How to Avoid the 10 Mistakes Single Women Make , livre ebook

Harvest House Publishers, Inc. - Michelle Mckinney Hammond

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113 pages

English

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Get rid of the stumbling blocks to love! Always dynamic and informative, Michelle McKinney Hammond keeps it real as she shows you how to avoid relationship blockers and embrace healthy, life-changing views regarding men, relationships, and your future.You'll discover how to...develop an attitude men look formake positives changes to boost romance optionsmaintain God's standardsjettison unrealistic expectationsget the most out of each life seasonEven as you look forward to finding love, you can enjoy this time of exploring your world and getting in great romance shape.

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Publié par	Harvest House Publishers, Inc.
Date de parution	15 août 2006
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9780736934251
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0600€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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Unless otherwise indicated all verses are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION . NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Verses marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Verses marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.
Published in association with the literary agency of Alive Communications, Inc., 7680 Goddard Street, Ste #200, Colorado Springs, CO 80920. www.alivecommunications.com .
Cover by Koechel Peterson Associates, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota
All photos Tom Henry / Koechel Peterson Associates
HOW TO AVOID THE 10 MISTAKES SINGLE WOMEN MAKE Copyright 2006 by Michelle McKinney Hammond Published by Harvest House Publishers Eugene, Oregon 97402 www.harvesthousepublishers.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
McKinney Hammond, Michelle, 1957-
How to avoid the 10 mistakes single women make / Michelle McKinney Hammond
p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7369-1391-1 (pbk.)
ISBN-10: 0-7369-1391-2
1. Single women-Religious life. 2. Christian women-Religious life. I. Title.
BV4596.S5M3445 2006
248.8 432-dc22
2006007137
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other-except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America
06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 / VP / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This is to all my sisters who struggle on the first day of spring, through many a lonely night while whispering prayers in the dark, and with every tick of the clock that grows louder on the mantel of your heart. Have hope your prince will come.
In the meantime occupy well, look your best, and know that you are not alone.
Acknowledgments
To my Harvest House family, who continually encourage and inspire me to greater heights.
To all those who support, counsel, pray, and challenge me to do better, thank you.
But most of all to those whose needs cause me to seek God for even more answers on your behalf. It is my constant privilege to serve you.
Contents
A unique top ten list
How to Avoid the 10 Mistakes Single Women Make
Number One P lacing marriage on a pedestal next to God
Number Two U sing singleness as an excuse to not getting on with the incredible business of living
Number Three E mbracing the C inderella S yndrome and waiting for the perfect prince to come rescue you
Number Four M issing the significance of the present moment
Number Five B eing shortsighted about life
Number Six F alling down on the job of life
Number Seven B eing completely self-involved
Number Eight N eglecting the most important person in your life next to God- you
Number Nine S ubjecting your heart to foolish choices
Number Ten G iving up and caving in
Additional Recommended Reading and Author Contact Information
A unique top ten list
Hmm let s see
David Letterman has them. USA Today . MTV. Billboard. The New York Times . Anybody who is anybody has a top ten list for this or that. Most of these lists are cute, funny, and quite entertaining. But, though they clue us in on the state of mind of the general masses, they really have nothing to do with our personal lives. Perhaps it s time we make a few lists of our own. It s called taking stock. Locating ourselves. Where we are at present in comparison to where we really want to be. In order to move forward and reach our personal goals, we must acknowledge the stuff, the issues, the habits, and the mind-sets that keep us stuck and hinder our progress.
It s safe to say that most singles want to be married, and yet they are at a loss to figure out what may be stalling their advancement toward the altar. As I have traveled around the country, speaking and corresponding with singles from around the world, certain patterns have emerged and common threads of conversation and behavior have made me pause for the cause and devise a top ten list of my own. Ten mistakes singles make in their pursuit of love, romance, and personal fulfillment.
I hope you will be brave enough to be honest with yourself, examine your baggage, and get rid of what is not working for you. That is, if you are serious about changing your circumstances. Of course, it all begins with renewing the mind, so let s walk through this together. Know this: You are not alone, and there is never any shame in making a mistake. It s only a shame if you don t learn from your faux pas. So here s to living, learning, and rounding the bend to a place in the journey of life where you enjoy the scenery much more and finally arrive at your desired destination. Just remember that you are the driver behind the wheel and this is your car. You get to decide where you want to go, so check the map and adjust your route accordingly.
As always with love, Michelle
Mistake Number One
Placing marriage on a pedestal next to God
Just thinking out loud
Once upon a time a young man longed to be free from the things that bound him. Feelings of inferiority, isolation, and helplessness overwhelmed him. But God had chosen him to be a conqueror, to defy the odds, to rise above mediocrity and literally free, not just himself from the oppression that hindered him from living the life he wanted to live, but also the lives of countless others around him.
But how would he do this? First, he had to get past what he had always believed about himself. His description of himself did not match God s description. God called him a mighty man of valor. He saw himself as insignificant, the least among men, someone not to be taken note of. He was amazed to find he did not realize his own power or the power of the God he served to grant him his heart s desire. Neither had he considered the fact that God was with him and actually interested in his state of affairs. That God wanted him to live a victorious life.
These were truths he had to embrace in order to be empowered to take the next step toward living the bold and victorious life he was longing to live. He had to cast down his own perceptions about himself and embrace the true reality of who he was in the eyes of the One who had created him and knew him best. He had to acknowledge all of his weaknesses, strengths, and even those things he was just beginning to discover about himself.
It is only when we locate ourselves that we are able to get a vision of our destiny and what we can accomplish. When we come to the full realization of our inherent gifts and the things in our nature that are conducive to God s design for our lives, we can see the road map and make sense of the directions God is giving us. Of course, there are seasons when we are called to walk by faith, taking one step at a time into what seems to be the dark. But in those times we are held safe in the center of God s palm all the way. So remember, when you can t see your way, it s because you are being held. And when you can see the path before you, keep moving forward, being sensitive to His voice every step of the way. How often have you said to yourself, Something told me and then ignored the instructions because you thought it was just you second-guessing yourself? That is not some thing; that is Some one whispering, This is the way, walk in it (Isaiah 30:21). As we learn to trust that voice and follow His instructions, we find ourselves on the path of wholeness and living the life we desire with less drama and trauma than when we plot our course ourselves.
Know that getting your dream will always cost you something. We can only hold on to so much collectively in our lives. Often, something has to go in order to be replaced by something better. This is why the Bible tells us that we cannot serve two masters at the same time. We will love one and hate the other (Matthew 6:24; Luke 16:13). If you truly want to be married, there are things about the single life you will have to sacrifice. Life can no longer be as self-centered; it must become others-centered. The focus you once had on yourself must now be shifted to invest in the life or lives of someone else. When we are seeking to establish a covenant with God or someone in our life, we must be willing to sacrifice anything that would hinder the relationship from moving forward toward a rich commitment in which both people experience the blessing of pouring themselves into one another s lives.
Back to our young man. After getting a clear understanding of who he really was, it was time to make a sacrifice. He had to build an altar to God, establishing a covenant with Him as well as affirming that it was He who gave him peace in the midst of his turmoil within and without.
After this he had to get rid of some idols. They were hindering his ability to see the endless possibilities for his life. They were distracting his focus from the main point that in spite of what he thought he lacked-strength, wisdom, support, and courage- he served a God who was Lord over all the impossibilities he could list. Idols were robbing him of the life he wanted to live. They had become larger than God in his mind, obstructing his view of a better tomorrow.
After tearing down the idols, he was able to receive instructions from God that directed him on how to make his dream come true. Gideon then led his people to freedom from their oppressors through highly unconventional means. Along the way his faith was tested as God challenged him to let go of everything he assumed would get him the victory he wanted. (Read Gideon s story in Judges 6-8.)
Perhaps you too feel insignificant and isolated in your longing for victory in the arena of love. Feeling oppressed by the way that life has always been, you ve grown accustomed to being disappointed. Friends