A Woman's Question

By Lena Lathrop, Quoted from "I kissed Dating Goodbye" by Joshua Harris

Do you know you have asked for the costliest thing Ever made by the Hand above?

A woman's heart, and a woman's life -

And a woman's wonderful love.

Do you know you have asked for this priceless thing

As a child might ask for a toy?

Demanding what others have died to win,

With the reckless dash of a boy.

You have written my lesson of duty out,

Manlike, you have questioned me.

Now stand at the bars of my woman's soul

Until I shall question thee.

You requires your mutton shall always be hot,

Your socks and your shirt be whole;

I require your heart be true as God's stars

And as pure as His heaven your soul.

You require a cook for your mutton and beef,

I require a far greater thing;

A seamstress you're wanting for socks and shirts -

I look for a man and a king.

A king for the beautiful realm called home,

And a man that his Maker, God,

Shall look upon as He did on the first

And say: "It is very good."

I am fair and young, but the rose may fade

From this soft young cheek one day;

Will you love me then 'mid the falling leaves,

As you did 'mong the blossoms of May?

Is your heart an ocean so strong and true,

I may launch my all on its tide?

A loving woman finds heaven or hell

On the day she is made a bride.

I require all things that are grand and true,

All things that a man should be;

If you give this all, I would stake my life

To be all you demand of me.

If you cannot be this, a laundress and cook

You can hire and little to pay;

But a woman's heart and a woman's life

Are not to be won that way.

The Fine Print of Dreams (Marriage)

By Advice columnist in the book of "I kissed Dating Goodbye" by Joshua Harris

I have leveled with the grils - from Anchorage to Amarillo. I tell them that all marriages are happy. It's the living together afterward that's tough. I tell them that a good marriage is not a gift, It's an achievement. That marriage is not for kids. It takes guts and maturity.

It separates the men from the boys and the women from the girls. I tell them that marriage is tested daily by the ability to compromise. Its survival can depend on being smart enough to know what's worth fighting about. Or making an issue of or even mentioning. Marriage is giving - and more important, it's forgiving. And it is almost always the wife who must do these things. Then, as if that were not enough, she must be willing to forget what she forgave. Often that is the hardest part. Oh, I have leveled all right. If they don't get my message, Buster, It's beacuse they don't want to get it. Rose-colored glasses are never made in bifocals Because nobody wants to read the small print in dreams.

Continuous Victory

When Christ redeemed us, we were permanently cleansed. We were instantly ransomed, and immediately saved from death. Yet, while our sins are completely and irrevocably forgiven, we are not instantly made perfect.

Christ's victory in our lives is not the end of our Christian faith, or the goal of the race we run, but it is the beginning. It is the starting point. Now that we have been cleansed, now that we have been freed from the cages and depravity of sin, we can finally run the race that God intended for us to run in the beginning.

Christ's victory over death was a one-time deal; however, our victory over sin - while we still remain on earth - is not. Although we have been freed, sin will constantly ensnare us, and try to tangle us up again. If Satan cannot destroy our soul, he can still make us ineffective in our walk with God. He will do his best to demoralize us, and to diminish our testimony to other believers and non-believers. That is why it is important for us to overcome. As Arthur Pink says, this last part is important. "Faith which 'overcomes the world' (1 John 5:4), not which 'has overcome'. So far from being an immediate achievement, it is a lifelong business, a prolonged and continuous strife."

Christ's achievement is meant to be long-lasting in our lives. It enables us, too, to be able to conquer and triumph over the world. Our faith is not about what we have done, or even what we may do...it is about what we are doing. We are conquering, actively.

Living Life