Category: Relationships

What convinced me to get married young

I Had My Whole Life Ahead of Me. What Convinced Me to Get Married Young? Exactly That.

Posted on by Ashley Giovannucci in Relationships, True Love Stories

I didn’t think I wanted to get married so young. I wasn’t looking for a husband. I was looking for a career. Marriage and family?  That could wait until after I’d put my degree to use. Maybe 28. Maybe 30. That’s when it would be time to settle down..... Those were my thoughts as a nineteen year old girl. I knew that I wanted to get married… someday. But that someday seemed a lot farther off than the two years when I’d be standing in front of the altar exchanging wedding vows at only 21 years old. So what changed? My perspective on what marriage is and what marriage isn’t. As a 21 year old bride, I realized that marriage isn’t just a season of life. It’s doing all of life... together. 

How Do You Know He’s the One?

Posted on by Ashley Giovannucci in Define the Relationship, Relationships

How do I know he’s the one? How do I know I’m ready to get married? How can I possibly be sure when he’s the only man I’ve ever loved? You’d think those questions would have plagued me as a twenty-one year old bride. I never thought I’d get married young. I never wanted to. Wasn’t I too young? Too hopeful? Too naive to marry the first man I had ever loved… let alone dated?

Leaning into the Longing: A Single Girl’s Guide to Life-long Friendships

Posted on by Laura Coulier in Define the Relationship, Relationships

Writing about singleness is certainly not my idea of a good time, but I suppose that is just the reason to do it. I have been single for 31 years, and while probably the first 21 or so I was praised for my focus and not being distracted by the opposite sex, I have now spent the last decade feeling the pressure. Thankfully (and one of the reasons I was encouraged to write this e-book) I have had the joy of experiencing a lot of healthy community over the last decade and, quite honestly, I have put in a lot of work along the way to receive that blessing with an open heart. 

To All the Single Ladies, What If It Isn’t Just a Season?

Posted on by Emmarie Moon in Define the Relationship, Holy Living, Relationships

What if I stay single forever? This is a thought that used to haunt me. I lived in such denial of this being a possibility. At weddings when well-meaning women would say “there’s someone out there for you too” I would nod my head in eager anticipation. But I have a bit of a different perspective on that now.

Letting Go of Love? How My Broken Engagement Redeemed My Perspective on Love

Posted on by Amber Impellizzeri in Define the Relationship, Relationships

I didn’t want to be angry at my ex. I didn’t want to be angry at myself. I didn’t want to view our time together as wasted time, or lessons learned, or any other classic view people take when a relationship dies. I wanted a renewed vision of the time we had spent together. I wanted God to take my feeble natural perspective on things and help me see what He saw, and if it wasn’t asking too much, I still wanted a way to be able to show my ex I cared.

Lessons I Learned After a Breakup

Posted on by Kaela Kaiser in Define the Relationship, Relationships

Relationships have a way of showing our weakness. If I had not been in a relationship, there are so many things I wouldn't have learned about myself. And in this relationship, there were so many good times. At first it was hard to know what to do with the memories. But as I move farther away from the relationship, I am able to think back on those memories and recognize that they were God’s grace to me at that time. I am beginning to recognize God’s hand in every good moment and every hard moment.  

Lessons I Learned on My First Blind Date

Posted on by Mandi Mauer in Define the Relationship, Relationships

I can officially say I’ve been on a blind date. For some of you, I’m sure this is old hat and nothing out of the ordinary. For others, it may be new and a bit intimidating. I fell in the latter category. Let me take a minute to share with you what I learned through … Continue reading Lessons I Learned on My First Blind Date →

Dealing with Break-ups: When It’s Over before You Want It to Be

Posted on by Emmarie Moon in Relationships

Hearing of quite a few break-ups recently and having quite a few young women reach out to our ministry for advice, I thought it was time to share a few of the tips I’ve learned in hopes that they might help some lovely ladies that are going through break-ups right now: