Practice Makes Perfect (12)

Previous blogs to read first: Welcome, Too Much, Too Soon (1), Too Much Icing, Too Little Cake (2), DEFECT! (3), A Whole New World [er, Attitude] (4), and Looking Up "Love" In God's Dictionary (5), The Right Thing At The Wrong Time Is The Wrong Thing (6), Purity: A Direction, Not A Line (7), Put It Behind You (8), A Clean Slate (9), Just Friends in a Just-Do-It World (10), Guard Your Heart (11)[See blog archive.]


As quoted by Joshua Harris: "If we aren't faithful and growing in the relationships we have now, we won't be prepared to pursue faithfulness and growth in marriage later."

... which means, practice now!... "We have to practice now what we want to be in the future."

Josh gives us 5 "topics" he suggests we should start practicing now to prepare for marriage.


PRACTICE INTIMACY

This kind of intimacy can start with committed relationships: our families. One way to do this is to make good communications skills with your parents and develop intimacy with your siblings. Think practically. Open up. Let your family in.

PRACTICE SEEKING GOD WITH OTHERS

Develop relaltionships with others in which you make God the center, including talking and opening up with each other, sharing what you've learned from the Word. When you're married, you'll want to be in the habit of seeking God with others so you can share that intimate experience and devotion with your spouse.

PRACTICE FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Aka, be a good steward. Learn to budget your money. Save money. Tithe. Etc. Ask your parents or other godly men and woman to help you develop a plan to learn financial stewardship. Remember, when you're married you'll not only have to support yourself, but also a spouse, and someday a family.

PRACTICE PARENTHOOD

Start by volunteering to babysit for folks in your church. Spend time helping out a mother with lots of children. Learn from the parents and practice what you see so you develop habits to be a good parent. If you have a younger sibling, that's also a great way to learn.

PRACTICE PRACTICAL LIFE SKILLS

This includes maintenance of the house, grocery shopping, planning meals, etc. Ask your parents to let you take over a job or two for a while. Volunteer to help out your parents with all the chores that need to be done. Sit down with a parent or mature, godly adult and talk about all the things that are necessary to keep a house running, and get started today!



Carpe Diem, my friends! Redeem the time!