I love Dave Ramsey. And as a single mom, I can totally relate to having to follow Dave's rules and still never having much money. I love that you had your boyfriend listen to Ramsey before you got married. If I ever remarry I may have to do the same. :)
This was great. I have felt alone and I'm thankful that I know now that I'm never alone. But I still struggle with how to help others when it is easier to just not see.
Great post. I think these are all really good suggestions, but some of them won't work for me. It's hard to put yourself out there and go to parties, etc when you're a single mom. My life is either school, church, or home with my daughter.
Also it is very difficult for me not to overanalyze a guy before we've even been on a date. I think I'm worse about this than I used to be because I have my daughter to think about also. I need to remember that a date is just a date though, and not think about it too much in the beginning. Now if I could just figure out where to meet a guy in the first place... haha
This reminds me of an elderly man that went to the church I grew up in. I was a teenager at the time, but I still remember him talking about how he liked to go for drives in his truck with his wife in the middle seat next to him, and how he would hold her hand. I see that some of the comments talk about this not being reality, but I don't think there is anything wrong with these things. Yes, there are difficult moments in relationships too, but sometimes people need to go for a drive and hold hands. :)
"No one had prepared me for this. I had grown up in a church and knew that rules: no sex before marriage. I am not blaming the church for my ignorance, yet often wonder if further precautions would have aided me at that time."____I know this wasn't the main focus of this post, but this one little paragraph really caught my attention. I grew up knowing I shouldn't have sex before marriage also, but that was it. I was so innocent and naive that when I started dating I didn't know how to choose my dates wisely or what was okay and what wasn't. I know that I want my daughter to be more prepared than I was. I'm not sure how to do that yet, but I have a few years to figure it out...____
This is a wonderful post. I'm so glad Ally Spots recommended reading your blog this week. It's good to know that all men aren't looking the "Hollywood version" of a woman. It's time that women start to value themselves instead of trying to be what they think men want and then wondering later why they don't know who they are anymore.
Great post. As a divorced 30 year old (married at 19, seperated at 25, divorced at 27), I was nodding my head to most of this. Life hasn't gone the way I expected or wanted it to, and I do miss sex - really miss sex, but I'm not going to let that destroy my life or my relationship with Christ.
Okay, if there really was makeup that would flirt FOR me, I might have to get it. I am the worst flirt ever. I think I'm too honest. I can't laugh when the joke wasn't even remotely funny and I'm not very good at giggling and twirling my hair... or whatever you are supposed to do when you flirt. (See, I'm no good at this stuff.)
I was baptized when I was 15. My church also believes in water baptism and that you should make the decision yourself.
When my daughter was born, I dedicated her to God in front of the church, but I will wait until she is old enough to decide for herself (and it would be good for her to not be scared to get her face wet - lol) before she gets baptized.
Yeah, the Britney episode was almost too much for me. Ick!
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jenn 
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