Two Wild Weeks . . .

The past two weeks have been a blur and an absolute blast. It began with Ben making a big decision. After driving 35-40 minutes to hang out with kids a few days a week he decided that he needed to be living in Rocky Mount if he was going to do this thing right. Two weeks ago he moved in with me, into a large closet that used to be my prayer room. It's cramped to say the least, but Ben wouldn't have it any other way. He'd do anything or live anywhere for kids to hear the Gospel. A few days after Ben moved in we got to attend one of the most important things we do in Young Life, the Prayer Overnight. At PO over 1,000 people cram into Rockbridge, the camp we went to for Fall Weekend, for twenty-four hours to do two thing; pray and fast. It was incredible to be with so many people desperate for kids to hear the Gospel. One of the most powerful things about this time is praying for areas that don't yet have Young Life. As a disclaimer, I know that Young Life is not the only way for kids to hear the Gospel. However, seeing the affect that Young Life has had on my life as well as many, many others I know how the Lord uses it in crazy ways. I'd love to see him continue to do that as we step out in faith in other areas. People have been praying for Franklin County to have Young Life for years and here we are. I don't know why the Lord chooses to work through the prayers of His people, but I guess I don't really need to know.

Ben's moving in has made our house the place to be. Simply having another person here has given it the feel that something is always going on. Kids have caught on to that and have found themselves here at all times of the day. David is here as our VPS every afternoon, and two of our other friends have been joining us during their lunches or before work just to hang out. Kids are coming over before games, after games, before practice or just whenever they're in town. We've hung out with kids in 'neutral turf' more in the past two weeks than we have the rest of my time here combined. We've even started a Sunday night tradition. The guys loved coming over for the Super Bowl so much one made the comment "We need to do this every Sunday night." After nicknaming our house 'The Destination' we had our first 'Destination Night' on Sunday filled with FIFA 2013, tomahawk throwing and junk food. It was awesome. We're stoked to be able to kick kids butts in video games. On a serious note though, the relationships we're building because of this is nuts. We're excited that a lot of these kids are coming to club with us also as we are visiting other young life clubs.

When I say other clubs, I do mean clubs plural. Our nomadic trek through Southwest Virginia to different Young Life clubs has been a blast. It all started when we were invited to the Roanoke Young Life Dodgeball Tournament. We put together a team and dubbed ourselves 'The Girlscout Rejects'. Besides placing third out of fifteen teams and having our smallest freshman be the hero of two different games (something that he'll remember forever), our guys got to talking to some Cave Spring girls about Franklin County YL. They told them we'd been visiting the Hidden Valley club because we hadn't started our own yet. The girls then insisted we visited their club the next Monday. Something I've found to always be true; when a high school guy is invited to something by a high school girl he thinks is cute, he goes. When they told Ben and I about the conversation we told them we would absolutely go. We also talked to them about other clubs in the area. In all, there are four within reasonable driving distance and they wanted to check them all out. The clubs are all very different; Hidden Valley and Cave Spring clubs are both pretty suburban, but unique. Patrick Henry is more urban while Floyd is more rural. Getting to see club in such different areas is going to be a huge gift, and give our kids vision to the many different kids we want to be at club.

Our nomadic band took residence at Cave Spring's Young Life club this week. A good friend of mine, and fellow staff associate, Eric 'Mezz' Messmore graciously hosted us as we brought our troop and crammed in another high schooler's basement. Cave Springs club is about half the size of Hidden Valley's and I think it was good for our kids to see a more intimate club. After being unsure of who would venture out that way with us Ben and I ended up taking 12 kids along for the ride (pictured left). We even got dinner with some Cave Springers before club who were very excited to have us come. It was so encouraging for us to be welcomed in such a big way. Our kids talked often about who they were going to bring in the weeks to come and how they wanted to see different clubs. We were also stoked to see more underclassmen along for the ride, and even girls! Not having girl leaders has put us in strange positions as far as an unbalanced ministry, but its all working out in the end.

However, that's not to say that nothing is going on with the girls at FCHS. Kerri and Becca, being the phenomenal leaders that the are, had a girls night the other night and spent the night with 11 girls in Franklin. Seven of those girls went to Fall Weekend with us but the other four hadn't. A few that had never been with us to club before wanted to go, including freshman. We're excited for what that means for the years to come. I don't have any pictures of that event, because I wasn't there! So instead I put a picture of myself swinging on a tire swing at our very own David Sicher's house. Many have asked if this picture is fake, but I assure you it is not. It was terrifying. Also as a side note; all of these pictures are on my instagram. Often, the only things I instagram are pictures of kids and wherever we happen to be hanging out with them. So if you want a more constant flow of updates and whats going on in Franklin, that would be what to check out (instagram name is theimonkey.

Three more things I want to say. First we have seen the Lord move in big ways in kids hearts. We have a few guys that are going harder than ever and truly catching the vision for going after their friends for Christ's sake. These guys have been waiting for something like Young Life to come to be a vehicle for presenting Jesus to their classmates. Its been and honor and privilege to guide them as they do this and deepen them in their faith. Their voice is the strongest we have in the school, stronger than any leaders' voice could be. These guys are building a community and an example that we'll be able to see as the foundation of Young Life in Franklin County forever. Its an awesome thing to witness. Pictured left is Brad Rayburn filling out his application for work crew. Work Crew is an opportunity for high school kids to serve at a Young Life camp for a month. It meant to much to me in my walk with the Lord, and we know it'll mean the same for Brad. We're hoping he will be accepted into the same assignment that I'll be on and I'll be able to spend the session with him at North Bay. 

Secondly, I don't love doing prayer requests. My vision for this blog is that you would see where we are lacking, and be prayerful without my having to ask. However, I've come to find I've never been good at asking people for anything, especially help. As we move forward we know that we will need a team of people behind of praying us forward. Praying for big, big things. The Lord can do anything, so we want to ask him to. There are two prayers that are bigger than I can imagine happening. The first is that we are looking for a place for club, no matter when we start it. We've had many families that have offered their houses which is great and extremely generous. However, I have the nagging feeling that we're supposed to ask for more. Smack dab next to the high school, and a stone's throw away from my house, is a shut down Chinese restaurant called Tianjin First. I can't think of a cooler and more convenient place to have club. I want that. Secondly, we are looking at our financial situation for the upcoming year, and we are in a fairly good place. However, I know the blessing it is to not have to worry about money or fundraising for the area. This prayer request isn't meant to be a clever ploy to guilt you into throwing us some cash, its much deeper than that. If the Lord wants you to give to us, he'll put it in your heart on his own. With that said, as much prayer as we could receive in this area, the better (as with everything).

Lastly, my hope is that this blog doesn't become a stumbling block to anyone. Specifically, I'd love for FCHS students not to see it. There are many reasons for that, but the biggest is that this blog is meant to be a behind the scenes look for the Body of Christ, not a "Hey come look what FCYL is doing". I think it would be weird, especially for a lost high school kid, to see that I'm asking that they be prayed for! Rarely do I go into detail about specific kids, or even give their names, because I don't think that's necessary. I feel I may have explained that poorly, but I hope you get the gist of what I'm saying. Share this blog with wisdom. I thank you all so much for your support of us. The Lord is doing big, crazy, wild things here. It's a beautiful thing.

A New Semester and a Short Post

David Sicher and Committee Chair Jane Jacobsen

As winter begins its long melt towards spring there are a bundle of new beginnings on the horizon. Winter sports are wrapping up and giving way to spring sports, the random bursts of snow are beginning to subside and give way to 70 degree days and a new semester has begun! For us that means two things.

First it means a brand new semester in yearbook with a whole new batch of kids. While it has been great getting to know the group from last semester I'm even more excited to get to meet a new bunch of 'photojournalists'. As the book is only a few months away from completion its creation continues to be a blessing to me and an avenue to meet many new students. Secondly, it means a VPS student for Young Life. VPS stands for Volunteer Public Service and is a class that FCHS students can take for course credit. They can either VPS for a teacher at the school or for an organization. I got a call this week from David Sicher, a Senior who we've gotten the chance to know well and wanted to know if he could VPS for Young Life. This means that every day during 3rd block we have a high schooler that is helping us organize, plan and build Young Life in Franklin. The idea came out of nowhere but we are stoked at the opportunity.

A Group We Took Monday Night to Hidden Valley YL Club

Also with a new semester comes the resurgence of Young Life Club in Hidden Valley. While we are still building towards are own club, we are taking kids to HVYL in the meantime, this time taking four who hadn't been before. They also invited us to participate in their Dodgeball Tournament next week which should offer some hilarious pictures. Again we got to see kids be blown away by what went on in club. While it is hard to be patient in waiting for our own it is such a blessing to be able to have kids see what a full fledged club looks like and to have vision for their own in the months to come.

Lastly, Ben and I are excited to be heading up to Rockbridge to Prayer Overnight this weekend. This is an annual tradition in the Commonwealth Region that brings together leaders, staff people, committee members and even some sharp high schoolers to pray and fast together for a day at Rockbridge. One of the coolest aspects of this time is that we pray for schools that do not have Young Life yet to be reached. While we know that Young Life is not the only avenue for these places to see Jesus, we know the blessing that Young Life can bring and hope that every kid gets the opportunity to hear the Gospel in a way that reaches into their life in a real way. The names of the new schools are posted on the wall and those that want to can grab a school with the agreement that at some point during the year they will go to that school and pray for it. This week after Hidden Valley's club I got to meet a high school girl who had gone to prayer overnight the year before and had grabbed Franklin County's name off the wall and had been to the school to pray over it. It was a cool moment for both of us to see the power of prayer and how far we had come in only a year.

Neutral Turf

We Didn't Have Someone to Take Our Picture So We Took a Panorama Picture and Passed the Phone. It Worked!

It's very helpful when somebody tells you the perfect way to describe a situation you are experiencing. This week I talked to Steve Schmitt about everything going on in Franklin County and he gave me a perfect illustration. The way we work in Young Life is we go to kid's 'turf'. This means showing up wherever kids are going to be and often revolves around the school. More often than not this is what we are talking about when we are doing 'contact work'. However, Steve put it differently. When we hang out with kids there is a spectrum. When we hang out with them where they are normally at we call it their turf, and when they come to something we do, like club or campaigners, that is our turf. However, there is something in the middle that isn't either one of ours; neutral turf. This is anything outside of the first two categories; a restaurant, going to the movies, riding around town, playing ultimate frisbee, basketball at the YMCA, the list goes on. This week put neutral turf in perspective for me.

The Franklin County Men Hit the City

As a fan of football I was excited for the playoff
games. Ben and I decided to invite a few guys over to watch the games on Sunday. We have done great at meeting kids on their turf, but we are trying to crack the neutral turf barrier and hang out with kids outside a school setting. However, when Sunday rolled around we only had two guys show up. This was discouraging, but we had a blast with the guys that came. In the midst of throwing frisbee, tomahawks and watching some good football we got to talking about our experiences with watching pro games in person. I told them I had gone to a Charlotte Bobcats game with my brothers last season and that it was cheap. Within seconds of telling them that one had already pulled up tickets to the game the following day; only $10 each. As an added bonus they didn't have school. We told them that if they could fill up a car full of guys to go, we would drive them down and make a day trip of it. A few hours later the plans were all laid out to pack seven of us in a car and head to see the Charlotte Bobcats take on the Houston Rockets. It's funny how when we feel our most inadequate the Lord does something sweet.

We Snuck Down and Took Some Court Side Pictures After the Game.

So at 9 a.m. we hit the road, cramming four seniors, one freshman, Ben and myself into our committee chair's SUV and headed down the road. We had adventures along the way between long McDonald's pit stops and navigating an unfamiliar city. Upon making it to the arena we watched two mediocre teams play from sub par seats and didn't mind one bit. We cheered louder than anyone else while not really caring who won, all the while having our freshman friend shout "Fear the beard!" every time James Harden made a shot. After the game we stopped at Chik-Fil-A and feasted on some delicious chicken while planning our next adventure out. On the way home we got stuck in traffic and made the best of it by jamming out to whatever song we could think of to play on Spotify and regaled our fellow wayfarers with the windows rolled down and loud choruses of classics like Drops of Jupiter.

Some of Us Got a Little Sleepy During the Final Stretch

This was the definition of spending time in neutral turf. We got to know kids away from the norm and make memories that I'm sure none of us will ever forget. The community that we got to enjoy, and the way the seniors treated the freshman guy as an equal, was something that will have big implications for the culture of the school in general. As we look to move kids towards our turf our hope and prayer is that the Lord give us more opportunities like this. As I've been reading in Scripture I again come across the story of the Exodus. After leaving Egypt the Israelites followed the Lord in the form of a pillar of smoke by day and of fire by night. That is crazy. Whenever the pillar would stop, they would too and make camp until it moved again. As it took 40 years to reach their destination I'm sure that it often stopped for longer periods of time. In seeing their persistence in trusting whenever it moved AND whenever it stopped it gives me vision for where we are now. I don't think we have lost any momentum, but I do think we are where the Lord wants us for a bit. I think the pillar has stopped here and we are to dwell for a bit in 'neutral turf'. It's incredible to see the way He takes care of His people. This Monday was an awesome example of that.

The New Year

Craig and I with Young Life President Denny Rydberg

As we look forward to 2013 we do so with excitement and anticipation. We stand on the edge of something big and are making sure we are laying a firm foundation for it. Looking back at 2012 we see the big leaps and bounds that were made towards starting a Young Life club here in Franklin County. As we stand here though we realize we still have a long way to go. In fact, I write this in the middle of a week where our committee and I have pledged to be deep in prayer and fasting as we seek to discover what comes next. While we understand that we have a lot of momentum, we also know we don't have a lot of factors needed to have a sustainable and successful club and so we do want to be very patient. As an impatient person myself, it is especially important for me to slow myself down and understand what the Lord has for us now. It is a wild experience.

Pre-game Warm-ups Before a Home Game

Here in Franklin County we're on the verge of a new semester. For me that means a whole new group of yearbook kids that I get to know. Now Ben and I know over 100 kids and we're excited to have that number grow this semester. We want to build lasting relationships with kids and have been very strategic about that. We decided to go to every basketball game we could rather than just a few. We also wanted to see both the JV and Varsity teams. We've gotten to know a lot of guys on both teams especially during away games where we are the only fans there besides parents. We get to sit with the team and have been thanked countless times for showing up to games as far as two hours away. Our hope is that we're communicating that no matter the distance, win or lose, we're going to show up. If that speaks at all to Christ's character to them, we've done our job.

The Greatest Addition to FranCo Ever: A Brand New Cook-Out

We don't just want to be friends with kids on the basketball team though, or athletes in general. We want to know every kid in the school. As I've been keeping track of the kids we know in the yearbook it hits me more and more how many kids we don't know. We are getting creative with how we meet those kids too. Often when we think of groups of kids in the school we do it around sports teams. We know kids on the basketball team, baseball, soccer, track and football. However, if that's where we stay we miss 95% of the school. We are starting to spread out into getting to know different groups of kids which is scary. We want to know kids that we have nothing in common with. When you look at Jesus' life and ministry he knew people in every type of walk of life from centurions to tax collectors, he was a friend of all. It is such an important thing for us to recognize: Jesus message is for every single kid. When we start club up we want every type of kid in the school there and represented. We want our club to look like the kingdom of God, not a who's who of the school.

Out for Mexican with the Yearbook Kids on Denham's Bday

Where we stand we are desperately in need of prayer. Our biggest prayer is asking the Lord for kids to catch the vision of pursuing their peers for Jesus. We know that even after next year when we'll be adding at least two new leaders (Becca and Kerri) that we are ridiculously outnumbered. Our goal is to reach every kid in the school; 2,200. With four leaders that leaves each of us to run after 550 kids. I'm not sure we can do that. We know that we are going to need kids to come along side us and join us in ministry. Most area's call these kids campaigners. As we move forward this is my biggest prayer. Secondly, we ask for direction. There are so many different ways we could go, and we need the Lord to make it clear for us where we can serve Him best. I am so thankful to have a committee full of people excited to pray and fast about this through the week and for people reading this who will honestly go before the Lord for it. So, I leave you in a place of patience and of waiting. We are excited to see what comes next. I thank you for being a part of it with us.

Fall Weekend pt. 2

When you see Rockbridge for the first time, it blows your mind. I remember thinking of what Young Life camp was going to be when I went for the first time in high school, and it was nothing like what I pictured. Rockbridge is a camp specifically designed for high school kids. It takes everything into consideration and defines excellence. It should be called a Young Life resort. We got there and our kids spilled out of the bus and got settled in their rooms before Ben and I took the guys and wandered around camp.

The next 36 hours are a blur. I wish I could detail for you everything that went on. As I look back a few weeks, and many big events later, there are a few big things that stick out; the first is club. Many of the kids we took had no idea what club was even about. They had never seen a club and when they asked us what Young Life was all about we told them to wait and see. They were blown away. We were lucky enough to be a part of one of the biggest Fall Weekends Rockbridge had ever hosted. Every bit of the club room was packed out. The look on their faces to see 700 other kids go nuts and sing Taylor Swift songs or cheer for games or laugh at program characters was priceless. By the end of our first club we had the privilege to hear for Cliff Wright.

Cliff is an area director in Fredericksburg. I can't guarantee I'm spelling that right. Cliff is a very, very passionate person when it comes to talking about Jesus. You can tell he is walking with Christ in a way that a lot of people aren't. It draws you in and makes you want to know what is different about him. A lot of our guys loved him right off the bat. One turned to me and said "I want to be that when I grow up". I'm not sure if any of them truly realized why Cliff was different but I hope that they will.

We got to have cabin time both nights we were there, where the goal is to just kick back and get real with the guys. It is where a lot of conversation happens and high school guys who rarely talk about real stuff open up. For us that meant getting to known one another. Coming in Ben and I didn't know all of the guys, and didn't know hardly any of them on a deep level. We got to talk about life, Jesus, Cliff's talk, etc. What I hoped would go at least 20 minutes ended up going over an hour and a half. By the time we looked at the clock again it was 2 a.m.

By the end of the weekend nobody wanted to leave. We had a quick area meeting sharing the vision for what club could be coming back to Franklin which a lot of kids were stoked about. The bus on the way home was a whole different story. We were all comfortable with one another talking like old friends. We talked about going back to camp in the summer and what club could look like. We arrived home tired but satisfied. It had been a good, good weekend.

As I look back on it there were a lot of victories for us. We got to see the spiritual landscape of kids in Franklin County. Most all of them have been exposed to the Gospel to some degree, most of them even go to church. However, they long for more. They understand that the way Cliff spoke about Jesus was different than they saw him, it was intimate, real, deep. They want that. It will be incredible for us to find out how to bridge that gap from wanting to living. As we move forward, we are more excited than ever.

The last four blogs have been a bit off the norm! For that I'm sorry, and I'm also sorry they're a bit late. Its been a wild time for us and for myself personally. As the new year comes and I have more time again to be consistent I hope to update every Tuesday on what is going on and how you guys can be praying for. I thank you for supporting us in prayer, we desperately need it. We love you so much!

More updates soon.

Fall Weekend pt. 1

I don't even know where to begin. Fall Weekend was wild, exhausting, fun, intense and left us with a ton of vision and momentum about our next steps with Young Life in Franklin County. When all was said and done we ended up with a total of 28 people from FranCo signed up for Rockbridge. This was my first Fall Weekend taking kids to camp so I was hoping that all my ducks were in a row. The biggest question mark that came together at the last second was the bus.

Originally we didn't think that we would need a bus. It was our first year taking kids, and a few places that we asked were out of our price range. I figured with 4 leaders we could take a couple cars of kids with us driving. That was before we had twenty kids sign up in two days. We then realized we needed to find a bus. Luckily at the 11th hour we found a bus, our own driver for the bus and were approved with the insurance the day of Fall Weekend. The last step was to get the bus to the YMCA parking lot where we were to meet kids at 6:30. And then the bus wouldn't start.

We spent a half an hour trying to figure out what the heck to do. The bus was in one parking lot, the kids were in another and it was freezing outside. As the minutes ticked on half of our leaders and committee were at the bus with our driver trying to figure out what was wrong while the other half hung out with kids and tried to reassure parents who probably wondered if we knew what we were doing. Just as we decided to pack into cars with our leaders and committee driving, the problem was found. In a school bus all of the emergency exits must be perfectly locked AND the driver seatbelt must be on. We now know this.

Finally, 45 minutes late, the bus rolled around the corner to cheers from kids and parents alike. Undeterred we clambered on the bus, made a quick headcount and checked for health forms, and started our journey to the greatest place on Earth; Rockbridge.

Word of mouth spread pretty quick in Franklin so many kids that we didn't know previously made the trip. Kerry and Becca had never met 95% of the girls on the bus while I only knew about half of the guys. Ben was taking a late car down with our three varsity basketball players, a cheerleader and her good friend Jill. The bus ride became a rallying point. We made Franklin County chants, did our best to get on the phone line with Delilah, our favorite radio show host, and ate countless cookies provided by our committee and parents.

My favorite part was that most of the kids had no idea what Young Life even was. They were there simply on somebodies word that it was going to be the best weekend of there life. A certain guy was introduced to me by Alan Janney, a teacher at FCHS, who said he should go. He walked into the room, was introduced to me, Mr. Janney told him he should go to the weekend and he looked at me and said, "You think I should go?"Having just met him I said "I guarantee it'll be the best weekend of your life." He turned his form in the very next day. On the way up the kids asked a million questions just wanting to know what it would look like so we continued to be cryptic not wanting to ruin any surprises.

Finally we rolled into the gates of Rockbridge and pulled up to the entrance tent as the kids marveled through the windows of the place we had just arrived at. We had made it.

To be continued . . . Sorry, but I'm in the yearbook classroom and I have to leave! But I'll try to finish this story soon!

The Engagement Part II

I picked her up around 1:30 and was calmer than I expected to be. We headed out to get something to eat and I suggested Panera, a place I knew she loved and a place I knew would by light on my nervous stomach. I insisted we go to the Christiansburg Panera, rather than the one much closer in Blacksburg, saying that it was better, but really I just wanted to buy some time. Usually I'm a very quick eater but I took my time while intermittently checking my phone making sure that all parties were on the same page. Luckily Becca thought that I was checking the score of the Tech game. Finally she noted that we had been at Panera forever, so I began our tour of Christiansburg.

I really had no idea where to take her. Most of the places I could think of we had already been. So I told her since we'd been to those places at night I wanted to show them to her in the day time. Seriously, I was stretching for everything. We went to the house I grew up in, a bridge my dad used to take me, the new house my brother and his wife bought, and my brother's sister-in-law's house. I was desperate. I told Brendan we would be there at 4, so finally at 3:35 we headed back for Blacksburg.

When Becca and I first started hanging out we had a few run-ins with the police. It started on our first date when I got pulled over for my tags being expired. It was then that Becca told me how much she HATED being pulled over. I've never known someone who hated run-ins with the cops so much. The next two times we hung out after our first date we also got pulled over; three times in the first week of us hanging out. I finally got my tags changed knowing that if I got pulled over again with her in the car she would probably never drive with me again.

This is important because of what happened on the ride back. As previously stated it was the day of the Tech vs. UVA football game, a game that VT traditionally wins regardless of how terrible a season they are having. Becca said at one point that if UVA won it would be the worst day ever. While I knew she was joking, I desperately wanted Tech to win. As the Hokies drove down with the final seconds ticking away and the score tied up they took a time out to set up the field goal with four seconds left as we listened on the radio. It was then I noticed the police car behind me with it's lights on. The problem? My tags were expired. I love when things come full circle.

So as the officer wrote me a ticket we listened to the Hokies kick the game winning field goal before finishing things with the cop. We then FINALLY made our final push towards the Chapel. Now, Becca didn't know that was where we were going. But I knew if I hinted enough about me playing piano for her she would ask me too, and in that case there was only one place I could take her with a piano; the Chapel. So I hinted, she asked, and away we went. We parked in an illegal spot but as we walked into the Chapel I dropped the keys outside the door so our friend Ben could move it without her noticing. Together we walked in.

The trick for me was to set up the Chapel in a way that it was decorated, but not obvious. I told her they must have put up their Christmas decorations. We walked over to the piano and I told her that we'd never sang a song together and I wanted to sing. I played the song Give Me Jesus while we sang which was a really cool experience. I kept my eye on Brendan who was well hidden, but stuck out enough if you were looking for him. I finished the song and became instantly aware I had no idea how I was going to transition to the little speech I had planned, so I just dove into it.

As is my custom I started pacing as I told her what I'd been learning about marriage. She hadn't noticed that my Bible was sitting on the alter and so I went over and grabbed it as she followed me over.

Becca and I started dating on April 29th, 2011 and one day I got bored and looked up all the 4:29s in the Bible. I came across Deuteronomy 4:29 which is "From there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find him if you search after him with all your heart and soul." That became the basis of our relationship for me and we often referred to it. The purpose of anything is to draw us closer to the Lord; especially a romantic relationship. God didn't make marriage so that we could just enjoy another person, but so that we could better understand who He is. It's a wild concept that I've been learning about for the past year and a half now.

In asking Becca to marry me I was asking her to chase after the Lord with me for the rest of our lives together. My Bible has fallen apart and even is in two pieces now right where Deuteronomy 4:29 is (due to the fact that I kept all the letters Becca sent me there) and so that is where I put the ring. As I talked to her I grabbed my Bible and asked her what Deuteronomy 4:29 said. As she started to say it she looked around and caught sight of Brendan.

That was the moment she realized what was going on. I knew she was suspicious at different parts of the day but once she saw him every doubt was erased. This was the moment she'd been waiting for. Her eyes started tearing up at she looked back and me and her hands started to shake. I grabbed them as I pulled the ring our of my Bible and dropped down to one knee. I honestly can't even remember the words that I used at the point but the gist was that I wanted to spend the rest of my life running after Jesus together.

There should be a class for things that guys don't know about engagements. One of those things I didn't know was which hand to put the ring on. After reaching for the wrong one she gently placed the right one in my hands and I slipped on the ring that had been burning a whole in my pocked for the month prior on to her finger. Then that was it! We were engaged. She hugged me and didn't let go for what felt like forever. Brendan took a few pictures more and then snuck our without a word leaving us to sit by the alter and take in everything that had happened. I finally got to tell her all the things I'd been hiding from her over the past few months trying to make the engagement a surprise.

After we had time to talk we called our families to meet us there and got to spend some time before heading to our engagement party. A crazy amount of our friends showed up and we got to spend the night celebrating the big, big things that Jesus lets us enjoy. And now I get to tell the world that we are happily engaged! I've wanted to do that for a long, long time. I told my mom a week after we started dating that she was the one I was going to marry. I spent the next year and half convincing her of that!

I want to thank everyone who made the day ridiculously special. Our families for supporting us, Brendan for taking pictures, Katie Meehan for planning the party and Hypes for making some ridiculously delicious food and all our friends that were able to make it.

I hope that as you read this that you walk away with a clearer picture of who the Lord is and what His role is in relationships I don't post this blog so that every girl who reads it will cry and think how sweet everything is. I post it because before Becca I had no idea what a Christ-centered relationship should look like and maybe this gives you a better picture. And now we get to start our ministry together in Franklin County soon! Big, big things.