Just a disclaimer about this: it is by far not
perfect and should be used only as a guide, not
as the truth.
I've done this a few times and
it has taken about 1 hour each time. This is
not a short devotion.
You may also find my Aussie (Australian)
slang a bit hard to understand that. The language
in this is common to us here, so I figure I
should point out why it may be confusing at
times.
How to use this guide.
Make sure you know what is in here
first. Give all of your campers a copy of the 'simple
list' and have a few spares for kids in other rooms,
'cause word gets around about this sort of stuff.
Then get them to think of someone
they think is alright, if there is no-one, suggest
someone, like a leader or camper their age (just
be careful with that), even a celebrity.
Start to go through the list while
leaving some of the questions open for discussion,
because they will want to start talking. It can
hard with this to actually stay on the topic too,
so just remember that and have lots of fun. This
devo can be a great time for bonding.
Does this person love and follow
Christ?
Are they someone who can show love
to others and treat them with love? This is more
than just being nice, are they nice all
the time, or do they lead a double life? What
are they like when no-one's looking? Do they change
from one group of people to another and be totally
unChrist-like?
Are they an active Christian?
Is this person on fire for the Lord?
Do they often share the message of Jesus if given
the chance, or are they ashamed of the gospel?
Do we have similar goals?
Are you both heading in the same
direction in life or are you two totally different
people striving towards opposite ends of life?
Are our parents/guardians pleased
about us?
Do they approve of this person,
or of you having a boyfriend or girlfriend?
Does this person bring out the
best in me?
Can I be myself around this person
without worrying about being criticized and can
you have fun with them. Do you have the most fun
around this person than with anyone else?
Does this person help me to reach
my maximum potential?
Are they always building you up
and not making you feeling down, encouraging you
with dreams you have and anything else that may
be hard. Do they push you in order for you to
succeed?
Do I respect this person and their body?
Can I keep my hands off where a bikini would
cover them (for the guys)? Do they respect
you and your body? Are you always in contact
or can you (both) abstain?
Can we talk well together?
Are you and this person able to site down
and have a decent conversation together for
ages without having to touch each other and
have moments of silence every few minutes.
Does the conversation keep going without being
romantic?
Do they have a love for parents, people
and children?
Do they like talking to or groups of people,
such as parents and not just sticking to their
own peers? How much do they like children?
How do they treat their own parents? How they
treat their own brothers and sisters?
They say that they way a guy treats his
mum is the way he'll treat his wife. And that
you'll marry someone like that of your parents.
(eg. Guys will marry a girl like their mum
and girls will marry someone like their dad)
Do the like the city or the country?
Are they a country bumpkin or city slicker?
which do they prefer?
Could they cope another culture?
If they were to suddenly move somewhere,
would they be able to cope? Not only with
the culture, but seeing different types of
people?
How do they cope with authority?
Do they reject authority and see themselves
as the only person important?
Are they a F.A.T. person?
Okay, this gets a few chuckles :) be prepared...
Faithful
Are they devoted to you. Or do they have
a reputation of no faithfulness to anyone,
whether that be to friends, or a previous
boyfriend or girlfriend. Would they stick
with you through thick and thin?
Available
Okay, are they currently no going out
with anyone, or are they unavailable?
Teachable
Are you able to teach this person how
to live better and vice versa? are you
are to learn from each other?
Could they cope with full time ministry?
Are they willing to serving full time even
if it's not a large sum of money?
How much are they prepared to live without?
Do they have to have the latest phone, or
clothes? Do they need to be around people
all the time or can they survive on their
own occasionally?
Could I live with this person forever?
Do they do annoying things that would bug
you? Are they suited to you and are you suited
to their needs? Can you work well together?
Do we like the same things?
Do you both enjoying the same sort of thing?
Are you both a fanatic about one thing in
similar areas, or are you two people involved
in totally different things?
Do we laugh at the same things in movies?
This is a little trivial, but it's more
of a personality test.
Do you want someone who is on the same sort
of level, or someone who doesn't have
the same sort of sense of humour?
Do I know how They'd respond in most situations?
How well do you know them as to how they'd
behave? EG. If their favourite shoes got lost,
how would they cope? Are they a stressful
person that brings tension to the air, or
are they really relaxed and care free?
Do I like what I look at?
Obviously this is important,
but who ever the person for you is, they must
be attractive to you. You can't really be in love
with someone who you may consider not attractive.
But this should come last after the rest of the
personality traits. and not be the most important.
Can we pray together with each other?
Are you able to sit down with each other and
pray to the Lord? Making Jesus the centre of your
relationship should be foremost on your mind.
You should no be thinking what can I get out of
this, but how can I help my partner to grow spiritually
in their walk with th Lord.
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