Couples, who focus on romance without allowing time to assess their life together, may be setting themselves -- and their marriage -- up for failure, Consider the questions below as True Lovers breaks down the things you need to know before getting married.
Allowing time to get to know each other -- a courtship of at least a year or, better yet, two to three years -- allows time for potential partners to interact with each other in all kinds of situations and to observe how the other interacts with family and friends, at work and in the community, Olsen says.
"Relationships that began as friendships and evolve into a romantic relationship typically seem to fare better over the long haul," she says. Olsen advises prospective partners to talk about their goals, values and expectations before making a commitment to marriage.
Ask yourself the following questions:
How does each partner define marriage? What is each prospective partner's expectation for a marriage? Is marriage viewed as a lifetime commitment? If not, why?
Why marry? Is one prospective partner looking for financial security or status? Is the other looking for someone to organize their life or maintain the home? Is the desire to marry driven by hormones -- or a desire for companionship? What is the sexual expectation?
Are financial management goals compatible? Whether a saver or spender, can prospective partners work out a financial management plan that covers the basics, saves for emergencies and the future, and still allows some personal discretionary money? Does either prospective partner have school loans, credit card or other debt? If so, what is the plan to pay off the debt? Keeping debts hidden from a prospective spouse is certain to cause problems later on, Olsen says.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
The Story of Valentine
Every February, across the country, candy, flowers, and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint and why do we celebrate this holiday? The history of Valentine's Day — and its patron saint — is shrouded in mystery. But we do know that February has long been a month of romance. St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. So, who was Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this ancient rite? Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus, all of whom were martyred. One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men — his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.
Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.
According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first 'valentine' greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl — who may have been his jailor's daughter — who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed 'From your Valentine,' an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.
While some believe that Valentine's Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine's death or burial — which probably occurred around 270 A.D — others claim that the Christian church may have decided to celebrate Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to 'christianize' celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia festival. In ancient Rome, February was the official beginning of spring and was considered a time for purification. Houses were ritually cleansed by sweeping them out and then sprinkling salt and a type of wheat called spelt throughout their interiors. Lupercalia, which began at the ides of February, February 15, was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.
To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at the sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would then sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification.
The boys then sliced the goat's hide into strips, dipped them in the sacrificial blood and took to the streets, gently slapping both women and fields of crops with the goathide strips. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed being touched with the hides because it was believed the strips would make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city's bachelors would then each choose a name out of the urn and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage. Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day around 498 A.D. The Roman 'lottery' system for romantic pairing was deemed un-Christian and outlawed. Later, during the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds' mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of February — Valentine's Day — should be a day for romance. The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. The greeting, which was written in 1415, is part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London, England. Several years later, it is believed that King Henry V hired a writer named John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois.
In Great Britain, Valentine's Day began to be popularly celebrated around the seventeenth century. By the middle of the eighteenth century, it was common for friends and lovers in all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes. By the end of the century, printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one's feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine's Day greetings. Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began to sell the first mass-produced valentines in America.
Everywhere today, many people involve in this celebration without any knowledge of its origin!
Love is with us and should be shown everyday as best as we can! Be innovative, keep tripping ur partner everyday, don’t wait for no particular day! This is just my view!
Agape!
Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.
According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first 'valentine' greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl — who may have been his jailor's daughter — who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed 'From your Valentine,' an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.
While some believe that Valentine's Day is celebrated in the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of Valentine's death or burial — which probably occurred around 270 A.D — others claim that the Christian church may have decided to celebrate Valentine's feast day in the middle of February in an effort to 'christianize' celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia festival. In ancient Rome, February was the official beginning of spring and was considered a time for purification. Houses were ritually cleansed by sweeping them out and then sprinkling salt and a type of wheat called spelt throughout their interiors. Lupercalia, which began at the ides of February, February 15, was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus.
To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of Roman priests, would gather at the sacred cave where the infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The priests would then sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a dog, for purification.
The boys then sliced the goat's hide into strips, dipped them in the sacrificial blood and took to the streets, gently slapping both women and fields of crops with the goathide strips. Far from being fearful, Roman women welcomed being touched with the hides because it was believed the strips would make them more fertile in the coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the young women in the city would place their names in a big urn. The city's bachelors would then each choose a name out of the urn and become paired for the year with his chosen woman. These matches often ended in marriage. Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St. Valentine's Day around 498 A.D. The Roman 'lottery' system for romantic pairing was deemed un-Christian and outlawed. Later, during the Middle Ages, it was commonly believed in France and England that February 14 was the beginning of birds' mating season, which added to the idea that the middle of February — Valentine's Day — should be a day for romance. The oldest known valentine still in existence today was a poem written by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at the Battle of Agincourt. The greeting, which was written in 1415, is part of the manuscript collection of the British Library in London, England. Several years later, it is believed that King Henry V hired a writer named John Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois.
In Great Britain, Valentine's Day began to be popularly celebrated around the seventeenth century. By the middle of the eighteenth century, it was common for friends and lovers in all social classes to exchange small tokens of affection or handwritten notes. By the end of the century, printed cards began to replace written letters due to improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time when direct expression of one's feelings was discouraged. Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in the popularity of sending Valentine's Day greetings. Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began to sell the first mass-produced valentines in America.
Everywhere today, many people involve in this celebration without any knowledge of its origin!
Love is with us and should be shown everyday as best as we can! Be innovative, keep tripping ur partner everyday, don’t wait for no particular day! This is just my view!
Agape!
Monday, March 1, 2010
What is Purpose?
Purpose is the original intent for creating a thing, original reason for existence. It is the force behind the fulfillment of destiny and It is the secret of success and the key to realization.
Biblically, Purpose is the intention of God for creating man. It is man's reason for existence.
Jesus: His purpose is to save His people from sin.
Paul: His purpose was to preach Jesus among the heathen.
To have no aim for living is to live an endless life and mindless life. Your purpose in life is you in action. If a man has no purpose for living, he is not fit to live. Purpose enables you to put action in life. It makes for enthronement when discovered and pursued diligently.
How to know you’re in life.
Purpose cannot be determined but discovered. You cannot wake up one day and say this is my purpose except you have discovered it of course from the source, God, who is your creator; He knows why He created you.
How to discovered your purpose.
- Studying His Word.
- Prayer and Supplication.
- By the leading of the Holy Spirit.
The pursuit of your purpose.
After discovering your purpose, the next thing is to pursue it. Pursuit is an action word. It is a force. You can never realize your purpose until you pursue it. It is what gives value to your purpose. One thing is to discover your purpose another is to pursue it. Great purpose requires great pursuit.
What is Pursuit?
Pursuit is the relevant force that gives motion to purpose. Until you pursue your pursue your purpose, you cannot possess it. The benefits accrued to it will be illusive to you. A disciplined pursuit of your purpose will earn you a Kingdom. Every object assumes a state of rest until a relevant force is applied to it. Great purpose requires great pursuit. Once you discover your purpose, write it down, digest it, make it plain, so that people will understand it with you and run with you. If you do not understand it, you cannot pursue it. Secondly, if you don't understand it, you will not be able to make it plain for others to run with you.
Benefits of purposeful life.
1. Knowing your purpose gives meaning to your life.
2. Purpose simplfies life.
3. Purpose focuses your life.
4. Purpose motivates your life.
5. Purpose prepares you for eternity.
Finally, discover your purpose, be focused and fulfill the purpose. A man with a purpose is a miracle and blessing to his generation. The greatest tragedy is not death but life without purpose.
Many people think that reading money books and attending financial seminars alone would make them wealthy. This is an illusion. It is only knowledge that is applied that can bring tangible results. So, if you want to be truly wealthy, you must set goals and develop the discipline to make these goals real. It is possible.
Hard work: All hard work bring a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.
Laziness: A sleeping lobster is carried away by the water current.
Earnings: Never depend on a single source of income. (At least make your investments get you second earning).
Spending: If you buy things you don't need, you wil soon sell things you need.
Savings: Don't save what is left after spending; spend what is left after saving.
Borrowings: The borrower becomes the lender's slave.
Accounting: It's no use caring an umbrella, if your shoes are leaking.
Auditing: Beware of little expenses; A small leak can sink a large ship.
Risks - taking: Never test the dept of the river with both feet. (Have an alternate plan ready).
Investment: Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
Biblically, Purpose is the intention of God for creating man. It is man's reason for existence.
Jesus: His purpose is to save His people from sin.
Paul: His purpose was to preach Jesus among the heathen.
To have no aim for living is to live an endless life and mindless life. Your purpose in life is you in action. If a man has no purpose for living, he is not fit to live. Purpose enables you to put action in life. It makes for enthronement when discovered and pursued diligently.
How to know you’re in life.
Purpose cannot be determined but discovered. You cannot wake up one day and say this is my purpose except you have discovered it of course from the source, God, who is your creator; He knows why He created you.
How to discovered your purpose.
- Studying His Word.
- Prayer and Supplication.
- By the leading of the Holy Spirit.
The pursuit of your purpose.
After discovering your purpose, the next thing is to pursue it. Pursuit is an action word. It is a force. You can never realize your purpose until you pursue it. It is what gives value to your purpose. One thing is to discover your purpose another is to pursue it. Great purpose requires great pursuit.
What is Pursuit?
Pursuit is the relevant force that gives motion to purpose. Until you pursue your pursue your purpose, you cannot possess it. The benefits accrued to it will be illusive to you. A disciplined pursuit of your purpose will earn you a Kingdom. Every object assumes a state of rest until a relevant force is applied to it. Great purpose requires great pursuit. Once you discover your purpose, write it down, digest it, make it plain, so that people will understand it with you and run with you. If you do not understand it, you cannot pursue it. Secondly, if you don't understand it, you will not be able to make it plain for others to run with you.
Benefits of purposeful life.
1. Knowing your purpose gives meaning to your life.
2. Purpose simplfies life.
3. Purpose focuses your life.
4. Purpose motivates your life.
5. Purpose prepares you for eternity.
Finally, discover your purpose, be focused and fulfill the purpose. A man with a purpose is a miracle and blessing to his generation. The greatest tragedy is not death but life without purpose.
Many people think that reading money books and attending financial seminars alone would make them wealthy. This is an illusion. It is only knowledge that is applied that can bring tangible results. So, if you want to be truly wealthy, you must set goals and develop the discipline to make these goals real. It is possible.
Hard work: All hard work bring a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.
Laziness: A sleeping lobster is carried away by the water current.
Earnings: Never depend on a single source of income. (At least make your investments get you second earning).
Spending: If you buy things you don't need, you wil soon sell things you need.
Savings: Don't save what is left after spending; spend what is left after saving.
Borrowings: The borrower becomes the lender's slave.
Accounting: It's no use caring an umbrella, if your shoes are leaking.
Auditing: Beware of little expenses; A small leak can sink a large ship.
Risks - taking: Never test the dept of the river with both feet. (Have an alternate plan ready).
Investment: Don't put all your eggs in one basket.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
