"No, Mom, just go to bed. Don't worry about pulling out the couch or anything. That's too much for you. Please. Just put a pillow and a blanket out for me and go to bed. I won't be home 'til three or four anyway."
It was dark in the car so he couldn't see the eye-rolling. "Oh dear," I said. "I only have like one old ice cream sandwich in my freezer." I explained that the sandwich in question was Birthday Party flavor, which meant it had pastel-colored nuggets in it, and that it had once been melted and refrozen, but I was unable to dampen William's enthusiasm.
Look for ways Satan might be undermining your mission with short and simple pleasures. You may not need to eliminate it, but limit it and look for ways to welcome others into your life through it. Be creative and make disciples over college basketball, cooking, or Call of Duty, rather than going AWOL from God’s mission because of them.
But as importantly, I appreciate what mature women have dealt with. As a single dad, and I mean a really single dad — no child support, no au pairs (the whole concept of which is bizarre to me, and I couldn’t afford a babysitter, much less an au pair!) — I genuinely empathize with older women who feel they have being rowing the boat alone.
Turn the page of your past life, start everything from scratch. Fate has given you a new chance, take advantage of this! Remember, when one door closes, another opens. You just have to change the way you look at things, and you will see the entrance to a new life.
With the Spirit in you and the calendar clear, God has given you the means to make a lasting difference for his kingdom. You’re all dressed up, having “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:3), with literally everywhere to go.
Instead of making it your mission to get married, make your mission God’s global cause and the advance of the gospel where you are, and look for someone pursuing the same. If you’re hoping to marry someone who passionately loves Jesus and makes him known, it’s probably best to put yourself in a community of people committed to that.
Way back in 2006, NYC had 200,000 more single women than single men. By 2011, that'd shrunk down to 150,000. We can call that progress.
Now I know what you girls are thinking: By the time you’re post 50, everyone is bitter, jaded, or hardened — especially about dating — so why should I listen? These guys are probably all a bunch of sorry-ass losers who’ve struck out at love and know nothing.
Stay open to dating all kinds of men with all kinds of looks, backgrounds, and interests as long as they are economically self sufficient, meaning they can hold their own and won’t be financially dependent on you.
There is such a joy to being able to do whatever you want without permission. I now shudder when I hear a woman say, “I’ll have to ask my husband.” I finally understand my Great Aunt Florence, who never married and lived alone in a cottage by the sea, happily collecting cat ornaments. Her life was completely uncompromised and I can entirely relate to her contentment.
His singles spanned from 20 to 64 years old, a magical world where grandparents have to sneak booze to their 20-year-old partners. A little unrealistic, perhaps? The map also didn't adjust for population - ten thousand extra single women means a lot more in Des Moines than in NYC. If you'd like to hear more statistical griping, the old write-up.
Once I learned the language that men speak and hear, my relationship with men changed for the better both in my love life and professionally.
