Kissing Dating Goodbye

A review - well, sort of - of a famous book written by Joshua Harris way back in 1997.

It took me a while to finish this book. Recommended by a cousin of mine (who's now nearly 40...gosh, you're middle-aged now, cousin!), I brought it along with me to many places to fill my free time. Like the Lawas camp in early December. A friend of mine was reading it too at that time.

In short, the book speaks my mind on a guy-girl relationship. My mind. That being said, there is even kind of a disclaimer by the author: "I've never claimed that the ideas I share in it are for everyone." Perhaps it is for me, or perhaps it's just me thinking so.

The central idea running from cover-to-cover of the book is that we should love God with all our hearts. It highlights, among others, 7 defective dating practices, and draws on real-life examples to show how negative the implications can be. It describes heartbreak, a continual sense of guilt, and ultimately failure in honoring God - set from the point of view of couples in unhealthy relationships. With mainly teenage readers in mind (Josh was 21 when he wrote the book), the book also points out that any godly relationship be directed towards purity. And it keeps mentioning that that's where contemporary dating often misses.

One of the self-talk material in the book is about asking ourselves, "How will my relationship with this person (opposite sex) prepare him/her for his/her eventual life partner?" I think it's interesting because it gives a future-oriented, long-term perspective on romance.

But the part which sinks deepest into me is near the end, where the author suggests us readers to make our own love story as special as it can be.

I'm sure people have different opinions on the ideas presented in this book, but that just makes situations more interesting in this world we're living in. Otherwise romance wouldn't be an ingredient in top box-office films. And humans probably would lose their humanity. And, there wouldn't be sites like this (I Kissed Joshua Harris' Dating Critique Goodbye).

Let it go!

A private moment reflection...

"Those of you who hold A's in your hands, who have achieved success, let it go. Release it. Let others grab the same blessings. The only way to make yourself indispensable is to make yourself dispensable.

Let it all go. God's Word tells us: it is more blessed to give than to receive. God says, if you love me, you'll do what I command. Give it all. The poor woman gave two pieces of coins: all she's got. Jesus points out that she has given the most. Now what about you?

Learn to give, learn to give your all, give it out of love, for God is love. The moment we're giving we're proclaiming God's awesome name. We're being witnesses of God. The light and salt for the world, as Jesus commanded. We'll bless lives and we'll bring the Kingdom of God to every person's heart.

So don't be afraid of giving it all."

16th December 2007
Picture credit: http://www.letmypeoplego.org/

Etiquette

Sometimes, social customs simply bar those curiosity and "critical-thinking" questions which could be interpreted as impolite/rude/offensive.


From an Info Guide for international students:

Some Social Customs

• It is not usually polite to ask people questions about their income, religion or political preferences.

By common sense, those stuff are usually known. But what troubles me now is that out of curiosity/excitement, I could sometimes forget the boundaries.

About finances, MSN Money has this interesting article:
Don't be gauche: Polite ways to talk money

Trips of time

A review of where my time has been.


Here are 10 recent things that occurred to me:

1. Phoned by sponsor - My offer/contract letter's coming soon. There's also a compulsory briefing in KL on the 28th of January. And they don't have my flight date yet. That's bad.

2. Exercise! - Went jogging in Likas Sports Complex. Clocked 4 minutes, 24.79 seconds. Also practiced some Taekwondo moves.

3. Talked about medical interview - that was with two friends, who were hastily informed about an upcoming aptitude test and interview by a medical school. The best part was generously sharing everything I know about my (only) interview experience. The worst part was knowing that my two friends didn't get to go after all. (And I don't know why, yet.)

4. Hung out - or is it hanged out? Anyway, the important thing is that a lot of us ex-schoolmates have got a good time dining and laughing. Until 1.30 in the morning.

5. Napped - this is becoming a daily activity since last week. In the afternoons, as I lied down, a short shut-eye would inevitably come. Even in the midst of a full band jamming (yesterday).

6. Read - (pronounced "red" instead of "reed") God's Word is my staple morning diet, but it's starting to be less routine. This is bad (too). And I've recently read Joshua Harris' I Kissed Dating Goodbye and Spencer Johnson's Who Moved My Cheese?

7. Swam - in a river. With other youth. What made it memorable was that I challenged my fear and jumped from a rock into a deep part of the river.

8. Gamed - Quake 4 and DotA, in a cybercafe. And Facebook Apps at home. Also Diablo (reached level 31 after beating Nightmare on Single Player).

9. Taught tuition classes - about 4 per week. It keeps my sense of teaching alive.

10. Spoke - it was on New Year's Eve, at around 11.30 pm. Mainly about handing our plans (and time) into God's hands. And about my 2008 theme: So run to win!


Previous themes:
2007b: Nothing to lose
2007a: In full faith
2006: Nothing wasted, all for Jesus
2005: To the limits!
2004: Strive for Excellence

P/S: Notice how "time" and its derivatives are very involved in each sentence above?