Making the Most of Every Opportunity

Another powerful lesson I learned in the beginnings of my relationship with Andy was through our physical relationship. I shared before that we waited to even kiss until we were married. I want to say we were pure throughout our lives and the wedding day was a huge first for us, but that's simply not true. We made different poor choices at varying degrees in past relationships. We came into our relationship wounded from our past sin, desiring to this time honor God fully, and a little unsure where to begin. It was here that I learned how very true it is that God makes all things new through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sin. As we had a conversation confessing to one another and offering each other forgiveness, God broke into my heart to see a glimpse of His grace. I felt a physical burden lifted as we forgave each other. I felt a confidence in God as Andy bowed his head and humbly prayed for God to show us what boundaries to place in our relationship and a joyful hope t...

I've been sharing lately about how God brought Andy and I together. There just isn't room in one post series to share all the incredible things I've learned about God's love through that experience, but I'd like to highlight a few here... God delights in my sincerity. I'm so thankful that God was my true refuge when Andy wounded me. God knew that my heart was fully for Andy and his "I think you like me more than I like you." was a painful blow. That summer, my dad lost his job, gained a new job, and moved my mom (and all my things) to Kentucky. It was a hard summer for me over all because I really felt so alone. I was confused by my feeling for Andy and embarrassed by the rejection. But God never tired of journal entries, hearing my cries on the beach, or my quick prayers each morning as I'd leave the house unsure whether I'd run into Andy or whether or not I wanted to run into him. When we come sincerely,we will see God.   “Blessed are th...

I shared in Post 1 how Andy and I met and in Post 2 how we began dating, so today I’ll share how God lead us to be married! We started our dating relationship by setting some pretty steep boundaries. We had both been in unhealthy relationships that had not honored God and we really wanted Him to be the Rock and foundation of our relationship. We decided to wait to kiss until our wedding day . We also decided to set one day a week when we were intentional to meet with accountability (separately) who would ask us how we were doing. We both applied to join staff with Campus Crusade. We went to a prayer group in our student union. We lead the mens and womens ministry on campus as well as individual bible studies. We had SO much fun going on adventures, hiking, cliff jumping, driving all over the country to visit family and friends, and even just hanging out and ordering Chinese food and watching Gilmore Girls. God was growing us in Him and knitting our hearts to each other in such a s...

In my last post I shared that Andy and I were friends throughout our college years, but the friendship grew pretty deep our junior year and the boundaries became fuzzy to me. As summer drew near, I was placed on the same summer missions project that Andy was going to attend. It was then that I realized I really liked him and that would be a major challenge. He also realized I liked him. So, our first week on the project, he sat me down and said, “I think you like me more than I like you.” Um…. Ouch! Our friends came to visit- notice Andy's mohawk!  I spent much of that summer grieving and trying not to manipulate and place myself in his path. I did an awkward-at-best job, but God really so sweetly gave me new friendships and both of us grew so much more in love with Jesus over the summer. Part way through the summer, I sensed a clear call from God to join staff with Campus Crusade and “give back” some of the amazing teaching, discipleship, and love God had been lavishing on me...

I thought I’d take a few posts and give you a little glimpse into me. So in the next few posts I’ll share one of my favorite God stories: how Andy and I met, fell in love, and were married. Enjoy! Andy and I met in 1998 as freshmen at West Virginia University. We were both in Campus Crusade for Christ. Andy likes to say that he thought I was a senior, so he never talked to me. I was once asked to drive Andy and his girlfriend to a fall retreat. I quickly went and found two friends to invite so that my car would be full. Ha! Over the years, we ran in the same circle of close-knit friends and we became good friends. We even double dated once (me with my college boyfriend and him with his college girlfriend). Once, when I was thinking of leaving the ministry because I was steeped in sin, Andy said, “Ginny. I’m not your Crusade friend. I’m your friend. If you leave, you’re still in my life.” It was so thoughtful and so timely. God used it to encourage me to come back to the ministry an...