Crosstalk Singles
http://www.crosswalk.com/family/singles/
Listings of Singles Relationship Articles from Crosswalk
http://www.crosswalk.com/family/singles/he-said-she-said/
How to Find the Love of Your Life
http://www.crosswalk.com/family/singles/how-to-find-the-love-of-your-life.html
What Does the Bible Have to Say About Dating?
http://www.crosswalk.com/family/singles/what-does-the-bible-have-to-say-about-dating.html?utm_source=Crosswalk&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=101013
Single and Not Looking An interview with Chris Burge
http://www.rhema.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1074:single-and-not-looking-september-2006&Itemid=304
True Love Dates http://truelovedates.com/
Watch this Video https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=1696181000007
Discover Carl Cartee http://carlcartee.com/
Take Your Spiritual Gifts Assessment http://elmertowns.com/?page_id=203
http://www.crosswalk.com/family/singles/
Listings of Singles Relationship Articles from Crosswalk
http://www.crosswalk.com/family/singles/he-said-she-said/
How to Find the Love of Your Life
http://www.crosswalk.com/family/singles/how-to-find-the-love-of-your-life.html
What Does the Bible Have to Say About Dating?
http://www.crosswalk.com/family/singles/what-does-the-bible-have-to-say-about-dating.html?utm_source=Crosswalk&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=101013
Single and Not Looking An interview with Chris Burge
http://www.rhema.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1074:single-and-not-looking-september-2006&Itemid=304
True Love Dates http://truelovedates.com/
Watch this Video https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=1696181000007
Discover Carl Cartee http://carlcartee.com/
Take Your Spiritual Gifts Assessment http://elmertowns.com/?page_id=203
Word of Life: Messages
http://www.lifetoday.org/
The Dance of Faith by Amena Brown
I never danced formally until my sophomore year of college when, at my mother's behest, I agreed to be a debutante. My friend Eric agreed to be my escort.
An elderly woman with a salt-and-pepper Farrah Fawcett hairdo that stuck to her head like a helmet taught us to waltz. We were dancing to "Fascination," a song I would be happy never to hear again. Each time she instructed us on the count she would say, "Fas-Suh-Nay-Shun I know, two, three." Eric and I would laugh, our hands awkwardly placed on the shoulder and waist, trying not to look at our feet.
My dad flew in on the weekend of the event, so he did not have the luxury of weeks of "Fas-Suh-Nay-Shun I know, two, three." He had to endure the waltz crash course, complete with turns and bow. On day two of our lesson, he said "Do you know that when we're turning, you squeeze my shoulder and turn it in the direction of the way you think we're supposed to be going?"
"What?!" I said, aghast, then stared at my death grip on his shoulder, my fingerprints burning through his sweater. That was my first lesson that I may have learned how to waltz but didn't know how to follow.
In a formal dance, the man is the lead. He controls the turns; he keeps an eye out on the dance floor so that the two of you don't run into other couples. He makes sure you step in your space wisely. In a formal dance, the woman's job is to relax her arms, fingers, back and shoulders, to stand strong and straight but fluid enough to be directed, to keep good rhythm and be ready for any turn. A good male dancer can make a woman who is a novice look like she knows what she's doing, if he leads her well.
Learning how to waltz for my debutante ball made me see for the first time the beauty of the metaphor of Jesus as groom and the church as his bride. If faith is a dance, Jesus is always the lead. He controls the turns; he teaches us to turn in the space he's given us. This requires us to surrender to him, to trust that he knows what he's doing and where we're going.
Taken from Breaking Old Rhythms: Answering the Call of a Creative God by Amena Brown. Copyright ©2013 by Amena Brown. Used by permission of InterVarsity Press www.ivpress.com.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Dancing by Chris Maxwell Do you crave a dance?
Do you desire an invitation from a Lover as music begins playing? I've seen dads dance with their daughters at weddings. I've also seen dads distance themselves from their daughters.
David, a poetic author and my biblical hero who killed a giant and wrote songs and led a nation and did wrong, got into a little trouble when he danced. Maybe it was his clothing – or lack of such needed material. But, sometimes, the best way to respond to joy is to dance.
I know. Some churches still condemn dancing. Some people drink and dance their way to temporary happiness in their method of denial. Some places welcome dances that are not healthy or appropriate. Some types of dancing aren't right. I know.
I also know the wonder of this thought: the One who loves us most has invited us to a dance. We can’t afford the price to get in – He’s already paid it. We aren't sure of the music, the alignment, the sequence, the movement, the space, the timing – He’ll gladly guide us. We worry about performance, score, ranking – He’s joyful seeing our willingness to receive his invitation.
Let’s receive the invitation to dance. Let’s step up from our couches of complacency, our tables of fear, our chairs of doubt, our seats of unfamiliarity.Hear the music. See the welcome. Respond to the invitation.
Stand up. Step forward. Walk toward the One who has invited you here. Begin to let music of grace guide your steps. Begin to let rhythm of redemption lead your motion. Begin to rejoice a while – no longer obsessed by the pain and hurts you've carried for so long.
Dancing isn’t denial. It is choosing to be glad no matter what’s staring back, choosing to celebrate in a world of wounds, choosing to let a moment not pass by without a segment of festival. Let us dance.
This is an excerpt from Pause: The Secret to a Better Life One Word at a Time by Chris Maxwell. Copyright ©2012 by Chris Maxwell. Published by True Potential Publishing. Used by permission.
http://www.lifetoday.org/
The Dance of Faith by Amena Brown
I never danced formally until my sophomore year of college when, at my mother's behest, I agreed to be a debutante. My friend Eric agreed to be my escort.
An elderly woman with a salt-and-pepper Farrah Fawcett hairdo that stuck to her head like a helmet taught us to waltz. We were dancing to "Fascination," a song I would be happy never to hear again. Each time she instructed us on the count she would say, "Fas-Suh-Nay-Shun I know, two, three." Eric and I would laugh, our hands awkwardly placed on the shoulder and waist, trying not to look at our feet.
My dad flew in on the weekend of the event, so he did not have the luxury of weeks of "Fas-Suh-Nay-Shun I know, two, three." He had to endure the waltz crash course, complete with turns and bow. On day two of our lesson, he said "Do you know that when we're turning, you squeeze my shoulder and turn it in the direction of the way you think we're supposed to be going?"
"What?!" I said, aghast, then stared at my death grip on his shoulder, my fingerprints burning through his sweater. That was my first lesson that I may have learned how to waltz but didn't know how to follow.
In a formal dance, the man is the lead. He controls the turns; he keeps an eye out on the dance floor so that the two of you don't run into other couples. He makes sure you step in your space wisely. In a formal dance, the woman's job is to relax her arms, fingers, back and shoulders, to stand strong and straight but fluid enough to be directed, to keep good rhythm and be ready for any turn. A good male dancer can make a woman who is a novice look like she knows what she's doing, if he leads her well.
Learning how to waltz for my debutante ball made me see for the first time the beauty of the metaphor of Jesus as groom and the church as his bride. If faith is a dance, Jesus is always the lead. He controls the turns; he teaches us to turn in the space he's given us. This requires us to surrender to him, to trust that he knows what he's doing and where we're going.
Taken from Breaking Old Rhythms: Answering the Call of a Creative God by Amena Brown. Copyright ©2013 by Amena Brown. Used by permission of InterVarsity Press www.ivpress.com.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Dancing by Chris Maxwell Do you crave a dance?
Do you desire an invitation from a Lover as music begins playing? I've seen dads dance with their daughters at weddings. I've also seen dads distance themselves from their daughters.
David, a poetic author and my biblical hero who killed a giant and wrote songs and led a nation and did wrong, got into a little trouble when he danced. Maybe it was his clothing – or lack of such needed material. But, sometimes, the best way to respond to joy is to dance.
I know. Some churches still condemn dancing. Some people drink and dance their way to temporary happiness in their method of denial. Some places welcome dances that are not healthy or appropriate. Some types of dancing aren't right. I know.
I also know the wonder of this thought: the One who loves us most has invited us to a dance. We can’t afford the price to get in – He’s already paid it. We aren't sure of the music, the alignment, the sequence, the movement, the space, the timing – He’ll gladly guide us. We worry about performance, score, ranking – He’s joyful seeing our willingness to receive his invitation.
Let’s receive the invitation to dance. Let’s step up from our couches of complacency, our tables of fear, our chairs of doubt, our seats of unfamiliarity.Hear the music. See the welcome. Respond to the invitation.
Stand up. Step forward. Walk toward the One who has invited you here. Begin to let music of grace guide your steps. Begin to let rhythm of redemption lead your motion. Begin to rejoice a while – no longer obsessed by the pain and hurts you've carried for so long.
Dancing isn’t denial. It is choosing to be glad no matter what’s staring back, choosing to celebrate in a world of wounds, choosing to let a moment not pass by without a segment of festival. Let us dance.
This is an excerpt from Pause: The Secret to a Better Life One Word at a Time by Chris Maxwell. Copyright ©2012 by Chris Maxwell. Published by True Potential Publishing. Used by permission.