Category: {Love}

Written By: Caroline Harries

As a little girl I dreamed of the day of becoming a wife and then a mom.  My reality has been much different than I had planned.  In my early and mid 20’s, I became the ’27 dresses’ girl.  While all my friends were getting married, I continued to get my heart broken.  I wasn’t sure when I was going to finally meet the man the Lord had for me.

As always, God brought someone in my life who was more than I could have asked for or imagined.  You know the list that you have in the back of your mind of what you want in someone?  Well sure enough God exceeded that.

My now husband, Colby, and I met in October 2009.  At the time we were going to the same church, but since I had been in other relationships, I had never attended the single adults group.  However, that changed and we started running around in the same circle.  Colby was looking for volunteers for a service project he had and I was more than willing to help!  In fact, I already had my eye on him and made sure to write down my name and number to help volunteer for his event.

After exchanging a few emails, conversing at a church retreat, and going on our first date, the rest really is history.  We connected immediately and it wasn’t too long before we knew we wanted to marry each other.  11 months later and Colby surprised me by proposing.  He also invited all of my friends and family to celebrate with us.  Another 5 months after that and we were saying “I Do”.

My love story was nothing like I imagined it would be.  It’s not how I wanted it, but it’s so much better.  God knew what He was doing and I am so glad He hand picked such a wonderful man for me to marry!  This April we will celebrate 5 years of marriage.

Blessings,
Caroline

Caroline blogs over at In Due Time, which she started back in April of 2012.  In 2011 her life changed for the better when she got married to her sweet husband, Colby.  Besides working as a financial analyst and blogging, she enjoys spending time with Colby, travelling, watching football, and attending various small groups and Bible studies.  She is a health nut, who enjoys working out and eating healthy.  She has a passion for those who are going through trials, especially those who feel like they are waiting on God to answer their prayers.  Blog Facebook Instagram Pinterest Bloglovin Twitter

Written By: Brittany Putman

Ten years ago when I graduated from high school, I was a completely different person.  I had always been the quiet one in my group of friends and I didn’t really care if that ever changed or not.  I was going to school to be a teacher in a nearby town, dating my high school sweetheart, and under the assumption that I would never need to leave my safe little town.  I thought I had it all figured out.  Boy was I wrong.

I had a plan for my life.  That was probably my first problem.

But none-the-less I went to school, worked hard and I just knew that once I graduated from college that I would teach in the local school, marry that high school sweetheart and that would be my life.  But of course, that’s not what happened.

As my senior year of college came to an end, I found myself without that high school boyfriend and zero job prospects.  It seemed as if each day my plan was slipping further away.  Then, for some reason still unclear to me, I decided that I would just go on a trip after college.  I mean, why not?  It was perfect timing and it would probably be my only chance to see the world.  Plus I really felt like God might want me to take a trip; to do some good while I figured out what to do.  I really don’t know what I was thinking, or if I was thinking at all because this was so not me but I went anyway.

And so that’s how I ended up in an orphanage in the Philippines in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.  While I was there I met children who had never celebrated their birthday before and entered homes that we wouldn’t let our dogs live in.  I met men and women who were passionate to share the Gospel and others who were hungry to hear it.  I experienced things that you just can’t experience while living in the United States, and I’ll never know if I did any good there or not but when I came home I found myself a totally different person.  I was ready to follow God’s plan for my life instead of my own.  Let’s face it; my plan wasn’t very good in the first place and my dreams were far too small.

I spent 3 months in the Philippines and then 1 more year at home before I made the move to Louisville to study missions and pursue a career as a foreign missionary.  I didn’t have a clue what I was doing but I was following God and that was all that mattered.  Once again, I had a plan and I just knew that this was the right path for my life to follow.  I mean, why wouldn’t God send me overseas if I was willing to go?

Once again I was wrong.  I spent two years in grad school before my money ran out and I started teaching full time.  I loved my teaching job so very, very much!  But at the same time I felt like my life wasn’t going anywhere.  So again I prayed that God would lead me and send me where He wanted me to go.  I decided that I would spend two more years in Louisville waiting on God to show me what to do and then I would either pack my bags for home or the other side of the world.  I know, it sounds crazy but those were my two options!

Once again God’s plan was not my own.  At the beginning of my second year of waiting in Louisville, my roommate suggested that I try online dating.  I know that sounds crazy and dangerous but she met her boyfriend (now husband) online and so I figured why not.  I didn’t think anything would come of it and decided that I would never actually meet someone from the internet but I signed up anyway.  One month later I met Brian.  Six months later we were engaged.  It all happened so fast that I nearly missed it!

Now, we have been married for ten months, we live in a small Kentucky town right on the Ohio River, and I finally feel like I am where I am supposed to be.  My plan was nothing like God’s plan.  Instead of my safe little hometown, I am 300 miles away.  Instead of teaching, I am working in the local church.  Instead of ministering to others overseas, I am sharing my stories and the love of Jesus through the internet.

I used to be the quiet girl who would gladly blend into her surroundings and never made a fuss.  Now I’m sharing my story with whoever will listen.  God’s plan for my life is so much better than my own and I know that I better not get too comfortable because I never know when God will move me again!

~Brittany

Brittany Putman has been married to her husband, Brian, for almost a year.  She enjoys taking walks with her husband and dog, reading good books, and practising her cooking skills.  She lives in Kentucky and works as a Church Assistant and Freelance Writer.  She is a child of God striving to become a Proverbs 31 wife.  She frequently writes about practising grace and celebrating love as a newlywed at Grace, Love, Life.

 

Written By: Kendra Stamy

When a couple meets for the first time, they often say they had an instant attraction to one another. Not so in the case of Jason and I.

He had moved back to Ohio just 2 weeks previously for a job at the age of 20. I was 19 and disillusioned with life in general not believing I had any hope of breaking away from family sins, and even if I could, boys weren’t to be trusted.

I first saw him at a church youth gathering sitting next to a favorite cousin of mine and laughing as they prank texted some other guy. I remember wondering who that dorky looking guy was and then dismissing him entirely while talking with and enjoying time with my friends.

He really doesn’t even remember seeing me.

The next weekend at another youth gathering I saw a friend of mine and went to tell her hi. She introduced me to another girl who also became a great friend of mine. In the course of our chatting and getting to know each other she suddenly turned to the side a bit and introduced her cousin from out of state to me.

Jason. The dorky looking guy was Jason, my new friend’s cousin. We talked some that night, I found him funny and learned that he actually talked more than I!

Since he now lived pretty close, I saw him frequently and my “sister friend” Renae met him too of course. She picked on him and teased him a lot, leading me to believe she liked him. Consequently I would invite him along when when Renae and I were doing stuff, and she would invite him along just as frequently.

This continued for over 6 months and Jason also began coming down to the farm and helping out over the summer weekends becoming good friends with my brothers.

Then Renae began dating a guy from work. I asked her about Jason and she laughed saying he was crazy about me not her! ???

Ummm Okay.

I stepped back a little from the friendship part and saw what apparently everyone but myself had seen all along! But I wasn’t sure I was interested.

Porn, unfaithfulness and tobacco use were common in the men of my family sadly enough. I didn’t trust men/boys and wasn’t sure I could.

But I liked Jason, he was smart and funny, he made me laugh and drove me just a little be crazy. So I began “testing” him.

At my request my brothers tried to interest him in porn and other such evils. My brothers and I were close even though they knew I disapproved and would actually do what I asked.

As well I would covertly and methodically go through his truck and belongings when he wasn’t around. I never found a lick of stuff that shouldn’t be in a young man’s possessions and when I asked my brothers about his response to porn they grumped saying he “preached at them” and told them it was trash!

Exactly a year after we first met we began dating. Through the huge upheaval and eventual reconciliation my family went through that year, he was always there.

Even when I tried to run away and even hurt myself he was there for me and was my steady.

Because of the issues in my family, and partially because I knew my own mind. We talked marriage from the start.

Little things like “do you want lots of kids” and bigger things like a man’s place vs woman’s place in the home. Since we were raised very opposite we also had discussions over homeschooling, alternative medicine and of course purity.

After nearly a year of dating he asked me to marry him. It was random and not at all romantic. It also took me by surprise. I sat there a minute before blurting out “yes, but not right now”!

He never asked me again, but 3 months later we sat a date and planned a wedding.

Our wedding, as all weddings go, went perfectly. The cake falling? Well that just happened and I remember laughing quite hard over that thing. My MIL made cakes for years and the first cake she ever “lost” ended up being her son’s!

Jason and I are not perfect, however we are perfectly imperfect for each other. If there is any lesson in our love story it would be this:

God makes beauty from ashes, and your darkest times often result in the greatest blessings.

Bio: Kendra is a Wife, Mommy, Homemaker and Blogger. She believes God should come first in all things, next her family and finally the rather unexpected ministry her blog has become online.

She writes at A Proverbs 31 Wife where her mission is “To Uplift, Inspire, and Encourage Wives and Homemakers”. Her tasty recipes are made with real, simple ingredients, and her money saving tips come from years of experience.

Mrs. Kendra Stamy
Writer at: A Proverbs 31 Wife
Consultant for: Lilla Rose

Written By: Chelle Wilson

Sitting beside My Beloved (and yes, that is what I call him…) at a local trattoria on my recent birthday, I realized that we’ve celebrated more of my birthdays together than anyone else in my life, including my parents.  We belong together.

We were introduced as teenagers by a school friend at a church picnic.  I was 15.  Nearly 40 years later, it is my prayer that my husband would be ever captivated by my love.  We are fortunate.  Not only was he my first love, he is my love still.

I am grateful that ours was not a straight path to marriage.  Though he was my first serious relationship, one that spanned high school and college, I had a full single life.  I dated, had friendships and learned how it felt to be valued.  I learned the things that really mattered.  Although I didn’t articulate it, I measured every relationship against my first because My Beloved set a remarkably high standard (he still does).

I encourage single women to be single.  To learn to love yourself, to be adventurous, responsible, and to know that choosing to join your life with someone is a sacred choice, one to be made soberly.  Love is marvellous, but “being in love” can make you a little crazy.  Crazy, as a life choice, should be avoided at all cost.

Because were were children when we met, we still talk about our second 1st date.  I’m not one motivated by dreams, but after years of neither thinking of nor seeing him, I clearly remembered dreaming about him.  I called his parents’ home the next day.

After a delightful chat with his dad, I asked him to pass along my regards and perhaps my number.  I expected that he was living on the opposite coast and that we might run into each other at some point in the future.

As I often tell people, God wanted us to have babies. He’d recently ended a serious relationship (I think within days of my dream), and was living and working locally.  He returned my call the next day.  2 days later, over dinner during that “second 1st date”, I realized I’d never stopped loving him, and the way he made me feel was the feeling I wanted for the rest of my life.

It still wasn’t a straight path to marriage, but a week before the 13th anniversary of the day we met, we pledged our love and our lives before God, friends and family and started our lives together.

A few years ago, My Beloved and I were discussing The Five Love Languages, by Gary Chapman.  An “acts of service” man, I am blessed after all these years (nearly 25!) with someone robed in humility, who is both a good shepherd and a good steward.  Sober and serious, he has a natural affinity for taking care.  And no, he doesn’t need an S on his chest…he expects to do (well) what he does.

According to Chapman, for those who love via acts of service “they are thinking, “Cut the talk.  If you loved me, you would do something…”  My Beloved is not that brusque, but that is who he is and how he loves.

God knew I needed someone who would treasure and secure me, giving me just what I needed to spread my wings and soar.  As is the case with all things of God, he was made for me, and I for him.

I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine…

Song of Solomon 6:3 (NIV)

Written By: Katie Reid

Two steps forward, two steps back.  We come together ‘cuz opposites attract.  It ain’t fiction just a natural fact.  We come together ‘cuz opposites attract.
– ”Opposites Attract” by Paula Abdul

Adam was a junior in high school when I was in my first year of college.  I was looking for an older guy, so he didn’t grab my attention, although we went to the same church.

When Adam graduated he enrolled in the same college that I attended.  We ran in some of the same circles and interacted more regularly.

I was in a season where I was tired of being burned by guy friends.  I usually wanted to be more than friends but they had their sights set elsewhere (a.k.a. interested in my friends).  So I resolved to stop having close guy friends and wait for Mr. Right.  One of my friends pointed out that meeting Mr. Right might be difficult if I didn’t let guys get close.

Adam is a physical touch kind of guy and, because of my history in the guy department, I was annoyed by the way he hugged on the ladies.  He was being friendly but I interpreted it as flirty.  I had a self-righteous attitude that he did not find attractive.

We were like oil and water.

Imagine our friends surprise when we began dating years later.  We had become best friends—apparently enough time had passed from my anti-guy declaration and I let my guard down.  We were real with each other—not trying to impress the other.

My uptight personality helped motivate him and his laid back style helped me unwind.

Adam hung out at our apartment quite a bit.  One night my roommates and I were quizzing him about which girls he had kissed.  I remember wishing that I was one of them.

God removed the blinders from my eyes and I realized how good-looking Adam was.  He had seen me at my worst and still stuck around, which was quite an attractive quality.

After this revelation, I was convinced that I not only wanted Adam to kiss me, I wanted him to be my boyfriend and hopefully husband too.

Adam had been in a unhealthy relationship, and gotten his heart broken, prior to our friendship.  He was determined not to date unless it was to Mrs. Right—his future wife.  So about a year after my realization that he was “the one”, and stalking him a little, he came to a decision.

He had been seeking the Lord for a clear answer on whether I was to be his wife.  He wanted the answer to be “yes”, yet he wanted to know for sure.  While mowing the greens at the golf course where he worked, Adam felt like God was flashing a neon sign overhead that said, “YES! YES! YES!  Katie is the one.”

The day after I graduated from college, while sitting on a blanket under the dark sky in his parent’s front yard, Adam asked me to be his girlfriend.  My response?  “YES!  And I’ll bet there are lots of hearts breaking in town tonight, now that you’re taken.”

Our short dating season was far from perfect.  We went further physically than we should have and I often compared our relationship to the lofty ideals I read about in courting books.

Adam wisely said to me one day, “You know our love story is our story. It won’t be like someone else’s, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a good one.”

God has used our struggles to help other couples in similar positions.  Of course we wished we would have chosen to do some things differently, but we are sincerely thankful that God has redeemed that time.

We are now able to speak into other couples’ lives and challenge them be more successful than we were.

We’ve had the privilege of witnessing some great marriages and delight in passing on the advice and example that we’ve been given.  One of the ways Adam and I started doing this more is through our Wednesday night Periscope videos.

We entitled them, “Stop! Hammock Time”.  We have a little too much fun sharing marriage tips, being goofy and encouraging others to connect with their spouse as we broadcast from our hammock.  We’d love to have you tune in.  You can watch the replays here: Katch.me: katie_m_reid

We do not have a perfect marriage, no one does, yet we seek to grow closer to the Lord and one another with each passing year.

I am so glad that God transformed our oil and water relationship and blended our lives in a messy yet iridescent display of His grace.

I love you Adam!  Thank you for sticking by me and for helping me not take life too seriously.  P.S. I don’t mind your hugs at all anymore.  😉

With Grace,
Katie M. Reid

word weaver | heart singer | hope speaker | photo taker

Bio: Katie M. Reid is a tightly wound woman, of the recovering perfectionist variety, who fumbles to receive and extend grace in everyday moments.  She delights in her hubby, four children (and one on the way) and their life in ministry.  Hot or iced tea and cut-to-the-chase conversations are a few of her favourite things.  Through her writing, singing, speaking and photography, Katie encourages others to find grace in the unraveling of life.

Connect with Katie at katiemreid.com, and on Facebook and Twitter.

Author of “Extra Salt on the Fries” a memoir piece found in Tales of Our Lives: Reflection Pond by Matilda Butler (available on Amazon).

Written By: Sarah Travis

In 2008 Jason read a book on a bus from New York to D.C. called “When God Writes your Love Story,” by Eric and Leslie Ludy and by the time he stepped off the bus was praying for God to write his love story.  At that time I was a teacher in Scotland doing short-term missions in my summer breaks!

The Meeting

Love at first sight…?  Maybe second or third!

My first glance at Jason left me thinking he was rude…his first glance at me left him thinking I was a crazy woman driver blocking a driveway on a ranch in Tennessee!

His first words to me a few moments later, in the company of others, were jovial and enquiring…my first response was full of sass!

Despite thinking he was rude (he really wasn’t!) something stirred in my heart following the cowboy youth ministry volunteer meeting we were both attending and I knew I couldn’t let him leave without saying goodbye.  Our first conversation lasted 2 hours and ended with us exchanging phone numbers.  Upon arriving home, he told his mother he had met the woman he was going to marry and I had a similar conversation with my host family.

The next evening we spoke on the phone, mostly about our love for Hillsong worship music.  The following evening we went on our first date…and the rest, as they say, is history!

But it’s a love story…His-story.

The Courtship

Jason and I were both 31 when we met and, although we had both been in relationships and made our fair share of mistakes along the way, had never been married or had children.  Neither of us had a wishlist for a spouse but we certainly knew what we were not looking for!

I had been in the United States for a little over 8 months when we met and was due to return to my home country Scotland in just six short weeks.  The weekend prior to that early August evening when we met, we had both been away from our normal surroundings and had both had our own encounters with the Lord in which we had once and for all surrendered marriage to Him.

From the beginning of our relationship, it was different.  Christ was at the centre and most times we spent together were at one or other of our churches, home groups, or the ministry at which we had met.  We worshipped together.  We served together.  Two weeks that first meeting we sat in my host family’s home with our Bibles open, discussing marriage Scripture, and praying over the Lord’s leading for us to pursue His answer to one question…was this the one?

With my departure drawing ever closer, we continued to spend time together whenever possible, and by the time I boarded the plane to Scotland in September, Jason had flights booked to visit and meet my parents…actually stay in their home for a week — no pressure!!!

October brought him to visit me in Scotland and my parents to fall in love with him!  He immediately felt at ease as we all spent time together as if we had known each other for years.  Each day we ventured out to explore another part of my homeland.  On his last day, as we strolled along a street in St. Andrews hand-in-hand, I said to him…”Can you just leave your hand here with me?!” He replied: “No, but I am leaving part of my heart.”

The Engagement

I was able to visit the U.S. in November for a few weeks so in those early months we were not apart for long.  Although we had agreed not to say “I love you” until we knew if it was real love leading to marriage on that first evening when we sat with our Bibles open, love was growing deep in our hearts.  Each goodbye grew more painful and each time apart longer.  Apart for 2 months over Christmas and New Year, I was then able to visit him again in February which is when true love led us to profess our feelings and become engaged.

We would have married the next day if we could!!  However, there was the slight problem of me being Scottish.  We gathered together the requirements for the first stage of the immigration process over the next 2 days, then it was time for me to kiss my fiance and board a plane, unsure of when I would next see him.

The Foundations

Our engagement lasted as long as it took for my Fiance VISA to be approved, which was 9 months, and during that time we saw each other for 10 days.  Where our love story differs is that he wasn’t able to pick me up to whisk me away for romantic meals.  There were no walks, movie dates, or Sunday lunches with family.  The way our love grew deeper and deeper was through our communication.  We spent hours each week on the phone (thank you Magic Jack and Skype!), we wrote daily emails, and mailed cute cards.  We sang together on the phone, and discussed Scripture and the sermons we had each heard.

Our entire relationship during our engagement was based on two things — trust and communication.

Not being together was a test.  Temptations that never existed before presented themselves.  We were being tested from all angles but trusted each other’s faithfulness.  Not being together also removed the idle chit-chat, small talk aspect of being on a date.  We couldn’t discuss where we were, who we saw, what we were doing…we actually had to find topics of conversation daily for 9 months!!

Trust and Communication — the foundations upon which our relationship and our marriage is based.  Although I much prefer the years we have now been married and together almost every day, I give thanks for that time apart.  Those months laid a foundation so deep that when tried and tested, it has not faltered.  Our foundations have held us up as we have faced uncertainty, moves, and hardship in our short 3.5 years of marriage.  Our basis of trust allows me to submit to his leadership knowing it comes from a heart seeking the Lord’s will.  Our basis of communication allows us to have an open book and difficult conversations, speaking the truth with love and a sincere heart.

Let Love Lead

Trust and Communication — two of the foundational aspects of our relationship with the Lord.  We are called to trust in Him with everything.  We are called to let Him lead the way and guide our hearts.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own understanding;
think about Him in all your ways,
and He will guide you on the right paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

We are called to communicate with Him at all times–in all things–always.
“pray without ceasing” 1 Thessalonians 5:17

I believe a marriage is it’s strongest when we let love lead.  “The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” 1 John 4:8.  When true love, God, is leading the way, we can trust in Him and so in His leading, as we submit our thoughts and feelings to Him, for it is He who determines the best path for us: “A man’s heart plans his way, but the LORD determines his steps.” Proverbs 16:9.

Let ‘God is Love’ Lead!

~Sarah

About Sarah:

Sarah Travis is from Scotland, but immigrated to the U.S. in 2013 to marry her husband, Jason.  She is an author, speaker, and inspirational Bible teacher passionate about helping women believe their acceptance and belonging in Christ, not in the world.

“The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.” Proverbs 16:9 ESV

You can follow Sarah on her blog, on Facebook, and on Twitter.