Are you a single lady that is looking forward to being married one day? Are you despising your single season and wishing it away? I understand where you are because I am also a single lady looking forward to being married one day soon and I am guilty of despising my single season too until the Lord showed me His way of being content in it. You are probably like me watching everyone else in your family or in your circle getting married or having their little family and wondering when it will be your turn. I have good news for you, it's okay if you are still single. You're probably thinking are you kidding me, how is that okay? I want my prince charming to arrive, I want to experience what married life is all about. I hear you, but God prepares us for marriage in our single season and to be honest, when you finally accept that it's okay to be single, you will find out that you will be content with it. Here's how.
God prepares us by learning different skills such as cooking, cleaning, managing money, keeping a budget and also serving your family. The Lord began showing me this a couple of years ago. Learning these skills will be very beneficial when you are married and you have more responsibilities than you did when you were single. Also there's a big one that I am learning right now, not to be so dependent upon your spouse for value and encouragement all the time. It's nice to receive compliments and encouragement, but you do not need it all the time from people. Go to God for your encouragement and value. You don't want to become a burden and your spouse has to take several minutes or hours to lift you up. I know that sounds harsh, but it's true that's why it's so important to have a relationship with God. He shows us in His word and in prayer who we are in Him and we do not have to constantly run to people all the time to make sure we know who we are. When we have a true relationship with God where we can come to Him and talk to Him about our needs, problems, and share everything with Him that's going on in our lives (good, bad, and the ugly) we become more dependent and confident in Him that we don't need man's approval. Why? We have God's approval and His approval trumps everyone else's. You will be more at peace, you will have more joy because you are leaning upon the One who created you and knows you better than yourself.
So don't despise your single season because you can draw closer to the Lord, work on different skills that are needed for marriage and the home. Also here's a tip if you can work with children whether that be babysitting or nursery and children's church, it will be beneficial when you have a family one day. I have worked at a school for almost eight years and I can tell you it's taught me a lot about children and also different age groups. I am with the little ones now and they are such a blessing to me! I love them so very much and I am thankful that the Lord opened the door so that I could work with children. God always prepares us for what He has in store for us in the future. Learning to make a home is such a blessing, Proverbs 14:1 says, "A wise woman builds her home." How can you build your home if you haven't been taught or had some type of training? You cannot, it won't work nor last. So praise God that you have the time to work on these skills because there will come a day when that will all change.
Good Morning!
I hope everyone has had a good week! Mine was very busy, we had two observations this week, graduation pictures, and it's that time of year when we are wrapping things up before Summer break! We have about a month and half to go, but it's going to fly by so fast! I have been praying the last couple of days about what to write for the next blog post. This morning I woke up and the words, "how do I serve the Lord as a single woman" kept coming to me. So for this morning's topic, we are going to learn how to serve God as a single lady. Before we jump into it, I hope you have your cup of coffee or tea with you, if not, go fix a cup and let's jump in!
As you know I am single woman right now and to be honest, I would feel embarrassed because most of the young women in my family are married and are starting their families. I would get upset and irritated at the fact that I am 30 years old now and I am still not married much less in a relationship. I would ask God, why am I still single? Why haven't I met the one that you have chosen for my yet? Does he even exist? Am I wrong for wanting to be married? These questions would roll in and out of my head every time I was asked, "Katherine, are you seeing anyone or are you in a relationship right now?" Oh it used to kill me, I would want to melt into the floor right where I stood. I will admit, it still gets to me every once in a while, but I have to remind myself that God is in charge of my life. When the time is right, He will make it happen because I can't or else I will mess it up so I have to rely upon Him. Needless to say, God began to show me the benefits of being patient in my single season. Do you want to know what they are? Okay let's dig in!
Here are the benefits of your single season; you have a lot of time to spend with God through prayer and reading His word. You have the time to focus on your relationship with God before you say I do. I didn't realize how important this was until the Lord spoke to my heart and said, "How can you have a relationship with your husband if you don't really take time to develop your relationship with Me?" God is the One who can satisfy your every desire not your husband. I used to have this idea that marriage is like a fairy tale and happily ever after. That's far from the truth, marriage is ministry and work and we need God's help in our marriages. First things first is to develop your relationship with God while you have the time because there will come a day when you won't have that precious time anymore and you might have regrets. God wants us prepared as we enter into marriage, that's why He has a timing for everything. A time to grow, a time to mature, a time for preparation, and then when He sees that everything is in proper order then that's when He leads on to the next step.
Benefit number two: you can practice loving and serving others. In marriage, you will be serving not only the Lord, but also your husband and eventually your children. I not only try to serve my family, but also 15 energetic 4 year old's that need constant attention. I look at it as this is the way God is preparing me not only for my husband, but also the children that God is going to give me. So practice serving others by helping them with the needs that they have such as praying for them, helping clean house, cook, being a good listener, etc. If you do not know how to serve others or what their needs may be, ask the Lord to reveal them to you and show how to help them.
Benefit number three: Brushing up on your cleaning or cooking skills. If you are single, this would be a good time to take advantage of learning how to clean windows, different rooms in the house, and cooking! I like to cook because you can come up with your own recipes and it gives me satisfaction that I served my family something tasty to eat! They let me know if something is too dry, chewy, or could use a bit more salt and give me lots of advice on how to perfect my cooking skills!
Benefit number four: Allowing God to work on us and to develop better habits such as self control, not letting bitterness to enter our heart, teaching us what to think, say, and act. Living a life that honors God. It's easier said than done I know, but He helps us to remove those not so good habits that we do not need in our lives or in our marriages. God is gracious enough to work on one thing at a time because He knows that we are human and to work on everything at once would be traumatic for us. He takes us one step at a time and I am thankful for that!
Benefit number five: Practicing being thankful in all circumstances and living a life of thanksgiving. You're probably thinking that is not a benefit. What if I told you yes it is and it's very important no matter what season you're in. So I will admit, it is easy to complain when everything isn't going your way and all you see is negative. God did not intend for us to live a negative life, I am learning we won't get anywhere with a bad attitude. That's what negative thinking is, it's an attitude and not a good one. Did you know that you can weary God and make Him tired with your words? The children of Israel proved that. Malachi chapter 2 verse 17 says, "You have wearied the Lord with your words." Wow, that's powerful, so my question are we honoring God with our words or are we wearing Him out by complaining and speaking things that are not honoring Him? How can we honor God with our words; by speaking His word, by speaking words that are uplifting, helpful, truthful, and encouraging. I know that's a lot, but it's so important to live a life that pleases Him and reflects Him and that includes our words.
Benefit number six: Living a healthy life. During your single season, you can really focus on making healthy food choices and exercising. You can still do this when you are married of course, but you will have to schedule it in. You can learn how to cook healthy meals for yourself and also others. Over the years, I have learned that I need a good amount of protein, a few carbs, and veggies! My stomach is very appreciative when I do this. I always know when I have eaten a meal that isn't good for me because my stomach will be bloated and I will feel irritable. I also stop eating when I am full not overly stuffed. I practice moderation such as if I want some cake, I will have it, but a small portion. If I want a cookie with my cup of tea, I will have either one or two depending on my hunger level and how close it is to the next meal time. Also I try to drink plenty of water and exercise my body at least 5 or 6 days of the week and have a rest day. Find an exercise that you like and look forward to every day. I like running because of the way it makes me feel. I have always enjoyed running even as a child. There's something liberating about a run to me! If you don't like a particular exercise then don't do it. There's nothing worse than doing an exercise you don't like and just pushing yourself through just because. Find something that you like and will stick to and find enjoyable. Take care of yourself through eating healthy meals and exercise and also rest. Your body will thank you!
In conclusion, being single isn't all that bad, as I have said, God gives us preparation time for the next step in our life. Some need more time than others, it all depends on what He thinks so enjoy this time while you have it because there will come a time when you won't have this time. Take the time to devote yourself to God, live a life that honors Him, and practice serving others. God will take notice and honor you. God knows what He is doing, He is never late and He is always on time! He has a great plan for our lives so let us enjoy our single season and bring honor to God! May God bless and keep you friends! Until next time!
Hello Friends!
I hope you are all doing well today! I have a new blog post for you today that was kind of spontaneous. Picture this, you wake up and it's Monday morning, go for a morning run, put breakfast together and you look around and you see little messes everywhere. So you start to clean here and there. Then you see something that's out of place so you put it where it belongs and all of a sudden you begin to feel overwhelmed by all the little messes. So what do you do when this starts to happen? I have some tips for you today that I believe might help you! Before we begin I hope you have your favorite coffee or tea with you! Today I am drinking a iced caramel latte today. Are you ready? Let's begin!
Okay so you are at the point where your blood is boiling and you are in between the moment of getting angry or wanting to cry right? I hear you, I felt like that this morning and that's when the Lord stopped me and said, "Take a deep breath, calm down, and do one area at a time." Genius right? I smiled and said, "Okay, Lord." So tip number one is starting on one area or room at a time. When you are focused on the one area, it doesn't seem so overwhelming. It makes cleaning a lot simpler and easier! Tip number two, when you start to feel overwhelmed by all the clutter, stop, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and ask God to help you with the little messes. He sees your every move and moment and He knows when you need help even in the most simplest things. You can also play some worship music in the background or classical to keep it interesting to get through the mundane tasks.
Well friends, I hope you enjoyed this blog post and I hope you found it helpful and encouraging! I pray that the Lord will help you with whatever tasks you need to tackle today. I pray that He gives you the peace, strength, and help to accomplish them. May the Lord bless you and keep you. Until next time!
*Images- Mine
Good Morning Friends!
I hope everyone is doing well this week! I have a new blog post for you today and we are going to discuss how to prepare for marriage when you are single. There are lots of tips, books, and information out there about how to prepare, but what does God say in His word about what we are supposed to be doing right now. God's word is filled with wisdom and what to do in this scenario and what to say, etc. Before we begin, I hope you have your cup of coffee or tea in hand, let's begin!
So how can we prepare for marriage? Well let's go over what marriage entails. Marriage is a lifelong commitment and also it's covenant. Marriage is sacred to God and should be to us. Marriage is selfless, which means you put your husband before yourself. You think of Him first before you think of you. Also if you want a marriage to last, you need to make sure your relationship is right with the Lord, you put Him first and foremost. You spend time with Him regularly everyday in prayer and studying your Bible. Remember, He is the one who will bring you and your husband together and He will keep both of you together if you keep God first in your life and marriage. Also take note that you and your husband are human which means you are both going to mess up or make the other person mad or angry from time to time.
You will have disagreements, but the best thing to do is not to assume that you are always right in a disagreement even if you know you are. This makes the situation worse so remember when you have a disagreement, please watch your words when you are angry. Words spoken in the heat of anger usually come back to bite and you can't take them back. Once they are spoken, the damage is done. Be kind to your husband, try not to say anything that you wouldn't want said to you. Over the years I have watched couples in my family or outside of my family talk about their marriages, some I have heard some wonderful things that have been said about their husbands and then others not so much. You often wondered if they even loved their husband.
When God brings your husband to you, remember that he is a gift from God and you read correctly, the words that I just wrote were, "When God brings your husband to you." You are not to be searching for a husband, yes mam, you heard me correctly. The Bible clearly states that, "The man who finds a wife finds a treasure and he receives favor from the Lord." Proverbs 18:22 A man pursues not the woman and before we go any further, don't think that every man that approaches you is the husband that God has chosen for you. The enemy knows that you are wanting marriage so he will send people your way and have you thinking that he is the one. Do not fall for this lie, I have been there, done that, and bought that t-shirt. The Lord was the one who revealed to me that He has chosen someone for me and He even told me his name and what he looks like. Do not underestimate what God can do for you, He is the King of kings, there is nothing too hard for Him.
Here are a few things to prepare for marriage: Number one, pray for your future husband. Every morning and sometimes throughout the day, I pray for mine. I ask God to help him in every area that He needs help in, to encourage him, to give him favor, and to bless and protect him. I also pray for his family because one day, they will be my family too, so I pray for their wellbeing, I ask God to bless and protect and help them in every way possible. I also ask God to help me to be a good wife to him, to develop a love and understanding for him. I also pray that God helps me to see past his flaws and see what God sees in him. As I have said before, you and your husband have flaws whether we admit or not. I know I have a lot of flaws, but God is still working on me, He will continue working on me till the day He calls me home. Maybe one of your flaws is you are not very organized or not a very good cook. It's okay, you can try to get better at those things during your preparation time for marriage.
Number two tip is you can prepare your heart for marriage by praying and studying scriptures that pertain to marriage. Take the scriptures concerning marriage and pray those scriptures over your life and yourself. God sees your heart and He knows that you want to be a good wife and He will help you. Also I find it interesting to watch a godly couple that you know very well such as a couple in your family. I like to watch how they interact with one another and also with other people. You can learn a lot by simply observing. If you don't know a godly couple, there's plenty in the Bible such as Ruth and Boaz, Mary and Joseph, Rebekah and Isaac, etc. We can learn from their experiences on how they treated one another.
Number three tip is be patient with yourself. You are not going to understand it all and be good at in one day or one week or even one month. Preparation takes time and over time with much practice, you will grow and understand the role of being a good, godly wife. Never be afraid or ashamed to ask God for help or ask other women in your family about tips for marriage. You might be surprised by their answers. You can even do a personal interview with that person and write down the questions and information they give you. God will give you the resources and wisdom you need to do what He is calling you to do!
So friends, I hope that this blog post has encouraged you and given you some insight into what marriage is about, I pray that God will help you during your preparation time. I know He is helping me in mine, it's not always easy to wait on your one and only to show up, but be assured that God will bring him when the time is right. Isaiah 60:22 says, "When the time is right, I the Lord will make it happen." So you need not worry about if it's going to happen or not, the Lord has given you a promise to hold onto and when the time is right, He will make it happen. Not you, but Him, when He does things, it is well done, there's no going back and tweaking this or that, everything falls into place when He is fulfills the promises. God bless you and keep you my friends. Until next time!
Good Morning Everyone!
I hope you are all doing well! I have a new blog post for you today and if you are like me, you have heard a lot about the virtuous woman or the famous Proverbs 31 woman pretty much all of your life, right? I know, I have heard sermon after sermon and teaching after teaching. Here's one thing I haven't heard, how do I become a virtuous woman, how do I use my God given gifts and talents to become a virtuous woman? We sometimes look at Chapter 31 in Proverbs and become intimidated by this wonderful lady that has so many skills and seems like super woman. We think to ourselves, I cannot do this or that or I'm not good at this or that. Little do we know that God has given us different gifts and talents to be used for His kingdom and guess what we are all different and it's completely okay! We were not created to be the same or to look alike or to be little clones, no, we are all different so that we can help one another for the kingdom of God. So the question for today is what is a virtuous woman and how can we become one? Keep reading to find out more! You may want to sip a cup of coffee or tea as we journey on to find out how to become the famous Proverbs 31 woman!
Let's begin with finding out what virtuous means. If we go back to the Hebrew meaning of the word virtuous, we find that it is the word chayil. Chayil means strength and it usually refers to a word used in the army. So a chayil woman means a strong woman. How in the world do we become strong? By going through and growing through trials and tribulations. All those times where it seems like the trial will never end or it seems like things are never going to get better. Also trials and tribulations teach us to be patient. I know not a word everyone wants to hear, but it's true. God never lets us know when a trail is going to start and end, He wants us to endure the hardship, to make the best of a tough situation even when we are gritting our teeth the whole time, even when we want to sit in the floor and ball our eyes out, even when we do not feel like smiling or being nice to anyone. Yes being patient can be very hard, but God watches our attitude during the waiting period. So for number one, a virtuous woman is strong and she learns how to be patient.
Number two, a virtuous woman is consistent with her conversations with people, she is consistent in her convictions and beliefs, and she is consistent with her life. She isn't swayed by other's opinions about everything and anything. People watch how she lives her life, they weigh every word she speaks out of her mouth. She is encourager, a prayer warrior, and she also knows that her value is found in God. God values her and it doesn't matter who agrees or disagrees with her or who likes her or doesn't like her, her value and worth is in God.
Number three, this goes along with the last few sentences that I just wrote, a virtuous woman has a rock solid relationship with God. She knows that her relationship with the Lord is the most important relationship she can have in her life. She seeks God's face continually, she reads and treasures God's word, she applies the word of God to her life, and she follows His footsteps. A woman who has a solid relationship with the Lord is immoveable. How can this be? The more she connects with God through prayer, through His word and praise and worship, she becomes unshakeable by the things of this world, by the opinions and false teachings of this world because the word of God resides in her heart. She isn't concerned about pleasing people, she is concerned about pleasing God, making Him Lord of her life.
Number four, she surrounds herself with people that encourage her, that are for her and not these people that really don't have anything for her. You know these kinds of people, the ones that are jealous of her, that will degrade her instead of uplift and encourage her. She knows that time is short and she needs to be wise with her time that is on this earth and to be wise about the company she keeps. If the company that she keeps is jealous of her God given gifts and talents, is constantly belittling her, then she doesn't need those kinds of people in her life, why? What purpose do they have in her life? They do not have any purpose except to downgrade her, the Bible says we are to encourage one another, to pray for one another, to help one another. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 So women of God, please be very careful about the kind of company you keep, whether you realize it or not, these kinds of people can hinder your walk with God and your destiny.
So friends, I pray that this blog post has encouraged you and blessed you today! There may be a part two coming soon to conclude this teaching of a virtuous woman, I will to pray and seek God about it first. I hope this has encouraged you to want to become a virtuous woman of God, to live a life that is pleasing unto the Lord. You can always go and talk to Him about it, He will help you with whatever you need help with and give you the resources that you need to become a virtuous woman. He loves you so very much and He wants to give you His best and He wants to make us all a better person for His kingdom. May God bless you and keep you. Until next time!
Good Morning Everyone!
I hope you are all having a good week! As you know, I have been pretty busy at work. I often forget how the first few weeks of starting back are hectic. I wanted to write a blog post today about your single season being a gift from God. Yesterday, I began studying Rebekah's life as a single woman and what I found out is encouraging for me and hopefully for you! If you would like to find out some key points about Rebekah's life, read on to find out more! I hope you have your cup of coffee or tea with you! Let's begin!
So in Rebekah's story, we see that she has a servant's heart which was one of things that Abraham's servant was looking for while finding a wife for Isaac. The servant prayed, Lord, if this is the girl for Isaac, let her bring me a cup of water. Well she not only brought him a cup of water, but water for his ten camels. She was a young woman of purity, physically and mentally. She also cared for her family and helped out at home. She was energetic, hard worker and it showed. The camels that he brought had been on a long journey so she was running back and forth to the well getting water for the camels. When she had finally finished watering the camels, the servant asked her who she belonged to. She told him who she was living with and she offered him a place to stay. Wow, God was answering this servant's prayer right and left! You can read the story in Genesis chapter 24.
So let's focus in on the key points in Rebekah's life. She was pure, she stayed busy, she showed hospitality to the servant and his camels. She also had the time to devote her time to God. In 1 Cor. 7:7-8, Paul says, "I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that. Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried as I do." Now when I used to read this scripture a few years ago, I didn't know that I was misinterpreting it. I thought that it was good for a woman to stay single because maybe God wanted me to be single for the rest of my life. I had missed a key word in this verse and that word is gift. The Lord has been teaching me about the different seasons that we go through in our walk and one of the seasons that I have been in for a long time has been my single season. I used to look at it as a bad thing or I would think something is wrong with me. I learned yesterday that being single is a gift from God. We all have been giving different gifts from the Lord such as being single for a season or being married or you may be raising a family.
God showed me to keep living my life and serve Him with all my heart as a single because there is coming a day when this will all change. Now, in my heart I do long for marriage, but I want to make sure that it's the guy that God has chosen for me. God wants us to see our singleness as gift from Him to serve Him. We do not have too many responsibilities right now and we can take advantage of the time He has given us. A married woman has a husband that she has to devote her attention to and if she has children, she has to devote attention to them as well. Now does this mean, she doesn't have or make time for God? No, she just has more responsibilities than a single person. So how can we devote more time to God? That's a great question! I can give you my schedule as an example. I work 5 days a week with 20 four year old children from 7:30 in the morning to 3:30 in the afternoon. I wake up at 5:00 in the morning to read my Bible and pray. This prepares my heart for the day because you never know what you will face on the job as soon as you walk in. My lunch is from 1:00 to 1:30 in the afternoon and I have been taking a book with me to study and enjoy some quiet time with the Lord.
Friends, I cannot tell you how much I enjoy my quiet times with the Lord, I do not take them for granted whatsoever! When you have been listening to crying and whining all day long from little ones who do not want to clean up or take a nap, trust me, you will enjoy some quiet too! When I get home, the first thing that I do is take a shower. I feel so much better after taking a shower after a long day. Then I will take care of the necessary things such as picking out an outfit for the next day and packing my lunch. Also taking care of the dog and whoever else needs help with something. Once I finish all the necessary things, I will make a cup of tea and come to my room and put on some worship music. This helps me relax and let go of the things that I do not need in my heart. I will pull out my Bible or the book that I am currently reading and begin studying. I will also take time to pray and ask the Lord to get rid of anything that doesn't belong in my heart and spirit.
So friends, with that being said, I hope this encourages you to see your singleness as a gift and not a burden. I pray that you begin asking the Lord how you can use your time for serving Him. Maybe He wants you to study more of His word or communicate with Him more often or maybe help someone who needs an encouraging word. There are many ways we can use our single season to serve God. (I may write another post about the different ways we can serve God while being single.) May God bless you and keep you! Until next time!
No comments:
Post a Comment