Thursday, September 30, 2010

Part two "Girl meets boy" :)


So I started attending the bible study that Brian was teaching.  He challenged my thinking, my love for others, and most importantly my relationship with God.  One week after our study I stayed after to talk to him.  His kiddos had attended Kingsway Christian the year before and b/c of his circumstances they had transfered out of private school and into public school.  I was in the same boat with my daughter Hannah.  She would be transfering to public school in the Fall (to the same school his kids attended) so I wanted to find out how he transitioned them and how the change in schools was for him and his boys.  We ended up talking for almost an hour.  We talked mostly about God and how He had challenged us, changed us, and grown us in ways we never imagined.  Our stories were very similar and the cool part is that we were chosing to handle lifes setbacks and dissapointments the same way - God's way :)  We started encouraging each other with scripture, books, and stories of how God was using us daily in the lives of others as we surrendered our lives to our Creator.  I remember that Brian gave me a copy of the book "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan.  I read it in three days (which is a miracle for me - lol) and my heart just became more excited about loving God and loving others.  Brian and I knew several other people that had gone through similar situations so we decided to start a worship night.  The night was a time to pray, share a meal, and sing worship songs.  All of this was to encourage each other and spur each other on in our walk.  I know that I felt my soul being drawn to Brians very early on.  Not in a romantic way but in a spiritual way.  I loved his heart for God and for others.  I also noticed that he was an amazing dad.  I could write an entire post about how much I adore him as a dad but that will have to be a later post :)  As the weeks and months went by we continued to encourage one another through scripture, texting, and phone calls.  I remember our first time hanging out.  Brian called and asked if me and my kids had bikes and then invited us to Hummel park to ride bikes.  I loaded our bikes up only to find out when we got to the park that they were all flat - lol :)  We borrowed a pump from an older couple at the park.  I remember them asking "Are these all your kids!!!"  We laughed and said "Four are his and two are hers".  We had a great time at the park.  The kids got along great.  We ended up wading in the creek and teaching the kids how to skip rocks.  Our interaction was short (about an hour) but it was the start of an amazing friendship.  Stay tuned for part three of "The love of a lifetime!!" ..... 

Monday, September 20, 2010

One chapter ends and a new one begins :)


"Finding the Love of a Lifetime"  Part 1 . . .
From Ashes to Beauty . . . .Amen and Amen!!  This is the first post of many to come.  My heart is full, my life rich, and my soul overjoyed.  Many of you have followed my story in the past and will continue to follow my story as a new chapter begins.  I don't want to dwell on the past but I do want to say that God has used everything in my life (good and bad) to make me into the person I am today.  I have learned to love unconditionally, to find good in everyone, and to keep going even when you feel like giving up.  So here is how I met and fell in love with the most amazing man I have ever known (and a few cool and interesting encounters along the way).  Did I mention that God is the most amazing match maker that ever existed?  I first laid eyes on Brian, my soon to be husband, at Fazoli's over a year ago.  This is one of the interesting encounters . . . I was there with my two kiddos and he was there with his four boys.  Hannah started to stare at his boys and count them - lol :)  I was a little embarrassed so I said to Brian "She loves big families, she is just counting your kids"  We had a brief exchange but at that point he was a complete stranger and I never thought I would run into him again.  Fast forward about six months (give or take a few) . . . . My heart was completely wrapped up in my love for Jesus.  I was feeling alive again, completely in love with my Lord and Savior, happy with life, and wanting to live in a way that pointed others to my first love (Jesus).  I was perfectly content with my two beautiful kids.  I never dreamed in a million years that I was about to experience the love of a lifetime :)  I wanted to join a bible study.  I expressed this to several people at my small church (which I love!!).  We are a start up church and still very small so we don't have Sunday morning bible studies etc..for adults.  I felt the desire to get deeper in the word with other people who have been through struggle and have come to know God in a deeper and more intimate way.  My friend, Leslie, approached me one day to tell me about a bible study that was starting at Kingsway (a church down the road).  I had no idea what the study was about or what I was in for (wink).  I decided to try it out and found out that morning that the bible study was going to be centered on a book by Beth Moore "Out of the pit" (I love her so I knew it would be good).  I walked in and Brian was teaching the class.  The rest of the story is an amazing story of God's love for us and His power to change hearts and lives through our obedience to Him.  Stay tuned for part two of "Finding the love of a lifetime" . . . . . . .I want to scream from the rooftops b/c I am sooo crazy in love with Brian, his four boys, my two sweeties, and most importantly the God of all creation!!!