The story of us, I would say, kind of goes back to my twenties.
I, I went through my twenties, um, being kind of really in tune to a lot of what, uh, God
maybe wanted to do, um, but not paying attention to almost any of it.
It was all about me, and about a year into that, um, I had gone back, um, to, uh, my
church, met, uh, this guy, Shane Farmer, and, um, we kind of connected right off the bat.
Really short after that meeting, um, he asked me if I wanted to come help and work and lead
in, in this ministry.
I was almost never single, always had to be with somebody, and actually, at that time,
was still dating someone.
We broke up.
It was one of the first times in my twenties that I wasn't trying to date, and I was happy,
and I was having a good time.
I didn't know what God was doing, and I wasn't even aware that God was really doing anything.
I think it set me up for meeting Kerry.
Right around that time, I was turning twenty-five.
Like, oh my gosh, like the worst, and I was single.
I'd been waiting and waiting and not dating.
I was, um, working constantly, so I could just, like, live in my apartment and be this,
you know, artist.
God just started telling me, "Save money."
And then, the roommate that I'd had needed to move out, get a new place, invited me to
come with, and something told me, God told me, "Don't, and find a new roommate."
So I got a new roommate.
Then, my roommate at the time was dating Ryan's brother and said, "You should come out with
us," and, um, I met Ryan.
I had made a decision to try to pursue a, the possibility of starting a church in Germany.
Shane and I had just been talking, and, and that was something that he had felt really
passionate about, and, and instantly clicked with me.
Not knowing Kerry, not knowing any of this, you know, eventually this night comes at our
house.
What I do specifically remember is coming into my kitchen and seeing an old friend of
mine, Phil, standing there and Kerry was standing there and they were just talking.
I, I remember jumping in that conversation, and that conversation lasted till like two
in the morning.
And then, we fell in love, like, really fast.
Isn't that, like, skipping a step or two?
No, that's how it happened.
No joke.
It is legit.
We fell in love after, like, a month, and we were like, "We're stupid," but we confirmed
it.
We had, each of us had a mentor in our life, and we were like, "Uh, is this legit?"
It all kind of culminates, this is going to sound crazy, uh, but it culminates with a
dream.
Uh, I actually knew, um, in, in about a month that, uh, I loved and, and wanted to marry
Kerry.
Had this dream that, to me, solidified it, but I took it to a couple people, specifically
Shane, and was basically like, "Dude, I want to marry her," and I remember him sitting
across from me at his desk telling me, "I would normally, like, right off the bat just
be like, 'Red alert,'" but he's like, "I've been a part of your relationship.
I've seen it as it's gone over this last month with her, and I fully affirm and support,
um, your decision."
I was just about ready to go to Germany to possibly live.
I'm like, I might be this guy's wife.
He's going to move to Germany.
The money that I'd been saving, I had thought to myself, "I have the money.
I can go."
Realizing that we were going to be in Paris, thought to myself, "Well, you know, you're
in, like, the most romantic place in the world.
This is where I should propose."
I bought a ring, and toward the end of that trip -
We had a date in Paris.
Yeah.
It was awesome.
Went to the Eiffel Tower, by nighttime, and it's, like, sparkling at night, and he squeezed
me really tight, and then got down on his knee and popped out a ring, and I tearfully
said yes.
I'm not saying go out there and find a woman and get married in ten months and life is
going to be great.
I was totally being set up to be just in the right place mentally and emotionally and spiritually.
There's such a freedom in simply obeying God's voice in your life, knowing it, having people
around you that can help you know it, and obeying it.
There's power in that for your future.
I've grown up in the Church, and I've always, uh, been really skeptical.
I can tell you no matter how hard I've prayed, I've never heard God say anything.
I don't hear anything audibly, but it is very clear when I do hear it, I, it's like I hear
it with my whole body.
If I try to push it off or try not to pay attention to it, I physically know that I'm
not paying attention.
I'm not trying to sugarcoat it and be like, "Oh, we have this perfect life," 'cause no
one has a perfect life, but I really believe that I married the right person.
I'm not a skeptic anymore.
When I hear a story, I think to myself, like, "Oh, that's cool, you know, that that happened
to that person."
They're not just making it up to sound Godly or churchly or whatever, but that really does
happen to, you know, non-pastors and, and just everyday people.
Now, you know, eight years into marriage - Yeah, we've been married eight years now,
and we've had two kids, um, two boys named Marshall and Eli -
Who, uh, are not here right now, so we're going on a date.
Yes.