No Faith in the Dog

Earlier this week, I took our dog, Scooter, out to do his business. It was a blustery, cold day and I stood shivering while he took his time sniffing around finding the perfect location to do what needed to be done. When he finally finished, we both hurried back to the house. To my surprise, the door had not latched behind me and now stood wide open because of the wind. Normally, the loss of heat in the house would have been my only concern. Unfortunately, this day I was more worried that my son's two cats, who were temporarily living with us, had gotten out. As I entered through the doorway, I stopped Link from slipping out, but where was Jasper? Shutting the door behind me, I began searching as I continually called his name. He had to be in the house somewhere. Surely, I would have noticed if he'd slipped out. I couldn't find him on the first floor, so I ran up the stairs. When he wasn't there either, I hurried to the basement. No Jasper anywhere.

As I stood in the kitchen perplexed and frustrated, I saw Scooter standing next to me. He'd enjoyed following me throughout the house and probably wondered what I planned to do next. I said, "Scooter, where's Jasper? Help me find him. Let's go find Jasper?" 

To my surprise, he walked toward the staircase and ran up, looking back to see if I was coming. So I followed him. I didn't have much faith in his tracking ability, but since I'd had no success in finding Jasper, I was willing to see where he'd lead me. He stopped in front of the guest bathroom. My hearted leap when I saw a cat come out, but it was only Link again. I said, "No, Scooter. That's Link. Where's Jasper?" He looked at me, then looked back at the bathroom. I looked into the room again, but saw only a clean bathroom with the shower curtain completely closed. What were the chances that Jasper had jumped behind the shower curtain without pushing them aside a bit? Well, it was worth a try. He wasn't anywhere else that I had searched. I pulled the shower curtain back and there was Jasper staring at me. I scooped him into my arms and head him close. I hadn't lost him after all. I told Scooter, "You're such a good dog!" 

Later, as I told my son what had happened, he reminded me of the time we had lost my parent's cat, Mitzi, outside. She was declawed, so we were anxious to find her. We had searched and called for her for quite some time before our son decided to take Scooter outside and see if he could find her. Scooter immediately ran to the big garden out back and looked at my son. After searching a bit, my son decided Scooter wasn't a good hunting dog and continued searching elsewhere. About an hour later we found the cat exactly where Scooter had led us in the first place---in the garden, hiding under some big pumpkin leaves.  

I told my son, neither of us seem to have much faith in Scooter's ability to hunt. Our lack of faith in him didn't mean he didn't know what he was doing. 

How often does my lack of faith in God keep me from finding answers. I pray, but do I really expect God to respond? Am I relying more on my own understanding and trusting my own wisdom? It's not enough to pray. I need to be watchful for God's direction and listen for His answer. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."

Sometimes His answers are found in reading the Bible and a verse just seems to pop out at you. Other times, he places a thought in your head that you know you wouldn't have thought on your own. The answer can also come as you're sitting in church listening to the message. You may wonder if the preacher is able to read minds because he's answering your unspoken question through his preaching. There are many ways God speaks, but we need to keep our eyes on Him, trusting He will answer. If he doesn't answer right away, ask again. I wonder if the answer is sometimes delayed because it keeps us communicating with God. If He answers too quickly and all is well, we might forget to spend time with Him. God wants to have fellowship with us, so ask again. And when He answers, begin to praise Him and don't stop talking to Him. God loves for us to spend time with Him every day.

"Then Jesus said, 'Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.'" (Mark 4:9)

God's Patience, My Opportunity

Mary's heart was so full of gratitude that she took an expensive perfume and poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped His feet with her hair. One of the disciples of Jesus protested. The Bible says, "Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray Jesus, objected, 'Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor?' It was worth a year's wages." (John 12:4-5) The Bible goes on to say in verse 6, "He did not say this because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it." Jesus was well aware of what Judas was doing, so why did He allow Judas to continue to be a disciple and even take care of the money bag? It sounds to me like Jesus is extremely patient with us, giving us every opportunity to repent from our sins and turn to Him.

When people seem to get away with disobedience, it's not a sign of God's approval of wrong behaviour; it's more than likely proof of His love and patience. But without repentance, God's patience will do you no good. Judas continued in the path he was on and didn't repent. In spite of the love Jesus showed him and the patience He had toward him, it did him no good. Judas continued in the path he was on and refused to change. Finally, he betrayed the One who cared for him the most. In the same way, if we continue to disobey God's Word and refuse to turn to Him and ask Him to change us, it will eventually lead to our destruction as well.

Be careful when you see your Christian friends do something you know is wrong and yet they seem to go unpunished by God. This is NOT proof of God's tolerance of sin. Do not follow the path they are on. If you want to have everlasting life with Jesus, you must get your guidance from God's Word, the Bible. Stop looking at your friends to see what you can get away with. Instead, saturate your mind with God's Word and live according to His will for you. Obedience to God's Word does not take away your freedom; it gives you freedom from sin. Sin binds you and holds you trapped. Jesus said, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." Don't allow God's patience to be wasted on you. He's giving you every opportunity to come to Him so you can experience His peace and joy in this life, and eternity with Him when this life is over.

That’s a Lot of Work!

The book held me spellbound. I could hardly wait to get to the next chapter to see what would happen. As I laid the book down, I thought, “I sure would love to write like that.” But when I thought about the hours and hours of study, writing, and rewriting that would go into such a project, I wasn’t so sure how much I really wished for such a success. That’s a lot of work!

When we see a truly lovely Christian, one who is filled with the joy of the Lord, who is filled with the Spirit, we often long to be that way, too. But are we willing to invest that much time with God, the study of His Word, and praying without ceasing, or do we just want it to fall into our laps without any effort on our part. Well, that’s just not going to happen. Psalm 34:4 says, “I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.” What does it mean to seek Him? When I played hide-and-go-seek as a child, I kept looking and searching until I found what I was looking for. Unfortunately, when it comes to spiritual matters, we want to say a quick little prayer when we feel like it, without taking the time to seek Him, and then we want to reap huge blessings. You can pray short little prayers for help and, God, in His great mercy, may even answer you. But to truly live a victorious, Spirit-filled life, full of abundant blessings, you must seek Him always and never stop. Because even when you have found what you are looking for in God, there is so much more to still be found. The searching will last a lifetime.

It is the same with children who grow up in a peaceful, loving environment and they see the loving relationship between their parents. They may think, “I can’t wait to get married and have the kind of marriage my parents have.” They may be under the false assumption that it will just fall into their laps. However, unless they seek God for guidance the way their parents did and unless they work at making their marriage successful by following Godly principles just as their parents did, they will be sadly disappointed. Happily-married couples have worked toward not being rude, self-seeking, or easily angered. They try not to keep a record of wrongs. Unfortunately, this is so contrary to what society expects a happy marriage to be. They love the sweet words, the cuddles and kisses, the secret looks between lovers, but are not willing to make the sacrifice of giving up their selfish nature and following God’s principles for love in 1 Corinthians 13 in order to maintain such a love.

To have a truly blessed life, we must be willing to invest all of our time and energy to draw close to God. It is only the life truly surrendered to Him that will know the deep satisfaction and contentment of serving Him and being blessed by Him. Jesus said in John 7:37 “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.” We do not need to remain thirsty. Jesus promised to quench our thirst, but we must make the effort to come to Him and drink.

Tags: Women, Religion, Devotional, Marriage

Obedience Brings Joy

Do you remember the old sitcom, "All in the Family?" When annoyed about something or someone, Archie Bunker would look up at the ceiling and blame God for his trials. Everyone would laugh about it, but not my mother. She felt  Archie was using God's name in vain and making a mockery of her faith. Needless to say, she didn't allow us to watch show either.

Some people may snicker and say my mother was oversensitive, but if God's Spirit within her was grieved by this program, she did the right thing by turning it off. It didn't matter that other Christians watched the show, laughed about the comedy, and talked about it with each other. I don't remember hearing my mother judging others for not sharing her views. She just simply obeyed what she felt God wanted her to do.

Interestingly enough, my mother's measure of right and wrong and of the application of God's Word has in many ways become my measure too. Unfortunately, there have been times in my life when I chose to ignore my conscience and did what I wanted to instead. However, that was always followed by a lack of the sense of God's nearness. I hated the feeling of knowing I had grieved God's Spirit within me. Disobedience to the nudging of the Holy Spirit is just not worth it. It drains your life of joy and leaves you feeling empty.

"You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy." Psalm 45:7

Tags: Women, Archie Bunker, Devotional, Christianity

Can You Hear Me Now?

You may remember the old telephone commercial where the guy is trying to call someone on his cell phone, but has difficulty being heard. He keeps moving from place to place and, with each change of location he asks, "Can you hear me now?"

Prayer can seem like that too. You pray and you ask, but seem to get no answer and you wonder if you're even being heard. You fast and make promises, but nothing changes. I've heard it said that when you get no answer to your prayers, God may be saying "no" or "wait." This is true, but not always. The bible also tells us that God expects us to obey Him so our prayers can be heard. "The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous." (Proverbs 15:29). 1 Peter 4:7 says, "The end of all things is near. Therefore, be clear-minded and self-controlled so that you can pray." In James 3:16 we read, "Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." The bible has so much to say about being in right relationship with God so our prayers can be heard. Let me just give you one more example of hindered prayer. When husbands and wives do not live together in peace, this too can hinder prayers from being heard. Look at 1 Peter 3:1-7. Peter explains how a woman and man should treat each other, and ends verse 7 with "so that nothing will hinder your prayers."

When you refuse to live a life of obedience to God and you refuse to repent from your sins, you may actually be leaving your children and loved ones unprotected. According to the above verses, it sounds to me like God will not hear your prayers, so if you are praying for your family members while living in disobedience, you are actually not being heard. This thought alone should drive you to your knees.

Let's determine to confess our sins and live lives completely surrendered to God. Tell Him how weak you are, but that you want Him to change you. I promise you that He will hear you when you pray this kind of prayer. Imagine how wonderful this year will be if God will hear our prayers for our children and other family members, our unsaved loved ones, our church, our community, our government, and the world. Do not allow your prayers to be hindered any longer.

Tags: Women, Prayer, Devotional, Christianity

I Just Cleaned the House!

You’ve been working hard all day. Not only did you have errands to run, but you cleaned your house and started your family’s favorite meal. As you look around, you feel really good with how it all looks and what you have accomplished. Then your kids come home from school and they shout, "What’s there to eat?" They drop their jackets on the floor and kick off their shoes. They drop their backpacks and head for the kitchen. You say, "Stop right there! Hang your jacket up and move your shoes out of the way so no one trips." "Take your backpack upstairs."

Once you get upstairs, you see that their school clothes are laying on the floor and the books are spilling out of their backpacks, so you tell them to straighten up their rooms. When it’s time for dinner, you ask them to come downstairs and you hear them answer, "Just a minute!" Five minutes later, you are still waiting. Finally, they come downstairs. After you eat, you tell them to take their plates to the sink. You are trying so hard to keep your house from looking like you never cleaned it. On and on it goes until bedtime; you keep having to tell your kids what to do. "Go wash our hands." "Don’t fight." "Stop picking on your sister." "Brush your teeth." "Take the dog out." "Go to bed." "Don’t forget to pray."

As you lay your head on your pillow waiting to fall asleep, you think back on your day. You realized that you have been scolding or reprimanding your children since they came home from school. In your mind’s eye, you again see each of their faces and your heart fills with love for your children. You wish you had taken the time to tell them how special they are to you. Do they realize how much you love their smiles and even their pouts? Do they know how funny you think they are and how much they fill your life with laughter? Do they know the gifts and talents you see developing in their lives? Of course, they will never know any of this unless you tell them.

Parents are under a lot of pressure with work, school activities, church activities, housework, yard work, etc., that it’s easy to forget the little things, like telling your children what you find special about them. Yet it’s these "little things" that will become "big things" in their lives in the future. They will want to live up to how you perceived them to be. Point out their weaknesses when absolutely necessary and don’t make a big deal about it. But when pointing out their strengths, tell them over and over again, and make a big deal about it. When children know that their parents like them, appreciate them, and enjoy them, it will help them to become emotionally healthy adults.

"Love is patient, love is kind...it is not easily angered, it does not keep a record of wrongs." 1 Cor. 13:4-6

Tags: Women, Families, Devotional, Children

Jonah, The Reluctant Prophet

"True spirituality is not in hearing from God, but in doing what He says. Jonah was discerning enough to know that he heard from God, but not discerning enough to obey." - Curt Dalaba

Tags: Quote, Jonah, Obey, Christianity

Tired for God

I enjoyed two weeks of vacation this summer. During those two weeks, I didn’t have to plan meals, work at my job, do housework, go to appointments, etc. I had a blissful two weeks that gave me a break from my normal routine. When the two weeks ended, I found myself back at my job, working on my computer, and having flashbacks of the various places we visited. I wished I were still there. Then I came across the Bible verse in Luke 9:23 “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” As I meditated on this verse, I realized how much the people around me benefit by the things I do. Rather than just seeing my routine as work and duty, I began to see it as a way to bless others. In addition, how much of the work others are involved in benefits me? Each of us has a cross to pick up and carry daily for the good of others and the Kingdom of God. Am I carrying my cross?

God spoke through the prophet Isaiah to the children of Israel and said, “Yet you have not called upon me, O Judah, you have not wearied yourselves for me, O Israel.” (Isaiah 43:22 NIV) The next time you feel like groaning about a particular job or task you have to do, start to think about the people who will benefit from it. Think about how much joy you will give them or how much easier their lives will be because you are doing your part. At the end of the day, may we be weary from the work we did to benefit others and not just ourselves. Remember what’s written in Matthew 25:40 “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

Tags: Women, Religion, Devotional, Christianity

"What Does It Mean to Fall in Love With God?

A young teenage girl wrote to me recently and asked, "What exactly does it mean to fall in love with God? Do you get a tingly feeling like you would when you fall in love with a guy?" I was impressed with her question. While many young girls her age are more interested in fashion and being a part of the "in" crowd, this young girl wanted a better understanding of her relationship with God. Following is what I answered her:

I suppose people react differently when they fall in love depending on their personalities. Some may cry when they're told they are loved. Others feel a deep certainty that there will never be anyone as special as this person, while others giggle and become effusive with joy. There are all sorts of emotions. However, falling in love must go hand-in-hand with commitment. You can love someone emotionally and then fall out of love with them emotionally on a trying day or week or year. Emotions come and go. Commitment is forever. You choose to stay in love. You choose to be faithful. You choose to look for ways to keep falling in love with this person again and again. That's what true love.

It's similar with God. There are times when I'm so emotionally in love with God that I just weep. Other times I'm overwhelmed by His love for me and I find myself joyfully laughing. Yet most of the time I just feel a deep contentment in knowing that He is with me. I feel secure in His love. But I must also be committed to love Him. There are times in our lives when we are distracted by life and we may even begin to question our faith. It's those times we must decide to stay committed and faithful no matter what we feel at the moment. Feelings can be wonderful. Emotions can be great. But feelings and emotions are changeable. We must be committed and faithful to God no matter what we feel at the moment.

Tags: Women, Religion, Teenagers, Christianity

A Really Difficult Morning

This mornining started out like any other morning for my daughter. She got up and got herself ready for her classes at MSU. Everything moved along as it normally does, until she walked out of the door of the house. That's when her morning changed from routine to the unexpected.

She realized we had frost in the night and her car needed cleaning. She tried to open the trunk of her car for the ice scraper, but the trunk was frozen shut. So she ran to the house and asked if we had an ice scraper. After checking in my husband's car and not finding one, I ran upstairs and asked my husband if he knew where it was. He did and we found it. At this point, Amanda was running late.

She finally got her car clean enough to drive and took off. After a 15-minute commute, she parked the car in the commuter lot and was running towards the bus that would take her to the building where her class was, when it took off. She felt certain the bus driver had seen her running, but took off anyway. The next bus wouldn't be there for another ten minutes, which would really make her late for class, so she got back in the car and began driving to the meter parking ramp. As she got closer to the ramp, she got behind a bus that was moving at a snail's pace. There was such heavy traffic that she couldn't get around the bus. At this point, she called me to tell me she can't believe how bad her morning has gone. No sooner did she tell me that when her trunk that wouldn't open at home suddenly popped open in the middle of traffic.

What else could possibly go wrong?! I suggested she look for a place to move over and put the trunk down again. Amanda said, "I can't! I'm in the middle of traffic and there is no place to pull over." She kept crawling along in traffic with an open trunk, feeling like every eye was watching her. This is one of those moments when you wish the earth would open up and just swallow you (or perhaps a good time for the rapture). As she kept moving along at a snail's pace, someone who must have assessed Amanda's predicament correctly walked behind her car and put her trunk down. She had no idea who this person was, be it angel or human; she was just so glad they had reached out their hand to help her. By the time she got in front of the parking ramp, Amanda was so late for class that she felt too embarrassed show up.

Have you ever complained about the routine of your life? Everything is the same day in and day out. Well, after the morning Amanda had, I imagine she is longing for a routine morning tomorrow.

Tags: Difficulties, College, Routine, Christianity

Can You See Him in the Crowd?

When I first fell in love with Curt, I loved to think about him all the time. I wondered if the next phone call would be from him. When we had a date planned, I spent much time deciding what I would wear. When I walked into a crowded room where I knew he would be, I searched through the crowd until my eyes fell on him. Everyone else was a blur; my eyes were searching for the one I loved most.

Are you really in love with God? This world is so crowded with things that would distract us from God, but are you searching for Him in the midst of the crowd? The tendency of our flesh is to do the opposite. Instead of the world being a blur to us until we lay our eyes on Jesus, in actuality God is a blur to us because there are so many other things to take our minds off of Him. God knows how vulnerable we are. God knows that most of the world does not follow Him, so most of the influence around us tends to distract us away from Him. No wonder God inspired the Apostle Paul to write to the church "pray continually" (1 Thes. 5:17). That means we should always be talking to God and making Him a part of our entire day, i.e. while your driving or working or shopping, etc. When other thoughts want to distract you, turn your thoughts back on Jesus. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." (Mat. 22:37)

Love doesn’t stay strong on it’s own. It needs to be nurtured. You must nurture the love you have for God or the flame will die down and eventually be extinguished completely. God’s love for you will never die, but His love means nothing to you unless you love Him too. If I loved Curt, but he didn’t love me, our marriage would fall apart. We could still share a house, but there would not be a real marriage. In the same way, you can still attend church, but only you and God know if you are really in love with Him or if the love is just one-sided. "Come near to God and He will come near to you." (James 4:8)

Tags: Women, Religion, Devotional, Christianity

I'm an Alien

I’m sure many of you know what it’s like to have to start at a new school. It’s especially scary when you can’t even understand what people are saying. My family had immigrated to this country in April, 1969. By September, I understood some English, but I still had a lot to learn. I'll never forget my 2nd grade teacher that year, Mrs. Dix. She took me on as her special project. While the rest of the class worked on an assignment, she put her arms around my shoulders and led me to the back of the class and taught me how to read English. She never allowed me to feel inferior to the rest of the class. When I had read through my first book of "Dick and Jane," she had me stand and read a portion of the book to the class. As I finished reading the last line, the entire class of about 25 students stood and gave me a standing ovation. I smiled at my classmates and my heart just about burst with joy, not so much because of my accomplishment, but because I felt like I belonged.

When I'm around nonbelievers or when I watch T.V., it doesn’t take long before I feel like I’m a foreigner in this world. Their views about life are contrary to God’s Word. The Bible says, "If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you." (John 15:19)

Christians are citizens of God’s Kingdom (Eph. 2:19) and not the kingdom of this World. I’m most at home when I fellowship with other believers and worship God with them or when I enter my prayer closet to spend time alone with God. Like Mrs. Dix, the Holy Spirit wraps His arms around me and leads me to the altar for some one-on-one time with Him. I’m God’s special project that He’s working on. Yes, we have to remain foreigners in this World until God comes to take us home. But spending time alone with God and fellowshipping with other believers gives us a place where we belong. Jesus said, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

Tags: Women, Religion, Devotional, Christianity, Foreigners

Healing Is A Gift

I absolutely believe that Jesus still heals today. Yet I am still waiting for my healing. I have tried all sorts of things, i.e. fasting, fervently praying, pleading, demanding. Maybe if I say it just right, in a way that might please God, He will heal me. I prayed in the midst of the worse of this ailment and I have prayed when I was feeling really well. Yet, I am still waiting.

In the middle of my devotions one day, a verse popped out at me that finally set me free of this desperation I felt to find the right words that would induce God to heal me. In Acts 3:16 I read, "By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through Him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see." I finally understood that I cannot create this faith to grow in me by saying just the right words or speaking loud enough or whatever. Faith comes from God. I just need to ask and keep seeking Him.

The Bible clearly states in 1 Corithians 12 that healing is a gift. Jesus said in Matthew 7, "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" Therefore, I have determined to keep asking of my Father in heaven for complete healing. He also told us, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." He said "everyone." That means you and me too.

If you need healing, don't become discouraged. Keep seeking your Father. Don't look at others who have not been healed. Their testimony is not your Bible. Look in the Word of God and allow God to build faith in you for your healing. Romans 10:17 says, "Consequently, faith comes by hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ." Go to a Bible-believing and Bible-preaching church and get saturated in the Word of God. Read your Bible at home and spend time getting to know God. This is a walk of faith that God has taken us on. Submit to Him and let him build faith in your life. When your healing comes, shout it from the roof top. Let eveyone know what a great and mighty God we serve.

Tags: Women, Religion, Devotional, Christianity, Healing

What?! No Boyfriend?

Teenage girls are under such pressure to have a boyfriend. They are made to feel that they have not achieved success until they have a boyfriend. When my daughter was 12 or 13 years old, an adult asked me if my daughter has a boyfriend yet. Why in the world does a 12 or 13 year old need a boyfriend? Does it make her more beautiful if she has a boyfriend? Is she more talented or a better student if she has a boyfriend? Of course not. What is this terrible pressure that society puts on teenage girls?!

Being a teenage girl can be a wonderful time in a girl's life. It's her chance to connect with other girls and develop close friendships. It's a time for her to develop her talents and read books she won't have time to read when she's older. This is her time to laugh and giggle and socialize with all her girlfriends. She should have a pajama party with her friends and she should go shopping with her them and try on clothes she would never dream of buying. She should try skiing or snowboarding with her girlfriends. She should refuse to allow the pressure of having to have a boyfriend rob her of this time of building friendships with girls.

One of the funnest weekends I had as a single girl was when a bunch of us rented a room for a weekend at the beach. There were about four or five of my closest girlfriends. We were all in our early twenties. None of us had a boyfriend at that time. A couple of us had just broken up with a boyfriend. The others just could not find the right guy. However, we decided that we would forget about guys for one weekend and have fun just being girls. We rented this room at the beach, we went out to a fancy restaurant, we got tan in the sun, and we had a great time simply being together.

These times with our girlfriends won't last forever. Not much after this weekend, one by one we all had a boyfriend and are now all married. I never see most of these girls anymore. If we had moped around the house because we didn't have a boyfriend, we would have missed out on such a great weekend together.

If you are single and without a boyfriend, please don't allow others to put needless pressure on you. Just keep praying and asking God to bring that right man into your life. But while you are waiting for that to happen, don't put your life on hold. Take a vacation with one of your girlfriends. Go to Disney with a bunch of girls. Go skiing in the Rocky Mountains with your girlfriends. Go eat at a fancy restaurant. Get a new hairdo and makeover, but take a girlfriend with you and enjoy the experience together. Pay off your college and even buy a house. Remember, if you can be a happy single person, then you will be a happy married person. If you are a grumpy and depressed single person, you will most likely be a grumpy and depressed married person.

"...I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances." Philippians 4:11

Tags: Women, Religion, Parenting, Christianity, Boyfriends, Teenagers, Singles