“They just won’t take the initiative with romance!” wailed my niece. “If I want a date, I need to be the one to call, get the concert tickets, pick the restaurant…they’re just so passive!”
My niece was a 30-something, bubbly, blue-eyed, peaches-and-crème beauty—her problem with men was not a question of appeal. And yet, despite being lovely, smart, and fun, I had witnessed her struggle with boyfriends over the years. I even had to admit that her brother, a year younger than her, exhibited these same passive tendencies in his dating life. Rather than pursue, he enjoyed letting women chase him.
What was happening?
When I was single, my husband had pursued me in wildly romantic ways. At first, I’d had been completely disinterested in him, so he got creative and persevered despite considerable rejection and setbacks. In the end, he got the girl and we’re both so happy that he did!
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So, what’s changed so much between generations? The answer: everything! And yet, timeless truths do remain!
When we were still newlyweds and my husband, Russell, and I would share our courtship story at parties, we noticed the room would inevitably grow quiet. Afterward, the men would slap Russell on the shoulder with a “Way to go!” But, the women would later approach us privately and ask if we would ‘coach’ their son, nephew, brother…or even husband about how to win a woman’s love.
Russell and I realized the incredible hunger that existed for mentoring in this area. But we were media producers (Legacy Media), not counselors! So, we began asking God how He might use us to meet this need in a way that fit who we were.
Soon, an idea was born!
We decided that creating a video of our story would be a great way to capture the wonder of it all and also facilitate people sharing it with whomever they felt needed to hear it. But, as an introvert, I’m rather private! So, we decided that if we could find other couples—a diversity of voices— who had great courtship stories that modeled the same wonderful qualities ours did, I would be comfortable with
telling ours.
Our search began! We chatted with friends, got referrals, made dozens of phone calls, interviewed people in person, and from a distance. After several months, we had a roster of couples who also were willing to share their fantastic testimonies on camera! The group included actors, ministry leaders, architects, composers, producers, pastors, entrepreneurs…wow!
The excitement built as we scheduled the couples and the production crew. For some, it meant traveling from all over the country to be part of the shoot.
The big day finally arrived. After a coffee-breakfast meet-and-greet, each duo took turns sharing their inspiring, hilarious, and faith-filled story about how they’d pursued and won the heart of the one they loved. The entire day we all laughed, cried, gasped, and applauded at the wild, crazy, creative, and hugely romantic ways each of these special people had found and wooed their soulmates. It was sensational!
We later added a second day of shooting with more couples to ensure that only the best stories made the final cut. And then we went to work editing and completing a sensational 8 part video series that would be inspirational, entertaining, and wonderfully helpful to singles, couples, marrieds, and families.
Everybody has a son, daughter, cousin, niece, or nephew that could use some coaching in this area! Today, the series is called Winning at Love, Spirit-filled Stories about Dating and Romance (Winning).
The project contains the 8 outstanding half-hour episodes brimming with unforgettable content about love, leadership, romance, courage, creativity, faith, (and more!) all bubbling inside these inspiring, hilarious, and romantic stories. We call edifying, family-friendly, binge-worthy content!
To help unpack the rich content, we also created a Discussion Guide as a companion piece ideal for group studies. (WAL Discussion).
Today, Winning At Love is available for streaming, downloads to computers, tablets, smartphones, or flash drives. All the details and more are available on the website: https://winningatlove.tv/
The series has been a labor of love…an inspiration…and a privilege. We know it will edify, encourage and strengthen many hearts! And, maybe, hopefully, it can help singles of all ages rediscover how to pursue the one they love with passion and persistence and make it one of the grandest, most successful, and rewarding adventures of a lifetime!
Russell and Marion Pyle are co-founders of Legacy Media Lab, a full-service media production company in Southern California (Legacy Media Lab). By combining their unique talents in storytelling, they specialize in award-winning media projects that uplift, equip and inspire across a variety of platforms.
1 thought on “Spirit-filled Stories about Dating and Romance”
I think the problem is today men are cautioned against taking the lead, for fear of being seen as too assertive, sexist, inappropriate or misogynistic. Heaven help any young man whose clumsy advances are misinterpreted.