Dating

What is dating and how can you effectively date?

Types of Dating and their Differences
People date for different reasons or goals in mind. There are two different types of dating which one usually transitions into the other, casual dating and courtship(exclusive dating). For example when a person casually dates their main focus is meting/getting to know a wide variety people of the opposite sex while doing a wide variety of activities. The second next step of dating, which in correct terms is called courting, is when you are exclusively dating one person. The main idea of exclusive dating is focusing and investing all your interest into a single person, with the intent of a long-term relationship and usually the idea of potential marriage.

Three P's
Whether you are in the casual dating stage or the courtship stage, the idea of a date stays the same. A legitimate date consist of three important actions/parts called the three P's. Planned, paid for and paired off. By the way, when you are in an exclusive relationship remember to keep going a actual dates, it plays a very important part of the growth and happiness of your relationship. Lets dig a little deeper into this concept to understand how to use each of the three P's to create a great date. Which is essential to all types of dating!
Planned 
Plan the whole date beforehand. Make sure when you are planning the date that you ask yourself questions like, "Will this activity help me get to know more about him/her?" "Can we conversant during this activity?" "Is this activity production and/or beneficial for both me and my date?" and "Is this date activity different then past dates we have done or are we planning a repeat date?" Also try to plan something different then the usual date ideas. Remember you want to experience a variety of activities with your date(s).
Paid for
Make sure all the resources that you will need for the date are ready and available. Typically the male pays for the date, but that doesn't mean the female is not allowed to help out. If you are a college student (like me) and have a very limited budget (like me) then make sure to plan a reasonably inexpensive or even a free date. For example, volunteering at a animal shelter, its free and it is a great way to get away from cliche date ideas (movies, bowling, dinner etc.)
Paired off
Make sure when you're on a date, especially group dates, that you are focusing on and paired off with your date. For example, if you planned a game night for your group date you can you play in teams, consisting of you and your date versus another couple, hence the term paired off.

In the End
In the end don't forget your main goals and reasons why you are taking on the journey of dating, whether currently it is a with one person or a variety of people. Do your best, have fun, be you true to who you are and everything will work out!

Divine Differences

Being different and using your differences to serve those around you is beautiful. We all have differences as individual people but the main differences I will be talking about are the ones between men and women.
Gender is a divine blessing and it holds a divine purpose for us all. Instead of viewing our gender differences as a negative thing, we should view them as a positive thing. The differences between being male and female compliment each other and can produce quite remarkable results when they uses their differences to accomplish something. For example when a man and woman raise their family by bringing their unique talents to the table they create an amazing environment of learning for their children.
My mom taught me how to use my emotional sensitivity in a positive way by using it to have compassion towards others, especially when you don't understand their situation. My dad taught me how to accomplish a single goal at a time, like catching a fish, by being very patient and focusing on the task at hand. I would have never learned these life long lessons if my parents didn't appreciate and apply their unique talents to their parenting approach.
In the end males and females have more similarities then differences. We all rely on the necessities of life, support, love and acceptance from others to survive and thrive.
Be the best you that you can be. Use your different strengthens as a male/female to edify and uplift your fellow brothers and sisters around you. When we work together instead of tearing each other's gender's down, we will be able to teach and be taught by each other.

Family Traditions that I Love!

This past summer I went to a family reunion. It was my mothers side of the family, that gathers together about every four years for these reunions. During the three days we are gathered together we play games, eat food, and have a family raffle. I've attended these family reunions since I was a child, its something that is really important and traditional that we do.
On my Dad's side we always gather together on Sundays and holidays to just hangout with the family. When we gather together we just spend quality time with each other at my Grandma's house.
Every Halloween my Dad makes his homemade chili and every thanksgiving my mom makes her homemade cornbread (bread shaped like a big ear of corn). But my favorite food tradition of all is when my parents work together to make dutch oven chicken and pioneer potatoes.
We have this meal for any and every occasion so we end up making it like 500 times a year. But I still love it.

These are traditions that my parents raised my family on. They brought these traditions from there own families and integrated them into their family they created together. I really cherish the memories that come from family gatherings, family food and family quality time. All of this traditions and many more I will most definitely pass on to my future family. I loved seeing how my parents worked together to make this traditions were really special and important to the growth of my family.

Just Noodles and Butter

One day I was making noodles in my apartment kitchen when my roommate walked in and sat down at the table. When the noodles finished cooking, I scooped some into a bowl and placed a slice of butter on them. As I was stirring my noodles and butter I felt eyes watching me. Looking up at my roommate I saw that she was puzzled at my choice of a meal. "What?" I asked as I prodded some noodles with my fork and placed them in my mouth. "Noodles and butter? just butter?..." She asked in a confused manner. "That is so weird." she said looking at me with amusement. This is totally normal for my family, I thought. From then on I started noticing things I did that may be weird to others, and all those thing I could trace back to my family and their habits. Not only did I notice my little corks but all of my roommates and friends little corks.
I love spotting these harmless habits in myself and others because it just shows how we all came from a family that has their own trademarks. Also, knowing this, it helps me to be more understanding and loving towards others. I believe that people are good and we have good intentions and desires in our hearts that others sometimes don't notice. When we see the good in others, in their families, or the places they came from we can also start to love them more like Christ does.