Engagement: October 11, 2008

Our journey with Christ began when Kyle asked me to marry him. Our engagement was challenging because the way we had lived out our relationship beforehand changed.

Kyle and I had a long distance relationship for a couple of years, that alone was a challenge in and of itself. I graduated from Doane College in 2007 and Kyle in 2009. So when Kyle decided to ask for my hand in marriage he drove 10 hours on Friday (AFTER classes) to ask my dad permission and then down 4 hours the next day to ask me. Wow.

Once he got to my house, he brought me flowers and made me dinner. After we ate I got up to begin dishes and putting away leftovers. When I turned around Kyle was on one knee asking me to be his wife. My response was immediately one of surprise, “SHUT UP!”

How romantic of me… obviously I didn’t hesitate in my recovery with a solid, excited “YES!”

And there begins a journey neither one of us are ready to forget.

My dad had some requirements for a full blessing. 1. We had to stop having sex and wait until our wedding night. And 2. That we find a solid Christian book guiding us on what it means to have a Christ filled marriage. Kyle took both those things to heart. The first requirement was extremely difficult, but for the 8 months we were engaged, from the time Kyle gave my dad the word until the day we were married we fulfilled his request. The second requirement was actually quite fun. The very next day after I said “YES!” Kyle took me to Cheyenne where we searched Barnes and Noble for “that” book. There was only one. Seriously. So we took it as a sign that it was the one. A Marriage After God’s Own Heart by David Clarke was incredible. Clarke taught us how to pray, fight, love, and most importantly how to put Christ in the center of our marriage.

"A Marriage After God's Own Heart" by David Clarke

Still there was one thing missing. Christ.

As a pastor’s daughter I had grown up surrounded by the teaching of God’s word. Kyle believed in God, but didn’t know what it meant to receive Jesus Christ as his savior. Since high school, neither one of us were interested in following God or glorifying God, so although this was a great book we were missing something.

Until, we decided that Doug at the Winter Park Christian Church would be our pastor. The first day of counseling we walked in completely different than how we walked out.

We cried through the tough stuff of our past and then Doug asked us if either one of us had accepted Jesus Christ as our savior. I said as a child I had, but was not living my life as though I had. Kyle told him that he believed in God, but had never prayed for Jesus to enter his life specifically. So right then and there we prayed and Kyle accepted Jesus Christ as his savior and I reaffirmed my life for Him. It was an amazing experience to share as a new couple. And I will never forget it.

We spent that summer apart once again. After he graduated he got a job as a chemist in the town where I worked, so he moved in to the duplex I had been renting and I moved in with my sister.

I spent the summer planning my wedding and working to afford it. When the day finally came it was a joyous event and we can glorify God knowing that we began our marriage with Christ as the center and we can die knowing we did everything to the best of our ability glorifying Him in it.

My dad ended up taking our engagement pictures, didn't they turn out fantastic? :)