Our pastor recently did a series on Song of Songs. I loved each sermon and learned a lot about marriage and sex, dating, and so on. So here are a couple notes I came across while cleaning out my purse.
7 Things Before You Say "I Do" - doing your homework to check out the other person's character (based on Song 2):
1. devotion - does he/she have eyes only for you?
2. desire - is it there? and are you both prepared to wait to fulfill it?
3. excitement - anticipation to be together, sacrifice, attention to detail
4. life and growth - are you inspired to be a better person? (rather than dragged down)
5. tenderness - affection, encouragement, builds you up
6. discovery/disclosure - it's better to reveal the baggage than to have deceit
7. covenant - total security in sickness, poverty, reality (a covenant says 'I will,' a contract says 'I'll try')
Why Relationships Go Bad:
- neglect to ask God for wisdom in evaluating your spouse's character before marrying
- neglect to build Godly friendships who will stand behind your marriage
- not enough time spent talking about expectations - before and during
- advancing the relationship too quickly (if you advance too soon physically, you skip past emotional connection)
And my personal favourite, taken from the refrigerator door of our pastor and his wife during their kids' teen years...
Rules of Dating:
1. Don't unzip anything.
2. Don't unbutton anything.
3. Do not lift anything up.
4. Do not pull anything down.
5. Keep your tongue in your own mouth.
6. Don't touch anything that sticks out.
I love the lists . . . especially the Rules of Dating List!
ReplyDelete