Joshua 3:5

“And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the LORD will do wonders among you.”

On January 2, 2024, I wrote that verse in my prayer journal. I wanted to see God do some big things this year, but had no idea how mightily He would move.

On January 3, God brought Josh into my life. He had been working behind the scenes to bring our paths together in such a special way. It wasn’t until after Josh left that night that I found out why he was there!

Over the next week, there was a lot of prayer (and stalking!) as I considered this prospective relationship. I quickly learned that Josh was a man who was passionate in his walk with God and dedicated to his work. I knew right away he was the type of man I could marry and it didn’t take very long to realize he was the one God was giving me to marry! -Sarah

Genesis 2:18

"And the LORD God said, It is not good for man to be alone; I will make him an help meet for him."

Since I was old enough to turn a screwdriver, I have been trained by both my parents, and especially my dad, to work. So, I work a lot, and I enjoy working. For a little while, I have been satisfied with my position in life: I have a great job working for a Christian boss; I am able to participate in multiple ministries at church, and I was basically comfortable. I have always longed for someone to share my life with, but there was no way I could compromise my standards to settle for a relationship, so I had accepted that I might have missed God's perfect plan for me. Sometime last year, my sister started encouraging me to go visit this girl that she had spent time in college with, and who was very active and outspoken in her ministries and activities. I began, late last year, to look up Sarah's Facebook page (not to say stalking!), and her standards and activities impressed me a lot.

My job requires a whole lot of miles on the road, but it does allow me to basically set my own schedule. As I was wrapping up my punch lists for 2023, I resolved to start the new year by making a trip to Hope Baptist Church. When I showed up unannounced that Wednesday, two of the first three people to greet me were Sarah and Mrs. Covey. Everything I saw about Sarah's dress and conduct throughout the evening continued to impress me, and I was able keep the nerve afterwards to speak to her pastor about why I was there. It was only a few weeks later that it became clear that Sarah was the "help" that God had made especially for me. -Josh

After receiving much counsel and some phone calls back and forth, we officially started a relationship on January 17. Even though it was long distance, we were blessed to be able to see each other at least once a week for the most part.

We discussed right away what we were looking for in a relationship and realized how much we were on the same page. Through many serious conversations early on, I felt our hearts bonding.

There wasn’t a specific day or time that I “knew” he was the one, but by February 3 God had made it clear that I would get to marry Josh. Another verse I claimed at the beginning of the year was Exodus 33:5 “And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.” I prayed that if the relationship was not God’s will that he wouldn’t allow it to continue. But, praise the Lord, He’s been leading every step of the way.-Sarah

On January 17th, I was able to sit down for the first time with Sarah, her mom, and her pastor; and we began to find out a little more about each other. Then, in God's wonderful timing, she was attending/ administrating a singles' fellowship on the 20th, and we were able to spend almost a full day together in various activities (despite a white-out blizzard that morning).

I am not, by nature, a confident person when it comes to major decisions, and like Sarah also said, I didn't want to get invested in this relationship if it wasn't God's will. But on January 27th, right about 7:00 a.m., God made it very clear that this was the girl that I would be marrying. I have literally never, in my life, been as immediately sure of a decision as I was of this.

One of the things about Sarah that is so assuring for me is that we are able, so comfortably, to talk about spiritual things. For both of us, the highlights of our standard week are our ministries. I don't remember exactly how it came up, but early on, Sarah mentioned a special verse for her: Ephesians 3:20. "Now unto him that is able to do EXCEEDING ABUNDANTLY ABOVE ALL that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, [Unto him be glory...]" I very excitedly showed her my own Bible, where that verse was highlighted, circled, and noted. Since then, that has been the theme verse of our relationship, because God has showed, time and again, that His plan for us is so much better than either of us could have dreamed. -Josh

When Josh was given the green light to propose, I knew it wouldn’t be very long until we were engaged. I started picturing different ways he might propose. Never in my dreams, did I imagine it would be as perfect as it was. On April 15, my mom and I were Up North taking a break after a busy ministry week. We went to Lake Michigan for sunset and around that same time, I texted Josh that I would be able to see him in 48 hours for our scheduled date that week. Much to my surprise, it wasn’t even 48 minutes later and we were engaged.

I had no idea that he had been planning for a few weeks to come up and surprise me with a visit for that week and it timed out perfectly for the proposal. I was so shocked when he came walking down the beach, just minutes before sunset. As the sun was setting, my Love got down on his knee and asked me to marry him! The easiest yes ever! Everything had worked out perfectly, I was completely surprised and so, so happy! -Sarah

The engagement, on my end, was another example of God working for us much better than we could have planned. I had been trying to figure, for a few weeks, the best way to "pop the question", and nothing seemed quite right. When, on April 5th, I was told about the Lake Michigan trip that Sarah just mentioned, I was still looking at possibly 3 more months before I could propose. But I jumped at the chance to spend more time with Sarah and was able to make the necessary work arrangements.

That following Monday, I picked up the ring that I had previously ordered. Then, the next Wednesday, we were suddenly given permission to speed up the relationship! Even the timing on the 15th was better than I could have planned, due to some delays with my work schedule. The sunset at the beach was definitely so much more perfect than any previous ideas that I had been pondering. It has been so incredible to see how God has worked everything out for us, even with trivial details, and I am thrilled to see what else He has planned for us! -Josh

Ephesians 3:20-21

“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto Him be glory…”

We are both looking forward to jumping into the ministries together at Fairhaven Baptist Church. We don't know exactly what our long-term plans are just yet, but we are trusting that God will continue to show Himself real in those decisions to come!

Thank you for your special part in our wedding day! We are so excited to share with you as we start this new journey together!