Dating & Relationship Advice

Rather than feel lonely at Christmas, remember that the festive period has a lot of dating potential. Maybe you’ll find that ‘love actually IS all around’! It’s the perfect time to get out and meet people (especially if you’re intent on getting a kiss for midnight on New Year’s Eve). With all the build up to the season, there’s a plethora of special Christmas date ideas to keep you entertained.

The words of Shakespeare “The course of true love never did run smooth” still ring true for many who are looking for love, and can feel especially meaningful if you’re wondering ‘Can I find lasting love online?’. Most of us would be happy to accept a few bumps along the way, if we knew the road led to a happy ending! With online dating now one of the most popular ways to meet a partner, it’s fair to ask whether first connecting online is a route to finding lasting love. Here are just some of the reasons we at Christian Connection believe it is, and what we’ve learned about how to make the most of the opportunities online dating offers.

Picture this: you meet someone, and you really like them. You get talking and your feelings for them continue to grow. But as your relationship develops you find that they don’t seem to be as committed to you as you are to them. You’re still talking regularly but you’re not sure if they like you as much as you like them, and although they claim to be interested, they don’t seem to be showing it by their actions. You might be facing a one-sided relationship.

There is often a seasonal flavour to dating. Summer dates bring with them a delicious sense of freedom from being outdoors, winter dates give the cosy sensation of being inside on a cold day or embracing the chill. But how about times of year with variable temperatures and hours of daylight? Here are five ideas for dates you can try during the ‘in-between’ seasons, including some great Autumn date ideas.

After the first meet ups with someone new have gone well you might start thinking about introducing your date to friends – or even start double or group dating. It can be rather daunting for everyone involved! You both want to make a good impression on your friends and get the valued ‘seal of approval’ all round. I gave my now-husband a baptism of fire after we got together – the cast of the musical tour I was performing in desperately wanted to meet him and surrounded him at stage door very early on in our relationship. For my introverted husband this was completely out of his comfort zone, but he knew how much it meant to me. He totally embraced the occasion and came through with flying colours! Meeting the people who matter to you won’t always be so intense – thankfully! – but how can you make introducing your partner to friends or going on double dates as fun and relaxing as possible?

If love knocked on your door, would you fling the door open and welcome it in with open arms, would you peer at it suspiciously through the letterbox, or somewhere in between? I ask because I know from experience that looking for love and being ready for love are two different things. We may be dating online, sending messages and meeting for coffee, but we may be doing so with walls of steel around our heart. So how do you unlock your heart and prepare for love?

It might sound negative to talk about dating after divorce – or even divorce – on a Christian dating site but the reality is that many of us know the pain of divorce yet truly desire a marriage which is ‘till death us do part’. I’ve travelled this road. Married in my mid-twenties, I found myself alone in my forties when my husband left me for someone else he had become involved with. I then spent several years as a single person before meeting and marrying a lovely man who had been through his own difficult divorce before we met. Here’s what I found helpful to consider about dating after divorce along the way:

Making decisions in a relationship can lead to arguments – but it doesn’t have to be that way! In the early stages of getting to know someone, some decisions could be as simple as what to do on a date or which restaurant to eat at. Then, as the relationship progresses, you’re likely to have to decide on bigger issues such as when to take the relationship to the next level, meeting each other’s family and friends and even whether or when to get married. Whatever place you’re at in your connection with someone, here are three principles to abide by when making decisions.