After we had loaded the car with all of her kindness, I couldn’t do anything else but lower my head and lead us in prayer. After thanking the Lord for his and her kindness and praying for the health of her husband, I asked Sarah “Do you think she is a Christian?” and she replied “I don’t know, but she sure does love like one.” Her kindness is just beyond words.

We have been so focused on planing and working on our future marriage that we have neglected the wedding ceremony a little. I am actually pleased to say that, but we do want our friends and family to enjoy the day. We were so focused on other things that we completely forgot about the decoration, them God placed this woman in our path. I couldn’t help but remember this verse:

Mathew 6:26
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

It is just heart filling to see how God provides for us through loving people, even when we don’t think about it.

On a side note. She had a dog who was the living image of the Labrador from the movie Up. I think his name was Frank, and when we… SQUIRREL!!!

The closer the wedding gets, the less I’ve been writing! I’m sorry.

This has been a super-productive week as a whole, but today was by far the best day. When we went to a wedding last fall for a friend/co-worker, a different friend/co-worker was there and she was helping the wedding planner (also a fellow Target team member). Got all that? So, we mentioned how much we liked the decor. The friend/co-worker mentioned that to the wedding planner, who said she had stuff we could borrow. Super nice, right?

So tonight, we went over to her house. I thought we were going to walk out with a couple of floating candles and jars. I ended up in tears. She was so wonderful. She sat us down and asked us all kinds of questions about what our wedding would be like. Then she took us downstairs to her inventory of wedding supplies. She is letting us use everything, in all its beautiful, classing, shimmering glory. I was so overwhelmed with gratitude that I started to cry. She told us to keep what we needed and return the rest so she could let the next person borrow it.

I don’t know what her spiritual beliefs are; what I do know is that this woman blessed us beyond anything I could have hoped for.

We are back from Christmas and Faithwalkers (more about that later!) and I can’t believe where we’re at for a countdown. In just 30 days, I will be Mrs. Soriano! I think I’ve got a few things to check off the list in the upcoming days, but I’m not worried about it.

Rafa told me to write a post that says he loves his future bride a little more each day. I think that the important story behind that is to give credit to how we know how to love each other. We are able to love because we know the love of Christ. The Bible says in John 13:34 to love one another, as Christ loved us. That kind of love is so different than human love. A person loves another person for how they make them feel or what they can do for them, but the love that we know through Christ isn’t attached to our feelings. We love because we can’t help but share the love the savior of the world has for us.

It’s this kind of love that gives me confidence in the love Rafa expresses to me. 1 Peter 4:8 says “love deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.” Here’s a news flash – I am not perfect. (Ha.) I’m not even close to being perfect or the kind of person who deserves to be loved all the time. But I am. I know I don’t deserve it, but I believe it and trust it. Does this mean I have a free license to act in ways that test that love? Of course not – I want to model that love of Christ that I know too. It just means that I have assurance that Rafa’s love doesn’t just rest in how I can make him feel, but in the love that he knows from the Lord.

Happy birthday to me (yesterday)! I celebrated my 29th birthday for the first time… I’ll probably celebrate a few more times over the next several years 🙂

With a gift like that, who could ask for anything else? (Again, rhetorical question.) But wait – there’s more! Rafa got me an iPhone too 🙂

I feel extra-understanding of Mary this year. I think being engaged helped me know how she was feeling a little more. Poor Mary, engaged to be married and saving herself for that night. When she became pregnant with our savior, she received the biggest blessing any woman has ever received. She also begain on a path that would cause her tremendous heartache.
When Mary found out she was pregnant, she had to tell her fiance that the child in her womb wasn’t his. (She also had to hope he wouldn’t have her stoned!) I can’t imagine having to go to Rafa and tell him something like that. Thankfully, Joseph believed the angel that confirmed what Mary said. The Lord had some crazy things in store for them, but they trusted and obeyed.
Mary rejoiced in God’s plan, even though it meant it would cost her dearly. They obeyed what God asked them to do. It’s a good thing for Rafa and I to remember as we follow the Lord during our time of engagement.
Emmanuel!

We booked our honeymoon tonight and we booked basically the complete opposite trip than what we were talking about a week ago. Rather than snuggle up in a cabin up north, we are going to hop on a plane and spend a week Maya Rivera, Mexico.

Basically, it was this:

Or this:

Rafa was the one who changed his mind first. He said he had just been thinking about it and wanted to do something a little more out of the ordinary for our honeymoon. We have the vacation time and the money, neither of which we will probably have a lot of once children come. I’m excited to spend our first week as a married couple south of the border. iOle!

Something that I really admire about Rafa is his pursuit of excellence. He does so much, but he’s not just a passive participant – he works hard to do things well. I really missed having him around this weekend, but I understand. The life of a full-time employee and full-time student gets a little rough around finals time.

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might (Ecclesiastes 9:10).

His maturity to stick with school and work when things get rough inspires me to know that he will stick to being a full-time husband and full-time father, even when things get rough. It doesn’t matter what obstacles are in front of him. When Rafa has a goal, he does not waiver from his commitment to reaching that goal.

But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving (2 Cor. 8:7).

Rafa continues to give even while excelling at his commitments. I’m just so proud of the way he is able to be present with members of our church family even when I know he’s got so much in his mind. He takes care of me first, asking about my trip and stuff, before he will even talk about how crazy his schedule is.

Someone finally asked me.
I was waiting for it, really. The whispers around our short engagement, coupled with the fact I may have added a few lbs, meant that it was only a matter of time before someone asked.
Innocent curiosity.
Her: “So, do you think you’ll have kids right away?”
Me, non-committal, not willing to share too much information: “Yeah, soon-ish, we talk about it…”
Her: “Are you now?!”
No. Ha. She was totally sweet about it. It turned out to be a great opportunity to share with her that we weren’t doing the thing that everyone seems to be doing.
The thing that is pretty much expected for an engaged couple in their late twenties to be doing.
If I am pregnant, it’s with the second coming of baby Jesus. (But I know I didn’t read anything in Revelation about the Lord returning for those who are born again through a born-again virgin.)
So, in case anyone else is curious, the answer is no.
Thank you.

Happy Birthday, Jennifer!

We had fun celebrating Jennifer’s birthday tonight. I made some tasty pot roast for Jennifer and her friend, Stephanie. Rafa joined us a little later and we all had cake. It was very fun! Poor Jennifer was so tired because she stayed up until the wee hours of the morning working on her paper. We watched her open her gifts and now she’s off to bed – 10:30 on her 21st 🙂

Rafa has always been so good to me. So good. But lately, he’s been extra good. Or I’ve been extra needy. I’m not sure which. Either way, I have just been reminded over and over how lucky I am that he loves me.

He cooked me some delicious squash. He found an amazing recipe and really outdid himself with this one.