IMPORTANT DATES:
* February 26, 2007: Grant first saw Kristen
* March 2007: Grant and Kristen officially meet
* June 2008: Deeper friendship begins
* October 21, 2008: Grant & Kristen make their relationship official and public
* December 27, 2008: Their first “I love you’s” are spoken
* January 31, 2009: Engagement!
* April 17, 2010: Wedding!!
HOW WE MET:
*** KRISTEN: It was March of 2007 and I never thought the concert that night would mark the meeting of my future husband. I remember pulling up to the place we would be singing and noticing, from the window, a young man helping my Dad, my grandpa, and my uncle unload the equipment. He was very handsome. I remember this one moment at the end of the service. We were up there singing a hymn and I looked down from the stage and saw Grant standing there with his eyes closed and his hands raised slightly as he as singing. It made an impression on me. I didn't know him, but I remember thinking, "Wow." After the service, he came up to me and introduced himself. We parted with each other's e-mail addresses.
*** GRANT: What she forgot to tell you about this first meeting was that I asked her out on a date that night. Her response was a nervous, “I don’t date”. I was thinking, “What does that mean?” But anyhow, I left with her home phone number. I was excited. She seemed like a wonderful, God loving woman. I knew that she probably really was a true “God” girl...
HOW WE FELL IN LOVE:
*** KRISTEN: I gave Grant my home number, instead of my cell. And I gave him my e-mail address. We sent a few e-mails, then connected on Facebook. What impressed me was that he stuck around. I had made it clear that I wasn't a dating type of girl and usually guys would disapear after a while, when they realized that I wanted to cultivate friendships. Grant didn't. We had fun exchanging forwards, e-mails, and Facebook messages. He called a couple of times, but I actually wouldn't answer!
*** GRANT: I was interested in Kristen, but not smitten by her! So we slowly began to exchange emails. I called her a few times but she never answered and never called back. I remember thinking, "What is up with this girl? She says to call anytime but won’t answer or return any of my calls. How rude!" But time went on and we exchanged a few emails here and there.
*** KRISTEN: I enjoyed the e-mails and the Facebook messages. They were never long, they were never intimate or personal. Everything centered around friendship, laughter and, most importantly, Christ. We would chat about revivals and witnessing and what God was doing and we would exchange jokes. I truly thought of him as a friend and a brother.
*** GRANT: I planned to ask Kristen out on a date again, but I didn't. I waited and waited and finally sent her a Facebook message asking her out for dinner. I got a lame response from her, when she said “Let’s just wait and see, okay?” This time I thought “whatever” and went on with life.
*** KRISTEN: I was so confused by how I felt concerning Grant. He had asked me out to dinner, and I rejected it....in a very strange way! Normally I would simply say, "No, thank you" and never think on it again. With Grant, I couldn't summon up the guts (or the want-to) to say a flat "No." So I said "maybe" or "let's just wait and see." I know it confused him. It confused me! But after a while, I began to seriously take a good look at Grant, as more than just a friend. He had been there as a brother, and as a friend, without pressuring me for a relationship or making flirtatious remarks. But it was obvious that his interest was there still. So in the early summer of 2008, I began to pray for God's will to be revealed in that area. I prayed for God's direction, His guidence, and that I would have the strength to go wherever He led.
*** GRANT: In May of 2008, Kristen and her family did a revival at my church. We hung out a little. I enjoyed being around her and her sisters after church. When the revival was over and after we loaded up their bus, I decided to ask her out for dinner yet again! And again I got a wild answer. I said, “Would you like to go to dinner sometime? Maybe some Italian food?”. She was like, “I don’t know, I'm really busy”. Frustrated, I said “Okay, just let me know.” I knew that she would not. Later that month, we came to her place for a bus fund-raiser. We got there the night before the event and she was riding her horse. So she and I went horseback riding for a few minutes and then she invited me to a movie with her sisters and uncle. After the fun-raiser the next day, she asked me to watch a movie with her that night *mouth drops open* Shocking!
*** KRISTEN: I remember being shocked that I even asked him to stay for a movie. But I did.
*** GRANT: A week later I came back down to ride horses on a Saturday with her. We rode all day, talked, and got sunburned. Then, the following month, I came back for a clean-up day at Psalms Camp and got to hang out with her again.
*** KRISTEN: I remember the horseback ride! We were so sore. That was the first time it was just the two of us, and I remember we talked about a lot of things! Bible, friendships, family, goals....we really got to know each other that day. And we were soooo sunburned by the end of the day! Grant and I really began hanging out in May of 2008. We went horseback riding and saw Narnia with my sisters and my uncle. I knew we were beginning to form a deeper relationship, other than just friendship, but I was in denial about the whole thing! Before I went to Brazil in July of 2008, Grant came over for dinner. I remember how nervous I felt, but that night marked a pivital point in our relationship. Before he left that night, he prayed for our trip to Brazil, and he prayed over me and with me. He also expressed his feelings in a deeper way and asked me how I viewed our relationship. I knew we both were attracted to the other but I was terrified and hestitant, so I said I considered us friends. I knew then I had to pray very hard. Deep down, I hoped he wouldn't walk away after I told him I considered us just friends.
*** GRANT: I asked her that night would she consider us as in a relationship. I definitely would not have thought of seeing anyone else. She said “No, we’re just friends...” I said “Okay” even though our relationship closely resembled something more. After she returned from Brazil, we started hanging out every weekend on Saturdays by going out witnessing with other friends. We saw several people saved. It was then that I saw a “sold-out” Christian woman; The type that you read about in Proverbs chapter 31. I loved to witness, pray, and serve God with her.
*** KRISTEN: When I came back from Brazil, and saw Grant a few days later, I knew this guy was not going away! Throughout the rest of the summer, I felt myself falling for him, little by little. I denied it to everybody, but everyone knew - especially my family. When we began witnessing together with some friends, that's when things really took off! When I first saw him lead a young man to the Lord, I was amazed. We quickly began building a deeper spiritual relationship. Witnessing together, praying together, seeing souls saved together - it was unbelievable! I fell in love with him through our shared ministry work. Serving God with him was a little bit of heaven on earth.
*** GRANT: As the summer ended and the new season of autumn came, I found myself falling very much in love with this woman. We continued to witness and hang out on the weekends. I loved it!
*** KRISTEN: When September rolled around, I was very much smitten. I guess we had been dating/courting all summer long, but we never made it public. Only our families knew, really. I remember telling a select few of my girl friends, whom I trusted, what was going on and how I wanted them to pray for guidence. I was very scared.
*** GRANT: In October, I knew it was time to move to the next step, so I asked Kristen one Saturday night if she would like to move this to the next level. I was so nervous, and so was she. She wanted some time and wanted to know what the “next step” would be. So we discussed it, and she said she needed time. I called her Dad and got his permission, and a nerve racking 3 days later I had my answer. On Tuesday on October 21st she decided that she wanted to move to the next step as well.
*** KRISTEN: I had had a feeling that Grant would be bringing up the next step soon. I knew I was falling for him, but was so scared of making a mistake. The night he asked me was completely nerve-wracking! I was shivering from the nerves. I told him I needed a little time to think and pray and he told me he would talk everything over with my Dad. That night, I remember Mom coming into my room and I spilled everything out and told her how I felt. I really wanted to take the next step, but I was so terrified! I spent a lot of time that night praying. I remember being up late, unable to fall asleep. The next day, Dad came to me telling me that Grant expressed serious feelings about me and wanted to pursue a courtship. We prayed and a couple of days later, I had a peace about it. So we moved ahead.
*** GRANT: Throughout the next few months we got to know each other on a new different level. We we’re falling in love, fast and hard. It was a wonderful season of growing in Faith and in each other!
OUR ENGAGEMENT:
*** KRISTEN: I did not expect anything! I remember thinking, the morning of January 31st, how handsome Gant looked when he showed up at my house. We went witnessing with my sisters and a few friends and then came to my house later that afternoon. Grant and I were going to meet his Mom for dinner but, before we left, Grant suddenly asked if I wanted to go for a walk. So we headed towards our Camp, where we normally go when we take walks. I remember him being unusually quiet but not once did I think anything of a proposal. I had told myself that it would be a few more months...or at least a couple more weeks! We walked down to my favorite spot on the Camp - the cross. From there, you see the Chapel and the lake. It's so peaceful and beautiful! When we got there, Grant stopped walking and turned and faced me. He grinned and said, "Close your eyes!" I remember wondering what was going on, but I closed my eyes and waited. When he told me to open them, he had a beautiful bouquet of lilies and roses in front of me. The first thing that came to my mind was shock. He had given me flowers plenty of times before, but it was never this extravagant for no reason. I remember thinking, "It's not my birthday....it's not Valentine's day.....it's not Easter...." I was smelling them and thanking him when he suddenly pulled them out of my hands and laid them on the ground. Then when he turned back to me, he took a deep breath...and then it hit me! My eyes got wide and I said "You're not...." and he nodded. I remember screaming and being in complete shock! He finally had to tell me to please hush so he could talk!! He knelt down and said some of the most beautiful and sweet words I've ever heard, ending with "I want to spend the rest of my life serving God...with you. Will you marry me?" And I said "YES!"
*** GRANT and KRISTEN were married April 17, 2010 at 2 p.m. in a beautiful log chapel in south Arkansas. Surrounded by friends and family and 250 guests, they exchanged their vows and exchanged their first kiss. They currently have several avenues of ministry and love to travel, spreading God's message of Salvation everywhere they go!
