This all began in 2013 when Taylar saw Zephan walking through the Life Church lobby. They were complete strangers at the time. She asked her dad, "who is that?" It was either Holy Spirit intrigue or his mustache and comb over, lol. Taylar started attending their young adult ministry where she saw Zephan again. They both attended over the next year and a half but no friendship or relationship formed. In February of 2015 Taylar's friend Sonia started a game night at the duplex she was living at. Both Taylar and Zephan started attending. This is where their friendship began. Over the next year they became friends within the same friend group. At this point in time Zephan had been living out a word from God that he had received in 2012 to be celibate Fastforward... In August of 2016 Taylar and Zephan enrolled in the leadership academy at LifeMission Church. Zephan was still living out his celibacy but he had a tremendous respect for Taylar. Taylar knew her heart needed to heal and decided not to pursue any relationships but she also had a deep respect for Zephan. In January of 2017, Holy Spirit began speaking to Taylar's heart about a relationship with Zephan but it made no sense to her because there was no evidence of it being a possibility. To add to the confusion, God had told Taylar to move to Nashville which seemed to contradict what He had said about a relationship with Him. Meanwhile, Zephan enrolled in a second year of the Leadership Academy in Kansas. About 3 months into living in Nashville while Taylar was brushing her teeth, the Lord said "You are Zephan's wife." Taylar, feeling confused and a little bit upset, chucked her toothbrush and went back to bed. In early 2017, around this same time, God lifted the call to celibacy off of Zephan's life. Both Taylar and Zephan were unaware of what God was doing in each others hearts. (Continue reading in Part 2 of our story)

In July of 2018, Taylar came back to Kansas to help lead at a youth camp where Zephan was also leading. Two nights before Taylar was going to fly back to Nashville, Zephan felt like the two of them were supposed to have a conversation but he had no idea why. Through the "prompting" of a friend of Taylar's, Zephan reached out and asked if they could meet. Just a few hours before she got on the plane, they met at Panera and started talking about life and what the Lord was doing in their lives. It was at this point that Taylar opened up about some of what God had been saying to her about Zephan over the past year and a half and how she felt about it. Usually anything relationally that uses language like "God has been talking to me about being in a relationship with you" can seem manipulative. But, Taylar and Zephan both felt the peace of God and decided to seek wisdom moving forward. Taylar also let Zephan know that she was moving home from Nashville later that month to prepare for the next season God was calling her into. Taylar moved home and they began pursuing what God had in store for them. During this time, they both heard from the Lord about moving to Florida to help plant Vibrant Church. God gave Zephan the move date of February 21st. On Monday, February 18th, after teaching a leadership academy class together, Zephan expressed his desire to start dating when Taylar moved to Florida. On March 25th, Taylar arrived in Florida. Five days later, they went on their first Florida date to Hollywood beach to eat pizza, listen to live music and walk on the Broadwalk, no that isn’t a typo. Lol. Shortly after that date they went to a park to discuss boundaries and commit their relationship to the Lord. A few weeks later Zephan told Taylar that he saw marriage in the future but wanted to date for at least six months and let their relationship healthily progress. On October 12th, 2019 Zephan proposed to Taylar at Hollywood beach.

On our first Florida date we went to Hollywood Beach to eat pizza and listen to live music. Six months later we went back, this wasn't a first date but it was the start of something new and much bigger. Taylar: I was suspecting he would propose going into the night, but after not seeing the ring on him I had doubts. Zephan: I had planned to propose a week later but this night was too perfect. We ate our pizza and tried to enjoy a decent band, lol. After about an hour we went for a walk down the broadwalk. We talked, we laughed, Tay may have gotten blisters, lol. Eventually, the busy stores and restaurants faded behind us and we were surrounded by the sound of crashing waves and rustling palm trees. We turned into a park just off of the broadwalk and enjoyed walking the paths that wound through it. Taylar: At this point I had figured that the chance of a proposal was not going to happen. Zephan: At this point I thought for sure she knew. As we were walking I began to go through our history together. I started with the friend group we met in and worked through major points in our story. Taylar: Zephan made it flow so naturally it seemed like a normal conversation about our relationship until he said "There's been one consistent thing since we started dating that has only gotten stronger." It was at this moment that I KNEW tonight was the night he was going to propose. Zephan: "There has been one consistent thing since we started dating that has only gotten stronger. I want to build a marriage and a family with you." I then got down on one knee and pulled the ring box out of my sock. I opened it up and said, "Taylar, will you marry me?" Taylar: I squealed. I cried. I laughed. I spun. I said "Well DUH!" Once I collected myself I looked at him, smiled and said "yes!" We hugged, he put the ring on my finger and we danced to one of our favorite songs. One location, six months, and the beginning of a lifetime.