How You Know.

PLEASE READ THIS.

During a seminar, a woman asked," How do I know if I am with the right person?"

The author then noticed that there was a large man sitting next to her so he said, "It depends. Is that your partner?" In all seriousness, she answered "How do you know?" Here is the author's reply:

Here's the answer.

Every relationship has a cycle… In the beginning; you fall in love with your partner. You anticipate their calls, want their touch, and like their idiosyncrasies. Falling in love wasn't hard. In fact, it was a completely natural and spontaneous experience. You didn't have to DO anything. That's why it's called "falling" in love.

People in love sometimes say, "I was swept of my feet."Picture the expression. It implies that you were just standing there; doing nothing, and then something happened TO YOU.

Falling in love is a passive and spontaneous experience. But after a few months or years of being together, the euphoria of love fades. It's a natural cycle of EVERY relationship.

Slowly but surely, phone calls become a bother (if they come at all), touch is not always welcome (when it happens), and your spouse's idiosyncrasies, instead of being cute, drive you nuts. The symptoms of this stage vary with every relationship; you will notice a dramatic difference between the initial stage when you were in love and a much duller or even angry subsequent stage.

At this point, you and/or your partner might start asking, "Am I with the right person?" And as you reflect on the euphoria of the love you once had, you may begin to desire that experience with someone else. This is when relationships breakdown.

The key to succeeding in a relationship is not finding the right person; it's learning to love the person you found.

People blame their partners for their unhappiness and look outside for fulfillment. Extramarital fulfillment comes in all shapes and sizes.

Infidelity is the most common. But sometimes people turn to work, a hobby, friendship, excessive TV, or abusive substances. But the answer to this dilemma does NOT lie outside your relationship. It lies within it.

I'm not saying that you couldn't fall in love with someone else. You could. And TEMPORARILY you'd feel better. But you'd be in the same situation a few years later.

Because (listen carefully to this):

The key to succeeding in a Relationship is not finding the right person; it's learning to love the Person you found.

SUSTAINING love is not a passive or spontaneous experience. You have to work on it day in and day out. It takes time, effort, and energy. And most importantly, it demands WISDOM. You have to know WHAT TO DO to make it work. Make no mistake about it.

Love is NOT a mystery. There are specific things you can do (with or without your partner), Just as there are physical laws Of the universe (such as gravity), there are also laws for relationships. If you know how to apply these laws, the results are predictable.

Love is therefore a "decision". Not just a feeling.

Remember this always: God determines who walks into your life. It is up to you to decide who you let walk away, who you let stay, and who you refuse to let go.

Count On Me.

Picture this.

Awkward Girl gets really brave and asks Perfect Guy to the Valentine's dance.

Takes a lot of courage.

There's a chance of rejection.

Perfect Guy doesn't just say yes.

He serenades her with Count On Me by Bruno Mars.

Some people's acts of kindness amaze me.

Kindness is love.

Hugged.

About a week ago, I had a teenage hormonal meltdown at my friends house.

His mom, who has become my second mom, came over to me and hugged me.

She just wrapped her arms around me and said nothing.

She hugged me even though I was being emotional.

Even though I was only thinking of my own problems.

She hugged me even though I had just said I hated her son.

She hugged me because she knew I needed it, even if I didn't deserve it.

That's love.

Barney

Barney is a purple dinosaur.
A Purple Dinosaur is also one of the best smoothies Jamba Juice offers on their Underground Menu. It happens to be my favorite.

The other day I got in an argument with my father. It was not good. Not good at all. Crying happened.  A lot of it.

I texted my friend Garrett, cracking a joke about saline.
We texted back and forth for about half an hour and then he says this:

"Can you come outside or should Barney come in through your bedroom window? :)"

Yes. He did come and surprise me at my house with a Purple Dinosaur. To help me feel better.

In short, he's the best.   Yep.

This past week I went to the gym with my mom and her fiance. One of my friends was going to give them some tips on how to do an Olympic Snatch. I came along to take pictures.  I didn't expect my friend to talk to me much, I knew he'd be busy with his work out as well as teaching my parental unit the ropes. 

He still found time to have a conversation with me and make me feel like I was welcome.

I'm glad we're friends.:)

Babysitting

When about to begin babysitting my neighbors(these guys again), the mom told her son John (approx. age 4) that she had to go. John began to cry and ran to his mom and hugged her legs. His older sister Lily (approx. age 6) saw this and went and knelt down by John and said,

"It's ok John, I'll take care of you. And we can play whatever game you want to play."

BEST. SISTER. EVER.

At Graduation

At the end of graduation last year, bouncy balls were all over the floor. The graduates had thrown them instead of throwing their caps. After the ceremony, kids flooded the floor to get a bouncy ball. My friend Brett, who's 16, got excited and got one, too.
One kid was left without a ball--the one he was going for was taken by another kid who was faster. The boy began to get teary eyed, and his older brother told him to quit being a wimp.
I watched as Brett walked over to the boy, reached into his pocket, and pulled out the bouncy ball that he had been so excited to get. He gave his bouncy ball to the boy.
The expression on the boy's face said it all. Brett walked away like it was nothing.
Watching that, seeing him do that, meant everything.