For a long time I thought-'I've got to buck up and be strong. I've got to put on a brave face-and get through this near burn-out or that discouraging time in my life,'" "God has really seriously changed my thinking on this. When you take off the mask, you relate at a base level to everyone else who has been through pain-and everyone has. Honesty promotes intimacy and promotes us together relying on God. True honesty is beautiful.

If we could only put God first, maybe this ugly trend could one day be reversed.

I cry out from the ashes, burned with sin and shame. I ask you Lord to make me whole again.

I sometimes think that as singles it's easy to bind to this mentality that my future husband's going to ride up on a white horse, I'll know that he's the one, and we'll start our life together. That happens to people once in a blue moon. I have heard of that - never really dated anyone and then this person comes along - but it's not probable that that would happen.

I dreamed of being very attracted to my future husband, and I'm extremely attracted to him. I dreamed of having lots of fun together and being able to be goofy and be accepted, that's all there.

God does not want us to be living in the past, in shame, in fear, or in the future, in worry. He wants us to be living in the present, in now, with Him.

I think with relationships you have to risk getting hurt. You have to learn to almost know how to let your heart go when that time comes for that right person. You have to be open to having a friendship with somebody of the opposite sex. We can't let fear keep us from being open to relationships.