Blessing

To add to "Just The Beginning," God (using His means) really convicted me in wanting to make sure that everything was ok with Cyryl's parents. Even though I expressed to them on day one that the purpose of me and Cy dating was to get married, it was a bit of a shocker to them that we were engaged. I jumped the gun a little in not telling her dad specifically when I was going to ask and also in making certain that I had his blessing in this. Culturally (and biblically too, in numerous old testament examples) it would have been more proper for me to have talked to him first. He is, after all, giving me his daughter in marriage. To make a long story short, I sat down and talked with him yesterday and asked for his forgiveness if I had offended him in any way. God was very gracious to me. Both her parents were not at all offended. We talked a few more minutes about some of the logistics of the wedding, and then we left with smiles on our faces. They truly are happy for us and have given us their blessing. Phew! Praise God, again, for His grace and for showing mercy to me.

Just the beginning

Yes, so I heard by many that we might have beaten everyone when it came to pace of engagement but like I told Nelson...when you know, you know. Nelson and I had such a great friendship to begin with that when we got together it was a matter of time until we were going to get engaged since we already knew almost everything about eachtother.

Just a month after Nelson spoke to my parents with his intentions to pursue me he had to talk to my parents again about how he had proposed to me earlier in the day. We had to get the nerves to talk to them about our plans. When we went up to them I showed them the ring and told them "Nelson and I are getting married!" and my mom see's the ring and says, "What! You got married!?" and Nelson reassured her "No...we're GOING to get married". Both she and my dad got really quiet after we told them the news and I really thought they were angry with the pace..we were litterally just standing there waiting for any type of response..and I went "Pa.? Well, what do you think?" and he said.. "Well, if you want to get married, then you should get married" - this coming from a man who proposed to my mom a month or 2 after they started dating =D

Praise God! Now we have my parent's blessings in this. I'm happy. Nelson called his parents on their cruise to Alaska and told them the news and they were happy for us too. When they get back we will be introducing them to my parents and we can start planning the wedding from there.

Interstate 968

(This post is a re-post of This Story. which is on my blog.) Ok. If that picture didn't paint a thousand words again, let me tell you how this story goes. We started off the day by visiting our friend, Susan, who was participating in a walk for breast cancer (you go, Susan!) in Sausalito. After we walked with her for a little bit, we made our way over to another part of Sausalito to a spot overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge. We were actually a little further up from the spot where the bridge was, so we had a view of the Point Bonita Lighthouse. So we enjoyed the view, talked, and spent some time in prayer. After a little bit, I brought up the idea of playing a game that we played a couple of days earlier. This was a game that Cy came up, and it's basically a get to know you game by asking questions. So, Cy asked her question (I honestly forgot what it was), and so it was time for my question. I told her that I had just one question. It was a question that I had five weeks earlier (when we first started dating) and I was sure that I wanted to ask, but I couldn't ask it then because I just needed some time to pass. I told her that the question involved one thing, and as I reached toward my pocket, she gasped, "oh my gosh!" I pulled out the box, showed her the ring, and asked her very slowly, "Will you... marry... me?..." She told me that I already knew the answer, but I told her that I wanted to hear it from her mouth, and she told me that of course she would marry me. Woohoo! So I took the ring, slipped it on her finger, and it fit like a glove.

Pretty smooth, huh? Uh... not quite. I guess it took me a second (a brief second, I tell you) to figure out which finger was her ring finger. I had to take a look at her whole hand, find her thumb, get a reference point, and I think she pointed to where the ring finger was. So, not super smooth, but it was a moment that we'll never forget.

We spent the rest of the day in SF. We had lunch at a hawaiian restaurant which had some live entertainment. Then we went over to Ocean Beach and biked up and down the coast line.As we made our way back home, we visited some dear friends to share the news, and then we went back to my place. My roomie had made plans earlier in the day to invite some people over to the house, so it worked perfectly. Little did he know that he was planning our engagement party. We got there, kept it hush-hush for a couple of hours, and once most everybody was there, I gathered everyone's attention: "I have an announcement. I asked Cyryl to marry me, and she said yes!" Lots of screaming and hugs of congratulations. As the news continues to spread in the days to come, I'm sure the screaming and hugging will continue.

Praise God for such a memorable day and for bringing us to this point. As we look forward to the wedding day and to our life in marriage, continue to keep us in your prayers. Praise God for the grace He gives - the grace that allows us to get through each day - day by day.

Highway 818

(FYI, this is just a repost of How The Story Goes from my blog.)

Ok, if the picture didn't paint a thousand words, then let me just tell you how the story goes. I'm gonna keep this short, because most of you already know how most of it has gone. I'm pretty transparent, so you could see this coming. The interest between Cy and I has been apparent for quite some time now, so it was all a matter of timing - God's timing. So after much waiting, praying, seeking counsel, and growing, God has pushed us forward to this next step in our relationship. Continue to keep us in your prayers and pray that God would be magnified, glorified, and reflected in our relationship with one another.

So, how did it all come about? Again, after much counsel and much wisdom especially from our disciplers, like I said, God pushed us forward. I didn't really have anything formal planned. We kind of just played it by ear. A few days earlier, I mentioned to Cy that I hadn't seen Dark Knight (Batman) yet, and neither did she. (Thanks a lot, guys, to those of you who didn't invite us to see it; some friends you are... JUST KIDDING. It's absolutely God's providence.) Anyway, she gets back to me and asks if I'm still going to see it. I told her yes, invited her to go, and she accepted. It's pretty obvious at this point where this is going, because whenever we go out, it's always in a group setting; in this instance, it was just us. So we're on the way to the theater in Vacaville and we planned on stopping at Fenton's for some ice cream beforehand. BTW, the "picture" is from Fenton's, and this is before we even "talked." So we enjoyed our ice cream and then went over to the theater to watch the Dark Knight.

I was joking around with a brother and we were saying that if you thought Dark Knight was the summer blockbuster and the ending was incredible, this ending is even better. I have to say that it was probably the most picture perfect night weather-wise. It was probably midnight and it was warm outside and there was no wind. What a night!

When we were done with the movie, we decided to go out and eat a little because I hadn't had dinner yet. Even though it was pretty late and I would've been content with my ice cream dinner (yes, I've had plenty of those), we decided to go to BJ's, and I was glad to do so. It was at this point where we talked and discussed where we wanted our relationship to go.

Ok, ok... I wasn't super smooth or anything like that. I did have a bit of the nerves trying to say the right words and finding the right time, but it wasn't difficult because it was previous obvious where we both wanted to go. God has allowed us to patiently wait, He's brought us to this point, and He will continue to lead and direct us. If you noticed how I labelled this line of posts, it's "Waiting On God." That's where we've been, and that's where we will continue to be.

Thanks to those who have prayed for us, and again we covet your prayers as we continue to grow and wait on God.