Guest blog written by Sigrið Nicodemussen
Love Defined: Embracing God’s Vision For Lasting Love And Satisfying Relationships
Love Defined is written by Kristen Clark and Bethany Baird (same authors as to Girl Defined). As the title says, the book is defining love – what it is, what it is not, how w eshould be in relationships and how w eshould not be in relationships. In the end of each chapter is a study guide where you can answer some questions and think about what you’ve learned in the chapter you’ve just finished.
The book starts with the chapted about ”Happily Ever Disaster” where they describe ”The Merry-Go-Round Method for Modern Relationships”. This includes:
- Catch the Right Guy
- Coast on Infatuation
- Concentrate on Your Feelings
- Count on Him to Satisfy You
- Cry When it Fails (Then Go Back to the Beginning and Do it all Again)
This method is the one we see in the movies, and this sadly is how many people view relationships. People are never truly satisfied in this method.
The authors have named the Christian’s way of the same as “God’s Timeless Method for Lasting Relationships” – it is important to glorify God in relationships!
These are the steps:
- Cultivate the Right Heart
- Choose to Seek Wisdom
- Concentrate on God’s Truths
- Count on Christ to Satisfy you
- Continue to Trust God if it Ends
Having God first in your life you assure yourself that if something doesn’t go the way you planned it to, you’re still going to be satisfied, trust God and glorify Him. The difference on step 4 in both of the methods is that you’re counting on your partner vs Christ to fulfill you. It is way better to count on Christ to satisfy you. He cares about you and wants the best for you.
Kristen has written two chapters about singleness. She was single while she wrote the book, but is engaged now and will get married in fall 2018. She is 29 years old and has therefore been single most of her life, so she can give many good tips to younger single women who are in the same place she used to be in.
The book also covers issues as “just” being friends with boys, have a non-Christian boyfriend, qualities to look for, ten “red-flags” etc. We also hear from older women’s perspective on some issues.
The book is easy to read, so I’d encourage you to read it! There’s also an audio-book if you just want to listen to it. See more on:
https://www.amazon.com/Love-Defined-Embracing-Satisfying-Relationships/dp/0801075564