"We must live for the applause of Heaven alone." - Eric and Leslie

"The process of surrendering the pen of your life to the Author of romance is a daily decision." - Eric and Leslie

As an older parent who has been around the block a few times, I am not easily moved. It takes a pretty mighty working of the Holy Spirit to make me cry. Having revealed this, I must now also share that I openly wept while reading parts of When Dreams Come True (Loyal Publishing, 2000), a book by Eric & Leslie Ludy.
Their early youth (not unlike my own) is a story of fits and starts, missteps and flounders. When they purposely and collectively committed to letting God write the story of their relationship, He blessed them abundantly. Theirs is a story which must be celebrated! In a society that condones recreational dating and casual sex, their courtship was truly refreshing. Although they had each dated others before meeting, they wanted their relationship to honor God. It is an amazing love story, clearly displaying their love for one another as well as God's love for us.

Many of our readers will have teenagers at some point. Do you have a plan for how you will guide them through the potential relational landmines of these years? Join us now as we chat with Eric and Leslie Ludy about their love story.

TOS: For our readers who aren't familiar with you two, can you give us your abridged life story?

Eric/Leslie: We might be a little biased, but we believe we have the most romantic love story in the history of the world! We wrote an entire book about the amazing journey that brought us together, so it's hard to summarize, but suffice it to say that we discovered firsthand the beauty of a God-written love story. After we were married, we began to be bombarded with requests to share our love story for various events and gatherings. Eventually this evolved into a full-time ministry, though it was certainly never something we planned. Now, over eight years later, we've written six books, recorded two albums, and traveled the world sharing our message with the younger generation. We are best known for our book When God Writes Your Love Story - the ultimate approach to guy/girl relationships. We are passionate about challenging our generation to pursue a life completely devoted to Jesus Christ. We love being married, and enjoy an adventure-filled life together near the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

TOS: What ministry work are you involved with now?

Eric/Leslie: For the past eight years, we've been on tour, sharing the message of When God Writes Your Love Story around the country and internationally. A few years ago, we started a non-profit organization based in Colorado called RGeneration - with the vision to shape young leaders into world-changers for Christ. Through that ministry, we've offered intensive training courses in areas of communication and leadership. Right now, however, we are taking a breather from travel and developing new material. (More info about our ministry and events around the country can be found on our website, www.ericandleslie.com.)

TOS: As youngsters, did your parents talk to you about relationships?

Eric/Leslie: Both of us grew up in wonderful Christian families. Our parents modeled healthy marriages for us, which gave us a wonderful foundation in the area of relationships. In our early teen years, our parents presented us with the material on Christian relationships that was available at the time, but there was a lot missing in those resources. It was mostly just an emphasis on pre-marital abstinence, rather than the idea of saving yourself for one person completely - heart, mind, and body. We both had to learn the hard way that true purity is so much more than a decision to "technically" save your physical virginity until marriage.

TOS: Can you describe for us what led up to your heart change toward relating and dating?

Eric/Leslie: We both followed the typical path in the area of relationships; jumping from one casual romance to the next and either getting our heart broken or breaking hearts with each temporary fling. Though we were dating "Christian" people and maintaining our commitment to "technical" abstinence, our standards in the area of emotional, mental, and even physical purity were extremely low. We were both considered solid Christian young people, but in truth, we made relationship decisions based on our own selfish gratification. After making one mistake after the next, we both became convicted that God had something better for us in this area.

For me (Leslie) it happened when I was around sixteen. One day, I read a Scripture in Proverbs 31 - the chapter about the "wife of godly character." It said "[the wife of godly character] does her husband good and not harm all the days of her life." The phrase "all the days of her life" really stood out to me. At that moment, I realized that God wanted me to begin honoring my husband and doing him good all the days of my life, even before I met him. I had to face the fact that even though I was technically saving my virginity for my future husband, in all my temporary dating relationships, I had been giving away so much that was meant for only him; my heart, my emotions, my thoughts, and even my physical body. I made a commitment that day not to give any part of myself away again until I knew it was the man God wanted me to marry.

Eric had a similar experience in college, and he began to truly set his life aside for his future spouse. Instead of pursuing girls, he decided he was going to pray for his wife every day - that God would mold her into His princess and that He would join their lives together in His own perfect time and way. Eric even began to write love songs and love letters to his future wife as an expression of his commitment to be faithful to her in every way. He gave those love letters to me on our honeymoon - talk about romantic! I knew that I didn't have to worry whether or not Eric would be faithful to me now that we were married - he'd already spent years being faithful to me before he even knew my name.

TOS: Purity is not praised in our society. How can a young person counter the culture in this regard?

Eric/Leslie: One of the biggest mistakes of Christian leaders today is trying to make Christianity seem hip, leading young people to believe they can truly follow Christ and still be popular in the eyes of the culture. The reality is that a life completely surrendered to Jesus Christ will never be applauded in the eyes of the world. A decision to allow the Author of romance to write your love story will only be mocked and ridiculed by society. We can only find the strength to stand against the tide of the culture through a passionate, daily relationship with Jesus Christ. We must live for the applause of Heaven alone. We must guard and protect our intimacy with Christ at any cost, so that we are anchored in Him and not swayed by the opinion of others.

TOS: How can parents help their teens and pre-teens approach this subject with integrity?

Eric/Leslie: It is easy to want to give young people a list of "do's and dont's" in the area of romance. Rules can be very important when a child is young, but as children grow into adults they need more than just a rule to help them continue to make the right choices - they need the right motivation. It is vital that a young person's decisions flow out of a love relationship with Jesus Christ and a sincere desire to honor their future spouse. To give kids the right motivation in the area of relationships, there are many practical things parents can do. First and most important is to encourage and facilitate a child's individual relationship with Jesus Christ. Then, cast a vision for something "worth waiting for" by showing them an example of a beautiful, Christ-centered marriage and by pointing out other Christ-centered relationships. Finally, don't underestimate the power of prayer! My (Leslie's) parents prayed daily for me since I was two years old - when they first became Christians - for God to orchestrate my love story. He was more than faithful to answer their prayers.

TOS: What words of wisdom do you have for young people who wish to become involved in only God-honoring relationships?

Eric/Leslie: The process of surrendering the pen of your life to the Author of romance is a daily decision. It means more than just living by a certain creed or making certain choices; it means allowing Jesus Christ to be in complete control of your heart, soul, mind, and body every moment of every day. It means ignoring the voice of the culture - often even the pop-Christian culture-and listening to His still, small voice instead, guiding and directing you every step of the way. A decision to live in true purity is more than just saving yourself physically or even emotionally. True purity means a life set apart for the Lover of your soul-Jesus Christ.

TOS: What would you say to single homeschooling parents? Many would like to be married; it gets lonely at times. Any words of advice? How can they stay focused on what the Lord has called them to do, yet remain encouraged?

Eric/Leslie: Not having ever been single parents, we are probably not the best qualified to answer this question. However, we do interact with so many young adults that struggle with being single. One of the most beautiful pictures of singleness we have ever seen is Eric's sister, Kristina, who was single until she was 34, though she had a huge desire to be married and have a family. During her single years, she poured herself into serving Christ on the mission field-both overseas and in the States. She was (and still is) a radiant example of a life completely fulfilled in Jesus Christ. When someone once asked her if she was called to singleness, her response was "Today I am." She trusted Christ for the grace to walk through her single years one day at a time When God's timing was perfect, He brought a wonderful man into her life who had been faithfully waiting for her. One of our favorite scriptures is Ps. 37:4: "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." As we delight in Him and build our life around Him, He places His own desires within our hearts and then fulfills them in His perfect time and perfect way. He is never anything but perfectly faithful!

TOS: Amen to that! Are you working on any new projects?

Eric/Leslie: Leslie's book for young women, Authentic Beauty-the shaping of a set-apart young woman has just been released by Multnomah Publishers. Eric's book for young men, God's Gift to Women-discovering the lost greatness of masculinity, will be released in October 2003. We are very excited about these new projects; they take young women and men even deeper in the pursuit of a life devoted to Jesus Christ.

TOS: How can our readers learn more about you?

Eric/Leslie: Our website, www.ericandleslie.com, is the best way for people to find out more about our ministry.

TOS: Thank you so much for taking time to share your story with us. May it encourage our readers and inspire their children to pursue only God's best in their relationships!

Eric and Leslie Ludy are best-selling authors, speakers, and recording artists who challenge young adults to pursue a life devoted to Jesus Christ. The Ludy's live in Colorado.