The Beginning of Forever: I'm Engaged!!

I'm marrying a  hopeless romantic.

This proposal day (yes it was a whole day) is definitely one for the history books. Here’s how it went:

It was my birthday (February 21) and he had a whole day planned and then later that night we were having a party at my house. So at 8:30 AM Tyson picked me up in his freshly waxed truck and we went to the bank to open our savings account. (He had also made me a mix-CD that he said was to be the soundtrack for our day.) We needed to get it done and that was the only day we could do it, or so I thought. From there, he had scheduled an appointment at Bella Nail Salon for me to get a pedicure. Then we drove down to San Diego.

The whole car ride I swore we were going to the zoo. Of course he would not give me any hints but he had that crooked sneaky smirk, that confirmed my hunch. When we arrived at our location I was sorely mistaken, but it was a good mistaken because we were going KAYAKING! I love kayaking and had always wanted him to go with me, but knew he never would because he hates the ocean. Boy was I surprised.

After kayaking we drove back to Temecula and he took me to the mall to buy me a dress for the party. A couple try-ons later we landed on the perfect red dress and were off to the Christian bookstore. He gave me a gift certificate and told me to choose whatever book, devotional I wanted. I looked around and he looked around and when we met in the middle we both saw the perfect book: The Brides Handbook. It has a daily devotional in it along with a plethora of wedding planning tips…ironic.

From there we rushed home to change and pretty ourselves up before the second to last stop. Callaway Winery. It was the perfect dinner and the most romantic atmosphere. And then I started getting nervous. We had one more stop before the party and when we turned left out of the winery I knew where we were going. On our first date we found this hill by my house, we turned the radio to loud, and danced for hours. That’s where we were going, our dancing hill.

We turned onto the street, hand in hand, with Chris Tomlin’s version of “All the Way My Savior Leads Me” playing in the background, and the tears started coming. At that moment I knew what was happening. When we got to the top of the hill there laid a blanket, candles, and his guitar. (My brother had gone earlier to set it all up.) Then it was time. For each place we had gone that day, he gave me an envelope with what they represented in our relationship.

1. The Bank- (Ephesians 5:25) The investment of my time, my money, and my energies will always go first to serving you my bride.

2. The Bookstore- (Ephesians 5:26) My utmost priority will always be guarding your integrity and purity just as Christ did for the church, we will always have a devotional life.

3. The Mall- (Ephesians 5:27) I will work hard to make sure you always have what you need.

4. The Nail Salon- (Ephesians 5:28) I will always cherish your body and am so thankful for how beautiful you are.

5. The Picnic Lunch- (Ephesians 5:29) I will work hard to always make sure you have food to eat!!

6. The Kayaking- (Ephesians 5:31) We will grow together as one as we face our joys, challenges, and our FEARS!

7. The Winery- (Ephesians 5:32) As we are together, I will work to make sure that our relationship always has the fragrance of Christ.

and the last one said

8. The Song.

(Click to listen: May I Have This Dance)

I looked up, tears streaming from my eyes, and he sang me a song that he had written for this moment, in which the last line said, “Will you be my wife?” AH! Then he pulled the ring from the back of his guitar, got down on one knee, said an amazing speech, and I said YES! Then…to top it all off, he informed me that the birthday party we were going to was not a birthday party…it was an engagement party! And everyone was in on it! 

So the perfect day turned into the perfect night as we celebrated with friends and family, and even my sister joined us via cell phone and video chat. Praise the Lord for technology. At one point all 60 of us gathered in our upstairs living room for what felt like a great big family meeting. My dad gave a devotional and welcomed Ty to the family and one of our pastors prayed over us. It is the most peaceful feeling to have the people you love surround you and support this new phase of your life. Because there is comfort knowing that when things get tough, unexpected trials come or troubles barge in, or when exciting things happen and memories are made, our whole family will be there…no matter what.

So thank you dear family.

Thank you dear friends.

And thank you dear Tyson, the love of my life.

I am overwhelmed with thankfulness and joy as we embark on this new adventure together.

Basking in Grace

This season is definitely a season of crazy learning for me. And by crazy learning I mean non-stop learning. It seems a though everyday there is something new to accomplish, a new task to conquer, a new problem to overcome. And sometimes it gets tiring. Not just emotionally, but physically, mentally, and spiritually. I was driving and praying a couple days ago, that God would give me some sort of relief from myself. Relief from thinking about and analyzing every single thing that comes my way. My little sister use to say, “Sissy, my brain just doesn’t stop.” I feel you sister, I feel you.

But then I heard one of the pastors on the radio read a verse from Colossians 1 that spoke about the mystery of the gospel and how Christ in us is the hope of glory. And even now as I type, I cannot express to you the reality that hit me by that little phrase. I don’t even think that was the main point of his message but it really moved me. CHRIST is our HOPE in GLORY! Meaning that there is hope and there is victory because Jesus conquered all in His death and resurrection. Then the next day Tyson and I were doing our devotions and we read from Galatians 2:20 which says,

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me.”

He pointed out the underlinings in this verse and spoke further truth into my heart. That all I see now is a girl who is filled and driven by emotion, a girl who cannot stop analyzing every worry and fear in her life, a girl who cannot seem to live every moment of every day in the grace of Jesus. Though this may be all I see now, I must must must have confidence in knowing that my Savior is living in me! He is doing His work through me, not because of me, but because of Him and His amazing grace.

And in this, I…simply…rest.

I need to “live in faith”.

With faith comes rest, and with trust comes relief.

Do you need relief?

~JH