Guest Post by Nina -The Grand Adventures of Me

Hey, new friends! I'm Nina from The Grand Adventures of Me, where I blog about life in my early twenties and the struggles of cuddling with stinkbugs and trying to find my own voice in this crazy thing we call life. I really do love my life, though, even though I'm really dramatic about period cramps, and how I am the world's worst English major.  I think a big reason I have joy is because I have the joy of Christ and His peace in my heart. But honestly, it's not always been like that, despite my "Christian" title that I've held for almost 17 years.  When Miss Sue asked me to guest post for her, I jumped at the chance and perused her blog, and y'all, I love how honest she is about the struggles that she is working through, especially the whole singleness and loneliness. As women in our twenties, it can really bum us out to see our friends getting engaged and having children and it seems like they are moving on with their lives and meanwhile we're the awkward turtle at the Christmas party who just doesn't care.  

This gem has been floating around the internet for a couple weeks, and I found it a very relatable post.

In all honesty, though, I think that's okay. It's not okay that we don't care, but maybe we're in a different place in life than they are. I'm pretty tired of all the:  "Work on yourself until you meet your future man." "Singleness is a gift." "Find your completion in God and He'll bring the right one along." "Let Jesus be your lover."   Yes, that's good and all, but that doesn't help whenever you're standing alone at a New Years Eve party. I think we do need to make Christ a priority in our lives so that when we do have families of our own, we can encourage our children to look to our Savior in all circumstances. I think what is equally as important, though, is finding the confidence in who we are as daughters of God. We are not waiting for our other half to come along, because we are whole only in Christ. We are beautiful daughters of the highest King, and our walk, our talk, our smile and demeanor should exude the confidence we are given by Him. So chin up and smile during these last few days of the holiday season, and love love love yourself, your family, your friends, and even the grumpy cashier at Walmart! 

Poem

Guest Post by V.Watson

LOVE

I know you've been hurt, and think love's not for you, but listen to your heart, and you'll know that's not true, think back to the times, when love was something new, it wasn't just a game, or something fun to do, remember when you smiled, at the thought of someone for you, God has a plan, and there is nothing you can do, except live, learn, and take it as it comes, don't turn your back on it, cause there's nowhere else to run, think of all the things you've been through, is this really what you want, when love truly reaches you, and you know you've found the One, embrace true happiness, and make 10 problems turn to none, they'll care for you whole heartedly, and help you see the Sun, when they look at you like nothing else matters, you'll know your number 1, love comes with patience and serenity, surrounded by security within, if you let fear or regret hold you back, you'll never know what true love really is, let the past be the past, and allow the future to be a mystery, if you do anything more, your present replays your history, Love will come to you at the moment you least expect, so stay open hearted/ willing, and be ready to accept, butterflies, passion, the unknown, and everything above, cause when these emotions hit you, it won't be nothing but LOVE.

BY V.Watson

Where is He? part II

I had to be honest with myself and admit that all the terrible dates were my fault. Conversation with my sister continued…
Me:how do you suggest I find a mate then? I have done everything.
Sis: except do nothing, you need to find a seat and chill out.
Do nothing? I was left speechless. If I do nothing I take a chance of missing out.   Recently I ran into a article about a woman that never remarried after her husband was listed MIA by the military.  She said waited 60 years until it was finally confirmed her husband had died in battle. I thought I was waiting a long time, I cant imagine waiting 60 years.That lead me to look for other examples of someone waiting for a loved one. This is what I came up with.
The Note book-Allie claimed to wait 7 years for Noah to come for her. Noah then told her he wrote her a letter a day for a year.
The Odyssey -Penelope the wife of Odysseus waited for 20 years while her husband fought at Troy and was set off course on his way home.
Genesis 29 -Jacob worked 14 years to be be with his love Rachel.
What great examples of patience and discipline. I don’t know how they did it because I find waiting a week a challenge. I guess I need to find a hobby and keep myself busy. That my friends is one of the reasons why I started blogging!
 
“our willingness to wait reveals the value we place on the object we're waiting for.” Charles Stanley

Where is He? part I

“Where is he? The man who was just like me
I heard he was hiding somewhere I can’t see” Amy Whinehouse

 
I am in my mid 20’s and in my group of friends, I am the only one single and without a child. There are days that I am grateful for the freedom that I have. There are also days when I am lonely. As I said  in my last post I struggle with having patience and waiting. It is not easy for me to stand or sit still. I am always looking for the quick way out. 
Although I grew up in the church my previous relationship was not Christ centered. Close to the end of that relationship I met a couple my age at my church. For some odd reason the wife invited me out to dinner with them and I accepted. I never turn down free food! During this dinner we talked and I got a chance to see them interact. It was a bit annoying and at the same time it made me happy. It gave me hope watching them and I saw the difference god made in their connection with each other.
When that relationship finally came to an end, I was unsure where I would go next. I was trying to figure out what kind of man I wanted in my life. I saw what a Christ centered relationship looked like, but I still didn’t make it a priority on my list. Dating started off simple enough and it quickly evolved into a huge drain of energy. I tried whatever my friends suggested for me to find someone. After months of failed dating out of frustration I had a chat with my sister. Our conversation went like this…
Me: I just don’t understand the men God has brought into my life. Some of them are a mess, dating is so stupid.
My sis: God brings? Wait aren't you the one looking for these guys? I don’t think God has anything to do with that mess. Lol
She laughed but what she said hit me; she was right. I was bringing the mess into my life.

He that can have Patience

He that can have Patience, can have what he will- Benjamin Franklin

Every one that knows me will describe me as a little bit impatient. Waiting is one of the things I struggle with. I will say it is because I am a little hyper (like Elmo) and always ready to go. I am also a person that needs to know EVERYTHING

How bad is it?

Hmm this is a little weird, but I need to know every detail of a movie before I watch it. I am not talking about the short summary you will find online. This girl (Me)  has found a website that describes every detail and event that occurs in whatever movie I look up. Even the new releases (I often wonder how do they complete this so quickly)  Yes I am that girl that will ask a million annoying questions about a show or movie. If you are wonder how does this not ruin the movie, my answer is a lot of times the visuals surprise me and the movie is just as exciting. I also record most of my TV shows because I don't like waiting for commercials. If it happens to be a boring part of the show or TV movie I fast forward. 

I will call in to Panera (awesome food) to place an order to go, sometimes even if I am eating there.

I am probably the only girl that hates to shop because I  don't like spending hours looking for clothes and trying them on. Most time I get the same shirt in multiple colors and I'm on my way.Yes I know, I have been told this is terrible.

The world has become a place of convenience, fast pace and short conversations. Most of the time I am not required to wait too long for what I want. However, waiting on God is a whole different story. I feel like I have been enrolled into Patience/Waiting 101

“You must wait on me for your directions” this is what God says to me constantly. I am always asking when? What? Where? How? And my favorite… Why? Sometimes he answers and sometimes I feel ignored.

In the next few posts I will talk about some of the questions I am waiting to be answered and all the things that come with waiting.