You Caught My Eye Like A Dillard's Shoe Sale

I wasn’t looking for a relationship at all the first time I met you but something about you caught my eye like Dillard's shoe sale. 

Your table was just 2 tables over from mine this summer; Camp 2, I believe it was. Meal after meal I couldn’t help but notice as you would hold up 9 fingers and count down to 0 as campers filled up your table filled with Monday night spaghetti, Bosco sticks, and brownies, or Wednesday morning biscuits, chocolate gravy, and sausage patties. From the SAGU booth or the sound booth I could see you across the sanctuary as you worshiped Jesus with everything you had in you, even after long days of being a camp counselor. I would see you in the altars praying for students and interceding on their behalf night after night like their eternity depended upon it. And I’ll be perfectly honest, there’s just something so dang attractive about that.

That following week we became “social media friends.” As the months progressed from the middle of June, I’ve watched Jesus shine so brightly in your life, even if it’s from miles away through a Facebook status or a 140-character tweet. Beyond the way a man dresses, the degree he has, or even what God has called his life to, when Jesus shines so brightly, that is so attractive.

After a recent Twitter conversation with you, I got a text from a mutual friend that simply read “D8 ______.” After I got that text, I realized in that small moment of my heart skipping half a beat that for the last 7 months I had attempted to push every emotion from that week to the side not wanting to be heart broken having a “social media crush” knowing you could have any girl you wanted. 

The thing is, I'm sure you have that girl you want. Earlier this evening you changed your profile picture on Facebook to a snow day picture of you and a girl that I’m sure “has a nice dose of the Holy Ghost.” I’m sure she’s everything you’ve ever wanted. And I’m sure she loves Jesus with every fiber in her being because you don’t deserve anything less than that.

Nights like tonight I ask myself why the memories from this Camp 2 have continued to stick around like a lovesick puppy since that first day during staff meeting 252 days ago. That question still remains unanswered. So for now I’ll continue to watch you be like Jesus from miles away.

10 Ways To Keep Relationships Clean

A few late night thoughts on keeping things clean in dating relationships. Enjoy! :)

1. Clothes are not optional. 
   Be cute, be fashionable, and be freakin’ hot, but do all of this in your clothes.
2. If no one’s home, then you don’t need to be home. 
   It may seem dumb but things can go downhill way too quickly when you know someone's not going to walk in a room with the two of you in it.
   
3. Cars are grand when they’re being driven. 
   Accidents happen when cars stationary. Plain and simple.
   
4. Hands to hands, lips to lips. 
   Hands and lips are the only things that should touch. Nothing else. Plain and simple.
   
5. Pray for the date before he pays for the date. 
   If he can’t pray for the date before he pays, he doesn’t deserve your time.
   
6. God gives long legs for a reason. 
   Have no issue with running if you ever feel the need to.
   
7. And God said, “Let there be light…” 
   And the lights always stayed on. Let me reiterate, NOTHING good happens in the dark.
   
8. Stay vertical.
   A disaster in the making occurs when the world is shifted and viewed from a horizontal angle.
   
9. Give someone that your trust the opportunity to see into your relationship. 
   No hidden texts. No minimized computer screens. No lies.
   
10. Listen to Jesus. 
    He has the ultimate say in relationships with your best in mind. Listen to His whispers (and yells sometimes).

I'm Done Waiting For My Future Husband

Having grown up in church my entire life the words “true love waits” weren't something uncommon for me to hear. In fact, it’s what I was taught. For some time, I believed those three words. But the truth of the matter is, I’m done waiting.

When I was just 12 years old I slipped a thin silver engraved “True Love Waits” band onto my ring finger and I made a promise. I promised my future husband seven years ago now that I’d WAIT for him. But the truth of the matter is, I’m done waiting.

What do I mean by wait? 

My, how I wish I could have told my 12 year old self what it really meant. It wasn't just a promise to wait to have sex until I said “I do” but a promise so much deeper than that. But the truth of the matter is, I'm done waiting.

For many years I was deceived by the fact if I wore that little silver ring everything would be a walk in the park; for some time it was, but then relationships came into play. In the beginning of my dating life I thought that that little silver ring would let boys (note I say boys, not men) know that I believed that “true love waits.” Maybe it did, maybe it didn't, I don’t plan on going back and asking them. But the truth of the matter is, I’m done waiting.

What exactly am I done waiting for? 

Have I given up on the promise I've made to my future husband? No. But I’m done waiting.

Have I lowered of what I look for in a man? No. But I'm done waiting. 

So forget the silver engraved rings and 12 year old promises of true love waiting because I'm done waiting.

I've reached the point in my life where I’m open and ready for a man to come along and fulfill above and beyond everything I've ever dreamed about in a man. I long for the day that what I've “waited” for for so long will come to pass. 

Have I lowered my standards? No. I believe with every fiber in my being that the failures I've experienced in past relationships have led to higher expectations for a man to spend the rest of my life with. I refuse to settle. And I'm done waiting.