Let me start us off with a disclaimer that I understand not many people my age choose to look at dating and relationships through the eyes of the Christian Bible (heck, the book even talks about it) but, for me, that is exactly what I want to do and I know others like me who could benefit from this book. That being said, let's get into it!

I picked this book up after hearing about it on Instagram sometime before I started my freshman year of college. It has since sat in my TBR collection while, unbeknownst to little old me, freshman-and-sophomore-year Bryana could've really used this wisdom. Nevertheless, I picked it up a few weeks ago and finally cracked the spine (sorry to the book lovers who abhor when the spine of a book gets destroyed).

Ben Stuart, the author of this novel, is also a pastor, husband, and father who actively serves young adults in every capacity he can. He was the executive director of Breakaway Ministries, a weekly bible study held on the college campus of Texas A&M, for many years and has counseled many an engaged and single young person.

The book "Single, Dating, Engaged, Married" is his open letter/advice column to anyone within the four categories (which is literally everyone, but there is an extensive focus on young adults). He explores not only statistics of what young adults today think of dating, courtship, and marriage, but also the advice he's received over the years and Biblical insight into what a Godly relationship and marriage are called to look like, should you want that type of relationship.

Without going too in-depth into my experience with dating relationships, I will say I was what they call a "late bloomer." I didn't start dating until college because, to be quite honest, I was too focused on school and books to ever pay much attention to who showed interest and who didn't. My parents will most certainly tell you they liked it that way because, if I was slacking on my grades, they knew it wasn't because of a boy. That and finding a boy who loved Jesus just as much, if not more than I did was hard in high school and still is sometimes.

I won't go too much into the details of Stuart's book (that would spoil all the fun), but I will point out four concepts, one from each section, that have really stuck with me and that I want to incorporate in my future relationship(s):

If you're like me and you love to read, I'd really recommend picking up this book if you're interested in how to have a Godly relationship at any stage. And if you don't particularly enjoy reading, you're in luck because Ben Stuart has a series of 10 talks at Texas A&M, where he unpacks the book. I've included the link below!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qiMeh0gMEA&list=P...