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This is somewhat complicated. Unfortunately I'm not from a Christian family. My parents divorced when I was five. My father was an athiest, (unfortunately an abusive one), and my mother, who doesn't attend church or discuss her beliefs, raised me and my brother by herself under extremely difficult circumstances following a long custody battle against my father. I will always be grateful for her perseverance, and pray she becomes a Christian.

The first time I heard the gospel was at scripture class at primary school. I paid attention, in particular one day when Revelation 3:20 was mentioned, and invited Jesus into my heart, well as much as a 7 year old can. Although I had no other contact with the gospel for the next 10 years or so, I always considered myself a Christian.

I have had a pretty crazy walk with God and development of my theological beliefs and worldview have grown and evolved through many phases, as I have attended different church denominations over the years. At the age of 17 I was invited to youth group by a friend at an Evangelical church. I don't remember much of it, besides running amuck, although slowly I learnt that it was all about Jesus, and not me. They showed me brotherly love which was the first time I noticed that grace was shown to me.

Over the next few years I attended various pentecostal churches, and unfortunately measured my relationship with God by the tangible blessings in my life and desired speaking in tongues and an "experience" of baptism in the Spirit. They too showed love to me as best they knew how, but I became hurt when God did not "heal" my life despite my best efforts to have faith that he would because we "agreed" (asked God who were biblically obliged to answer in the positive) for it. I still love them and consider them my brothers and sisters in Christ.

I currently attend a church which has historically been reformed and evangelical, and they love and care for me wholeheartedly, and have a foundation of biblical theology. Learning of the biblical concept of sovereignty has lifted a large weight off my shoulders knowing that God had predestined my life and that if there is something wrong, it's not something for me to "claim", I must remain content knowing that his grace is sufficient for me. However over recent years, I have become frustrated that it has been sliding slowly into liberalism. I am more conservative politically than most at my church and I'm not sure that if I were married to someone of my denomination that we would see eye to eye on issues such as what people may refer to as social justice which can be misunderstood. Having said that, it's not like I go out of my way to offend those with differing opinions. I've had email exchanges and discussions with my pastors which more often than not raise more questions than answers it seems. I like to discuss and grow my Christian worldview and I can listen as well as talk too

I believe that God has brought together, in the church, people from loving Christian homes with people with more unorthodox upbringings for his purposes to learn from and encourage each other.

I love the freedom in Christ to come before God at any time as a son of God and that brings me comfort. I have the bible on my MP3 player and my car CD player which I listen to often. It's great way to absorb the word. One of my pastors prays with me and is a great example to follow in prayer.

I'm also currently reading through two Christian books, Disciplines of a godly man by R Kent Hughes, and Life without limits by Nick Vujacic (ok, so he's not a Calvinist, but I find his faith inspiring).

I haven't followed a bible reading plan in some time although I have read from Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, and some of Luke and Revelation, and I have listened to quite a few sermons online of late, and read through the passages that they expound. I'm also blessed to have a brother who is enthusiastic about God and can have devotionals with him and his wife often. He has been a Christian only a few years, and I'm quickly learning how to be a spiritual leader in the home. I'm also working through a book/study on evangelism.

Interesting, there are so many. King Solomon comes to mind as I was thinking of Ecclesiastes recently and the whole "What is the meaning of life" business. He was wise enough to know that nothing on this earth (not even marriage!) compares to the cool stuff to be revealed in us in heaven.

To be perfectly honest, no I'm not. I hope that doesn't freak you all out there. I know there are many benefits to being single, and it's not like I don't appreciate what Christ has done for me, I am simply facing the fact I am quite lonely, already in my 30s, I am as ready for marriage as I can be. I am sinful but I know I would make a diligent, loving husband. I know Scripture tells me to be content, and I'm honestly not sure how to reconcile that with what I'm saying here. Nevertheless, I don't think I'm sinning by being on here looking for a wife. After all, aren't we all doing that?

I'm guessing that this means four *positive* qualities, right? Good. :) Then my friends would say I'm:

- a person of strong convictions,

- intelligent,

- responsible, and

- caring. Of course it's me who wrote that, and I'm biased. I can't remember the Myers-Briggs acronym but I'm the introverted and decisive type.

Seeing God glorified, in my church, in my country, and most of all in me by transforming of my life to be more like Jesus. Of course it's easy to type that here and I don't always have that foremost in my mind

- Salvation, most of all!
- My brother, who has become a Christian a few years ago and for fellowship and growth in the scriptures and my walk with God with him.
- Christian friends! Until recently I had no other Christians in my extended family, and on numerous occasions my friends from church came to the rescue. They showed grace to me before I had any.

Someone who loves God. A friend I know has a slogan that says it best: "We love others best when we love God most". I fail to do that often, but it's what I strive to do. That's the most important quality to have in a wife. Besides that, there are always the verses which I'm sure you know already, Proverbs 31:30, Titus 2:3-5, and so on. Having said that, there's plenty of high standards for men in the bible too

Easy. The friend I mentioned earlier, who led me to Christ, put up with me when I was difficult, stood by me when my family didn't, and (wait for it) referred me to this great web site! I strive to follow him as he follows Christ.

I have only ever had two girlfriends, they were Christians and platonic relationships which lasted less than a year. I have been single since 2004, and am more mature than I was back then. Of course I will discuss that in detail early on in courtship

I have worked in a call centre for the last five years. I enjoy it, I have a wonderful employer.

1 Thessalonians 4:11 !

I was born in Sydney, travelled to most states of Australia and backpacked around western Europe. I would like to travel more, financially permitting, and if it's God's will.

If there is a silver lining from coming from a dysfunctional family, it's that I am not particularly tied down to one location, so relocating is a possibility. I don't really mind. To me it's not the where, but the how, the why and the who with which matters more. I quite like where I live now in the suburbia of Sydney, but, if I had children (for example), it would be important for me that we live somewhere near a trusted Christian school. The rest, financially permitting, is possible. The fact that all but two of the ladies in my age group are from outside Australia means that that would be pretty much inevitable if I met someone here. There's always the telephone, MSN, Skype, Facebook etc though, a good way to get to know someone without being there in person, in fact it's advantageous as it could prevent rushing into a relationship.

I should also say that I believe that all courtship expenses should be the responsibility of the man. So you don't need to worry about that

One thing. I'm not here because I'm just "checking it out". I genuinely am looking for a life long Christian wife that I can love, guide through the Scriptures and face life together with. If you are not yet sure of whether you are prepared to get to know someone from this site seriously or not, with all the risks that that entails, and I realise it's a big step, especially if you're outside Australia, then please let me know early on. I have gotten to know several fantastic, godly Christian young ladies over this site, and we have gotten on very well and all seems promising, then decide it's not going to work because I'm too far away, and I/we have been hurt. So if I contact you, please think and pray about it.