Category: Relationship

Personal

What makes us different ??

I am going to take a second to explain how this photo makes me feel. Because I am all about being real. When we were becoming friends something that we struggled with is communication. I am someone that communicates my emotions, I will tell you how I feel when I feel it and why I am feeling it. However, Caleb is a bit of a challenge to get to open up. I would talk with him for hours about things that I love and things that I don’t love and about my passions. I LOVE TALKING ABOUT MY PASSIONS!!! And Caleb would just listen to me, he would ask thoughtful questions and cause me to dig deeper into my thoughts and feelings. He was really good at that, however, when it came time for him to share his heart and feelings with me he would shy away. This was so hard for me because it made me think he didn’t want to be close to me. But I did not want to make this about me so I told him ” I am right here, I promise.” I knew he needed to hear that. I was not going to leave him, I was going to wait till he was ready to talk. Now here we are, he talks to me, he shares his deepest thoughts, his dreams (even the weird ones lol) and his heart with me. When I think back on where we started and where we are now, that small time of waiting was so worth what we have now and I would do that all over again 100 times over to get to where we are.

Okay, now to the actual point to this blog post …

As we have been reflecting on our relationship to try and find meaning for this brand it has got me thinking about what makes us different?? Why are we working so hard to create Simply Unland?? What do we want our audience to get from this?? What can we do to contribute to advancing the Kingdom of God?? All valid questions that do not all have answers yet. But thought I would give answers to the questions we have figured out.

Let’s start with the silly things that you guys may not know about our relationship. For starters Caleb’s name in my phone is “Shy Little Potato” why might you ask?? He was trying to explain to me that he is really shy and that is the name he gave himself. We both have the same car just different year. We have RAV4’s that are red that we have named Ruby, and we love our cars so much lol. We have a couple sayings … “What would I do without you? Probably die or be really homeless” “That’s not buff, thats fluff!!” “when I (Caleb) texts a typo, I only fix it it its an easy to understand typo.” “Sharpest cookie in the tool jar” and lastly … “‘My (Kendall) face hurts’ ‘well its killing me (Caleb)!'” That was the first ever roast Caleb said to me.

Now for some deeper things, since the beginning Caleb and I have been very intentional (get used to seeing that word a lot) with our friendship. We talked about important things like values and what God has for us as individuals, thinking about that now seems so crazy because now we are thinking about what God has for us as a couple. Which is not very different from what He had for us as separate entities. We both heavily expressed our desire for marriage and for our marriage to be a ministry, even way back when we were not seeking out a relationship I felt a strong urge to talk about those subjects. I think I felt I was in a season of growth and really becoming my own person and just wanted to share what I was learning. I still get so excited when God shows something to me and Caleb is the first person I want to tell and we have so much fun talking about it and I feel that much closer to him and that much closer to God. It is such a beautiful thing.

Something we have always valued and have talked about since the beginning is our friends and family. We have so much love and support from them for all the things we are trying to accomplish. When it comes to what is most important to us our friends and family help us try to reach those things and helps us stick to what we say we are going to do. They help us create the marriage we want to create and they will keep us accountable as well. When it comes to Simply Unland we have gotten so much love from everyone that we know God is really pushing for us to keep dreaming and creating and pursuing this platform.

I hope you guys enjoyed this blog post I really enjoyed writing it, not gonna lie it brought tears to my eyes as I wrote this because it was real and raw. Thinking back to where Caleb and I were and how God moved through our relationship is just so beautiful. God is definitely not done with us yet so stick around and join us on our journey through life as we continue to prepare for marriage.

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Giving Meaning to Simply Unland

A recurring habit of Kendall and mine is that we always try to do things perfectly correct. Save money the right way, spend it the right way, act the right way, love the right way. All to try and help others or keep the peace (she’s a 2 on the enneagram and I am a 9). In a broad sense, It can be scary to think “what if we did it the wrong way” or “what if we just jumped and took a chance on something for once, rather than taking carefully measured and calculated steps”. 

While there are times this mindset can hurt us some, there are also times when good things come out of it. Many times it causes us to slow down and think about the purpose behind things we want or do. While there is a fine line between wisely taking time to think and simply taking time because we are so afraid of making the wrong decision (so you don’t make one at all), we try to be intentional. You can read about how we started this relationship intentionally HERE, or how we strive to continually make it intentional HERE. It is a recurring theme in our lives. 

When it comes to our little side project, Simply Unland, we want to do the same thing… be intentional.

Check out our instagram HERE

Why start Simply Unland? 

What are our goals and dreams? Why spend extra time on this? What do we aim to do? Why do we aim to do it? What is our mission?

At first, Kendall and I created Simply Unland for a few reasons. 

  1. Allows our families to stay up to date with us and what’s going on
  2. It gives us a chance to be creative in our own lives, sharing what we learn to one day look back and see how God has been at work
  3. Allow other people to learn from us and our experiences, make them feel not alone in whatever they are going through. 

As this little journey we are calling “Simply Unland” continues, we are doing what we do. We are taking some time to make sure we have the right heart behind it. Taking time to define our why and what. Then digging deeper into that. We want to search our hearts to make sure this is something we want to do. We want to do it for the same reasons above, but especially to reflect our values. We want to have a heart to share so even when/if nobody ever looks at our stuff, we still have a reason of our own to keep going. This seems all too easy for Kendall (probably because she’s a total boss at everything she does), but for me is taking time. Time, prayer, and an open heart, asking God what His will is. We know He has a plan for us and we want to be so open and ready for whatever that plan is. 

While it would be nice if someday, we made some sort of revenue stream from the little side projects we do, we don’t need that. We have our hearts set on seeking what God has for us and simply sharing our thoughts and selves.

We originally planned on sharing our step by step process and conclusions this week but really wanted to intentionally take our time (gotta stick to our theme here ;)). In an upcoming post, we will discuss our priorities, values, beliefs, purpose, and mission of Simply Unland (and Kendall and I). Make sure you check back soon!

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Strands

This week I was going to write about pride because it is something I struggle with but as I lay in bed I realize that God is telling me something else that I should write about. For the last couple of months I have really been trying to dive deep into what God has for my future marriage. What is going to be our mission as a couple and what can we do now to prepare for that mission. And something He spoke to me was strands binding us together. I will explain in more detail what that means in a second but first here is a quote that I got from a book I was reading.

If one of us likes anything there must be something to like in it – and the other one must find it … that way we shall create a thousand strands, great and small, that will link us together, then we shall be so close that it would be impossible, unthinkable – for either of us to suppose that we could ever recreate such closeness with anyone else, and our trust in each other will not only be based on love and loyalty but on the fact of a thousand sharings – a thousand strands twisted into something unbreakable.

A love letter life

A little disclaimer the book I read this from pulled this quote from another book but I do not remember what that book was called.

When I read this I was blown away because I want that kind of closeness with my husband and I want that kind of loyalty but what does that look like in my relationship and how can we get so close that we have a thousand strands binding us together? A couple of things came to mind . . .

Intentionality

Being intentional with each other can go a very long way. Both Caleb and I are so busy with work, school, and trying to be healthy that we get into routines and forget to love on each other and be spontaneous and pursue each other. Finding ways to love the other person in the ways they feel most love will help stay connected. Some examples, Caleb LOVES the Star Wars movies and I do not like them, but finding time to sit and watch that with him will mean a couple things. One, it would be relaxing and two, it will make him feel loved because I dedicated two-ish hours to watching a movie I would not have typically watched. Here is the thing though, I can’t just watch it, I know there must be something to like about it, and I have got to find it. That is binding a strand together. While I may not be as passionate about some things, that does not mean I should just accept it as a difference. I should be willing and excited to find something in it to be closer to him.

Change

Be willing to change and grow within the relationship. We are to become one in every way possible, mentally, spiritually, emotionally, physically we are going to be one being. In order to do that we have to be willing to change and grow in our relationship. Not in a bad way though, when you are with someone you should want to become a better person for them, because they just bring that out in you. We can always do better, be better, we are not perfect. However, as we are learning to become one there are things that can help us twist those strands together. That might be playing baseball together because Caleb loves baseball, or reading a book together because I love to read. Or a common ground we have is health and wellness, but going deeper and create our own workouts together. Allow the other person to change you a little bit. Allow God to work in you and learn to love well.

This is a little tidbit into what my brain has been processing lately, please let me know in the comments some things you could do that you might not want to do for your spouse so you can create a rope of a thousand strands together. `

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Our Progress

In this post I will just give an update on Caleb and I’s relationship. We have been in the same living quarters for a little over 2 months now. It seems like it has been way longer than that but also it seems like it hasn’t. If you are just now discovering our journey here I will give you a quick summary of our relationship . . .

Caleb and I have been together a year and a half or maybe a little longer than that. We did long distance for the majority of our relationship then got engaged November of last year. After that we decided that once we got married we would put down some roots in Indiana (where he is from) so I decided to move to Indiana and live with him and his family.

Now it has been two ish months and to be honest it has been a little bumpy. We are both creatures of habit and love routine. When I moved here I had to learn to adjust to his family while also creating my own routine. His family has been amazing and patient with me as I learn how everyone’s schedule works and how I will fit into all of that. I got a job and then less than a month later got another job and then a week or so later I started school. My schedule kept changing and I was having a hard time adjusting let alone find time for Caleb and I’s relationship so our communication suffered and our intentional time was almost nonexistent which made the process even harder for me because I felt alone and didn’t know how to communicate to Caleb what I needed because I didn’t have time to figure that out for myself.

Then family came into town and I was not prepared, I was so busy trying to adjust, and time just got away from me and suddenly they were here. Caleb was such a champ in helping me figure out how I was going to move my schedule around so I had more time with them. Of course it was not perfect (will share my family’s visit in next blog) But God knew what He was doing and we all had such a good time. It was very exhausting but I was able to see Caleb in a new light. He was so patient with me and encouraging and helped me in so many ways, he was there with my family when I had to work, he helped me with work and hanging out with my family. God revealed some things to me about him that I had not seen in a while and it was exciting and I felt very close to him. We may not have had time to spend a lot of intentional time just the two of us but I feel very close to him and enjoyed seeing him with my family.

I think it took all the chaos for God to show me that He is still working in our relationship, that we are not perfect but we are making it work. God is preparing us for marriage right now, I have been so worried that we won’t ever have time for us but when it really counts I know that Caleb would drop everything to help me, he will go above and beyond to make sure I felt safe and felt good about myself. I would not be able to juggle all this work and school without him. I mean I probably could but God put Caleb in my life so I would not have to do it all alone.

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Ephesians 4:2

As we are both going through a season of adjusting and growing together it is important that we focus on being gentle and patient because as brothers and sisters of Christ we should treat each other as such. The more we are patient with each other the easier it will be for us to communicate what we need from the other person. We also have to realize that we are both transitioning and we show that differently, so we should be gentle and understanding that we need time to figure things out. The last thing is to be humble in the fact that we are both uncomfortable in a way. This is new for both of us and we have to relearn each other, learn our habits, learn our boundaries, and really just learn how to live life together and that just takes time.

During our time with my family we were more willing to show each other gentleness, patience, and also be humbled by the other person because we were out of our normal routine and we both had to go with the flow (which is something I have a hard time doing). Caleb was a champion on this trip and I was able to rely on him and that was very humbling because I do not have to do things on my own in fact God calls us to do things together. “Bear with one another in love” we are to go through things together and “bear” it together. That was the missing component I feel like, we were both trying to do things alone.

Personal

Intentional Conversations for Dating Christians

Kendall and I have a different story than a lot of people. Up to about 1 month ago, it has been a story full of text messages, facetimes, and intentional conversations. We knew our situation and understood it was going to be difficult, but wanted to do our best to make our time apart valuable. That’s where intentionality came in. Not just intentional with the time we tried to give each other, but also the topics of our conversations.

Defining: Intentional Conversation

Because Intentional conversations are… intentional, we wanted to give it an intentional meaning. These discussions are done on purpose and for a purpose. That means although we talked just about every night, we would set time aside later in the week to talk about a specific topic. Setting up a time and day later that same week was intentional and helpful for a few reasons. 

  1. It allowed us to pray and practice Psalm 139:23-24 which says, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
  2. It allowed us time to question and search ourselves
  3. It allowed us to do research so we can grow in our knowledge

When we came back together to have this conversation, we aimed to be honest with God, with ourselves, and with each other. Being transparent for success in the relationship. This would shed some light on how compatible we were. As more and more topics were discussed, we knew each other more and more. While we did have that initial attraction, we didn’t want to mess around. We dove into these conversations pretty quick to make sure this was even something that would work for a lifetime. It was during these talks we grew deeper and realized just about all of our core values were the same or very similar. 

What to Talk About

Conversations about values, goals, dreams were paramount in the early days of our relationship, even before we were “official”. Then taking these topics and breaking them down to why we have these views. 

In Kendall and I’s situation, these conversations included topics such as our relationship with God, family dynamics (present and dreams for the future), importance of community, schooling, future careers, the type of life we want to live. Our relationship with God was the priority for both of us and will always be, even a priority over our spouse when we’re married. Many of our core values and beliefs, we found, are the same because of our foundation in the Word and what we know to be true. 

When you find a topic of interest, as you wait for that scheduled, intentional conversation, dig deep into it. Ask God to search your heart and point out anything that He wants you to see. Ask yourself hard questions as you answer. Why do you view this topic like this? Where did it begin? Is that right? What makes it right? What does God say about it in His Word?

Here is a short list of questions to help get you started:

  • What things has God repeatedly taught you throughout your walk with Him?
  • How has your family shaped you into the person you are today?
  • What are some hard times from your past? What makes them hard?
  • What makes you feel most supported during hard times?
  • What are some things that bring you joy in life? 
  • If you have to order from most to least important… what’s the order (Faith, Family, Community, Career, Education)? Why this order?
  • What characteristics do you dream your future spouse has?
  • What are some things about yourself personally, that you are working on right now?

How to Talk About It

When the time has come, start off on the right foot. “How do you do that?” you ask yourself. Fantastic question. Show up on time, show up ready (so do the work that I talked about above), and pray together, asking God to bless the time and make it a fruitful conversation. Whether it’s at their home, over the phone, on a dinner date… it does not matter.

When the other person is talking, listen to them fully. As Paul tells us to “walk” in Ephesians 4:2-3, listen “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Try to understand them and where they are coming from. Love them as they are being vulnerable and thank them for trusting you. Do your best to understand through asking questions. Ask how God has worked in their life through that topic. Ask how they can work to be better at it. Ask how you can help if need be. Be open, honest, real, and create an environment where they feel they can be all those things as well.

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching”. Hebrews 10:24-25

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The Proposal

The Proposal Story

On November 29, 2020 my best friend said YES to making me the luckiest person ever by agreeing to spend her life with me! This post is all about our proposal in Houston! After research, planning, confusing texts/calls, and last minute ideas with her family, the proposal went amazing. I am beyond relieved with how it went given that she was very particular with how it happened, even before we were dating. In order to get a “yes” I was told:

  1. Her nails needed to be done
  2. It had to be a complete surprise
  3. Her family needed to be near

Months before I even asked, she knew I had the ring. In order to meet her requests the best I could, I had to throw her off my tracks. As far as she knew, I might ask her to marry me at my brother’s wedding in Arizona (early November), during thanksgiving when we were with each other, or I would sneakily drive to Texas right after Christmas and surprise her. I did my best to keep all the options open and “accidently” hint at each of them. Her family was very helpful in keeping the proposal a secret as well. They took her to get her nails done, they helped throw her off my tracks (stressing to get shifts covered), and just make the whole day run smooth.

Weeks before the proposal I asked for her family to text me their availability. Many of them got their schedules the week before so I asked them to request off that Sunday. Both of her parents were off that day and it was normal (not suspicious). That morning, her twin sister acted like she got called in early (so she could leave early to be at the park in time for the proposal), her brother left for work right after we left to go downtown to explore. Her youngest sister acted like she was called off that morning so she and her boyfriend could go with us, and Kendall’s parents, downtown.

We left to go downtown soon after lunch. Because we wanted to/needed to make a trip out of it, we explored. Walking in city parks around Houston, seeing sights like Minute Maid Stadium, and looking around the numerous shops. Finally, when it was almost time for her sister/brother to secretly show up at the spot, we headed to the Galleria (a mall). It was the weekend after Thanksgiving so the mall was very crowded. Lots of lines of people waiting to get into stores (because of COVID-19). We exited the mall at the door closest to the Waterfall Park, not the one we came in, which was a little suspicious but she didn’t really think about it (phew!). As we walked, the huge wall came into sight and I had to act surprised, like what is that?!

That day, Kendall had brought her camera. When she found out that it was a waterfall, her instant reaction was to ask her sister and her sister’s boyfriend if they wanted to take pictures. While she was distracted taking pictures, I sneakily took the ring and its box and put them in my back pocket. She finished her mini photoshoot on the outside part of the park and her mom asked if we wanted our picture taken (setting up for the big moment)! We rounded the corner to see the inside of that huge wall. Some random dude was in his own little photoshoot with a phone, just taking his sweet time taking pictures. Once he finally finished, I sneakily handed my phone to her dad (Facetiming my parents), Her siblings were just outside of sight taking pictures and watching, and her mom was taking pictures. We posed as one normally does, a little bit of chatting and not really paying attention to the cameras. I asked her if she would be willing to spend the rest of her life with me (still standing) and she responds with something similar to (well DUH!) still not knowing what was going to happen. Right then, I got down on my knee and asked her to marry me!!!!! She said yes, started crying, people clapped, fireworks went off, it was amazing (maybe not the fireworks). But it really was amazing!!!!

The Proposal- November 29, 2020

Choosing The Location

As I wrote about earlier, there were some requests from Kendall when it came to the proposal. Because of that, I knew I wanted to pop the question in Houston where she lives with her family. Because I am from Indiana, I had to do some research and ask her sisters for ideas. I also wanted to come up with some backup places just in case.

I wanted the location to be somewhere in Houston that wouldn’t be too busy. A place where we would be able to step away from the big city, all the people, and all the noise. To just be in our own world for that moment. That is when I decided I wanted to propose at Gerald D. Hines Waterfall Park. 

The park is a public space that is very spacious and, from pictures, it looks peaceful and beautiful. It is public but read that it’s never really busy. It sounded perfect! Kendall’s parents were amazing helpers when it came to the proposal, they wanted to make it just as amazing and special as I did. They were willing to go out a week or so before to make sure the location would work during the day and night. Kendall’s mom also had the amazing idea to go to the mall just a block away so as we walk back to the car, we randomly come across the waterfall. Pure brilliance. 

Choosing The Ring

Kendall made choosing a ring fairly simple, She knew what she wanted, and made sure I knew (lots of ideas from Pinterest). I just needed to come up with where to get it!

I bought Kendall’s engagement ring and wedding band at a jewelry store named Shane Co.I didn’t know much about rings or diamonds so I talked to my cousin, who is a jeweler and diamontologist, to get the inside scoop. She gave me some information that I found very valuable as well as helpful!

When shopping for a diamond, its important to remember that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. When buying diamonds, they are all graded based off clarity, color, cut, and carat weight. Prices for diamonds are based off of their rarity, not their beauty. It is important to ask to see other diamonds and remember at the end of the day, the diamond will be on your lady’s hand. Not under shimmer lights with a perfectly white background and people looking at the stone with a microscope. While looking, they may try to upsell you by showing you clearer or diamonds with less color. If that is what you want, great, but there is a price. But there are diamonds that will be graded as slightly worse, look just as beautiful to your eyes, and will be nicer to your wallet.

Some Cardinal Rules when buying Diamonds

  • Never buy under jewelry store lighting conditions, insist on normal office lights (5,000 kelvin tubular fluorescent) or natural light. In my case I did have to ask for different light and we went to an area with no shimmer lights but lot of windows to compare diamonds
  • Never buy a diamond you haven’t seen loose. To buy a diamond online, you don’t know how beautiful it is, you’re buying based on grade/rarity in that case. In person, you want to get a diamond that isn’t already in a ring so you can view it without anything adding or taking away from the stone. 
  • Select based on eyes, not based on description. As I wrote earlier, the charts classify on rarity, not beauty

I was fortunate to have a jeweler help me who was willing to listen to my needs for all of those things as well as for my budget. I did have to be specific and ask and, at some points in my time there, really press for what I was going for (so I wasn’t upsold. I’m grateful Kendall wanted a simple ring). But he listened and I got out of the store with a ring that I am proud to give to my best friend!

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The Beginning of Us

Hey party people, this is Caleb! Today is Kendall and I’s one year anniversary. Because of that, we decided we wanted to share a little bit about how we became us! This is my version. If you’re interested in checking out Kendall’s, click here.

For those of you who do not know already I worked at Glorieta Camps in New Mexico. With camp, summer is the most popular season and Summer staff are often needed. While this was only my first Summer at camp (never even been to camp before) it was Kendall’s second summer there. During the Summer I had the opportunity to work with the Day Camp and Travel Camp with some amazing people. One of those people was Kendall. 

Despite what she may say if you ask her, she is very outgoing and loves to talk. Me. . . not as much. While I was still helping Glorieta get ready for all the different camps that were held there, I helped in the Day Camp one Day (the very first day). That same week, she was helping them as well. As kids slowly began to arrive, she was ready to make them feel welcomed. Talking to many of them as they would kick a soccer ball, asking questions. Around lunch time that day, we both helped kids off a zipline. In between kids she would tell me all about her family, how she came to know God, mission trips she’d been on, and how pumped she was for Travel Camp to start (even tried to scare me a little about travel camp). Little did she know I was thinking about joining Travel Camp and the way she was talking about it, just made me want to join more. . . get me out of my comfort zone.

I ended up joining Travel Camp for most of the summer and it was so much fun. Getting to travel around with a great group of people, doing fun things and teaching kids about Jesus! What could be better than that?! As the summer went on Kendall and I talked more and more. We became friends, then good friends, and feelings started to develop. For the last 2 weeks of Camp, as other summer staff left to go back to school, I returned to help the (very) low-staffed Day Camp. Right before getting back Kendall had told me the way she felt (she was so in love. . . it was crazy. Couldn’t even think straight :P). But I did end up telling her soon after. We kept in touch, obviously, and decided to talk stuff out and be very clear to make sure we want to pursue this relationship. We began that process on July 19, 2019. And that is why we celebrate our anniversary on that day!

It has been one year. Not to brag or anything, but we kinda got everything all figured out. So yeah! No, we definitely don’t and probably never will. Is that even possible? But it has been an amazing year for both of us. We’ve both grown in so many ways together, in our own lives, and in our personal relationships with God. She is my best friend and I can’t wait to continue this journey and see what God’s got in store for us!

Relationship

Our Relationship

Hey guys, it’s Kendall!! Today is our one year anniversary…and we had the idea that we should write and share how we came to be us…

For those of you who do not know already I spent the summer of 2019 at Glorieta camps in New Mexico. That would have been my second year working at that camp. I worked in the same department and had the same bosses, but this year was different. I was able to help in different departments. I love camp!! If you are interested in learning more about that camp life, let me know. Make sure to comment with any questions you might have. 

The thing about Caleb is that he is super shy and does not talk very much at first. When we met I took that as he thought he was better than everybody else since he was part of the full-time staff. He was always gone when we were training or when we were just hanging out and getting to know the people we were gonna be working with. I thought he just didn’t want to get to know us or hang out with us. Of course that just wasn’t the case, he was actually working (lol). I didn’t pay him much attention until I realized that he was actually being shy. We ended up being in the same department most of the summer. I learned very quickly that he does like to talk and sing and be loud (which is my kind of person ;)). We were always together, he quickly became my best friend. He cared for the staff like I did, he cared for the kids like I did, and he worked hard. You are probably thinking by this point that we are basically the same person right?? Well you would be wrong…we are very different, and here’s why.

Caleb sucks at communicating, and he knows it. We would talk about that a lot. I learned that he talks about superficial stuff, but doesn’t talk about deep stuff very much. But he thinks deeply (even though he doesn’t think he does); however I love talking about deep stuff. That is my favorite thing to talk about, I think a lot and just want someone to listen to me and keep up. He had no problem keeping up. He listens very well, and I can tell that what I say will resonate in him, he just wouldn’t share it with me. For a while I thought he just didn’t want to have that sort of friendship with me (which would have been fine). It turns out he was just scared. Once I realized that, I just waited for him. I shared my life with him and my struggles and just waited for him to be ready. I kept trying and gently nudging him until he was ready…he has gotten so much better at telling me how he feels about things. 

Another thing that made us very different was that he was a scaredy cat when it came to just about everything. On tuesdays my boss would take us out and explore the city or just do something for fun after work. One week we were in Lake Havasu Arizona (beautiful place!!), this was my second time going there. In the past when we have gone, we would go cliff jumping!! I went last time, but thought that was enough for me. However, Caleb had not gone cliff jumping there before. I told him he had to. He told me that I had to in order for him to go…so I went. I was also nursing a very small thumb injury at the time (I think I dislocated it) but did it anyway. It took a lot of convincing to get him to actually do it…but he did!! I was so proud of him for doing that. Another time we were going to watch fireworks in Santa Fe with the team, it was a party. There was a live band and so me and my other friends would sing and dance and have a good time. He on the other hand just kind of bopped to the beat until I convinced him to sing and dance until the fireworks started!! Last story I will share.. He can play guitar. He is actually really good at it, I love when he plays for me. He didn’t think he was very good; while we were still at camp another department wanted him to play guitar for the kids and have a worship night. He kept saying no, he didn’t think he would be good enough. I would tell him it doesn’t matter whether you are good or not, it’s not about that, it’s about worshipping the Lord. After another few days of convincing him to do it…he eventually did!! And he was great!! 

One last thing made us very different…he had been a christian his whole life. I have only been a christian for about 5 years now. Despite being raised very differently we still had the same values, but I had never met someone like him. He was honest about who he is and he never tried to be someone else. He has his struggles but he was trustworthy, he was/is a true man chasing after God. I have been in some not so great relationships, pre-Jesus and after coming to know Him. But Caleb…he was different. He has a deep relationship with God and he lives to be more like Him. He has this presence about him, I wasn’t the only one to notice that either. I loved working with him because he was just so at peace with things and he projected that. He was also just so full of light, a light no one could take away even when things were hard the light just never went away. 

Last summer we grew so much, I could tell by the way Caleb carried himself that he was growing in his faith and becoming even more of a man that not only feared the Lord but wanted to live like Jesus. I started falling in love with him…for so many reasons. Most of all because of how much he loves God and chases after Him with everything he has.

Caleb ended up leaving city camp early and so before he left, I told him how I felt about him. I felt God tugging at my heart to be honest with Caleb. He didn’t say anything once I told him (lol); I didn’t need him to. I told him and that was it…the next day he told me how he felt about me…he liked me. I did not want to start something during summer so we made it official sometime near Thanksgiving or something like that. The reason we want to celebrate it now is because God did something in us that day. We had the guts to open up about our feelings and not really knowing how the other person would take it, we had to rely solely on God and His plan. I think that is worth celebrating.