Together with college or university grants, suitable single moms can take benefit from federal government grants for homes for unmarried mothers. An application for any real estate federal grant can save a lot of your efforts, while you take care of all the other necessities regarding your children.

Samantha, FTW!

http://theaquilareport.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7053:ryan-gosling-romance-novels-and-the-dangers-of-fantasizing&catid=79:commentary&Itemid=137 Congrats - your blog article made the top ten list for last week in our magazine. Our readers have been largely men since we opened shop 2 1/2 years ago, but articles like this are atracting a broader constituency.

I think this meme is interesting because it illustrates how women really do desire men who "live with them in understanding" (1 Peter 3:7), and really, many men (even "good Christian men") don't do this very well - not that we are such great wives all the time, either. Such is love in a fallen world ;-) But you hear so much about how we women have to be sure to meet our husband's "needs" (wink, wink) lest they stray, but I know a lot of wives live with husbands who really display little or no interest in them as people, which might be a temptation for the women to stray. So, I really don't think this is about celebrity fantasies so much as a desire for relationships with men that care enough to pay attention to what is important to their wives, and what interests them. That's what we expect from friends, and we want our marriages to go beyond sex and gender roles and have a real element of friendship. I realize some women might see Mr Gosling as a "sex symbol", but I don't think that is the real underlying message...but there is definitely truth to the idea that most women probably feel more sexually drawn to a husband who actually likes them and finds them interesting.

While this meme just strikes me as funny and is not even something I doesn't function in any way as fantasy to me, I really appreciated your point. I was single until I turned 30 - never even dating anyone seriously. And since I was in 2nd or 3rd grade I would lose myself in the exact same daydreams of the boy I had a crush on just happen to drive by (well, riding with his mother-ha!) and decide to stop for a visit or pick me up. I can remember sitting in my 8th grade class and imagining a boy I had been in a wedding with a year earlier who lived states away, driving up in a red sports car and whisking me away to the envy of all my friends. It sounds fairly innocent, but I spent a good 15 years imagining other people and romantic circumstances everywhere I went - few times was I satisfied with just what was. I loved your idea of wishing for better, setting our sights higher. Now as a stay at home Mom, I find myself using Facebook, TV or even food to escape the sometimes overwhelming drudgery of everyday. Just the past couple of weeks I have been trying to practice turning to God when that impulse to escape strikes, but am often finding it incredibly difficult - not only to do, but to WANT to do in that moment. I will keep trying and am inspired by your message that we will find the most contentment and fulfillment the more we live fully in the present with Him. Thanks for your post!

I LOVE that you wrote about this. I read a quote by G.K. Chesterton this morning: "Every time a man knocks on the door of a brothel he is looking for God." How true that is for women with these escapist fantasies--even when they are seemingly non-sexual in nature. (Ryan Gosling--perfect case in point. He's not naked in shots, and he's simply giving a validating compliment. Very easy to categorize as "harmless.") Something that encourages me greatly and freed me years ago, is when I am faced with this sort of temptation I acknowledge to God that somewhere beneath this desire is a legitimate need He intends to fill in His way and in His time. And that shame-free acknowledgment seems to be at least half the battle.

Am I the only one who saw this as a parody skewering celebrity-fixated culture and social-media-fed delusions that movie stars speak directly to you? And, seriously Anna, looking to male celebrities for approval -- what part of that do you consider 'feminist'?

Am I the only one who saw this as a parody skewering celebrity-fixated culture and social-media-fed delusions that movie stars speak directly to you? And, seriously Anna, looking to male celebrities for approval -- what part of that do you consider 'feminist'?

Part of wisdom may come with age, or from learning from God's inspired word. You have to come to priorities in your own life so you know where to focus your time, skills and imagination. Everything you do is done for God, so of course your family, be it the first one you are born into, or the one you create when you marry, is first in your life. Your friends and neighbors rank high on the list, some of them come to be like family. For me, I have spent much of my time learning things that allow me to grow as a servant in many areas, learning the meaning of the scriptures and how the Bible came to be compiled in modern form, how to serve the church and the community, how to lead and serve in schools, leading sectarian youth groups, like scouting, doing everything I can to help children and young people grow into mature adults. If you follow what you see as the talents God gave you, you really have your own imagination to take you where you need to go. I enjoy some fictional works but not sheer romance novels. I would rather learn about history or biography, so that I can learn from others mistakes or successes. My children and now grandchildren entertain me. I am thankful to have moved into senior apartments where I am one of the youngest and can look forward to living out my life here. I can visit with all my neighbors daily, participate in activities, set up my own Bible studies, lead Great Books courses (I am a trained leader), so much opportunity, so little time. God directs each of us if we only let Him.\

This post made me feel a bit OLD -- I am guessing Ryan Gosling is the dude in the picture. Books have their place. Movies have their place -- the best place for them is where we can go and get refreshed and come back charging to serve Jesus even more in our lives. If what we spend our time with is doing this then it is okay. If what we spend our time with makes us discontent with what we have and where God has put us then we ought to rethink it all.