Forget Me Not: A Youth Devotional on Love and Dating

By Mike Worley

Extreme Wisdom for Some of Life's Most
Extraordinary Relationships

If you've ever had a crush on someone, or if you've ever gone on a date, you know that the guy-girl relationship is one of the most exciting, complicated, and distracting relationships there are in life. When you've got your eye on someone special, it's easy to lose sight of other things that really matter to you-friends, family, schoolwork, goals and dreams... even God. But God doesn't want to be kept on the outside. He cares about you and your relationships. In this 31-day devotional--complete with stories about teens like you, questions to make you think, key Scriptures, and room to journal--you’ll learn how to make God an important part of your dating experiences and keep him first place in your life, no matter who turns your head or captures your heart.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Shaw Books
• Release date: Jun 11, 2014
• ISBN: 9780307823106

Mike Worley

Police officer, investigations commander, chief of police, university instructor, national consultant. Mike Worley brings a varied background to his development of detective mysteries. On top of that, each of his stories contains elements of real cases, so there is built-in realism even though the stories themselves are fiction.Mike is a veteran of 34 years in law enforcement. His career spanned the ranks from patrol officer to captain in the Boise Idaho Police Department. He served as an investigative commander in both criminal investigations and in internal affairs. He was later selected to serve at chief of police in suburban Meridian, Idaho.Upon his retirement from active law enforcement, Mike continued to serve the law enforcement community for six years as an instructor and course coordinator for the Southern Police Institute, the in-service training arm of the Justice Administration Department of the University of Louisville. He also owned a national consulting practice focusing on issues regarding police policy.He is retired and lives in Louisville, KY with his wife, Nancy. When he's not writing, he is active with University of Louisville athletics, serving as the official scorer for Louisville Volleyball. He was also selected by the NCAA to score the 2010 Division II and 2012 Division I women's volleyball national championship matches. Additionally, he assists with media relations for basketball and football.He has written five novels in the "Angela Masters Detective Novel" series. The titles are "Retribution", "Grand Jeté", "Entitlement", "Ghost", and "Fire Storm." A sixth addition to the series, "Proven," is in development.

Book preview

Preface

from god’s heart to your eyes

Too often we leave God out of our relationships. We may include him in our youth group activities, mission outreaches, and even some of our personal time. But the sad fact is that many of us close the door on God when it comes to our love life. It’s as if we are saying, Leave me alone. I’ll do this my way.

The pages you are about to read were written with you in mind. They were written to help you bring God into your dating relationships. He wants to help you experience his best for your life and he wants to guide you through your romantic relationships.

A romance can be one of the most exciting, fulfilling experiences of your life. It can also be one of the most confusing and heartbreaking of experiences. That’s why you need God to help you navigate through it.

Understand that the Creator of the universe cares about your life and what you do with it. He cares about the decisions you make. He cares about how you handle yourself in the company of other people.

Please take time to apply all that God has to say to you in this book. Everything you read in the pages that follow is from God’s heart to your eyes.

Day 1

first things first

Joshua 1:7-8

Jonathan had gone out with girls on group dates a few times. But it wasn’t until this month that he’d finally had the courage to ask Alicia (a girl he really liked) out on a one-on-one date.

The first date went fine. He hadn’t felt much pressure; after all, it was just a getting-to-know-you time. But now he’d asked Alicia out again, and she’d said yes. It was getting serious. And he was getting nervous.

How should I act? What if I run out of things to talk about? Does she expect me to put my arm around her—or would she resent that? What if I go to kiss her good night and I mess it up? These were the kinds of thoughts swirling around in Jonathan’s head.

A logical and determined kind of guy, Jonathan decided that he had to work very hard at preparing for every meeting with Alicia. He spent practically all his spare time, apart from schoolwork, thinking about how he should act around his new girlfriend.

In fact, Jonathan was so concerned about being successful in dating that he lost his focus on what it meant to be a success in life, especially in his walk with God.

Who Matters Most?

Whether you are involved in a dating relationship or not, it’s very important for you to keep your personal walk with God intact and to always make it a priority. The temptation is for us to give up on God or choose not to include him in our