Single Just Because

"Why are you single?" "Just because." However we answer that question, what's more important than why we are single is how we live as singles. Regardless of our relationship status, all of us are called to a life of vital discipleship. And walking with God can reshape singleness into a pilgrimage of transformation. Pilgrim and podcaster Bridget Gee shares her singular journey of vibrant life in the kingdom of God. Her travels have become a personal pilgrimage of walking with God and others, experiencing spiritual formation in the ups and downs of literal mountains and valleys. She explores her longings and hopes in vulnerable narratives, navigating issues of identity, community, mental health, dating, sexuality, and more. Gee invites us into a purposeful story of following Jesus in life not as we think it might be, but as it really is. The pilgrim journey takes us places we did not expect to become people we did not know we could be.

Why savoring single? Because you were meant to enjoy it! Finding purpose, knowing love, and experiencing adventure arent reserved solely for the married girls! You can enjoy a full and vibrant life even while being single. Its also a perfect time to partner with what God wants to develop in you through this once-in-a-lifetime part of your journey! Girl, being single is okay. There is a purpose for it, and it wont last forever. So savor it!

From the Sunday Times bestselling author 'This refreshing, unusual book needs to exist. A culture shift which repositions a single person as someone who is relationship-free, complete, and not lacking is long overdue.' - The i 'Absolutely f*cking brilliant' - Florence Given Having a secret single freak-out? Feeling the red, heart-shaped urgency intensify as the years roll on by? Oh hi! You're in the right place. Over half of Brits aged 25-44 are now single. It's become the norm to remain solo until much later in life, given the average marriage ages of 35 (women) and 38 (men). Many of us are choosing never to marry at all. But society, films, song lyrics and our parents are adamant that a happy ending has to be couple-shaped. That we're incomplete without an 'other half'*, like a bisected panto pony. Cue: single sorrow. Dating like it's a job. Spending half our lives waiting for somebody-we-fancy to text us back. Feeling haunted by the terms 'spinster' or 'confirmed bachelor.' Catherine Gray took a whole year off dating to find single satisfaction. She lifted the lid on the reasons behind the global single revolution, explored the bizarre ways cultures single-shame, detached from 'all the good ones are gone!' panic and debunked the myth that married people are much happier. Let's start the reverse brainwash, in order to locate - and luxuriate in - single happiness. Are you in? *Spoiler: you're already whole PRAISE FOR CATHERINE GRAY'S WRITING: "Fascinating." - Bryony Gordon "Not remotely preachy." - The Times "Jaunty, shrewd and convincing." - The Telegraph "Admirably honest, light, bubbly and remarkably rarely annoying." - The Guardian "Truthful, modern and real." - Stylist "Brave, witty and brilliantly written." - Marie Claire "Haunting, admirable and enlightening." - The Pool

Leslie Ludy, popular writer and speaker, has a powerful message for today’s single adults. Through personal experience and in interaction with thousands of young women over the past fourteen years, she has found that most Christian young women fall into one of two categories: those who are discontent and unfulfilled, constantly searching for the “right one,” and those who are consumed by a passionate romance with Jesus Christ and are living joyful, satisfied lives. Her desire is to help readers move toward the totally surrendered and fulfilling experience rather than one of striving and disappointment. Leslie shares firsthand stories and testimonials of modern–day single women who may sometimes struggle with loneliness and personal desires but who, in following God’s plan for them, have discovered a deeper delight, purpose and true joy in their lives. Sacred Singleness gives every single woman the inspiration to live counter to the culture and find amazing opportunity in this sacred season.

People who are single are changing the face of America. Did you know that: * More than 40 percent of the nation's adults---over 87 million people---are divorced, widowed, or have always been single. * There are more households comprised of single people living alone than of married parents and their children. * Americans now spend more of their adult years single than married. Many of today's single people have engaging jobs, homes that they own, and a network of friends. This is not the 1950s---singles can have sex without marrying, and they can raise smart, successful, and happy children. It should be a great time to be single. Yet too often single people are still asked to defend their single status by an onslaught of judgmental peers and fretful relatives. Prominent people in politics, the popular press, and the intelligentsia have all taken turns peddling myths about marriage and singlehood. Marry, they promise, and you will live a long, happy, and healthy life, and you will never be lonely again. Drawing from decades of scientific research and stacks of stories from the front lines of singlehood, Bella DePaulo debunks the myths of singledom---and shows that just about everything you've heard about the benefits of getting married and the perils of staying single are grossly exaggerated or just plain wrong. Although singles are singled out for unfair treatment by the workplace, the marketplace, and the federal tax structure, they are not simply victims of this singlism. Single people really are living happily ever after. Filled with bracing bursts of truth and dazzling dashes of humor, Singled Out is a spirited and provocative read for the single, the married, and everyone in between. You will never think about singlehood or marriage the same way again. Singled Out debunks the Ten Myths of Singlehood, including: Myth #1: The Wonder of Couples: Marrieds know best. Myth #3: The Dark Aura of Singlehood: You are miserable and lonely and your life is tragic. Myth #5: Attention, Single Women: Your work won't love you back and your eggs will dry up. Also, you don't get any and you're promiscuous. Myth #6: Attention, Single Men: You are horny, slovenly, and irresponsible, and you are the scary criminals. Or you are sexy, fastidious, frivolous, and gay. Myth #7: Attention, Single Parents: Your kids are doomed. Myth #9: Poor Soul: You will grow old alone and you will die in a room by yourself where no one will find you for weeks. Myth #10: Family Values: Let's give all of the perks, benefits, gifts, and cash to couples and call it family values. "With elegant analysis, wonderfully detailed examples, and clear and witty prose, DePaulo lays out the many, often subtle denigrations and discriminations faced by single adults in the U.S. She addresses, too, the resilience of single women and men in the face of such singlism. A must-read for all single adults, their friends and families, as well as social scientists and policy advocates." ---E. Kay Trimberger, author of The New Single Woman

From acclaimed social scientist Dr. Bella DePaulo, the leading expert on single life, comes groundbreaking, comprehensive confirmation that a powerful, healthy, happy life is possible not in spite of being single, but because of it. All too often society issues dire warnings about the risks of living single. But is finding a spouse or romantic partner really a requirement for a full life? In Single at Heart, Dr. Bella DePaulo speaks on behalf of the millions of people across the globe who are powerfully drawn to single life for all it has to offer and shares what it means to not just be happy being single for a time, but to be happy being single always. This pivotal volume addresses misconceptions about single life head on, spotlighting, celebrating, and supporting those who plan to stay single and sharing research, case studies, anecdotal examples, and more to help family members and friends understand. In richly engaging, evidence-based text, Dr. DePaulo—a Harvard-educated professor and researcher whose Ted Talk on the appeal of staying single has had more that 1.6 million views—supports readers of all genders, ages, and backgrounds who are Single at Heart and advises on topics as diverse as solitude, freedom, intimacy, children, and societal pressure. For Dr. DePaulo, her understanding of herself as Single at Heart provided strength, time, confidence, power, authenticity, deep fulfillment, and more. In Single at Heart she shares what she’s learned as well as the stories of others, in the process inspiring and fueling a movement of people standing up for what is right for them and thriving because of it.

Just Give Me Your Last Name is a book that was born out of the life of a frustrated single waiting endlessly for love. This book takes you through my journey of finding true love in singleness and becoming whole in that process. The aim of this book is to give you a different perspective to single life and to help you embrace your single journey as you hope to embrace the marriage journey. The book is about finding the silver lining in the seemingly cloud of single life and letting that lining trump the cloud until the gloss of your single life is evident to the world. My hope is that as you read this book, you will prioritize finding and giving love as a single person instead of waiting for love to find you. This book will move you to the front seat of your single life, have you switch to cruise mode, and soar the length and breadth of singleness in confidence. This book will make you laugh, get you thinking, and ultimately, move you to action that will birth the change you always hoped for.

Jessica Verdi, the author of My Life After Now and The Summer I Wasn't Me, returns with a heartbreaking and poignant novel of grief and guilt that reads like Nicholas Sparks for teens. It's all Ryden's fault. If he hadn't gotten Meg pregnant, she would have never stopped her chemo treatments and would still be alive. Instead he's failing fatherhood one dirty diaper at a time. And it's not like he's had time to grieve while struggling to care for their infant daughter, start his senior year, and earn the soccer scholarship he needs to go to college. The one person who makes Ryden feel like his old self is Joni. She's fun and energetic-and doesn't know he has a baby. But the more time they spend together, the harder it becomes to keep his two worlds separate. Finding one of Meg's journals only stirs up old emotions. Ryden's convinced Meg left other notebooks for him to find, some message to help his new life make sense. But how is he going to have a future if he can't let go of the past? "Ryden's story is a moving illustration of how sometimes you have to let go of the life you planned to embrace the life you've been given. A strong, character-driven story that teen readers will love."-Carrie Arcos, National Book Award Finalist for Out of Reach