7 Ways to Use Your Freedom Well

I was sitting on my couch at 10 am on a Friday morning, contemplating whether or not to go for a run before settling into my work for the day and it hit me- I had so much freedom. 

Part of that freedom comes from my job (aka the best job ever) in college ministry, allowing for flexible and non-traditional hours. But another huge part of it comes from the fact that I am single. 

I’ve started getting into God’s word with some sweet ladies over at #hellomornings and they are so amazing! Mamas getting up before their kids to spend time with God. Sacrificing their own sleep gladly to honor the Lord. 

I am in awe of you moms. You go all day changing diapers, making lunches, kissing boo-boos. You’re exhausted and spent. And yet you still wake before the dawn to meet with the King. You’re my heroes.

And you’ve made me so grateful. I’ve realized that this singleness may only be a season. That if someday God chooses to bless me with a family I will look back longingly at the days when I could spend a whole morning uninterrupted, copying Psalm after Psalm as I #writetheword. 

Thank you mamas for showing me and reminding me how precious time is. How valuable it is, and how easily it can get pulled away and placed into other things. 

I want to live my single life well. I want to be grateful for the abundance of time and freedom that God has given me. I want to be a steward who blesses the Lord. 

This summer I have roughly 2000 hours free. Well I guess about 1400 after you count on me sleeping sometimes. How will I use those hours to make Jesus known? 

My time is my own. I am only held responsible to God. I do not have a family or a husband to consider, so if I choose to squander my hours watching re-runs of the Gilmore Girls on TV, I’m the only one responsible.

Here are some ideas on how to avoid wasting your time as a single:

1. Study God’s Word. Build discipline in this area of your life now. You can never over-study God’s Word, you can’t spend too much time with Him, you can’t read your Bible too often. The more saturated you are in God’s word, the better you are able to serve him now. Consider joining an accountability group like Hello Mornings or She Reads Truth.


2. Serve a hurt or broken people, or someone in need. Volunteer to serve and love on a group of people that breaks your heart. Maybe that is scared moms thinking about aborting, or women caught in the sex trade, or maybe it’s that your church desperately needs workers in the preschool room. Just go do something that will make God’s love known.


3. Volunteer to watch a friend’s kids. Some of my very best friends are moms to young kids. And I have seen them love God and love their families at the expense of themselves. Offer to watch their kids for an afternoon so they can go have some alone time at a coffee shop, or for an evening so that they can have their first date night in months. I guarantee they will love you for it.


4. Go somewhere! You don’t have to check in with anyone to make sure it’s okay, so just do it! Where is somewhere you’ve always wanted to go? Where is your church going? Where is there a need for people to hear the gospel? GO THERE! Trust me, it will be much harder to do later when you have four little ones underfoot.


5. Read LOTS. There are some amazing teachers out there, from GK Chesterton to Francis Chan and everyone in between. Stand on their shoulders, learn from those who have a whole lifetime more experience than you. Try cutting out a TV show (the Office is ending this year anyways) and reading for a half hour each night. Check out our reading list here for a good place to start


6. Host Dinner. Sometimes us singles feel left out of the family community. Why don’t you just form your own? Invite a group of friends over to have dinner once a week. Try to intentionally bring up spiritual conversations. This is a great place for your non-believing friends to get a glimpse of what fellowship is truly like with out the pressure of “church”.


7. Give away money without abandon. One of the best parts about being single is that I don’t have to check in with anyone about spending my money. If God lays it on my heart to give an extra $50 dollars one month to a missionary going to Serbia instead of going out to eat or buying clothes, I can just do it! There have been months when I eat lots of ramen and black bean soup so that I can give a little extra. I probably wouldn’t do the same if I had a family to think about.

At the risk of sounding cheesy- “With great power comes great responsibility”. The potential to do something AMAZING with your time as a single is huge. You and I have the responsibility of using our freedom well.

Mamas and Wives- What do you wish you would have done more of as a single woman? What advice do you have for us?

Single ladies – How are you going to use your freedom well? What is one thing you can do this week with your freedom as a single lady serving Jesus?

As for me- I’m going to plan a game night for some students in our ministry. Catchphrase and cookies, what could be better? 

About Angi

Angi loves Jesus, coffee, baseball and baking cakes. She is a missionary to college students and can't think of anything she'd rather do to serve God. Angi first met the Lord while climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa but really understood His love and grace as a freshman in college. Her heart is to invest in college students in the same way that many others invested in her. You can find her blogging over at Stuff Angi Does where she tells stories about Jesus, college students, and life. You can also find her on facebook, twitter, pintrest and instagram.

---

Sharing this article over at these awesome blogs.