1. Bloom where you’re planted.
Regardless
of the situation, of the difficulties encountered, of the unmet expectations – consider
it an opportunity to THRIVE. The Lord
put you exactly where HE wants you (Jeremiah 29:11), He placed you there for a
specific purpose, and the best way to give Him thanks is to glorify Him with
your attitude and with your actions.
Trust in God’s goodness and grace for He is incredibly in love with you
(Psalm 139).
2. Blur the line between work and
play.
DO WHAT
YOU LOVE! Combine your passions and
strengths and you’ll LOVE WHAT YOU DO!!
3. Sometimes God doesn’t change your
situation because he’s trying to change your heart.
In 2013 I
caught 2 of the bouquets of the 5/10 weddings I attended, but this in no way
altered my relationship status; I remain single. As stated in a previous blog posting: An
expert is someone who has a comprehensive and authoritative knowledge in a
particular area. I’m 28, have been a bridesmaid 12 times, invited to well
over 50 weddings, my longest relationship is 7 months, and I’ve yet to fall in
love. With my amount of experience I consider myself an expert on
being a single lady. 2013 taught me to not only embrace my
singleness, but to offer thanks for it too!
Embracing singleness doesn’t mean my desire to be married no longer
exists, it means trusting that God will provide EVERYTHING I need. I refuse to be in a stage of life wishing it
away or coveting what others have. I
love attending weddings, not only because I get to dress up, sip champagne,
dine on delicious foods, and dance the night away, but it remains a beautiful
reminder of God “WOWing” us. I have
faith the day will come when God will surprise me with a love greater than I
could have ever dreamed or imagined, but until that day I will enjoy the
excitement, freedom, and adventure of singleness.
4. The pursuit is the reward.
5. Keep growing.
Accept
challenges. Take risks. Learn a new skill. Venture into unfamiliar territory. Write your goals down, define a time line,
perform the appropriate research, share your goals for accountability, keep
company that supports/encourages you, avoid company that tempts you to become
distracted from your goal, practice consistently, do not become distracted by a
bump in the road, believe in yourself, keep firm faith that ALL things are
possible, persevere, achieve, and CELEBRATE!
6. Create your own happy hour.
What makes
you happy? Write it down. When you’re feeling blue just pick something
from the list and DO IT, seriously JUST DO IT.
List items can include: singing at the top of your lungs while driving
with the windows down and the stereo up, dancing to 80s music, lying in a
bubble bath while sipping on some bubbly, getting a pedicure, running as fast
as you can, lifting heavy weights, going ice blocking. One item that should be included on
everyone’s happy list is helping others, because it is impossible to throw a
pity party when both your hands are already occupied with serving someone else.
7. Trust without knowing the answers.
“Faith don't come in a bushel basket, Missy. It comes one
step at a time. Decide to trust Him for one little thing today, and before you
know it, you find out He's so trustworthy you be putting your whole life in His
hands.” - Lynn Austin
I
don’t need to know what the future holds, because I know who holds the
future. When I don’t understand, when I
can’t see His hand, I’ve learned to trust His heart. My knowledge of God’s character provides me
with peace while I trust; God is gracious, generous, faithful, merciful,
mighty, victorious, all powerful, all knowing, and loves me more than
I can comprehend – it is because of this knowledge I trust His way over my own.
“Trust is not a passive state of mind. It is a vigorous act
of the soul by which we choose to lay hold on the promises of God and cling to
them despite the adversity that at times seeks to overwhelms us.” - Jerry Bridges
8. Prepare to be WOW’d.
To you, a situation may appear impossible, but
God thrives on the “impossible” for that is when His power, might, goodness,
and grace can be displayed. God
approaches those “impossible” situations with solutions that will glorify
Him. Prime example is the story of Sarah
(look it up!)
God is all-powerful; He has infinite resources
and His creativity never lacks. He has access to the best! God is all knowing; He knows what is best for
you! God is crazy in love with you, HE WANTS TO GIVE
YOU THE BEST! God does NOT withhold greatness and blessings
from you! He is in complete control! When I reflect
upon where I currently am I see His provision, His blessings, His faithfulness, and His creativity
used in getting me exactly where I need to be. Y'all, he just loves to WOW us!
9. Surround yourself with greatness.
My BFFs
are driven, hard working, multi-talented, intelligent, hilarious, CONFIDENT,
loving, optimistic, thoughtful, selfless, WISE beyond measure, crazy fun,
BEAUTIFUL (inside and out) Godly women.
If I’m overwhelmed/stressed/struggling or have encountered hardship my
friends are at my doorstep, literally, I have found them sitting outside my
door; they are consistent. They overflow
with encouragement, possess the ability to identify all silver linings,
constantly speak truth, and lift all concerns up in prayer. You will become like the company you keep;
select wisely!
10. Thank God for unanswered prayers.
Imagine how differently we would fashion our prayers if we
saw what God sees and knew what he knows.
Keep faith and believe, for there isn’t a door He can’t open, there
isn’t a door He can’t close. I’m calling one of my favorite country artists, Garth Brooks, for back up - “Sometimes I thank God for unanswered
prayers, Remember when you’re talkin’ to the man upstairs, That just because he
doesn’t answer doesn’t mean he don’t care, Some of God’s greatest gifts are
unanswered prayers.” God is making things happen for you even when you don’t see
it, even when you can’t feel it, even if its not evident, God is working on
your prayers. “Perhaps it takes a purer
faith to praise God for unrealized blessings than for those we once enjoyed or
those we enjoy now.” - A.W. Tozer CAN I GET AN AMEN?!
11. Leave a trail of glitter.
How do
others see you? When the thought of you
enters someone’s mind are you viewed in a positive or negative light? What do you want your legacy to be? I want to leave a trail of glitter; I want my
actions to shine to display the love and grace I have received from my Lord and
Savior. Sprinkle glitter by helping
selflessly, being responsible for someone’s smile, generosity of time and
resources, praying for others, surprising a friend or stranger with a treat…be
crazy and creative with your glitter.
“We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about
shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine.” –Marianne Williamson
12. The best things in life are free
Play
outside. Go for a run. Jump in a lake, a river, an ocean. Take a nap under a tree. Climb a tree.
Climb a mountain. Do cartwheels
in a park. Laugh until you cry. Share a hug, squeeze tightly. Catch a lizard, give it a name. Soak up the sun. Throw a football, a baseball, a Frisbee. Meet a stranger; make them your friend (use
good judgment). Fall in love. Build a fort.
Watch for shooting stars. Write a
love note. Help a stranger with yard
work. Sing every Disney song you can
remember. Swing in a hammock. Kiss deeply. Swing on a tire swing. Pick wildflowers. Teach your child a new skill. Make a friend who can teach you a new
language. Tell someone your favorite
things about them.
13. Remain True to YOU.
It
was Valentine’s Day of my high school freshman year when I signed “True Love
Waits.” I can’t recall if I understood
the gravity of my signature or what I was committing to, but as I matured I
realized I wanted this to be my covenant to God. I want to honor My Lord, as well as my future
husband with my purity. Throughout the
years I’ve encountered temptation, but had always been proud of my decision to
wait. It wasn’t until this past year (2013)
that I experienced the emotion of hatred towards my own purity. I felt the burden was too much to carry, I
had my character insulted based solely on this one decision, I no longer wanted
to remain pure. This is where you can
refer up to #9; tearfully I shared my heart with my best friends, as well as to
God, and let me tell you, I was slapped with straight truth and tough love. I had to address my insecurities and recognize
that not everyone is going to agree with my decision, not everyone is going to
understand my decision, not everyone is going to respect my decision, and some
guys may break up with me for my decision, BUT I made this decision for myself,
my God, and my husband.
I want to
share some words that encouraged my heart when I was struggling with my
decision to wait, this was written by my favorite blogger Sara Bacon, author of
Glitter and Grace “I cling to the fact that I will be able to offer that part of
myself as a gift to my husband someday. That my willingness to wait will
hopefully show I can deny myself other temptations in life. And that I want to
keep our marriage and relationship as new and pure as I can…As for this season
of my life, it is God’s gentle voice that reminds me I am enough in His eyes,
and that He has someone planned for me that is more than anything I could ask
for or imagine and it is worth all the waiting in the world. Even when He has to
tell me that every single day.”
Happy New Year, y'all! Cheers to making 2014 the best year yet!
xo
Incredible words, Lauren. :-)
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