Indent

Thank you for your concern, but I've been around the block a time or two. Do you consider yourself Christian?

You know, The bible has narratives about people and dreams. A message from God is always clear, not ambiguous. In my case, the dreams have had very precise information, which was unavailable to me. If you are not familiar with the scriptural accounts, I can only invite you to read up on it. There are a lot of reasons why I'm certain, but it would take a lot of time and detail. I would almost need to write a book on my life, dreams, and God to do it.

Christians don't have to "attempt to show fruit". Spiritual fruit is a natural outgrowth of the life changed by God. the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, kindness and self-control. "Pursue girls at church" is a troublesome choice of words. I know about the fruits of the Spirit. Language is something that is fluid, and we deal with approximations when it comes to interpreting words. We can both quote the scriptures, but the church is filled with a variety of personalities. A general feature of any church is that there are non-believers and seekers. There are 'lukewarm' and 'nominal' Christians. There are people in various stages in their spiritual walk, and we are all a work in progress. There are the fruits of the Spirit, and these things co-exist with the unpleasant aspects of humanity. But I'm asserting that there is showmanship at church. I'm asserting that people have hidden agendas. Tell me what is troublesome about "pursuing girls at church." It was not said to imply I'm pursuing multiple girl - because I'm not - but as a general statement about pursuing girls. I could be pursuing a non-Christain outside of church. It would probably be easier and convenient. I could fiddle my thumbs and hope a girl will fall into my lap. You can pursue a person at church and it can be honouring to God, and it can be with the intention of forming a relationship that glorifies him.

Gosh... That's a daring thing to say on a third date! It reminds me of a story I heard from a student teacher. He was a man with a PhD in music, and after spending a decade selling pianos, decided to get a teaching degree. He told us that shortly after meeting a woman (they had dated maybe a couple weeks), she asked him what he was thinking during a movie. He told her, "I was wondering if you would marry me." They got married shortly after and had a ton of kids. Talk about an unconventional life. Nothing in this life has come easy. Nothing. Perhaps I'll post a testimony on here one day, but life has been nothing but brutal. I was born from a wreckage, and God has not shielded me from disaster. That much I can say. Thanks for sharing.

That's interesting, what does that look like? What does friendship and mutual mean in the context of interest? There are different kinds of friendship. There is well-crafted showmanship at church, and the transparent appeal to get closer to another. It's an attempt to show the 'fruits', but we all know what game is being run here. Since we're talking about fruits. I'm very active at church, involved with campus ministries, and do assume some leadership roles. While I've not been attending this church too long, I could become a deacon (it has been suggested to me). There is also my volunteer work that falls outside of church. It doesn't exactly gain favour with the opposite sex, if anything it's more troublesome to pursue girls at church.

A friendship is in the works, the difference is that I'm not pretending to be neutral. Our faith does not take place in a vacuum, and let us not forget that the church is social. You do not just approach a girl and think to be free of those natural inclinations. She will be making connections, and the entire church will have its eyes on me. A fact I know well. I would not depreciate the value of a friendship, and indeed that might be the only path to take here. But with an almost non-existent window to work with on Sunday, I think I'll be exploring this with a little more boldness. While God does provide, He doesn't [necessarily] need an enabler. Does God not provide in a number of ways?

You know, I have prayed for a partner. There was this surge of euphoria several months ago when I heard these words, "Ask and you will receive." It was a sermon at church I was visiting, and the feeling unusual to me (I treasure the bible and all, but rarely do I feel certain words speaking directly to me). Interestingly, it never occurred to me until now, but it's roughly when I started having the dreams. It would be amazing if I met another with dreams like mine, instead of me feeling like a madman. A lot of Christians make extraordinary claims, but share a dream of a prophetic nature and the normative explanations come out. Honestly, I almost feel tempted to say, "Be careful what you pray for, you might get more than you bargained for." (I'm referring to the dreams of course) The dreams now weigh heavily on me. I'll be, undoubtedly, pursuing a girl at church - and while I like the girl a lot - I'm hardly excited about it. This is not some cold approach - me walking up to a girl comparing espresso in the aisle of a grocery store. You know exactly what you're getting into, here I do not. It appears that others are interested, and wonder if I should be bold here. The strange thing is she took the initiative to exchange numbers, but she has taken a conservative stance. How have others approached interest in others? Praying for me would be much appreciated, of course.

I'm not sure why the font changed; I tried to edit it, but it converted to another font. There is no explicit question in there, but I wanted to get it off my chest.

…I have fallen for another person. It’s been almost a decade, but the feeling is unmistakable. There is no shortage of attractive women, but only once have I felt really pulled to another. I mean really pulled. There I was on Sunday, sitting in the pews and asking God to ease the aching heart. It was as if the heart had ruptured, and there was this slight burning within the chest. It was lifted from me. I would not be overcome with anxiety and I would not be passive… we talked during lunch, and it was then that those dreams came crashing down on me (dreams bearing messages). It happened to me a long time ago, and while the relationship would not be lasting, it had so profoundly changed me. It seemed unlikely to be chance. You know, some of my best friends are female. Approaching women is a dance I know well. But for the life of me, how is it that I’m held so captive by another at one glance? This is an awful feeling, to fall for another and be uncertain… and the dreams. The dreams. Months before meeting her… I had a dream tell me I’d fall for a person. I heard a voice repeat a name three times. She has the same name. The frightening part is that I’ve had a series of dreams, and each of them had provided very, very specific information. At first the dreams meant little to me (I didn’t know anybody with the name, for example), but as time goes on, the more shocking each one becomes. Each detail is clear, and each so significant. Long ago I never remembered my dreams, but one night I asked God to deliver me a message through one. It was the next morning that I remembered a most vivid dream, and it has been one of the most unusual I’ve ever had. It answered me in a white space. The dreams continued. There have been some unusual dreams, and even dreams of a prophetic nature. …and I prayed on these dreams. In a most fantastical dream, and I could hardly distinguish the dream from real life – it seemed that God had enveloped me, in a staggering display of white lights. There were three unusual lights in the distance. When I called out to Him, he gave me a sign of a heart.

Fundamentalism has seen better days, and I think its been associated with recent Muslim descriptions of terrorism. A couple weeks ago when talking about the recent attacks in France, a girl in one of my classes basically said that all fundamentalists be it - Christian, Muslim, Judaism, militant atheist - are all 'misanthropes', and have arrived at fundamentalism to construct meaning to their sad and pathetic lives.

Interesting, I think you've just had a poor experience. I've helped a lot of people, but I also knew where to 'draw the line'. I'm direct and honest with people, so I have no issues saying no and/or giving people a piece of my mind. If someone is out to manipulate and coerce action from you, it's probably a good indicator that is an unhealthy relationship.