blessed.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
[ Jeremiah 29:11 ]

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Friday, June 02, 2006

10:34 am

LDM Lesson 1

some of the things that really struck me in this lesson:

There's nothing lacking in the love that God can give you. Don't ever believe that you can live without love because you can't. You cannot count on the people around you to give you that love either, but you can count on God. He's always there and He never changes.

You have friendship first, secondly you are both Christians, and out of that grows a love. And God helps maintain that love. From there you go to dating and being serious and then later getting married.

You do not change a person... no matter how much you love them
You cannot make someone love you

An infatuation is the state of being completely carried away by an attraction to someone. The dictionary calls it "being blindly in love." In other words, you are so carried away by this attraction that you don't know what you are doing.

One of the signs of an infatuation is that you tend to idolise the person you think you are in love with. Everything they say or do seems just perfect to you. You don't see any flaws. Your romantic feelings have taken over and you are not using ordinary good sense.

Lust is an intense desire to satisfy one's sexual appetite. Lust often goes under the name of "love", but lust and love are two entirely different things.

Lust is SELFISH - the emphasis is on getting something. Lust demands immediate satisfaction. Lust says, "I want it for my own pleasure, I want it regardless of the consequences, and I want it now."

Love is UNSELFISH - the emphasis is on giving. Love wants what is best for the other person. Love is willing to wait. Real love will wait for the right time and right circumstances.

Sexual attraction is physical attraction between a fellow and a girl. Sexual attraction is not love. There is a vital place in marriage for sexual attraction, but a marriage cannot be built on sexual attraction alone.

Real love is not just a wonderful feeling that strikes you suddenly. It takes time to grow and develop.

You don't "fall" into real love - you grow into it. You have to know a person before you can love that person with real love

God, on the other hand, loves you supremely and desires only what is best for you. He wants you to have a precious love - not cheap sex. If it is His will for you to be married, he has just the right person for you. He wants you to have a mate who loves you unselfishly and is committed to you for life. And He likewise wants you to be committed to that person for life.

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