Well I know I haven't posted about chapter 10, but I've decided not to blog very often/at all. I don't feel like it does much good, and nobody reads my blogs, so there's no point in it really.
As they say in middle-Earth, Namarie...or Farewell.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Lady of Conviction
Here is Chapter 9: Lady of Conviction. This chapter was a good one, as it hammered on not lowering your standards to get married or even to date. I want to start this off with this funny quote: "Ruth's choice to wait for God's best resulted in her union with a Boaz rather than a Bozo." I don't know why I find that funny, but think about it: what happens when you run ahead of God's timing/plans? You usually end up either hurting yourself and/or hurting another person. If you run ahead to get a Bozo when you could've gotten a Boaz by waiting, think about all the regret you'll have. "Ruth's wise choices resulted in her experiencing God's overwhelming goodness." One thing I really liked about this chapter is how it emphasized NOT lowering your standards for any man. I often think my ideals and standards are too high for anybody to reach. Yet, as Josh Harris said in "I Kissed Dating Goodbye", you should set your standards so high that not even you can reach them. Harris was referring to a standard of purity, but I think that setting your standards so high that nobody can reach them, then you might be less willing to compromise on your beliefs or standards.
For instance, I have a set of standards that I desire in a boyfriend/future husband. He cannot drink. Whatsoever. I just will not tolerate it in a boyfriend. That is a standard that I'm not willing to compromise on because I don't drink and I don't want to be with a boyfriend who does. I don't care if he tells me "I'll quit drinking for you" because generally they never follow through with it. "You cannot make good choices without proper, biblical convictions. Don't carelessly leave your dating/relating standards to chance." And yes, I know that people in the Bible drank wine, but in reality, the wine of the time was little more than strong grape juice with little-no fermentation. You'd have to drink a ton of it to get drunk. We're told that our bodies are a temple for/of the Holy Spirit, and we should treat our bodies accordingly. Drinking, smoking, drugs and promiscuous/pre-marital sex is abusing the temple of the Holy Spirit, so I don't stand for any of that in a future dating relationship.
They gave a list of example standards that would be good for anybody to model.
Qualities of Mr. Right:
1. Spirit-controlled Christian
2. Jesus is #1
3. Broken and fully dependent on Jesus
4. Ministry-minded
5. Motivator; man of vision
6. Sensitive spirit for others
7. Understands the responsibility of a husband to his wife
8. Humble enough to be teachable and teach others
9. Man of prayer
10. Family man
Most of my guidelines for Mr. Right are not far from this list, but I think that I'm going to adopt this list as my own. Sound too good to be true? You know, if God can number the hairs on your head, and watch the sparrows, don't you think He'll bring you His best if you're meant to get married? Of course He will, if it's in His ultimate plan. So, before you go out on another date, or you're asked to date somebody, consider your standards. Will that person make you compromise, or will you stand firm on your beliefs and not budge an inch?
Chapter 10 is tomorrow, and though I've already read it, I've got a lot of thoughts on it!
For instance, I have a set of standards that I desire in a boyfriend/future husband. He cannot drink. Whatsoever. I just will not tolerate it in a boyfriend. That is a standard that I'm not willing to compromise on because I don't drink and I don't want to be with a boyfriend who does. I don't care if he tells me "I'll quit drinking for you" because generally they never follow through with it. "You cannot make good choices without proper, biblical convictions. Don't carelessly leave your dating/relating standards to chance." And yes, I know that people in the Bible drank wine, but in reality, the wine of the time was little more than strong grape juice with little-no fermentation. You'd have to drink a ton of it to get drunk. We're told that our bodies are a temple for/of the Holy Spirit, and we should treat our bodies accordingly. Drinking, smoking, drugs and promiscuous/pre-marital sex is abusing the temple of the Holy Spirit, so I don't stand for any of that in a future dating relationship.
They gave a list of example standards that would be good for anybody to model.
Qualities of Mr. Right:
1. Spirit-controlled Christian
2. Jesus is #1
3. Broken and fully dependent on Jesus
4. Ministry-minded
5. Motivator; man of vision
6. Sensitive spirit for others
7. Understands the responsibility of a husband to his wife
8. Humble enough to be teachable and teach others
9. Man of prayer
10. Family man
Most of my guidelines for Mr. Right are not far from this list, but I think that I'm going to adopt this list as my own. Sound too good to be true? You know, if God can number the hairs on your head, and watch the sparrows, don't you think He'll bring you His best if you're meant to get married? Of course He will, if it's in His ultimate plan. So, before you go out on another date, or you're asked to date somebody, consider your standards. Will that person make you compromise, or will you stand firm on your beliefs and not budge an inch?
Chapter 10 is tomorrow, and though I've already read it, I've got a lot of thoughts on it!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Lady of Contentment
After reading this chapter, I'm beginning to wonder if it really belonged in the front of the book! This chapter focused on being content while you're single. Do you know how hard it is to be content while single? Now, I would say that I've been pretty content since I was 13. I suppose it comes from not being in public school and not feeling a lot of pressure to date, though I do get funny looks from people when I tell them I've never dated and I'm 18! But discontentment isn't just for single women; did you know it is a situation for everyone? Who knew?! But in regards to singleness, if you don't start becoming content with your singleness, it'll seep into your marriage as well: "If you are presently discontent as a single woman, you can count on being dissatisfied as a married woman in the future." Okay, so that does sometimes apply to me...but for the most part, I'm content to be single. Being able to wait has to do with not only your character, but the character of those around you. All of my friends encourage me to keep up my standards and to keep doing what I'm doing; i.e. put my future in God's hands because they're on the same road I am.
I don't think this chapter would have been complete, or perhaps this book, without mentioning the ways that guys unintentionally lead girls astray. What I'm about to say is not intended to offend, but come on, most guys are pretty clueless when it comes to us. *Can I hear an amen from the girls? :) * Sometimes, you don't realize how what you do affects us...but girls, let's be honest, sometimes we get carried away. I love the example they gave here: a guy wrote a letter to his friend (who was a girl), beginning it "Dear Sunshine." Think they were dating? Think again! They were only friends. Now first of all, the guy was not smart to call her Sunshine. Now if it were in jest (like REmember the TItan's 'Sunshine') then maybe it'd be okay. But no! Unfortunately, they didn't tell how the girl felt about this...but I can imagine what she did feel. And for us girls, we all know what that was, right?
And sometimes, we girls can lead ourselves astray. Ever found yourself having "visions" of a future together with a certain someone? I know I have. Never was I told that it's wrong! Ouch. This part really hurt my toes because it pointed a finger directly at me. If you fantasize yourself with someone while you're single, you'll do the same thing after you're married. So what's the solution? Every time you start thinking about those things, immediately hand them over to Jesus. That's what I'm going to try to do anytime I'm tempted to daydream.
Last, we need spiritual monitors; a person or persons to tell us not to let our expectations of guys get ahead of God's plan. They need to tell us, "I'm glad for you, but don't let your heart get carried away. Remember it's in God's hands, not yours." Truthfully, it may hurt sometimes because you don't want anybody bursting your bubble, but in the long run, wouldn't it be for the best?
I'm going to close with a couple of quotes: "Singleness does not produce lack of contentment any more than marriage provides contentment. Lack of contentment is the result of the terrible burden of wanting life on your own terms."
"Dating is not a reward or a prize for living for Jesus. A Friday night without a date is often a night of 'being spared' by an all-wise Umpire (God)."
I don't think this chapter would have been complete, or perhaps this book, without mentioning the ways that guys unintentionally lead girls astray. What I'm about to say is not intended to offend, but come on, most guys are pretty clueless when it comes to us. *Can I hear an amen from the girls? :) * Sometimes, you don't realize how what you do affects us...but girls, let's be honest, sometimes we get carried away. I love the example they gave here: a guy wrote a letter to his friend (who was a girl), beginning it "Dear Sunshine." Think they were dating? Think again! They were only friends. Now first of all, the guy was not smart to call her Sunshine. Now if it were in jest (like REmember the TItan's 'Sunshine') then maybe it'd be okay. But no! Unfortunately, they didn't tell how the girl felt about this...but I can imagine what she did feel. And for us girls, we all know what that was, right?
And sometimes, we girls can lead ourselves astray. Ever found yourself having "visions" of a future together with a certain someone? I know I have. Never was I told that it's wrong! Ouch. This part really hurt my toes because it pointed a finger directly at me. If you fantasize yourself with someone while you're single, you'll do the same thing after you're married. So what's the solution? Every time you start thinking about those things, immediately hand them over to Jesus. That's what I'm going to try to do anytime I'm tempted to daydream.
Last, we need spiritual monitors; a person or persons to tell us not to let our expectations of guys get ahead of God's plan. They need to tell us, "I'm glad for you, but don't let your heart get carried away. Remember it's in God's hands, not yours." Truthfully, it may hurt sometimes because you don't want anybody bursting your bubble, but in the long run, wouldn't it be for the best?
I'm going to close with a couple of quotes: "Singleness does not produce lack of contentment any more than marriage provides contentment. Lack of contentment is the result of the terrible burden of wanting life on your own terms."
"Dating is not a reward or a prize for living for Jesus. A Friday night without a date is often a night of 'being spared' by an all-wise Umpire (God)."
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Lady of Security
It's been a while since I blogged. This is fairly short, mainly because it's been a while since I blogged on it.
First off, about the Lady of Security. This chapter basically dealt with being secure in the Lord regardless of how many dateless nights you have. It also discussed how to be so secure that you don't go out of your way to manipulate the opposite sex...either through friendship or through another avenue. There's nothing wrong with being friends with guys, or even in calling them or hanging out, but the motives behind the actions is often what gets us girls into a lot of trouble. And I can honestly say that in the past, my motives with guys (if I liked them, that is) weren't always innocent...I think every girl is guilty of it or will be guilty of it because hey, when you're a teenager, you don't know what you're doing most of the time. (Note: that is NOT an excuse) Another thing this chapter touched on was not going after guys. How many girls do you know (and possibly you have done it too) who have a reputation of being boy-chasers? It seems that boy chasing gets started at a younger age these days...I mean, 2nd graders talking about their boyfriends?! Seriously?!!! So, if you are one of these boy chasers, how do you remedy that? Well, first of all, quit going after them! When you're friends with them, what are your motives? Are you being friendly in the hopes that he'll come to like you, or are you friends with him purely out of a desire to be friends? Instead of chasing after a boy, strive to become a woman of excellence, and develop security in the Lord. He'll take care of you regardless of your situation and circumstances, and this goes for guys too. Guys and girls should focus on being the men and women God wants them to be, not on if they can get a date for Friday night. Rest in Him and be secure in Him!
I accidentally skippd a chapter (without realizing it), so tomorrow I will post about 2 chapters.
First off, about the Lady of Security. This chapter basically dealt with being secure in the Lord regardless of how many dateless nights you have. It also discussed how to be so secure that you don't go out of your way to manipulate the opposite sex...either through friendship or through another avenue. There's nothing wrong with being friends with guys, or even in calling them or hanging out, but the motives behind the actions is often what gets us girls into a lot of trouble. And I can honestly say that in the past, my motives with guys (if I liked them, that is) weren't always innocent...I think every girl is guilty of it or will be guilty of it because hey, when you're a teenager, you don't know what you're doing most of the time. (Note: that is NOT an excuse) Another thing this chapter touched on was not going after guys. How many girls do you know (and possibly you have done it too) who have a reputation of being boy-chasers? It seems that boy chasing gets started at a younger age these days...I mean, 2nd graders talking about their boyfriends?! Seriously?!!! So, if you are one of these boy chasers, how do you remedy that? Well, first of all, quit going after them! When you're friends with them, what are your motives? Are you being friendly in the hopes that he'll come to like you, or are you friends with him purely out of a desire to be friends? Instead of chasing after a boy, strive to become a woman of excellence, and develop security in the Lord. He'll take care of you regardless of your situation and circumstances, and this goes for guys too. Guys and girls should focus on being the men and women God wants them to be, not on if they can get a date for Friday night. Rest in Him and be secure in Him!
I accidentally skippd a chapter (without realizing it), so tomorrow I will post about 2 chapters.
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