The Dating Manifesto: A Drama-Free Plan for Pursuing Marriage with Purpose

As a Christian single woman with a heart YEARNING to be married, I was excited to read this book because I thought maybe it will shed some light on how I can prepare myself to be husband worthy or if the author was able to give me some advice on how to achieve marriage. Some of the questions I wanted answered was, what should I look for in a husband? How can I be content while I am waiting? Are my expectations out of line/too high and thus why I'm not finding suitors?I read 1/3 of this book and it basically did not answer any of my questions. Instead, I found the author lecturing me on how I should want marriage, how I shouldn't get friend zoned, how I shouldn't date losers, and that Mr. Perfect doesn't exist. Is this suppose to be news to me or some new revelation? Lisa, if I didn't agree with all of those things, I wouldn't be reading your book! The more I read this book, the more it just seemed like the author wanted to write this book just to vent out her frustrations because she herself is single and wants to be married. The author likes to talk about her past unsuccessful dating experiences but does not tie up these anecdotes with what she learned from those dating experiences nor does she explain in a spiritual manner what wisdom she has gained. I suspect this is because Lisa probably does not know the answer to these questions herself because she's single and unhappy. Her writing reeks of discontentment and attitude (other reviewers called this quirkiness?). I did not buy this book to read the author's sob story and basically to have her tell me generic things about marriage/dating that I already know. Most of the advice Lisa gives is common-sense and really secular. You can find this advice on any dating blog.In addition, I was surprised at the style of this mid-aged woman's writing. She uses a lot of lingo (e.g. "Uberhot", "dude", "lame-o", etc), and run on phrases and writes like she's talking to teenage girls. Maybe this book is more catered to the college ministry crowd, especially females. If you're male, I would suggest you skip this book altogether; too much feeling and not enough actionable content. 1/3 into the book and I do not see any sort of "plan" forming.Overall, this book is so ironic. I do not find any comfort in receiving non-dating "advice" from a seemingly disgruntled older woman who is still single herself and still talks like she's 19. I wonder if she follows her own advice about being "mature" and "marriageable". The way she complains about the "projects" she's dated in this book such as "Count Chocola guy" doesn't make her seem so mature herself.Update: I originally left this review after only reading 1/3 of the book and was dinged in the comments for not finishing it first before I had reviewed it. So after a little while, I went ahead and I finished this book. I am still not amazed. I was hoping for some crazy above and beyond godly wisdom but all this book gives is secular common sense tips about dating. Most of this stuff you can probably already figure out by the time you hit your mid 20s. This book can be pretty summed up into: you should want marriage (I think any Christian who picks up this book would agree so preaching to the choir here), don't waste time friend-zoning yourself, don't date scrubs/have standards, don't be a scrub yourself (read, don't be living with your mom), attend church, be willing to be set up, go out and do stuff and meet people, try online dating if you have to, being single sucks, being single REALLY sucks, pray, but God is sovereign so you gotta deal with it and accept his plan! Wow sister, I already knew all this, you're preaching to the choir! Again, maybe Lisa was writing to college students who aren't experienced with dating who are just looking to make friends and hope it turns into something (lack of plans and purpose for sure). For young professionals who are ready to settle down, this book is not that useful because the advice might have come too late.I would not read this book for any REAL sagely advice nor much content specifically applicable to Christians. I was expecting more advice on how to have a Godly relationship once you start dating, not secular advice on how to get into one and how to look for dates. There wasn't enough coverage on sexual purity, specifically why it's important other than "don't do it because God says so" or any teachings regarding traditional gender roles based on scripture (e.g. Proverbs 31 woman or descriptions on what a marriage/balanced dating Christian relationship should look like). There wasn't even much discussion about prayer and what you should pray for whole you are waiting. What about warnings regarding the dangers of "missionary dating" or being "unequally yoked"? Nope not mentioned. It was assumed everyone reading this book would have good Christian filters. Other than "don't have sex before marriage" and "don't live together", there really isn't many tidbits you can glean from this book that would specifically apply to Christian romantic relationships.What's more is that this book read more like some kind of therapy book. It really reads like one of those online support forums (like Yahoo Answers) where people go vent and speculate about their dating woes except in book form. You might like it if you're the type who enjoys going to counseling just so you can have someone agree with you and have someone sympathize with you for a bit of encouragement. Truthfully, reading this book I felt like I could really relate to Lisa in her dating experiences/singleness and felt a bit relieved that I'm not alone in my struggles, but I wasnt looking to read a book just so I could feel better.

Thank you for this no-holds-barred manual that tells it like it needs to be told; what is provided herein is better than what a lot of churches are now teaching, I presume hoping for warm and fuzzy comfort over hard biblical truth (perhaps to keep the pews packed?) or, in direct opposition, cramming stifling legalistic dogma down the throats of folks to, quite literally, scare the hell out of youth and young adult singles. Both of these extremes, I would hope obviously, miss the mark and Lisa bluntly, comically, sometimes sadly (some stories relate-able, some painful, all understandable and always offered with courageous and humble transparency), shares a wealth of knowledge from her personal experiences, stories from friends or what seems to be the standard viewpoint of today's average young adult.This book flat-out speaks the truth, shares the all-too-important stakes of dating for the wrong reasons (outside of God's will) , addresses the perils of dating without direction and, in accordance with God's Word, trumpets the call for all couples to date with purpose, including the very real yet never discussed importance of preparing oneself to be in a place where they are able to date before dating even begins.Sadly (for my babies; yes, they're growing up too quick but they'll always be my babies), I am a divorced, forty-something, single father who married too young and without active faith in the Lord. Even so, I closed the back cover having realized I read and learned from this book from three separate points-of-view: first, in hindsight, with many regrets and many head nods and highlights in agreement with the excellent advice offered (I really could have benefited from this wisdom 20 years ago!); second, in looking forward, though I know I'm not the target audience, a twenty or thirty-something, the advice still rings true and I gleaned much wisdom toward what I pray will be a future dating life with purpose, this time trusting God and understanding completely why I'm dating because I do desire and pray for future marriage in God's timing and if He wills it; third, and most importantly, as a father of two preteen girls on the brink of noticing boys (in this particular case, as an aside to the author, Lisa, I cannot thank you enough for clarifying much for this father!).The title is perfect! A manifesto is exactly what is needed as our youth and young adults need special attention in church and from church members and leaders, they need guidance, instruction, godly counsel and encouragement as they head out in to the "real world," which is quite cruel. The Afterword is wonderful and, in all I have read on this topic, quite unique. Titled, "A Note to the Church, Parents, Oldsters, and Married Peeps in General," it is a call to arms, a challenge to we, the "experienced" (flawed, most definitely, every one of us, but learned nonetheless) to step up and walk alongside our younger brothers and sisters in Christ, actively helping them to understand the complexities of "real" relationships, helping them with accountability, giving them the wisdom garnered from years of experience and from time spent in the Word and in personal spiritual growth, lessons good and bad that have been learned and can be shared in a desire to lead young men and women to a biblical, godly relationship and, ultimately, in to a God centered marriage that will glorify the Lord and bring joy and peace to the lives of the man and woman, because that is what God wants for us in marriage, who become one and begin their lifelong journey.I cannot more highly recommend a book on this topic and, as I shared, I got it wrong, I have read many a book on this topic.Get it, read it, make it happen! The cost is too great if we do not understand these important truths, namely that without the Lord in every part of our life, there is no anchor, no cornerstone, no intercessor to protect marriage.

Thank you so much Lisa for writing this book. No one told me the right way to go about dating and how to actively seek marriage.I will recommend this book to every single person who desires a spouse from God.I will read this a second time and will begin to put into practice the lessons I have learned.

Very interesting easy reading and she is very funny a bit shallow though

I haven't finished reading this but already love her, her personality shines through, she is funny and is giving me handy tips. God bless her. Great book with great wisdom and real talk.

Very interesting from a christian point of view.

Fantastic book