Things a Single Girl Has Time For..Part 1

Lucky for me, Fridays are my slower days.  Last Friday I spent 2 hours on campus sitting through meetings, and the rest of the afternoon I have enjoyed with myself.  First, I spent an hour and a half talking to one of my closest sisters in Christ.  We talked about how stressful our week started out, but how glorious God made himself as the week went on.  Almost 2 hours--JUST GLORIFYING GOD!  How awesome!

After that I spent another hour on the phone with a dear sweet girl that I disciple.  She told me of all the things God had been teaching her, and how she is recognizing Satan's attacks against these things.  Another hour spent in worship! :)  How wonderful!

I then worked on some homework for an hour or so, which was really nice to get out of the way for the weekend.  But here comes the best part, after that I spent an hour de-salting a can of Planter's Cashews!  Yes, I sound crazy and pathetic, but oddly enough, no grocery store in my area sells unsalted Cashews, and I like to make my own unsalted mixed nut assortment.  Therefore, I unsalt all my Cashews before mixing them with my other nuts.  Moving on now...

 As I stood silently in my kitchen, carefully wiping the salt off of each individual Cashew, God began to whisper sweet blessings into my ear.  You know, this may sound silly, but one day you are going to wish you had time to sit around and unsalt Cashews.  This is one of the many blessings I have given to you to enjoy during this season of your life.


How true!  Satan attacks single people all the time, but when we really stop and think about what we have, it's actually quite wonderful!  All week God has been refilling my contentment jar with gracious thoughts and a thankful heart.  Why in the world do we complain about not having enough to do, enough people to talk to, or enough money in our wallet?  God is the ultimate provider.  He gives us everything we could ever need--and more!  

This season in your life may be throwing struggles at you left and right, but stop and make a list of what all you have to be grateful for!  Make a list of all the random-awesome things you can do now, that you may not be able to do later on.  You might even come across a can of nuts! 


Here is a list of some ideas to get you started:

• Movie Nights!  I have a close friend who absolutely LOVES movie nights/days.  When given the chance, she curls up in a huge blanket and spends hours watching all sorts of movies that she alone enjoys.  She often talks of the relaxation and refreshment she gets from this activity.  This may not be rocket science, but when you graduate and get married, these opportunities will become less and less.
• Long Walks with God- Another girl friend of mine spends hours in fellowship with God.  She often walks down to a lovely pond with her Bible and a journal, and just talks to him.  Enjoy the sunset, pray for your neighborhood, or get to know the heart of God, all of these things are precious moments that single people have extra time for.
• Learn to cook and clean!  It's biblical, I promise!
• Find awesome new hairstyles on Pinterest- This will definitely come in handy when God's perfect timing is revealed.
• Hang out with people who aren't your age! Look around your church and see who needs a baby sitter, or some extra company.  Both little kids and older people have TONS of wisdom that you can pick up on.  I always have a blast doing this!

Whatever you decide to do, do it with all your heart (Coll 3:23) and do it to the glory of God.  Ephesians 5 tells us to live wisely because the days slip away faster than monkey on  a banana peel (my paraphrase,) so make the most of every season!  God has a purpose in each circumstance (Ecclesiastes.)

Part 2: How to be Single

Part 2

How to be single

Singleness: It’s a gift! We take it for granted.

Only a short time in your life-celebrate!!

More free time and energy

- Enjoy Singleness!

o Work on your relationship with God.

§ 1 Corinthians 7:34-memorize.

o Love your friends more deeply.

§ Call them just to say hey, invite them to do fun activities with you

§ Girl’s night out!! :D

o Develop your hobbies and talents

§ Instead of spending all your time and energy with a relationship, try something new! If you like basketball, practice it and get better! Like to read then read!

o Enjoy the company of your family

§ Trust me, you may get annoyed now, but before you know it you will be moving off to college and then you will really miss them.

§ The time you have with them now, under their roof, is priceless.

§ Spend more time with your sister/brother, mother-daughter dates, learn from your Dad J

o Adopt a mentor/mentoree

§ Ask an older GIRL or WOMAN to mentor you..meet once a week to discuss godly things and life in general.

§ Or adopt a younger girl that you can pour into. Ask around at church, school, neighbors, etc. You’d be surprised how fun it can be!

o Study.

§ Schoolwork, ACT, scholarships, applications…

- Work on godly characteristics

o You don’t become a perfect woman over night when you get married…

o Practice being a godly wife now. If you want a godly husband, you must become a godly wife.

o Write a list of standards for yourself and slowly work on them:

§ Proverbs 31-study and go over in your quiet time. Add to list.

§ Ephesians 5:23- Christ-husband-wife. (Lots of evidence and explanation that we don’t have time for tonight)

§ Ephesians 5:33- Respect your husband. Work on respecting others.

§ Collossians 3:18- wives submit to your husbands, practice submitting to parents and authority

§ 1 Peter 3:1-6- Respect, purity, reverence, inward beauty, gentle, quiet spirit, submissive, obedient.

§ 1 Peter 3:8-9- harmony, sympathetic, compassionate, humble, blessing

§ Proverbs 11:16- kindhearted

§ Proverbs 11:22- discretion (Freedom to act or judge wisely on your own)

§ Proverbs 12:4-noble character

§ Proverbs 21:19- don’t argue or quarrel

What if you are struggling? Being single is hard work sometimes…

- Wait

o Song of Songs

o How many of you have read it?

§ It’s basically the romance-novel of the Bible. Very intense.

§ King Solomon and his wife/fiancé.

§ It’s is a beautiful love story portraying the way a marriage should be.

o Chapter 2:3-7

§ A girl head over heals in love with her husband. “faint with love” and guess what her advice is to her single friends?

§ “Daughters Jerusalem, I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field: do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.”

§ Read Ch 3:5

· Again, do not awaken love until it so desires.

§ Read and memorize Ch 8:4

· Don’t chase, lead, etc. (Covered more later)

§ Pray for a love like this.

§ Be a wall not a door. (Read 8:8-9)

- Pray and Trust God

o Phil 4:6-Pray, leave it, and go on. Repeat as necessary.

o Proverbs 3:5-6- Trust him with all your heart and he will make your paths straight.

o He will bring the right guy at the right time, don’t rush it.

o Pray that he will take away your desire to date until the time is right.-I did.

o Pray for God to fill you up and keep you satisfied as a single person.

o Chill, relax. Breath, it’s okay. Romans 8:28—he’s working for the good of us who love him

o Philippians 4:12

§ The secret to happiness is learning to be content in any and every situation. This includes singleness.

§ Verse 13 says I can do all things through him who gives me strength. Pray about it.

God has a plan for your life. He knows when everything is going to happen. We girls spend entirely too much time worrying about stuff we have no control over.

Freedom comes in knowing everything will be okay, and trusting God to step in and take control rather than you.

Breathe this week. Exhale control, inhale freedom.