Hey girls! I wanted to write in more of an encouraging way tonight. Instead of just do's and dont's! A couple of weeks ago I posted my status on facebook as, " If girls truly realized how much they were worth, that they are daughters of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, precious, beautiful, and someone that the Son of God viewed as worthy of dying for it it would CHANGE THEIR LIFE!". I received an amazing response from it and it just proved how true it is! Our world throws SOOOOOOOO many lies towards us, but especially at teenage girls who are trying to find their identity. So, here is my main focus in this post... to make sure you understand by the time you get through reading this how beautiful and how much of a prized possession you are!
Psalms 139:14 says, "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.". I do not know about you girls, but way to often i find myself beating myself up and believing things that are lies. Such as.... I'm not beautiful, I'm not worth anything, no one will ever love me, unless I'm a size 2 I'm fat, and etc! Listen girls.... these are LIES! Do i need to repeat myself?? These things that you are told by your friends, peers, the tv, movies. songs, and in thousands of other ways are not true! It is said as plain as day in Genesis 1:31a, " God saw everything that He had made and it was very good."! Do you get it??!! You are not just "ok", "average", "good" or even "semi good"! You are VERY GOOD!
I had a girl once bring it to my attention when I was degrading myself that if we belittle ourselves anything below what God sees us as (Very good, beautiful, precious, etc!) then we are calling Him a liar... Does that make sense? He says straight up that we are Beautiful... so if we deny that then we are denying His sovereignty. So the next time you begin to degrade yourself step back and think about it.... are you giving God honor and glory in what you are saying? Our words are not only detrimental to others, but they can also be to ourselves.
It takes making a conscious effort to have an Biblical view of yourself, but it is possible!
With care,
JEN
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
All The Single Ladies...
Well, as you might have guessed from the title, this one is for all the single girls. But whether you have a boyfriend or not, I encourage you to read this post. Okay, so I have a friend who constantly needs a boyfriend in her life, or a guy she likes so she can flirt with him. This friend is as my Dad would say, boy crazy. But the one thing I've noticed about girls who are boy crazy, they often aren't crazy about God. Now I'm not dissing anyone, but God is supposed to be number one and not guys. That's one of Mine and Jennifer's goals here is to show you that focusing on God and not boys will be a blessing in the long run. One of my own decisions about dating is that I will not get into a relationship where a guy is ranked over God in my life. So tonight I want to show you the blessings of being single.
Blessing #1: Physical purity is kept at bay. If you don't have a boyfriend, your limits on physical purity kinda take care of themselves. (NOTE: I believe that Friend With Benefits is not Biblically correct, therefore it is not even a consideration in this post). Now I'm certainly not saying you don't need to set limits, of course you still do. I even encourage you to decide what you're willing to do with friends (are you gonna hang all over a friend and flirt with them, or are you gonna limit yourself to Disney-hugs, etc). But when you're flying solo, worrying that the temptation is gonna be too strong doesn't seem to be a problem.
Blessing #2: More time for God. Think about it, the less time you're spending on a boyfriend, the more free time you have to spend with God. Take me, instead of going on a date on a Friday night I have time to hang out at home, reading my Bible, praying, and even *gasp* doing a little homework. Since I don't have to worry about whether or not my boyfriend is holding my hand at church, I can just let loose and worship God with my entire being. Sidebar: I don't recommend holding hands with your boyfriend in church unless you are sure it's not gonna distract either of you from worshipping and learning from God. Because I don't have a boyfriend, I have time to write a blog about purity with Jennifer. Being single is a blessing to me, because I can grow so much as a follower of Christ without the distraction of a boyfriend.
Blessing #3: More time for my girls. Okay, so while I want to live for Christ with every fiber of my being, I still like to have fun, you know, just kick back and relax sometimes. I have a reputation for being crazy, hyper, and random. Without a boyfriend, that leaves more time for movie nights (watching the essentials, Pirates of the Caribbean, Phantom of the Opera, Pride and Prejudice) or going to starbucks just to hang out. I am a huge fan of sleepovers where there is very little sleeping and a lot of giggling, popcorn, melting of marshmallow peeps, and early morning heart-to-hearts. Without a boyfriend, I can spend more time just chillaxin with my girls.
Okay, so I admit, sometimes it's not fun to be single. Like going to a school dance dateless, or when your friends are gushing about how sweet their boyfriends are. But honestly, I wouldn't give it up. I, Kathryn Reed, like being single. I'm happy, because I know that God is my first love. Eventually, according to his perfect time, he'll bring me the right guy. But for now, I'll just keep praising him, and giggling with my girls. :)
Love ya girls!
-Kat
Blessing #1: Physical purity is kept at bay. If you don't have a boyfriend, your limits on physical purity kinda take care of themselves. (NOTE: I believe that Friend With Benefits is not Biblically correct, therefore it is not even a consideration in this post). Now I'm certainly not saying you don't need to set limits, of course you still do. I even encourage you to decide what you're willing to do with friends (are you gonna hang all over a friend and flirt with them, or are you gonna limit yourself to Disney-hugs, etc). But when you're flying solo, worrying that the temptation is gonna be too strong doesn't seem to be a problem.
Blessing #2: More time for God. Think about it, the less time you're spending on a boyfriend, the more free time you have to spend with God. Take me, instead of going on a date on a Friday night I have time to hang out at home, reading my Bible, praying, and even *gasp* doing a little homework. Since I don't have to worry about whether or not my boyfriend is holding my hand at church, I can just let loose and worship God with my entire being. Sidebar: I don't recommend holding hands with your boyfriend in church unless you are sure it's not gonna distract either of you from worshipping and learning from God. Because I don't have a boyfriend, I have time to write a blog about purity with Jennifer. Being single is a blessing to me, because I can grow so much as a follower of Christ without the distraction of a boyfriend.
Blessing #3: More time for my girls. Okay, so while I want to live for Christ with every fiber of my being, I still like to have fun, you know, just kick back and relax sometimes. I have a reputation for being crazy, hyper, and random. Without a boyfriend, that leaves more time for movie nights (watching the essentials, Pirates of the Caribbean, Phantom of the Opera, Pride and Prejudice) or going to starbucks just to hang out. I am a huge fan of sleepovers where there is very little sleeping and a lot of giggling, popcorn, melting of marshmallow peeps, and early morning heart-to-hearts. Without a boyfriend, I can spend more time just chillaxin with my girls.
Okay, so I admit, sometimes it's not fun to be single. Like going to a school dance dateless, or when your friends are gushing about how sweet their boyfriends are. But honestly, I wouldn't give it up. I, Kathryn Reed, like being single. I'm happy, because I know that God is my first love. Eventually, according to his perfect time, he'll bring me the right guy. But for now, I'll just keep praising him, and giggling with my girls. :)
Love ya girls!
-Kat
Friday, November 6, 2009
How far is "Too" far?
The question is often asked, "How far is too far?"... I've searched through the Bible and read many books about purity. I have come to realize that each person has to consult with God and decide what they believe is right. Now this can be hard because it would be easy to do what "feels" good, although that may not be what God would have you do. So, instead of saying what is right or wrong I'm going to give you some verses that discuss purity and leave it up to you and God to decide what is ok for you!
1 Thessalonians 4: 3-8 It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 6:13Food for the stomach and the stomach for food"—but God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
1 Corinthians 6:18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.
2 Timothy 2:22 Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
Obviously, sex is out of the question, but what about other things? What about oral sex, anal sex, or simply phone sex? No matter what you want to call it...it is still sex. God calls that impure.
So, now you have read these verses and you see what God says. It's time to get real... For me the hardest part was actually writing it down. Is making out ok? What about heavy petting, fingering, french kissing, etc? No matter what you may call it... you know what I'm talking about! My own personal standard is that i do not want to kiss a guy until my wedding day. To many of you that sounds absolutely insane, although that is what i feel God is calling me to do. Yours may be different though! I personally know that it is hard for me to say, "no" in the moment. Knowing where you are weak will help you know where you need to set more boundaries! These are a few things you might want to ponder.. If I'm alone with a guy and he begins to move his hands in certain places and wants to go past making out, will I be able to say stop? What about if your clothes begin coming off.... is that ok? You need to think about these things... Just an fyi... You my want to also already have an idea of the places where you are cool with him touching you and also the places that you are not cool with him touching. Also, are you willing to say, "I love you"? If so, then when? Remember, you do not have to do ANYTHING that you do not feel comfortable doing!! Do i need to say that again?? Please precious girls... do not fall for satan's lies that you have to or you are weird if you don't do these things!
One final thought as you are coming up with your standards. Remember that Jesus is with you at ALL times (Of course only if you have asked Him into your heart though!)...If that unnerves you then you may need to rethink some of the things that you are doing. In Hebrews 13:5b it says, "I will never leave you nor forsake you.". That is Jesus talking! The truth is He already knows what you are doing....whether you want Him to or not.
I want to hear your opinion! We are here to support each other!
Love you girls,
JEN
1 Thessalonians 4: 3-8 It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.
1 Corinthians 6:13Food for the stomach and the stomach for food"—but God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
1 Corinthians 6:18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.
2 Timothy 2:22 Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
Obviously, sex is out of the question, but what about other things? What about oral sex, anal sex, or simply phone sex? No matter what you want to call it...it is still sex. God calls that impure.
So, now you have read these verses and you see what God says. It's time to get real... For me the hardest part was actually writing it down. Is making out ok? What about heavy petting, fingering, french kissing, etc? No matter what you may call it... you know what I'm talking about! My own personal standard is that i do not want to kiss a guy until my wedding day. To many of you that sounds absolutely insane, although that is what i feel God is calling me to do. Yours may be different though! I personally know that it is hard for me to say, "no" in the moment. Knowing where you are weak will help you know where you need to set more boundaries! These are a few things you might want to ponder.. If I'm alone with a guy and he begins to move his hands in certain places and wants to go past making out, will I be able to say stop? What about if your clothes begin coming off.... is that ok? You need to think about these things... Just an fyi... You my want to also already have an idea of the places where you are cool with him touching you and also the places that you are not cool with him touching. Also, are you willing to say, "I love you"? If so, then when? Remember, you do not have to do ANYTHING that you do not feel comfortable doing!! Do i need to say that again?? Please precious girls... do not fall for satan's lies that you have to or you are weird if you don't do these things!
One final thought as you are coming up with your standards. Remember that Jesus is with you at ALL times (Of course only if you have asked Him into your heart though!)...If that unnerves you then you may need to rethink some of the things that you are doing. In Hebrews 13:5b it says, "I will never leave you nor forsake you.". That is Jesus talking! The truth is He already knows what you are doing....whether you want Him to or not.
I want to hear your opinion! We are here to support each other!
Love you girls,
JEN
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Matters of the Heart
Proverbs 4:23 says "above all else, guard your heart, for it is the well-spring of life." You guessed it, tonight I want to share with you about guarding your heart. It's kinda easy to see why God wants us to guard our hearts. I think that many of us have been hurt by someone we loved before. Obviously God doesn't want us to be in pain from being hurt. That's exactly what he's talking about, right? Well not exactly. One of my favorite quotes from C.S. Lewis goes like this "Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable." Can you see where I'm going? If you love someone, they will let you down at some time or another. But that doesn't mean God is telling us to stop loving, to not let anyone in. On the contrary God tells us many times to love one another. So if "guarding your heart" doesn't mean holding back the love, what does it mean?
Basically it means to be selective with how intimately you love someone or even something. When you're in a relationship of any kind with a guy, it's a good idea to be careful with your heart. Don't just let yourself fall in love with him or just rush into it. Take your time, seek God's will first, and if it is God's will press on in the relationship. But still exercise caution. I mean, would you really wanna fall in love with 12 different guys before you find who God really has for you? Do you wanna put yourself through that much pain? On the contrary, I HIGHLY encourage you to be very careful and try your best not to fall in love unless you are sure he's the one. It's hard, I know. So many girls do the whole "fall hard, break up, cry a lot, get over it, and repeat" routine now-a-days. But do you REALLY wanna go through that?
Another reason to guard you heart is that it's harder to resist someone when you're in love. When you fall in love with a guy it's easier to make excuses like "well we're only doing this because we're in love." Well you may be in love but does what you're doing line up with the Bible??? I don't mean to step on any toes but being in love does not make you an exception to the rule. AT. ALL. And don't fall for the line "well if you love me you'll do this." If he loves you he won't go there. Guard your heart, because the more in love the harder it is to say no. Jen and I were talking the other day about how much harder it is to resist when you are in love. My youth pastor told us once that his wife's father got STRICTER on their dating when they became engaged, and with good reason. It became harder to say, I've gotta go, the closer they came to being married. So sisters, I encourage, please guard your heart!!!!!!!!!! You deserve God's best! I love the saying "dance with God, he'll let the right man cut in." Let God guard your heart, and you will be in safe hands!
Love In Christ,
Kat
Basically it means to be selective with how intimately you love someone or even something. When you're in a relationship of any kind with a guy, it's a good idea to be careful with your heart. Don't just let yourself fall in love with him or just rush into it. Take your time, seek God's will first, and if it is God's will press on in the relationship. But still exercise caution. I mean, would you really wanna fall in love with 12 different guys before you find who God really has for you? Do you wanna put yourself through that much pain? On the contrary, I HIGHLY encourage you to be very careful and try your best not to fall in love unless you are sure he's the one. It's hard, I know. So many girls do the whole "fall hard, break up, cry a lot, get over it, and repeat" routine now-a-days. But do you REALLY wanna go through that?
Another reason to guard you heart is that it's harder to resist someone when you're in love. When you fall in love with a guy it's easier to make excuses like "well we're only doing this because we're in love." Well you may be in love but does what you're doing line up with the Bible??? I don't mean to step on any toes but being in love does not make you an exception to the rule. AT. ALL. And don't fall for the line "well if you love me you'll do this." If he loves you he won't go there. Guard your heart, because the more in love the harder it is to say no. Jen and I were talking the other day about how much harder it is to resist when you are in love. My youth pastor told us once that his wife's father got STRICTER on their dating when they became engaged, and with good reason. It became harder to say, I've gotta go, the closer they came to being married. So sisters, I encourage, please guard your heart!!!!!!!!!! You deserve God's best! I love the saying "dance with God, he'll let the right man cut in." Let God guard your heart, and you will be in safe hands!
Love In Christ,
Kat
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Perusing God with your everything!
Hey sis! I was trying to decide what to share tonight and I decided to start out by sharing a little bit of my past and some of the things that I’ve learned with hopes of encouraging you girls and showing you that you are not alone in this battle and it is possible to be in love with God and content with out a guy!
So here it goes.... I grew up in the basic home school family. I knew all the right answers and knew a good many verses, but it wasn’t until I was around the age of 14 that I began to realize how it wasn’t about my parent’s faith or their "religion", but it was about what I personally believed. Now, please do not get me wrong.... I had asked Jesus Christ into my heart when i was 5 years old and I meant it completely, although it was the fact that I was not seeking God's will. I was seeking my parent’s approval. Anyway, I had the chance to go on a mission trip out west at the age of 14 and it really hit me hard as to what the real world was like. That just doing the so called, "Right thing" was not what it meant to truly love God! So, I began reading my Bible more and it was the coolest thing to actually find for myself in the Bible all of the things that I had been told about so many times in Awana, Sunday school, Childrens church, and etc! That was the beginning of my love for God... Fast forward around 2 years. See, I like to refer to home schoolers as, "late bloomers"! :) Many of us do not get a chance to hang out with other kids our age (especially of the opposite sex) often until we hit high school, which means all of the drama that happens in public school during the middle school years hit us in high school. That is exactly what happened. Life got tough.... tougher than I EVER imagined that it could be. God was there though... I’ve made my fair share of mistakes...trust me. I’ve also had my fair share of hurt.... but girls...oh precious girls.... can I tell you how at your lowest times it is the most SPECTACULAR thing to have the Lord of Lords and King of Kings bend down, pick you up, dust you off, and then whisper into your ear how perfect and beautiful you are in His eyes?!?!?! I want you to stop and just imagine that.... because if you will allow it to happen He will do it EVERY time! It is not like a one chance thing... He loves you more than you can EVER imagine!! Enough preaching... back to the point! I had a choice. I could either stay luke warm in my faith or cling to God 100%. It wasn’t an easy choice to be real with you guys... Because being different is hard. If anyone ever told you it wasn’t they were lying! Listen to me girls... it is possible though! I chose God! Over this past year my love for Him has grown by leaps and bounds! I'm not sure how noticeable it is...but let me tell you, I know it’s true! Now just to let you know incase you are lost and saying what is this crazy girl talking about being truly in love with God! When I say truly in love with God I mean being ok with not having a guy, being satisfied with who God made you to be, being the girl who stands out in what she says, in the way she lives her life, in the way she treats others, and also in the way she interacts with guys (1 Timothy 4:12)! That is what perusing God with your whole heart is about girls! Putting God above what guys may think of you! I am not saying by any means what so ever that I’m perfect or that I love God as much as I ever could. I would be straight up lying if I did say that. What I am saying though… is I can tell you from person experience that it is possible to put the things of this world behind and run full fledge towards God!
With all that said, I challenge you girls... get into Gods word and fall in love with Him! I love the verse Psalm 37:4,"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart."! It is so true! I will tell you now though... The road to purity and loving God with your whole heart is a road that not very many people travel....It can get lonely, but girls that is why we created this group. I want you to know that at NO time are you alone! Even when the world is throwing every lie possible at you to get you to quit chasing Christ please know that I’m praying for you. More so than that you have a Heavenly father who will NEVER leave you nor forsake you! He promises so in Hebrews 13:5b, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."!
I love you girls and I care about you! Please know that you are not alone in this journey and that when you do fail Jesus is there... He wants to pick you back up!
Sis in Christ,
JEN
So here it goes.... I grew up in the basic home school family. I knew all the right answers and knew a good many verses, but it wasn’t until I was around the age of 14 that I began to realize how it wasn’t about my parent’s faith or their "religion", but it was about what I personally believed. Now, please do not get me wrong.... I had asked Jesus Christ into my heart when i was 5 years old and I meant it completely, although it was the fact that I was not seeking God's will. I was seeking my parent’s approval. Anyway, I had the chance to go on a mission trip out west at the age of 14 and it really hit me hard as to what the real world was like. That just doing the so called, "Right thing" was not what it meant to truly love God! So, I began reading my Bible more and it was the coolest thing to actually find for myself in the Bible all of the things that I had been told about so many times in Awana, Sunday school, Childrens church, and etc! That was the beginning of my love for God... Fast forward around 2 years. See, I like to refer to home schoolers as, "late bloomers"! :) Many of us do not get a chance to hang out with other kids our age (especially of the opposite sex) often until we hit high school, which means all of the drama that happens in public school during the middle school years hit us in high school. That is exactly what happened. Life got tough.... tougher than I EVER imagined that it could be. God was there though... I’ve made my fair share of mistakes...trust me. I’ve also had my fair share of hurt.... but girls...oh precious girls.... can I tell you how at your lowest times it is the most SPECTACULAR thing to have the Lord of Lords and King of Kings bend down, pick you up, dust you off, and then whisper into your ear how perfect and beautiful you are in His eyes?!?!?! I want you to stop and just imagine that.... because if you will allow it to happen He will do it EVERY time! It is not like a one chance thing... He loves you more than you can EVER imagine!! Enough preaching... back to the point! I had a choice. I could either stay luke warm in my faith or cling to God 100%. It wasn’t an easy choice to be real with you guys... Because being different is hard. If anyone ever told you it wasn’t they were lying! Listen to me girls... it is possible though! I chose God! Over this past year my love for Him has grown by leaps and bounds! I'm not sure how noticeable it is...but let me tell you, I know it’s true! Now just to let you know incase you are lost and saying what is this crazy girl talking about being truly in love with God! When I say truly in love with God I mean being ok with not having a guy, being satisfied with who God made you to be, being the girl who stands out in what she says, in the way she lives her life, in the way she treats others, and also in the way she interacts with guys (1 Timothy 4:12)! That is what perusing God with your whole heart is about girls! Putting God above what guys may think of you! I am not saying by any means what so ever that I’m perfect or that I love God as much as I ever could. I would be straight up lying if I did say that. What I am saying though… is I can tell you from person experience that it is possible to put the things of this world behind and run full fledge towards God!
With all that said, I challenge you girls... get into Gods word and fall in love with Him! I love the verse Psalm 37:4,"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart."! It is so true! I will tell you now though... The road to purity and loving God with your whole heart is a road that not very many people travel....It can get lonely, but girls that is why we created this group. I want you to know that at NO time are you alone! Even when the world is throwing every lie possible at you to get you to quit chasing Christ please know that I’m praying for you. More so than that you have a Heavenly father who will NEVER leave you nor forsake you! He promises so in Hebrews 13:5b, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."!
I love you girls and I care about you! Please know that you are not alone in this journey and that when you do fail Jesus is there... He wants to pick you back up!
Sis in Christ,
JEN
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
He Could Be Alright...
Hey Chickas!
Tonight I wanted to talk to you about standards other than just purity. Cuz you can have purity standards and fight to uphold them, but if you're going for the wrong guys it'll be a hard fought battle- harder than it has to be. I know that several of my friends and I have a list for what we want in a future husband. I HIGHLY encourage you to make one of these lists. Don't just brainstorm what you want, WRITE IT DOWN. Develop a well thought out list (not just "needs to be cute"), write it down, and keep it somewhere safe. You are probably asking "what's the point of the list?" Well first of all it lets you evaluate what you really want to spend the rest of your life with. Second of all, the list isn't just a guide for your future husband, it's a guide for all your boyfriends. Let's be honest, if you wouldn't spend the rest of your life with him, what's the point of keeping him around? By getting into a relationship with a guy who doesn't make the cut, you are setting yourself up for heartbreak. Having a list written down is more beneficial than you think. It comes in handy to have something to look at when you are trying figure out if he could be alright. Sometimes we forget what we really want when a cute guy pays attention to us. So next time a guy starts flirting with you, don't be afraid to go home and put him up to the test. Who knows, "he could be alright." ;)
Something to remember when you make the list, the Bible specifically warns against being "unequally yoked" (2 Corinthians 6:14). Now if you're like I was not too long ago, you're probably thinking something along the lines of "what on earth does it mean to be unequally yoked?" lol. Have no fear, I will explain. Mental picture, two oxen are hooked up to plow a field, what keeps them together? A yoke. In our lovely mental picture, the yoke symbolizes the bond of marraige. Now the ox on the left (you) is strong in it's faith and constantly trying to pull towards God and do his will. The ox on the right (your husband) is not into "religion" as he calls it and thinks Sundays were meant for football and nothing else. The ox on the left is constantly pulling one way, and the ox on the right is pulling the other way, and in turn, they go NOWHERE. Not a pretty picture huh? Well you may being saying "well it's not like I'm gonna date a non-christian." Let's put a twist in here, both oxen are believers. But the left ox is a baptist, and the right ox is a catholic. They are eventually gonna end up the same way as the oxen from our first scenario. Do you get what I'm saying? You want to have the same basic belief system as your future husband. And that includes purity. You are not gonna want to spent your entire dating relationship fighting to keep from going too far. I encourage you to keep that in mind as you make your lists.
Until next time, Kat
Tonight I wanted to talk to you about standards other than just purity. Cuz you can have purity standards and fight to uphold them, but if you're going for the wrong guys it'll be a hard fought battle- harder than it has to be. I know that several of my friends and I have a list for what we want in a future husband. I HIGHLY encourage you to make one of these lists. Don't just brainstorm what you want, WRITE IT DOWN. Develop a well thought out list (not just "needs to be cute"), write it down, and keep it somewhere safe. You are probably asking "what's the point of the list?" Well first of all it lets you evaluate what you really want to spend the rest of your life with. Second of all, the list isn't just a guide for your future husband, it's a guide for all your boyfriends. Let's be honest, if you wouldn't spend the rest of your life with him, what's the point of keeping him around? By getting into a relationship with a guy who doesn't make the cut, you are setting yourself up for heartbreak. Having a list written down is more beneficial than you think. It comes in handy to have something to look at when you are trying figure out if he could be alright. Sometimes we forget what we really want when a cute guy pays attention to us. So next time a guy starts flirting with you, don't be afraid to go home and put him up to the test. Who knows, "he could be alright." ;)
Something to remember when you make the list, the Bible specifically warns against being "unequally yoked" (2 Corinthians 6:14). Now if you're like I was not too long ago, you're probably thinking something along the lines of "what on earth does it mean to be unequally yoked?" lol. Have no fear, I will explain. Mental picture, two oxen are hooked up to plow a field, what keeps them together? A yoke. In our lovely mental picture, the yoke symbolizes the bond of marraige. Now the ox on the left (you) is strong in it's faith and constantly trying to pull towards God and do his will. The ox on the right (your husband) is not into "religion" as he calls it and thinks Sundays were meant for football and nothing else. The ox on the left is constantly pulling one way, and the ox on the right is pulling the other way, and in turn, they go NOWHERE. Not a pretty picture huh? Well you may being saying "well it's not like I'm gonna date a non-christian." Let's put a twist in here, both oxen are believers. But the left ox is a baptist, and the right ox is a catholic. They are eventually gonna end up the same way as the oxen from our first scenario. Do you get what I'm saying? You want to have the same basic belief system as your future husband. And that includes purity. You are not gonna want to spent your entire dating relationship fighting to keep from going too far. I encourage you to keep that in mind as you make your lists.
Until next time, Kat
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