About Emma (by Tom)
Getting to know Emma has been the high point of my life so far. She is talented, generous, kind, caring, loving, capable, thoughtful, intelligent and possesses a fiendish sense of humour. She is also intolerant of foolishness, strong willed and stubborn (qualities I possess in abundance myself).
I love Emma’s sense of fun and that, again like me, she never lost her delight in the silly things that make life infinitely more entertaining.
About Tom (by Emma)
Tom has such integrity in everything that he does. He is trustworthy and honest. I know I can rely on him, he will never let me down. He is intelligent and witty, but not in a patronising or boring way. He has a wicked sense of humour, but knows when he’s taken it too far. He is loyal and generous, and goes out of his way to serve others. He is a true man of God, with a strong faith and a genuine relationship with Jesus. He is gorgeous! No, really! When he smiles, I can’t help but smile back. His cheeky grin brightens my darkest days. I love him so much, everything about him. I’m so blessed to get to share my future with him. It’s going to be awesome!
How we met:
Emma and I met through a Christian dating website called Christian Connection. We were both serious about finding somebody to spend the rest of our lives with, and we both knew that:
- We were each looking for a Christian
- That we have fairly unusual personality types and that it would take somebody special to appreciate us
- That we didn’t want anything less than true love.
The strength of the site is that it doesn’t get you to write a shopping list of attributes you’re looking for in someone, but rather asks you to create a profile by answering specific questions about yourself. Emma and I were both very honest in our profiles, so nobody got in touch without a realistic idea of what we were like. This carried through once we started going out – we promised each other that we would be ruthlessly honest, as we wanted to fall in love with the real person rather than an unsustainable fairytale.
In terms of finding each other online, Emma found me and we’ll use her words for what it was like to meet somebody online (but you can see she was delusional – I’m blaming an overdose of flu medication!)
“When I first read his profile on Christian Connections, he sounded fun, intelligent, more than a little cheeky, and serious about his faith. Over the first few weeks, I discovered how my first impressions had been spot on. During our first phone call, it was like talking to someone I’d known my whole life. When we first met in person, I realised he was even more gorgeous in real life than in his photo. We instantly clicked, and spent a wonderful day together. I discovered how creative and imaginative he is, how much of his life has been like mine. Over the last few months, getting to know Tom has been like discovering part of me. He and I are so similar in so many ways, there’s so many times we’ve said the same thing at the same time, have been of one mind. At the same time, there are ways we are different. So much I admire and respect about him. So much I’m looking forward to. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life by his side.”
Our Christian Connection Profiles are below:
| ID | Tom548 | Emma132 |
|---|---|---|
| Headline | Mischievous geek seeks the love of his life. | Wanted: boyfriend Hours: initially part-time, with potential to increase to full-time after trial period Location: Currently based in Glasgow, but relocation could be discussed with the right candidate. The client is a successful, intelligent woman, with varied interests and a wide social group. She is looking to expand her social circle to include a boyfriend/partner element, with eventual career progression to husband. The right candidate will share her Christian faith, which is an essential element to this role. He will have good communication skills, and a fully functioning sense of humour. Other desirable but not essential factors include shared interests in music (rock),g films (sci fi), and various geeky pursuits (mild to moderate, does not include costumes or Star Trek-related role play). Travel in this role would be dependent on location of successful applicant, but Glasgow is currently served by excellent transport links that work for both outgoing and incoming journeys. Reward package includes shared experiences and a strong emotional connection, with commitment and support offered. Side benefits include excellent cooking and baking skills, and future benefits could include children. For more information or to apply, please send an email with a short statement of support describing the skills and attributes you possess relevant to the role. Informal interviews are available by mutual arrangement. Please note that, while previous experience in a similar role could be beneficial, candidates with children are unlikely to be a match. |
| Relationship Status | Single | Single |
| Looking For | Relationship | Relationship |
| Faith Tradition | Just “Christian” | Baptist |
| Ethnic Background | European / Caucasian | European / Caucasian |
| Height | An average height | An average height |
| Physical Build | A few extra pounds | Shapely / Well rounded |
| Life and Work | I lived in York for 4 years when I was at uni, otherwise have always been close to Bristol. That’s probably not likely to change as my work is pretty specialist and most of the opportunities are here. I work in financial services, but have a variety of interesting (to me, any way) side lines, aimed at improving the world around me and ensuring that my life makes a difference. | My main job is in recruitment (if you hadn’t already guessed!), and I love the satisfaction of being able to give people jobs. I also run a small but successful craft business. |
| Education | University degree plus a variety of professional qualifications from IT to financial advice, trading and even pyrotechnics. | University Degree |
| Occupation | Business Analyst – I design financial trading platforms | HR Professional for a large charity |
| Political Views | Varied. They reflect what I think rather than neatly aligning to any particular party. Generally they are based on what can actually work and improve people’s lives rather than principles or dogma. | No interest in politics |
| Financial Situation | Comfortable | Comfortable |
| Smoking Habits | None | None |
| Drinking Habits | Socially | Socially |
| Has Children | None | None |
| Wants Children | Love kids, but not for me | Yes, one or two |
| Pets | No pets of my own, but the apartment building I’m in doesn’t allow them. Wouldn’t be averse to a cat or something else that basically looks after itself. | I have no pets, and no problems with other people’s pets. |
| Best Adjective | Mischievous, independent, free thinker, inventively lazy | Hopeful romantic, loyal friend, creatively imaginative |
| Faith | I am a part of Bristol Vineyard and have been for over 10 years. It’s a church that is humble and that tries very hard to live what it teaches. | My faith is important to me, and my church is a big part of that. It’s an active church and very friendly, but with no-holds-barred teaching and lively heartfelt worship. |
| Their Faith | is of central importance | is of central importance |
| Church Priorities | Do they love and accept people? Do they love Jesus and try to live the way he set out? Is their faith seen in the way they live their lives? | Good teaching and great worship |
| Church Involvement | I lead both a small group and a wine tasting group | Music, Choir, Member of the Congregation, on the catering team |
| Best Virtue | Fairly ruthless pragmatism coupled with a genuinely evil sense of humour. | Patience, Loyalty |
| Christian Media | None. | I love artists like Chris Tomlin, Rent Collective, Tim Hughes, Robin Mark and others. |
| Inspirations | Brother Lawrence, John Wimber, CS Lewis | Phil 2v14: Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life. I love this verse, and while I’m not quite blameless and pure, I try to shine like a star in the dark world we live in. |
| Interests | I’m independent and like my space, but I love to help people, especially if I can work with them to do so. Outside of that, I love reading and gaming. I used to be a professional pyrotechnician (industrial fireworks), but that was always a hobby rather than a career. | I was born in Scotland but lived part of my life in France, and regularly return for holidays. I’m a bit of a geek, and are more interested in networks and coding than nail polish and celebs. |
| TV | Spooks when it was on. Sherlock. Glee. Big Bang Theory. Foreign crime stuff such as Inspector Montalbano or The Bridge. | I’m a huge West Wing fan, and love The Big Bang Theory too. Just getting into Arrow, and enjoying it greatly. I can’t stand shows like X-factor or I’m a Celebrity, and Strictly will get switched off in favour of Gotham. |
| Films | Very, very varied. I have a large film collection. Second-hand Lions is an old favourite, but I watch some serious stuff too. | My favourite film is The Princess Bride, but I’ll watch most genres. Most recently I’ve enjoyed Interstellar, and had some interesting theological discussions as a result. I have a Cineworld card that gets a good workout. |
| Music | My taste in music is unredeemable. Whilst I love the likes of the Beatles, the Beach Boys and Queen, I also love Glee and Eurovision. | Praise, Worship, Gospel, Rock |
| Reading | Thrillers. IT magazines. I do a little proof reading for an author who is a friend, so I end up reading pretty much whatever he feels like writing. | I love sci-fi and fantasy books, like Terry Pratchett, or the Red Dwarf author Rob Naylor. I also like crime novels like Christopher Brookmyre, or chic lit like Marion Keyes. I get my news online rather than buying papers. |
| Pastimes | I’m a fairly avid gamer, running a small but successful minecraft community server. | Time with family and friends, Cinema, Listening to music, Reading, Arts and Crafts, Computers |
| Sports | I do a little archery (badly), but have let this lapse as I’m just too busy. | I’m not a very sporty type, apart from weekly Zumba (which is more dance than aerobics). I love skiing but don’t get to go as much as I’d like. I love the beauty of the outdoors, be that beach or mountain top. |
| Dream Holidays | Anywhere quiet, beautiful and unpretentious. I’m also perfectly happy staying at home. My parents live at the tip of Cornwall, so there are occasional trips down there outside of silly season. | Seeing the sights and exploring, balanced with some time spent in total relaxation by a pool. |
| Final Thoughts | Hopefully it’ll be a while before I find out what those are. 😉 | If you’ve made it this far, give me a wave, let’s see what happens. |