Robinson Crusoe gives new meaning to the many variations of the question as to what you’d want with you if you were stranded on a desert island.  Thankfully for this fictional character, he finds a Bible on the ship, which not only provides him years of transformational reading but a new perspective on his lonely situation.

My cousin Jennifer is a missionary to Africa.  She is not the lone occupant of the land, like Crusoe.  Nor is she limited to the contents of a wrecked ship for her tools of survival.  But Africa is practically a literary desert island for lover of literature like Jennifer.  She has always been as avid a book collector as her cousin, and an even more voracious reader.  It was torture for her to decide which few books to stash in her suitcases.  After all, she had to leave room for clothes and other supplies for her time as a school teacher to missionary kids!

But back to Crusoe for a moment.  What if his shipwreck happened today, and what if he’d found a Kindle full of books on the ship?  Obviously, the Bible is the most important Book, and if you could choose only one book, the Bible would be the Text with which one would want to spend years on a deserted island.  But to give a new spin on the old question, if you were trapped on a desert island, what books would you be glad you downloaded to your Kindle?

A Kindle, just in case you don’t know, is a wireless device onto which you can download hundreds of books for your reading pleasure.  The idea behind the title is to “kindle” a love of reading in this techie generation.

Jennifer, like the rest of us here at ylcf.org, is a lover of the old-fashioned.  We know you can’t replace the feel of holding a book in your hand, the smell of the print, the sound of pages turning.  But books quickly add to baggage weight.  And there are only so many pounds one can carry on a trek into Africa (or carry home from a trip to England, as Lanier had to remember!).  That’s where the slim, lightweight Kindle comes in.

Jennifer’s dad, my uncle Eric, was part of founding an organization called Mark Five, bringing computer technical support and assistance to missionaries.  This year, his travels with Mark Five will include a visit to his daughter Jennifer.  And he’s bringing this dear schoolteacher missionary cousin of mine a Kindle full of books.

But Jennifer is in Africa, remember—with an internet connection that’s limited, not to mention a laptop battery charged by the sun.   She doesn’t exactly have the luxury of browsing all the aisles of Barnes and Noble to find exactly the titles she’d like to have on her Kindle.

Last summer Ashleigh asked her readers for suggestions on summer reading—and what a list they gave!  And of course, we’ve asked all of you here at YLCF to list your favorite books a time or two.  This year, I thought it would be a fun for our March of Books to give Jennifer suggestions for her Kindle downloads.

So, dear fellow bibliophiles, please comment and tell us: if you were trapped on a literary desert island, what books would you want on your Kindle?

WPA Poster #98507722 from the Library of Congress
click here to read some of its history

“Can you come now?” My voice broke as I called my mom on my cell phone.

I’d been strong on the drive to the hospital.  I’d made it through his first surgery.  But I suddenly felt very helpless and alone (the rest of my new family was back at the farm, trying to keep things going without the right hand farmer, my husband!).

My mom had been ready to come the second I’d called her about the accident more than 24 hours earlier.  But I’d been okay then.  Now the adrenaline had worn off, and I needed my mom.  I knew I couldn’t make it waiting through another surgery alone.

My mom only stayed a few short days.  She flew back home the same day that I got to take my husband home from the hospital.  But those 48 hours stand out in my mind as when our relationship changed.

Gone in an instant were the stresses of planning the wedding together.  Of no more account was the way we’d seen things differently during my courtship.  Forgotten were the countless emotionally-charged discussions we’d had through my teen years.

Suddenly I felt that now, in my mother’s eyes, I was not only an adult, but a wife.  We were relating on a new level.  And it was a good thing.

My mom was there for me: making phone calls or bringing me food when I didn’t want to leave my husband’s side.  But she respected our privacy and really just hung out in the waiting room most of the time.  She was there for me when I wanted her but didn’t try to push her presence on us.  Just knowing that she was there was enough.

That is precisely the theme of Mother-Daughter Duet: Getting to the Relationship You Want with Your Adult Daughter: learning the intricate balance of being a mom without mothering too much, letting her know you are there for her without threatening her independence, connecting in friendship on your common ground instead of focusing on the generational differences.  (Read on to find out how to win a copy for yourself or for your mom!)

When I agreed to review the book written by Cheri Fuller along with her daughter Ali Plum, I didn’t realize it was directed to moms.  I have two daughters—but at ages 6 months and 2 years, respectively, they aren’t exactly adult daughters.  So for me, reading Mother-Daughter Duet was more of a chance for reflection on my own relationship with my own mother.  And a time of considering the habits and traditions I want to establish with my little girls, who will be 21 before I know it.

The relationship of the mother-daughter authors looked much different from my relationship with my mom.  Ali and her dad both struggled with alcoholism and depression, Cheri with trying to fix everything and being co-dependent.  But what Mother-Daughter Duet so beautifully illustrates is that while every mother-daughter relationship will be different, each has the same themes: generational differences, the transition from childhood to adulthood, the “faith of our mothers” becoming a personal belief, the craving of respect (for everything from hairstyles to lifestyle choices), the need for letting go, the delight of mother-daughter friendship.

Ali summed it all up when she said to moms:

We need to trust that if you profess to be a believer, you will be a believer and not a worrier.  We want you to know that when you try to control what we believe, it pushes us away and your faith looks weak, even if we know God is strong.  (Mother-Daughter Duet, pg. 123)

That applies to more people than just moms.  And there’s plenty a daughter can learn from the book, as well.  Because even though Mom may have more maturity to set the tune, it takes two to sing a duet.

Official YLCF Giveaway Entry Rules:

• To enter the drawing for a copy of Mother-Daughter Duet, comment on this post to tell us one thing you appreciate about your relationship with your mom or your daughter—or both.
• Bonus entry to those who leave an additional comment on this post telling us one thing they have done to improve their relationship with their mom and/or daughter.
• Don’t forget to include your name and email address in the space provided on the comment form (your email address will not be published, but we need a way to contact you if you win!).
• This drawing open to readers with U.S. mailing addresses only, please.
• YLCF Team Members, their families, and recent YLCF giveaway winners ineligible for entry.
• Drawing ends at midnight, Thursday, March 11, 2010.
• Winner(s) will be chosen randomly, notified by email, and announced in this post.
• Thanks to the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for providing this book for review and giveaway.

Whether you are already focusing on choosing joy or know you have a lot to learn about the practice of joyfulness, you’ll want to read Sally Clarkson’s new book.  (Keep reading to find out how you can win a copy!)

Dancing with My Father: How God Leads Us into a Life of Grace and Joy is not just an uplifting, encouraging read.  It’s like each chapter is a chat over a cup of tea with the author herself.  Reading Mrs. Clarkson’s book makes me feel like I’ve gotten to know this dear lady, seen her heart and felt her hugs.  Hearing through the pages of Dancing with My Father about how she chose joy in her daily life and struggles inspired me to choose “a different heart”, a heart of joy.  And it brought home the point that it’s not something that just happens—I must choose joy.  Each and every day.

Clearly joy is an issue of the heart.  Joy is not found in performing for people or in doing all the right things for God.  Nor is joy in the absence of difficulties or problems.  Joy is found in the presence of God in the midst of all circumstances, in delighting in the life he has given. (Dancing with My Father, pg. 38ff)

Mrs. Clarkson, as a mother of four, knows that joy doesn’t just naturally bubble up in every day of a mom’s life.  She knows the loneliness and discouragement that can come to a stay-at-home mom.  She knows the pain of watching a friend suffer.  She knows the heartbreak of losing a baby.  She knows the feeling that “life will be good when”—when I get married, when I have children, when my children are out of diapers, etc.  She knows that one can begin to feel empty when each of those milestones arrived without the hoped-for fulfillment and joy.

She has learned that joy and thankfulness do not come with a certain age or experience: they can only come out of the daily choice to be joyful and thankful.

The key to enjoying God in every moment of these daily pleasures is to open the eyes of my mind to see and to appreciate what he has given.  A thankful heart galvanizes the connection between my God and me.  (pg. 92)

Making a choice to resist stewing and fretting over all the issues of my day gives me the ability to delight in each moment as a gift.  My responsibilities have not changed, but my relationship to my responsibilities has.  (pg. 177)

As a young mom who can all too easily stay focused on the exhaustion of my never-ending, never-finished tasks, this book was not so much a breath of fresh air as a timely prick to my heart and conscience.  Am I seeing Him in the little things He has placed in my life—or am I too busy and overwhelmed to notice, let alone thank Him?  Am I using those 3 a.m. feedings to thank Him for my little one—or to dream of going back to sleep?  Is it evident to all who meet me that I have an inner wellspring of joy of my life—or am I rushed and stressed and anything but a picture of perfect peace and joy?

Mrs. Clarkson comes alongside the young mom, the stressed businesswoman, the tired missionary and gently reminds us of the only way we can keep the spring of joy in our steps as we dance through life: by choosing joy, choosing to live each moment in step with the Joy Giver, Jesus Christ our Lord.

If I want to grow a heart of joy, then I must plant the words of God and his truth.  I must feed joy daily to ensure that it becomes a healthy fruit of my heart.  I must be vigilant to pick and demolish the weeds of doubt, despair, sin, complain, and selfishness which threaten to overcome this joy.  A hedge of protection should be in place so that nothing comes in to destroy the very place that God designed for me to cultivate faith, truth, beauty, and joy.  (pg. 190-191)

And the sweet picture on the cover of a little girl dancing?  To me it represents the hope that my generation’s loss of joyful innocence can be restored: not into blissful ignorance, but into delightful dependence on God.

He can turn our mourning into dancing.  He is waiting to lead us by the hand, every step of the way.  It’s a daily choice.  But the burdens are lighter when Dancing with My Father.

Official YLCF Giveaway Entry Rules:

• To enter the drawing for a copy of Dancing with My Father, please comment and tell us:
  What is one of the “weeds” that robs joy from the garden of your heart?
  What do you do each day to feed the joy in your heart?
  What have you set as a hedge of protection around your heart to guard from doubt and despair?
• Don’t forget to include your name and email address in the space provided on the comment form (your email address will not be published, but we need a way to contact you if you win!).
• This drawing open to readers with U.S. mailing addresses only, please.
• YLCF Team Members, their families, and recent YLCF giveaway winners ineligible for entry.
• Drawing ends at midnight, Tuesday, March 9, 2010.
• Winner will be chosen randomly, notified by email, and announced in this post.
• Thanks to the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for providing this book for review and giveaway.
• Congratulations to Megan for winning a copy of Dancing with My Father!

Tell me what you read and I’ll tell you who you are is true enough, but I’d know you better if you told me what you reread.
-François Mauriac

The month of March is here.  And we here at ylcf.org are celebrating March with a March of Books!

I’m celebrating, too, because our remodel is nearly finished, and we are moved into our bedrooms now.  Which means my husband and I can turn in to bed and turn on the bedside lamps.  It’s so fun to be able to read awhile together—perusing our own separate titles, reading aloud, or looking over the other’s shoulder—without keeping the girls awake!

I just finished reading Mother-Daughter Duet and Dancing with My Father (both of which you’ll have a chance to win this week).  Then I got Creative Correction from the library, and Don’t Make Me Count to Three back from a friend I’d loaned it to.  But last night I was too tired for parenting how-to’s, so I picked up a precious little book called A Promise Kept.

What are you reading today?

If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Click here for more quotations on books, then head over to Chantel’s blog to hear about how much she loves books.  Also, Ashleigh has a book giveaway for military families over at Heart & Home. Come back to ylcf.org tomorrow for the first book giveaway!  And remember, when you order books through in-post links and the search boxes at left, you help keep ylcf.org online–thank you for your support!

God bless you all. And now, enjoy another candid peek into the lives of some of our faithful sisters in Christ.

from Rachel:

What am I doing with my single life?

I am enjoying it… most days.

When I was 15 or 16 I thought I had my life all planned… I would finish homeschool, work for Daddy on our farm, and “someday” my prince charming would come riding in to sweep me off my feet and carry me away! (Preferably by age 21!) But God had different ideas. Now, at 24, I’m still at home, farming and ranching, but Daddy is in heaven. When he died 7 1/2 years ago, my world got turned upside down.

I have spent this time learning to redefine who I am. I couldn’t define myself by only human standards anymore, I had to be who I am in Christ, and look to Him for guidance and comfort. I’m not just “so-and-so’s” daughter, I’m a child of the King!

I have spent this time learning contentment. However, every time I think I can say, “I have learned in whatsoever state I am…” I am presented with a new way of practicing it.

Yes, there have been plenty of tears in my pillow, or cried in the milk bucket. There has also been opportunity to reach out to others who are hurting as well. What Joy!!!

from Victoria:

My situation is slighty different as my parents are divorced and I am not yet 18. I have been done with highschool for almost a year. Right now, I am spending my time helping my mother in her home. Between my two siblings, three step-siblings and two other girls with disabilities (one with cerebral palsy, the other with downs syndrome) who live currently with us, we usually have eight kids staying in our house. I spend my time helping with cleaning, cooking, and helping with schoolwork. Outside of those duties, I love to spend time reading and learning new things, fellowshipping with friends, and going and helping out wherever else I am needed. I have a wonderful relationship with both of my parents and I go and visit my dad as often as I can as they do not live too far apart. =) I almost took college courses online which would have started this month, but the Lord told me that it was not part of His plan for my life. Now I am learning serve Him better day by day, and waiting to see where He leads. I cannot say how freeing it is to simply rest in Him.

God Bless!

from Jordan:

I was just thinking yesterday how fast my life to date has passed. Watching 6 children ages 1 to 10 will do that to you! It has really made me re-evaluate and realize how much I should be enjoying my current time of life. I’m only 17, so I haven’t had to learn to be content single, but I have struggled with putting my life in God’s hands. This verse in a song by Casting Crowns pretty well sums up my constant prayer:

Here at Your feet I lay my future down.
All of my dreams I give to You now and I find peace!
Here at Your feet I lay my life down
For You, my King, are all I want now and my soul sings!

I am spending my “single years” doing whatever God leads me to do. A couple months ago He gave me the opportunity to drive 9 hours to stay with a friend of a friend who has three boys 5 and under and a baby on the way. I was able to help prepare meals and make a few quilts while I was there.

When I was 13 I started a sewing ministry at my church. It has grown and changed, but it’s still going strong! It has given me a good opportunity to practice being an “older woman” to girls other than my sisters.

Around that time I also started sewing for ladies in our homeschool group, making modest dresses for their daughters. I have grown that into a business over the past 4 years. My vision is to keep the modest clothing that I make high on quality and low on cost since I know many homeschool families live on a single income.

D L Moody said, “It is better to say, ‘This one thing I do’ than to say, ‘These forty things I dabble with’.” The things above are really just things I dabble in. My “one thing”? Abiding in Christ: Living in Him, Learning of Him and Loving through Him.

from Vanessa:

Sometimes I am not sure I even know what it is like to be single – even though I am. My “single” years so far have been filled with so many children, so much activity, and so much love that loneliness has not been a huge issue for me. I have almost always had something to do. Right now I am a private duty nurse for a child. It’s very fulfilling work and I am learning skills I hope to use in the future.

My single years have been filled with extremes. I have had some very unique experiences, such as being a caregiver in an orphanage. That gave me years of parenting experience. Since entering the nursing field, I have dealt with births and deaths and everything in between. I do not fit into any sort of mold. I do not feel like a “sitting duck” – my life has not involved a whole lot of sitting around! My goal is to let the Lord Jesus Christ be the center of my existence. Even though choosing to follow the Lord sometimes brings personal pain, I do not regret the path I have chosen.

from Sarah:

When I was sixteen I thought I was ready! Ready to have a boyfriend, ready to get married very soon, ready to quit attending the churches valentines banquet alone. But my Prince Charming still hadn’t shown up. What was wrong with him? Didn’t he know I was ready?! Now, at the young age of twenty, I look back and laugh at myself. God is using these single years to chip away at some things in my life that He needed to get rid of. And it would be so much more painful were a young man in the mix. Do I want to get married? Yes! Am I ready? No. So, I’m using this time to draw closer to the Lord. I’m using it to be a missionary to my family, to my neighbors. Those things won’t stop when I become a “Mrs.”, but I can devote more energy and time to it now. And I’m actually thankful for this time of singleness. Right now I live with my sister as a “live in nanny”, as we like to call it. It’s very practical training for learning to be mommy, cook, housecleaner, teacher and organizer!

And we’ll close for now with a good word of encouragement. Though not technically a comment on singleness, every one of us can benefit from the joyful perspective of a new bride:

from Regina:

Thank you so much for sharing! How well I remember the days of tears and longings, wondering when (if ever) God would bring a husband and trying my best to trust the Lord and grow close to Him through that time. Now as I look from the other side of the spectrum as a new bride (having married my beloved in September of 2009), I just want to bless each of you for yielding your lives to the Master Potter and allowing Him to shape you in His ways. I was so encouraged as I read how the Lord is using you in His kingdom as you faithfully follow Him! I discovered that learning trust – contentment – patience does not end at the marriage altar. In a way it only becomes more real as the sweetness of marriage unfolds.

God is continuing to work in my life – teaching me to trust Him, find my contentment in Him, rest in His care, and to be patient for His perfect timing. I am so grateful for the foundation that began in my single years.

As you follow the Lord and serve him faithfully in the little things remember that what you are learning now is becoming a foundation for what the Lord will continue to teach you through the coming years, as He unfolds His plan for your life.

Blessings to each one of you – married or single – Let us continue to lay our lives at the feet of the Father and trust Him in every situation we find ourselves in.

If you happened to miss the previous entries in the series, take a look at Single-Minded, Part Two and Single-Minded, Part Three.

Part Two gave us a picture of half-a dozen young ladies spending their days lavishly in the love of God, and the stories you’ll find below are no different. I’ll just let them speak for themselves.

And check back on Friday for Part Four!

from Elizabeth:

The answer to “How are you keeping busy?” is that I am living life. I’ve never known anything except singlehood, so it feels fairly normal.

As to what God is teaching me: I often think of the young ladies in Biblical times as being under the protection of their parents and elders. As a missionary, I am not living with my parents, but I still feel under their protection, as well as under the protection of my Heavenly Father.

Recently I was praying about marriage, and I had a vision of standing before a crosswalk with the Lord tightly holding my hand. He would not let me go yet; it was not safe to cross, and He would not let me run into a dangerous situation. I am often aware of how He knows exactly what I need and what I DON’T need at any moment in time.

from Lin:

I am happily waiting for a person who will be easy to chose to love after years and years of marriage. It is so exciting to think about someone who will be just right for me the same way I see my parents and rest of the family married. It is like an unopened present that only gets sweeter and sweeter with time. I can feel in my heart my time is not yet and I rejoice in my free as the wind days! Life is simple, uncomplicated and happy! God has blessed me beyond reason!

from Ginger:

I wonder often when my prince will find me. Is there even a prince in my future? Questions like that will assail my mind at times. But for the most part, I am very happy in my “single” state and I try to leave the matchmaking to the One Who created my story before I was even born.

To answer your question. Yes, the Lord has given me plenty of opportunities while I am single. For one He has given me the gift of teaching and the opportunity to have my own classroom and my own class. I am able to have my full attention in teaching right now while I am still fairly new to the whole teaching thing!

I also am enjoying my single state while I have a six month old brother at home. I enjoy having this time to still be at home and to have this time to be an important part in my brother’s up bringing.

Those are only are a couple of blessings God has given me. There are so many more but I would have to write a novel to list all of them!

from Sarah:

In this time of singleness God has given me an incredible opportunity to continue my education. Occasionally I get wrapped up in waiting for “the one” and feel like I shouldn’t make plans too far into the future in case “Mr. Right” appears, but then I remember that God is not simply in control of my future, but also my present. His plan for me today is education and I need to wait patiently and prayerfully for Him to reveal His plans for my future.

from Kiersti:

While in my younger years I had hoped to be married by my current age of 25, the Lord has given me so many good things in this season of singleness. I am grateful to have the freedom and availability right now to help my family care for my elderly grandmother, whom we live with and who has dementia. I know things would be much harder on my parents and sister without my extra pair of hands. God has also given me jobs I enjoy–working in the Writing Center at my local community college and private tutoring an 8th grade girl in writing and English–as well as other special opportunities, like a writing internship with a small children’s missions magazine and helping with a Christian musical theater group for families that my family helped start this year. While the Lord has not seen fit to fulfill my dream of being a wife and mother yet, He has fulfilled other dreams that I didn’t even expect Him to, like getting to teach dance to children, be involved in musical theater, and even visit Europe when I studied abroad in college. He has also given me precious time with my family that I would have missed were I busy with a family of my own. Most of all, He has shown me how very near and dear He is Himself–though I know I still have so far to go in learning to know and love Him–and how Jesus truly is more than enough, and the only One who can meet our deepest needs and desires. These lessons have come through much heartache, but they are worth it. There are still days when singleness is very hard, as one by one my friends get engaged and married and no young man seems to show interest in me. But I can see more and more that the Lord’s plan is best. Thank you to all you girls who have shared…it is a blessing to see how He is blessing and using each of you right where He has placed you. May He bless you, and all you readers, each one.

from Abigail:

When I was younger it seemed like I had two possibilities ahead of me: marrying young or “surviving” a period of singleness. I have been pleasantly surprised to find myself in the midst of a third option: actually enjoying singleness! There are times, certainly, as Elisabeth mentioned, when those little glimpses of married life make my heart ache. There are days when I need to make a list of “Benefits I am Receiving From This Season.” But much of the time I am content and very happy. Recently I was surprised to hear myself say, “Thank You, Lord, that I’m not married yet!” I credit this to God’s grace in helping me to enjoy this unique time. For me, the more involved I get in ministry and the more I realize the many needs that surround me, the easier it is to stay focused on using this time well. If I think “How long will I have to wait until I can get married?” the wait can seem daunting, but if I think, “How much longer will I have to be this free and flexible for serving the Lord?” I feel like time is running short!

from Megan:

I’m going to Moody Bible Institute as a Women’s Ministry major starting next fall. I would love to end up working with young ladies in their teens and twenties, so one way that I see my single years is as time to gain experiences so that I can relate to girls who go through the same things. I’ve got some wonderful women who give me wisdom right now, so I’m taking notes! This includes the realization- through disequilibration and experiences, not just concepts- that God really is the Lover of my soul and the only constant, certain hope that I have.

Be prepared to post a review on your blog of your favorite book, for our March of Books Blog Carnival.  And if you’re planning to participate, add a link to your blog to help spread the word by copying the code below!

<a href="http://ylcf.org" target="_blank"><img src="http://ylcf.org/uploaded_images/march-of-books.jpg" border="0" alt="YLCF March of Books Blog Carnival"></a>

from Raquel Mutton:

Oh my… It’s so hard to untangle the answers to the questions you’re asking from the pain and tears of not knowing, and one more birthday being single, and one more day of biting my lip as I try to do what’s in front of me without creating a fantasy of world of how ‘he’ will come and fall madly in love with me…someday…

So what am I doing right now? When I turned 18 and graduated from my last year of homeschooling I moved in with my sister and her husband and their (then) five children. I am now 24, and my sister has seven children, and I’ve spent the last 6 years ‘practicing’ my homemaking skills. I thought I had them down pat because I was a nice homeschooled girl who knew how to cook and clean and do practical things, but I learned there’s a difference between knowing how and doing it day after day after day through all of the surprise inconveniences life throws at you.

While I’ve been busy growing up through the past few years, so have my sister’s children, and now that her oldest is 14, I’m needed less than I used to be around the house. One thing I’m spending my time on now is my amazing new hobby of couponing. I’ve discovered that if you put the time into learning the ‘game’ and plan each shopping trip carefully you can get tons of stuff for free or very cheap by combining sales and coupons. Some of this stays in my sister’s house, some of it gets sent to the house of another homeschool family nearby, and everything that’s left I donate to a local mission.

I have learned that no matter how small and pointless (and sometimes boring) my part seems in the grand scheme of things, if it’s the job God gave me, I will be faithful. I have learned that feeling peace is not necessary to being content in God–which is helpful when I’m once again sobbing into my pillow and wonder if I should be feeling guilty for being so miserable. I have learned that no matter how strongly it feels that God just ditched me and doesn’t care about me, it is not true and never will be. I have learned that I since I can never be good enough or wise enough to earn any good gifts from God, that means that my singleness isn’t a punishment for ‘not being good enough yet’. I have learned that no matter how well I think I’ve learned all of these lessons, I will promptly forget and need to learn them all over again.

I have learned that life is incredibly more excruciatingly painful and complicated and messy than I ever realized, and that my God is bigger, and brighter and more amazing than I could have known without the pain.

from ladyfelicity:

My single days are filled with … life. Abundant, exhilerating, exhausting, precious, wonderful life. (Sorry, that isn’t simple and succinct!) Let’s try again …

For me, the key to not just surviving but LIVING singleness is surrender. I try to surrender EVERYTHING. Jesus knows and understands and cares about my hopes and dreams. My life belongs to Him and I’ll never miss my life by leaving the details of love and marriage and motherhood in His hands. His timing is perfect. He knows how old I am and He’ll work everything together for good – even “the late twenties” and the challenges with which they present single girls. For me, the key to living singleness is surrendering everything to Him and watching Him do wonderful things in a heart and life that belong to Him.

God has brought some amazing things into my life – the chance to do admin for a local Christian ministry that ministers and prays on the streets of the city and the inspiration to write … articles and, come this spring, real life books. These are unique opportunities for TODAY – for this season of singleness. One of the wonderful-to-me ideals I have for this season is to write books that encourage girls in faith through stories. If we’re surrendered to Him and committed to saying yes to Him and walking with Him in faith, He brings wonderful things into our lives – things we can do with and for Him, but would never dream of doing on our own initiative or in our own strength. It’s a blessing to serve our families and friends, but it’s so exciting when God brings MORE.

Focusing on God ALONE is hard when you want to focus on Him WITH a special someone. But think of it the other way round – someday you’ll have to focus on Him with a husband and a bunch of children, but now you can focus on Him ALONE. It’s just you and Him and that’s … special. He can be your dearest friend. Make the most of it TODAY!

from Millie LeFlore:

I’m 26 and as I continue to follow Jesus Christ, he is showing me more of his heart through my singleness. When I lay my desires before Him they become a place where He meets me and speaks directly to my heart about His love and desire to be with me. Although I wanted to be married at 18, looking back I wouldn’t trade my years of singleness for anything. Through them I have learned what surrender is, what trust is, and I’ve been free to serve on the mission field in ways a married woman may not have been able. Thank you Jesus for my singleness!! thank you Jesus for YOU.

from Stacy:

As a single woman going into her mid twenties, I still long to meet the right one, but want to keep my relationship with the Lord as my first priority. It’s not easy, but I still hope for the best. I try now by volunteering wherever I can in my church and expand my writing ministry. It does help to do things and focus on positive things in the present. If I fall, I just get up and dust off my shoulders.

from Rachelle:

I organize the youth newsletter for my church. I am beginning a read-a-thon Feb. 12 to raise money for Compassion International’s relief efforts in Haiti. Most importantly, though, I am seeking to seek Him first during this time of serving Him “without distraction.”

from Anna Lofgren:

I am spending my single days serving my Savior and community He’s placed me in for now, learning contentment and trust, and preparing for marriage, and motherhood, if and whenever that will happen. I’m taking advantage of extra time I have to devote to the Lord and be about His affairs, making sure that my day starts with extended time with my heavenly Father. Making a routine of studying many books helps deepen my walk with Him and prepare myself for the different roles He may have me play. Though it can definitely be a struggle at times, God has granted me peace and contentment as I trust Him for His timing. Time and again He’s led me in amazing ways to show me what He wants me to focus on for now. As a single young lady, He’s blessed me with time with my family at home, and given me the incredible opportunity of teaching praise ballet to 40 young girls and directing theatre involving many families. It is a joy to be a part of bringing glory to God through the arts!

to be continued…

May I be honest?

“The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth” is that—take a deep breath—the pain of singleness is real…deep…persistent.

I hate to admit it, but when I was in my teens, I whined about singleness. I wanted to marry “my childhood sweetheart.” I didn’t, actually, have such a guy in my life. I wanted to marry right out of school. I didn’t, obviously, considering that I’m writing this article! And way back then, it was tough dealing with frustrated desires of the heart and I whined—at my Jesus, to my parents and my friends, in my diary.

Now—in my mid-twenties—I try hard not to whine! (I want to stress that fact!) But it’s still tough dealing with frustrated desires of the heart.

Really tough.

Really, really, really tough.

Like I said, the pain is real…deep…persistent.

I’m surprised at how real it is. It’s not “just” a sense of emotional yearning, it’s a physical pain. It’s so deep (and personal), it’s hard to express. And it’s so persistent, it’s hard to forget.

When a friend starts dating or courting or, more often in my circle of friends, gets married or has a baby (or another baby), I’m so happy for her, but not-so-happy for little ol’ ME!

I was just looking at the pictures of one of my dearest friends and her young man at a ball. They are the cutest couple ever. I’m so totally, ridiculously happy for her I couldn’t stop smiling the whole time I was looking at the pictures! But…the whole time I was looking at the pictures, I was thinking about MY as-yet-unknown young man—wondering who he is and where he is at this moment…wanting him at my side…missing him in my heart. Moments like these—the news that a young couple have fallen in love, the sight of an old couple holding hands, the chance to cuddle a baby (not my own)—bring tears to my eyes.

And I wonder…why?

I don’t know why God allows the pain of singleness. The pain seems so pointless. But there’s more to singleness than the pain in my heart.

In Philippians 1:6, Paul says, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” I love this verse. I feel as if God has a LOT to do to perfect in me “a good work”—the good work of conforming me to the image of my Jesus. In Romans 8:29, Paul says, “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His son…” How wonderful is it that God has predestined me to become conformed to the image of His Son—my Jesus. In Philippians 2:13 Paul says, “For it is God who is at work in you both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” And in Romans 8:28 Paul says, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

Do you see?

Do you understand?

The pain of singleness is one of the things that God uses to perfect the good work He has begun in me and to conform me to the image of my Jesus.

He uses the pain for good.

He uses the tears for good.

He uses the soul-ache for good.

He uses them to conform me to the image of the One who knows and loves me best—who knows the pain and understands the tears. I promise. More to the point, He promises. He’s making you like Him and He’s using the pain of singleness to transform you, so you are radiant with Him.

But He doesn’t just promise to transform you; He promises something even more wonderful:

I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:20)

Almost two thousand years after He uttered those words, do you believe the promise? It was made by your Jesus. Believe it—believe Him.

When the pain of singleness is overwhelming and feels pointless (not to mention endless!), remember that your Jesus is with you in the midst of the singleness. In the midst of the pain. In the midst of the ups and downs–joys and sorrows–of your life.

The pain is real.

But the promise is real, too. Your Jesus is with you … always. Forever.

originally written February 2007

As I sit here planning a candlelight Valentine’s dinner with my love, I think back on the conversation I had a few days ago with my single sister-in-law. Her Bible school class on marriage has given her a lot to think about.

I couldn’t tell her the teacher was wrong. I couldn’t tell her marriage was easy. It’s not. She and I both know her brother is pretty close to perfect. But he still hurts my feelings sometimes. She and I both know housekeeping isn’t easy. I often fall short of my husband’s expectations. We all know that there are emotional days when nothing goes right. Sometimes, the bowl of potato salad breaks all over the clean kitchen floor and you don’t go to the potluck.

Marriage is not easy. But life is not easy.

No marriage can be perfect. For no person can be perfect.

Such is reality, I assured my sister-in-law Marlys. Yet so is the reality that I am living my happiest dreams. Life at the side of my husband is more wonderful than I ever imagined. Merritt steadies me, balances me, completes me. I am even more emotionally stable since our marriage, he says. (And as the chief shoulder upon which I cry, I guess he should know.) Truly, we are as happy as can be.

But it’s time for Valentine’s Day once again. The day I so often mourned my solitary state. The day I was in raptures at his phone call and Valentine. The day I agreed to marry him.

So on this day of unrealistic hopes and overwhelming longings, I encourage my sister-in-law and other singles like her to enjoy February 14. Don’t ruin a perfectly good Wednesday with self-pity. Offer free babysitting so a couple can have a much needed dinner date. Pray for someone who is spending their first Valentine’s alone after the death of their beloved. Make your parents a candlelight dinner then slip away with your siblings. Bake some cookies for some special older people in your life. Be so busy giving love you won’t have time to miss it.

On this day for lovers, I smile as I think of the newly-engaged couples I know. If they were listening (ah, but they have eyes and ears only for each other), I would tell them to savor the sweetness, the fresh newness of their love and happiness together. For I know that yet another Valentine’s Day will find them reliving the memories, even more joy-filled and content than they ever imagined.

And to my love, my husband, I whisper words but few:

“Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be!”

Ruth Bell, written in 1939 before she met Billy
published in Never Let it End: Poems of a Lifelong Love

But in this pause, as the company slowly shuts down for the night around me and my husband passes in and out with a quick smile, I can’t help but think of the time in which I not only did not own such a privilege as to bustle into this man’s office, clearing papers for the basket of bread and cake that I bore and completely commandeering his work space for a YLCF post—but when I had no idea that he even existed! It seems so funny to think of it, but my brother was employed by the electrician that did the wiring for this building, spending days on end working directly with Philip, the summer before I even met him. We laugh about it now—how all it would have taken would have been one day of me being sweet enough to drive my little brother to work and we’d have had this deal wrapped up a whole year earlier!

And it feels like forever ago—another lifetime altogether—that the big question of my life lay unanswered and the future stretched ahead like a kaleidoscope of differing possibility. What would he look like? Would he be as kind as I hoped, as gallant? Would he sweep me off my feet in a moment or engage in a gentle wooing?

Would I be married at all? Was there something I was missing; some path God was pointing to that didn’t lead to a wedding but to some other adventure of His choosing?

Would I be happy?

Those days may seem like a long time ago now. But I remember the questioning like it was yesterday. I remember the frustrations of singleness and the endless curiosity and the flashes of carefree joy with which God blessed my way. I remember the comparative luxury of time to focus on the Lord “without distraction” and I remember the pain of waiting. Keenly. I will never forget it. And I’m glad.

We at YLCF have been thinking a lot about our singles lately, wanting to make sure we’re serving your needs and meeting you where you are. We want to be aware that in the midst of all the good posts on marriage and homemaking and motherhood we’re not leaning too exclusively on vision-casting—important in its own right and a good thing. But not the only thing.

Not the Main Thing.

It’s for that reason that I’m excited to announce a special “Single-Mindedness” for the month of February. Look out for some wonderful pieces, some of which have been penned by our very own YLCF readers, on the blessings, the unique opportunities and, yes, the struggles of singlehood. And get ready for a little audience participation, as well. We want to hear from you: what are you doing with your single days? How are you focusing on the Lord and your relationship with Him? How are you maintaining your pursuit of the Main Thing in the midst of desire? In what ways have you learned contentment? What wonderful opportunities and ambitions has He given you?

Be thinking about it, because we want you to leave a comment on this post—or any of the others to follow this month—telling us how you’re actively investing your singlehood to the glory of God! Keep it simple and succinct because we’re planning on compiling them all into one post at the end of the month. And I am anticipating a wonderful tapestry of diversity exhibiting the creativity of our Creator-King and the beauty of His daughters in more unique situations than we can imagine.

So get scribbling!

Bluebells, Herefordshire, England

by Christine Brown

Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God.
-Jim Elliot

Don’t strain your eyes to see the future –
for you will not be able to see clearly what God wants you to see now.
-Elisabeth Elliot

Looks like the Elliots had a good handle on contentment…living life to the fullest. It sounds like they didn’t worry much. I’ve a note written in the back of my Bible that our pastor mentioned in a message: “If you worry, your view of God is that He is not there”.

Wow. When fear invades thoughts, do I believe that God is there?

My husband and I were saying that other day that this Air Force life is one of extremes. Extremely adventurous and exciting things…extremely hard things.

I have to admit, sometimes I find my thoughts in these places:

• fear of the future
• fear of deployment
• fear of having to handle life ALONE
• fear of failure in being all my son will need me to be
• fear of the danger in flying
• fear of the unknown
• fear of moving overseas
• fear of moving across the country by myself

I am sure that your fears are very different from mine. Perhaps you’re worrying about needing a job, singleness, or other strains are bearing down on you.

When stormy thoughts and imaginations of what things could possibly be like come, it drains you. You can’t “see clearly what God wants you to see today”. You miss out on HERE and NOW. I am not the wife my husband needs me to be, or the mommy that my son needs when my thoughts are out there getting lost in worry.

Fear is abuse of the imagination as you picture worst that can happen, when the best may very well be what is in store.

So many times I want to know what is down the road. I am a very organized person—planning is essential. Right now we don’t even know what is 4 months down the road!  Will my husband be off training somewhere without us? Will my son and I be able to go along? Will he be in survival training which is pretty much a horrible time? Will we still be living in here or moving very soon after graduation? What state or country will we be living in next?

I think that if we knew the future, we would faint at the very thought of it. If I had known what 2008 would be like I would have most likely had a nervous breakdown!

But here’s what God’s Word says…

…and as thy days, so shall thy strength be. (Deuteronomy 33:25)

God gives strength for each day when that day comes, not beforehand. What a realization this was! When saying goodbye comes on a deployment day, I will have strength for that day. When I have to handle life alone, I will have strength for that day. If we move overseas, I will have strength for that day. And not only for these big things in life, but in everything HE GIVES STRENGTH! What a promise from God!

Are we assured that we are safe in the hands that hold the stars? Can we wholeheartedly surrender to God, leaving quietly with Him all of our ‘what ifs’ and ‘but what abouts’? ALL can rest quietly in His very capable hands.
-Elisabeth Elliot

In my flower garden, some plants have been flowering beautifully while some are bent over, brown, dried up. How disappointing the brown ones are! I have put such time, attention and love into those little seeds, then the little plants, watching them grow and practically cheering them on. It was so exciting to think of how beautiful all the different types of flowers will be!  Now, pitiful describes them best.

We’ve all heard the phrase, “Bloom where you are planted.”  I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately.

Am I blooming right here, right now, where I am planted? Am I bringing beauty into my little corner of the world? Or am I dried up and pitiful from the strain of worry? Am I a disappointment to God, to Him who has planted me here? Is He looking down thinking…”how beautiful you could have been!”

As I’ve been reflecting on life and where God has us right now I am realizing more than ever that I need to leave EVERYTHING in His hands. Worrying and becoming fearful will accomplish only one thing. It will steal my joy. It will filter out the beauty and only allow the negative is seen. It will prevent me from living life to the fullest today.

I can rest in Him and find joy in the everyday things of life. In where I am right now—even with all of the uncertainties of the future. My eyes are not clouded by worry anymore. God has a perfect plan that only HE could plan so wonderfully! Whatever comes our way will have gone through His hand first. Nothing can touch us without God being a part of it. I can trust Him…in all things. Life is beautiful.

My name is Christine Brown and I’m 24 years old.  The love of my life is a pilot in the Air Force, and we have a 1 year old boy, Tyler.  Some of my interests include decorating, cooking, photography, and scrapbooking.  Loving God more and loving others as He did is my continual pursuit.

photography copyright Philip Ivester, 2007

My mother always told me that her mother always told her: it is selfish to be self-conscious. I have always struggled with being self-conscious.  Maybe everyone else does, too.  But I’m always slightly jealous of those who appear so self-confident.  Because I myself am feeling self-conscious about not being self-confident!  It’s all about self.

Whenever I actually make the conscious effort to be others-conscious, I feel at ease making them feel at ease.  And I’ve found that the easiest way to start is with a simple smile.  The Bible says, “A joyful heart is good medicine” (Proverbs 17:22).  And after all, “Never frown: you don’t know who’s falling in love with your smile.”

It takes trust to live without worry for tomorrow. It takes the touch of a Master Physician to put balm on the wounds of yesterday. It takes courage to let go of all these things to really realize that all that He asks of us is to live today. He isn’t concerned about us understanding what is hidden behind the unknown of tomorrow any more than He wants us to be so broken by yesterday that we fail to learn to live today in a way that will truly make it beautiful and worth remembering. He wants us to trust Him to know the end from the beginning, to accept not only joy but sorrow as from a Father’s hand.

But God wants something more from us than just acceptance of the changes in our plans that He allows. He wants us to accept with joy. He wants us to be able to kneel down and build an altar, so to speak, and to lay our will as an offering on that altar, and to get up and go on, not just in submission, but with joy to be living the life that He has chosen for us.

God wants us to be happy. He wants His joy to well up in our hearts and spill out because there is not room to contain it. He wants us to choose this, even when nothing seems to match up with the kind of happiness we wanted. Sometimes we have to choose to find those beautiful things, choose to look at the bright side, choose to be happy even when there seems to be nothing to beautiful, nothing bright, and nothing happy.

“Every day may not be good, but there’s something good in every day.” ~Author Unknown

Tomorrow will be here sooner than you think, there’s no fear for that, and we cannot change yesterday no matter how many tears we cry. God has given us today. In this day He has woven a multitude of little blessings, little pieces of joy worth collecting. It is up to us to find them, and it isn’t any easier at first than it is to find that thimble in a field, yet as we train our minds and hearts to be receptive to the littlest of blessings, we find that we live in a world that is still a beautiful place, filled with evidences great and small of Someone who loves us.

If we make it our habit to find something beautiful in every day, our hearts learn a new language and our trust in Him to provide grows stronger, but even nature knows that one cannot receive unless they also give. So it is with us.

There are souls in this world which have the gift of finding joy everywhere and of leaving it behind them when they go. ~Frederick Faber

And that, by God’s grace, is what I want to be. Today.

Not long ago, I was reading various passages and one little thing kept popping up–noise. It got me thinking. Have you ever tried to pray and then heard the phone ring? Or thought about something you forgot to do? Have you ever said, I’m going to sit down and read my Bible—really read it!—and then, when the time came, the TV from the other room was blaring or your brothers or sisters decided to play tag in the house? Noise. Noise. Noise!! I realized we get so used to the noise of life that, sometimes, we subconsciously crave noise and forget how to be silent. We forget what it says in Ecclesiastes, “to everything there is a season……a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.” (vs.1 and 7) We forget that Jesus still speaks in that still, small voice.

It puzzles me why we beg God to speak to us and then we fill our lives with so much noise and distraction that prevents us from hearing what He has to say. It’s almost like asking God to call us and then having our music blaring so loudly that we can’t hear the phone ring. A bit silly, don’t you think?

While thinking on these things I penned these words…

Speak to me
In the silence, or in the noise!
Because Lord, sometimes I’m just not still.

Sometimes I’m just not still. Don’t you hate that? Though we don’t mean to, sometimes we tune God out. We get carried about by the bustle of the life we live. School, work, deadlines, homework, bills, activities, social events, church events, family outings, errands, chores…stuff has to be done! And as the clock ticks, we wonder how we’re going to squeeze it all in and we forget about the One thing our whole existence should be built upon–Jesus! We forget that we will be restless and unsteady inside unless we have our Cornerstone, our Rock, and our Foundation set and in place! Most times we long to hear the Lord speak to us, but there is too much noise ringing in our ears that it’s nearly impossible to detect His voice. We’ve got to learn to be still and be silent. We need to learn to put our relationship with the Lord first. When we learn to shut off the noise and center our focus (and our ears!) on the Lord, then we grow a little more and the lines are open to where we can hear His voice more clearly.

So remember to be still. Take the time to get alone with God every day and listen to what He has to say. Unplug the phone. Turn off the computer, the TV, and the cell phone. Go for a walk. Pull over on the highway and sit still. He has so many amazing things He wants us to know and learn…so many exciting adventures and treasures…and all we have to do is just sit still and listen.

My little family is pulling up our roots (my roots anyway) in California, loading up a moving van and driving a bit north and a bit east, eventually landing in a tiny Rocky Mountain town (my husband’s roots).

You may remember that my husband is a Marine–a job that requires extended periods of time in a combat zone. We’ve done the deployment thing before… and it’s time to start over. In about six weeks, my beloved will be heading to Afghanistan for 13 months. It will be long, and it will be hard, but we’ve experienced enough of God’s sufficient grace to know that we’ll get through it.

Which brings us to this move. We have about a week until we haul ourselves and all of our belongings into the mountains, where the boys and I will have the opportunity to be near John’s family for the next year and a half. I love the mountains, I love the snow (which we’ll have more often than not, living at over 10,000 ft. elevation!) and I love my parents-in-love. While I’m not at all looking forward to leaving the people and places we love here in California, when it comes to living in Colorado, I’m basically, in a word, thrilled.

But the moving part? The sea of cardboard boxes? The Everest of packing paper? Not so much.

Combined with John’s extremely long pre-deployment training hours and me still just as busy as ever caring for our little people, I was beginning to freak out get a bit overwhelmed.

Until the knock at my door last week that brought me a blessing. Two of them, actually. A pair of sweet fifteen year old girls with smiles on their faces and hearts eager to just… help.

They fed the boys lunch. They read books. They played with toys. They made cupcakes and let my three year old crack the eggs. They cleaned up messes and wiped hands and faces. They raced up and down the stairs, running for tape and permanent markers, blankies and stuffed Pooh Bears.

I packed boxes. I checked off a long list of phone calls. I wrote about ten urgent emails. I packed more boxes. I sorted through paperwork. I organized and threw out old craft supplies. I folded laundry. I packed MORE boxes.

We had long conversations about life and struggles during nap time. We packed up all the books from our last two bookshelves.  We stacked boxes and labeled them. They helped me figure out what to keep and what to toss. We did a lot of laughing.

I could have kept them for days.

These girls aren’t perfect. They didn’t step straight from a nineteenth century story book. They’re normal fifteen year old girls living in 2010, complete with texts messages ringing in every few minutes. They like to laugh and they deal with the same everyday issues every other young lady faces. I’d even guess they might not always be quite as eager to wipe faces and play with Legos in their own homes.

But they both have hearts that love Jesus and are quick to do whatever needed to be a blessing. They shared their hearts with me that day and I saw beauty and maturity in that glimpse. God is at work in these girls’ lives. They put themselves aside for a day in January and sweetly gave their time and energy to a busy mom of two little boys.

When I was a teenager, I made a trip to visit some friends in Texas, splitting my time between two sisters who were each married with active little ones and only lived a short distance apart. In preparing to head out there, my young self was anticipating being busy making meals and cleaning the house so these young moms would have some free time to spend with their children.

What I didn’t expect was the reality of mothers needing time to catch up with all the million and ten other things that never get done because they do spend most of their time playing and cuddling and feeding and changing and training their busy tiny people. While I did make a few meals and bake a couple desserts and do a bit of shopping and mop some floors and change several diapers, I spent the majority of my time playing and cuddling and feeding and changing the children. It freed the mothers to get caught up on other important things and feel a little more rested.

I consider myself very blessed to be surrounded by willing mother’s helpers. I’ve had several here in San Diego. When I get to Colorado, I know of two other young ladies who are just as sweet and just as eager to help (also YLCF readers, incidentally!).

But I know not every mother of little ones is in the same situation. Perhaps you know of one such mother. Maybe she’s busy and weary, waiting for a single young lady to step forward and offer a few hours of time so she can catch up. Perhaps she’s overwhelmed with a move or a new baby or a husband’s busy schedule–or maybe she would just like to take a nap or make dinner with two hands! She could be wishing, right now, that there was someone who could spend a few hours playing with her little ones and maybe vacuum the living room carpet.

And maybe you are just the girl for the job!

I’ve been given a gift with these various young women. Mothers, don’t afraid to accept help, and young women, don’t be afraid to offer it! Get out there and get helping!

Sometimes it is easier to act like a Christian than to be a follower of Christ.  But in his new book Dug Down Deep: Unearthing What I Believe and Why It Matters, Joshua Harris sounds a compelling call to dig down deep into the truths of why we believe what we believe so we will know how to live.

Every person reaches the point where they have to make their beliefs their own.  I remember that point in my life: I was on my own for the very first time, at Summit Ministries in Manitou Springs, Colorado.  I could have been whoever I wanted to be.  But what my parents taught stuck.  In two weeks away from home, I not only determined that my faith was truly my own, but I learned a whole lot about having a biblical worldview.

Now, seven years later, I am a parent myself.  It is an awesome and humbling thought to realize that I have that same responsibility with my children.  The question continually plagues me, how did my parents do it? How do I teach my daughter to love the Lord and His Word?  How do I get her to build her life on that firm foundation?  If she doesn’t see it in me, how will she make it her own?  Only if my faith is dug down deep can my children see and follow it.

But Dug Down Deep is a book for more than just parents.  It’s a book for the young adult I was not so very long ago, trying to figure out exactly what I believed.  It’s for the pastor or teacher who wants a less textbook-like approach to outlining theology.  It’s for anyone who wants an overview of the Christian faith.  It’s for everyone who wants to be challenged in what they think about God.

The best thing about the book Dug Down Deep is that it continually points you to the Book of books.  It is the sort of book to be read with a Bible in hand, the sort of book that will make you set it down and pick up the Bible instead.

Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15).  These words always bring me back to the simplicity of sanctification.  This is why I obey.  This is to be my motivation.  People who love Jesus do what he says.  They learn to obey him in the big and small parts of their lives. (Dug Down Deep, pg. 173)

(Thanks to WaterBrook Multnomah for providing this book for review!)

One is a missionary in Africa. One is attending West Point.

None of them would be where they are today if it had not been for the love of Uncle Dick and Aunt Dixie in adopting each of them. That love which is a physical picture of a spiritual truth. That love of our Lord who adopted us (Romans 8:14-17, Galatians 4:5-7, Ephesians 1:5).

Uncle Dick and Aunt Dixie worked as missionaries in Haiti years ago. They raised many children together, including my Haitian cousins. Then Uncle Dick was called home to Heaven. And Aunt Dixie’s love for his memory and for Haiti became Hope in Haiti, an organization that builds schools and sponsors children in rural mountain villages of Haiti.

I’m guessing that Uncle Dick is part of the welcoming committee in Heaven this week for the believers and little ones from Haiti that are crossing Jordan’s shores.

Meanwhile, Aunt Dixie’s is part of coordinating a relief effort to give Hope in Haiti once more.

Has your heart broken this week at the news coverage? Or are you already calloused to the images, deaf to the news broadcasts?

Have you come face to face with how different their reality is from ours? Ashleigh has.

Few of us actually landed in Port a Prince the day before the earthquake. But my friend’s sister did. Annette is right there, to be the hands and feet of hope.

But the hands and feet need the rest of the body. They need us to hold them up in prayer. They need us to hold them up financially. They need us to hold them up by spreading the word. They need us to petition to let adoptive parents bring their children home to the states now.

That is how to give hope to people just like my cousins Micha, Jeremy, Evens, and Jesse. That is how to give Hope in Haiti.