Well Pablo is not exactly a cowboy. He is not even a country boy. In fact, he is nothing at all what I expected… and yet, isn’t that just like our God, the Father of our precious Christ Jesus? I used to pray for a cowboy, because I craved a partner with an uncompromising code of morals. Pablo is more. I used to pray for a country boy, because I longed to be sheltered beneath a protective masculinity common among caretakers. Pablo is more. But it wasn’t until I learned to pray a prayer of true surrender that I finally tasted the sweet safety and security of real Gospel love. Nearly a year after attending the same church, Pablo finally completed his first sentence to me. As ostensibly the only single, age appropriate male of the same species, I tried not to dwell too often as to why there seemed to be such a lack of warmth for me, from a man who with others, always seemed effusive and gregarious. But then one day, with the enchanting invitation for “coffee?” a ball was finally set in motion. In fact, the invitation went more accurately like this… ‘Do you want to grab a coffee sometime? I have no idea why, but let’s just see where the Holy Spirit takes it…” Four hours later, we both left… intrigued. And so we built all our first conversations, and then our courtship, on the back of the Bible. And coffee. I earned my first compliment by reading the King James. And drinking black coffee. In my heart, a deep respect had begun to build. Through meals and hikes, excessive salt and many many inexhaustible hours of pontificating, Pablo proved a rare passion for Truth that I began to trust- an unwavering loyalty to the Substance of something you could really build on. 56 days after our first coffee, we were engaged. 44 days after our engagement, we closed on our new home. And now, in what will be 112 days after that, we both pray that you, our dear friends and family, will support us as we embark on this grand adventure of matrimony in and through our great Saviour. “Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21

Once upon a time, not very long ago, but very far away, this city boy ventured beyond the confines of his city cage... in search of a Bible reading church… little did he know he would also find that which he had been faithlessly praying about… and so yet one more time, Pablo, was about to be proved wrong…. Very wrong. Somewhere around the fall of 2022, a mysteriously quiet and tall adult human female (ie: woman) began attending this same church. Far in the outer reaches of the next bench, she sat… close enough to be noticed, yet still far out of the reaches of God’s predetermined timing, which would continue to tick for another year before one city boy would step forward. Week after week, city boy and mysterious woman heard each other contributing during Sunday School's massive crowd of two dozen people. Not soon enough, he began to approach her for an uncomfortable “hello and good morning.” Having manhandled horses for decades, her handshake was intimidating… and he had been intimidated already… not in small part because he knew there was something there. Not realizing that certain members of the congregation had already begun praying for them to come together, a no-return line had been crossed before he would even consider approaching her. A Saturday Bible study here and there, they would continue to run into each other… little did they both know they were walking the way of which steps the LORD had already established. It was October 2023 when the conversation finally ventured beyond the perimeter of the good ole King James, past their peculiarly complimentary Bible studying techniques… and into their personal pre-studying routines… the way they liked their coffee…and their steak cooked. Question by question, he felt the fictitious walls of his emotional independence crumbling away… for he had begun to discover the GPS coordinates the Almighty had put in his heart. Then he finally decided to stumble through it, and asked for her phone number… and later called saying he wanted to talk… he clarified he didn’t know what he wanted to talk about, and that all he knew is that he wanted to talk, and see what rabbit hole the Holy Spirit would get them into. It was Friday, October 27th when they met for coffee… right around 1:18pm after rush hour in Pilot Point. It was 5:20pm when they finally left. His heart had crossed the line from curiosity and interested into significance and meaning. He knew she was one of a kind. A Bible junky and madly in love with Christ made her more than just a prospect… could she be the one he had given up on long ago? Is it possible that she had been sitting only a few feet away from him all along? God had finally opened Pablo’s eyes. A few hundred texts and two dozen phone calls later, the next step he wanted to take…amazing she was…too significantly designed the whole thing was…. And another multi hour conversation after Saturday Bible study took place…. From coffee to dinner to coffee… the first day of the rest of their lives took place, and on November 4th courtship took its first step. Not even a week had gone by… and the Holy Spirit already had them deep into the interview of each other's character and ethics. When you know you know say some… People move slow, but the Spirit moves fast, for they knew what the negotiable and non-negotiables were… A whole month later they were discussing a future together, for ripped away from their make-believe emotional independence they had been, and the planning of an 11 day hiking trip through Sedona, Grand Canyon and Zion National Park seemed the perfect back drop for popping one of the most important questions he would ever ask. Patience not being his strongest suit, he popped the question one day before the trip on December 21st. And a kiss sealed the answer. One in Christ they would soon become… and a celebration with their closest friends will take place on Sunday May 26th at 4pm in Valley View, TX.