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This was a wonderful experience for me and I really learned a lot - and had a ton of fun! Please take a moment to let me know what you thought of the class and what ideas you have for future classes.

Fill out the brief survey here.

Presentation Six - To Commit or Not to Commit

The final presentation is now posted in note form.

Hope it helps! It's been a wonderful class - I do appreciate all of you who came and participated in the discussion. I'll be posting a survey soon for feedback; you're also welcome to post any comments here.

Online Dating Tips

This NY Times article profiles OKCupid, a smaller but different and interesting dating website that pools data together to give online dating users valuable tips & suggestions. A NYT blog has compiled 3 crucial steps here.

Of course, I hope you use some of the suggestions in class as well. :)

Happy Dating!

The Lonely American

UTNE has an article entitled The Lonely American, which has several insights, both obvious (much higher single-person household today - 25% - than in 1940 - 7%) and not so obvious (ecological damage and mental illness), about the isolated state of many Americans and its widespread ramifications for society as a whole.

A World Grown Dull

This is a quote from the book Epic (pgs 45-47) by John Eldredge... thought it was quite profound and relevant to our class discussion.

We have grown dull toward his world in which we live; we have forgotten that it is not normal or scientific in any sense of the word. It is fantastic. It is fairy tail through and through. Really now. Elephants? Caterpillars? Snow? At what point did you lose your wonder at all?

What in nature has taken your breath away this past year?

Creation unfolds like a great work of art, a masterpiece in the making...

Let's bring this a little closer to home. Whose idea was it to create the human form in such a way that a kiss could be so delicious? And he didn't stop there, as only lovers know.

God creates us in his image, with powers like unto his own- the ability to reason, to create, to share intimacy, to know joy. He gives us laughter and wonder and imagination...

THE GREATEST DIGNITY OF ALL

He enables us to love.

He gives us the greatest treasure in all creation: a heart.

Nooma Video - Flame

Rob Bell, who's speaking this Monday night (2/15) in San Francisco at the Regency Ballroom (tickets $18), has a video series, NOOMA. We premiered one of those films, Flame, this past Fun Friday, and it ties directly into our class.

Check it out, complete with Spanish subtitles: ;)

Presentation Five - Boundaries

Tonight we spoke about boundaries. Get the notes here.

Also, for more about internet dating sites, their personality tests and matchmaking ability, I found this recent NY Times article, categorizing various dating sites aiming to be the next "Netflix of love", to be quite interesting. It gives an overview of what's out there right now in terms of matchmaking services. I don't endorse any particular site, but let us know which ones you'd recommend and why!

Internet Dating on the Rise During Recession

I found this article rather interesting, as it traces the rise in internet dating services, especially during the recession. Although the data is a year old now, it seems when people can't afford to go out and be social, they stay in and network through their computers.

We v. I

Click here for an article about how couples who say "we" more than "I" have greater levels of happiness... While I agree it's important to recognize "it takes two," it's also good to have a healthy sense of personhood apart from your S.O. (significant other) yet still in relation with him/her.

Thanks Satch!

The Art of Kissing

One thing we haven't touched upon in class yet is kissing. While you won't get a how-to here (once again, communication is key - tell your partner what you like!), I found this news article on kissing quite interesting, featuring Dr. Helen Fisher, author of last year's book "Why Him? Why Her?" and founder of Chemistry.com. While a lot of her thinking boils down to science & study, she's got some good practical points of what kissing involves.

Check this site out for more on Helen Fisher in the news, including a video of her on the Colbert Report.

Presentation Four - Sex & Sexuality

Yes, I waited until the topic of sex came around before I tagged out... but it wasn't because I didn't want to talk about it - I knew someone who would lead us through a talk not just on sex but our sexuality, and how our bodies are made in God's image and our sexuality is linked to creativity and some of our deepest desires.

Erin has graciously shared her notes with me - read them here. You'll notice this talk is not just about sex but about sexuality. To help flesh out (pun intended) why a focus on sexuality rather than sex would be helpful, I found this passage from the book How to Get a Date Worth Keeping most revealing of our society today.

I also have some notes of my own about sex - read them here. Most of my notes come from Scott Scrugg's Talks on Dating at Sanctuary, the Young Adult gathering at Menlo Park Pres.