Hey Singles - Listen Up!

Soon our Love and Respect Conference season will be in full swing. It’s a season Sarah and I look forward to with great anticipation as it’s our opportunity to share what God has put on our hearts for marriage. It’s also a time when we get to meet many of you, and keep in touch with not only your struggles, but hopefully your triumphs!  

We often get asked if our Love & Respect conferences and materials are appropriate for singles. The answer to that is a resounding yes! The encouraging thing is that the New Testament assumes that singles who are interested in marriage will pay close attention to what is said to those who are married. There is only so much truth revealed in the Scriptures pertaining to relationships, so those truths become the guidelines.

Sarah and I love to see singles of all ages at our conferences, but we know it takes courage for them to come. This email from a single woman who even went one step further and joined a small group really encouraged us!

I had the privilege of attending the Love and Respect seminar and Respectfully Yours study with a group of ladies at my church. Because I am single I felt, at first, awkward and inadequate to be part of the group. But later, during the time in study, I discovered why the Lord had prompted me to join the group and why the message is a “life changing” one. Throughout my life, I have observed more broken and dysfunctional marriages than those which were working and functional. My personal experiences with men had also contributed to my deep discouragement of ever having a functional relationship. It seems to me that one of the goals of my life has been to search and to find the answers to the most painful questions in regard to relationships between male and female. The Love and Respect message helped me to understand some of the most fundamental basics of relationships.

I have learned that God did not create us as brother and sister, father and daughter, husband and wife, but he created us as male and female. Dr. Emerson and his wife Sarah taught and shared the secrets of communication codes between male and female. These codes were revolutionary to me. Looking back into my past dating experiences, I could recognize the moments when I had been disrespectful toward my ex-boyfriends. I also realized that I had been disrespectful toward my father, my brothers and my male friends. At that time I believed that respect must be earned in order for one to be treated with respect. However, the bible teaches that like love, respect is unconditional. I felt sorry when I realized how disrespectful I had behaved toward the men in my life, but at the same time I am thankful that the message of Love and Respect had a strong impact on my life.

I have a long way to go but I am so hopeful for my future. I am determined to implement all that I have learned and to demonstrate God’s design for the relationships between male and female. I have already seen the change in my relationship with my brother. I have respect for him because I am a respectful person and he NEEDS my respect. It works!!!

I would greatly recommend that all singles hear the message of Love and Respect. I believe it is the best investment you can make to educate yourself in how to build God’s designed relationships. Love and Respect is one of the best educational resources I have ever come across. (Irina)

Sarah and I hope to see you at a conference this fall!

~Emerson and Sarah