Dreaming of Blue Skies

Last June, I stayed at the home of a friend after we'd attended the wedding of mutual friends. I glanced at his bookshelf and noticed the I Kissed Dating Goodbye book, which I'd remembered hearing about years ago in my high school youth group. Out of curiosity, I picked it up and ended up finishing it later that evening. As the website says, it wasn't so much about dating but about living to please God. As I continued to read, I recognized many of the "dating pitfalls" discussed in the book as issues I'd encountered in my previous relationships. I prayed about what I read because I realized that I didn't want to fall into those pitfalls anymore. I had thought before that since I had dated guys who were Christians that our relationships would still honor God, even though God wasn't necessarily our focus. Reading this book made me realize that that just wasn't enough.

Westley and I spoke on the phone for about 2 1/2 hours this evening. We're both interested in each other but we recognize that it's not a good idea to start dating at the moment for myriad reasons. Thanks to this book and to other things which inspired our long conversation, we've decided to just focus on getting to know each other- hanging out, talking, going out, etc ... but without the physical distractions (cuddling, kissing) and without trying to plan beyond this getting-to-know-each-other stage. This is new and different for both of us (I definitely kissed the last boyfriend on our first date), but we both realized how relieved we felt, having eliminated the exterior pressures and expectations.

I can hardly believe that our first in-depth conversation was on Saturday. He gets me, understands me better than I would have imagined. Our phone conversation this evening flowed so steadily that I was shocked to learn how long we'd been talking. We'll see how this goes- focusing on just building our friendship even when we're aware that we're both interested in more. I feel really good about this, and I'm praying that God will guide this.
~*~*~*~*~
On a completely unrelated topic, I'm hoping the weather clears up so that tomorrow's travels go safely and smoothly!