Hello! Good News!

I’m not sure if anyone is still reading this blog, and if you are, well, it must be a boring read since I haven’t updated in a while. The reason for my absence is that I am creating an apologetics ministry complete with a website that will have hundreds of pages of content, so it’s a lot of work!

However, something big has happened for me in that time. I got engaged!

Yes, my girlfriend Laura is now my fiancée, and while this is old news for some, it is still amazing and I want to post it here on my blog. Scumbag Blogger won't let me link to my Facebook album, but I'll simply say that I asked Laura after giving her a combination of flowers, a memorized passage of prose about marriage, a diamond ring, and Melting Pot. I think it was Melting Pot that tipped the scales for Yes (both of us agree it's so good!). However, I thought I would list the reasons, in no particular order, why I am marrying Laura.

1. She makes me laugh.  Seriously, I would be miserable if I spent my life with someone who did not have a sense of humor. I have never met another girl that can make me laugh until my gut hurts and I doubt I ever would.
2. She makes me holy.  Laura is so focused at keeping God at the center of our relationship and I am so thankful that she motivates us as a couple to go to mass or adoration.  “Many are the women of proven worth, but you have excelled them all. Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting, but the woman who fears the LORD is to be praised." (Proverbs 31:29-30)
3. She’s just really fun.  We’ve had some funny adventures together and maybe if you’re with us in person, we can regale you with tales of our exploits. But I am so happy to marry someone with a sense of novelty and adventure.
4. She is extremely sweet and kind.  Laura always takes time to help and talk to the homeless regardless of how off-putting they may be. She doesn't just do it out of duty, but she loves the downtrodden as valuable persons who are made in God's image.  She has really motivated me in this area and I am eternally grateful for that.
5. She loves her family. You can tell how you will be treated in marriage by how your fiancée treats her family, and I can tell that I will be treated very well and hope to treat her with the same affection and care.
6. She listens but doesn’t back down. I’m glad that Laura listens when I have a problem and doesn’t just force her own will or bend for my will all the time.  She puts me in my place when I need it and I actually like it (maybe not at that moment but I do respect it).
7. She enjoys argument and debate, including pro-life apologetics.  If only you could see the two of us at a Justice for All exhibit. I love watching her destroy people in arguments. It's pretty awesome.
8. She is smart.  I like to talk about dorky things, including philosophy, and I’ve rarely met a girl who can follow these concepts. Laura is really really smart.
9. Laura is really good looking. Seriously.
10. She is willing to follow God and trust him. I love that Laura will just go for something if she feels that God is calling her in that area. Whether it’s wanting to do a mission trip or work for JFA, if she feels called Laura will go for it.
11. She is forgiving. I sometimes get shortsighted and too focused on work and I’m glad that Laura has been so forgiving of the times I become neglectful. I want her in marriage to be my everything and the focus of my earthly life, but I know that forgiveness is what makes marriages work and I am glad she practices that.
12. She puts up with all of my weirdness. Considering how much I annoy myself sometimes, I wonder why she would ever want to marry me! But her smile and hug when I see her reaffirms what I know is buried deep in her heart towards me.
13. She's just Laura Beeson.  Unique and irreplaceable. Who else could I marry?

Basically, I see marriage as two people becoming a permanent team in life so that they face the good and bad together until death do them part. I know Laura will be an awesome mother, wife, encourager, spiritual mentor, and simply my best friend to face life with. You all have no idea how honored I feel to get to marry her.  Can’t wait to post wedding stuff as it moves forward!