Please Pray for my Coffee House Ministry!

It's happening. I'm finally writing a business plan for an inter-denominational Christian cafe! Please pray for this ministry!

Here is what I have so far and the prayer requests alongside.

Eureka Cafe is to be placed in downtown Springfield, Vermont.

Please pray that I find the right space for this cafe and for affordable rent!

It will be a place where there will be Christian open mic nights, performers and speakers.

Please pray for these people to be available to come to Eureka Cafe and positive response in the Springfield community. That these selections provide opportunities to give glory to God!

The rest of what I have written for the business plan is still in the works, but I was so excited I just had to share this.

Please pray for doors to open as this ministry is established and for the will of God to be fully present in it! Still keeping my eyes open for investors and a good Christian business mentor.

A good wo/man is hard to find...

Today I feel compelled to write about when a good thing becomes an idol in our hearts.

Too often I see Christian women and men who are depressed, anxious, angry, lonely, etc... in the area of dating. I understand how the dating world can be hard on those still of the world, but don't forget that we as Christians have a love that surpasses anything we can find in a spouse 24/7.

I often hear how hard it is to find a good person.

Yes, as far as relationships go it even says in Proverbs 18:22

"He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD." (NIV)

Finding a spouse and having a God honoring relationship is a beautiful thing. Unfortunately many have turned marriage and relationships into what they're chasing instead of God and losing focus on the whole point!

One of the hardest things a Christian has to learn is to rely fully on God and not the illusion of our own strength, our own sufficiency. You may want to "take charge" of your dating life in order to find that illusive someone, but He has a plan so don't think for one second that you're doing this alone.

Mostly I'm writing this because it's a struggle that I've experienced. Nobody in the church wanted to discuss dating aside from to tell us not to have sex before we got married. What good does that do?

If someone had told me when I was a teenager what character traits I should be looking for in a potential spouse, if someone had told me that I didn't need to listen to what the world says about love. If someone had said "Fall in love with God, don't just fall in love with Him, fall HARD for Him and only then will you have the slightest idea of how to treat a spouse." Maybe I wouldn't have been chasing the relationship idol for about 8 years.

So what I'm going to suggest is that you fall in love with God if you aren't already.

2 Things that we often do in dating that we can do to draw closer to God:

- Read a text, love note or email over and over = Read your Bible

"Know also that wisdom is sweet to your soul; if you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off." -Proverbs 24:14 (NIV)

-Talk on the phone for hours =

"Pray continually" - 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NIV)

Most importantly, don't lose focus, Matthew 6:33 says "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (NIV)

Always,

Caitlin

Recommended Video: 15 Questions a Christian woman needs to ask a man before getting involved with him.

Here are the questions written out.

1) Theology.
The Bible: is it 100% God’s word & His only word? Jesus: is he God in the flesh & did He die for the sins of the world & rise on the 3rd day. Salvation: is it only by Grace through faith in what Jesus accomplished, not of any human work/effort?

2) Are you a Christian? If so why did you become one, how did you become one and when did you become one? How do you know you really are in the faith now? Please support your answer with scripture.

3) Would the last girl you dated say that she’s a better Christian after having dated you?

4) Are you willing to sit down with the ministers at my church so they can talk with you about your spiritual maturity and what your intentions are with me before we go any further in our friendship/relationship?

5) Would the last girl you were involved with recommend other women that need direction, leadership and spiritual strengthening to get involved with you? Why or why not and could I have somebody call her to verify your answer?

6) If we were in a relationship how would you be able to tell if I began idolizing our relationship over God, & what would you do to help me get back on track?

7) If we got together what things would you do to ensure physical purity in our relationship?

8) If I wanted to pursue a 100% hands off relationship that includes no kissing, hugging, holding hands or messages, to ensure purity and focus how would you feel about that?

9) Could you guarantee that I will spiritually mature & grow b/c I entered in to a relationship with you? If yes how do you know, if no then why should I be with you?

10) If one morning I woke up and was no longer cute, had a 100% flat chest, no hips, no butt, no curves, my hair fell out, & my teeth weren’t straight, would this be a challenge for you, how would you deal with it & would you still be interested in being with me?

11) What areas in my life do you see I need to grow & mature in and how could you build me up in those areas?

12) If you and I were to enter into a relationship what would be the spiritual goal/purpose of what you would expect us, those around us, & God to get out of it? And have you fulfilled this goal in past relationships? How do you know you will fulfill that goal with me if we get together?

13) If we got together would you be ok with having an open relationship where we sit down with ministers from my church every month and give an account of how our relationship is going? Along with answering any personal or spiritual questions they may have for us? The question’s will deal with our purity, spiritual growth, example, and over all progress.

14) What is God’s purpose in dating, and marriage? Please support your answers with the Bible.

15) Do you have a history of getting with girls primarily because you get lonely, the girls are pretty, or other reasons that are not godly? Can you please give me 3 people I call to verify your answer?

Book Suggestion: Boundaries in Dating

I've been reading the book Boundaries in Dating and to me it is full of practical advice that I wish I had been given about 8 years ago.

Cloud & Townshend start off by explaining that dating is not something that should be done with a childish attitude. Which I appreciated, mostly because of the number of people I've seen who continue to date the same way they did in high school and wonder why they're not married yet. I was in this category myself until I took a deeper look at how to date in a way that is beneficial to my spiritual growth.

Throughout the book they talk about spiritual growth and the importance of that within relationships. They talk about reasons people date when they really need to take time off and several other emotional pitfalls created in the dating scene.

I would really recommend this to any single Christian who is interested in dating.