She must not be a gossip. -Evan
She must not be a party animal. -Clay
She must not be too clingy. -Charles
She must not have a tattoo. -Jordan
She must not have a bad background. -Chris
She must not have a nose ring. -Chad
She must not love another guy. -Kirk
She must not be a Republican. -Galen
She must not hate pets or children. -Cameron
She must not be taller than me. -Bruse
She must not want to have more than two kids. -Nick
She must not be stuck up. -Eric
She must not be a Democrat, have socialistic ideals, or eastern ideals. -Austin
She must not be a smoker. -Armani
She must not have bad credit. -Everett
She must not criticize my friends and family. -Kameron
She must not NAG. -Jose S.
She must not be a dropout. -Myles
She can’t have a baby. -Edward
She must not be smarter than me. -Donald
She must not be older than. -Jordan
She must not be a traitor. -Jose M.
She must not be psychologically impaired. -Patrick
She must not have anger issues. -Jalen
She must not be loud. -Micah
She must not act like a child or a guy. -Matt
She must not have suicidal thoughts. -Justin
She must not be bratty. -AJ
She must not be from anywhere but America. -Harrison
She must not be stronger than me. -Jake
She must not like the city more than the country. -Wade
She must not have a father who hates me. -Lowell
She must not be too nerdy. -Ben
She must not drink. -Tevvin
She must not be boring. -Alejandro
She must not be a vegetarian. -Robert
She must not be a hoarder. -Nathan
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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