The Danger of Dating in Your Mind Carolyn McCulley Author & Contributing Writer Here’s a typical conversation between two single women: “So how did it go with [insert guy’s name here] the other night?”        “Oh, it was great! It was just the two of us. He picked me up, treated me like a queen. We really clicked. It felt like a date! We had a blast.” It felt like a date. That’s a phrase that should set off all kinds of alarm bells among single women. If it “feels” like a date, then no one has said it’s a date. It’s just two friends hanging out, but one of…

In a Word, Courtship Yesterday Steve and I had a conversation with a friend who is seeking to pursue a relationship with a girl in a God-honoring way. Yet, he was hesitant to use any term—“dating” or “courtship” to describe their relationship. As he put it, “people read so much into those terms.” He’s right. Sometimes simple words like these come loaded with all kinds of extra baggage, at times unfairly attached. That left this guy floundering for a “safe” and meaningful word or phrase to describe his relationship. I sympathize with his dilemma. As we told our courtship stories these past two weeks, some of you may have wondered…

Inviting Protection Yesterday Nicole identified one of the aspects of a godly relationship as, “a humble pursuit of the involvement of others—godly parents if they are available.” The Bible makes it clear that we weren’t called to live the Christian life alone or independently. We need the support and encouragement of other Christians in every part of our lives—not the least being, romance! As my daughters shared their courtship stories I couldn’t help but think about some of you reading this blog who do not have Christian parents, or maybe your parents are Christians but do not espouse these values.  And you might be asking the question: What should parental…

Q & A–Guy/Girl Relationships From time to time we get this question: “I like such and such a guy but I’m not sure what his intentions are. I want to tell him how I feel, but I’m not sure what to do.” When feelings of attraction toward a guy are strong, even a perceived interest on his part can raise our hopes and drive us to want to “do something” about those feelings. How do we know what is the right course of action? As always, we must turn to God’s Word for direction, for Scripture is, “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105).…

looks like we just might have a white christmas after all! yesterday morning, the kids and i woke up to a dreary gray morning. it began sprinkling when we were finishing up breakfast. it progressed to heavy rainfall during our drive to the doctor’s office.  it’s very odd for it to be raining this time of year (it’s been an amazingly warm winter so far).  i realized i didn’t have an umbrella in the car, but then further realized i wouldn’t be able to use it anyway what with holding allie in one arm and holding mikey’s hand with the other.  so we had to run in to the clinic and run back out to…