A 6-pack of reasons not to get drunk…lol.

At Aaron’s wedding this weekend there was a superbly drunk man who’s name I do not know.  He was 26 years old.  After seeing him staggering in the hallways, I asked if he had a ride home and what his plans were.

“I’m going up the street to Solid Gold baby!”  (Solid Gold if you haven’t guessed is a nearby strip joint.)

To which I replied:

Come on man, you gotta treat women with a little more respect, don’t you think?

He says:

Hey man, you gotta ride a couple donkeys before you find a princess right?

So I say:

Well, I didn’t have to. (Introduce my wife).  Neither did Aaron.  (Nor did his best man).  Gotta make wise choices if you wanna find the love of your life.

His last response before we left:

I find the new love of my life every Saturday night!

I’ve seen the other side- I had a conversation two weeks ago with a 22 year old who has been a stripper for 6 years.  It’s not fun.  It’s not glamourous.  It’s not pretty.  It’s degrading.  It’s embarrassing.  She’s sick of the hurt and pain. She wants out.

Then I meet this guy.  The DEMAND that fuels the need for supply (God’s daughters).  What do you say to guys like this?  How can we structure our society in such a way that behaviour like this stops?  How can we bring back respect for women?  How do we see marriage brought back as a great thing?  How can we see purity and right-living be the path of choice?  How can we see men and women saved from sin?

Jay

At my most recent session of marriage counselling, my me and my fiance had an assignment for each other; to share a verse to help us to grow and mature.

I had been thinking about this for a long time. It was assigned to us at our first sessions a couple months before, and I still hadn`t found the right verse despite reading one-year Bible every day, reading blogs, listening to podcasts …. and still I couldn`t find the right one. Then I clued in: um, maybe I should pray about it. And then it hit me. About a minute afterwards.

Song of Solomons 1:5: I am dark but beautiful, O daughters of Jerusalem.

I had heard a pastor (probably Perry Noble) preach half a message on this verse. In the days that this book was written, when a woman was tanned it meant that she worked. Other men saw that as unattractive; fair women were attractive, dark and tanned was viewed as used.

This woman was dark but she had attitude … Guys don`t think I`m gorgeous, but I know I am. I told my fiance that was what I wanted to help her get to. Every time she says I am dark I will say but you are beautiful.

This is a challenge for all you guys with a significant female in your life (not your mother, that her husband`s duty) remind her that she is beautiful. Start with your little sister if you need to practice.  Tell her she’s beautiful.  That`s not only what she wants; it`s what she needs! She needs to know that she is beautiful.

But she has prettier eyes than me. But she`s NOT beautiful to me; YOU are.

That`s something she needs to hear.

Aaron

Last week I had a conversation with a dude that absolutely broke my heart.  I felt sick to my stomach and could barely sleep.  The only upside was that it kept me in prayer for him all day.  I was seriously spriritually depressed afterwards.  Just broken for a friend who’s being blinded by something that looks like ‘love.’  I even had a dream about him last week and warned him that an opportunity to fall would be coming up in the next few weeks.

Here’s the scenario that I need your advice on…

I have a friend who met a girl less than two weeks ago.

He’s already kissed her.

They hang out exclusively… zero community.

He’s not willing to commit to date towards marriage, because ‘marriage is a long time’ (But he’s willing to kiss another man’s future wife, no problem)

I asked him if he has any boundaries.  “What do you mean?” You know exactly what I mean- physical boundaries.

“Well I’m not going to have sex before marriage.” And???  “What else do you want me to say?”

Bear in mind this is a dude who calls himself a follower of Jesus.

I asked him, “okay, if I was her brother (I am in Christ) and Jesus was standing here (He was in Spirit), should I be concerned?  Should I be warning her about you?” He said no…he’s not worried.

I know I can’t change his mind, I’m not the Saviour.  What advice would you give this guy?

Sincerely,

A Dazed and Confused Jay Brock

“Work Hard.”

(those are two words we men don’t like to hear eh?!)

This week’s ‘That’s What She Said’ comes from Meaghan Makins, a good friend of mine is married to one of my closest friends…be careful though- you might have to change your life after listening to this girl!

“This could mean a number of things: Get a job. Go to school. Do something with your life. Pursue your dreams. Conquer your struggles and temptations.”

“Sidenote: If you want to get married, this is so key. When Kevin realized he wanted to get married, it was SO attractive to see the way he worked for that to become a reality. His work ethic, in all areas of his life, showed me so clearly that he would provide for me, and I had no doubt in my mind that he would be the most amazing husband.”

She’s right dudes…Kevin completely changed his life in order to marry the woman he loves.  She deserves his best, and he’s continually working towards that.  Thanks Meg!

I saw an old friend on Sunday night who’s now dating a pretty neat girl.  Some months back, he asked her out on a date.  She said ‘yes’.  But now she admits it… it was a pity date- she knew she’d soon be leaving on a very long mission trip.

But this ole boy didn’t stop.  While she was gone, he kept in close communication, but he also did something very interesting:  he asked her father if he could date his daughter.  Being the great guy that he is, the dad said yes.

When this young lady arrived back home, her parents were fully supportive of this new relationship- she soon realized he was indeed a great guy.  They’ve been dating for two months now.

Moral of the story- it’s better to use your brain instead of your…

And it might just get you that great girl.