My Life in Stitches: Fixing my Fade

I fell in love with Find Your Fade the moment I saw it. I fell but didn’t buy. And I had my reasons. The huge yardage, the color selection, the fact that my knitter husband didn’t want to knit it with me. But then I had a huge come to Jesus moment about the amount of fingering I have in my stash and realized that this pattern would use 7 skeins. I bought the pattern and immediately cast

on.

Everything thing was going fine until I didn’t like the yarn I used for the first color. So I started over. Liked my second choice so much better and blazed through the first five sections with minor problems.

Then I hit a brick wall. I could not get section six right. I ripped it out and tried again. I did the math and convinced myself that the pattern had an error in it. That was short lived because of the many knitters who had no problems at all with section six. I ripped it out one final time, ready to throw in the towel. I called my hubby into the room and told him I was about to give up on it.

He looked at me and calmly said, “Let me try.”

So I put the stitched back on the needles and handed it to him. And this sweet man quietly worked through the row while I continued to believe that there was something wrong with the pattern. I held my position…until he finished the row correctly.

And then I seethed at myself. I had blamed everything but my inability to keep track of the pattern. It was user error. I already knew I struggle with this kind of lace, shifting repeats and moving markers, but this was particularly bad.

While I berated myself, my hubby did something that is so him. Something that makes our relationship so great. He handed my knitting back and kissed me on the forehead and said, “I love you.”

And that’s why he’s the Wunderhubby. He fixes my boo-boos, kisses me and makes it all better

Great Dates: Dating with Marriage in Mind

Today I’m beginning a new series called Great Dates. The purpose of this series is to give advice and tips on dating. These tips are not just for singles, but also for married people. Married people need to date, too. I will also share ideas for how to plan Girl’s or Guy’s Night Out.

Since this series is all about dating, I thought it wise that we start by laying some foundations on dating. The dating discussed here is for Christians. So what makes Christian dating different from regular ol’ dating? Not much except dates adhere to Christian standards (so no hookin’ up after the date, unless it's your spouse and then you can hook up all you want) and, particularly for singles, dating with marriage in mind.

This definition may be a little different than what most Christians have been taught. I’ve heard definitions from the very strict (Christians shouldn’t date at all) to the very loose (date as much as you like). I think a middle ground approach is better, dating with marriage in mind.

When you date with marriage in mind, I believe it removes some of the reckless, irresponsible, and random dating that is so prevalent now. When you date with marriage in mind, it gives your dates purpose. You’re trying to get to know if this person is marriage material. That’s the purpose. This requires more analysis of the person you’re dating.

Now I don’t mean that you should start talking about marriage the first date. This is a sure-fire way to get rid of a date or attract a stalker. I mean approaching the date as something that will grow into a more permanent relationship not a fling. You’re looking for qualities that make a great spouse, not a one-night stand.

This means dating solely for companionship shouldn’t be your main motivation for dating. Yes, companionship will come, but using dating as way to cure temporary loneliness isn’t the goal. Marriage in mind dating focuses on moving toward a something that will last longer than a few months.  

What are your views on Christian singles and dating? Do you agree with dating with marriage in mind?