He must not have long hair. -Valerie
He must not arrogant and egotistical. -Sarah
He must not be weak. -Amara
He must not have any previous children from past relationships. -Erin
He must not be lazy. -Sophie
He must not be critical of other cultures. -Rebecca
He must not have bad breath. -Isabel
He must not be fickle. -Simone
He must not be over ten years older than me. -Julia
He must not be non-supportive of my dreams. -Taylor S.
He must not hate going to church. -Cydney
He must not have a job that requires him to travel. -Diamond
He must not be abusive. Minna
He must not be an introvert. -Mary
He must not yell. -Kat
He must not be timid. -Tina
He must not enjoy drinking. -Grace
He must not be focused on his work over family. -Mandy
He must not hate himself. -Anh
He must not lie to me (or anyone). -Raye
He must not be racist. -Kennedy
He must not be younger than me. -Rachel
He must not let any unwholesome talk leave his mouth. -Maggie
He must not have ever cheated. -Alex
He must not be obsessed with TV. -Ostara
He must not want any other woman as his wife but me. -Morgan
He must not be helpless. -Brittany
He must not be rude to people. -Sydney
He must not be in a gang. -Eme
He must not address every issue with anger. -Danita
He must not be a vegan. -Roseline
He must not be atheist. -Annaliza
He must not be a gambler. -Taylor C.
He must not waste money. -Peyton
He must not depend on his mom. -Evony
He must not be ugly. -Amber
He must not be shorter than me. -Ruby
He must not put any selfish desires before me. -Laura
He must not be a person to give up and run from his problems. -Cassie
The Princess Bride And MookDa's List
Recently in class, I told my students that it is my belief that the Lord chose Joseph as carefully as Mary when selecting earthly parents for the Savior. Last week, we talked about the importance of making the right choices when it comes to our mates. I told them the two most important decisions they will make in life are becoming a Christian and picking a partner. We read this entry from August 2, 2006 as part of the discussion. Tomorrow, I will share some of our kids' responses to these thoughts.
My brother, Dave, penned two entries while I was in Honduras on a mission trip. In his second installment, Dave quotes a line from the movie, The Princess Bride. One of our elders, Mark Hall, posted a comment speculating on the number of times The Princess Bride had been viewed in comparison to more well-known blockbusters. This past Sunday morning after worship service, I mentioned the comment to Mark, adding that I had never watched the movie in question. At our evening worship service, Mark walked up and placed his family copy of The Princess Bride in my hands, informing me he had probably seen it fifty times. With a recommendation so strong, guess what I did Sunday night? It was good. I thought parts of it were very silly but that is coming from a critic who thinks Napoleon Dynamite is the finest comedy of all time. What I found memorable occurred in the first several minutes of the fairy tale, as told by a grandfather to his grandson. Buttercup, a young lady played stunningly by Robin Wright, falls in love with the farm hand, Westley. From that moment on, her love never wavers in spite of separation and the belief that Westley was dead. True love was all that mattered to Buttercup, the essence of an unwavering romantic believer. And in the end, well- I don't want to spoil it for the two or three of you who haven't seen this 1987 semi-classic.
Every year for Christmas, my folks purchase a subscription for their children to a periodical called The Christian Chronicle. In the August edition, there was a human interest story, just a few paragraphs, but I was captivated by its charm. It seems a missionary from Trinidad, Parker Henderson, was spending time with Christian friends in Malaysia. Parker just happens to have a thirteen year old grandson. His friends just happen to be parents to an eleven year old girl named MookDa. Parker, perhaps encouraging some future romantic interest, displayed photographs of that grandson to MookDa, who appeared unimpressed. But looks can be deceiving, especially when it comes to eleven year old girls. Reasoning with a maturity belying her age, MookDa proceeded to put her beliefs on paper, a thesis on marriage, if you will. Typing out her standards for Parker, MookDa assembled a list of a dozen qualities of, quote, "the kind of man that I require." Among others, her qualifications included:
1. he must be a Christian
2. he must be intelligent
3. he must NOT be lazy
4. he must enjoy singing
5. he must read the Bible everyday
To say I was impressed would be an understatement. I work with young people about that age and that type of logic is not universal. What registered most with me was what she did not say. When I hear girls speak of boys they like, one of these descriptions creeps into the conversation: cute, hot, fine, so fine. MookDa, even at eleven, already is looking past the obvious to the eternal. I don't know MookDa, her parents, Parker Henderson, or his grandson. (Parker's brother, Obert, was one of my college Economics professors.) But if in ten or so years, the young man and young lady fall in love, I will believe it was ordained by the Lord. MookDa will never have to resort to Match.com- she knows what she wants. Undoubtedly, her parents have demonstrated an ideal model of a Christian marriage. I kind of scoff when I hear that match made in heaven stuff. I promise, I won't be scoffing should this romance come to pass.
Applicable quote of the day:
"Men and women are equal in love. They are equally vulnerable and equally powerful."
Elizabeth Rapaport
God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
http://www.hawleybooks.com/
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com
My brother, Dave, penned two entries while I was in Honduras on a mission trip. In his second installment, Dave quotes a line from the movie, The Princess Bride. One of our elders, Mark Hall, posted a comment speculating on the number of times The Princess Bride had been viewed in comparison to more well-known blockbusters. This past Sunday morning after worship service, I mentioned the comment to Mark, adding that I had never watched the movie in question. At our evening worship service, Mark walked up and placed his family copy of The Princess Bride in my hands, informing me he had probably seen it fifty times. With a recommendation so strong, guess what I did Sunday night? It was good. I thought parts of it were very silly but that is coming from a critic who thinks Napoleon Dynamite is the finest comedy of all time. What I found memorable occurred in the first several minutes of the fairy tale, as told by a grandfather to his grandson. Buttercup, a young lady played stunningly by Robin Wright, falls in love with the farm hand, Westley. From that moment on, her love never wavers in spite of separation and the belief that Westley was dead. True love was all that mattered to Buttercup, the essence of an unwavering romantic believer. And in the end, well- I don't want to spoil it for the two or three of you who haven't seen this 1987 semi-classic.
Every year for Christmas, my folks purchase a subscription for their children to a periodical called The Christian Chronicle. In the August edition, there was a human interest story, just a few paragraphs, but I was captivated by its charm. It seems a missionary from Trinidad, Parker Henderson, was spending time with Christian friends in Malaysia. Parker just happens to have a thirteen year old grandson. His friends just happen to be parents to an eleven year old girl named MookDa. Parker, perhaps encouraging some future romantic interest, displayed photographs of that grandson to MookDa, who appeared unimpressed. But looks can be deceiving, especially when it comes to eleven year old girls. Reasoning with a maturity belying her age, MookDa proceeded to put her beliefs on paper, a thesis on marriage, if you will. Typing out her standards for Parker, MookDa assembled a list of a dozen qualities of, quote, "the kind of man that I require." Among others, her qualifications included:
1. he must be a Christian
2. he must be intelligent
3. he must NOT be lazy
4. he must enjoy singing
5. he must read the Bible everyday
To say I was impressed would be an understatement. I work with young people about that age and that type of logic is not universal. What registered most with me was what she did not say. When I hear girls speak of boys they like, one of these descriptions creeps into the conversation: cute, hot, fine, so fine. MookDa, even at eleven, already is looking past the obvious to the eternal. I don't know MookDa, her parents, Parker Henderson, or his grandson. (Parker's brother, Obert, was one of my college Economics professors.) But if in ten or so years, the young man and young lady fall in love, I will believe it was ordained by the Lord. MookDa will never have to resort to Match.com- she knows what she wants. Undoubtedly, her parents have demonstrated an ideal model of a Christian marriage. I kind of scoff when I hear that match made in heaven stuff. I promise, I won't be scoffing should this romance come to pass.
Applicable quote of the day:
"Men and women are equal in love. They are equally vulnerable and equally powerful."
Elizabeth Rapaport
God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
http://www.hawleybooks.com/
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com
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