amanda is praying boldly

Posted by amanda on March 21st, 2008 at 6:30am
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Suzanne Hadley, one of the regular Boundless authors, wrote an article recently debunking seven of the myths single women often find themselves believing.

Here are the 7 myths:

1. God will give me a husband when I'm ready.
2. God views me more as a useful tool than a beloved child.
3. When it's the right guy, I'll just know.
4. When I get married, then my life will begin.
5. Marriage will/will not meet my deepest needs.
6. There must be something wrong with me. If I could just figure out what it is, I could fix it and guys would start showing interest.
7. The older I get, the less likely it is that I will find someone.

In the past decade (aka "my twenties"), I have believed or at least pondered all of these at some point. The ones that I have had to fight with the most in the past year are numbers 1, 2, 6 and 7.

If you are single and find yourself believing any of these, I highly recommend checking out Suzanne's article.

Posted by amanda on March 17th, 2008 at 7:04am
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(I know nothing about Kellie Coffey except for this song.)

Many women in my family (including me) have PCOS, which is the leading cause of infertility in women. 1 in 10 women have it.

The powerful emotion that this song evokes causes tears to stream down my face. I long to have a family, to be a wife, to be a mom . . . this singer has tapped into my heart of hearts, but even she has more than I do. She has a "husband to love."

It would be so easy to be bitter and envious.

But you know . . . in reality--in the nitty-gritty-in-your-face-this-is-life reality--I would still choose to be single and childless if it means God is better glorified in my life. Oh, make no mistake, being a wife and a mother is something I really, really want!!! But glorifying God is something I want even more. (Clarification: Not that he wouldn't be glorified if I became a wife and a mom, but only He who knows how he can best be glorified in my life.)

Tears continue to fall.

He is all-powerful--He can do what he wants when he wants.

He is all-good--He is a gracious, loving Father who gives good gifts and keeps his promises. He has met my greatest need of all and blessed me way beyond I deserve.

What right do I have to be bitter or envious? None whatsoever.

Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. (Psalm 73:25)

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. (James 1:17)

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Two Additional Thoughts
First, you know what else? Even though her song is powerful and brings tears to my eyes each time I watch it, I am not sure I would be willing to die in order to become a wife and a mom. Namely, the pragmatics of it just don't make sense. If I died to become a wife or a mom, well then I can't really be a wife or a mom now can I? I'd be dead.

Second, after I first heard this song . . . I later thought about the One who HAS died for me. . . it is humbling. I am grateful for His tender loving mercy and everlasting grace. How undeserving I am! . . . yes, the tears are falling again.

(originally posted here.)

Posted by amanda on March 6th, 2008 at 7:44am
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Posted by amanda on March 3rd, 2008 at 5:59pm
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Solo Femininity's Carolyn McCulley used an AWESOME quote in her blog!!

Courtship reveals how necessary this masculinity is. Many modern young men approach a girl, and they are quite serious as far as their intentions go, but they are afraid of interfering with her life. "You know, she is going to graduate soon, but she wants to go to school at Notre Dame, and I don't really want to go to Notre Dame, and showing interest in her would really disrupt all her plans." But the whole point of courtship is to disrupt a young lady's plans. A godly young woman is not going to stand around waiting for marriage. Rather, she will be preparing herself for marriage. This means she will be heading in some particular direction, and not just marking time. A young man should not be afraid of disrupting, because marriage is by its very nature a disruption of her previous way of life. (Her Hand in Marriage by Douglas Wilson, bolding is mine)

Carolyn adds this in her explanation/commentary on the quote: "So, we are not to just stand around. We are to be making plans for the future--and praying for godly men who know how to risk interrupting us."

I totally agree with her!!! Amen!

Or, as the Message would translate it, "OH YES!!"

(originally posted here in april of 2006)

Posted by amanda on February 28th, 2008 at 6:42am
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"But having spent more than forty-one years single, I have learned that [singleness] is indeed a gift. Not one I would choose. Not one many women would choose. But we do not choose gifts, remember? We are given them by a divine Giver who knows the end from the beginning, and wants above all else to give us Himself. It is within the sphere of the circumstances He chooses for us--single, married, widowed--that we receive Him. It is there and nowhere else that He makes Himself known to us. It is there we are allowed to serve him."

Quoted from Elisabeth Elliot's awesome book Let Me Be a Woman.