Ladies: do this before the 'marriage talks' with him...

Are you ready for a permanent relationship? Are you thinking of settling down and getting married? Here are three quick tips to consider while you are it.

Tip 1: Define the relationship
Don't be carried away just yet. When a guy begins to shower you with attention and gifts, keep sober and refuse to believe he may be interested. If for a lingering period of time he doesn't still come forth with his intentions, please politely ask him what he wants from you. Let your relationship be defined. Is he interested in you? Does he hope that one day he could put a ring on your finger? Or does he just want a fling or be friends? Too forward, you think? No. I call it being wise in order that you don't allow your heart be swept away by a man's charm only for him to 'disappoint' you.

When my husband and I started out, I simply didn't want to read meaning into his gestures just yet. Until he came out directly with his intention, only then did I open up my heart to explore the feeling I had for him. We will still talk more about this under the don't s for a permanent relationship be.

Tip 2: Be Friends first
Don't marry a stranger. Marry a friend. Things will be more easily worked out between the both of you in marriage when you are friends. You don't just meet a guy and rush into a romantic relationship with him. It's too superficial. You don't really know this guy as he is. Some people can pretend to be who or what they are not just to win the heart of someone they really like. But in friendship there is no pretense .

Friendship before marriage affords you both to get to know each other on a neutral ground ever before he even proposes. Even if you liked him from the first time, lock up your feelings, put them in check and just flow with him. Study him with your feelings checked, it will give you an unbiased judgment and resolution about whether you can settle down with this guy if he ever pops the big question.

Tip 3: Think on it
I was lying on my bed in the hostel when a question suddenly erupted in my spirit, "If he proposes to you, would you accept?" and I had an unfaltering yes for an answer. As a friend, he was wonderful.As a matter of fact, he was more than I dreamt of for a husband. I enjoyed all the times we spent together, our discussions. We shared our passions and hopes for the future. So when he finally proposed few months later, I had my answer ready. I didn't contemplate neither was I scared about the future with him. Why? Because I had thought it out under the Holy Spirit long before that day. I had had my answer intact for weeks before then! Does that make me cheap? No way. It portrays a woman who knows what she wants.

Thinking on this relationship like I did even if you like him, helps to prepare your mind and enables you not waste both of your times. I will still talk more on this later.