When I was a college minister I had the following interaction with both male and female students on a very frequent basis: Emily has been dating a guy for a number of years and they’re really serious. She thinks she’s going to marry him and they have their entire future planned out around one another. But one day Emily’s boyfriend …
Why I Wouldn’t Let My Daughter Read the Twilight Books
On the first day of our honeymoon, my husband and I were waiting at the Miami airport when I decided to buy a good book for the trip. I knew we would be spending plenty of time out on the beach, and I also knew I’d get bored just laying there, so I found a bookstore and began to sniff …
The In-Crowd
Cliques. This is a word that instantly generates feelings of annoyance and disdain. We all knew those girls in high school, that group in college, maybe even some people at your church right now. Few things feel worse than being excluded from those tightly-knit groups who so ably highlight our inadequacies. And that is why we hate them. I still …
Disrespect is the New Chivalry
Today marks the 10 day count down until my WEDDING DAY (woot woot!) which means I will not be posting many new blogs in the next couple weeks (And none during my honeymoon…I hope you understand that I’ll be otherwise occupied). Til then, I’m going to re-post some of my older entries for those of you who missed them the …
A Narcissistic Generation
Greek mythology tells the story of a man named Narcissus who was exceptionally cruel, even to those who loved him. As a punishment from the gods for a life poorly-lived, Narcissus was cursed to fall in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. Not realizing it was his own, Narcissus was so captivated by his image that …
Equally Yoked?
What is spiritual leadership? This is a question about which there has been a great deal of confusion among Christians. Scripture teaches that we are to date and marry men who are spiritual leaders (1 Cor. 11:3), and Scripture also teaches us to date and marry men with whom we are equally yoked (2. Cor. 6:14).* The problem is that …
Intimacy By Convenience
This weekend my family is headed down to Florida to celebrate the 4th of July. My parents have a place down there, but it’s very small with only one bedroom, so usually I just stay on the sleeper couch and we all fit in just fine. However, the sleeping dynamic has gotten a little tricky now that I’m engaged. As …
To Forgive or Not to Forgive
More often than I would expect, I hear break-up stories from my college students that will go something like this… Alex and Sarah have been dating for 2 years, and even though they’re only 19 years old, they’re already talking about marriage. Everything seems just perfect! Then one summer Alex and Sarah are apart for a few months, and during …
Sleeping Over: Part 2
Update: Since writing this post originally, I have posted a Part 3 that you can check out here. I hope you will! Since writing the last post, I have received a number of great questions that I want to follow up on because they are relevant to us all, and they allow me to elaborate on some of my previous …
Recovering Chivalry
Today’s blog was originally posted almost a year ago when Ike and I first started dating. The reason I am posting it now is that Ike’s method of courtship was the primary inspiration behind this blog, but I did not/could not reveal it at the time. When I wrote that there were “2 signs” that God was using to teach …