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Showing posts from December, 2013

5 Notes on Dating for the Guys

most young Christians have no idea what Christian dating looks like practically. Here are some insights to help Christian men date in a way that honors God.   1. A Definition of Intentional “Intentional” is one of those words that sounds right, but no one really knows what it means. So I would like to clear that up. Here is my working definition for intentional and how it relates to how a Christian man should pursue a woman. The intentional man repeatedly and constantly goes first and takes on all of the risk of rejection. He always lets the girl know where he stands so she feels secure and isn’t left guessing. (On the other hand, don’t weird her out by talking about marriage on the first date.) Approaching her initially: Intentional: “I’d like to take you out on a date.” Unintentional: “Wanna hang out sometime? My roommates are all gone this weekend.”  Paying the bill: Intentional: “I’ve got it.” Unintentional: “Can you cover half the bill? I’m pretty br...

For the Gals: 8 Principles for Dating

1. Repeat after me: “You are loved.”  I am not kidding. Repeat. After. Me. Out loud, often, with conviction. These are such simple words to say, but they have the most deep and resounding impact on our souls if we would just believe. God says to his daughters in Jeremiah : "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you." Until you have tasted God’s eternal, steadfast, redeeming love, hold off on looking for a man. You may just end up settling for a quick love that cannot fill your core heart’s longing. Even if you are not currently being pursued by a man, you are constantly being pursued by Jesus. 2. You are less beautiful than you think and more beautiful than you believe. Our sin makes us ugly. No amount of makeup, clothing, or confident, flirtatious façade can change that fact. It takes a humble, redeemed woman changed by God to admit the ugliness of her sin and rest in her beauty in Christ. We must repent of ...

4 ways artistry can become idolatry

In the first commandment God tells us who to worship: only him. In the second commandment God tells us how to worship, and to not worship idols. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.”  – Exodus 20:4–6 An arty, jock, altar boy I was raised Catholic and served for a few years as an altar boy while attending Catholic grade school. I’ve got an artistic bent. I like architecture, interior design, music, visual arts, etc. Growing up I was an odd mix: a jock who played a lot of sports, a fighter who got in more than a...