3/19/2009

Matching Courtship with Romance

Do you know who wrote the books I Kissed Dating Goodbye and Boy Meets Girl? I heard another sermon from him this morning, actually I listened through the net...I downloaded his preach regarding love and relationships entitled Romance Revisited: The NECESSITY of Biblical Conviction.
He said that these are the six key points to remeber when dealing with Romance in a way that it matches the Wisdom of God. Here they are:

1. Study God's Word - and the only book that has God's words is the Bible. You have to respect his words and apply this to your everyday lives...he enumerated some passages about love and passion:
a. Philippians 1:9 to 11 - And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God

b. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 - it is my motto in my page...heheh...

c. Colossians 3:5-17 - Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. (just a part, mahaba kasi)

d. 1 Thessalonias 4:1-8 - 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 (magandang part)

e. 1 Timothy 4:12 - Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity

f. Romans 12:9-21 - Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality (magandang part)

2. Pray for the Holy Spirit's Guidance - prayer is a powerful right; exercise it! :)

3. Humbly seek wisdom and counsel - it is said in Proverbs 15:10 that he who hates correction will die; seek not only the wisdom, but also the correctness

4. Read some 'help' books that would help you to understand God's word that can help you to apply the biblical truth to your life - one example are the books I mentioned above

5. Isolate the value of the fruits of your decision - Examine the results of the choices that you made.

Actually antagal ng sermon na ito...but since I'm a fan of Joshua Harris; nakakatuwa siyang pakinggan each time he discusses about romance and relationships...hope this helps, just wanna share lang! :) and don't be like this picture, parang nahihiya/undecided yung guy, kaya parang intimidated yung girl...hehehe...

3/18/2009

Courtship Matters


I listened to Joshua Harris' sermon yesterday through the net. It was so refreshing listening to his lessons regarding love, relationship, and courtship. Even though he barely knowns me [duh! kelan ba pumunta ng Philippine si Joshua Harris?!?] for me, he is a good adviser especially to the single beings.

He said in his sermon titled "Courtship Smourtship" that there are Four Areas that are needed to build a healthy and warm courtship. This addresses some misconceptions people can have in their 'ideal courtship' and makes us realize that there are biblical principles to be applied in relationships...


Oh yeah, the four aspects are: Genuity, Discernment, (Brotherly or Sisterly) Affection, and Honor. These are based on Romans 12: 9-10.


Joshua Harris defines courtship as purposely considering another person in marriage (that is my understanding! XD).He also said that a man doesn't just take the girl, rather, he's wooing over the woman (woo means to gain love of a woman with a view of marriage). I love the part when he tackled about the Affection, where he address the inhibitions of the men today - that it is okay to invite a girl for a lunch or dinner or just a coffee break, it doesn't mean that you're already in 'that' stage (in Filipino, okay lang daw magsabay kumain, hindi naman ibig sabihin, kayo na!) ; also the part when he addresses the miscommunication part - Joshua said, "Let a man be your brother and don't assume that there is more to friendship unless the guy actually said it IN MOUTH to you!" [god! i'm laughing my lungs out when i heard that from him].

Anyway, even though I'm not physically present in the church when he preached these things, still I believe listening to him just through the net makes me feel like I'm being personally addressed at... [still can't move on, still laughing my heart out each time I remember the quote above]

3/03/2009

Boyfriends for Keeps


Every time that I go to lunch with my officemates, we have the talk of the town: boys, relationships, and marriage. Hindi na sila nagsawa. I mean, why do they ask me if ever I encountered this kind of thing (considering that most of my officemates are older than me)? So I made something, I told them that I have a man, but not a boyfriend…A fling, in short. You are not committed to him, but you have the privilege and the pleasure of belonging, belonging that a person thinks of you as someone special.
Akalain mong magagalit! They even told me that what I am doing is not good as training ground for marriage. Who tell them that I want to get married?! I told them that I wanted to marry when the perfect time comes, regardless of how old you are – 28, 29, 32 – it doesn’t matter. I want to be single for the mean time, I want to do things that a single lady can do: blind dates, mall strolling with friends, out-of-town travels, business jumpstarting...actually those are the few of many possibilities. As they said nga, bata pa ako. I have to be prepared before I encounter relationships. Relationships, together with commitments, are tough work…parang dalawang full time work for a day. Imagine that…tiring and stressful. But in the end, you realize daw that you do your best just to make things work, to make the ends meet. And you will just feel the cloud 9 feeling when you are in love, which is much more special than just having a fling.
Maybe I am afraid to have a lover, or maybe I just don’t want to. Or I think it’s just plain hard.
But at the end of the day, only God can decide what is best for life. For example, a friend of mine wishes for a happy married life (she’s already 27). Five years ago, she met a guy and made love with him… in the end, she regretted it. She wasn’t able to move on. She kept on looking for a man that would erase her past. I told her to pray and if she really wishes to move on, she doesn’t need a man for it. And voila! She has a boyfriend nowadays, a very intelligent and charming one. They take the relationship slowly, savoring every moment between them. The guy knew about her past, and still loves her for who she is.
Come to think of it, you can have this kind of story when you begin to “open up”, to “let go and let god”, and “bloom”. Maybe my officemates are right. Once I change my mentality regarding this thing, I could have a boyfriend – not just a fictitious creation, but for real.
Or maybe not muna. Hehehe…