duct tape... session five, shawn mcbride

*Genesis 3
*Satan wanted to get Eve to doubt God, then deny what God said, then disobey and do it her way
*She focused on what she couldn't do
*cake & duct tape
*Romans 8
*ladder

... My notes from Shawn McBride's session, Monday morning.
Shawn McBride always has some great illustrations to help get his point across.. this time he used the illustration of duct tape. When you first stick it to something, the tape is really sticky, but the more you peel is off and stick it on something else, the less sticky it becomes and it starts to not stick to anything as well. It gets dirt and stuff on it from everything you have stuck it to. It is the same way with ourselves. If you just go around and have 5 million boyfriends, you are going to have junk sticking to you, just like the tape. He was making a point about the fact that you should not get on the ladder (another illustration) that leads to more and more and compromises you. But I personally want to take it further than that...

There is nothing wrong with having a boyfriend or girlfriend, and I don't want to be misunderstood as saying that there is. But even if you keep your relationship completely God-honoring, if you have a boyfriend and then break up, then get another one and keep on with this cycle... sure, maybe you have still kept your life pure, but your heart is still getting torn up. I have personally never had a boyfriend, and I'm alright with that. I am alright with it because I know that God has something great planned for me, something that is better than anything I could ever dream up myself. When I someday do have one (provided God has that for me...), I really just want to only ever have one "boyfriend"... I wouldn't want to be that close to more than one guy. Maybe I'm weird... but that's okay. I'd rather be weird and know that I am following what God wants me to do. I cannot understand why people want to be that close to so many others... Lisa Velthouse commented that so many today are asking the wrong question.. they are asking "How far can I go?" when the question should really be "How much can I save?" That is the question I'm asking. How much do you want your future husband or wife to save for you?? Don't they deserve the same from you?

As Shawn said, so many are focusing on what they can't do, rather than what they can do. Focus on learning your heart, so that you can in turn eventually share your heart and learn to share somebody else's. Don't rush through your life. Take your time and make the most of every second. Learn to really love others deeply, from your heart. (1 Peter 1:22)