This is the (long) story of how I proposed to Amanda. In the end, she said that it was PERFECT:Amanda and I had coffee with an old man friend of hers that she met at the coffee shop in Nampa where she works. There we talked for about an hour with this old man, when all of a sudden, a friend of ours came in with a video-camera. She got set up like she was filming us. Amanda asked what she was doing, and she said “oh, just a little film project” like she normally does. But ;-), she was there because of ME! My alarm on my phone went off, and I said, “Well look Amanda! It's time to get started.” I said goodbye to the old man friend, and I said, “This is where we're going to start. Right here at the coffee shop,” because that's where I first shared my heart with her, and where she got to know who I really was. I think that's where she fell in love with my heart :-). Then, we went to the NNU campus and the camera followed us. We shot film of where I first remembered her name, where we shared our first good conversation, where we had our first kiss :-0! and where we watched the sun set where we climbed up this tall tree a few years earlier.
THEN we went to the building on campus where students learn to be pastors (the religion building). As the story goes, 2 years ago Amanda and some friends and I made a snowman there and called him “Parson Brown”. Do you remember the song “Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland?” Well, THIS year, after we filmed the tree, we came down and saw our friends throwing snowballs. It was a VERY FUN snowball fight (just like I planned;-), then, we all pitched in making a big snowman like we did last time:-). I had a top hat, and a carrot, and 12 pieces of real coal all ready to go. After we built him, my friend asked “How does that song go?” so we all started singing,
“In the meadow we can build a snowman
And pretend that he is Parson Brown,
He'll say “are you married?”
We'll say, “No man...”
and that's when I said, “but I guess I should ask her first!”
So I got down on one knee and pulled out the ring and asked, “Amanda Renee Sugden, will you marry me?”
Ha Ha! If she was a turtle, she would have been in her shell ;-). She was so excited that she wasn't thinking... she got all quiet and was blushing a LOT... She wanted to say something beautiful like “For the rest of my life, darling, YES!”... But what she really said was, “Are you serious?”! After a really long pause (probably only 2 seconds:-)) she said, “yes” really, really quietly, and I put the ring on her finger. :-)
After all the hugs and kisses (this was ALL on the cam-corder by the way) I explained to everyone that the real ring was still not finished, and that was why this one looked fake... well... it WAS fake;-).
THEN, after we said goodbye to all our snowball throwing friends, we went INTO the religion building. There, my professor had set up a REALLY ROMANTIC scene. There were 6 chairs on either side of a small table. In front of the table was a small altar, with pillows to pad our knees. There was her pastor and wife there, and my pastor and his wife there, also her mentor and my mentor were there too.
That's when I told Amanda I wanted to start our permanent relationship to be blessed by people we wanted to become like. I wanted us to become like these people because we really looked up to them. And you know what? They prayed for us, and anointed us with oil. They asked that we not become like them, but that we would become like Jesus Christ... the person that they had striven to be just like. I thought that was amazing! I also want to be like Jesus in everything I do. So, that was really meaningful to me.
Then, my pastor explained some things about communion; and how every time that the bread is mentioned in scripture for communion it said that the bread was taken, blessed, broken and given. He prayed that just like the bread... and just like Jesus himself, that we as partners... as married people would be taken for God's use, blessed by Him, broken in service, and given to others. That's just what Jesus did for us.
It really made me think hard. I didn't want to be “broken” by God. But... I was thinking that is what makes love so meaningful: when you heart breaks for someone else enough that you share a little bit of it with others. What he said really touched my heart.
Then, we shared communion, and Amanda's mentor read from the Bible: Ephesians 3:14-21
When I think of the wisdom and scope of his plan I fall down on my knees and pray to the Father of all the great family of God that out of his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you the mighty inner strengthening of his Holy Spirit. And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts, living within you as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of Go’s marvelous love; and may you be able to feel and understand, as all God’s children should, how long, how wide, how deep, and how high his love really is; and to experience this love for yourselves, thought it is so great that you will never see the end of it or fully know or understand it. And so at last you will be filled up with God himself.
Now glory be to God who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of—infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes. May he be given glory forever and ever through endless ages because of his master plan of salvation for the church through Jesus Christ. From the Living Bible (verses 14-21)
After Amanda's mentor finished, we went back to where all of our friends were waiting. They wanted to hear what happened inside. We had hot cocoa, and shared about everything.
She REALLY loved how I proposed. Everything went GREAT! God even helped the snow not to melt too quickly by dumping an extra few inches 3 days before I proposed so we would have enough to build Parson Brown! And, little did I know until right now that the verse her mentor picked out (Eph 3:14-21) is the date of our wedding (3-14-09)!
And, sense her mentor told me she felt like God directed her to that verse, I take it as no small coincidence ;-).
PRAISE HIS LOVE FOREVER!
here are some more pictures of me asking HERE
