Marriage to us is not how we define it, but how God has created it. Just as God, not Adam, saw that it was not good that the man be alone and brought Adam a wife, so marriage today is something that God creates and gives as a good gift. God created marriage not primarily for us, but rather for His glory. Alanna and I are excited, humbled, and qualified by Grace alone to have the opportunity to represent God's commitment to his chosen people, His Church. Join us in this celebration as a representation of our hopeful expectation of the promised cosmic wedding day that we await when Jesus is perfectly united with His Church in a restored creation.

We were made for an intimate relationship with God. A close relationship much like marriage. We all rebel against God and reject him in our actions and inactions. We are like a cheating spouse. God is like the good husband who relentlessly pursues costly reconciliation with a cheating wife. God paid the cost to win us back to Him, even as we actively rebelled against Him, when He died on the cross. Now we have the opportunity to enter back into our created purpose- relationship with God. This is how Alanna and I know what love is, that Jesus Christ died for our sins. In marriage, we will relentlessly pursue reconciliation with one another, we will be self sacrificing toward one another, and we will love one another despite our faults. We will be Christ to one another.

Alanna moved to Kodiak from Southern California in July 2015 to work as an RN at a local clinic. Jim, originally from Byron, Illinois, was transferred to Kodiak with the US Coast Guard in November 2015. We met soon after in our church's young adult small group. We both admired each other from a distance, spent lots of time in groups, and became good friends. Eventually, Jim asked me on our first date in March 2017- something, unbeknownst to me, he had been considering for an entire year. Since that first date, we have spent much time hiking, running, exploring beautiful Kodiak, and getting to know each other and each other's families. We've discovered that life together is more beautiful, adventurous, fun, cozy, and faith-bolstering than it is apart, and we can't wait to celebrate our marriage with you!