story time sunday: wedding.

4 years out of college, spread all over the country, in different places in life, but still have the same bond. my college roommates are some of my best friends.

we were blessed to be able to spend a long weekend together to celebrate our sweet friend crissa's wedding.

just imagine, girls trip (we mostly left the hubbies at home), six of us sleeping in the same room (we couldn't leave each other's sides!), crying tears of joy, having heart to hearts, cooking, decorating, exploring, but mostly laughing and making memories that will last a life time!

it was a beautiful wedding and crissa made a stunning bride! tim- you are a blessed man (but i know you know that!). it was a joy to be apart of it.

here are some of my fav pix from the perfect chelan weekend!

xo

story time sunday: food.

i have been loving cooking + baking in the kitchen lately. but what i especially enjoy is the bellies i have been feeding with all of this food!

last week, i made chicken enchiladas for trav + some of his best buds and boy oh boy is it a project feeding 7 grown men! (single ladies who marry any of the 4 single guys in this pix or the one who is taking this pix (sorry kent)- come get this enchilada recipe from me! they will marry you on the spot! ha) love y'all!

(we never found the magnuson's did we?!?! LOL)

here are two of my new favorite recipes this summer:

pear salad. ingredients:

-sliced pears

-pistachios

-spinach (or whatever leaf you prefer) 

-feta (for trav) goat (for me)

-light balsamic vinaigrette 

so light + nice for lunch/dinner.

shauna niequist's blueberry crisp.
(not only is she my favorite author- she's my new favorite cook! she's writing a new book of recipes + simple entertaining. cannot wait for the release. {bread+wine} thanks for blogging this gem!)

Ingredients

4 cups blueberries (or any fruit, really)

Crisp topping:

1 cup old fashioned oats

½ cup pecans

½ cup almond meal (available at Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, health food stores, or made by putting almonds in food processor until fine, but before they turn to almond butter)

¼ cup maple syrup

¼ cup olive oil

½ tsp salt

Instructions

Pour four cups fruit into 8x8 pan. Spread crisp topping over the fruit. Bake at 350 degrees 35-40 minutes, or longer if topping and fruit are frozen, until fruit is bubbling and topping is crisp and golden. 

Serves 4 

serve with some yogurt. so good!

hopefully your bellies have been full of great food this summer + even better memories to go along with it! can't believe fall is upon us soon. let's soak up the sun, BBQ's + watermelon while we can. 

xoxo

story time sunday: SURPRISES!

if you really knew me, you'd know i LOVE surprises! and this weekend, i got one of the best ones yet! my sweet girls that i mentor, came to visit me from AZ this weekend. 

meet them!

meet morgan: a sweet college freshmen who will be coming to APU (meaning i will see her everydayyyyy) in the fall. morgie loves blogging, laughing and looks great in her new cute jeep! she is a JOY to be around and has a beautiful heart.

here's abbie! headed off to TCU in the fall, to get an education and line dance a lot! abs is the best singer in the world! she worships and ushers people into the presence of God and it is unreal! she is a true gem!

here's kristyn: kristyn is going back to u of a in the fall - and will be apart of the best sorority in the world (already know it!)! kristyn is a beautiful example of Jesus + gets to love on little babes at the church nursery! LUCKY! she is a love bug!

 meet paige: paigerz goes to TCU and has a cutie BF (shout out caleb!)! she is a true fashionista in every sense of the word! she has a huge heart for Africa + will return one day. in the mean time, she is going to show abs the ropes of being a true texas girl! wee-hawwww! 

last but not least, meet shaye: shaye has the joy of being a cougar with me (APU- come on now people!!) shaye is a bundle of a good time and cares for the cutest puppies @ a local animal store. she cracks me up and has a fun outlook on life that is contagious! 

i went to get coffee in the morning and when i got home, 5 of the cutest gals were sitting on my couch. i cried (literally) and was SO happy! i couldn't help but start planning a million things to do in the short time they were here. 

we hit up abricott in pasadena for some yummy breakfast!

then headed straight for hermosa beach! what a joy to lay on a big blanket, have heart to hearts, laugh, relax, all while getting some serious girl hang time and a tan! holler! 

then we stayed in for take out thai food, and games. ("i keep forgetting to pick up cards!" -paige) then we had to venture to the ultimate- 21 choices! we all ended up with circus animal cookie which is always a goodie! fell asleep to a movie- 5 small bodies in my tiny living room! 

woke up to a yummy coffee cake and eggs breakfast! then went to the rose bowl flea market. we all could have bought everything there but refrained! it was a blast.

girls- thank you for blessing me with some quality time, laughs, and memories. y'all mean the world to me. LOVE YOU DEARLY!

story time sunday: father's day!

Father: a man who has begotten a child.

This definition does not do justice to truly what a father is or does. My daddy, not only begotten us, but raised, loved, poured into us. He fought battles (and still does) for us on his knees, shows us the love of our Heavenly Father, and encourages us in being in the Word and knowing Jesus, intimately knowing Him.

Daddy, not a day goes by that we don’t think of how grateful we are for you. You have raised three beautiful children, loved mom in a way that inspires us, are a G-PA to two gorgeous grandchildren, and an awesome father in law to two! You have followed the call of God on your life and took risks. You've done more in your 50 years of your life that some people never accomplish in their lifetimes.

It's not about your accomplishments though daddy- it's about your heart. Thank you for being you and letting us have an earthly example of God's love for us. You are the best.

Happy Father's Day!

xoxo

story time sunday: eating disorder.

this story comes from someone i have looked up to since i could look up to anyone. here is her story:

I guess it all started when I was 18 (I’m slightly older than that now!! Haha a husband and three kids later!) , well truly the foundation was laid a long time before that.  I was raised a preachers kid who moved a lot before I landed in Las Vegas.  Keeping up appearances was always of the utmost importance in our house.  Looking great when we went in public was normal even if things weren’t so great at home.  There were a lot of high expectations for the way I looked and performed.  When things weren’t up to par there would be a lot of anger.  I lived most of my life trying to please everyone at my expense.  I didn’t want anyone to dislike me or be angry with me.

For any of you who have done that you know it doesn’t last too long.  Eventually the anger towards myself, God and my family started to come out.  I would fight with my parents so bad during my teenage years; I was so angry and was unable to process all the things I had experienced.  I remember the hate for my body started very young when people teased me and then again in junior high and high school.  Even at this time I had a bad relationship with food, everything was extreme.  I would eat nothing some days and gorge myself another.  By my senior year I was on the adkins diet year round.  Eventually I was home free when I graduated high school and I was off to college!  I thought all my problems would get better, but truly things only got worst.

I didn’t know how to control myself, my life had been so closely regulated and controlled.  Some people go to college and go crazy with drinking sex or slack at school, I binged on food.  I did not know how to deal, I was depressed, gaining weight and in a dark place.  Then I found out I had cancer.  I was diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma, stage 2.  I moved back home to do chemo and radiation with the support of my family.  Unfortunatly, I was struggling so bad during that semester in San Diego I did not connect with many friends =(  sorry.   Chemo and radiation only made the depression worst, I wouldn’t eat, and then I would binge, and throw up because I was so sick.  I lost my hair and I hated my body even more because it had totally betrayed me. 

I did everything to fight the cancer and I went into remission but my spirit was completely broken.  I hated myself and I continued to purge (for those of you who prefer an honest description that is the nice was to say throw up, puke or vomit).  I went into crazy cycles of binging and purging.  As things started to spiral out of control I spent most of my days eating and throwing it up.  I would literally be in the bathroom for hours.  I felt so out of control I started to restrict my food to try to get back control. 

The truth was that the eating disorder control me but I felt like I finally had control.  I went back to college and found other ways to feed my addiction through laxatives and ephedra.  This produced major highs and lows for me.  It was such an abusive cycle.  I dropped my weight to 100 (I am 5’7) so this was extremely thin.  I was desperate to start fighting for my life.  I was at my grandfather’s funeral when I told my parents about my problem (I was kinda forced to my friends at the time had actually seen me purge in front of them and threatened to tell my parents).  As most people who are addicts do, I gave my parents a watered-down version of how bad it was.  So they sent me to amazing friends of the family for an intensive therapy.

I learned so much about myself and God during this time.  I went back to Canada to reconnect with a family I was completely estranged from.  My eyes were opened up by the lives of my family; I learned things about where I came from that helped inspire me to fight even more.  I have an amazing family with stories of survival for generations back.   I spent some time alone in Montreal and one night I was awaken and I went into the bathroom and for one moment I actually saw myself for what I really was (dying).  See, the problem with someone with an eating disorder is that we actually think we are fat even when we are emaciated.   When I used to look in the mirror I would only see fat, that night God opened my eyes to what was really happening.  I woke up the next morning with a new understanding of how abusive this situation was for me. 

It wasn’t easy after that but I started to surround myself with people who helped, a nutritionist, therapist, physical therapist and even a fitness trainer (he is now my husband…thanks babe).   

  

It took two years and the fight wasn’t easy and I relapsed often but with God’s help and others I found myself and started to love life.  Today I am free from the cycles of my addiction but I stay free by knowing that I am one bad decision away from going back to that dark place in my life.   Staying healthy is just as hard as getting healthy.  I have four amazing boys in my life (3 sons and a husband) that give me every reason to stay healthy.  Today I exercise regularly, eat balanced (no dieting) and go to therapy to help keep myself balanced.  I love life still and I love that God and I partnered in my healing.  He asked me to participate in it and because of that I cherish every day I have.  

{I can attest to God's work in her life! She is an amazing friend, a hot wife, and a fun mother. Thank you Isabelle for sharing your story. I love you.}

Story-Time Sunday: Lifesong

​      My Lifesong…. I am 32 years old now and look back at all that I have gone through and honestly I do not know how I would get through this life without my Lord, my Savior, my Abba daddy,  my faithful Husband that ravished my heart at 5 years old. I will start my journey at 5 years old. At 5 years old I was introduced to Jesus. He called my name at a Billy Graham Crusade. My mother who was a Christian walked my dad and me down to the Angel’s stadium field for the alter call. She made the decision to stay with my dad while someone prayed with him. A young woman took me a side, not too far from my parents. That day I gave my life to Jesus! I truly made that decision to follow Him on my own. I know it, because I was absolutely crazy about Him. I could not stop talking about him to all my friends. I led one of my best friends to the Lord, while my mom was leading their parents to the Lord at the same time in our apartment! My mom and dad divorced when I was 6 years old. I was an only child and struggled with loneliness. I even thought it was my fault at times.   ​In August of 1989 my mother remarried a man that was crazy about her. They conceived my brother on their honeymoon. I was extremely excited! I actually was praying that would happen! I wanted a sibling soooo bad. God answered my prayer and gave me my brother Steven! During this time, my dad was still involved in my life. My step dad was a wonderful provider for me. He was such a hard worker. He loved my mother so much! I felt very out of place though. My step dad was verbally abusive. He was a very angry man. He took it out on me a lot. My mother tried to protect me as much as possible though. I was so involved with church activities. In fact, I was part of the youth group at ICLV when it was called West Valley! It was there that God began to mess me up! I was involved with the Worship Teams and had a lot of friends. They became family to me. My mother at that time, slipped into a deep depression. It broke my heart so bad.     ​It was June 1996 at Summer Camp, that I met my soon to be husband. The Lord truly put us together. Long story short…he spotted me at a youth convention called March Madness 1996 and spoke with me. He saw me singing in the Choir and was determined to meet me. He came up to me and said, “Do you love Jesus?” I said, “Yes!” He then asked me if I was called into ministry. I told him I was called to be a Youth Evangelist and singer for the Lord! That is what he was called to do as well! I actually do not remember this conversation at all. In fact I do not remember it at all! He said he left that evening and told his mom he met the girl he was going to marry! She actually knew who I was because she met my dad that night. There were around 300 people there!!!! I remember him at Camp 1996! He was singing a worship song He wrote in the talent show! I leaned over to my best friend and told her point blank… “That is the boy I am going to marry.” She questioned it, because I never had met him. So we thought. It was at that camp the Lord had us meet. We did not exchange phone numbers, because we were determined to keep our focus on God and not relationships. I came home and my mom wanted to try out a new church. She and I visited the church he went to. She also was the one to get his phone number. She told him I was looking for a youth group to get involved in. Haha! Thanks mom! I was so embarrassed, but in the end He became my awesome, crazy about Jesus, gentleman that swept me off my feet…..boyfriend!!!! We put Jesus in the center of our relationship and even began leading worship together at 16-17 years old. We were a powerful team for Jesus! Our relationship was not always perfect though.   ​After we graduated in 1998, we both went to Bible School in Dallas, TX. We had dated for 2 years and we were struggling with staying sexually pure. We never went all the way, but it really got our focus off of the Lord and getting to know each other. We decided to break up. We broke up with no intention on getting back together. It definitely would have to be the Lord. After 1 1/2 years of finally getting over him, he began to wrestle with going separate ways. He was asked to be a Worship Pastor in Colorado and could not leave without making things right with me. In fact, he was so determined to marry me. I was over him! He had to win my heart back. It took him a couple months..haha. Little by little I began to fall in love with that boy I met at 16 years old again. He was crazy about me! He went through jumping over many hoops to win my heart back! He asked me to be his girlfriend again in December of 1999, proposed to me so romantically in March of 2000 and we were married in August of 2000! We were given the Worship Pastor position at a growing church in Colorado. We were only 20 & 21 years old.   ​We began in ministry at such a young age. It was such a blessing, but I do have to say that our priorities at times were out of line. Our lives were so wrapped around ministry, that the Lord was at times lost in it all, and our marriage was not nurtured either. It was not like that all the time. I can only see now, as I look back, and after going through a time where we lost our marriage that we needed help and support. I will explain what happened later.   It was about 4 years into our marriage that we were blessed with our 1st child. When we found out we were going to have a baby, we were so excited! It was about 5 weeks into it that I began to have some complications. I was bleeding a lot! My Dr. told me I was most likely going to miscarry. That same evening we went to bed and the Lord spoke to me. He said, “Gina…She will be fine!” “Her name is Faith and one day she will grow to be a mighty woman of faith!” He also said that her life would teach me true faith! I was only 5 weeks pregnant and I knew I was having girl. Well, I struggled with doubting. I still needed to get reassurance. A week later I had an ultrasound. You guessed it…there was my little Faith’s sweet little heart beat pounding! Tears were streaming down my face. I just looked up and said thank you Jesus! Faith was born in May of 2004. Hallelujah!   In November of 2005 we were blessed to become Youth Pastors! We also were blessed to go on a trip to Israel with all the pastors at our church. We were trying to get pregnant at that time again. I brought a pregnancy test with me because I thought it would be cool to find out I was pregnant in Israel. The Lord told me in the middle of the night that I was pregnant. We were at the Sea of Galilee. He told me his name was Jesiah, which means eternal perspective. He also said he would come to know Him at an early age and be a warrior for Him in the end times. Wow!!! I took a pregnancy test and lo and behold I was pregnant! A day later I began to bleed. I was so nervous, but I had a word from the Lord! We went to the Dr. as soon as we got back home. They did and ultrasound and found remains of the pregnancy, but no heart beat. We went back one more time and again no heartbeat. I decided to miscarry this baby on my own instead of doing a DNC. While waiting to miscarry the baby naturally I had many God moments! God revealed his word to me in a vision. It was the word He spoke to me in Israel about this baby. He showed me that this baby boy knows him at a very young age. He knows Him intimately. He then showed me a vision of my son, Jesiah, coming down from heaven. He was riding a big, white horse with a sword in his hand. He was coming down to fight in the end of day’s battle (Armageddon). That vision ministered to me in such a special way. Jesiah means “eternal perspective.” At that moment the Lord revealed to me an even greater purpose we live for. We have a purpose to be fulfilled, not just here on earth, but in eternity as well! This has given so much reassurance and peace to many other women & men that have lost a child. To God be all the glory!   The night I miscarried Jesiah, my husband cried out to God. He asked the Lord for another child. The Lord told him it would only be by his grace that we will have another child. My husband,responded back to the Lord, “ God if You give us another child…we will name her Grace.” In June of 2006 we found out we were having another baby! At 20 weeks pregnant we find out we are having another girl. We witnessed the Lord’s faithfulness right there! He is ALWAYS faithful to His word! Grace was being formed in my womb! This little blessing of God’s grace was born on Feb. 20th, 2007. Oh the grace of God is so good! In between Grace and our current youngest child I had another miscarriage. I did not know a lot about that little one. We were able to see the baby’s heart beat though. I was 17 weeks when I lost him or her. That was still so hard. We were still Youth Pastor’s at the time, but God was moving our hearts to start a church in Las Vegas. We were Worship Pastors at our parent’s church there in 2001 to 2005. We always felt God would bring us back to the LV to start a church. It actually was not just a feeling; it was a mandate from God. He gave us many words and visions for Las Vegas.   My husband, our two daughters, and myself moved to Las Vegas in July of 2008.  We also had a team of 10 come with us from Colorado! We all had a heart to see the city of Las Vegas saved! We went though a lot of spiritual warfare immediately upon arriving to LV. Our marriage was experiencing a huge hit from the enemy. We hardly saw each other. We both had to work full time jobs, and were extremely weak. We still had some pretty amazing times with the Lord though. Our church was growing and people’s lives were truly getting changed!!! In the midst of it all, my husband and I began to get weaker and weaker. I was struggling with feeling alone and hardly seeing each other. I was also tired of working a full time job along with being a mom! I missed my girls and my husband. He became emotionally unattached to us , his family, and no longer wanted to be married. We were just so tired and we handled it so differently. I was no longer his helpmate, and He was no longer the head of our home. We had no accountability and no one had any discernment to see we were not doing well. What started with such an exciting journey ahead of us, became the catalyst to break up our family!   In the midst of this, we found out we were pregnant again. I had no idea what to name this one. We were not at the lowest time in this season. In fact we had just come back form a trip from California where we spent a lot of time talking about what the Lord was doing and about vision! We found out we were having a baby girl! I really did not want to name her Hope, or Love… but God had other plans. One day my husband was listening to some worship and reading the word. The Lord gave him the scripture, “ Weeping endures, for the night, but JOY comes in the morning.” He texted me, “Her name is Joy Marie!” He heard the Lord tell him that we would go though a time of sorrow, but His JOY will fill us! I agreed! I am not going to lie though…I questioned the sorrow part. I was not too fond of that. Joy Marie decided to come 2 months early! Her due date was Valentines Day and she was born December 16th, 2009. This was the beginning of sorrow, yet JOY was in our midst. Everyone thought we named her Joy due to due the holiday season. It was God’s perfect timing. Joy actually endured and was a very strong preemie! It was so hard as a mom to leave her at the hospital. She was in the NICU for one month. I just wanted my baby home, but I praise God that she was getting stronger every day. She actually never had to be put on oxygen! She was perfectly healthy, but just needed time to mature. She came home in Jan. of 2010. I would have to say that 2010 was the year the enemy thought he was going to take us out for good. I mentioned earlier that we were going through the desert, but then things seemed to get better. It was the beginning of this year that the enemy tried to steel, kill, and destroy us. He was out to take my husbands life. He lied to him constantly and my husband just became so lost and hopeless that he gave up his call & passion for God and the city of Las Vegas; he gave his identity away, and gave up on US. He ran away from it all, and I was alone with raising our 3 daughters and now fighting for him as a child of God, and our marriage. We both went though a dark season of depression and were no longer together. The one thing that kept me going is the Lord! He was closer to me than I have ever experienced. My 3 girls were so worth it too. I remember looking at my Joy, and seeing the word of the Lord in flesh. I was holding on to Joy! Joy comes in the morning!   Joy truly has come in the morning! Through all of this, my testimony is so worth it all! I would not trade anything I went though. It all has brought me to a deeper more intimate place with Jesus! He is soooo real to me. When I worship Him now, the words mean so much more. It is not just a song, it’s my LIFESONG! I am here today married to my HS sweetheart. We renewed our vows November 26th, 2011. We were extremely blessed to have a long season out of ministry to rebuild our relationship. Through that time, we were able to see what God has called us to do with a pure heart, completely humbled. We have 3 healthy & beautiful daughters (Faith, Grace, & Joy)! I do have to mention my mother is completely free of depression! She is such an amazing Woman of God. My step dad has just went to be with the Lord, and through him passing I realized what wonderful things He gave me as a father figure that I never saw before. My Dad is still a part if my life. We talk almost every day! I have a pretty awesome brother and amazing in-laws that walked through it all with us! Last but not all, my Husband and I were asked to be the Worship Pastors here at our church in Colorado. We are so humbled to be in this position again and we praise God for restoring it all. God has truly rained down so much grace upon our lives! We are just so in awe of His love for us! His love never fails and never gives up on us! Amen! I am just so much more excited that my husband knows who He is in Christ again. I remember telling him over and over, “You are a Child of God.” This brings more JOY to my soul than anything else! Ministry can come and go! Jesus left all the sheep, to go after the one lost sheep. That is the heart of God. He will never let you go! Lastly, the enemy is defeated! {this is from the beautiful heart of a wonderful woman who is a friend of mine. hope you were able to see God's goodness through every season! If you have a story and want to share, please email me @ travley312@gmail.com} Xoxo

love story.

Today's story is a love story. It all started fall semester my senior year of college, when my sweet roommate and best friend Whitney came home from a business class and told me bout this cute guy named Travis who was too short for her ( she's 6') and then said- you should like him (I'm 5' - we make the oddest best friend pair in measure of size!)! I giggled, probably facebook stalked him and didn't think about it again until spring semester when I had two classes with him. Now our university was small so everyone knew each other to some degree or had at least seen the same faces around campus. Trav was someone who I had only seen a hand full of times before the classes started. I thought he was smokin' hot but thought he was on another level than me.

During one of our classes, we ended up being in a group project. I got to know him a little better and thought he was kind. In that group project was our mutual friend Noel. Noel is a fun, outgoing matchmaker! Through the group project, the three of us somehow decided to be business partners and start a t-shirt making company to get the class of 2008 all swagged out in senior shirts. So we went through the process of having someone design them. We were stoked on them and decided to ask our friends what they thought. The general consensus was: we would never buy one! So the three of us decided we would get them just for the memory of having our first business plan fail!

(silly break during class project. trav, nate, noel, whit, me)

During this time, Trav was just a friend (who I still thought was smokin' hot). He was even dating a chick. We ended up graduating that May and I never thought I would see him again. We all headed our different ways and then one day I got an email. This email was from Trav and it was to me and Noel. Being the thoughtful man he is, Trav said- let's stay in touch by sending pictures of ourselves in our t-shirts wherever we are in the world. Me and Noel were game!

So we traveled, the three of us separately to many different countries and were faithful in taking pics- here's proof! 

(t-shirts are ugly right?!?! LOL)

About a year after graduation, I was home in Vegas. I had a handful of my best girlfriends coming in town for my 22nd birthday. The day of my birthday, Trav sent me a text, that simply said- "happy birthday Joeley! Hope it's the best!" Now meanwhile, I'm with all my best girlfriends, didn't even know Trav was back in America and I get this text. My.world.was.complete! All my girlfriends knew of this crush and were getting me excited- "oh my gosh Trav texted you!" You know how girls can get! So now I'm thinking- "WOW he must wanna MARRY me?!" Haha oh ladies, the places our heads and hearts go from a simple text! I responded something completely dramatic I'm sure!

 (with my girls who told me to text him back! thx ladies!)

A couple weeks go by and I can't shake Trav- still thinking about him. May 15 2009, I was sitting at the kitchen table at my parents with my dad and guy best bud Joey. I start telling them about this guy named Travis who I couldn't stop thinking bout. My dad and Joey said, "Well why don't you tell him? Email him. You have nothing to lose. You never have to see him at church or bump into him at the grocery store. He lives in Phoenix, you're in Vegas!" They really got me pumped up. Then Joey said, "If a girl emailed me that, I would love it!" Okay you two! I will! So literally, emailed him, opened up talking about the weather then BAM!!!! I wrote- "I didn't email you to talk about the weather... I have a confession. I have had a crush on you since Senior Seminar." I wrote more about how I never want to live with regrets and well, why not?! 

And then, I waited...

And waited some more....

(patience is a virtue right?!)

"Dad, check my email..." (nothing!)

7 freakin' days go by! (seemed like a year!)

Noel was on the inside scoop and another mutual friend of ours was visiting Trav in Phoenix when he received the email. So Noel was sly-fully trying to ask Philip if Trav had read the email.... Philip is a good friend and didn't let a word slip! 

Then finally! ... "You've got mail!"

I opened it... slowly, carefully. He started it off shocked. LOL He wrote about how he was humbled + flattered and had always been interested in getting to know me better but (the big BUT) he needed to let me know that he was pursuing another girl. My heart dropped. The craziest part was that I never felt rejected. God was protecting my heart! I felt like Trav, even as a friend, cared for my heart, had integrity, and character. I read it, processed, prayed and let it go. I shared that with a couple friends and didn't talk much about it. I never wrote him back. I didn't have anything to say.

That summer, we both did some more traveling, so we continued to email pictures between the three of us. It never felt weird to maintain a friendship. I really felt God humble me in this time. I couldn't understand His ways or timing but I never stopped trusting. I knew that God had my best, and I held tight to His promises of bringing me a man that I had always prayed for (yes ladies, I prayed for my husband since I was 12!). 

Some time goes by (May- late September) and I'm having a blast living the single lady life (honesty + rawness right?!). I was dating a couple guys, getting dinners paid  for, movie nights out, etc. Then I get a text from Trav saying he needed to talk to me. He was getting ready to go to Africa and wanted to chat about orphans (since he knew that was my heart). I didn't hesitate in chatting about orphans so I said, "yes- let's chat!" We played phone tag for a while and then finally, as I'm boarding a plane for Asia, we talk. I asked if we could Skype when I landed in Singapore for a layover. We did. For an hour. And boy oh boy was it fun! We laughed and had some serious heart to hearts. It was so good! I thought- what a fun friend I have in Travis!

That trip in Asia was amazing. We were in India, Indonesia, and Singapore. During a conference session, our pastor had told us all to come to the altar and pray with our families, and if we were single, to pray about our future spouses. I was praying and the Lord told me, "I am preparing you to be a bride." And I was stoked! "Thanks Lord! I love being the Bride of Christ!" He was thinking another bride but I had no clue what was coming! 

When we landed from that trip at the end of September, me and Trav had been in more contact. He was getting ready for Africa, I had just come back from that missions trip. I was sharing different things God did in and through our team during that time and then another BAM! He said, "Hey, I found round-trip tickets to Vegas for like $40! Can I come visit you in January (Southwest has those deals sometimes- don't ever hesitate to hop a plane somewhere!)?!" I automatically think- "He is bringing that girl he is pursuing out here and they are going to go to the Little White Wedding Chapel and I'm going to be the Maid of Honor..." But I said, "Yes, come out!"

We continue chatting before he heads out to Africa. While he is gone is Africa, God told me to get rid of distractions. I kindly told some guys that it just wasn't going to work and broke it off with all of them (when I say all, I mean like 4- not 20 or anything!). Everyday Trav was gone, I covered him in prayer. I never prayed for dudes the way I prayed for Trav. (Meanwhile, we were planning a family trip out to Arizona to visit my grandparents for Thanksgiving.)

Trav lands and texts me straight off the plane: "Hey Joeley! Just landed in the good U S of A. How are you?!!" I was hanging with my mom, sister and girlfriend Christa and couldn't believe he texted me straight off the plane (in my mind, he was still pursuing that other girl!). We texted for a while and he even asked if there was any dudes he had to be in competition with and I let him know there wasn't. I asked about the girl, and he told me that she is no longer in the picture. Then, he let me know he was going to be in Michigan for a little and was headed back to Phoenix the same time we would be there for Thanksgiving! He initiated a hang sesh and I was so down for that!

He picked me up at my grandparent's house in Goodyear, AZ. We strolled through a park, had a 3 hour walk and chat with a Starbucks in hand. We had a blast! Then the next night, he took me and my sister out. We went and had hot chocolate and laughed, chatted and my sister grilled him with a ton of questions (thanks smash :) ). I was prayerful this whole time. I didn't want to invest my heart into a relationship that was not of God. I knew the next guy I seriously dated would be my husband so there was no messing around for me!

We got to know each other better, through Skype dates (we sometimes dressed up and had dinner or dessert together via Skype) and a lot of phone calls. He invited me to Tamale Day in December, a couple weeks after I was out there for Thanksgiving. His family has gotten together to do this tradition for decades. I decided why not risk it and go out there and meet everyone?! At this point, we weren't even officially dating or anything! During the drive from Vegas to Phoenix, I almost turned around about 3 times, thinking- What the heck am I doing?!

I went to Tamale Day. Fell in love with his family. Went on a date to Zoo Lights where he told me he wanted to pursue me. (I thought he already was?!?! LOL). We started "courting" and the weekend after that, he came to Vegas where he met my crazy beautiful family and fell in love with them.

(at Beatles Love in Vegas that weekend)

We started driving or flying or meeting in the middle of Phoenix and Vegas often. It was then January, the weekend we had originally bought his plane ticket for and he flew out with our best of friends Fallon + Philip. The four of us had a memorable, wonderful weekend! 

After that weekend, we were together after Fallon + Philip had left and he asked me to be his girlfriend (finallllly!)!

There were months of long distance, where my heart would hurt every time we had to leave each other. God had His timing in this too. After 7 hard, long months, I was finally able to move to Phoenix to be with my love and know what it meant to do daily life together. What a treasure!

Through this love story, there were definitely times of feeling inadequate, working through baggage, learning what it meant to love selflessly, and learning to trust God. If anything, I wanted this story to shed some light on something... God has His way of working things out. If they don't look like what you thought they would, don't worry, He always has our best. Trust Him always. 

Hope you enjoyed the first part of our love story! Stay tuned until next Story Time Sunday!

xo