From Friendship to Marriage I

Love is something fascinating. It exceeds all our imaginations. Loving and being loved is man's highest quality of life.

Dating - the Challenge

Are you maybe also tired of the dating game? Did you just get out of a bad relationship? Are you looking for something better now? What are your criterias for dating? Did you ever reflect on the strategy on how to find the best partner for life?

Normal dating is usually based on self-fulfillment. Many times it shows a persons own deficits. The bigger the deficits - the stronger the need for compensation through ‘falling in love’.

We often forget that the gift of singleness gives us time to grow as individuals. So we should take full advantage of this important time, shouldn’t we?

In this blog we want to think about, how our creator designed our world for relationships and marriage.

Why shop if you’re not gonna buy? => Why date if you can’t marry yet?

You propably know a lot of relationships in the state of dating, right? Do you also think that many times it looks like a game? Can you see a lot of stressful, agonizing and painful moments? Does it happen that sometimes being with groups and normals friendships is much more fun than a one-on-one relationship? Why is this often the case?

Some also get stressed or even discouraged by the fact that they don’t have someone to get dressed up for and daydream about.

Young believers can often understand that it is not God’s timing right now to have a relationship and being distracted from work and the purpose the Lord has designed for them. Whoever is interested in Bible knowledge and truth can also find advice concerning this important topic !!

If you belong to one of these following groups this blog is designed for you:

• You just got out of a bad relationship, and don’t want to be hurt again. Better NOT dating.

• Since you never felt comfortable with dating you look for alternatives

• You’re in a dating relationship that you realize is heading in the worng direction. You are interested in finding ways to keep the relationship within God’s boundaries.

• Maybe you are in a blessed dating relationship, and you’re curious why anyone would choose not to date.

It is a great blessing to develop a partnership where maturing teamwork is lived. Problems are there to be solved and want to be solved by both without living egoisticly and showing deficient backgrounds. Wonderful!

What is SMART LOVE ?

Do you realize that every time you have a dating relationship you give something of your heart to your partner that you won’t be able to take back anymore? The more relationships you had the higher the risk that your love-quality will be less. How many times have you given away your heart in shortterm relationships?

Many teenagers consider dating as an essential part of a normal good life. Dating becomes a game, a chance to play at love and experiment with relationships. Especially if they experiment with physically intimacy soon it shows that this has nothing to do with real love and affection. It’s just lust, as it is seen in many movies or in the schools, where dating is ‘in’.

In many cases the stronger the fears in a person the stronger the need for compensation to falling into a ’love’ mood. Going into a relationship without real love ends mostly in being dumped or doing dumping. And nobody really likes that, right?

I am sorry to say that most high school relationships are premature, too much, too soon. Many play with physical contact which makes them loose a center part of their heart that should be designed for their real marriage partner.

Paul writes about the real love in Philippians 1:9-10 the following:

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.

Or in paraphrasing words:

Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head (frontal lob-LINK) and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush!

Smart love constantly grows and deepens in its practical knowledge and insight. It also opens our eyes to see God’s best for our lives, enabling us to be pure and blameless in His sight.

What about this:

We must realize that we have no business asking for a girls’/boys’ heart and affections if we are not ready to back up our request with a lifelong commitment !! Until we can do that, we would only be using that partner to meet our shortterm needs, not seeking to bless her/him for the long term.

By avoiding romance before God tells us we would be ready for it, we can better serve girls/boys as a good friend. That way we can remain free to keep our focus on the Lord. THIS IS SMART LOVE in action !

This love also makes us evaluate all parts of our dating relationship to make sure we don’t go too far, allowing ourselves to get pulled into something we should avoid. It looks beyond personal desires and the gratification of the moment. It looks at the big picture: SERVING OTHERS AND GLORIFYING GOD.

In most relationships, the goal of starting a family with children is also part of it. This brings some changes into the relationship: the husband's name is suddenly ‘Papa’ and he no longer carries the number 1 but has become number 2, since the wife has become a mother and will do everything possible to take care of her child day and night.

Knowing What is Best

Waiting until I’m ready for commitment before pursuing romance is just one example of smart love in action. When our love grows in knowledge we can more readily ‘discern what is best’ for our lives.

Here a challenging situation: A friend at school asks you out. How do you seek guidance about what kind of person you can go out with? Maybe you have gone out on a few dates with someone, and ouy just kissed for the first time. It was exciting and you felt as if your’re in love. But is this real love?

“What about my needs?” you may be asking. ATTENTION: When we make God’s glory and other people’s needs our priority, we position ourselves to receive God’s best in our lives as well.

SMART LOVE unlocks GOD’s best for our lives !!!

When we make our main priority in relationships pleasing God and blessing others, we will find true peace and joy. Why not treat girls or boys as potential sisters and brothers in Christ. That way we will discover the richness of true friendship. That way peace and power will come out of purity. By kissing dating good-bye because we have found out that God has something better in store, we will move in a much better quality of life.

Some thoughts from the book “I Kissed Dating Goodbye” from Joshua Harris

To be continued

5 Steps To Integrity

Integrity - being in congruence with oneself - living one's values ​​and beliefs too, these are important values ​​for people who want to make more of their life.

What Is Integrity Anyway?

Integrity is increasingly required as an important, desirable requirement for certain professions. It is becoming increasingly important, especially among top managers.

But again and again we see in everyday life that there is a discrepancy between strength of character, honesty and actual life. Is it due to the lack of lived role models? Is the sentence correct:

"Those who are aware of their own dignity can no longer be seduced." ?

Is it perhaps because of our self-worth (LINK)), which is still inferior and leads us into unnecessary and unhealthy addictions?

Definition:

Integrity is the correspondence of personal values ​​with one's own actions. A person of integrity lives in the knowledge that his personal convictions, standards and values ​​are also expressed in his behavior.

The synonyms for integrity are incorruptibility, impeccability and impeccability.

The opposite would then be corruption, i.e. letting oneself be guided by external temptations or threats.

A person of integrity is not a weather vane in the wind, but a compass that permanently and correctly points north regardless of the weather. It's not about perfectionism (LINK), but about authenticity and honesty towards yourself and your values.

The Latin word “INTEGRARE” means RESTORE, MAKE WHOLE.

Living integrity is a process of permanent positive change in one's own personality. INTEGRITAS means INTEGRITY. This also thinks of the inner person, of his characteristics, qualities, weaknesses, which are based on healthy values ​​and can be developed into a better quality of life.

Why Is Integrity So Important?

1. It's about credibility and trust

• Integrity is the basis for our relationships, both privately and professionally.

• You can rely on people of integrity.

Integrity pays off in business. Not only financially, but also in the world of relationships.

2. Integrity promotes quality of life

• Living upright, honest feels good. Bad posture affects our wellbeing.

• Living in "hypocrisy" makes us lose our confidence in ourselves. We become easily manipulable.

• Our self-esteem (LINK) has a lot to do with our lived integrity.

A good conscience is always rewarded. This quality of life is characterized by a high level of self-worth. A reason to be happy!

3. Our world of relationships is strengthened

• “Playing roles” and “wearing masks” is becoming less attractive.

• If you talk honestly about everything, then real answers and solutions can be found, because after all it is said: "Honesty lasts the longest!"

• Our environment feels that it is treated with dignity and respect. One is more attentive, more affectionate, more loving and understanding and rests in inner peace.

In a marriage relationship in particular, integrity promotes the quality of happiness. Honesty, mutual understanding and good listening (LINK) make a partner life really worth living.

4. Our health is promoted

• A large proportion of mental illnesses could be prevented if our integrity were so strong that we neither impose our will on others nor allow us to be belittled in our eyes by the opinions of others.

• Act on principles, not opinions! We are easily distracted from our resolutions.

• Integrity directs our minds towards truth, importance, expressiveness and reality. When we approach health issues in this way, we realize that we are often dishonest of ourselves. However, if we're really up for it, the banal, frivolous, picky, exotic, improbable, and idiotic no longer captivate us.

• Integrity helps us examine the evidence and see our own prejudice. It demands high standards from us and forces us to base our beliefs on evidence, not whims.

• In short, integrity protects us from hypocrisy.

A friendship built on integrity is based on reality, the truth and leads to mutual support and respect.

5. Integrity is a protection

• Integrity has saved thousands from becoming addicted for turning down a drug offer when fascinated by the prospect of pleasure.

• How many smokers ignore known facts in an attempt to “belong” or appear “more interesting”?

• There is a big difference between becoming dependent on ignorance and intentionally hiding the truth.

Who likes to say: NO thanks. But sometimes it's a necessary decision. Especially when it comes to meaningful principles that affect our lives and our future.

In summary it can be said:

Integrity is the basis for good mental health, trustworthy interpersonal relationships and responsible behavior.

Integrity is an essential factor in the NEWSTART PLUS concept (LINK). Integrity is a behavior that has a significant impact on our health.

Let us promote it!

Thoughts from www.lug-mag.com