Transitions: Thoughts After Graduating

I graduated from high school on Wednesday. As I sat down to write the first draft of this post, I had no idea what I wanted to say about that. It definitely hasn't sunk in yet, and I've barely had an emotional reaction. I keep telling myself that I never have to go back to …

Advice to My Freshman Self: Get Involved

Four years ago, I entered the world of public school for the first time. There are so many things that I wish I knew then, and my hope is that by sharing those things with you, I can help you make the most of your high school experience. First of all, get involved.  As a …

4 Ways to Read More During the School Year (+book recommendations!)

I know many of you who follow my blog are avid readers, with stacks and piles of books waiting to be read. I am, too. I love books and reading is one of my favorite leisure activities. But once school starts, our time slowly slips away from us and we find ourselves reading less and …

4 Ways to Stay Content in Singleness (The Relationship Series, part 5)

Read the other posts here: God's Purpose for Romance, God's Purpose for Singleness, Avoiding Drama and Temptation, Developing Your Convictions   For the final post of this series, I want to address singleness one more time. Because it's one thing to decide you aren't going to date in high school, and it's something else altogether to actually rest in …

Developing Your Convictions on Dating (The Relationship Series, part 4)

If you missed the first three parts to this series, find them here: God’s Purpose for Romance, God’s Purpose for Singleness, and Avoiding Drama and Temptation. I've spent several weeks sharing the reasons for my choice not to date in high school. To recap: The purpose of dating is to see if someone is potential husband or wife …

Why I’m Not Dating in High School, part 3: Avoiding Drama and Temptation

If you missed it: part 1 (God's purpose for romance) and part 2 (God's purpose for singleness) When you think of teenage relationships, what comes to mind? For me, it's two-week long couples, messy breakups, ongoing drama, physical commitment without long-term stability... Maybe you've had better experiences with young relationships; I'm sure there are some out there that survive …

Why I’m Not Dating in High School, part 2: God’s Purpose for Singleness

As we talked about last week, Christians are called to pursue God's model for romance and marriage, not that of the world. But it goes beyond that. We are called to pursue God's model for everything in our lives. One of our main purposes in the teen years is to learn about how God wants us to …

Why I’m Not Dating in High School, part 1: God’s Purpose for Romance

Going into high school, I had no strong convictions about dating. I was wavering on the edge of truth, trying to convince myself that it was okay to date, you know, as long as he was a Christian and we stayed pure. Then I read a book called I Kissed Dating Goodbye. Maybe you've heard of it. It …