Every February I love taking advantage of the opportunity to grow in my understanding of God’s version of love, pattern for romance, and desire for our relationships.
Even as a single girl I think it’s so important to gain a Biblical understanding of romance, love, and relationships. Most of the principles we need in a romantic relationship are things we can begin cultivating in our lives now.
Plus there is so much we can learn about God by studying His design for love and relationship.
Obviously, the best way to learn is to read and study the Bible for yourself. But I’ve also found that other resources can be super helpful.
To help inspire you to also grow in your understanding of God’s design for romance and relationships, I’ve compiled a list of my favourite resources on the topic.
Books
(These are in no particular order)
When God Writes Your Love Story – Eric & Leslie Ludy
This one is a classic on relationships and dating. Eric and Leslie share parts of their love story and the Biblical foundations for what made it so beautiful. I highly recommend reading this one even if you are not anywhere close to getting into a relationship.
They cast such an amazing vision for what romance can look like when two people have surrendered, not just their love life, but their entire lives to God.
Meet Mr. Smith – Eric & Leslie Ludy
I mentioned this one in my favourites from 2019. It deserves a second mention.
As I said here, “It’s a book on sex. And the Ludy’s tackle the topic with such discretion and honour. Not to mention it’s actually quite humorous to read.
“This book is completely different in style from any of their other books. It’s sort of the true story of how Eric ended up writing a book about sex. Sort of.
“Mostly, it’s a book on the beauty of God’s design for men and women and their relationship with each other. God’s pattern truely is breathtaking, awe-inspiring, and gloriously exciting!”
When Dreams Come True – Eric & Leslie Ludy
This one is Eric and Leslie’s complete love story. Where “When God Writes Your Love Story” offers a lot of practical advice and Biblical principles, “When Dreams Come True” is more like a novel.
It is an easy read and such a joy and encouragement.
I especially recommend listening to the audiobook version narrated by the authors.
Quest for Love – Elisabeth Elliot
I also mentioned this one in the bonus section of my favorites from 2019. “Quest for Love” is a collection of love stories. Many of them in the form of letters that people wrote Elisabeth asking for advice. Each chapter also includes Elisabeth’s response to those letters.
Some of the stories are beautiful examples of men and women who surrendered their hopes and dreams to God and watched Him write an amazing love story. Others are more like examples of what not to do. But even in these heartbreaking stories, Elisabeth offers encouragement and practical wisdom for walking in repentance and experiencing freedom.
I found these stories so encouraging and practical. Elisabeth’s responses to each story are grounded in biblical wisdom and insight.
Passion and Purity – Elisabeth Elliot
This is Elisabeth and Jim Elliot’s love story. It is so encouraging to read the story of a young couple in love and yet willing to sacrifice even their deep love for each other to be obedient to God.
Elisabeth is very honest about her human side and emotions and yet their story highlights God’s goodness and faithfulness when we lay our deepest desires on the altar.
Let Me Be a Woman – Elisabeth Elliot
Elisabeth wrote this short book for her daughter as a wedding gift.
It is the best book I’ve read on womanhood. But a large section deals with the relationship between a husband and wife.
I read it for the first time when I was 17 and it completely transformed my understanding of marriage and femininity.
Sex, Purity & the Longings of a Girl’s Heart – Kristin Clark & Bethany Beal
Such a solid Biblical perspective on these topics.
Kristin and Bethany are not afraid to address these hard topics head-on. They walk through Christ’s call and pattern for our sexuality and how to find freedom and forgiveness from sexual sins.
Online
The article collection at Set Apart Girl is incredible! It has played a huge role in shaping my understanding of God’s good desires for romance, love, and relationships.
Set Apart Girl is a ministry founded by Leslie Ludy (author of several of the books I mentioned above).
The collection has categories for purity, singleness, relationships, marriage, and so much more. Click the title to go to the collection.
Girl Defined is a ministry founded by sisters Kristin Clark and Bethany Beal (authors of Sex, Purity, and the Longings of a Girl’s Heart mentioned above).
They have a blog with an amazing collection of articles on romance, love, and relationships. They also have a YouTube channel with similar content.
Podcasts
My favorite podcast that addresses romance, love, and relationships is the SetApart Girl podcast. You can find it here or on your favorite podcast app.
Girl Defined does such an amazing job running their Instagram account! Since they have written two books on the topics of romance, love, and relationships, they spend a lot of time talking about those topics on Instagram.
Go give them a follow here.
+ + +
What are some of your favourite books, websites, or social media accounts on romance and relationships? Share them in the comments section below. I always love getting new recommendations!