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WestBow Press - Harmony Claire

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83 pages

English

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Unwanted singleness is a man-made problem with a God-given solution. This book reveals where the Christian romance narrative got off course and how to correct it to find love.

Popular Christian Culture’s narrative teaches singles that the key to finding love is to abdicate responsibility for their love lives to God. Slogans abound: Singleness is a gift - Wait on the Lord - God is enough - God will send you the right one in His time. Such mantras sound so spiritual but what if they are not true? What if they are not Biblical? What if the very things you are doing to find love are keeping you from it?

In Sick of Singleness, author Harmony Claire uses her own singleness breakthrough story to skillfully address the spiritual, cultural, and personal narratives that can keep Christians trapped in unwanted singleness. Her biblical and practical approach to the search for true love offers unique, refreshing and life-changing insights that will empower you to change your narrative and your story.

Sujets

Religion

Christianisme

Love

Christian

Marriage

Single person

Philosophie et théologie

Christian Living

Informations

Publié par	WestBow Press
Date de parution	10 janvier 2023
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781664287044
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0200€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

SICK OF SINGLENESS

A BIBLICAL GUIDE TO BREAKING FREE AND FINDING LOVE

HARMONY CLAIRE

Copyright © 2023 Harmony Claire.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

WestBow Press
A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.westbowpress.com
844-714-3454

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scriptures are taken from the CSB version unless otherwise noted. Other versions used include the NIV, ESV, the NLT and the TLB. There are approximately 100 scripture references.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.®

Scripture quotations marked (TLB) are taken from The Living Bible, copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture marked (ASV) taken from the American Standard Version of the Bible.

ISBN: 978-1-6642-8705-1 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-8706-8 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-8704-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022923307

WestBow Press rev. date: 1/10/2023
Contents
Foreword
Introduction
PART 1 SICK OF SINGLENESS
CHAPTER ONE Shattered
CHAPTER TWO Popular Christian Culture versus the Bible
CHAPTER THREE Merely Human Rules
CHAPTER FOUR Gumball Theology
PART 2 SPIRITUAL ROADBLOCKS
CHAPTER FIVE The Gift
CHAPTER SIX The Choice
CHAPTER SEVEN The Prerequisite
CHAPTER EIGHT The Wait
PART 3 CULTURAL HINDRANCES
CHAPTER NINE Romance by Happenstance
CHAPTER TEN The Ask
CHAPTER ELEVEN A Real Man
CHAPTER TWELVE The One?
PART 4 PERSONAL OBSTACLES
CHAPTER THIRTEEN Settling for Real
CHAPTER FOURTEEN Your Best Self
CHAPTER FIFTEEN The Flat Tire
CHAPTER SIXTEEN Fear
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Dare to Hope
To Dr. Richard Ross and Dr. Johnny Derouen.
Thank you for training me how to wield the Word of God effectively.
My greatest desire is that God would use me to influence others for Him as He has used both of you.
Foreword
“God, when will it be my turn?” My heart cried as I watched from the sidelines as yet another bride and groom shared their first kiss as man and wife. Reading book after book containing what popular Christian culture said about being single, I began to find myself in a place of hopelessness. I began to ask myself,
1. Have we been thinking about this the right way?
2. What does God say about “dating,” singleness, marriage, and sex?
3. Is it the same thing the church is saying?!
Sick of Singleness offers a fresh and honest perspective that poignantly addresses these issues with God’s freeing grace. Harmony’s experience as a student of God’s Word and her personal experience as an “expert in the waiting game” makes her a voice of truth and empathy. Her conversational style compassionately encourages the reader to look at what God actually says about singleness and challenges us to act on those truths in faith. She also sheds light on the man-made roots and deceiving platitudes of what popular Christian culture says about dating and singleness. Packed with scripture, as well as humorous and relatable stories, this book is a renewed look into the Bible’s teachings regarding matters of the heart.
If you are single, divorced, or even struggling in marriage and asking the questions “Do I have the ‘gift’ of singleness?” “Will I ever find my soulmate?” “Has God forgotten about me?” “Did I marry the wrong one?” and other such cries of the heart, then this is the book for you.
Erin Griffith Carter
Wife, mom, and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary graduate (Master of Arts in Christian Education, Minor in Women’s Ministry)
Introduction
Have you ever been stuck at a red light—I mean, really stuck? At first, you don’t notice. You jam to your radio for a few minutes, confident it will release you soon. Only it doesn’t. You begin to notice that every other lane is moving forward in an orderly rotation except for yours. The traffic light is stuck on red, and so are you. At this point, you have two choices: You can remain at the red light indefinitely, or you can acknowledge that the system is broken and release yourself at the first safe opportunity. Stay stuck on red or move ahead, the choice is yours.
My love life was “stuck on red” for years. I had faithfully done whatever popular Christian culture touted as God’s way to do romance. I read the books, made the promises, quoted the mantras, and joined the movements. To my surprise, instead of being promptly paraded down the aisle by white doves praising my faithfulness, I found myself securely stuck at the singleness red light for nearly a decade. I would still be there had it not been for one fateful day when I got sick of it.
Are you sick of singleness too? Are you frustrated by relational failure or the lack of a serious relationship? Do you desperately long for love, yet it always seems just out of reach? If so, this story is for you. My hope is that the frustrations and setbacks I share will comfort you with the knowledge that you are not alone. My prayer is that the breakthroughs and lessons I learned will free and empower you to make life-changing choices. Finally, my goal is that the triumph I experienced will give you hope that the love you desire can become a reality.
PART 1 SICK OF SINGLENESS
The Story Behind the Story
CHAPTER ONE Shattered
His confession descended on my heart like an ominous cloud, so thick I could barely breathe.
“You did what last night?” I finally whispered, hoping against hope that I had misheard him.
The first man I had ever loved, my precious boyfriend, my Ricky, lifted his pain-stricken eyes to gaze mournfully into mine and reconfirmed my worst fear. I was so shattered I thought I was dreaming.
Wake up! I urged myself. Open your eyes. This is just a night mare.
Our relationship had been going so well. Ricky loved me. At least that’s what I thought. I still had a fresh bouquet and love note from him on my nightstand.
This can’t be real! Ricky wouldn’t do this to me. Please, God, let this be a dream. Please let me wak e up!
I didn’t wake up. This was my reality—my horrible, heartbreaking, faith-shaking reality. As Ricky continued to cry and beg for forgiveness, my mind began to replay our story, frantically searching for where I had gone wrong.
The Backs tory
I had been praying and faithfully waiting for God to send me “the one” for years. I had read popular Christian culture’s relationship books. However, despite following their advice religiously, I still had not found the love story I was searching for. Instead, I’d had a few ill-fated relationships, but nothing serious, and I was beginning to lose hope.
As I struggled with my singleness, I was asked yet again to serve in another wedding. The old saying “Always a bridesmaid, never a bride” haunted my thoughts as we prepared for the big day. The bride encouraged me not to lose hope. She just knew that God would also bring me my Mr. Right soon.
On the evening of the wedding, I walked down the ballroom stairs with the other bridesmaids and spotted a handsome groomsman gazing at me. He had sandy-blond hair, a perfectly trimmed beard, and the most sparking blue eyes I had ever seen.
“Who’s that?” I whispered to the bride, intrigued.
“That’s the best man, Ricky.”
I couldn’t resist stealing glances throughout the ceremony, and I was pretty sure I had caught him looking at me too. During the reception, Ricky lost a bet with the groom and had to perform a solo for the guests. At the end of his performance, he burst into self-conscious laughter and looked over at me.
Heaven help me, his eyes are even more mesmerizing when he sm iles.
When the clock struck midnight, the wedding was