She Said Yes!

This past Sunday afternoon, Alison Kasbe became my fiance when she said YES to my proposal of marriage! We both knew before Sunday that God had brought us together in His gracious, sovereign plan, but Sunday was a day of pure delight for us both. It was a day when weeping (for both of us) was officially turned to laughter and rejoicing. I cannot tell you how thrilled I am that God has called her to be by my side as we, together, seek to follow His plan for our lives as we minister together in the kingdom.

The current plan is for us to be married at 6:00 PM on Monday, June 14. I say "current plan" for two reasons: 1) We have considered several other options, from a destination wedding, to a small local wedding, to a larger church wedding (the current plan); and 2) I am still holding out hope that I can talk her into eloping before that! Just kidding.

Sort of.

For those of you who don't know the Kasbe's, Alison has two wonderful children - Jonathan, a freshman at Elon University, and Sarala, a junior at Leesville Road High School in Raleigh. Jonathan and Sarala both love Jesus and follow hard after Him! In order for Sarala to be able to finish her senior year at Leesville Road High, we will live in Raleigh next year, so I will be commuting backwards. The elders of Grace Community Church have graciously granted my request for this arrangement. I am not going anywhere - I LOVE being the teaching elder at GCC, and if God will allow me to, I hope to retire at Grace. That will occur when I am 85 years old. Just kidding.

Sort of.

Alison and I plan to travel to Australia in July. I am so looking forward to my time Down Under and meeting my new friends (and, readers) in Alison's native land. What a pleasure it has been to correspond with some of you and to speak with some of you on the phone. I very much look forward to meeting many of you in Australia! Of course, there is family to meet in Oz, and I can't wait! In coming days and years, you will read more about Joan (Alison's awesome Mum), John and Heather (Alison's sister, who is battling breast cancer - please pray for her), McAlpine and their children (Melinda, Christine, and Matthew), and David (Alison's brother - missionary in Spain) and his family, though I will meet David, Catherine, and children (Sophie, Laura, and Joshua ) here this summer rather than in Australia.

OK, any more would be information overload. There is more to say, and I promise to get to kingdom matters in this space, but this is big news, and I'm not kidding! Thanks for caring! Oh, one more bit of info - for you Americans who don't know, Alison is spelled with one "l," which, apparently, is more common in Australia.