Written by Chris Rule

Tennyson might have been correct when he said “it is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all,” but that skirts the fact that it is certainly more painful to have loved and lost than to have never loved. It is love that makes goodbyes so hard, so painful.

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Written by Lauren Sheehan

Glow-in-the-dark Putt-Putt, laser tag, make-your-own ice cream sundaes and skee ball. A teenager’s dream, right? The funny thing is, these activities are not a part of a teenybopper’s weekend schedule—they are actual events I have attended as an adult in singles’ ministry. While I have been reluctantly traipsing through dark, musty rooms clutching a laser gun, some of my married friends have been hosting dinner parties, having cookouts and building face-to-face community. Although I might have left with a Chinese yo-yo bought with my skee ball winnings, my married friends left with a deeper sense of belonging.

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Written by Chris Bernard

I haven’t talked to my dad in months. We had an argument. He said things. I said things. We both went over the line and we haven’t talked since. Literally seconds after our altercation, I knew what I said hurt him and I was wrong for saying what I did, so I wrote him an e-mail apologizing for just that. But I also wrote more than just that.

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Written by Scott Turbeville

The call came on September 11th, 2007. My wife Ginnie and I were sitting at home watching a Jet Li movie and fighting off the nagging voice that we should really have been doing homework. We were both burnt out with school, a fact that was evident because Ginnie actually agreed to watch a Jet Li movie with me. The volume of the television caused us to miss the call.

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Written by Elizabeth Hyndman

February 14th is coming up. To me, this means one thing: the return of candy hearts. I love those things—candy and conversation, all in one. Whether you’re a fan of edible, culturally relevant ("fax me") sentiments or not, February 14th is sure to bombard you with plenty of red, pink, hearts and lace. Valentine's Day is upon us. Some bitter person somewhere began calling it Singles Awareness Day and blaming Hallmark for the fact that love is forced upon us every February.

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Written by Taylor Phillips

“Things are going to be okay – you’ll see.”

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Written by Samantha Cassara

As far as families go, I don’t think the one God decided I should be born into was necessarily the best choice on His part. I also don’t think He was worried about getting my approval the day He set the world into motion.  So no, I don’t really approve but this is true of many of the things He’s decided to make part of my story.

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Written by Emily Timbol

When I was in tenth grade I had a job teaching a traveling fitness class to daycare children. It was very easy, paid well and I enjoyed it. One day, at a “business” lunch with the woman who owned the company (a mom I often babysat for) and her friend, I glibly mentioned that I really don’t like kids. My attempt to be funny and a little too honest, resulted in a horrified response from both women, followed by a request that I promptly find employment elsewhere.

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