Love is a journey... Part 1

And we started our journey March 12, 2011. Sunday evening when we were at my home church in Derby Kansas. Not "us" technically. Nick went to a Bible college from the North side of Wisconsin. The Lord has led him to travel with the ministry team that went around, well, ministering to various churches and school's, recruiting students for the college. The team was in my hometown for a two-day weekend, to have a youth activity with the teens, be in charge of Sunday school for them, then have an activity for the College and Career aged group of people as well.

I was busy with work, closing up the place every weekend night, which means 1-2 a.m. evenings. This meant I did not make it to Sunday school, just church - barely. This particular Sunday, I had no idea this team of all guys from a Bible school were going to be in town. (Crazy for a single girl to not know, right?!) So, I walked in a few minutes late to a guy at the podium I had never seen before, but would like to have.

I quickly found my family, squeezed in the pew, and sat down taking mental notes of the other heads I could only view the back of. "Darn it", I said to myself, thinking this would have been a good to day be on time, or even a little early. Any other team we had come to our church had mostly woman in them and if there were men, they were all engaged, married, or, honestly, not that good to look at. This team, however, was a little different. If, you know what I mean!

That afternoon, I didn't think much of it. I had a lot going on that day, so my mind was somewhere else. My sister and I took the day to go horseback riding for my first time. Throughout that time, my poor foot was stepped on by the hoof of a 30,000,000 pound horse (again, not really, but the point is made.)! My sister, Elise, came away with more sustained injuries after being thrown quite a few feet from a rather brat-like horse, in my profession opinion! My thoughts were engaged elsewhere, to say the least.

That is, until we arrived home, at my parents' home for the afternoon. As we told our sleepy-looking parents our stories of the day and started thinking about whether or not we would make it to church that evening, my mind went to those five handsome strangers of which I had no existed until that very morning. I thought about it, and decided I should go. I was very single, after all. While deciding what to wear for the service and the activity afterwards, I chose my trusty KU basketball shirt since they had a game that night I would watch later on. So with my Kansas blue shirt, capri's and tennis, I was out the door. But before I left, I shouted back to my two younger sisters, "Don't wait up for me, I'm gonna go meet my future husband tonight!"....

Top ten [known] changes this year:

 1. I am going to be a wife.
 2. I am going to get a husband.
 3. My last name will change.
 4. I am moving out of state.
 5. I'm turning 23
 6. I will quit my job and start a new one in Arkansas.
 7. I am gaining a mother and father-in-law.
 8. I will start running my own house (or apartment).
 9. I got engaged.
 10. I will be attending a new church, with my new husband, and we will be starting a different kind of  ministry together.

These are just the changes that we are aware of so far. I cannot even describe the level of excitement for starting a new life with someone, and the balanced level of uncertainty with leaving my current life, living conditions, job, friends... The list can go on and on. However, for times sake, I shall stop there.

As an update for those who may not have known about #6, my fiancé got a job in Arkansas as an Assistant pastor at a Bible church. We are ecstatic (and nervous!) about this new direction the Lord is having us take right before we start our new life together. We ask for prayer and wisdom on other decisions we have to make and that God would give us abounding grace to get through these changes.