Movie Date + Church Date = Dating Expert

My Sunday began with making pancakes for breakfast after a fun night of bowling on Saturday night. Let's just say, the Bethesda bowling alley put Iowa bowling alleys to shame.

Then Cat and I met Elizabeth in Arlington to see "He's Just Not That Into You." Although we had heard the movie wasn't getting the best reviews, we decided to go anyway. The film critics may have taken issue with the fact that the movie didn't fully develop the characters or that stereotypes ran the show, but I felt like the movie offered a little bit of truth for everyone in the audience (which was about 98% female). The only issue I take with the film is that those women in the audience with significant others are left doubting whether their man really is into them. The last thing women need is another reason to question our relationships, because we are all guilty of analyzing (and even over analyzing) them until we are blue in the face. Currently, I do not have a relationship to do just that over, but Cat and Elizabeth are worried enough for all three of us. I'm doing the best damage control possible!

After the movie, the three of us grabbed a bite to eat before heading to church. Last week, John (one of the younger members of the staff) started a two week series on dating. The first message was meant to be all about finding the right person. Although John had a number of valuable things to share, the main thing I took from that message was you need to make yourself the best person you can be in order to prepare yourself for meeting that right person. Ok, I've heard this once or twice before. This week's message was focused on how to go about the actual dating after you find that potential someone. John's words this week were, hands down, one of the best sermons I have ever heard.

The key phrase Todd shared was this...The holier you are, the happier you'll be. He said this phrase holds true with respect to more than just dating, but discussed it specifically with respect to dating. And then he said the one thing you need to establish to have a good dating relationship is "clarity." As with many religious themes, there were three parts to this clarity: clarity in communication, clarity in boundaries, and clarity in community. I'll leave my summary at that, but I strongly encourage you to visit http://www.frontlinedc.com/pages/page.asp?page_id=712 and listed to John's message. Hopefully you will benefit from his words even half as much I have, because I know it will be well worth your time.