Lina AbuJamra - Thrive: The Single Life as God Intended

Lina is kind of like the feminine version of the apostle Paulshes a straight-shooting, no-holds-barred, truth-slinging gospel warrior! I admire her passion for God, her knowledge of His Word, and her heart for His people, and all three of those characteristics are present from cover to cover of Thrive. This is one of the most practical, hopeful, Jesus-focused books Ive ever read on the subject of singleness!

LISA HARPER
Author, Bible teacher, andWomen of Faithspeaker

Thrive is rivetingly raw and gloriously victorious a gold mine for singles and marrieds alike!

LYNNE TELLSCHOW
Director of Womens Ministry, Harvest Bible Chapel, Elgin, Illinois

In a world full of families, singleness can be a major challenge. There have been lots of books and seminars aimed at helping singles cope and conquer, but often not backed up with the power and principles of Gods Word. Thankfully, Lina has done just that in a book that is bound to live up to its title for those called to a life of singleness.

DR. JOSEPH M. STOWELL
President, Cornerstone University, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Thrive is, in a word, BOLD. Her fresh perspectives on singleness as a gift, temptations that most dont mention, the real tensions living in a world where matching means another person, set this book apart as not only a must read for singles, but a must study, dialogue, and debate book. Attitudes and obstacles are examined in the bright light of Scripture with the precision and focus of this emergency room doctor perspective that is uniquely Lina. Read and prepare for bold, biblical impact.

MIRIAM NEFF
President of Widow Connection

2013 by
LINA ABUJAMRA

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright 2000, 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked THE MESSAGE are from The Message, copyright by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Emphasis in Scripture is the authors.

Edited by Bailey Utecht

Interior design: Ragont Design

Cover design: Maralynn Jacoby

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

AbuJamra, Lina.
Thrive : the single life as God intended / Lina AbuJamra.
pages cm
ISBN 978-0-8024-0714-6
1. Single peopleReligious life. I. Title.
BV4596.S5Z28 2013
248.84dc23

2012047134

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To Milo and Fawzi
they taught me how to thrive,
and Im forever grateful.

I f youre single, youre familiar with this scene.

Its a beautiful Sunday morning. The air is crisp, the sun bright. Youre on time for a change. You smell good. You look good. Even your hair turned out great. You walk into the Sunday school room resplendent in fluorescent lighting, and do a 360, your version of Christian recon. Youre new to the church, new to the singles group. Youre ready for anything to happen. Youre ready to meet the one. But then you see itthe familiar box of Krispy Kremes, and you smell it, the aroma of badly singed coffee. In your peripheral vision, over in the far corner of the room, you spot the infamous huddle. You size each one of them up, while every head swivels your way, and several pairs of eyes zero in on you. Each of the young men silently scans you up and down, assessing you, carefully mulling you over. You see the internal debate as they study your face. Are you the one? Are you the answer to years of waiting and unspoken prayer requests?

Over on your right, you sense the regulars even before you see thema group of single ladies also in their Sunday besthoping the new face in the crowd, yours, hasnt dimmed their chances of catching the one. They want to like you, they really do, but the jury is still out. Youre still an unknown threat, and you did put on a killer pair of shoes.

Youve got to make a decision, and youve got to make it fast. Do you walk over the cliff and into what is better known as the church singles scene, or do you turn and run? You hesitate for a split second, but suddenly the answer is as clear as the bright blue sky. This is not your scene. You do not belong here. Deep in your heart, you know you were made for more. Deep in your soul, you know that your life was meant to be about more than just hoping, looking, and waiting for the one.

You were made to thrive.

Before youve had time to process this new revelation, you turn and run. And as you run, you catch your reflection in the window, and you notice something else: youre smiling.

Its been over ten years since I found myself at that very crossroad in that very same singles Sunday school class, and today Im still smiling, though Im no longer running.

By my midtwenties, Id already read Joshua Harriss I Kissed Dating Goodbye and found it irrelevant to me as I hadnt even met my dating life yet. Id also read How to Know If Someone Is Worth Pursuing in Two Dates or Less and knew I could one-up the author with my version of the book that Id call How to Know If Someone Is Worth Pursuing in Two Minutes or Less. I knew enough by my midtwenties to know that if Gods purpose for my life was simply to wait for Mr. Right to show up, then I was in for a long and boring life.

As a Christian woman, Id been taught that Jesus had died for my sin and promised me abundant life. Surely Christ didnt sacrifice His life on the cross simply to land me in a room full of sticky donuts and stale coffee, waiting for the right man to find me? Surely God hadnt meant for my entire adult life to remain on hold until a guy sitting in a huddle somewhere mustered up the guts to finally make a move? Had God really saved me just to place me on some high-reaching shelf, waiting for the right man so my life could finally begin?

If youre reading this book, chances are you fall into one of three categories: (1) youre married and know the perfect single person to gift it to; (2) youre my mother (Mom, this is where Im supposed to remind myself to make you promise to skip over its the sex chapter); or (3) youre single and are sick and tired of yet another singles book on waiting. Perhaps youre hoping for a book on living. Perhaps youre looking for a book on thriving.