I am truly excited to network and fellowship on a more personal level with Christian Singles from around the world. The Lord is guiding me to Christian blogs, books, web sites, podcasts, and even poetry; resources that I know will be a blessing to singles who desire marriage. I look forward to sharing it all with you.

I can not stress how important it is to be spiritually and emotionally healthy before walking down the aisle to become one with another. After only five months of marriage, we see the benefits of being whole before marriage. Couples who begin marriage with various kinds of baggage makes life more complicated than it has to be. A good marriage takes a lot of work and there is little room in a new marriage for old baggage.

God revealed to me that I had to get rid of mine. It was time to unpack my bags and deal with my issues head on. Unforgiveness, heartbreak, low self-esteem, debt, insecurities, and more, were all things I had to be delivered from. I had to totally rely on God for this.  

Then, all of my baggage was replaced by the love and grace of God. He made me complete and better fit to fall in love and become a wife.

With this testimony I knew the name ”Love and Grace” would be a perfect fit for the page.

Along with the new page on Facebook, I have also launched a new web site… Love and Grace Media

I will be blogging more frequently on this site as well as publishing podcasts and video blogs. You will also find a page sharing other Christian Single sites that will be a blessing to you. They certainly have been to me and they continue to be. Each week I will be adding more great content!

If you haven’t subscribed to Love and Grace Media, please do so today!  

God bless you!!!

Love Candra

http://loveandgracemedia.com http://facebook.com/loveandgraceforsingles

Will 2012 be the year for love?

Will it be the year you stand at the altar and say, “I do.”?

If the answer is yes, praise Him. If the answer is to wait, praise Him.

Lord, not our will but your will be done.

My hope for you is that you see yourself as God sees you. Let God’s strength be perfect where you are weak and celebrate where you are strong. You are not incomplete. You are not alone. You are not deficient or half of a person. In Jesus we are made whole. God looked upon you and loved you so much, that He sent the Son to be crucified in your place. The debt of sin is removed by His redeeming blood. See how precious and priceless you are.  

I pray that you overcome loneliness with the joy of the Lord. This world can not take joy away from you. Do not surrender it. God said I am with you always, even until the end of the world. Know that God always keeps His promises. He is not a man that he should lie. If God is keeping you now, He will do so until the end.

When God forgives you, leave the memories of your past mistakes behind. As He heals the wounds inflicted on your heart by broken relationships and insecurities, walk forward with confidence. Do not look back. I hope that forgiveness will flow to and from your heart and soul. Forgive others as God has forgiven you. His grace is sufficient.

Let the Word of God dwell in you richly. Meditate on scripture and let it saturate your life.

My hope is that God guides you to walk by faith and not by sight. Do not wait until you see the blessings of God before you rejoice. Make preparations to receive the spouse you have prayed for now. Acknowledge God in every step of the way and He will guide you in what you should do from day-to-day.

Fight discouragement, doubt, and bitterness with faith. Never stop believing or thanking God for what He has already done for you. I hope that you rejoice in the Lord always.

My hope is that you take your relationship with God to new levels. Go deeper. Beware of distractions that will keep you from loving Him. By His precious Holy Ghost we have power to shine as lights in this world. Before and after marriage, love God first. Let Him use you for His glory and to be a blessing to others.

Guard your heart. Let yourself be happy. Choose wisely. Fear no evil.

And again I say, rejoice.

In Jesus Name, Amen

I love you all and pray God’s best blessings for your lives now and forever.

C. L. Evans (Love and Grace Media for Christian Singles)

Every time I have an amazing day with my husband I want to jump on every single’s blog and plead with every Christian single to WAIT ON GOD! 

I don’t care who disagrees. There are non believers disguising themselves as true believers, lying to single men and women everywhere. I’ve heard it all before and I refuse to believe them.

You don’t have to wait on God.

You’re marriage will fail anyway.

Lower your standards.

You’re getting older so find someone you can reasonably get along with and make it work.

God doesn’t care who you marry.

All that matters is that they make enough money.

You have a questionable past so just take who you can get.

It’s better to have someone, no matter what the cost, than to be single.

God doesn’t care about unequally yoked marriages.

True love only happens in the movies.

Lies… Lies… Lies…

God Cares.

He cares about the desires of your heart and soul. The person you marry will have great influence on your walk with the Lord. I would say that’s important to God. God designed love and marriage. Why would He not want to be included in your love life. And since God designed it, can He not make it all that you ever dreamed of? Can God not exceed your expectations? He loves you and wants nothing to harm you in any way, shape, or form… including a bad marriage.

God does not want you to bear heart breaks and betrayals.  None of us are immune but some hurt can be avoided. We don’t always know what is best for us. We can’t see the details of our destiny. God has the keys to our happiness. Let Him open the door to the right husband or wife that will walk in agreement with your purpose. And you will walk in agreement with theirs.

God can. God can see the details. He knows where the relationship pitfalls are and how you can avoid them. He can give you the best love affair of your life. He makes marriage liberating and gratifying. It takes the right two people coming together and connecting within Jesus Christ to make this possible.

Marriage is hard enough without canceling God out of the equation. God knows how to make disagreements graceful. God can give your mate the right words to say that will comfort your soul and make you fall deeper in love. You can pray your need to God and He will guide your mate is supplying that need. Yes, it’s true. God can lead you together in prayer to resolve problems that break up marriages every day.

I know God can do it. He’s proven His mighty works over and over again.

And until the time of your marriage, God cares about your needs while you’re single. Go to Him for everything. Trust in Him for everything. And while single, God can lead you to a whole and healthy life.

God can and He cares for you. Look to God for your mate.

C.L. Evans

Please subscribe to my new blog site. I will soon be posting to http://loveandgracemedia.com only. Blessings!

With all of my heart I thank you for following this blog and making it beyond priceless. Now if this sounds like good bye, guess again. Can’t get rid of me that easily. We still have much more to share with each other I’m sure!

This is a quick notice of a few minor changes to the blog.

“Love In Waiting”

is now

 “Love and Grace Media”!

Never can “Love” be excluded and how could I overlook God’s “Grace” that strengthens us day after day.

The second change is the location of the blog. I decided to make a move from WordPress.com to WordPress.org. This will permit me to add more variety to the blog. I’m looking forward to spicing things up a bit!

This change also allowed me to move my podcast to the same site. If you don’t have time to sit and read the posts, you can download the Love and Grace podcast for singles and take it with you on the go! The first episode has been published along with my previous Christian talk podcasts. Soon you will be able to link to the podcast through iTunes. I’ll keep you posted on that!

For the next few blogs, I will publish to both sites to give everyone a chance to transition with me to http://loveandgracemedia.com

I pray that you all continue to follow and network with me through this change. Look for the new subscribe link.

Thank you again and I hope to see you all at…

Love and Grace Media for Christian Singles

All my love,

Candra

This week my former pastor, Bishop Carl Behanan, is celebrating twenty years of ministry at Grace Temple Apostolic Faith church in Cincinnati, Ohio. When I married, I transitioned to my husband’s church but I will never forget all the years of teaching, prayers, and support that came from Pastor Behanan. He’s always been a great help for singles in the church and boy did I need his words of encouragement and wisdom over the years.

During those times when I felt like no one understood or cared about my plight, Pastor Behanan would prove those feelings wrong. He believed with me that God would bless me to be married.

Take advantage of a leader’s years of experience. My pastor counseled with a lot of singles before he counseled me. Over the years he witnessed God moving on behalf of single men and women. He saw firsthand how prayer and faith brought forth miracles in their lives. He shared these testimonies with me and they helped me believe that God would not forget about me.

Our spiritual leaders can guide us with God’s Word and keep us on track of His perfect will for us. When our own lusts tries to gain control, the ministers of God can pray and restore us. We need wisdom in every aspect of our lives and even more so when choosing a husband or wife.

Dating and marriage is very serious and should be handled carefully. If we go fully on our own, deny wise counsel, and choose the wrong mate, we’ll likely end up needing counseling anyway.

 It’s good to be purposeful and spiritually equipped before marriage.

So don’t feel like you’re alone in this single walk. First, remember that you are walking with God. Second, as a Christian, you are part of a large body of believers full of spiritual gifts that can strengthen you. Don’t be afraid to ask for help when the single life gets tough. Don’t be ashamed to share your longing for a companion. By the power of God a good leader is able to speak words of life that will strengthen your joy and contentment.

Thank you Bishop Behanan, for speaking life, imparting God’s Word, and keeping me in your prayers.

I was never alone.  

My pastor and my groom. I praise God for both of them.

Walking in grace,

C.L. Evans

What are the greatest challenges Christian singles face today?

There are great resources out there and over the next few months, I will be working to pull those resources into the Love in Waiting blog just for you. In addition, I will continue to share more details of my single life.

Take just a few seconds to complete the poll. 

If you have helpful tips or words of inspiration to leave for our readers, you can leave a comment below.

I send a special Thank You to new Love In Waiting subscribers!!!

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. – 1 Corinthians 13:6

“In this verse lies a test for love. Here’s an example…. A young couple are on a date. His affection goes beyond her comfort zone. She resists. But he tries to persuade her with the oldest line in the book: “But I love you. I just want to be near you. If you loved me….” That siren you hear? It’s the phony-love detector. This guy doesn’t love her. He may love her body. He may love boasting to his buddies about his conquest. But he doesn’t love her.

True love will never ask the “beloved” to do what he or she thinks is wrong.”

- Max Lucado

I once heard the story of a God who came to earth and died for my sins. As a child I didn’t really understand what that meant, so I counted it as nothing more than just a story. But, as I grew older, the thirst became stronger.

There are many things in this world that have brought me happiness. I sipped from various wells of water pursuing a quenching. I’ve purchased cars and trucks. I went to college and was promoted several times in my career. I have a wonderful family that loves me. I even remember the first time I felt pretty. A little boy made me a mixed tape and asked me to be his girlfriend. (Smile) Then real dating began and continued. Those things quenched a bit of thirst and have made life pleasurable. But after awhile, I got thirsty again.

As an adult I accomplished many things, met a lot of people, and seen many places. I used to think if I just achieve this particular goal, it will be enough. If I can lose weight, it will be enough. If I can only get one book published, it will be enough. If I can live a long life, it will be enough.

Over and over again, it is never enough. I thirst.

Jesus approached a woman at a well and asked for water to drink. After pondering the matter, something wonderful happened. You see, she was the thirsty one. She was drinking from a well of adultery trying to satisfy her thirst. And this is what we do. Perhaps it is adultery, gluttony, chemical dependence, and addictions of different sorts, worldly gain, or uncontrolled ambition. We drink up and we thirst. We drink up and we thirst. We drink, drink, and drink…thirst, thirst, and thirst. Nothing of this world lasts forever.

Jesus offered the woman water from a well that would never run dry. Once she drunk of the water He gave her she would never thirst again. (John 4:1-26)

He offered spiritual water for her spiritual thirsting.

I’ve had spiritual droughts in my life. Before I come to know the Lord, I longed for some kind of savior to rescue me from my problems. I found none. There was no source of joy for my sorrow. There was no flow of peace when trouble surrounded me. There was no one to protect me from the battles I fought within my own mind. Nothing else could help. Other wells were like natural water. You drink and your thirst is quenched, but once the heat rises, you thirst again. Okay for the body, but what about my soul.

Jesus offered me “living water”. You drink and never thirst again. I tasted of this living water and my life has not been the same. Living water was poured into me when I received the gift of the Holy Ghost and it continues to spring. It is a continuous refreshing that gives energy to my soul. It flows and flows without end. The Lord is my shepherd and I do not want.

Everything I need flows in the living water. I sipped and found salvation for my soul. I sipped and found a healthy self-esteem. I sipped and discovered super natural roads to journey on. Unconditional love is in the living water. My first encounter with Jesus happened almost twenty years ago, but the fulfillment of that event is as fresh as today.

Today I am not thirsty. No more frustration and anxiety that accompanies an unfulfilled craving. I’m not bitter and angry with the world. I drift away from Jesus, and I thirst. I stay close to Him and I never thirst again. My appetite is satisfied. Drink from the well that never runs dry. Never thirst again.

God’s grace is sufficient,

C.L. Evans

“How did you know that he was the one for you?”

When I asked my husband the same question, he answered it best.

“You can feel when something is real. You can’t make something phony fit. When it’s real, it just fits.”

A lot of singles I know have a check list. My husband and I had one too. I personally don’t think there’s anything wrong with having a check list, but you have to be careful how you let it govern your decision.

I agree with my husband when he said that there was a genuine connection and that connection superseded the list. And God being the wonderful God He is, saw to it that we just so happened to fulfill each other’s lists! For us, everything just fell right in place.

There are no set rules or instructions to follow. The most important thing is to be led of God and realize if that person will enhance and complement your life.

Ultimately, the will of God plays the deciding factor.

Physical attraction is important but it also goes deeper than the skin. He says I’m beautiful and attractive, but he also sees a beautiful spiritual countenance. He is tall, dark, and handsome but his heart touches the deepest part of me.

On our first date we went to dinner and afterwards, he took me on a tour of the church building where he pastors. From the beginning, confirmations from God came.

As we said grace over our food, he opened his eyes early to watch me pray. The seriousness of my prayer touched his heart and was one of many confirmations to come that I was the one. When we arrived at his church, I watched him carefully. He walked across the pulpit and down the aisles. As he told me about the church, I could see his love for the ministry beaming out of his eyes. That moment revealed to me his heart and his steadfast love for God and people. Those were things that were important to us.

That’s what I mean when I say there are no set rules. For us, we knew on our first date. For others, it may take some time.  The answer could come in an action, or a moment, or a simple word.

I believe that somehow and someway, God speaks. It’s up to us to be tuned in to hear His voice.

Final words from my husband…

“There’s no set of instructions…it’s not from without. It’s from within, and manifests without.”

God bless you in your courtship, dating, and waiting…

View my new blog… http://sufficientgrace.org 

Feel free subcribe.

Love always,

Candra