Hi all,

As the title says, I'm in need of advice. I'm a young, Christian man (24) and there's this young, Christian lady that I'm interested in pursuing (she's 28). I met her about 2 months ago when I first started attending a new church. I initially thought that she was very attractive, but because I didn't know her, I didn't know much about her lifestyle. Over the past two months, I've observed her from afar and taken advantage of any organic opportunity that I get to interact with her. Additionally, I've been praying about it in aims to discover whether God would have me pursue her or not. In the midst of this all, there are a few things regarding my (potential) pursuit of her that I'm uncertain about - hence this post.

1. What's the most appropriate way to approach a lady at church? Should I just be straightforward or would that be a bit creepy? Some background; I come from a (somewhat) conservative church background - so dating/courtship wasn't really encouraged amongst the youth. Thus I'm on unfamiliar ground and don't want to do/say something stupid. I'm also a bit weary about being too forward and risking everyone at the church being in my business about my feelings for her, but there's nothing much that I can do about this - some risks have to be taken.
2. When would it be too early for me to make my intentions known? Honestly, from what I've seen thus far, she'd make a great partner. But I'd like to get to know her with a bit more intention. In my head this looks a lot less like conveniently hanging around her when the youth group meets up and more like actually spending some time with her, 1-on-1, over lunch or something. Should I give it more time or should I give it a go now?
3. To the older, married folk (men specifically, but a woman's perspective would be good as well); how were you able to discern God's voice and know that He's giving you a thumbs up in terms of pursuing your now spouse? As is the case with most people, she has green and red flags that have popped up, and I just want to make sure that my pursuit is actually driven by direction from God and not my own infatuation.

A bit more context; I'd say we're friendly around each other. Whenever we meet in person, we're comfortable to greet each other, laugh etc but I don't think she sees me in the way that I see her right now. Not that she appears disinterested, but more that the thought hasn't crossed her mind. I think the only way to get the thought to cross her mind would be by me actually making a move.

Sorry for the long post, but thanks in advance for the advice!