My first recollection of the Ragains family was hearing of the Ragains boys coming down for Arizona Campmeeting in Glendale. I specifically remember that they were a big topic among the young ladies. ☺️ Not long after that, David Ragains would marry my good friend, Carlee. I had Bible quizzed on a team with Carlee’s brother, and consequently, Carlee and I had spent quite a bit of time together. I thought they were a beautiful couple and was happy for my friend, but they now lived in Alaska and our lives went in different directions.


Time kept moving, and I was aware at some point that the Ragains family had moved from Alaska back to Arizona and were in Pastor Garrett’s church. But, at this point my parents and I were evangelizing, and we were rarely home.


I had seen Josh from a distance, and it’s possible on several occasions we shared casual greetings. But, really it seems that our story started unfolding with the sell of our old church organ - which proved to be quite instrumental, indeed. ☺️ In December of 2023, my Pastor casually mentioned that Josh Ragains had bought our old organ, and had just come and picked it up. This reference brought Josh briefly to my remembrance, and I thought it was cool that he ended up with it.


Not long after, our church hosted Landmark Youth Conference. Josh was there, and I was more aware of him than I had been previously. The first night, Bro. Austin Garrett preached on God’s timing; it was about being patient, but also that when it IS God’s timing, things can happen quickly. After the service Bro. Garrett came to me, saying some very kind and encouraging things, honoring me for caring for my Dad. He said, “God has your timing”.


We all went to Rudy’s BBQ after the service, and my niece, Jazzlyn, and I ended up in line directly behind Josh. We enjoyed talking to him while waiting to order, and then talked again after eating.


The next day we had fellowship at the church. I saw him around, but I had responsibilities and we ended up not connecting too much that day. Still, I had enough intuition to feel there was probably some interest on his part. By that evening, I had decided that if he tried to pursue us getting to know each other, I was going to give the friendship a chance - a fact which almost startled me. For quite a while, I’d held most relationship possibilities at arm’s length. The previous couple of years had been very difficult for me and it didn’t seem like a perfect time to get into a relationship. Still, I felt oddly open to the idea of getting to know Josh. After Friday night’s service, he did seek me out and we talked for a while. It was a start.


It seemed like over the next couple of months there was an unusual amount of opportunities for us to see each other - special services, conferences, birthday parties, etc. At one event, Bro. Austin Garrett made enough comments for me to know that the idea of Josh and I getting together was not something he was opposed to! At the Oneness Conference in Avondale at the beginning of February, something happened in an altar call where I felt like God spoke to me about Josh. After that service, we ended up again in line together at the restaurant and then sat together to eat. We talked for a couple of hours that night, and our friendship was officially on its way. That weekend, Josh got permission from our pastors for us to start talking. There was a series of events that confirmed that God was working - they couldn’t be brushed off as mere coincidence.

——— Rabbit Trail! One incident right at the beginning of our relationship is too good to be ignored! Valentine’s Day came along in the week after we started talking. I was at our church school (where I work), when Ally, one of our students, started yelling, “Josh is here!” At first I thought she was talking about a man named Josh that hung around the church property a lot & was not always in his right mind. My first reaction was, “Don’t let him in!” I then realized she was talking about ‘my’ Josh. ☺️ Turns out, it wasn’t actually Josh who had come, as he was at work; but, he had sent a gift by way of his parents and visiting grandparents. Ally brought the gift bag into the sanctuary where I had been practicing music with the kids. While the gift was still quite a ways away, I noticed a nice aroma, and wondered where it was coming from. We (the kids and I) opened the present: it was a sweet music sign and a brown, soft teddy bear. We all were enjoying the moment and exclaiming over the gift. But, the more we handled the bear, the more we realized the ‘aroma’ was men’s cologne, and the source was the bear. I took the gift into the classroom and set the bear up on a chair overlooking the students. It didn’t take us long to realize that “JD Bear” as he was later named, was dominating the classroom with his smell. It was a good smell, for sure, but it was literally overpowering the room! Everyone who walked in said, “What is that?!” They would hear about Josh’s gift, exclaim over the cuteness, and laugh about the cologne. But, JD was only getting started. His aroma seemed to proliferate and grow with the passing moments. My Pastor claims that he could smell JD Bear in the courtyard of the church after I took him home that day! I tried to put the bear on my bed, but realized I would probably get a headache, so I moved him to the guest room bed, and my mom and I went to church. When we got home and opened the front door, Josh’s cologne was there to greet us (and about knock us over). 😂 To this day, we are not quite sure HOW the cologne smell managed to have the amount of power that it did. Josh emphatically states that he did not pour the cologne, but only sprayed the bear. Long story not very short, JD had to spend about a week in the garage before he was in a state to be put back into his rightful place on my bed. After a couple of weeks, he was loosing his scent. It actually made me quite sad! I asked Josh for JD to have another ‘treatment’, but maybe not quite as intense as the first:) This fun gift, the thoughtfulness behind it, and the humor that came with the aroma was just the right combination to break the ice and get our relationship off on the right foot. I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything. ———

It didn’t take me long to realize that Josh was a treasure: the way he prayed, the way he worshipped, the way he treated not only me, but everyone around him. His kindness was unbelievable. I loved being with him, (thought he was extremely handsome and manly!), and I also found his family to be wonderfully comfortable almost immediately; it just felt so right! We shared so many wonderful times together - enjoying simple things like game nights, going on drives, walks around the lake, going on outreach and singing around the piano. Our connection grew until I knew Joshua Michael Ragains was the one I didn’t want to spend my life without.


On September 7th, 2024, we went up to Sedona, AZ. In a beautiful location in Oak Creek Canyon, Josh got down on one knee and asked me to be his wife. I said yes with all my heart! Our joy was so full, the day was so perfect, and I couldn’t be more thankful for the way God wrote our song and brought our lives together in such a beautiful way. December 21st - the beginning of our forever - couldn’t come soon enough!

The first time I ever really was made aware of Denae Abbott, I was riding with my sister-in-law and she had a CD of Denae in her car. We listened to that CD over and over and over again. I picked up the album and looked at the front cover and thought to myself, “Wow, she is pretty.” I didn’t meet Denae until years later, but continued listening to her albums.

The first time I remember thinking maybe there was a possibility was 2023 at the Antioch Conference in Glendale, Arizona. Denae walked past and stopped and talked to me for a few minutes.

Months later, I found an organ on Offer Up; I had been looking for quite some time. When I saw the name on the listing, I couldn’t help but notice there was a good chance it was coming from the Abbott’s church. When we went to look and to purchase the organ, I was wishing and hoping that Denae would be there; unfortunately I don’t think she was aware of this going on and was not there. People kept bringing it up that I should have Denae teach me how to play the organ, and I was very keen on the idea.

In January 2024, the Abbotts hosted a youth conference and I attended. The first night Pastor Garrett preached a sermon on God’s timing and waiting for God’s ‘now’. That night after the service we went to Rudy’s BBQ and I ended up in the line right with Denae and her niece. We talked all the way through the line. After ordering, we went our separate ways; but I couldn’t stop thinking that all I wanted to do was head over to their table and continue the conversation. I ended up positioning myself so that they had to walk past me to leave the restaurant. It worked! We ended up talking for a few more minutes before heading out.

The next service Denae was up leading the choir, and my Pastor walked off the platform and stood right in front of me. He leaned over to me and said, “Brother Josh, she can lead a choir. Brother Josh, she can sing. Brother Josh, she is pretty.” My response back to him was, “Pastor, you preached last night to wait for God’s timing.” Pastor said, “Brother Josh, how do you know this ISN’T God’s timing?”

I was able to talk to her for a few minutes that night, but not very long, unfortunately. About a month later, we saw each other at the Oneness Conference. Again, we ended up in line together and talked while our food was getting prepared. Once our food came out, we ended up going to a table and sitting together and talked for a few hours. After that conversation, I knew that I wanted to spend forever with Denae Joy Abbott. At our next church service, I went to my pastor and asked to start communicating with Denae and got the permission: hallelujah!

September 7, I made the arrangements and took her up to Sedona. I walked her down to a creek and got down on one knee and asked her to be my wife. She said YES and I couldn’t be more thankful! December 21, 2024 will be the most wonderful day of my life!