Take Home from the Singles' Getaway

Due to insistent public demand and a personal desire to review my notes from the Singles' Getaway, here are some of my main takeaway lessons. The sessions were about what singles like, want and need, but my notes are divided into different categories. Hope you learn something new or are reminded of something you need to hear today!

On Loving God 

• Instead of serving Jesus, why do we ask Him to serve us? We should serve God and His purpose! 
• Chase the things of God. You never know where it will lead you.
• Before doing something, try asking if it's a good idea or a GOD idea.
• Jesus is looking for followers, not fans.
• Relationships will fail me. I will always need God, and He will lead me to a place where I will not be in want.
• Do whatever it takes to grow in your walk with God.
• My heavenly Father has my back and He wants what's best for me.
• I am not the hero of my own story. That is a recipe for disaster. When our lives are centered around us, we will miss God. 
• Everything - Jesus = Nothing BUT Jesus + Nothing = Everything 
• The thrill of my life is not getting a husband. There's more to life than that. Don't take Jesus out of your life midway. 
• "Our hearts are restless until we rest in Christ." - St. Augustine 
• I can't live a day apart from the grace of God. The same grace that saved me sustains me every day.
• My sufficiency is found in Christ alone. Pride says we need to add something to Jesus, but let's not be foolish. 
• Daily Christian living is daily Christian dying. 
• The goal of the Bible is not to make bad people good. It makes dead people live. 
• I'm only qualified for the gospel because I'm disqualified. If I think I'm qualified, that disqualifies me. 
• Jesus holds our relationships and everything together. (Colossians 1)
• Be a child of God, rather than following rules. 
• Walk the walk of a woman who is loved by God and knows who she is! 
• I love Jesus more than I will love my future husband. He will be grace and a bonus to me. Don't treat any man like he is Jesus. He can't affirm you and love you unconditionally like Christ. Be secure in Christ and draw everything you need from Him.
• My #1 need is Jesus. 
• I have nothing to prove.
• Because Jesus was strong for me, I am free to be weak. The gospel allows us the freedom to admit we are weak.
• Recalibrate your life. The things you used to value should not matter as much. God should weigh more.

On Celebrating Life and Work

• "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." - Helen Keller
• Be intentional and deliberate about the life God wants you to live. Don't die while you're still alive. Don't lose the twinkle in your eye ;-)
• Faith is dangerous. Live dangerously. Pursue God and live out His vision for your life!
• Die doing what you love. Do work that really matters.
• Some people live in a cage like in Manila Zoo. But some roam the wild and leave the cage behind. Never underestimate someone who has the courage to come out of the cage and live the life God has called him/her to live. 
• Keep yourself involved in community. 
• "Oh how much larger our life will be if we become smaller in it." - G.K. Chesterton

On Being Secure, Whole, Complete 

• Be the person people want to be around. Be so on fire with God that you don't need to draw from others, and you don't need to be clingy or needy.
• Marriage is about two complete people living under the same roof.
• Marriage is not a solution for the loneliness in you. God is, and He has given us relationships we need to value.
• Do you come into a relationship with a big straw to get everything you can from it? Do you suck the life out of a relationship because you're so needy and insecure and need that other person to be so much more to you?
• "If I don't have this (fill in the blank), life will stop." Is Jesus really the only one you need and want? 

On Emotions and Thoughts

• If you sow emotionally into a relationship, it will bear fruit. You can't see what's boiling in the pot until you take it off the fire. Assess rationally. 
• Whatever you sow your thoughts to, your heart will go to. 
• My heart is the treasure chest of my soul. 
• I need to guard my heart from my heart. Your heart will pretend to you and lie to you. 
• You will face the consequences of your decisions.
• Challenge the patterns in your mind: like men needing a trophy wife or taking too long.

On Relationships

• The desire for relationships comes from God Himself. 
• When God created everything, He said it was all good--except it was not good for man to be alone. And this was before the fall. 
• Single does not have to mean alone. 
• God values relationships. Relationships should be treasured: seek it out, value it, guard and protect it.
• God chose to sovereignly intertwine us in relationships. 
• Treasure the right relationships. Can you tell the difference between the real ones and the fake ones? 
• God is the best foundation for all relationships. As you seek God, you'll come along people who are passionate about God as well. 
• Bad foundations are costly. 
• Value community. Invest time with married women. 
• Ask yourself if your relationships are honoring God and if you are honoring God in your relationships.
• Relationships that have a purpose higher than yourself will grow. Relationships for relationship's sake will end. The relationship itself can't be the only goal. Otherwise you'll just clash into each other.
• What's your focus? Life can't revolve around one person or yourself. Where are you heading? Are you heading the right way? Begin with the end in mind. 
• Walk together. Agree. Walk together. Agree. Walk together. Agree. (Amos 3:3) Then the relationship can get clearer, stronger, deeper.
• Love gives. Lust gets. Love trusts, is willing to be vulnerable, corrects, forgives. 
• There's no perfect relationship because I'm in it!
• An unforgiving heart is an unloving heart. Unforgiveness will crush you. 
• Sooner is better than later! 

On the Differences between Men and Women 

• Guys see things in primary colors. Girls see all the shades and hues, but what we see isn't always what guys see or meant. Plus, most men are color blind. So you'll have to talk about what you see and what it means.
• Be enamored and mystified that men and women are different instead of trying to make them like us, or trying to be like them. 
• Women who try to pursue men are taking away their privilege to lead. Don't just look 5-10 years ahead. Look 30-40 years ahead. 
• If you initiate a little, are you still trusting God? How about fixing your eyes on Jesus instead?  
• Man tends to man up when he has to step up to the plate. 
• Accept the differences and glorify God together.