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Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Getting Off of the Fence

I am attempting to get off of the fence about Courtship versus Dating.  At this point in my life, I lack some socializing skills with guys.  I can't learn them unless I am around men.  Cloud pushes dating but not in the super charged set apart for marriage sort of way.  His approach to dating is a process to get to know guys and ultimately yourself.  He advocates that we clear up our internal dynamics that are keeping us from dating and getting to know guys in a healthy and respectable manner.

Lovers' Lock Fence ~ Paris, France
I agree with this approach to dating, but on the other hand, I have seen and heard testimonies of women who waited without dating around so much and finally found the one God had for them later in life(late 30s) or even being content to serve God in their singleness.  God's timing is the best timing.  As for dating with no strings attached, for me that is hard for my mind to wrap around because I am a very emotional person and can become attached very quickly.  I don't want to invest improper emotions in a relationship.  I guess that all comes with learning how to socialize and communicate with guys.  As I get more comfortable and pick up my patterns, I can step back and analyze the situation better.

With this approach, it sounds like emotional investment in someone you don't marry is paid back in personal growth with interaction and learning of specific characteristics you want in a guy.  This part, keeps me close to that fence.  I don't want several men out in the world to know the very intimate details of my life.  That is reserved for my future husband.  Emotional purity versus emotional investment with the return being growth as a person and as a Christian is my quandary.

I can't really judge as to whether one is more right.  I do know that if I am following God and staying close to Him, I can't fail.  He will give me a sense of peace about whether or not to "date" or to just enjoy the journey.  I do know God won't send him to my doorstep, so I must be willing to interact and fellowship with guys and learn how I tick around them or I won't be prepared to be married to one.

As my Grandma always said, "Don't go solving a problem with a problem."

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

America's Twelve Stones

God told Joshua and the Israelites to gather twelve large stones and carry them into the Promised Land as a memorial to future generations of what God did for them at that moment in their history.  .  The twelve stones is assumed to represent the twelve tribes and each tribe had a stone to call their own.  Their own claim or part of the whole.

America has its own version of this milestone in the form of a monument entitled "The National Monument to our Forefathers." This monument is a hidden jewel in America located in the offskirts of Plymouth, Massachusetts.  This jewel was recently uncovered by Kirk Cameron in a documentary film Monumental in Search of America's National TreasureKirk Cameron goes and traces back the voyage of our forefathers to America recounting their story with the true and not so pretty details.

Cameron also discusses in depth with a historian the meaning of this monument that was left behind for those of us to remember where we came from.  It gives us the framework for which this country was founded.  The person at the top is Faith pointing heavenward to where our authority comes.  She is holding a loose-leaf Bible in her hands.  The others surrounding her are Education, Morality, Law, and Liberty.  This monument signifies a definite milestone moment in America's history that clearly gives all of the credit to God and what He has done through a people willing to becoming stepping stones for this great nation.

This is America's twelve stone moment.  The principles that this monument represent should lead any logical person back to God as the author of it all.  I was privileged to go to a Christian school where I was taught all of these principles and the value and truth of my Christian heritage.  I was also fortunate enough to go to Plymouth and Boston for my senior trip and see this monument face to face.  In my little Christian school bubble, I had not realized until now that this monument was not well advertised and was hidden from view so to speak as well as the truth behind the founding of out nation.  We are living in difficult times where truth is what you want to make it.  Truth is not valued because everyone can't decide what standard to measure truth by.  As for me, Jesus states it plainly, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (Jn 14:6).  He is our standard.
Now to bring this to a personal level, what is your twelve stones moment?  What are the moments in life that you had to mark whether physically or mentally as moments only the Lord could explain.  The defining moments of life...the ones you will pass down to your children as an example of what to do or what not to do.  These marks will serve as reminders to inform others of what God has accomplished in your life.  Don't forget to remember.