Jason and Praise

On Wednesday, Jose and I went to the Lee's (Jason and Praise) house! They kindly opened their home to us! Jose and I did not know them both very well but we knew this was our opportunity to do just that. Praise had cooked a three course meal that was so scrumptious! I killed it! haha. During the meal, they were both very intentional with us- asking us how we met, our relationship issues/temptations, setting realistic timelines and specific boundaries, pouring advice into us. It was challenging to be transparent with our weaknesses, but it is great way to better honor and glorify Jesus in the future. They suggested to meet up once a quarter as well as texting often! They also asked what are we thinking we could get of our relationship with them. We mentioned accountability, prayer, and wisdom- in which they joyfully committed to. We also wanted to see how to be in a relationship that guarded one another's hearts yet showed that we cared deeply for one another. It is a difficult balance for us, particularly myself. How do we step into being biblical man and woman roles without acting like husband and wife? What does that look like? They recently were married in February but had dated before for 6 or 7 years. I could see a lot of Jose in Jason and Jason made the same comment about Praise and myself. When I saw how intentional they were, especially Praise, I knew they were my type of people! The only bummer was, they got to know solely us and we did not learn too much about them- but that can be done the next time!

The best advice we took from the table was something called a forgiveness matrix. The first step is to apologize for what you did. The second step is to explain how you offended or hurt the other. The third step is to realize how you are going to change for the next time. The fourth step is to actually forgive. Men tend to jump from the first to the fourth step while women want to understand feelings and emotions. This will definitely help Jose and me during our next disagreement I am sure!

We then went to play two games: pandemic and scattergories. Now both hurt my brain but pandemic more so, and we also had to strategize as a team constantly. I would love to play it again!

I was really blessed, and am thankful God is providing us Jason and Praise. I strongly recommend strong accountability partners, continual wisdom seeking for other couples as well!