I get to sing again...[!]

Wonderful...yet, tragic? Okay, "tragic" is wayyy too dramatic. Please...

In less than 25 days I'm going to be singing the most timeless love song of all time. I'm so privileged to sing it for this couple because they were basically my second set of parents growing up. It's for their Silver Wedding: 25 Years. How wonderful is that? And how refreshing in this day and age to actually have a REAL marriage... On my 30 minute drive to work AND back, I played this song over and over...and over again trying to get down all of the words. After a while I just had to drive and listen so I could hear all the cues and lyrics I need to know. This song is the most over-played Christian wedding song of all time...

...but rightly so, cuz it's absolutely beautiful.

Here are the lyrics:

Verse 1:
Tomorrow mornin' if you wake up and the sun does not appear
I will be here
If in the dark we lose sight of love
Hold my hand and have no fear
'Cause I will be here

Chorus:
I will be here
When you feel like bein' quiet
When you need to speak your mind
I will listen and I will be here
When the laughter turns to cryin'
Through the winnin', losin' and tryin'
We'll be together
'Cause I will be here

Verse 2:
Tomorrow mornin' if you wake up and the future is unclear
I will be here
As sure as seasons are made for change
Our lifetimes are made for years
So I will be here

Chorus 2
I will be here
And you can cry on my shoulder
When the mirror tells us we're older
I will hold you
And I will be here
To watch you grow in beauty
And tell you all the things you are to me
I will be here

Bridge:
I will be true to the promise I have made to you
And to the One who gave you to me
I will be here
And just as sure as seasons are made for change
Our lifetimes are made for years
So I will be here
We'll be together
I will be here

--"I Will Be Here", Steven Curtis Chapman

Not gonna lie, in the middle of typing out those lyrics and even now, I'm feelin that warm sensation you get in your face when you feel like you're gonna cry (I'm way to honest on this blog thing, aren't I? I know, I wear my heart on my sleeve...). But don't worry! I won't cry! Haha, and even if I did, it's not like YOU'D know! :)

Listening to this song is like...AUGH, how my heart yearns for that faithfulness and boldness from a man. I know I will experience it one day, but it is very discouraging to be living in a day and age where the word "faithfulness" has fallen out of basic vocabulary. As with the words, "modesty" and "respectability".

I couldn't find an indirect way of typing this out on my blog so I'm just gonna say it:

SHOW ME A MAN WHO IS MAN ENOUGH TO BE SET APART FROM THE CULTURE OF THIS WORLD.[!!!!!!!!]

My friend and I were talking sometime back with the question, "Where are all the MEN???" I'm not at all saying females are perfect, TRUST me, I know very well what my sex has done to tear down the place a man should have in life...

But seriously, where are all the fathers standing up to raise there sons as godly men and not leaving them unloved and hanging around still as boys...or guys at their best? Where are the men that are gonna stand for purity and not fool around before they find the woman they'll marry??
I know we live in a culture filled with broken homes and complicated marriages, but what about God's promise that He will be a Father to the fatherless?

We as women have done nothing to help considering how desperate we've become with our shirts too low and skirts to short...our increase in forward actions over the years. Our overpowering, "I'll do it myself" attitude.

What happened to relationships as they were intended to be? Partnership. Balance.

(Thankfully, our God is a merciful God and we can start anew each day.)

Today, I was just thinkin...I'm not a "dating relationship" kinda girl. I'm no good at it! Not to say that I've ever really dated and I'm very okay with that. It's just I know that, through observation of the past 6 years. when any romance seems to bud, I get weird. Seriously. It's like I'm incapable of being my true self around that person...

It's because I wasn't made for dating relationships! I was made for one marriage and one genuine marriage alone. One that, first of all, won't be happening til years from now! :) But also, one that is full of faithfulness, purity and uplifting truths and actions...service and love. One partnership with one God.

Can we please bring the word "Faithfulness" back into our lives? If you're like me (single), aim that faithfulness to Your Biggest Fan up in heaven...He'll take care of ya :)

Also...women, we need to lift up our men with our modesty and encouragement to grow to be like Christ and to grow ourselves in that same direction. And men, you need to stand up and follow the example of the most Amazing Man that ever was regardless of your circumstances as well as respond to girls with respect and purity.

Wow, I can't believe all this came out! Crazy truth...