Pssst…be sure to read the WHOLE post…giveaway is involved!
I’m so excited to introduce you to my good friend Renee Fisher (Devotional Diva). Renee has a fiery heart for Jesus and has been a huge source of inspiration for me over the last several years. Her latest book just came out and I wanted to get Renee to share hear heart in relation to our topic of RISE UP!
Rising up and making Jesus famous with our romantic relationships can be tough. Today I encourage you to take a hard look at your romantic relationships-present and past boyfriends. Ask yourself: Is Jesus in the VERY CENTER? Are we glorifying Him with EVERY MOVE we make together? If you are not currently in a relationship, ask yourself: how do I prepare for a future romance that would reflect Jesus?
By answering these questions in an honest fashion, you might hear the Lord telling you to make some tough decisions in regards to this romance. It might break your heart. It might break His heart. But, the reward of obeying the callings of the Lord will far outweigh temporary pain and heart ache.
Back to my friend Renee, Not Another Dating Book will encourage and lift you up as you RISE UP! to make Jesus famous…even in your relationships.
I’m giving away a copy of Renee’s book. Leave a comment and share your thoughts on the topic of RISING UP with relationships. I will pick a winner of the book on MONDAY.
Sounds like an awesome book!
wow love what you had to say about rising up in all areas of are lives that was very helpful for me. ive nver dated anyone before ive been single and i plan to stay that way for a while
I am so glad the Lord has led me to this blog. I loved what I read today & cannot wait to read more. I had one serious relationship for most of my teen & adult life that was horribly unhealthy & in no way honored God. I met my husband soon after that ended (I truly think God sent him to help me see that I deserved so much more). My hubby & I were best friends first. We talked about everything including our faith. We are both very passionate about our love for the Lord, though we did not attend a church at the time. We are churchgoers now & are teaching our kids how awesome our God is! However I would say we still have trouble putting Him first in our relationship & it is evident eight years into our marriage that without Christ being our center, our relationship is suffering. We have had a rough couple of years financially. The pressure of jobs (or the lack thereof), kids (both under age 4), several moves, bills, etc. has really changed our marriage & I am searching for a way to make it better than it was!
What a great post today! This is something I struggled with as well for a long time. It is often so difficult to put our full trust in God and His timing. We want something now and stuggle with waiting for it. Enjoyed this post! :)
I loved this blog! I am struggling with waiting and God’s timing right now. I want The One to come into my life so badly…. actually I wish he had come before now! You do hear all the time to quit looking and that is when God will put him in your life, and for so many people around me, this has been the case but it is so hard to let go of my search and trust that God will bring him in my life when the time is right. I haven’t made a list of what I want in a very long time because the thought of that coming true is very slim in my head. I’ve tried to think about how God knows what I need better than I know what I need or want so it will be easier to give it up to Him. This is difficult for me too, I need more patience and faith in God to provide me with what I need. He has come through in other areas of my life, He will come through in this area too, even if it is not when I want it to happen.
This is a huge struggle for me and I have devoted many hours of prayer and meditation to living out my relationships w our Lord as the center. I took a whole year from dating or pursuing any kind of romance to just listen to God and grow in Him, and have been dating a kind and Christ-loving man for 8 months now. Still I struggle with having a pure heart at times and have done a good deal more searching for His strength and desires for my relationship. This post is an encouragement to me and very timely as well. I will continue to strive to RISE UP daily in this relationship with my bf so I can glorify my relationship with Him!
Can’t wait to read this!
What a wonderful post! I can’t wait to read the book!
Probably one of the biggest things that I still struggle with. I’m incredibly intrigued by the book!
I would love to read this book and also give out a copy to our youth girls at church.
Yay!!! What a fun giveaway! :)
Looking back, I can see how each of my relationships has been slightly better then the one before it in terms of honoring God, but even my most recent boyfriend and I differed on some pretty fundamental beliefs. I felt and heard God telling me “This isn’t it.” and I knew it was because I could not marry Aaron and still honor God. I would have to compromise, and I still praise God he pulled me away from that temptation because believe me, it was tempting, and any girl whose been single a long time and longs for companionship know that’s the truth. But, it’s been 3 years since I’ve laid eyes on a single, Christian guy my age, so the waiting is tough, and I keep looking for ways I can learn to honor God in my next relationship without obsessing over the next relationship and living in the present. It’s a HARD balance – living with expectant hope and also accepting the potential reality of singlehood. I’d really love to read this book, and hopefully learn some new things from it.
This season of my life, I know that the Lord is teaching me the value of waiting and keeping myself pure for my future husband, if that is His will for me. I believe that even in the season of waiting, God is at work in the other aspects of my life. And with all the lessons He is teaching me now, I know that this is all in preparation for “THAT” particular season of my life. All glory belongs to Him.
Thanks for this great post once again. I think that today many relationships are broken : families through divorce , friendships and love relationships. It is our job as Christians to set a example and to RISE-UP in making choices that glorify God in our relationships.To set an example of healthy relationships. I’m single right now but tryst God has the best for me if I just wait and see…
Hooray for Deo-centrics! :) It is refreshing to see more and more areas of our lives being centered on and given over to God, for His use in our lives and in others’, for His glory! There is so much to be distracted by in the world (in relationships and other areas of life of course), but praise God, He always shines brighter than any other lesser hope, and He sheds light on the truth.
Ephesians 4:11-13 says (NKJV), “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.”
When I have to correct my students, I’ve been noticing a LOT of pride. No one wants to be told they were wrong. Lately, I’ve tried explaining to some of them, “I’m really not telling you these things because I just want you to feel bad, or want you to be in trouble… I want you to be able to correct things, and learn and grow.” Every time the Holy Spirit is faithful to show me where I’ve gone wrong again or just haven’t been “getting’ something I should have been, it’s like there’s a bright side to being corrected… in that He hasn’t given up on me! He’s still patiently teaching me and showing me the way.
Lord, continue to open the eyes of our enlightenment, and draw our hearts, minds, and wills closer to that of Jesus!
Wow everyone. I am BLOWN away by all the comments. I can’t wait to see who the winner is and regardless, may God bless you in ALL your relationships :-) ~ Renee Fisher
I only just turned 20 but since I was 14 years old I’ve been praying that God would make the wife my dear husband will deserve. I chose to wait on God and not pursue relationships, and though I have had several chances over the last 5 years for romance, I’ve chosen to pass it by. I get anxious in this thought, thinking, Lord what if I haven’t listened closely enough and passed the chance to meet my husband? Lord, what if? Lord what if I am single for the rest of my life? What if, if, if, if, if, if if? :) The Lord always provides me peace in the midst of the panic, he says to, “Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10. He’s God, I’m not. I can’t control this and if I do control it, it’s going to be a nightmare. So, the only way I know how to rise up in relationships is cling very, very tightly to Jesus because without him, I’ll surely fall!
Hey! I’m thirty and just (literally a few days ago!) entered into a relationship for the first time ever! This book sounds like a perfect read for where I am at right now.
I really liked the author’s transparent video and I also really love the idea behind this book. I think some of us can definitely identify with the list thing, and it’s easy to let ourselves off the hook if we haven’t made a physical “list” of what we want in our different relationships. The truth is, we all have these ideas in our heads of what we want in say, a romantic relationship. These ideas end up being with us for such a long time, that we forget that maybe God doesn’t want my boyfriend/husband to have characteristic X, Y, or Z. We forget to give over these desires to God because we feel like He knows our taste and somehow, He’ll be able to package it all in a nice neat box for us when it’s His time. We get satisfied and comfortable in knowing what we want versus seeking His face for what He’s planned for us. It’s a little scary to think of that I suppose, but it’s comforting to know that our God does know the desires of our hearts and His plans are always to prosper us, never to harm us. :)
I do want my future romance to glorify Jesus is every aspect. I ended my last relationship back in 2005 when I became a Christian, and I haven’t been involved with someone or even dated a guy. As I grow older & I’m seeing sooo many of my colleagues & friends in my age group getting married, I want to wait patiently on GOd but at the same time prepare for a future romance that would reflect Jesus
This is really good! I think about this a lot, but probably not enough, in terms of practically giving over this area to God and letting Him reign even if it means tough choices in some of the smaller areas that we might not think are that “big of a deal.” I think God has been refining me over the years when it comes to this and I don’t think He’s done with me yet:). I’m not married but I want to pursue this for a future romance/husband and really start that now by letting Him search my heart. I’d love to read this book:).