Don't Get Distracted

Long before I was married, I was working at a Starbucks Coffee shop where a handsome young man would frequently visit. Since I had only been working there a short time, I became really flustered each time he came in. It suddenly seemed I couldn’t do anything correctly. It was embarrassing to stumble over my words and mess up his order, but I didn’t really mind keeping him at my register a little longer.

Mr. Handsome was about 5’ 8”. He had dark eyes, dark wavy hair, dark skin, and (pause for dramatic effect) was Australian. His accent was breathtaking. I could sit for hours to the sound of his voice. He was extremely captivating, so when I overheard that he was employed at another Starbucks and was transferring to the store where I worked, my heart leapt out of my chest. Much to my disappointment, our shifts were scheduled at opposite times for the first four weeks, so I hardly saw him.

The Wait is Over

Finally, my chance came—our first shift together. I was so nervous! My heart beat wildly and I would go weak at the knees every time he smiled at me. I could hardly concentrate because I was so distracted by him. Eventually, we started working together more often and learned to love talking about everything—from surfing to newly released movies. I am such a chatterbox when I get nervous. Since we talked about everything, I found out he was not a Christian; we had completely different beliefs. So I did what I thought any Christian girl would do, I began to witness to him.

So Close

Since he lived right down the street from our work, there were a few times I gave him a ride home. I made sure that our conversations were only about the Lord. He was interested and seemed so close to becoming a Christian. I gave him a Bible, took him to a Christian concert, and even persuaded him to come to church one time. I was so excited that this amazingly handsome guy was about to come to know Christ, mostly because I started to fall hard for him. I couldn’t help it. He was such a gentleman, not to mention charming and handsome. He was the Prince I read about in fairytales…so I thought.

I Knew Better

You see up to that point in my life, I had never seriously dated, and I had always wanted my first serious relationship to be the man I would marry. I hoped so badly that this guy would become a Christian. I knew I couldn’t date someone who had different beliefs. The Lord was, and is, the love of my life and He was, and is, my everything. How was I supposed to share a life with someone who didn’t share my love for the Lord? I would be trying to live in the light with someone who could only live in the dark. Bright light and complete darkness cannot share the same space. I had been praying for a man after God’s heart and I knew that if I waited, the Lord would bring me to him, not to a non-Christian. However, I really struggled with this temptation because my desire to have a boyfriend was greatly increasing.

Resisting Temptation

It happened. He told me he was interested in me, and confessed to checking first thing each day to see if I was working the same shift. He said he always wanted to see me. My heart leapt at those words. I couldn’t believe that this boy would even be interested in me. I was a nobody. So you can imagine how this potential temptation became actual?

My co-workers weren’t Christians, but they knew my standards. They were watching to see if I would settle for a non-Christian guy. My flesh wanted to experience a relationship, to hold his hand, and to be in love; but my Spirit knew it would destroy me. I was in a battle and I mean a real battle. My feelings were out of control and I could hardly think straight. I would practically beat myself over the head wondering why I was falling for a non-Christian. My friends tried to talk me out of it, but nothing was working. I even tried to talk myself out of it, but that did not work either.

The Real Truth

Then the Lord spoke. During a church service, our pastor taught on these verses: “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2.) My flesh wanted a relationship with this guy, but the Lord was asking me to lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares. So right then, I committed to stand for Christ, to proclaim Him as my King, and to follow His plan, knowing that it would be much greater than my own fleshly desires.

I recorded this commitment in my Bible and knew I needed to call him to share what the Lord had spoken—a relationship between us would never work out. Fortunately, nothing happened; we were just friends. That phone call was a battle and a half for me. I wanted our relationship to work out so badly, but knew it could never last. He wasn’t someone I wanted to marry, so what was the point of dating him? It would have been a relationship that drew me farther away from the Lord. A right relationship will draw us closer to the Lord, not farther away.

The Call

I clutched the phone in my hands as my back slowly slid down the wall. I remained in complete silence as tears began to fall down my cheeks. The house was dark and empty and the sound of the dial tone was all you could hear. I dialed his number trembling, bit my lip, and he picked up. I had to explain to him that I wanted nothing more than to be friends. To my relief, he was sweet and very understanding. He agreed with my decline and it was over. After he hung up, I laid on the floor in shock. I couldn’t believe I had it in me to say no. And for that matter, saying no to someone I really wanted to say yes to.

Once again, Waiting for the One

We never hung out again and thankfully hardly ever worked together. I deleted his number from my phone so I wouldn’t be tempted to call. I had to slam the door on this desire in order to keep Satan from getting a foothold. Resisting temptation and knowing you did not compromise to the devil’s plans gives you a wonderful confidence. A great feeling of victory came from choosing God’s plan for my life. Little did I know how great His plan would be.

The next week I discovered the ugly truth that this guy had been dating a friend of mine the entire time he had pursued me. I was flat out astounded! It wasn’t easy refusing this guy, but I was so thankful I did. Sometimes it takes waiting out the storms to experience the calm. God has an amazing plan for your life when you decide to wait for His timing and for whom He has for you.

Adapted from Waiting for the One. Visit waitingfortheone.com to order your copy.

Gimme my Sweatshirt

So often I just want to rock my jeans and a sweatshirt with a great pair of skate shoes. How often do you want that? For me, that is exactly what I grew up wearing...I even wore my skate shoes to Prom and Homecoming! I just loved big sweatshirts. OF course I am wearing one in every single yearbook pic from jr. high thru high school.

Then I made a great friend who was completely the opposite of me. She dressed so cute! She always wore a knit top or a cute peasant top and jackets with cute jeans or skirt, and cute girlie shoes. She always had her nails painted and styled her hair different often. It was so funny that we got along so well even when we were complete opposites. But that didn't last all that long. Slowly she converted me to the way of the girlie dressed girl. So she took me shopping a lot and picked out all my clothes. I bought my first pair of sandals, purse, and dresses. Ha! I don't even think I owned a dress before I met her.

Good thing I started dressing cuter, because then I met my husband! He never was able to see me as a tomboy. He probably wouldn't have been too interested in me if he knew that side of me. So here I am dressing girlie...I still wear jeans because I LOVE them, but I have added some really cute summer dresses with boots, jackets, colorful tops, and cute shoes. I don't want to dress like everyone else, I want my own style, but even though my clothes are girlie, I still add the tomboy side to each outfit. I just can't get away from it.

The other day I was dying to just throw on a big sweatshirt and an old pair of skate shoes. I was having one of "those days." But I have been trying so hard to make myself not wear sweatshirts, so I settled with a cute knit sweater. I think that when you are having "one of those days," there are some tricks that you can use to feel comfortable and still look nice. I know I know, sometimes it doesn't matter what you do, you still feel the same way, so why not just throw on that sweatshirt? If you want to, go ahead, but you could also try what I did. I wore a light gray sweater and put a jacket on over top. I felt just as comfortable as if I had a sweatshirt on and it looked cute. So next time you demand your sweatshirt, try this and let me know if you enjoyed it or not.

Check out this new sweatshirt from Lucky Brand Jeans. This is a beautiful sweatshirt! Ha! I didn't even know those two words could go together. You can find it at Macy's and it's a little pricey, but it's super cute.

Unveiling new WFTO Website

Hey friends! We are in the early stages of unveiling the new Waiting for the One Website. I will always update my blog each time the website is updated. I am super excited about what it is turning into. We are going to have tons of articles about God, guys, friends, and fashion. We also have a couple new events like the "Rethink Purity" conferences and also the "Breaking the Mold: Saying No in a Yes Only World" all girls events. So keep checking out WFTO to see what is going on these days.

Jesus Marveled

"When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!" -Matthew 8:10

"And He marveled because of their unbelief." -Mark 6:6

This is absolutely amazing to me that the Bible records two times that Jesus marveled. The first is when He marveled at the faith a non-Christian possessed! The second is when Jesus marveled at His own hometown's (Nazareth) unbelief. There could have been people who were saved, witnessed first hand that mighty power of God through the miracles of Jesus, and chose unbelief...Jesus marveled at that.
Wow, how often might He marvel at my unbelief? I am one who knows Him, serves Him, and loves Him, but it is so easy for me to reject His power in my life. It is so easy for any of us to do that.
I play piano and sing on the worship team at my home church and more often than not, I struggle with insecurioties. When I lead a song, thoughts like "What if no one likes my voice? What if they make fun of me? Am I really that bad? I shouldn't even be up here singing." Slowly those thoughts spiral downward until I feel as though I am at my lowest and ready to give up due to my insecurities. But what I have to remind myself is that no matter what, worship has nothing to do with me, except a willingness to be used. It doesn't matter what people think about my voice...it's not about that. Worship is about our Savior and Creator Jesus Christ; to bring Him glory. Through my insecurities, I take the focus off of Jesus and place it on myself and lose faith.
My voice doesn't move people to worship...the Holy Spirit working through me moves people to worship. Now that is what I must remind myself of. I must believe in the power of Jesus and how He moves through us doing all the work. He works not because of us, but in spite of us. He looks for a vessel willing to be used.
Allow God to work through you and practice the faith the Jesus marvels at.