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10 Tips Online Dating
[Disclaimer from Renee] – Since I have tried and failed at online dating–including a date where the guy literally tried to get me to sleep with him –I wanted to paint not only a positive but godly view of online dating. That doesn’t mean that eHarmony is the ONLY place to meet a future spouse or that Christian Mingle is correct in their advertising slogan “Find God’s Match For You.” It’s up to you and God to figure out if online dating is right for you. Please welcome my friend Julie as she shares her success story. [Guest Post by Julie Anne Wilson] – 10 Tips Online Dating There are…
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Hey Christian Girl
Just because you’re single doesn’t mean you’re alone. Shocking, I know. Let’s re-read that first sentence again–but this time say it out loud until you believe it! I want to let you in on a little secret: after a year of marriage I can say with full confidence I now have less time for friendships. My favorite February 14th was the one where I got together with a group my girlfriends. There were about eight of us. Some knew each other, and some didn’t. Some were single and happy and some–like me–weren’t. I don’t even remember the movie we saw, but I remember sitting at Panera Bread beforehand chick chatting…
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On Dating: Let Him Be A Gentleman
[Guest Post by Bethany Jett] When it comes to dating is it impossible to let him boyfriend be a gentleman? Dating. That mystical world where every glance, word, and touch is analyzed, over-analyzed, and remembered on a repeat cycle until the next time the love of your life crosses your path. It’s a system of doubt, joy, excitement, butterflies, and sometimes heartache. What if the odds of getting our hearts broken could be reduced? Is there any way we can steer the course of our dating lives to a place of ease and wonderfulness? Ideally, yes, but in a system where the traditional gender roles are kicked and trampled in…
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On Dating: Should We Talk About Sex?
[Guest Post by Lisa Velthouse] – Should we talk about sex? If so, when? And how? And what is OK to say, and what isn’t? And what, oh what, would our youth pastors think if they heard us now? Christians in a dating and marrying world are typically aware that the Bible’s teaching on sex reserves it for a married husband and wife. They are often also aware that the Bible celebrates married sex unabashedly. Song of Songs, anyone? As to the practical implications of all that, however, the clarity quickly fades into big questions and big confusion. But let’s get our grounding here, and begin by remembering that the…
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On Dating: My Parents Don't Approve
[Monthly Columnists – Wendy van Eyck] My parents don’t approve of my boyfriend. I’m not the best person to write dating advice because I didn’t go on my first date till I was 26. And then I broke up with him four weeks later. I’m not the kind of person who plays games with peoples feelings but I didn’t know what else to do when my parents didn’t approve of my first boyfriend. As a young teen, I’d decided that dating for the sake of gaining a long list of boyfriends just wasn’t me. I settled that there were two boxes that needed to be ticked in my mind before…
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Two NEW Books
Announcing Forgiving Others, Forgiving Me book cover and my fourth book, Loves Me Not: Heartbreak & Healing God’s Way. I can’t believe I’ve been working on Forgiving Others, Forgiving Me for over ten years. It’s been through four re-writes and two publishers, and the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writer’s Guild when I was 19. I remember when my friend in DTS (discipleship training program), Ericka said, “God told me to tell you to write your second book on suffering.” And when my previous publisher contracted it–I thought “thank you God!” When they canceled it, the verse I got was from Isaiah 43:19, which says “See! I am doing a NEW…
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On Health & Body: Get Back Up!
[Monthly Columnist – Jaimie Bowman] – It’s that time of year again – the mid-January to February slump after New Year’s resolutions were made. According to About.com,the second most popular New Year’s Resolution was to “Fit in Fitness.” The third most popular was to “Tame the Bulge.” However, by now, most of us have driven through Taco Bell on that way-too-short lunch break, or found that hidden stash of Christmas candy that we thought we threw away. And who can skip that bowl of ice cream during an episode of Downton Abbey or The Bachelor? As if! Every day, and with every decision we make, we are moving towards our health…
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On Depression: When God Seems Distant
[Guest Post by Mary DeMuth] – Sometimes God seems distant. Here’s why. When we lived as church planters in France, I felt abandoned by God. Why did He take me across the ocean only to abandon me? I read the Psalms where David lamented, and I deeply identified with him. Oh how I understood his sadness, how far God felt from my day to day situation. I grew depressed, despondent, and nothing seemed to be able to revive me. Not the awesome food. The beautiful scenery. Or the sweet people. I remember railing at God, nearly shaking a fist, wondering why-why-why He wooed us to France only to experience deep…
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Anxiety is a Gift
[Guest Post by Teri Antti] – Anxiety is a Gift? Yes! A Blessing! I once read that true peace can only be sustained when what you say, what you believe and what you do are all the same thing. At the time I read this anonymous quote, my thoughts, beliefs and actions were as far from being aligned as you could possible imagine. I was in a season during which my anxiety was at an all time high. I could not leave my house. Fear had found its way into every ounce of my being. I was rapidly loosing the confidence to even parent my three daughters. I had a…
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On Depression: Overcoming Low Self Esteem
[Guest Post by Tara Burke] – I struggled with depression during my teenage years — I felt that I had nothing to show for my life; nothing to offer anyone. While recently at a seminar for performing arts and missions, one seminar attendee asked the question of how to check one’s pride when receiving accolades and attention. This question stirred another one in me–what about when someone’s pride isn’t the issue? What about when the issue is whether they are any good at all? While I kept a happy face, I never told anyone how I really felt. I felt like a failure–a Christian wasn’t supposed to be depressed! All…
