I read a great post over at the True Women blog today that brought such a mix of emotions to my heart! Please read the blog before you read mine.

In high school, I had lots of good friends. I was homeschooled, so these were all good Christian teenagers I knew from church. We were in the same Sunday School classes together, went to the same youth group, participated in the same activities, and hung out at each others houses. It was awesome!

Until....we turned 17. The year I turned 17 we all got our drivers licenses. Suddenly, we were free to go wherever we wanted, whenever we wanted. In the past six years, I have watched every single one of those friends, without exception, walk away from the Lord. Every single one of them! Now, God has been gracious, and since that time, some have had their souls regenerated. However, I do not want you to loose sight of the fact that an entire generation of young people fell away their junior year of high school.

These were not menaces to society either! Rarely was Sunday School or youth group skipped. Verses were usually memorized, homework was completed. All of them were, to one degree or another, active in discussions. Every single one of them could explain the gospel to you at a moments notice. Many of them were actively bringing unbelieving friends to youth group. Many of them went out evangelizing at the Kenosha fair back when we used to get a booth out there. All the outward signs were there!

Now I am 22. I am a Sunday School teacher for nine and ten year old kids. I work with our junior high youth group. And I cannot help but think....what if it happens again! My heart cannot fathom the deapth of the saddness I would experience if even one of them fell away. I truly love these children!

So what can I do? Obviously, I cannot save these children. Every parent and teacher out there understands that no matter what they do, it is entirely up to God to choose to save a person. However, God has ordained several ways that I am to minister to these children, ways that He has ordained that they may be saved.

First, I can faithfully teach them. I can teach them of their sin. I can teach them of God's grace. I can hammer the gospel into them so that they can say it in their sleep.

Second, I can love them. I can have a relationship with these kids. I can show them that I too am a sinner; that in fact I am a better sinner than they are, for I have had far more practice! I can show them forgiveness and understanding. I can show them the love that God has shown me.

Third, I can pray for them. And all of us can pray for them. Not everyone will have an opportunity to teach Sunday School or youth group and not everyone is able to have a close relationship with each child. But every single one of us can devote ourselves to prayer for their souls! Believe me, they need your prayers! Our children are so young, so oblivious to the world and what it holds. They have no idea of the struggles and temptations that they are goign to face. We should be in constant prayer for the youth of our church. Prayer for their souls, that their love for God would abound more and more each day, that their knowledge of Scripture would be true knowledge and not just facts, that they would have discernment, that they would love that which glorifies God and despise their sin, that they would be filled with the fruit of righteousness, that they would love God more than anything in this world, and that they would fight the good fight and persever to the end! Every single one of us can have an effect in our childrens' lives if we would only pray this way!

Can I beg you to do this? Can I beg you to do this as a young women who watched friend after friend decide that they loved this world more than its Creator? Can I beg you to do this as the daughter of a pastor who has seen so many parents in tears as their children fell away?

Pray for our children and then watch how God will bless those prayers!

A couple years ago a wise woman gave me some good advice. I had just left my boyfriend of 2+ years and was (once again) determined to just stay single forever. My friend told me that it would be wise for me to decide what I was looking for in a man before finding the man. She knew that I (and probably most of you single women out there!) was far too good at trying to format a list of 'necessary qualifications' to fit the guy I had my eye on. She said that I should take this time in my life where I was completely single - and had my eye on no one! - to make out a list of what I thought necessary in a potential husband. The list needn't be long; hers only had three if I remember correctly. She said to remember that this was a list of necessities, non-negotiables, things I wouldn't back down on, regardless of how tall he was or how nice his hair was!

So I did it. Mostly out of respect for her, because she was really on me about making it! I wrote it and put it away and forgot about it. But today as I was doing some Bible reading, I came across a passage that made me remember the list. 1st Corinthians 7:32-35 "But I want you to be free from concern. One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife,and his interests are divided. The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. This I say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord."

I thought about how true this passage was, how easy it must be after marriage to get distracted and use up time and energy on your husband (or wife, if you're a guy reading this) that you would normally spend in devotion, meditation, or prayer. It reminded me of my first non-negotiable: I will not date a man who does not clearly love the Lord more than he would ever love me. I want a man who will make the right and biblical decision regardless of how I feel about it. I want a man who will always put God's commands above my comfort. I want a man who will follow where the Lord leads even if I don't agree. I want a man who will stand up to me and point out my sin even when its hard because he knows that no matter how it makes me feel at the moment, it is the God honoring thing to do. I want a man who loves the Lord more than he loves me.

Now, if I want a man who is going to be more concerned about "the things of the Lord" than of "how he may please his wife" what does that mean for me? It means that I too must love my Lord supremely - more than my husband, more than my children, more than my job, more than my house, more than my comfort, more than happiness. I  must be more concerned with the things of the Lord than with how my husband will please me. Or, to put it in a different way, I must be pleased when the Lord is being obeyed and honored. I know all of you married ladies out there are shaking your heads at me and thinking, "Good luck honey, just wait until life kicks in!" But I don't care! Regardless of my situation in life - if I find a husband or if I choose to stay single forever - my main goal in life has to be to glorify God in all that I say and do and think. And how can I do this if I do not love God with all of my being? How can I do this if I do not find my ultimate joy and satisfaction in Him alone?

So I have resolved to become a woman who loves her God supremely. I desire to live my love out in such a way that it is evident to all who know me that this is true. I desire to live every second of every minute of every day to the glory of my Savior. Lofty goal? Yes it is, but it is a necessary and worthy goal; in fact I would argue that it is the only goal worth aspiring to. Will I fail? Absolutely! I am in a stage of my life where my sin has never been more evident. But I have been justified and am being sanctified and will press on to the finish line in the knowledge that I have been bought with a price and none the Father has given the Son can be snatched from His hand! Praise the Lord!

Single ladies, I urge you, find for yourselves a man who loves the Lord more than he loves you! Only then will you be able to follow him in good conscience as God has commanded you to. Be sure that you also are striving to love God supremely for only then will you be a wife worth having. Only then can you glorify God in your marriage. Only then can you submit without fear. Only then can you follow to the ends of the earth. No man is perfect just as you yourself will never be perfect. But if you both seek to love and glorify God more than you work to love and glorify each other, your marriage will grow and the unity you share will be God-honoring. And this is a marriage worth having! Set your sights high, ladies, and then work to be a worthy partner.