It’s not easy to come up with romantic ideas for Valentine’s Day every year. Sometimes a good idea just costs too much. Or sometimes the only idea you come up with is just too ordinary, and though it took you a long time think of and will cost money, you know that she will think you took the easy route. And you know that if she thinks that, then she will think you don’t care that much about her.

Romance is in the air.

It’s always in the air around Valentine’s Day. For many of us, we walk with a lighter step as we think back over the years we have spent with our wife or husband and how far we have come and all the wonderful experiences we have had. We think forward to the night with a little bit of excitement. We have already planned something special. We hope the delivery man comes on time and that the best cook is on duty at the new hip restaurant down the street, where we have reservations for 7PM sharp. Then our minds flash forward to what her face is going to look like when she sees our gift and we can’t help but smile a little more.

Checking my personal email has become a daily ritual for me, just like brushing my teeth. First thing in the morning, last thing at night. But it is a lot more fun. Email messages are like electronic presents.

As a boy, I loved going down to the mailbox to pick up the mail. I went with a certain amount of anticipation, hoping that that great big black box held something for me. On rare occasions it did; the latest issue of Nintendo Power or an action figure that I had saved up enough Kool-Aid points to buy. Over the years, I have developed the same kind of excitement for opening my inbox.

If I say the word cheerleader, you probably have an instant reaction. Maybe it is good, maybe it is bad. But that word, cheerleader, seems to bring forth a response in everyone. For me, it has always had a negative connotation.
In part, it was because I never really considered cheerleading a sport. As a boy, I loved competition. I loved it in sports, in the nature of action figures, in attempting to achieve the highest grades. I loved beating people at things, at fighting and triumphing. With cheerleading, there …

I’ve made lots of mistakes when it comes to romance. Romance is, after all, based on feelings and feelings are nefarious things; they come and go at whim it seems (often with just a night’s sleep). I have too often focused on the feelings, rather than on what the sensible side of me was telling me to do.
What is so wrong with that?
Romantic feelings are not always based on truth. Especially at the beginning of a relationship. In the beginning, I always try to put my best foot …

By Avishai Fuksman
Conversation starters can literally save your life on a first date.
Why?
Well, as you know, going on a first date can be very scary and intimidating. Our minds are overcome with fear and insecurities and we cave in to those emotions.
We’re scared of being rejected, we’re afraid of failure, we’re nervous about saying the wrong thing at the wrong time and we’re anxious about what our date will think of us.
All these anxieties are totally human and completely understandable – but they produce devastating results: they paralyze us and …

Waiting. Just the mention of the word conjures up feelings of frustration.
Picture this: It’s Saturday and the kids have tired you out with a soccer game in the morning and in the afternoon shopping for supplies for a school project. But it’s evening now and they are off at a friend’s for the night and it’s just you and your wife. You pull the car up to your favorite restaurant and step out of the car. You stretch, for it has been a long day, and take a deep …

Valentine’s Day is a heavily marketed holiday, but I’m still all for a holiday that gives me an excuse to go overboard on the one I love. But I do understand how after years and years, Valentine’s can become stale. “We went to the movies last year and saw that romantic movie she wanted to see. The year before that we went to the best restaurant in town. What this year?”

One of my favorite movies of all time, for a lot of reasons, is The Last of the Mohicans. One aspect I like is the struggle to survive on the harsh frontier during the French and Indian War and the three love stories that are interlaced throughout this struggle.
My favorite part is the line that Hawkeye (Daniel Day Lewis) says to Cora (Madeleine Stowe) right before she is captured by the enemy. Hawkeye says, “You stay alive, no matter what occurs! I will find you. No matter how long …

Here is the truth. There is no concrete way to prove that there is only one person out there for you. Ask a million people and get a million different answers. But they are all just opinions. It is like believing in God. You make a choice to believe despite the lack of definitive evidence one way or the other.
That said, here is why I believe there is just one person out there for each of us and it begins with purpose.
God is intentional. You can look at every single …