Sacred Singleness: The Set-Apart Girl's Guide to Purpose and Fulfillment

by Leslie Ludy

Leslie Ludy, popular writer and speaker, has a powerful message for today’s single adults. Through personal experience and in interaction with thousands of young women over the past fourteen years, she has found that most Christian young women fall into one of two those who are discontent and unfulfilled, constantly searching for the “right one,” and those who are consumed by a passionate romance with Jesus Christ and are living joyful, satisfied lives. Her desire is to help readers move toward the totally surrendered and fulfilling experience rather than one of striving and disappointment. Leslie shares firsthand stories and testimonials of modern–day single women who may sometimes struggle with loneliness and personal desires but who, in following God’s plan for them, have discovered a deeper delight, purpose and true joy in their lives. Sacred Singleness gives every single woman the inspiration to live counter to the culture and find amazing opportunity in this sacred season.

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction, Relationships, Christian Non Fiction, Christian Living, Faith, Christianity

192 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2009

About the author

Leslie Ludy is the bestselling author of Set-Apart Femininity, When God Writes Your Love Story, Authentic Beauty, and more than a dozen other books she has coauthored with her husband, Eric. She reaches thousands of young women each year and is passionate about helping them discover Christ's design for their lives. Leslie and Eric live with their three children in Colorado.

Reviews

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

every college age girl should read this. period. i wish i had. It was terrific!!!!! I love the comment from Leslie's sis in law-
"When i was single, i had to surrender the hopes for marriage. Once i was married, i had to surrender my singleness."

love it! pretty profound, but simple way of saying...the short synopsis of this book is, "get off your duff wishing to get married (according to 1 Cor 7) and maximize your single years for God's kingdom.
VERY HELPFUL in the end of the book is a whole chapter of things for young women to pour their lives into in order to fulfill God's calling to care for the lost, poor, dying, etc...terrific!

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a single christian girl this book put an excellent emphasis on making Christ your first love. I have had friends that thought their life was over because they were single, have had way too many people ask me why I'm not dating anyone yet, etc. I feel like there is an immense pressure to be married, and that often people in the church find it odd when we aren't looking. This book was full of scripture, real life stories and examples, and really addressed the need to live a life fully in Christ, and that marriage isn't a given. Sometimes God calls us to be single whether for a season or a lifetime we need to trust and be faithful regardless. Our love should not be conditional based on if he chooses to give us a spouse or not but instead our single years should be spent in service and where God has called us to be. Then and only then can we truly be in his will and so in love with him. This is where our true happiness and joy lies.

I did enjoy this book and the overall message. I often get frustrated with girlfriends when they start to feel sad for themselves and think that God has somehow let them down just because they are single. They need to wake up! Because those selfish emotions and conditional type of love is not Christ like. Not to say that I have never felt this way at one time or another, just to say be cautious and careful how much we let those thoughts hang around. I want my first love to be Jesus. I want to be in his will. I hope one day he will have a marriage partner for me, but if he doesn't then I will still rejoice. His love is all I want or need, and in being single I can even further my time spent with him.

[Kaitlyn S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one of my favourites for us single gals. Whenever I can find a used/discounted copy I purchase it and give it away to other single girls I know.

This isn't your every-day, run-of-the-mill, how can I get guys to notice me books, but a book that strikes at any hidden discontent in your life and then challenges you to tackle it head-on and face it.

I *thought* I was content, but I found some areas where I discovered that I was absolutely putting that aspect of my life on hold until Prince Charming showed up. One big one for me is the lack of vision for my bakery -- I wasn't wanting to make any big plans too far out because what if I met *him* and was too busy, preoccupied, or whatever?

Anyways . . . definitley reccommended! I cannot say I agree with every word written in the last part for obvious reasons (I believe fostering should be done by families, not single ladies, but I wholeheartedly DO believe in fostering!), but I will be returning to this book anytime I need a good shaking.

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really appreciate the principles laid out in this book: surrendering completely to Christ, being content where He has placed me to serve Him, and following hard after Him whether He grants my dreams or gives me new ones. Sometimes, I think Leslie tends to be a bit repetitive, but it did make the message very clear in my mind; and, nevertheless, I definitely wasn't bored while reading this. I really enjoyed and was inspired by the addition of personal testimonies of other women who have chosen to surrender their singleness to God. I feel like I gleaned a lot of encouragement from this book to take action in serving God in my own life.

[Kristy · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING BOOK. I was really touched and challenged by it. I would recommend this to every young woman who doesn't want to sit and mope her single years away. You don't have to wait until you're married to be used of God, and this book really helps open your eyes to that. It IS possible to be content being single, but that only comes when we are completely tuned in to God and His will. Leslie is great at challenging us to realize this and do something about it.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author often quotes her own previous work, which I find annoying. If I wanted to read those books, I would have, write some original material! That said, I appreciated it more than last book of her's I read, and the section towards the end with resources for practical application was especially useful.

[Natalie Metrejean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!
This book jump started a passion in me to pursue the presence of The Lord more than anything, which led to me writing a devotional for singles!
This book did more for me than I ever thought possible!

[Lulufrances · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this and confirmed many points about singleness that I had in mind myself already.
I think all girls could read this ;)

[Chezka Vidal · Rating 5 out of 5]

"...This is what Christ meant when He said we must forsake father,
mother, family, and houses in order to be His disciple. Even the
most precious gifts He gives us must always be relinquished back
to Him with a willing and eager heart. Our fulfillment cannot be
found in marriage, children, or fairy-tale dreams come true. Until
He is our all in all, we aren’t truly living the Gospel life.
And until we are content with Him alone, we aren’t truly ready for
an earthly romance that will stand the test of time. Why? Because it’s
all too easy to start clinging to a human instead of to Jesus Christ.
And when we cling to a human to fulfill the longings of our heart,
we quickly become discontent. Even the most Christlike man cannot
meet every need and longing of our heart. And if we expect him to,
it only leads to disillusionment. Countless women drive their marriages into the ground by nagging, criticism, and selfish demands
because they do not find contentment in the perfection of Christ,
but expect perfection from their spouse instead." #Ouch moment hahaha. God has so much work to do in my heart lol :) New creation ang peg. hehe

[Annika · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this book at first. Leslie writes some excellent books about relationships (sometimes with her husband), but not about singleness. This makes sense since Leslie was married pretty young so she’s spent little of her life actually being single, and I laughed out loud when she described her struggles in high school after being single for an entire year. Please. However, Leslie recognizes her weakness and chooses to speak more to some universally applicable principles (like using all of your life, single or married) to glorify God, while including stories and letters from many Christian women who are still single. Ultimately I was challenged by the book and really enjoyed it. Often the church acts like the single years are just a time to get through until you get married and this book not only denies this myth, but shows how this can be some of the greatest times for serving God. I would recommend it to any of my single friends (or even to those friends who need a little reminder to focus on God). I will caution though that this is directed towards girls so boys might feel a little weird reading this.

[Leah Good · Rating 4 out of 5]

Are you a young woman who hopes to get married someday? Are you starting to wonder if the right man will ever come along? Are you wondering what to do with your life before you get married? Do you question what God's role in the want-to-get-married process is? This book is for you.

Leslie Ludy lays out the power and beauty of the single years that are surrendered to Christ. She points out that while popular "wisdom" tells us to make ourselves available and "help God out" by seeking and attracting future marriage partners, God tells us to be single-minded in His service and to wait for His timing.

I'm so glad to have heard this message before I was old enough to get stuck in the curse-of-singleness mindset. My primary reason for reading this book now was to know what it says so I can recommend it to other young ladies. The single years, and even a single life, can be so much more powerful, fulfilling, and beautiful if believers learn to make God their all-in-all.

[Emily Speller · Rating 4 out of 5]

As in all her books, Leslie Ludy pointed me straight to Christ as the solution for all my struggles, including in the area of singleness. She showed me that it is not only possible through Christ but necessary for us to allow Him to be our focus over and above anything this earth has to offer. While I didn't necessarily agree with everything in the book (for instance, her emphasis towards the end of the book on getting singles to adopt children; I personally feel that is a ministry better suited to a couple, although there will be the odd exception, but there are many similar ministries which I would see as being a bit better suited to a single). All that said, I found this a really good read, and one I would be quick to recommend to any of my fellow 'single' friends. :)

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book change my perspective about dating and being single.
It encourages me to live a full single life pursuing Jesus, who deserves all and everything of me.
I started to want to love Jesus more and wonder how can I actually fall in love with Him.
And after pursuing and lots of revelations He graciously lavishes on me, I am so so in love with Him right now. It's the most wonderful feeling to know you are loved by the perfect Prince with His perfect love.

He is the answer to my heart. And I will never trade Him for someone else.

[Mandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've had this on my shelf since I saw Leslie speak at a conference back in November and recently felt led to pick it up. While it's probably directed more towards high school and college-aged women, I got so much out of this. It's very biblically based, encouraging, and convicting. Leslie combines Scripture, life experiences and real-life stories (which is encouraging to read stories of women my own age who are still single) to encourage women in their singleness by taking thorough advantage of this intimate time with Jesus. Would highly recommend.

[Paige Cuthbertson| Turning_Every_Paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Just wow. I cannot say enough good things about this book! Leslie Ludy has written an amazing guide to living content and single. Every woman in college should read this!

Two things I particularly enjoyed:
1) She takes all of her points back to scripture. While she includes some personal opinions, she shows almost everything from the Word of God.
2) I love that she uses her own personal experiences, as well as the testimonies of real women.

To sum it up: I highly recommend this book!

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very good book for any woman who is single and looking to find fulfillment in life without needing a man by her side. It helped me realize what a sacred time our single years are, in that it is the best time to build a relationship with Christ (and Heavenly Father) so when we do get married, we will be standing on a firm foundation.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could give this more than a five, I would. This is definitely one of the best books that I have ever read. It challenged me in my walk with God and in my relationships with others. Amazing book, a must-read.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book if you are a Christian and trying to figure out how singleness works in a Christ centered life. It really helped me gain a perspective on singleness that made being single not so hard to deal with if you know it's something you hope to change in the future.

[Paige · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very helpful book. I think I understand the blessing of singleness a lot better than when I began it, and I am excited to both serve and grow in my relationship with Jesus during this time. I would recommend this book to any of my single gal friends.

[Sequoyah Branham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is straightforward and real. Leslie Ludy does a great job of bringing in inspiring stories from other young women while keeping it focused on God's will for a single woman. I really enjoyed the direction on where to prayerfully start on the poured out life journey. Very encouraging!

[Madison Wasinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Its been awhile since I last read this, but, as I've found with all of the Ludy's books, it's a great motivator to get rid of the junk in my life and draw closer to God.

[Rebekah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book inspired me to take my eyes off of myself and put them on the Lord; very encouraging.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I far from agree with everything written but at least it is different from "god calls you to be married"

[Jordyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

The cheesiest and most ridiculous book.

[Gabrielle W. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice read, definitely more for teenagers.

[Becoming feminine women · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Denn wo du hingehst, da will ich auch hingehen, und wo du bleibst, da will ich auch bleiben; dein Volk ist mein Volk, und dein Gott ist mein Gott! Wo du stirbst, da sterbe auch ich, und dort will begraben werden; der HERR tue mir dies und das und noch mehr, wenn nicht der Tod allein uns scheiden soll! " ~ Ruth 1:16-17

" Da fiel sie auf ihr Angesicht und neigte sich zur Erde und sprach: Warum habe ich vor deinen Augen Gnade gefunden, dass du dich um mich kümmerst, da ich doch eine Fremde bin? "
~ Ruth 2:10

" Wenn er sich dann schlafen legt, so achte auf den Ort, wo er sich niederlegt, und geh hin und hebe die Decke zu seinen Füßen auf und lege dich dort hin; und er wird dir sagen, was du tun sollst"
~ Ruth 3:4

"Wer eine Ehefrau GEFUNDEN hat, der hat etwas Gutes gefunden" ~ Sprüche 18:22

[Kathleen R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this book is especially wonderful for women in the ‘single’ stage of life, I find that it’s truths are timeless and beautiful, I’d recommend this book to any young woman regardless of the stage she is in.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a young woman who struggles with being single this is a great reminder on who fills our desires! Although, some of the book was repetitive I would recommend this to anyone struggling with singleness.

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

a very inspiring book for singlehood...finding purpose in the season of singleness....

[Jody · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really appreciate this book. I read it when I was 19, and it inspired me to live my life fully and to not wait around for a prince charming. One of the best decisions of my life