Surviving Singleness: One Weekend at a Time

By Haley Hausman and Marlie Sawyer Motta

Is it possible to survive life as a single Christian woman in todays society? Is there more to life than waiting for the "right" guy to show up at my doorstep?

The answer to these questions is YES! It is possible to survive in todays culture as a single Christian woman. There is more to life than just waiting for the right guy to come along! This weekend devotional is designed to help you with the answers to these questions and more!

Whether you find yourself just trying to make it through another weekend alone at home or look forward to alone time on the weekends after a busy week, this book is for you! Each Friday, Saturday and Sunday you can have the opportunity to read a devotional that aims at helping you grow in your walk with Christ while living the single life. You can cry and laugh with us as we share our experiences as single Christian women in these devotions each weekend for a year.

This devotional book also contains a bonus 40 Dates with Jesus section. These 40 extra devotionals are designed to help you grow even deeper in your relationship with Jesus Christ.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Dec 2, 2010
• ISBN: 9781456806552

Book preview

Friday 1

Trust in the Lord

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV

Sometimes events happen in our lives that cause us to have to trust in Lord, and we have to wait for Him to show us His best for us. There have been times in my life when I thought I had what I thought would be the right job for me or the right relationship for me. It turned out what I thought was right for me really wasn’t right. God had something else in mind. At the time, it hurt to have what I thought was right yanked out from under my feet. In some ways, I was disappointed. I thought I had found the dream job or a wonderful relationship. It upset me to have to start from scratch. Now, looking back on these situations, I am thankful that God had a better plan. Only God truly knows what is right for me. I have to lean on Him and trust Him for His best.

Prayer:

Lord, help me to trust You. Don’t let me turn to the right or to the left, but to simply follow the path You have for my life. Thank You, Lord, for loving me. Amen.

Thought for the Day:

Who is directing your steps, you or the Lord?

~HH~

Saturday 1

I’m Not in Charge?

Who could confront me and get by with it? I’m in charge of all of this—I run the universe!

Job 41:11 The Message

I feel like I need a daily reminder that God runs the universe, and it is not all up to me! I am your typical girl who loves everything to be planned and organized. There is nothing wrong with a little planning, is there? There is nothing wrong with details being made months in advance unless your fiancé likes to make plans when your date begins! My fiancé laughed at me the other day when I asked him where he wanted to eat on a date three months from now. He laughed some more when I was upset that the restaurant wouldn’t take our reservations this early. I like to control my little part of the universe by planning every single detail. I get overwhelmed very easily. I am trying to plan every detail of my life from now until my wedding date only three months away. How hard can planning for 90 days be? Well, let me tell you it is too much planning for me. I am taking it one day at a time, and thank goodness my mother is doing 95% percent of the work. She is working, and I am worrying. It doesn’t seem like an even trade. I really have no idea how God can possibly run the entire universe for centuries, and I can’t even keep it together for three months. I need to remember that God is God, and even though He is running the universe, He still has time for my problems no matter how insignificant they may seem to me.

Prayer:

Lord, help me let You do all the planning and organizing in my life. You do a much better job than I can ever do. Thank You for running the universe and my life.

Thought for the Day:

Since God is running the universe, why not to let Him run your life?

~MM~

Sunday 1

Planning is My Specialty

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

I am a major planner. I like to know who, what, when, and where when it comes to my calendar. As much as I like to plan though, things don’t always go as I would want them to or when I want them to happen.

If we could travel back to when I was in high school and you could ask me my life goals, my answers would be something like this: I planned on going to college at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, to become a pediatrician. I planned on getting married shortly after college, and then I wanted to start having a family around the time I turned twenty-five.

Well, I can confidently tell you today that none of these things happened the way I planned. Instead, I had to learn (sometimes the hard way) to surrender to God’s plan for my life. I had to put my own desires aside and listen to what God had in mind for me.

God had a much bigger and better plan for my life than I could ever ask for or imagine. He can see the whole big picture of our lives while we with our human eyes can only see the glimpses of the future. His plan was different from my plan, but He knows what is best. His plan has made me who I am today.

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for knowing me better than I know myself. Help me to be obedient to the things You have called me to do. Lord, direct my paths. Help me to let go of my own plans and surrender to Your plan for my life.

Thought for the Day:

Write in your journal about a time when God’s plan turned out better than your plan.

~HH~

Friday 2

Foolishness & Strength

For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

1 Corinthians 1: 25 NIV

Sometimes, as humans, we think we know everything. As teens, we often think we are invincible. We think we have all the answers. We sometimes ignore advice from parents or others. We think we know what is best for us. We get wise in our own eyes.

The reality is we don’t really know everything. When it comes to making decisions, it is best for us to seek advice from others. God is our great Counselor. He can help us with all of life’s major and minor decisions.

Prayer:

Lord, help me to remember You are my Counselor. Thanks for helping me make both daily and life changing decisions.

Thought for the Day:

Are you seeking the Lord’s counsel?

~HH~

Saturday 2

The Best Brownies in the World

You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.

Proverbs 19:21 NLT

I probably don’t have the title as world’s worst cook, but it is pretty close. I have burnt so many batches of chocolate chip cookies, it is ridiculous! When I cook, I try to multi-task, and that leads to disaster. One day, my friend Annie and I decided to make brownies. I was so excited when we didn’t burn the brownies. We had successfully followed the recipe. All I wanted was a bite of the chocolaty goodness when they were finished. I was moments from filling my mouth with chocolate when I took a sharp knife out of the drawer to cut the brownies. However, when I cut the brownies, I missed and cut my finger instead. It was one bloody mess! To this day, I have a scar on my finger from the bloody brownie massacre. I never had the opportunity to taste my successful batch of brownies. Looking back, Annie and I both laugh at the bloody brownies, and how silly we were. I look at my scar and shake my head. It is a reminder that we don’t always get what we want. I didn’t get to eat those brownies that day, but thankfully God has something far better than brownies for all of us.

Prayer:

Lord, remind me that Your plans are better than mine. Help us all to remember how grand Your plans are compared to ours.

Thought for the Day:

Research in your Bible for some of God’s plans. How do they compare to yours?

~MM~

Sunday 2

Pottery is Not for Me!

And yet, Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We are all formed in your hand.

Isaiah 64:8 NLT

I am so glad God is the potter and not me! In high school, I took a pottery class. Believe it or not, I earned A’s in calculus and B’s in pottery. When I was on the pottery wheel, my wet clay would fly across the room! The entire semester I did not make one piece of art that didn’t have a hole in it! Like I said, thank goodness God is the potter. I need to remember that like my clay, nothing will turn out the way I have planned when I play God. I end up with cracked, useless vases that ultimately make it to the trash. If we let God be God, one-of-a-kind masterpieces are created. We can choose God to be the potter and us the clay.

Prayer:

Dear Creator, thank You for making me the way I am. Please help me to remember that You are the potter and I am the clay. Help me to continue to give You complete control of my life day by day.

Thought for the Day:

Make a list of the different areas of your life that are hard to give over to God. Pray about these different areas this week.

~MM~

Friday 3

You Can’t Hide from Change!

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Hebrews 13:8 NLT

The one thing in this world that never changes is change. We all go through different seasons and events in our lives. We all have friends get married. We all get older. We get new jobs or have friends who get new jobs. Some may even lose their jobs. People move away or go a different direction than we are going. Loved ones become ill or injured and we can even have loved ones pass away.

Thankfully, God never changes. He doesn’t change His mind like we humans do. He is the same today as He was in the beginning. He is the same today as He will be tomorrow. No matter what is going on in our lives, He is the same. He is the one constant we can always count on.

Prayer:

Thank You, Lord, for being the one constant in our lives.

Thought for the Day:

No matter what is going on in your life, God is the same.

~HH~

Saturday 3

Itineraries Are Subject to Change

I’ve come to change everything, turn everything rightside up—how I long for it be finished!

Luke 12:50 The Message

Change is the scariest six-letter word I have ever experienced. I know that change is a part of life. If change did not occur, I’d still be wearing diapers! Even though I know the importance of change, it doesn’t mean I have to like it. I am one of those people that love traditions. If we celebrated Christmas one way in 1983, I want to celebrate it the same way in 2010! One of my favorite family traditions is our summer vacation to Florida. The first trip to Florida was the best. We loved all the amusement park rides and the Florida sunshine. The trip was such a blast. We decided to make it an annual trip. The next year our trip was not the same as the previous year. I almost ruined our vacation because the trip wasn’t exactly like it was the previous year. I needed to embrace change. I had to realize that it was okay to not ride the amusement park rides in the exact same order as the previous year! As soon as I learned the importance of change, it became one of the best vacations I have ever been on. Life is full of changes. Enjoy what God brings and you will have the ride of your life.

Prayer:

Lord, when change comes my way, please let me hold on to You. Remind me that You are the only part of my life that is not subject to change.

Thought for the Day:

Are you scared of change? Spend some time in prayer with your Heavenly Father. He cares about every aspect of your life!

~MM~

Sunday 3

College Comforts

All praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the source of every mercy and the God who comforts us.

2 Corinthians 1:3 NLT

Here is a journal entry I wrote August 16, 2001.

One week from today I will be sitting in my very own dorm room. Life is always full of changes. I’m excited. I’m nervous. I’m confident. Life is what you make of it. I am going to make this new phase in my life the best it can be. I am going to get back on the right track with God.

I will never forget packing for college. I think I packed everything but the kitchen sink. I have no idea why I thought I needed so much stuff. I was only moving forty-five minutes away. I wasn’t packing realistically. I was packing for a whole new world. Packing everything I could possibly need still did not prepare me for this new world. I was entering into a world where no one made you go to class and you could have pizza or pancakes at two in the morning! Believe it or not, even with all the pizza and pancakes, I was homesick and scared in my new world. Looking back, I can’t help but laugh. I was homesick when I was less than an hour away from home, and now I live fourteen hours away! Even if our homesickness may seem silly, God comforts us. He comforts us through all the new and scary changes that occur throughout life. He will always be by your side reassuring you that you are not alone.

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for being with me when I feel all alone. Loneliness is one of the scariest feelings in the world, and it is such a comfort to know You are there.

Thought for the Day:

How do you need God to comfort you today?

~MM~

Friday 4

Working for Good

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28 NIV

Have you ever been disappointed? If you haven’t, you’re probably not human! Disappointment hurts. It can be especially hurtful if someone you love has let you down, or if you had been hoping for something, only to not get what you hoped for. Maybe you didn’t get the dream job you thought you were going to get. Maybe things didn’t work out with the guy you thought was perfect for you. Maybe a close friend lied to you about something. Maybe you haven’t accomplished everything you had hoped to accomplish in your life by this point in your life.

Even when things happen and we get disappointed, we have to remember that God has a master plan. God can use whatever situation we are in for His good. Things that are hurtful or disappointing to us can often be blessings in disguise. What may seem like something bad or hurtful at the time, can be used by God for good. At the time, we may not understand why the situation has turned out the way it has, but with time we may have a greater understanding and be thankful. God has our best interest in mind even when we do not know the outcome.

Prayer:

Thank You, Lord, for having our best interest in mind even when it hurts.

Thought for the Day:

Journal about a time when things didn’t go as you had planned, but turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

~HH~

Saturday 4

Surprise!

I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.

Job 42:2 NIV

I have thrown about a million surprise parties. I love throwing them for people’s birthdays, graduations or for no reason at all. My favorite party to plan was Haley’s surprise party. One day Haley and I decided to plan a surprise party for her birthday. Yes, you hear me right. I said that Haley and I planned her surprise party! Haley wanted to help plan all the details to make sure everything was perfect. It was so much fun to plan the guest list, order the cake, buy decorations and plan the menu. The best part was I didn’t have to worry that Haley wouldn’t like everything. I was 100% sure Haley would love her planned surprise party. Unfortunately, we can’t plan every surprise in life. God has surprises in store for us we would never imagine. God’s surprises are better than any party I could ever plan!

Prayer:

Lord, I want to be ready for any surprise You bring