Friends Or Lovers?

Valentine's day is around the corner. Everyone is excited about it especially those who are in love. In line with that, I wanna share some thoughts from the book I've read a few months ago (I'll post a review of that book soon on my other blog site).

In the meantime, here are some interesting thoughts there which i totally agree of:

A woman may have a platonic friendship with a man-and that's all it is. Yes women see circumstances differently from men. Women see things a man does not see. Just because you are great friends with a guy does not mean he's planning to marry you. He may be really nice to you, he may say wonderful things about you, he may even tell you that you would be a wonderful wife-all without ever intending to marry you. Friendship with men can confuse women. However, you should still be a friend first. Your relationship should start out as friendship and progress to courtship and then to matrimony. But how can you avoid the situation where the friend you hoped to marry calls you one day and tells you about this wonderful woman he met? He just wanted to call you, his friend, to tell you about his happiness.

Learn to listen. Are you foreseeing and imagining a future with someone who hasn't discussed having a future with you? Listen to what the man says. In some cases, men lie and deceive you, but in most cases, women deceive themselves. Men tend to commit to their words. Just because a man is nice to you, friendly, caring, and helpful, don't assume he loves you in a way that will eventually lead to marriage. Protect your heart by really listening to what he says.

From the book 

What Women Don't Know (and Men Dont Tell You)

Copyright © 2012 by Mari Ann Rose "Mariah" F. Gadapan . All rights reserved worldwide.

I put "copyright" on my every post because this is my blog site, it's like my signature on my every post.

By the grace of God I am what I am.

Walking Her Home

This is a great song...one of my favorite christian love songs. My favorite line on this song's lyrics is this, "He wandered through the best days of her life. 60 years together and he never left her side." I wish every man is like that.

video courtesy of youtube.com

Copyright © 2012 by Mari Ann Rose "Mariah" F. Gadapan . All rights reserved worldwide.

I put "copyright" on my every post because this is my blog site, it's like my signature on my every post.

By the grace of God I am what I am.

Wedding Vows That Can Touch Your Heart

I've been wanting to post this video mid 2011 but since I also wanted to post here the vows  in words, i waited for an available time for me to transcribe them. Now that i already transcribed them (i hope i did a good job in transcribing them accurately), here's the video of the wedding vows I've been wanting to share on this blog site. 

These vows are really touching and inspiring. I also posted my review of these wedding vows at the bottom of this post.

GROOM

When I say I love you,

I’m not just making you my wife,

I’m making you my best friend,

My last dance, my only hope, my forever lover.

When I say I love you,

I’m not just expressing a feeling,

I’m solidifying a commitment

And i know it'll take my whole life to show it to you

When I say I love you,

I’m not claiming to have all the answers,

I hope that when we are together

We can ask all the right questions.

When I say I love you,

I’m not just repeating “'til death do us part,"

I’m saying i'll be here for you forever

In this life and the life to come.

When I say I love you,

I’m not just voicing mere words

I’m telling you that I’ve been surprised, challenged, shocked, humbled—

realizing that soul mates really do exist.

When I say I love you,

I’m not just giving you human love

I'm attempting to pour out God’s unconditional, sacrificial love

Dying to self, in hopes that I can better honor and serve you.

Alicia, i don't know how to imagine it myself

an undeserved blessing, a gift from God

To most in the world, my life is closed

but to you I open my heart

I don’t know what the future holds,

but I know that I don’t have one without you.

Just know that when I say I love you, I love you.

BRIDE

When I say I love you,

I’m not just making you my husband,

I’m making you my stronghold,

The family leader, my heart’s protector, and my goodnight kiss

When I say I love you,

I’m not just standing before family and friends,

I’m kneeling before Christ our Savior

And praying that His grace will knit our lives together

When I say I love you,

I’m not just adding your last name,

I’m subtracting our loneliness, dividing our sorrows

And multiplying our joys so that two can become one

When I say I love you,

I’m not just asking you to make me whole,

I’m asking you to stay focused on God

And together with the strength and love

We will be made holy

When I say I love you,

I’m not expecting happily ever after,

I’m just preparing

But to the mountains and the valleys,

Swim through the joys and sorrows

Battle the good times and the bad

So together we can make a life.

When I say I love you,

I don’t want big houses or fancy cars

I just wanna live in your arms and touch your heart

So we can dream bigger dreams than we could do separately

Jason, you are the man of my dreams—

a real-life knight in shining armor.

And i never had such peace when i'm with you

I never felt closer to God than I’m with you.

I know i'm not perfect, but I believe that we fit perfectly together.

Just know that when I say I love you, I love you.

Just a review from me (the blogger): The vows are really touching and they are very inspiring especially from the statement of the groom that says:

When I say I love you,
I’m not just making you my wife,
I’m making you my best friend,
My last dance...my forever lover.

Every word would make you fall in love and would make you cry. It's like a fairy tale in a real world.

I just wanna review some of the statements like:

"I don’t know what the future holds,

but I know that I don’t have one without you."

We know that God holds the future even if someone is not with us, but i can understand that in a "lover's perspective". The groom and the bride in this video are godly so i believe they know that God holds their future.

I want to review this statement as well:

"I’m making you my stronghold,

The family leader, my heart’s protector..."

God is our stronghold, he should be the family leader and our heart's protector. 

Ephesians 5:22 says, "Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord." God is the head of the husband, the husband is the head of the wife, so God is the family leader. On the other hand, i also agree that the husband should be the leader of the family because God has given him authority to lead the family.

As the heart's protector, i believe in some point that a husband can protect the wife's heart but not all the time, so, God is still the ultimate protector of our hearts.

But, overall, these wedding vows are really inspiring and very touching.To all the married ones, may this video inspire you more to love your spouse and remember your vows and fulfill them. If you are single and soon to be married, may you find inspiration from these vows and may your heart be touched. 

I would like to thank Jason Illian for giving me permission to post the video here. To Jason and Alicia Illian, may you continue to be blessed in your marriage life and continue to make Christ as the center of your relationship.

Copyright © 2012 by Mari Ann Rose "Mariah" F. Gadapan . All rights reserved worldwide.

I put "copyright" on my every post because this is my blog site, it's like my signature on my every post. 

 By the grace of God I am what I am.

This Is Very Sad

                                                   

 Proverbs 25:24 The Message (MSG)

Better to live alone in a tumbledown shack
   than share a mansion with a nagging spouse.

Copyright © 2011 by Mari Ann Rose "Mariah" F. Gadapan . All rights reserved worldwide.

I put "copyright" on my every post because this is my blog site, it's like my signature on my every post. 

 By the grace of God I am what I am.

 

 

Learn and Speak Your Love Language

Being single or married 

has nothing to do with whether you need to feel loved! 

Everyone has a God-given yearning 

for complete and unconditional love in the context of all relationships. 

If you want to give and receive love most effectively,

you've got to learn to speak the right love language. 

Different people with different personalities express love in different ways.

In fact, there are five very specific languages of love:

Words of Affirmation, Gifts, Acts of Service, Quality Time, Physical Touch.

-Gary Chapman 

from his book,

The Five Love Languages

(Singles Edition)

read also my review of this book here.

Copyright © 2011 by Mari Ann Rose "Mariah" F. Gadapan . All rights reserved worldwide.

I put "copyright" on my every post because this is my blog site, it's like my signature on my every post. 

 By the grace of God I am what I am.

Something Much Better

For singles...

Sometimes,

God allows a romantic relationship 

to end 

to give you something much,

much better.

-Jason Illian

Copyright © 2011 by Mari Ann Rose "Mariah" F. Gadapan . All rights reserved worldwide.

I put "copyright" on my every post because this is my blog site, it's like my signature on my every post. 

 By the grace of God I am what I am.

When You Marry Someone...

photo courtesy of this site

When you marry someone...

You marry everything about him/ her.

Copyright © 2011 by Mari Ann Rose "Mariah" F. Gadapan . All rights reserved worldwide.

I put "copyright" on my every post because this is my blog site, it's like my signature on my every post.

By the grace of God I am what I am.

A Journey Of A Long Distance Relationship

courtesy of ArlethG Photography (used with permission)

  

Marriage is a journey...you can't just desire for it today and date on that day and marry the next day. 

And for me, you can't put God in a box where to meet the person you'll marry. God has so many ways in doing it in answers to our prayers.

A journey of a long distance relationship...this is basically an interview and a photoblog about LJ and John's journey with their wedding that started as a long distance relationship.

  
LJ Salceda-Shroeder is a former 702 DZAS host of Inspirations Unlimited and Pinoy Espesyal but still the host of Love On Air and the author of Eating With One Chopstick. 


This interview was supposed to be a video interview when she was still here but for some reason, i wasn't able to produce a video interview.

Anyway, their story is really a wedding dream that came to reality. I said this because they underwent a lot of paperwork (which is not easy to accomplish), interviews and different situations before they finally married. After reading this, you might want to read LJ's blogs (the link to her blog site is posted on the latter part of this article.)

Here's the interview:

WeddingDreamsAndReality :

 

How do u feel now that your single days are numbered?

LJ Salceda-Shroeder:

Mostly stressed out because of the paperwork and wedding preparations. It went by fast because I was always occupied with something, before I knew it, I was married! :)

courtesy of ArlethG Photography

courtesy of ArlethG photography

courtesy of LJ

courtesy of ArlethG photography

WeddingDreamsAndReality :

For those who don't know, how did u meet John?

LJ Salceda-Shroeder:

 

We met through a Christian dating site for free.

courtesy of LJ Salceda-Shroeder by Wingdingz

WeddingDreamsAndReality :

How long have u been on before u got engaged?

LJ Salceda-Shroeder:

About a year and 4 months.

courtesy of LJ's facebook photos

courtesy of LJ (Bohol, Philippines)

courtesy of LJ

courtesy of LJ

courtesy of LJ

WeddingDreamsAndReality : 

What are the disadvantages and advantages of having a long distance relationship and how did u overcome those disadvantages?

LJ Salceda-Shroeder:

Advantages: Focus on work/ministry and avoiding temptations, more time for yourself.

more time for herself

focus on work (with her DZAS family)

focus on the ministry

Disadvantages: Not being able to see each other in person, expenses, not being able to spend important occasions together.

alone during christmas day

WeddingDreamsAndReality :

How did u know that John is the one you want to marry? Was there a "sign" that he is the one :) ?

courtesy of ArlethG photography

courtesy of ArlethG photography

courtesy of ArlethG photography

LJ Salceda-Shroeder:

I don't believe in signs nor asked for them. I prayed, I asked the Lord for guidance and confirmations and I had peace in my heart that's when I knew we were meant for each other.

WeddingDreamsAndReality :  

What tips can you give to those who are on LDR (Long Distance Relationships) to make their relationships successful?

LJ Salceda-Shroeder:

Pray, invest in your relationship and save tons of money for visits, paperwork and wedding. :)

her visit to the U.S.

John's visit in the Philippines

WeddingDreamsAndReality :

Congrats to the both of you and may your marriage be successful and fruitful!

courtesy of ArlethG photography

courtesy of ArlethG photography

courtesy of ArlethG photography

A journey of a long distance relationship...it wasn't easy for the both of them but in their patience, a lot of prayers, trust in God, encouragements from their family and friends, willingness to do the paperwork without going through shortcuts, the love for each other, the vision to reach their goals and the desire to glorify God...wow...it's really inspiring! LJ and John, may your marriage continue to glorify God.



God deserves all the glory!



Acknowledgement: thanks to Arleth for allowing me to use her photoshots here and giving her immediate permission when i sent her a message about it and to my friend Mrs.LJ Salceda-Shroeder for giving her time to answer all my questions and for allowing me to feature her and John here. Thanks also for her facebook account for the photos:)


You can visit LJ's blogs here.

Copyright © 2011 by Mari Ann Rose "Mariah" F. Gadapan . All rights reserved worldwide.

I put "copyright" on my every post because this is my blog site, it's like my signature on my every post.

By the grace of God I am what I am.

A Wife

photo courtesy of this  site

When i was riding in a taxi going to work the past few days, i started composing these words in my heart and when i got home the other day from work, i started to write these down on my notebook and here's my composition. Men, i hope you would treat your wife like this:

A wife is someone to love not to hate

She is a help-meet not your helper

She should be your supporter 

not your competitor, nor your destroyer.

A wife should always be remembered, not forgotten.

Live with her not leave her

Take care of her and don't say "I don't care."

A wife doesn't need a shout and doesn't need to be in doubt

She needs your whisper, your sweet talk and a good talk as you walk

Give her your comfort not just your financial support.

A wife needs your listening ears

She always wants your words saying, "I'll be here, remove your fears."

A wife should be treasured

God gave her, so cherish her...

Love her as Christ loves her

She is yours and should not belong to any other man

Keep her as the apple of your eye, man!

A wife should be your one and only

No number two, no number three,

no number four nor number forty four

Make her your first and last, not your past

Till death do you part...this should be in your heart!

Copyright © 2011 by Mari Ann Rose "Mariah" F. Gadapan . All rights reserved worldwide.

I put "copyright" on my every post because this is my blog site, it's like my signature on my every post. 
 

Most of the thoughts i post here are my own writings...

these are the things I've learned as i spend time reading God's word during my devotional time and sometimes, words are just dropped in my heart.

And if in case you would like to post my own writings/poems/devotional thoughts/insights to your own blogs or use them in any way, please ask permission from me first or at least give credit that it came from me. 

Thank you so much:))