Naked But Not Afraid: The Struggles of a Single Parent

By Angela Jeffries

Who is the author that dares to tell the naked truth about her less-than-perfect life as a Christian single parent? Angie was the shy younger sister who grew up in a Christian family in a small Midwestern town of approximately three thousand residents. She accepted the Holy Spirit into her life at the age of ten years old. Angie's aspirations after high school were to marry a Christian man, have children, and settle down in her hometown, but instead, she attended college five hours away from home. Taken with homesickness, she returned to her hometown after a year and completed a teaching degree at a community college fifteen miles from home. How did God transform this small town homebody with average intelligence into a missionary willing to serve God halfway around the world on a North Pacific island? But what caused her to settle for ungodly relationships upon her return home and equipped her to survive an abusive marriage? How did she manage financially on a thirty-two-hour-per-week income, as well as raise her daughter to love the Lord while fighting off the forces of evil? Angie prays the stories in the book will inspire you through difficult times as a single parent. She also believes the time management and budgeting tips will allow you to spend more time with your child(ren) and less at work and chores at home. Do not be afraid to disclose your naked truth to God in prayer. No one is too broken for His healing grace.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 17, 2019
• ISBN: 9781098004392

Book preview

cover.jpg

Naked But Not Afraid

The Struggles of a Single Parent

Angela Jeffries

Copyright © 2019 by Angela Jeffries

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Preface

Who is this author that dare tells the naked truth about her less-than-perfect life as a single Christian parent? Angie grew up in a small Midwestern town of approximately three thousand residents with her school teacher parents and older sister. Being the shy younger sibling, she did not adapt easily to change and relied heavily on her fearless outgoing older sister to order popcorn for her at the concession stand at the local high school sporting events as well as accompany her to the bathroom. When switching to a new school after kindergarten, she disappeared on a couple of occasions from her first grade classroom to be found later hidden under her mother’s desk in her fourth grade classroom.

In the spring of Angie’s tenth year, she realized she was missing out on a personal relationship with Christ and mustered up the courage to go forward in a church service. As she exited the pew during the altar call at the Baptist church her family attended, she grabbed her parent’s hands to accompany her as she accepted Christ as her personal Savior. She applied the Bible lessons taught each week in Sunday school to her own life as she showed everyone kindness, obeyed her parents, and worshipped her Creator. In high school, Angie took pride in being a wildcat and was active in sports, school clubs, and her church’s youth group. She volunteered her time helping with summer sports’ camps, in the church nursery, and with Vacation Bible School.

Angie’s aspiration after high school was to marry a Christian man, have children, and settle down in her hometown. School was a challenge for Angie as a B+ student, but with much persuasion, her mother convinced her to attend college. She chose a Big Ten state university, not realizing it was five hours from home. After a year of being homesick and meeting male classmates from other states, Angie was terrified to think she might have to leave her small hometown if she fell in love and married a foreigner from another state. She decided to transfer to a community college fifteen miles from her hometown, where she resided while completing her teaching degree.

With no marriage prospects, Angie used her spare time in Bible study and personal conversations with Christ in prayer. Six years after deciding five hours was too far away from home, God transformed this small town homebody with average intelligence into a missionary teacher, willing to serve God halfway around the world on a North Pacific island. But what caused her to settle for ungodly relationships upon her return home and equipped her to survive an abusive marriage? How did she manage financially on a thirty-two-hour-per-week income as well as raise her daughter to love the Lord while fighting off the forces of evil?

Angie prays the stories in this book will inspire and encourage you through difficult times as a single parent. She also believes the time management and budgeting tips will allow you to spend more time with your child(ren) and less at work and chores at home. Do not be afraid to disclose your naked truth to God in prayer. No one is too broken for His healing grace. Psalm 145:17–18 says, The Lord is righteous in all His ways and loving toward all He has made. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on Him in truth.

Chapter 1

The Battle of the Wills

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

—1 Thessalonians 5:16

Ireadily admit it is better to raise a child(ren) with a mother and father. Chores can be divided as well as the roles of good cop; bad cop can be used when it comes to discipline, to name just two benefits. When the power of two is reduced to one for reasons such as divorce, death, abandonment, or prison, you often find yourself asking, Why me? as I did. You end up wondering how you can raise a child(ren) and provide monetarily for your household at the same time. This book will help you realize that you may be single, but you are not alone. It is important to surround yourself with a good support system, such as your family, church body, friends, and neighbors. Most importantly though is to take your concerns to God who desires a personal relationship with you through His Spirit. Deuteronomy 31:6 reminds us that He (God) will never leave you nor forsake you. Siri defines forsake as to abandon or give up on something of value or great worth. Be encouraged that God, your Creator, values you and considers you unique with a purpose in His divine plan for your life and His kingdom on earth. Even though my will enticed me to choose poorly the men I dated and eventually the man I married, God was still my forgiving, gracious, and merciful Father.

My story begins when I returned to the continental United States after serving as a missionary teacher on a north Pacific island and was still single at the age of twenty-nine despite my efforts to find love on the island. I ran into some evil forces while serving God which I endured with much prayer, but I still