like, “What do we do with our sexual desires?” If we don’t provide these answers, pornography could become their solution.

When the church views marriage as the ultimate goal, we are hurting everyone. We hurt the singles now and we hurt them again if they get married because they are entering marriage thinking that marriage is the solution. The real and lasting solution is Jesus. Yes, I’m married. And yes, I still have all the same issues I had when I was single. Marriage didn’t fix me. Marriage didn’t heal my addiction to masturbation and pornography, Jesus did. Marriage is not our highest calling, but rather following Jesus is our highest calling.

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Will my husband forgive me for my sexual past?

/ Freedom From Sexual Sin & Shame, Grace, Marriage, Pornography, Sexual Addiction, Singleness, Singleness & Dating / 3 Comments

With tears in her eyes, hesitating to ask, she whispered, “Will my future husband still love and forgive me?” My new friend had a fear common to women who have found freedom from sexual sin. Jesus freed her from the chains of pornography, but currently she was gripped by the chains of fear. Have you had this fear or other fears about your future spouse and marriage because of your sexual past? (more…)

Instant Intimacy: When one click, swipe or like isn’t enough.

/ Devotional, Love, Relationship with Jesus, Singleness, Surrender Life to Jesus / 2 Comments

Instant Intimacy _ JoyPedrow.com Desiring to feel loved and beautiful, I downloaded Tinder and uploaded my cutest selfie. Sick of being single and waiting on God’s perfect timing, I wanted to take things into my own hands. I wanted control over my dating life.

Impatient and not trusting God, I began the quest for a man. Swiping right if I found him attractive and left if he was too creepy, I was making every decision based on looks. During this season in college, I was a believer and truly loved God, but I lacked intimacy with Him.
Instead of growing in intimacy with God, I wanted instant intimacy.

I believed that instant intimacy was only found in the love of a man, so in that moment, when he swiped right too and we were a match, I felt desired. This feeling didn’t last. Instead of believing what God says is true about me, I believed I was unloved and ugly. Yet, I kept on swiping and searching for intimacy.

Have you ever sought out intimacy, yet remained unsatisfied? (more…)

Dating Is Not Fully Satisfying

/ Christian Dating, Love, Singleness, Singleness & Dating, Surrender Life to Jesus, Your Story / 3 Comments

Yes, dating is amazing and fun. Yes I love it. But it’s not fully satisfying. We can’t live life hoping to find our satisfaction in our relationship status.

You’re single – you want to be dating. You’re dating – you want to be married. You’re married – you want kids. You have kids – you want more free time. You have free time – you want more to do.

Do you get what I’m saying?

I’ve met countless women in all stages of relationships and none have told me that the status she is in has left her fully satisfied. I have a married friend who has struggled with infertility. She tells me she often cries out to God in pain. Her husband tries to be there for her and comfort her, but she said his comfort is never enough. (more…)

Singleness: When Patience Seems Impossible

/ Love, Singleness, Singleness & Dating, Your Story / 7 Comments

“What if I lack patience and want a guy now?” asked a reader. Girl, I understand. I’m impatient. I don’t like waiting. I’m a planner and I have a beautiful plan for how I want my life to go. In my mind, this plan is perfect. We have to remember, our plans may not be God’s plans. We cannot let our marital status dominate our thinking and focus.

When our lives aren’t going according to our plans – we ask God, “Why won’t you do things our way for a change?” I thought I would find my husband in college and get married after graduation. God’s plans did not align with my plans. We expect God to love our plan even when we reject his. Have you rejected God’s plan and decided that your plan is better? (more…)

How to Trust God to Meet Your Needs as a Single Woman

/ Bible Study, Singleness, Singleness & Dating / 4 Comments

I sat with a friend as she cried and poured out her heart, “How can I believe that God loves me and will meet my needs? I’ve been single for years. I want to be loved, accepted and valued by a man.”

My friend is not alone in her thoughts. Many young women struggle with singleness and trusting God during this life stage. I believe the root heart issue to my friend’s questions is trust. My friend is not trusting God to meet her needs and satisfy her longings. My friend is not trusting that God’s love is enough. My friend is not trusting that God loves her, accepts her and values her, more than any human man ever will.

How often do you feel like my friend? For me, I know those thoughts seep into my heart and mind almost every day. I’ve discovered that spending time with God, in His word, is the answer to most of our problems, especially our trust issues. I realized that the days I struggle trusting God most are the days I don’t spend time with him.

Do you trust in God’s plan for your life? Do you spend time with God on a regular basis through reading the Bible or praying? (more…)

Misplacing Your Identity in Singleness

/ Singleness, Singleness & Dating / 6 Comments

Single. A word that most women hate to hear next to their name. A word that is often filled with anger, sadness, and resentment. I know those feelings well. I’ve believed the lie that being single is not a gift from God, but rather a punishment. And I know many other women who have believed the same lie. I have a friend who when asked what she likes about being single laughed and said, “Not one thing.” Her words saddened my heart. We can find joy and contentment in singleness. We can live full lives for God as single women.

I know that seems impossible right now, but have hope that you will see singleness as a gift. In the past — the days when I fully embraced the gift of singleness were the days I felt like I was truly living for God. (more…)

Worried You’ll Miss “The One”?

/ Christian Dating, Christian in College, Devotional, Singleness, Singleness & Dating / 5 Comments

Are you worried that you will miss out on God’s plan, specifically by missing out on “The One”?

Guess what – you can not screw up God’s plan for your life.

Early in college, I dated a guy who was a Christian, but was not running after Jesus. I was afraid to break up with him because I thought, “What if I mess up God’s plan? What if this is the guy I’m supposed to marry?” Throughout the relationship, the Holy Spirit kept showing me that I should break up with him. If he was “Mr. Right”, there would not have been so many red flags. (more…)