ASK #017 - Our Story Began...TammyLyn and MT

 Our story began February 19, 2021 at 11:12 am when you responded to my email when I requested to join your discipleship class at RSC just a few hours earlier.  I started as a podcast student.  But for what would be the following month and a half ish I would continue attending faithfully as a podcast student all the while feeling a push to attend in person.    

On April 8th you ended your email with the following statement, “although the Holy Spirit is your discipler, I also want you to know that I am praying for you and am available if you need to "talk." This gave me a sense of peace and comfort with everything I had been through in my past that someone I barely knew was praying for me and was available to talk to.  Little did you know that I was about to tell you my whole story...the good and the ugly.

I will now share a quote from a favorite character of mine, Winnie the Pooh and he states “As soon as I saw you I knew an adventure was going to happen.”  Finally, on April  22nd I answered what felt like a nagging call from the Lord and attended a class in person.  It was such a wonderful feeling and from this moment I felt a connection with you.   As soon as I set my eyes on you I knew there was something special about you. What it was exactly I didn’t know but I did know I would be returning to class next week and also continue to listen to the podcast.  

About this time I started to “research” who this mysterious MT character was, only to discover his blog and podcast on podbean.  Score!  There was more I could listen to...when I needed daily encouragement (or perhaps I just longed to hear his voice)    So as the first class VOTD got closer to its end I heard MT was teaching another class called Bondage Breaker and I immediately signed up to take part in that class as well.  

Before I met you my life was a mess in all areas possible and that included my faith and spiritual life.  I know you have had your own struggles that you had to go through to make you the man you are today and I thank you for being part of an endangered species called “the Godly man.” God always breaks a man into pieces before He is able to make him great.  

I knew who I was with regards to being a Christian in my mind but I never had a strong heart calling for the Lord.  After meeting you and getting to know you I have become a follower of Christ in my head, heart, soul and spirit.  Because of what God has done through you I see the world in a whole new light.  I see it from the perspective and light of Jesus Christ.  You inspire me and again quoting Winnie the Pooh “How you make others feel says alot about who you are.  Leave them with a smile, hug and a kind thought.”  This is the epitome of who you are.   

When we are apart I miss your quirky spirit and childlike silliness.  I miss your gentle touch on my heart and your warm, comforting and peaceful embrace.  A godly man never stops pursuing his girl even after he has her heart.  

Only God knew exactly what I needed and that was you.  He was preparing you and I for one another.   Thank you for being so focused on God that the only reason you looked up to notice me was because you heard God whisper “that’s her.”

PROMISES

I promise to cherish and honor you until the Lord calls me home and until then I will love you all my days here on earth including when we are curled up on the couch holding each other as we “watch” the movie with our eyes closed.  

I promise to always be open, honest and transparent with you.  I will never hide anything from you even if it might hurt you.  

I promise to love you all the days of my life finding new ways that will make me fall in love with you each and every day.  

I promise to our Heavenly Father that our marriage will honor Him and I vow to pray for you and our married life together on a daily basis.  

I promise to be your loudest cheerleader even if that means I am standing alone, but will remember we are never alone when we have each other and our Lord.

I promise to allow you uninterrupted time to podcast…well I will try my best.

I promise to encourage, support and believe in you.  I’ve got your back!

I promise to love myself as much as I love you and to never expect you to complete me.

I promise to listen with an open mind and an open heart.

I promise to be a safe space for your secrets and vulnerabilities.  You can trust me!

I promise to be your partner in all things, not possessing you, but working with you as a part of a whole.  

I promise to respect, admire and appreciate you for who you are, as well as for the person God has created you to be.

You will always be my love...handsome and good looking even in your “simplistic MT blacks and grays.”

There has never been a moment when I have felt ordinary in your presence.  You have never stopped pursuing me.  You look for new ways to make me feel loved each and every day.  Everything from simple heartfelt texts to a quick call on the phone and simple drawings of a heart via video chats.  

We share our faith and trust in our Heavenly Father, so together we can be a powerhouse for the Lord, bringing others to Christ by being an example by living our lives publically for Christ.  Your dedication and love for our Lord encourages me every day to start my day off correctly in the Word and talking with our Father.  

To me, marriage is a commitment to our Lord to protect, love and cherish the man of God He has given to me.  And I want to take a moment to thank you for NOT putting me first in your life.  I thank you for putting God first because in order to lead me God must be first in your life.  Thank you for caring so much for me and making this evident in your spiritual practices.    

I know that even when life gets hard you and I will remain strong because we have committed to one another in the Lord.  

A relationship brought together by our Lord only happens once in our lives. 

Often it seems like it shows up unexpectedly and is there to shake things up.  However it is also there to show us true love, and stand up in ways we have never done before.  

A partner brought to you from our Lord is there to ADORE you yet also CHALLENGE you to your fullest potential.  

A relationship centered around the Lord isn’t only peaches and cream...it is also roses and thorns.  But it is up to us to decide what we will do when those thorns show up.

Will we become STRONGER and CLOSER and TRUST the Lord OR Will we become WEAKER and more DISTANT and put our faith in Satan?  The choice is ours.

I choose you.  I choose love.  I choose life in Christ.  

It is best described in God’s Word in the book of Ecclesiastes 4:9-12  Two are better than one because they have a more satisfying return for their labor for if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion.  But woe to him who is alone when he falls and does not have another to lift him up.  Again if two lie down together, then they keep warm; but how can one be warm alone?  And though one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him.  A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

So to continue our story we stand here before God, our family and friends to commit to one another in love and holy matrimony.