BrandonL

I'd answer your question, but you have to pay first

And no, money doesn't solve everything, although it probably makes some things a little easier.

Oh and public transportation doesn't count either!!!! I should restart this poll. You guys all missed the point lol.

Maybe using any form of motorized transportation and any means to connect to the internet would be a wide enough range?

Yeah... that's the point of the poll. Oh well, it's still funny either way lol. Maybe next time I'll provide a 20,000 word explanation of all the legalese associated with it.

Oh and public transportation doesn't count either!!!! I should restart this poll. You guys all missed the point lol.

i can always borrow someone else's internet but maybe not their car

Hey - you may be cheating here. He said, "whichever you give up, you could never get back." Wouldn't "borrowing" be getting it back, in a sense?

I didn't take it to mean that we simply give up our internet at home.

but that would be like saying, "Do you give up food or water?

lol that's the point here. traveller is right. using someone else's car or internet defeats the purpose of the poll. you have to give one or the other. either way, it's funny that something like a car (which has only been common for like 60 years) and the internet (much less.... 15 years is probably stretching it. only about 5 years as an online "community") has become as "necessary" as food or water.... what did all those people do before then???

I'd keep my car because then i could go see people "in person" (whatever that means lol)

So I was listening to the morning show on my local Christian radio station today. The host brought up an interesting poll that he encountered on another site, but I thought it would be fun to try here. Granted, this is on the internet so that may skew the results somewhat. It's still funny to think about, though! Now bear in mind, the idea here is that whichever you give up, you could never get back.

I'm glad you guys liked it I hope some day God can use our relationship and experiences in some way.

Figures Colleen would know where the story is.... I have a sneaking suspicion her house is going to be awfully crowded soon....

The way I heard the joke (oh, these many years ago), the clerk then looked at the customer funny, and said, 'Well, why didn't you spell it in the first place?'

Good joke; one of my favorites.

Lol thanks, I like it better that way. I edited it

Option 2: Go outside tonight and see it for yourself.

What is this "outside" you speak of?

There are 3 Biblical types of relationships between men and women. Mother and son/father and daughter, brother and sister, and man and wife. The relationship between men and women who are not related by blood can still be classified as brother and sister. Obviously, you can't simply live your entire life without having relationships of members of the opposite sex aside from your wife, sisters, and mother. There is Biblical ground here, but as a few people have pointed out, the dangers are inherent and you must be careful that your sisters don't become something other than your sisters.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009. 10:45PM

"Will you marry me?"

My heart was racing, though not from fear that she might say "no." I was on both knees to reach Karen perched on a big wooden box. My hands were shaking slightly from the excitement of it all...

I wasn't entirely sure what I was supposed to do. I had thought it through in my mind at least a thousand times, starting at least a year ago. I had rehearsed every single line. I had carefully prepared my speech, making sure that every single syllable was carefully placed. Every word was chosen, then edited, then rejected before I had finally settled on the perfect wording. The funny part of it is - I don't even remember it any more.

Let me back up a little. Around lunchtime, I sent Karen a text message, asking her if she wanted to go to South Padre Island that evening. I had long planned that I was going to ask her to marry me on the beach there, at night. It was the perfect day to do it. I had talked to her dad the night before, and he gave me his blessing to propose to her. The next night wouldn't work, because we already had plans, and to change those plans would have raised suspicions. For sure, I had to ask her as soon as I could so we could get some planning done before I had to leave on Sunday morning.

I was less then elated when Karen said she didn't want to go to the Island. She wanted to go on a nice dressed up date to a nice restaurant. I carefully considered how I would have to change her mind. I promised her that we could go on the nice date on Saturday, instead. I had to be extremely careful so I didn't raise her suspicions.

When I picked her up from work, I had the ring hidden in the driver's door pocket of the car. Poe's heart may have told tales from it's dreadful thumping, but I am quite certain that ring managed to be equally as conspicuous. As I drove her home, so she could change. I carefully swayed her that it was a better time to go to the Island and just have a fun, relaxing day walking on the beach, playing in the sand, and eating at our favorite restaurant. The last time we had been to Pirate's Landing, we saw a man propose to his girlfriend at the table next to ours.

I told Karen to wear casual clothes, shorts specifically. I argued that since it was so hot, shorts would be more comfortable to be outdoors. I didn't mention, of course, that I wanted her to wear shorts, because that would make her less suspicious that I had greater plans in mind than just walking along the docks of Port Isabel.

We ate a simple lunch at the mall and found ways to kill the next few hours. I wanted to get to Port Isabel about two hours before sunset. That way we could have some fun and eat before it grew dark.

We arrived at Port Isabel at the perfect time. It was still fairly warm but not too hot. The weather could not have been more cooperative. We walked around on the pier for a while and took some pictures, including the now notorious, goofy picture of us standing on the end of the pier. Then we ate dinner. After dinner, we drove across the bridge to the Island and wasted some more time. In all fairness, I believe I am owed an Academy Award for my performance playing it cool and not giving away that I was only seconds away from a stroke for most of the evening.

Once the appointed time arrived, we drove north on the island. We found a quiet, abandoned beach access with no one around. I got out of the car and, with Karen in hand, headed for the water's edge. That's when I realized I had forgotten to account for something. Karen is utterly terrified of little critters that can crawl on her in the dark. She froze. She informed me with no amount of ambiguity that she simply would not go out to an area of the beach where it was too dark to see where she was walking. I had no choice but to swallow my angst and find another beach.

We drove for about an hour. Now it was getting late and I was getting panicky. Karen was getting bored. She was also getting tired.

"Let's just give up and go home. I have to get to bed at a decent hour so I can get up for work tomorrow, anyways." She said.

"You won't be able to get to sleep at a decent hour tonight, once I finish my plans, babe." I didn't say.

I don't remember exactly how I worded it as terror gripped me. But it must have been effective, because she agreed to try one more place. In my primal drive to find a beach access that would suit both of us, I realized that I had driven a few miles in the wrong direction. Determined not to let my frustration show, I drove on. This time, asking Karen how to get to the normal beach access areas.

I finally found one that I was sure would work for both of us. She was still hesitant, however, and I practically had to drag her to the sand to show her that it was much brighter than she thought. Still, she wanted to wear my shoes. That was fine with me, so I took them off and helped her put them on.

Those of you who have already gone through this ritual can probably attest to this. Those who haven't can learn something. I want to paint a picture in your mind. I had, as I said earlier, planned this for at least a year. Nowhere in my plans was Karen wearing shoes big enough to earn her a doctorate from even the most prestigious clown colleges. Nowhere in her mind, I'm sure, was she wearing shorts and a t-shirt.

Of course that doesn't matter. I just find God's sense of humor to be very funny. We plan this huge romantic notion of what our engagement will consist of. The National Symphony Orchestra will be softly playing the background. You will both be dressed in clothes suitable for nothing short of royalty. You will have candles and flowers strewn about in so many places that NASA will be reporting some sort of anomaly. And you will give her a ring that cause Tiffany to turn green.

Then truth sets in, as you are walking on the beach. Your beautiful girlfriend is tripping along in your shoes. You have now been holding the ring in your hand for almost an hour because you can't put it in your pocket. That would be too obvious. Your careful plans are falling apart one after another. Falling away like the waves crashing on the shore.

Then it hits you. This isn't your plan, because this is better!

I looked around in awe. I was so caught up in the beauty of the moment that I no longer cared if Karen caught on to anything. The night was the most beautiful I have ever seen. The waves were small and unobtrusive, yet constant. The wind was blowing, but not hard. The air was cool, but not cold. The moon was stunning. The stars were dancing. Shakespeare, Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Beethoven could not have colluded to capture the moment. God was showing off.

I looked around for a place to sit. There was a large wooden container where a hotel kept its beach gear sitting on the beach. I guided Karen toward it. We sat down on the box and just enjoyed the moment for a while. My mind was racing to figure out how to bring the conversation in the direction I thought it should go. I tried to remember my speech. I couldn't. I did remember a few of the main points and I told Karen how much I loved her. I apologized for all my failures. I asked her to forgive me for all the times I've wronged her, and I promised that I would spend my life honoring her. She replied in kind, answering my professions and affirming her own.

We sat there still longer, side by side, hand in hand, as I enjoyed the moment and tried to figure out how to get off the box smoothly. Then I told her, "I have to ask you something. Something I've been wanting to ask you for a long time." I could feel the muscles in my cheeks turning into a smile as I deftly slid off of the box and landed on my knees in one fluid motion.

She didn't say yes. She said, "Of course!" She acted like someone had turn on a faucet. Instantly tears were streaming down her face and her body was racked with sobs. She was crying harder than I had ever seen her cry. I jumped back onto our bench and held on to her as we both broke out laughing. She was laughing and crying and sobbing all at once.

"Just tell me your tears are of joy, please." I asked, smiling.

"Yes, they are," she replied, between heavy breaths.

I felt like a weight had been lifted. So did she. All the times we had faced nearly unbearable frustration. Agony over the time apart had nearly broken us several times. Each second separated seemed to last for an eternity. Each day together seemed to last only a second. Problem after problem. Pain after pain. All of the struggles in our relationship were instantly gone.

We prayed together, then. And we continued to hold on to each other; afraid to lose the moment, but joyful and impatient to see what would come next. We walked back to the car. We left lifetimes of hurt on that beach. When we returned to the car, I lifted her on to the trunk. I told her to wait a minute as I opened the door and reached under the seat for a bottle of water I had hidden there. I washed her feet there in the moonlight, telling her that I wanted her to know that as I led her in life, I would serve her.

That night presented the end of a courtship. But this story isn't about endings. It's not even about Karen and I. It is about a beginning. A new story written by the same God who spoke and galaxies sprang into existence. It is not our story at all.

Perhaps some day I will recount the story in its entirety. I don't want to tell you how Karen and I overcame impossible odds to begin a life together. I want to tell you how Karen and I fought with God as He overcame impossible odds to bring us together. I want to tell you how within a day of that moment of God's intimacy, Karen and I were shouting at each other again. I want to tell you how the stress and frustration rebounded as quickly as it had fled. I want to tell you that, because I want to tell you that God can do all things. God can work even the impossible, even when those He is calling are working against Him, for His glory!

As awesome as the word "up" is, I think it's over-rated. In fact, I'm going to go down on the record as saying "Down with up!" Later tonight, I'm going downtown, cause I'm feeling kinda down and I wanna get down.

Yeah - and jsut maybe you need to calm down

But that's my point! I need to wind down. Maybe your life is more stressful down there, but down here things are pretty hectic. I mean, things are going down. I keep trying to tell myself it's all downhill from here, but I'm not so sure. I want to get it down pat. I'm thinking of going down under to really calm down. I have a friend down they're. At this point I'm down for anything. You can come too, if you're down!

As awesome as the word "up" is, I think it's over-rated. In fact, I'm going to go down on the record as saying "Down with up!" Later tonight, I'm going downtown, cause I'm feeling kinda down and I wanna get down.

But don't forget that in English we also chop down the tree before we chop it up.

Lol yeah. It's pronounced like the spelling of socks.

Can my fiancee and I apply for this retroactively? She's twenty-three so that's like $8,500 that we could use on our honeymoon lol.

A Mexican man saved his money for many years so that he could take his wife on a trip to the USA. When he got there, however, he realized that he had forgotten something very important. He hadn't brought any socks with him. So he went to Wal-Mart in search of his missing items. He didn't speak any English, so he knew he was going to have a difficult time figuring out explaining what he needed.

He arrived and the greeter was a very helpful young woman who, unfortunately, didn't speak any Spanish. She was determined to help, however, and she decided to just start leading him around until he saw what he was looking for.

They passed quite a few departments. Women's Clothing, Groceries, Office Supplies, Electronics, but to no avail. As they neared the Men's Clothing department, she noticed him perk up a little bit so they walked through there until he excitedly pointed at a table with a that said "Socks."

He pointed at it and said, "Eso si que es!"

The clerk turned back to him with a puzzled look and said, "Well why didn't you spell it in the first place?"

For the non-Spanish speakers, that means "That's it!" and it's pronounced S-O-C-K-S lol

Chris Tomlin - Hello Love CD

Ditto here, but I keep having to replay "Jesus Messiah," "I Will Rise," and "Praise the Father, Praise the Son" over and over lol

It was pinched from the Mexicans by a man with a cat on his head.

Now that's just unfair. He wasn't wearing a cat. He was wearing an overgrown rat.

The romance expressed in Song of Songs is so beautiful. Clearly the two lovers thought the other one was so beautiful and couldnt wait to see each other, etc. Does such romance exist:

Man and woman meet. Fall madly in love. Man woos woman. Proposes. They marry. They have two kids , live happily ever after , and are still in love. Does this really ver happen?

Yep. I am married with 3 kids (2 are grown) and totally in love with my husband as he is with me.

P.S. The Song of Songs is about Israel.

It is about Israel. It's also about the Church. It's also about love and relationships.

Right. So if someone focuses on getting in a perfect relationship more than focusing on Christ, then they aren't focused on what they should be focusing on, and could ruin their chances? And do you think some people meant to be single?

That's right. Don't forget that there is no "perfect relationship." Premarital counseling is always a good idea, but no matter how hard you work on it before hand, you're always going to go into a marriage with problems. That's just life. I've known couples that dated for many years prior to getting married, and they still struggled with the same problems as everyone else. We're all human. We're all sinners. That's all there is to it. That is why it's so important for us to have Christ as the focal point of our relationship. It's not a matter of what we should be doing according to some set of rules or principles arbitrarily drafted by God to control our lives. It's a matter of God wanting the best for us and giving us the tools to make it as easy as possible for us, if that makes any sense. The "dos" and "don'ts" are there for a real, practical purpose. They protect us and keep us where we need to be - with our eyes on Him.

As far as it ruining their chances? Well that's not so black and white. Remember that God can work "all things" together for good, not just some things, not even just most things. I can tell you thousands of stories in my life of God taking my mistakes and making them His victories. God works in our lives to glorify Himself. I believe He relishes in turning our mistakes into things that He can use for His glory. Those things cause us to keep our focus on Him and His grace, for one thing. They also humble us and remind us that we are sinners in need of a savior. And that is where God wants us to always be. In the good times and the bad times, His primary concern is that we rely on Him. Beyond that, everything else is basically fluff. And it's really amazing what happens when we begin to rely on Him more. We make fewer mistakes. We sin less. We enjoy life more. That is the basic purpose of God's intent for our lives. The greater our faith and reliance upon Him, the less of us there is in the picture. The result of that is a more fulfilled, and fulfilling, life.

So making mistakes or marrying the "wrong" person isn't the end of everything. Forgetting to keep Christ as the center of the relationship isn't either. We serve an amazingly merciful God who gives second chances to our second chances to our second chances. It is never too late to start a new life with Him at the center, or to renew a life that had Him at the center and then wandered away.

Yes, some people are meant to be single. Although I believe that is very rare. I do know, however, that God has an express and detailed purpose for every person on this planet, and when we chase our calling, He reveals it to us beyond any doubt. If you are meant to be single, then I believe God will make that clear to you. I also believe He will give you peace with it.

Mermaid? Surely they know the Lord did not create 'fish/women'.

Hmmm... Well, I think it's completely believable. In fact, I'd go so far as to say completely obvious. Women are, after all, awfully fishy.....

A gullywasher is a dude with an umbrella?

Yep. It happens as long as you follow God's leading. That is what He wants for us, after all. He has chosen the perfect mate for each of us, and He is faithful to show us that person, as long we are waiting for His guidance. Even if you marry the "wrong" person, God can still make it work. It may not be as smooth and easy as it could have been, but it can still work. Again, the key is to just stay focused on Christ. When two people have a common goal, they will grow closer to that goal as they grow closer to each other. Likewise, they will also grow closer to each other as they grow closer to the goal. It's inevitable. Just follow Him!

Lol. Nope. We're still not trained to take care of rattlesnakes... although you could make the argument that we are. I mean, in the military anyways. We do have to maintain our proficiency with the M-16 after all