Guys Archive

I found my Prince Charming. But he doesn’t make me happy.

When you spend time around people who don’t understand or support your personal convictions, it can be tempting to believe that you must look for subtle ways to compromise your standards or conceal your true beliefs in order to avoid being mocked or criticized. But as set-apart women, we must ask God for the courage to be different, even when it’s uncomfortable.

I’ve realized how important it is for me, as an older person, to be careful of the things I do around younger people. Whether we realize it or not, younger girls are always watching us. When we are around them, they are observing our actions, speech, clothes, and more. No matter how old you are, you have a curious audience.

After years of Bible zooming, I’ve realized that my relationship with God, understanding of Scripture, and general peace in life is not what it should be. God didn’t intend for us to open the Bible, sprint through the passages, and then move on. He gave us the Bible to study, meditate on, gain wisdom from, and grow from. How can we do those things if we are not spending quality time in the Bible?

In spite of our conditioning toward instant gratification, most of the best things in life still take a lot of time. It takes time to grow a friendship, to learn a new skill, or to change from a girl into a woman. It also takes time to grow in wisdom and in your walk with Christ. There is no app that will instantly turn you into a woman who knows God’s Word!

Every year as fall hayrides and pumpkins melt into haunted houses and jack-o-lanterns, I feel a little torn. As a Christian, should I find a not-so-scary way to participate in Halloween festivities? Should I sideline myself because there are some spooky elements? Should I let this holiday’s history as a Druid festival of the dead bother me or should I feel free to participate in the modern version of the holiday complete with fun costumes, hot apple cider, and my favorite treat, fun-sized Snickers?

Embarrassing moments are many times completely unpredictable. They can range from getting a bad haircut, which has happened to me, to getting something stuck in your teeth and not realizing it until you get home. What can we do to prepare for these moments? Is there a way to handle them without feeling like we want to sink through the floor?

The fact that I don’t fit most lists of what girls should be like has always caused me some angst. While my twin sister was playing house, I was pretending to be the boss. Other girls are so naturally sweet they come across like little cocker spaniels. I’ve always been a bit more like a bulldog. It’s not that I’m masculine, but I’ve spent plenty of years wondering if it’s okay to be me. Specifically, I longed to know if it was possible to be the kind of girl God wanted me to be if I had no desire to live in Barbie’s dream house.

Are you busy doing things for Jesus without really loving Him? Are you telling others about Jesus but not truly delighting in His beauty?