Christian Dating for young women

These are the notes I used when talking to a group of young women about Christian dating. They are things I think would be helpful if I found myself entering the world of dating in today's time. And all of these principles apply to women throughout dating, engagement and even marriage. Much of the info is paraphrased from the site referenced at the bottom. 

Dating:

YOU ARE (already)LOVED. God says to his daughters in Jeremiah: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you." (31:3) 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

** First and foremost you should respect and listen to the guidelines your parents(and authority figures) set. If you aren’t ready to talk about it with your parents, you probably aren’t ready to date. Here are 3 things to help get you ready and begin navigating the dating world.

SET STANDARDS:

Talk to your parents about dating.

- Albeit embarrassing, it shows true maturity of being ready to take the first steps in dating if you can talk to your parents/authority figures. This way you can establish rules of what is accepted and what is not so it is clear to all parties involved(ex group dating vs individual dating). It is better to communicate with them how you are feeling now, rather than sneaking around and getting in trouble.

Think about your personal emotional and physical boundaries. With that being said, it is a biblical standard to remain pure until marriage

Create a list of qualities that you would want in a man/partner but be realistic. No person(including yourself) is perfect and any man/partner is going to let you down once in awhile. The good news? God will never fail you. 

     * - Would you date a non-christian? (Ex of why it’s not a good idea is b/c they will not have the same standards as you and may not respect or understand your rules and morals)

 

DEFINE YOUR IMAGE:

Ask yourself the following: 

     - How do you define your self-worth?

          - True beauty emanates from a woman who boldly and unabashedly knows who she is in Christ.

     - What are you doing to be a Godly woman(particularly when it comes to men)?

     - How do you portray yourself to others? (Ex: Selfies/social media-what message are you sending)

          - Are you showing people your true depth or are you just surface value? "Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."Proverbs 31:30

Be MODEST: Dress to Kill(any impure thoughts and desires) again, what message are you sending by what you wear? "But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious." 1 Peter 3:4

Submission. This is often an ugly word in modern women’s minds when it comes to submitting to a man. But in true biblical sense it first means to submit to Christ. 

          *- Will you submit to Christ in your decisions concerning dating and relationships?

 

GUARD YOUR HEART:

"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)

***You have to guard your heart now so that your future husband is not robbed of it later down the road. The decisions you make now will affect you later in life. That is why dating should be reserved for mature Christians. People who can guard their heart.

We first talked about your core heart longing. The core place in your heart belongs to God, no one else.

     - Daddy-issues: You are not looking for a dad-duplicate or a dad-replacement in a man. You have a perfect heavenly Father. No man(father or boy friend can do what God has and will do for you)

Women have a tendency to be givers. This is the way God created us. But often we let our giving become a controlling factor in our life, especially when it comes to men.

      - Who are you giving your time and energy to? If it’s not God first, then you should wonder if you are in a healthy and Christian relationship. A Godly man will want God to be at the center of your heart. A Christian man will expect to come second after God.

**Remember that being single is a blessing. This is the time that you have to become a Christ follower. Develop the gifts that God has given you so you will be a Godly wife when you choose to get married.

TIPS FOR DATING:

Error on the side of modest

Be honestly you

Say what you mean and mean what you say. If you expect flowers on your birthday, then you should tell him what your expectations are so he has a chance to meet them.

Be direct. It is unfair of us to complain about guys being confusing if we do the same thing.

     - If you do not want to go out with someone, then (politely) decline.

     - If you aren’t interested after a time, let that person know

Have fun! 

Don't create unrealistic expectations

http://theresurgence.com/2012/03/19/for-the-gals-8-principles-for-dating/http://www.crossway.org/blog/2011/06/16-christian-dating-principles-part-1/

More college football, a wedding and 2 babies?!?!!

Since I've been to 2 OSU games this year, I guess it's only fair that we go to an Auburn game. Especially since they are doing SO awesome this season. So a few weeks ago, we took a TN road trip and headed east to Knoxville. 

For anyone who loves college football as much as I do, I highly recommend taking a trip to UT. Their campus is gorgeous, with a mountain and river backdrop that is straight out of a nature magazine. And the atmosphere on a football Saturday is quite electric. A great way to spend a Gameday Saturday if I can't be in the 'Shoe. A huge thanks to the N family for hosting us, it was so great to catch up with them and finally meet sweet baby Ava May. 

In crafting news, I've again remembered why I am hesitant to start my own business. I was asked to make a veil for a friends sister and nearly had a mental breakdown doing it. I got it finished and even got to be present at her final fitting where we 'jacked her up.' The look on her face made the time and effort worth it. But I'll tell ya, I think I now know why some veils are so expensive. Lots of detailed work!!!!!!

Custom made ivory tulle veil. Double layer, finger tip length with a scalloped beaded edge. 

Definitely one of the most detailed veils I've ever made. It turned out really lovely, and I'm very proud of my handiwork. 

(The face that made it worth it!!!!)

As far as thanksgiving decor, I think I've decided that since I will be in Ohio for thanksgiving, I will not be going all out crazy. This gives me the opportunity to buy some things on sale in December and get some great ideas for next year(as well as give me a lot of time to prepare). 

I have however started on some ideas for Christmas and I can't wait to start on some crafts. 

Welcome to the world sweet babies Claire and Matthew!! I'm so very thankful that you and your mommy S are healthy and I can't wait to meet you at Christmas!!!

Halloween Brunch

Halloween has arrived. And this year, I've gone DIY craft crazy! Most are improvised Pinterest crafts and I think they all turned out really well. 

(Picture heavy)

Dollar store and Target stuff

DIY sharpie Halloween dishes and spooky table with glittered candles

The black candles were expensive so I made some sparkly ones myself

DIY holiday topiaries. These will be used for several holidays! 

Paper circle fan bouquet, yarn candy corns, felt wreath(may be used for thanksgiving), my Martha cake stand with orange ribbon 

How cute is this towel my mommy bought for our house? 

We had friends and their families over on Saturday to hang out for brunch. 

Food and friends!

Sweet Bella and her buddies

Looking forward to an upcoming trip to Knoxville and Thanksgiving(be prepared for more DIY decorations) 

Happy fall y'all! 

Go Ohio! Beat the Hawkeyes...

Another fabulous weekend! Got to go home to Ohio to attend OSU homecoming festivities, and my niece's beautiful baptism. 

Warning, Picture heavy!!!!

I have been apprehensive about being on the Memphis OSU alumni club board bc of time. But luckily, being VP presented me the opportunity to attend the alumni leadership symposium on Friday. I got some great ideas for our group and met some wonderful people. After the symposium, I was able to participate in the parade with the other alumni cheerleaders and had a blast at Cap City with my M2. 

Saturday's weather left something to be desired. But after a stop at Target to get myself a Buckeye hoodie-I was ready to go! For my first 'fan experience', I had a fab time! Got to watch the game with my parents and my great aunt Joan, who has been a Buckeye fan dive way before I was born! 

Sunday was a great family day as my youngest niece was baptized at St. Paul's in Westerville. Got to spend time with each K and E(possibly the cutest children alive). 

Also got to eat at 94th aero squadron with my pops before I flew back south for the winter. But I forgot to get a picture of us at dinner. 😕

A wonderful weekend but boy am I tired today! I will see them all in a month for turkey day and will get to see my aunts new restaurant as well! 

I hope these young Bucks gain the same thing I did from my college cheer experience-How Firm Thy Friendships....

3-day Weekend at the Lake

Today is gray, chilly, and depressing. Fortunately for me, this past weekend was not. I spent my holiday weekend soaking up the fresh air and rays in 'the Natural state' of Arkansas. 

A few weeks back, M's aunt asked if we would like to spend this weekend at her lake house. We jumped at the chance and I am so glad we did. Despite the scary ride to the house and a torrential storm downpour on Sat morning, the weekend was a success. We watched the weather like amateur meteorologists Sat morning and decided to take out chances around noon to hit the Tannenbaum golf course. For the first time attempting to golf in a few years without my own golf clubs(we borrowed my neighbor's sons and they were actually a bit too small), it wasn't terrible. I definitely have (a lot of)room for improvement, but the weekend was about family and we sure had a great time on the course no matter how many times I whiffed the ball(it was too many too count).

The rain never came back the rest of the weekend. We got in 2 days of boating, several gourmet meals and I even managed to get some Halloween crafting done while there. 

On the golf cart ride home

Caprese skewers

Candy corn yarn cones

On a boat

Half pep, shroom and onion/half basil & 'mater

Finished up a great weekend by putting out our 'pumpkin' for the year, and working on the backsplash(and no, it's still not done). 

Heading to Ohio this weekend for homecoming, very excited to see more family and friends! 

Happy October! 

Break out the boots, fall has arrived!

I'm sure I will jinx it by putting this out in the blogosphere, but I do believe fall has arrived in TN. For the past month, I have been in that weird section of my wardrobe where I'm not sure what to wear bc it's still 80-90 degrees and my sundresses don't feel right and I don't want to bake in a sweater and boots. 

Yesterday, I actually needed to go back inside for a light cardigan and today, I wore a jacket into the office. Praise The Lord b/c while I admire the California style of Uggs and shorts, people here don't seem to appreciate it(causing odd glances when I'm running about town). Now there will inevitably be a few more days calling for near summer attire, but that's part of the charm of Memphis. So bring on boot weather! I have 2 new pairs in my closest just waiting to go out for a spin.

This past weekend, we braved the heat(I wore my Buckeye wind breaker and nearly fried) to participate in the 3rd annual dragon boat races downtown. DH's company has put together a team since the beginning of this event and it always proves to be a good time. After a slow start in the first race, we seemed to get it together for our second heat and shaved 2 seconds off our time(we like to think it was bc of the last minute adult beverage we drank before the race). We missed the final race by 5 spots but 13 out of 50 isn't bad. A great event every year and we even got some end of the year sun to prove it! 

We made it home Saturday afternoon and watched some football while waiting on our pals the Dr's Ali. Our household managed to go 2/2 in college football games with OSU just squeaking by. 

Even Cina got into the spirit by the end of our game. With our morale high, we headed out about town. It was a unique situation since we always stayed downtown with the Ali's. Now that they are out-of-towners, the hosting role was reversed so we cabbed it. A great night out made even better when I kept bumping into OSU friends! I can't wait to go home in 2 weeks to watch the homecoming game and spend some time with family and friends. There is nothing better then Columbus Ohio on a Buckeye game day! 

Sweet Nicki!!

After a slow start Sunday morning(I'll keep saying it until it changes, G-town lacks great bunch locations)....Mac and I began the next kitchen project we had lined up. We got the back splash tiles on the wall and now we wait for them to set, then grout and caulk the edges. Pictures to follow in another blog. 

High: spending time with the Ali's & a Buckeye win

Low: spaghetti night fail 

I've gone crockpot crazy, and I like it...

For awhile I had been planning on bring the S family some crockpot meals. We have a hard time getting a meal together some nights so I can't imagine what it would be like with 3 kids(5, 2, and 1 month). 

I found this tutorial and decided to give it a go. Made extra of some recipes and kept some for ourselves. 

http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/2013/02/10-slow-cooker-freezer-meals-in-less.html

A few sidebar items;

This is not how I cook from scratch. I tend to use healthier ingredients and lots of veggies. However, sometimes, it's nice to have something ready to go when you get home so you can just serve it up and relax after work. 

The most money was spent on the meat. We haven't gotten into a good shopping habit just yet at our house so there was a little sticker shock at the register but it was not that bad. 

I would do this again in a heart beat. Mac already said that the salsa chicken was awesome and he wants it again. But I plan on looking for some healthier recipes as well as these and the other post the blogger made with other recipes. We've even talked about getting an extra fridge/freezer for the garage so we can do a better job of having things on hand instead of several trips to the store a week. 

Does anyone have crockpot recipes you recommend? Share!