dating
TagDid We Kiss Before Our Wedding Day?
Hi ladies,I want to finally address a topic and the most prominent question in my inbox since I began my relationship with Dylan. Dylan and I actually wrote this article together and would like to share it with you all so that you know this is coming from both of us!So we started praying about beginning a relationship in September 2015 and by November 7th we knew that God wanted us to be together and start dating/courting.
I (Lisa) dropped off of the blogging community when this happened because I take my writing very seriously and it’s sort of like opening my diary to you all. When I started dating Dylan I wanted it to be private and special and I didn’t want a ton of opinions to be swirling around in my head during this amazing time in our lives. Ever since then I’ve been very quiet on my blog and I apologize for that. I think that once I write this article and say everything I’ve needed to say that I can be more active with my writing on A Lovely Calling.
We got married a little over 2 years ago, after a year of dating and then being engaged for three short but beautiful months! When we got married and during the entire time that we were dating I was flooded with questions of whether or not we were saving our first kiss for our wedding or if we were being physically pure while dating ect. I (Lisa) remember the same month I first met Dylan I wrote an article called “Kissing Before Marriage: Yes or No?” I know this article may have inspired a lot of my readers and I got quite a bit of feedback on it. So when I started dating Dylan I had at the forefront of my mind my original conviction to save my first kiss for my wedding day no matter how in love I was or how badly I wanted a kiss.
What to Look For in a Godly Man
*Last Tuesday, we published an article called How to be a Woman Worth Pursuing. We gained quite a few responses concerning the article and decided to write one about what to look for in a godly man.
When you look around at the world of men today, it’s hard to not be discouraged by some of the character traits (or lack of them) that appear in the men. Rarely do we see a man who acts or shows..
How to Be a Woman Worth Pursuing
We’ve written several articles in the past about how to be a godly woman in a difficult generation, we’ve talked about singleness, we’ve talked about relationships, but I thought it would be a good idea to address the topic of how to be a godly woman worth being pursued by a godly man.
Sometimes it’s hard to know what is required. Sometimes you wonder if you are doing something wrong if you’ve..
Navigating the Undefined Relationship
It’s the agony and the ecstasy, isn’t it? An amazing godly man shows interest in you, and you want to know if this is “the one.” Like, now.
Fear looms on the horizon and the emotional stakes are high. You want to do the right thing, you long to honor the Lord, but what does that look like in this undefined relationship? How do you risk the chance at love while guarding your heart from unnecessary anguish?
I spent long years wrestling with this question, and it has been the subject of countless conversations with other single friends. We girls long for clarity, guarantees, and a fail-proof method for falling in love with the right guy at the right time.
But there are none…
3 Ways To Get The Right Kind Of Man To Like You
Blog posts and Youtube videos with titles like the one this article has, have always annoyed me. The perspective is completely backward, the focus is very selfish, and they encourage the wrong kind of mindset. It’s always about manipulation. What knobs you can turn, and what levers can you pull to get the result you want. On top of that, the tips and tricks advised would only work on reeling in..
I Don’t Want a 50/50 Relationship
Because I’m a young single twenty-something, people often offer me advice about relationships.
They tell me to make sure I’m not being taken for granted.
To make sure I’m getting something back in return.
To make sure the relationships I enter into are two-way streets.
To make sure that I’m appreciated. That my gestures are reciprocated.
I brought you a cupcake at work. Now it’s your turn to bring me one.
And I appreciate all of you people giving me this advice. I know it comes from love. It comes from wanting to see the person you care for valued in her relationships. It comes from being protective. But I have news for you:
I don’t want that 50/50 relationship you’re talking about…
Falling in Love and Finding Happily Ever After
For as long as I can remember, I wanted to fall in love.
Cinderella, Belle, Snow White – they had it all.
In my imagination, after the picture-perfect wedding to the most handsome Prince Charming, they went on to have a family and live happily ever after. It is the dream of most every little girl, and I knew, specifically, how I wanted it to play out for me. I wanted to have been friends for a while before we dated, get married at 21, and then have kids at 24.
As I grew older, this dream was persistent. It changed, just slightly, as the years went on; ages changed, give or take a few years, and as new crushes moved in, the face of my groom certainly changed, but my dream of happily ever after never wavered. In fact, am currently almost 22 years old and this dream is still just as present in my heart. But right now, there is just one little issue:
I’m single. There is no Prince Charming in the picture.
What Christian Guys Think Of Flirting
If you’re like me, you want to “crack the code.” What do guys—particularly Christian guys—think of flirting? I asked some godly guys I know, and here’s what they had to say. (Something I learned from their input: it doesn’t take much to get their attention!)
Interest in flirts is fleeting. Attention for girls who don’t flirt starts slow but lasts. Even flirting guys respect girls who don’t.
Love and pursue Jesus as your number one priority, and guys who want a godly wife will notice. But that’s not really a good reason to pursue Jesus . . . it’s just a side benefit. —Ben
Don’t be afraid to be friendly to a guy you may be interested in. Nothing wrong with making conversation and being cordial. Don’t get carried away, and don’t over-think everything. —Mat
Taking True Love Into Your Romantic Relationships
Somehow she knew he was looking her way. She slowly glanced in his direction to find out. His handsome face smiled at her. Their eyes locked for several long seconds. She shyly smiled back. Invisible sparks flew as butterflies erupted in both of their stomachs.
True love just hit the scene.
Or did it?
The word love comes in all shapes and sizes today.
We, as a culture, use it in a casual moment after we bite into a hot slice of pizza, or a monumental moment as we stand at the altar on our wedding day. Love. Such a short, but powerful word. Most of us say the word love in the moments when we’re feeling happy. When the object or person in front of us is making our life better.
Romantic love takes things a step further.
Happily Ever After vs. Right Now
Let’s talk about happily ever after.
Several years ago I created a list of 30 things I wanted to do before turning 30 years old, a bucket list, if you will. When I originally created this 30×30 list and gave my dreams to God, I had no idea that I would be blessed to cross off 29 of those 30 items. God is good.
To be quite honest, I almost put “get married” on the list. Almost.
A happy, healthy, long-term relationship–sounds like a normal thing for a twenty-something girl to want, right? So why wasn’t it on the list? If it’s something I want someday in my future then that seems like a natural thing to put on the list, right?