HOW LONG SHOULD A COURTSHIP LAST?

One of the top questions I receive from singles preparing for marriage is this:

👉🏽 “How long should a courtship last?”

Let’s talk about it—honestly, practically, and spiritually.

FIRST: What is Courtship?

Courtship is not casual dating or emotional experimenting.
It begins when a mature single man, after prayer and divine conviction, proposes marriage to a woman—not for fun or trial—but with the clear intention to marry.

Likewise, the lady must also have her own personal conviction before accepting his proposal. Courtship is not built on pressure, fantasy, or romance alone—it must be rooted in spiritual clarity and maturity.

SEVEN AREAS TO PREPARE BEFORE YOU START COURTSHIP

Before you even say “yes” or “let’s start a relationship,” you must be prepared.

❗️Here are 7 non-negotiable areas of personal readiness:

1. Spiritual Preparation
Give your life to Christ. If Jesus is not at the center of your life, He cannot be the foundation of your marriage. Without Christ, the storm will sweep your home away.

2. Physical Preparation
Marriage is not for teenagers or people still hiding under their parents’ roof. Be ready to leave and cleave—physically and emotionally. You need your own space.

3. Financial Preparation
Don’t enter courtship jobless or financially irresponsible. Learn how to make, manage, and multiply money. Love without money quickly turns sour.

4. Emotional Preparation
Heal from past wounds. Stop carrying baggage into your future. If you’re easily jealous, insecure, moody, or manipulative, work on yourself first.

5. Mental Preparation
Educate your mind for marriage. Read books, attend seminars, and gain godly knowledge about family life. Ignorance will c0st you.

6. Social Preparation
Can you relate well with people? Do you know how to communicate, resolve conflicts, and build community? You will need all of these in marriage.

7. Moral Preparation
Live a life of integrity and $exual purity. Self-control before marriage prepares you for faithfulness within it.

A WARNING TO SINGLES: COURTSHIP IS NOT A SECRET AFFAIR

If your partner says:
“Don’t tell your pastor.”
“Keep this from your parents.”
“Let’s hide our relationship for now…”

That is a red flag. Run.

Healthy courtships are accountable, not hidden. Your pastor or mentor should be aware, and both sets of parents should bless your journey. Secrecy invites danger. Courtship is not a game. It’s a sacred preparation.

SO, HOW LONG SHOULD A COURTSHIP LAST?

Minimum: 6 Months
Maximum: 2 Years
(Exceptions: financial delay, parental objection, or health challenges.)

Here’s why:

Less than 6 months is too short to truly know someone. It’s risky.

More than 2 years can breed temptation, compromise, boredom, or unnecessary emotional strain.

Courtship should not be rushed, but it also should not be dragged endlessly.

What Should Happen During Courtship?

❗️Deep and honest conversations about life, vision, and expectations.

❗️Pre-marital counseling with a trusted mentor or pastor.

❗️Family visits and open discussions about background, values, and boundaries.

❗️Prayer, fasting, and studying God’s Word together.

❗️Agreement on issues like finances, $ex, children, ministry, and more.

Courtship is not a time to cuddle and go on endless dates.

It is a time to discern, discover, discuss, and decide.

Final Thoughts for Singles:

Don’t chase a fast wedding; pursue a solid foundation.

A one-month courtship can c0st you a lifetime of regret.

A 10-year relationship doesn’t guarantee success either. It’s not just about time—it’s about truth, trust, and preparation.

Spend more time praying, learning, and growing—before and during courtship.

Marriage is not for the unprepared.
Courtship is for the mature.

🙏🏽 May God grant you wisdom, clarity, and success in your marital journey

You waste time because your life has no structure. You wake up with no plan, grab your phone, scroll through nonsense, and follow noise like it's direction.

Most of what pulls you in is trash. You don't need to reply everyone. You don't need to be part of everything.

You don't need to move with the crowd. Learn to say no without guilt.

You don't get more hours than anyone else. You're just wasting the ones you have.
And if you don't take control, someone else will.

They'll keep you busy while you stay small.

Life won't wait for you to figure it out. It will move on and leave you behind.

Stop playing!

*READ THIS CAREFULLY AND DECIDE FOR YOURSELF*

Please read it. If you find it meaningful, share it with others too!!

!!! Ultra-Modern Medical Science !!!
Dr. Ananya Sarkar

You had a fever for two or three days. Even without taking any medicine, your body would have recovered on its own in a few days.
But you went to see a doctor. Right at the start, the doctor prescribed numerous tests.
The test reports didn't find any specific cause for the fever, but it was found that your cholesterol and blood sugar were slightly elevated — which is quite common and fluctuates mildly in most people.

The fever went away, but now you're no longer just a fever patient.
The doctor said – “Your cholesterol is high, and your sugar is slightly elevated, meaning you are pre-diabetic.”
From now on, you’ll need to take medicines to control your cholesterol and blood sugar.
Along with this, several dietary restrictions were imposed.
You may not have followed the diet strictly, but you didn’t forget to take the medications.

Three months passed this way.
Further tests were done.
Cholesterol had slightly reduced, but now your blood pressure was found to be slightly high.
To control this, another medicine was added.
Now your medication count reached 3.

Hearing all this, your anxiety started increasing.
“What will happen next?” – This anxiety started affecting your sleep.
The doctor prescribed sleeping pills.
Now your medication count reached 4.

Due to all these medications, you started having acidity and heartburn.
The doctor said – take gas tablets on an empty stomach before meals.
Now your medication count is 5.

Six months passed like this.
One day, you had chest pain, and you rushed to the emergency room.
After thorough checking, the doctor said – “You came at the right time, or else a major problem could have occurred.”
Some specialized tests were then prescribed.

After going through many expensive tests, the doctor said –
“Continue the old medications, and now we’ll add two heart medicines. Also, you’ll need to consult an endocrinologist (a hormone specialist).”
Now your medication count is 7.

Following the advice of the cardiologist, you visited the endocrinologist.
He added another medicine for sugar and one for a mildly enlarged thyroid.

Now your total medications are 9.

You started believing you were a seriously ill person —
Heart patient, diabetic, insomniac, acidity patient, thyroid patient, kidney patient, etc.

No one told you that you could maintain your health by improving your willpower, self-confidence, and lifestyle.
Instead, you were repeatedly told you are a “serious patient”, weak, incapable, and a broken person!

After another six months, due to the side effects of these medications, you started experiencing urinary issues.
A routine test showed that something was wrong with your kidneys.
Then more tests were done.
After reviewing the report, the doctor said – “Your creatinine level is slightly elevated, but if you continue the medications regularly, there’s no need to worry.”
And added two more medications.

Now your medication count is 11.

You are now taking more medicines than food, and due to their many side effects, you are slowly moving toward death!!

Regarding the original fever for which you had gone to the doctor –
If the doctor had said instead:

“Don’t worry. It’s a minor fever. No need for medication. Just take rest for a few days, drink plenty of water, eat fresh fruits and vegetables, go for a morning walk – that’s all. No medicine needed.”

Then how would the doctor and the pharmaceutical companies make a profit?

The BIG question:
On what basis do doctors declare patients to be suffering from high cholesterol, high BP, diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, etc.?
Who decides these standards?

Let’s understand a bit more in detail —

★ In 1979, the threshold for blood sugar was 200 mg/dl.
Back then, only 3.5% of the world population was diagnosed with Type-2 diabetes.

★ In 1997, under pressure from insulin manufacturing companies, the threshold was reduced to 126 mg/dl.
This increased the number of diabetics from 3.5% to 8% — meaning an additional 4.5% of people were labeled diabetic without symptoms!
In 1999, the WHO approved this new standard.

Insulin companies made huge profits and opened new factories.

★ In 2003, the ADA (American Diabetes Association) declared 100 mg/dl fasting blood sugar as the benchmark for diabetes.
Due to this, 27% more people were unnecessarily labeled as diabetic.

★ Currently, as per the ADA, 140 mg/dl after a meal is considered diabetic.
As a result, nearly 50% of the global population is now considered diabetic — many of whom are not actually sick.

Indian pharmaceutical companies are trying to lower this even more — to 5.5% HbA1c, so more people are diagnosed and medicines sold.

Many experts believe that up to 11% HbA1c should not be considered diabetic.

Another example:
In 2012, a famous pharmaceutical company was fined $3 billion by the US Supreme Court.
From 2007 to 2012, their diabetes drug was accused of increasing heart attack deaths by 43%.

The company was aware of this in advance, but deliberately suppressed the information for profit.
During that same period, the company made $300 billion in profit.

This is the ‘Ultra-Modern Medical System’ of today!!

Think... and start thinking deeply..

Walking control, people, body style souls

Amid the deepening crisis surrounding control of local governments in Osun State, Governor Ademola Adeleke reportedly broke down in tears during a cabinet meeting held last weekend.

A few of the greatest lessons I have learned in life:

EVERYONE has an opinion.  NONE of them are right.

Being able to listen to all and believe NONE is a skill.  Truth works on its own time.  Otherwise, everyone would know it—which simply isn’t the case.

You have two ears and one mouth, therefore, listen twice as much as you talk.  You will grow wiser, faster.

The foolish young are idealistic know-it-alls whilst the wise elders are simply more practical.

Don't kid yourself.  But don't lose your inner child either.

Imagination is the creation-station relation.

The music you listen to is the soundtrack of your life.

Love is in the little things.

Fear is a projection of what is not KNOWN.

The heart reigns supreme when it is no longer foolish.

One who thinks themselves wise has a long way yet to go.  The road to wisdom has no end in sight.

What was noble yesterday has become nefarious today.  Nobility has a short life which requires continual renewal.

Where one fears to tread, someone has already traveled.  There is an example for every impossibility.

Bravery is earned through courageous choices. 

Freedom is an attitude.

Abuse is “inverted tolerance” of what you put up with in yourself.

Defeat is always optional.

"Why" is what you ask yourself.  "Who, what, when, where and how" is what you ask others.

Time is merely motion.  You don’t live BY it, you MAKE it.

A sharp tongue is equal only to a dull wit.

Unpleasant people are only required until you develop intolerance.

The law of thirds states that 1/3 of people (anything) are good, 1/3 are neutral and 1/3 are evil.  Who can say "I am all three at once!"?

Beauty is only eye deep.

Love is a series of the smallest actions, the tiniest notices and the realest moves.

I have many more hours in a day than most.  To rise early is an investment in your SELF.  It always pays over-time.

Freedom didn’t come until I lost control (the external world).  Then I found the power I was looking for (the internal world).
 
The sum of your human experience is where all elements meet.  The ground and the air.  The shore of water and earth.  The sunlight and your skin.  The mind and your heart.

The heart is the muscle of the mind.

Soul is something you develop over time.  It has no truer or greater expression than what makes YOU - unique to all else.

I do not OWN myself; I AM MY SELF.

To live YOUR purpose is to live ON PURPOSE.....

ou waste time because your life has no structure. You wake up with no plan, grab your phone, scroll through nonsense, and follow noise like it's direction.

Most of what pulls you in is trash. You don't need to reply everyone. You don't need to be part of everything.

You don't need to move with the crowd. Learn to say no without guilt.

You don't get more hours than anyone else. You're just wasting the ones you have.
And if you don't take control, someone else will.

They'll keep you busy while you stay small.

Life won't wait for you to figure it out. It will move on and leave you behind.

Stop playing!

Words hurts so guard your tongue,you tongue should not control you

HEALTH TALK FOR TODAY - (Please Read &Share)
POLYCYSTIC OVARY SYNDROME (PCOS):

What is PCOS?

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal disorder common among women of reproductive age. It's characterized by irregular menstrual periods, excess androgen levels, and polycystic ovaries.

Symptoms:

1. Irregular periods or amenorrhea (no periods)
2. Weight gain and obesity
3. Acne and skin issues
4. Excess hair growth on face, chest, and back
5. Male pattern baldness
6. Fertility issues

Causes and Risk Factors:

1. Hormonal imbalance
2. Genetics
3. Insulin resistance

Management and Treatment:

1. Hormonal birth control to regulate periods
2. Anti-androgen medications for acne and hair growth
3. Fertility medications for women trying to conceive
4. Lifestyle changes: healthy diet, regular exercise, weight management

Importance of Early Diagnosis:

Early diagnosis and treatment can help manage symptoms, improve quality of life, and reduce risk of long-term complications like diabetes and heart disease.

Here are some additional points about PCOS:

Complications:

1. Infertility: PCOS is a leading cause of infertility in women.
2. Metabolic Syndrome: Increased risk of developing diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.
3. Mental Health: Women with PCOS are at higher risk of depression, anxiety, and eating disorders.

Lifestyle Changes:

1. Diet: Focus on whole, unprocessed foods, and avoid sugary and high-carbohydrate foods.
2. Exercise: Regular physical activity can help manage weight, improve insulin sensitivity, and reduce symptoms.
3. Stress Management: Yoga, meditation, and deep breathing can help reduce stress and anxiety.

Support:

1. Support Groups: Joining a support group can connect you with others who understand what you're going through.
2. Online Resources: There are many online resources and forums dedicated to PCOS, where you can find information, support, and community.

Remember to:

1. Get Regular Check-Ups: Regular health check-ups can help monitor your symptoms and adjust treatment plans as needed.
2. Stay Informed: Educate yourself about PCOS, its symptoms, and treatment options.

If you're experiencing symptoms or have concerns about PCOS, don't hesitate to reach out to a healthcare provider. Let's break the stigma surrounding PCOS and prioritize our health!

They play.

"If the problem of security were easy to solve, it would have been solved. And if it could have been solved by military means alone, it would have been solved. My position is very clear: he (Buhari) inherited an awful situation. Seventeen LGAs in the northeast of Nigeria were controlled by Boko Haram, with Islamic flags hoisted in these areas. By the time he left, no part of Nigeria was under the control of Boko Haram." — Ibrahim Gambari

20 days of Building a Network That Works For You

Day 2: The Power of First Impressions
First impressions matter

You might never get a second chance to change the first impression you create.

First impressions aren’t just about what you say. They start the moment you walk into a room:

How you dress
Your scent
The way you walk
Your gestures
Your eye contact

All these are judged before you even speak.
These small details can be the reason you’re remembered, or forgotten.

This is what I’ve learned:
You don’t need the most expensive clothes, but be intentional about how you dress.
Perfumes are not a luxury; they are a necessity. Your rubbing oil is not your perfume.
Walk with confidence. Head high, shoulders back. Let your presence communicate energy and purpose.

In a world where people are distracted and quick to judge, being intentional about the first impression you create is a career advantage.

Your first impression is your silent pitch in every room you enter.

Be intentional about the first impression you give to people. The good news is that you have control over the kind of impression you create.