Christian Single

Oh my goodness I'm still single? How long am I going to have to wait for a man to step up and sweep me off my feet? When will my future husband come along and show me who he is? When will someone here be a MAN? Oh man I'm a senior, if I want my MRS. degree I better get a boyfriend NOW!

Yes, I am a single woman living in a Christian world. Yes, I've felt like the above questions before (well ok the MRS. degree is a bit of an exaggeration), so many of us have. I, like so many women, seek a relationship with a kind, loving, strong, Christian man. I long to be with my husband, and I do indeed long for that intimacy between a husband and a wife. It is only natural.

Do my desires for a relationship mean I sit around moping about the fact that I am single? No, certainly not. Does it mean I give in to the "senior shuffle" and try to find a boyfriend before graduation? No. It also doesn't mean that I measure my worth based on my relationship status, or on whether or not men find me attractive.

I embrace my current status as single.

I know, you're thinking "what does that even mean?"

Well lets start with a few weeks ago I read a blog post written by one of my good friends. At the time I thought she made some rather good points and then I just moved on. Well this post came back into my thoughts recently, particularly the part she brought up about how hard it is to use self control once you find your "other half."

Think about it, if you want intimacy now and you're not in a relationship, how much harder is it going to be when you are in a relationship? So much harder! The desire will become much stronger, the temptations will be harder to fight, and limits will NEED to be set. Now this does not mean that I am afraid of being in a relationship because of the challenge. What it means is that I can take this time to prepare myself for a relationship. I can take this time to pray for my husband, and to dive deeper into my faith. I can also take this time to learn more about myself and to become more mature.

I am  in college still, I am young! I also have learned something about myself: I am extremely independent. I can't help it, I need to figure things out for myself. Being single makes me able to do this. I can decide what I want to do for a living, where I want to go, and what kind of job I will apply for. If I was financially able to, I seriously considered two years of volunteer work on the Mercy Ships in Africa. Now finances may hold me back, but getting settled in an area with my boyfriend/fiance/husband will not because I don't have one. I like this. I like being able to do what I want and be in control.

If a valid relationship presents itself will I consider it? Yes, but not because I am lonely, or to attempt to fill some "void" created because of my singleness. I would consider it if I felt the relationship could go somewhere. Does it mean I would marry the next person I go on a date with? Just because I want to get married does not mean I will only date someone I "know" I am going to marry some day. How can you even know that if you haven't been on a single date?

I feel like many Christian women are so focused on marriage, that they skip the dating part. Going on a date does not mean you are getting married. If you are hearing wedding bells on your first date, you may want to get your ears checked. WAKE UP LADIES! One date is not an indication of what married life will be like. Married life is a wonderful beautiful thing, but I am not ready for it yet!

In the meantime I will wait, at times not so patiently, for the right man. I will be open to dating, but will not consider a great first date a reason to marry a man. I will also not lower my standards. I know what is important to me, and I will not settle for less simply to have a boyfriend. I will consider my emotions, and the emotions of the men I interact with on a regular basis (if you won't date him, why flirt with him?). And I certainly will not think any less of myself because I am single. And neither should you :)

Don't just say it, pray it!

I've been to many masses in my day, and I've noticed something. People, including myself, tend to just say the prayers of the mass. It becomes rehearsed, memorized, boring.

Take a second. Think about what you are saying...

"I believe in..."
"Thy will be done..."
"pray for us sinners..."
"Peace be with you."

Do you mean these things? Do you just say them because you are supposed to?

I've caught myself just saying the words because it was time to. It was that part of the mass, or that part of the prayer meeting, where I am supposed to say something. It's a terrible thing to notice. Wait, wait, what did I even say? Oh snap I didn't even realize those words came out of my mouth.

It's times like those I need to redirect my attention back to the prayers that I am saying. I need to take a second, remember where I am and pay attention to the words that are coming out of my mouth. I need to not only pay attention to the words I'm saying, but I need to MEAN WHAT I SAY! I need to realize that the prayers I am saying are part of my faith, and reciting them is important to my faith. It is important to believe what I am saying.

Next time you are praying, take a second to pay attention to what you are saying.

A week at my sister's

So it's spring break! wooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

I'm spending the week at my sister and brother in law's new place! It's great to see them :)

Together the three of us are learning how to cook gluten-free style. I'm okay at cooking, I know a few things and have lived in an apartment for a semester and a half now, but my gluten free skills are limited. Before this week I made gluten free pancakes...this week is a learning adventure for all of us.

Here are a few of the things we've made.

Gluten free pizza.

We made this using Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza Crust mix. We followed the directions on the bag to make the crust, although if you do this make sure you don't accidentally make cinnamon rolls (the mix can also make that). When they say using wet hands to spread the dough, they really mean dripping wet. Water on your hands for this mix works like flour with normal dough. Then just use tomato sauce or paste for the sauce, your favorite cheese, and toppings and you're good to go, a yummy pizza!

Gluten free breaded pork chops

I know what you're thinking, breaded pork chops that are gluten free? That isn't possible!

Well it's actually really easy! All you have to do is use tater tots for bread!

First put tater tots on a tray (the amount needed depends on how many pork chops...overestimate just in case) Cook those according to the directions on the package. Take them out, and mush them into a bowl. Yes mush them, break them apart into little pieces. The outsides will be crispy and the insides, well not so much, but that's okay because they will be crispy the second bake around. Soak the raw pork in water for about ten minutes while you perform the next step, this will prevent dry pork. Next choose your favorite spices, we used a chipotle mix which was delicious. Season the tater tots to taste.

After ten minutes drain the pork. Scramble some eggs, this will help the tots stick to the meat. Put some cooking spray on the baking tray (you'll thank me for this later), it doesn't matter which kind. Dip the chops (one at a time) in the eggs, and then place them on the baking tray. Because its tater tots and not bread we couldn't get the tots to stick to the pork by dipping the raw meat in the mush. To solve this problem we just scooped the mush onto the top of the pork chops. Put the chops in the oven and time it according to what size chops you have (we had thin chops, so we baked them at 425 for 35 minutes).

We also had rice which we started when there was 20 minutes left, and corn when there was 5 minutes left. When the time is up take your pork out of the oven, put a piece on a plate, add a few side dishes, pour out some apple sauce and ta-da a yummy pork dinner without any gluten!

Gluten Free Tacos
(use corn shells and NOT flour tortillas!)

We made tacos. That's super easy! Brown some ground beef, the higher the % of fat the juicer the meat, the higher the % lean, the less juicy (and probably healthier) the meat. If you are going to warm your taco shells in the oven the best time would probably be right before you add the spices (if you have a taco kit follow the heating instructions, if not a low temperature for a short period of time works just fine).When the meat is brown throw in your spices. We used the chipotle spice from our pork and chili powder, and salt and pepper. If you get a taco kit it will come with mix. Stir in the spice. Once the spices are mixed your meat is ready to go. Prepare your tacos for eating using the beef, and any other toppings you want (lettuce, tomatoes  onions, cheese sauce etc.) Enjoy

(no picture of tacos)

Yummy bbq chicken!

it's way easier than you would think to make delicious bbq chicken! Step one get some chicken, if it's frozen, thaw it out. Once it is thaw put it on a cutting board. Stab the heck out of that thing. To stab it you can use a knife and then a fork. Now it should still resemble the piece of chicken you started with but just the same put a lot of holes in it for the flavor to soak into. Put bbq sauce of your choice in a zip-lock bag. Put the chicken in the bag with the sauce. Add some water, not too much but just enough to help the sauce sink into the chicken. Put your bag-o-chicken in the fridge for about an hour. At this point you should probably look up the appropriate cooking temperature/ time for your slab of chicken. (For chicken breast cook at 375 for 45 minutes). Plan accordingly! After about 45 minutes of the chicken being in the fridge pre-heat the oven. Bake the chicken. Think ahead about your sides. I did rice again (let's be honest it's fairly easy) and peas. Take your chicken out of the oven. Cut it to make sure it is cooked all the way. If not, cook for another five minutes and check again (but don't wait too long or you will dry out the chicken!).

Sorry no picture of this yummy one, but hey who knew these tasty treats were gluten free?!?

A "good" cry

What is this thing other girls talk about...the good cry?

I don't understand it, I hate crying. For me crying just results in puffy eyelids and a bloody nose.

I was talking to a guy friend of mine about this. We don't understand. I've heard there is some benefit...psychological maybe?

I read an article, er let's be honest...part of an article...about crying. It says that when you cry emotional tears (vs. reflex tears) toxins and stress hormones are released from your body. It helps us to release stress from our systems. It cannot take the cause of the stress out, but can provide a momentary relief.

I can understand the relief caused by releasing stress hormones, I mean those are nasty things. But instead of that stress, I am left with a headache and a lot of explaining to do. If someone finds out that you were crying, they want to know why and I don't usually feel like explaining myself. That just brings the stress right back! I don't like it, not one bit. Isn't there a better way to release those stress hormones?

A different article suggests that exercise allows the body to produce more endorphin's  and less stress hormones. I don't know about you, but I much prefer exercising to crying.

What do you think? Is there such a thing as a good cry? I'd love to read your opinion!