Life's too short to be anything but happy.

Last year, Mor and I were invited to speak to a group of young people (there were a lot of pre-teens and early teens). Mor jokingly asked “Who here is in love?” and almost all hands were raised!!!

When I was 13, I was thinking of music, concerts, my favorite bands and catching Powerpuff Girls and Lizzie McGuireon TV. I was excited whenever my best friends would come over and we would pretend we had a pop band. Maybe we had crushes (with one of the members of N*Sync) but no one had boyfriends—- heck, no one was even THINKING about dating for real!

But young teens today are so much different (I feel old for saying that!) and it sometimes saddens me to think how early they get themselves into a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. Maybe it’s the hopelessly romantic Taylor Swift songs that you listen to, I don’t know, but I hope you know that there is an ENTIRE world out there waiting for you! A relationship isn’t the end goal of life. It isn’t your ticket to happiness. It won’t make you “complete” no matter what the songs on your iPod say! 

Ecc 3:1 says “There is a time for everything” and it’s true. At this stage in your life, it’s time for you to discover what your passions are. It’s the time for you to set goals and dreams and to start your little baby steps (or not so baby) in reaching them. Try new things, new hobbies, new experiences, read books, meet new people, hang out with a bunch of different people and learn.

I’ve said this before but I’ll say it again, don’t give your heart away too soon, or too often. Your heart is a valuable treasure and only the one, the best that God has for you, deserves it (and he will most certainly handle it with care too!) Don’t waste your time and save yourself from all the heartaches!

Enjoy this season in your life, young girls (and also guys!) Use this precious time for His glory (you’ll learn soon that you won’t be a teenager forever!) There is so much of this world that God wants you to experience. Don’t rush into getting into a relationship; you’ll get to that next time, don’t worry.

True, being married to your one true love is wonderful and there are so many things I can do now that I can’t do while I was still single. BUT there are also many things I’m happy I was able to do while I was still single before I got married (such as, traveling with friends, studying abroad, serving in our church’s single’s ministry) and I wouldn’t trade those experiences for anything!

—

This will go beyond 8. With references pa haha

A man after God’s own heart:

seek me only by seeking Him.

has audacious / radical faith (not lukewarm)

"he will pray for me, give me inspiration from the Word, and he will remain anchored to the Rock of his salvation." (Unka Glen)

Dependable:

"I’ll have the confidence that he will do what he says he is going to do when he says he will do it." (dad-isms)

Humble:

teachable heart, moldable soul, willing to die to self as many times as it takes.

Protective:

makes me feel safe and secure all the times.

Tactful:

rational and careful of what to say but isn’t afraid to speak his mind

never talks to me with disrespect, even during misunderstandings

Honest:

admits his mistakes before I figure them out, apologizes with sincerity,

doesn’t like to make excuses to get out of things.

Dignified, principled:

always chooses what’s right rather than what’s easy / convenient

A leader:

knows how to be commanding when he needs to

willfully takes responsibility

An encourager:

"The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again." (S. Collins),

"Sees me for the awesome woman of God I am, who wants to help me become the awesome woman of God I can be." (Unka Glen)

“Seen me at my absolute worst yet still believes in my absolute best” (Isa)

“Don’t promise me anything. Pray about everything before you say or do it. Encourage me and give me hope. But do not give me empty promises based in emotion or with the intent of making me “feel better”.”

"draws me closer to God by speaking truth-in-love" (Prodigal Magazine)

A pursuer

“considers it a MIRACLE that he’s with me. He’s got to believe that there is no way he could’ve ever gotten with me if not for God’s orchestration. Nobody wants to be with a man who is with her because she is ‘good enough’ — you want to be too good for him and you want him to be man enough to pursue you.” (Isa)