Book Review - “Single. Dating. Engaged. Married.” Ben Stuart

Rating: 5/5 stars *****

This book was recommended to me by someone I played golf with at Torrey Pines in San Diego. I still remember that day so vividly. We were walking down the 13th hole on the South Course when he mentioned this book by this pastor and said I should give it a read. Previously we had just discovered that we were both reading the Bible cover to cover and were only a book apart in our reading.

It took me a month to commit to buying the book. And then I finally said to myself, “ok Katie buy the book. There was a reason he told you to get it, so just do it.” And when the book arrived, I didn’t read it for another five months. I’m not sure why it took me so long to pick up the book and read it. Maybe it was the hard truths that it would provide or the reality that I should be living in compared to the one I have. Once I did start, I’m glad I didn’t stop.

The main takeaways I have from this book are to date with intention and find someone who is seeking Jesus first. Those two things among many others are life lessons I received from the book. In his book, Stuart helps guide the modern Christian young adult to find peace in their singleness allowing them to see it has a purpose. I know I read this section with my full attention. Then he leads into how you prepare in that time of singleness for the dating period. Date with intention and evaluate the person to see if they will be the right person to lead you in marriage. And finally in the marriage section, you understand what it means to keep God at the center while still “dating” each other and keep the love alive as Christ loves us.

Whenever a friend and I are talking about future relationships that we want to be Christ-centered, I always recommend this book first. It honestly gave me the foundations for a Christian relationship and dating the right way. But we always make sure to talk about the first part of the book as well, the part about being single and being content at this point in our lives, knowing that there is a purpose for our singleness.