Last week I emailed those who are a part of the Joy Because Grace Newsletter and asked them if they’re thankful for being single. Their responses completely blew me away! I’m learning so much from them, and I hope you do too! :) Over the next few days and weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, you’ll be seeing several of these “Why I’m Thankful for Singleness” posts. I hope they inspire you to sit and think about if you’re thankful for… Read more »

Confession: I’ve been single my whole life. Yup, you read that right. All of it. 20 years. No first date. No first time holding a guy’s hand. Nada. And it’s been really hard. I’ve wondered if maybe something’s wrong with me or if I’m not pretty enough or if maybe God just wants me to be single forever. Feelings of unworthiness would flood my heart and my mind, taunting me, causing me to doubt God’s love… I couldn’t hear God… Read more »

Is it just me, or does singleness often get a bad reputation? Generally, people tend to think negatively about being single, like it’s just a season to wait around until something better comes along and life can really start. We often ignore the beautiful and happy aspects of singleness. Today, however, this will not be the case. Around Valentine’s Day, I asked my fellow singles* (on the Peony Project and via my personal Facebook page) to fill out a brief anonymous survey… Read more »

So Valentine’s Day was last month, in case you were unaware ;) And the day before Valentine’s day I spontaneously decided that I wanted to decorate my apartment for Valentine’s and surprise my roommates. So I made a quick Walmart run. And oh my goodness, let me tell you that Walmart on Valentine’s Eve is one of the cheeriest places ever. There were roses lined up and down the isles and red heart shaped balloons in the air. *Sighs.* The… Read more »

There are many myths about being single. Most of them are negative in nature. And if you’ve been single for a while (or for your whole life like me) it can be difficult to catch these lies and replace them with the truth. The enemy wants to discourage us. He wants us to doubt God and His goodness. He wants us to become experts in throwing ourselves pity parties. Because while we’re focused on ourselves and the “horrors” of singleness,… Read more »

“I surrender all. I surrender all. All to Thee my blessed Savior, I surrender all.” I’ve grown up hearing that hymn. I’ve also heard numerous sermons over the years which ask the question, “Do you really surrender all? Or do you only surrender most?” And the preachers challenge us to only sing those words if we really mean them. Being the literalist that I am, after hearing those sermons I would typically just hum. “Hmm hmm hmm hm hmmm. Hmm… Read more »

 The following is a guest post by Rachel of Chasing Chels It seems as though Valentine’s Day has always resonated as an anticipated holiday for couples and a depressing one for singles. I’ll be the first to admit that nope, it’s not much fun to spend Valentine’s Day alone. “But hey,” everyone consoles you, “God’s just saving you for the right person.” They give you the sympathetic smile, the familiar head tilt, the comforting eyes. The statement is most certainly… Read more »

A few weeks ago, a cheerful third grade girl plopped down by me on the pew before church started. I smiled. During the summer, this girl would often ask her parents if she could sit by me during church, and I’d missed visiting with her every Sunday. We chit chatted for a while, and I asked her how school was going and how her Thanksgiving break was. Then the topic of Christmas came up and she said she was really… Read more »