Regular or Decaf?

a beginning

It all started a little over six years ago.

We had a mutual group of friends that we spent a lot of time with during our freshman year of high school. There were about ten of us and one of the things we loved to do together was play games. Some of the time we would play board games or big group games, but a good chunk of the time was devoted to games where we would all break off into teams of two and compete against one another.

I can honestly say that it was during those games that I first felt like I had a connection to Brianna. It may have started by chance or as a fluke, but once we started teaming up and taking on the other teams, we found out that we worked really well together and we won— a lot.

Now neither of us are jerks when it comes to competition but we both have this deep yearning within us that urges us to play to win in whatever we do.

It turned out that we worked so well together and won enough games that eventually our friends made a rule that Brianna and I could no longer be on the same team. We both got a kick out of that.

In the fall of our sophomore year of high school, we were becoming better friends and, although neither of us wanted to openly say it, more interested in each other.

One Saturday in mid-October that year, two of our friends who were dating at the time (Amy and Robert) invited us to go to Uncle John’s Cider Mill, and so we all piled into one of the Willis’ vehicles and Brianna’s mom took the four of us there. 

It was a great day, as would be expected, of eating doughnuts, drinking apple cider, and spending time with friends.

Afterwards, Brianna and I had been planning on going over to Amy’s, but an unexpected change in Amy and Robert’s plans prevented that from happening. So Brianna invited me over to her house.

At the time I was thinking that the day couldn’t have gone any better if I had planned it myself, but now realizing that I was going over to Brianna’s by myself, I was suddenly nervous- and rightfully so. I was hoping beyond hope that things would go well.

Looking back on it now, I can say that they did.

Things going as they do with high school relationships, it was an extremely awkward evening. We had a good time being together and, although I had already met them, spending time with her family. As the evening was coming to a close, however, it quickly dawned on me that I didn’t want it to end. I had fallen hard for this girl with no intentions of getting back up.

So spontaneously (but in reality I had been imagining this scenario for months) I attempted to smoothly ask her if she would be my girlfriend.

We were sitting alone at her kitchen counter when I asked her, waiting for her parents to get ready to take me home.

I remember feeling the pressure building up to the moment because I knew I was about to leave to go home, so I had to act fast. The conversation I had hoped for went something like this:

Me- Brianna I have loved you since the first time we demolished our friends playing pool. I can’t imagine continuing my life without you, so will you please give me the privilege of being your boyfriend?

Brianna- Oh Jon, I’ve been waiting for you to ask me that for a long time. I would love to be your girlfriend.

This is how it actually went:

Me- So, uhh.. You know I’ve been meaning to tell you that I really like you. Uhh, do you want to be my girlfriend or something, maybe?

Brianna- (leaning back in her chair and stretching like she was about to go to sleep) Yeah, I suppose I could do that.

Obviously the air was electric.

Okay, not really. It went nothing like I had envisioned it, but, as they say in the sports world “A win is a win,” and I felt like I had just won the Super Bowl.

On the trip home, we sat in the back seat together. It seemed to me that we were on top of the world, looking at the moon and the stars and feeling the rush of the wind— did I mention that we were in her dad’s jeep, with the top down? Sure it was fall, it was cold and we were driving 45 miles an hour, but her dad insisted.

When we got into town, we pulled up to a stoplight waiting to turn onto the street that would take us to my house. A car of young guys pulled up next to us, and suddenly, likely as a result of our exposed vehicle, they started barking at us like dogs. Up until then my philosophy had always been to ignore the instigators in situations like these and that’s what I began to do. But as we sat there at the red light that now seemed like it would never change, a gang of hooligans barking at us, Brianna’s dad suddenly leaned toward the car of canines and started barking back. But as if that weren’t enough, he didn’t match the gruff, low, intimidating barks that were coming from the car, he yipped like a little Chihuahua attacking a mail man.

Being utterly shocked, I still couldn’t tell you how the rest of the trip or anything else surrounding it went.

Now six years later, the story of that day is one of my favorites to tell and discuss with the Willis’, but the fun and excitement that started then has lasted for all of the days in between.  

It’s been an incredible journey for us up to this point. We have gotten to do a lot together already including but not limited to: graduating high school together, playing in one of the state’s best marching bands, Seeing, in person, Miguel Cabrera hit a walk-of homerun for the Detroit Tigers, attending the same university, seeing our favorite band Needtobreathe live in concert three times (currently planning a fourth), playing in a worship band, going on a mission trip to Jamaica, seeing Michigan State beat Michigan every year of our time at State, leading a girl to Christ just outside of Brianna’s dorm building and beating Donkey Kong Country 1 and 2 together.

It hasn’t always been easy, and we have bad days just like everyone else. But I wouldn’t trade in our journey or change it. Everything that’s happened so far has led us to where we are. Needless to say, I like where we’re at.

We have a lot of stories and memories stored up already, and now we’re on to the next adventure. 

Marriage can seem intimidating and neither of us really knows what to expect, and I think we’re both a little nervous. But knowing that God has a plan and that we get to live it together gives us peace about whatever the future holds.

It all started a little over six years ago, and there’s still no end in sight.

Words for the day

“We need to learn this secret of the burning heart. Suddenly Jesus appears to us, fires are set ablaze, and we are given wonderful visions; but then we must learn to maintain the secret of the burning heart- a heart that can go through anything. It is the simple, dreary day, with its commonplace duties and people, that smothers the burning heart- unless we have learned the secret of abiding in Jesus.

We cannot stay forever on the “mount of transfiguration,” basking in the light of our mountaintop experience (see Mark 9:1-9). But we must obey the light we received there; we must put it into action.”

-Oswald Chambers, “The Burning Heart,” My Utmost for His Highest 

From “My Utmost for His Highest”

“We are not sent to do battle for God, but to be used by God in His battles.” - Oswald Chambers

Fighting Battles

I was going through some stressful stuff. I had a bad feeling about it, it wasn’t wanted I wanted to be doing and it was consuming every other part of my life. I knew that something needed to happen, but I had no idea how to go about doing something that would make a dent.

So I threw up a desperate prayer, not completely confident that it would make a difference. God show me the way. You are so much bigger than this situation and I know you have my best interest at heart. Help me. 

Fast forward a little ways and I was having a conversation with my mom (what a blessing to have godly parents by the way) and she gave me some great advice and told me that she and my dad would be praying for me.

The next day I followed through on what she had told me and it seemed that instantly the situation melted around me. I talked to her later, told her what had happened and she was thrilled. God had answered the prayers. In the conversation that ensued she shared a story with me from 2 Chronicles. 

Yes you did read that correctly 2 Chronicles. I know, initially I had the same thought, but hang with me. 

So for a little background and context to the story Jehoshaphat is King of Judah. The Moabite and Ammonite armies are marching to try to overthrow the kingdom and things are looking dire. In verse 2 of chapter 20 we hear some people inform the king that “a vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Dead Sea. It is already in Hazeon Tamar.” Now if you don’t know, Hazeon Tamar (also called En Gedi) is a city located near the banks of the Dead Sea in Judah’s land.

So basically: “There’s a huge army coming to attack you! But they aren’t just coming, they’re already here!”

Yikes.

But Jehoshaphat has a moment of wisdom and cries out to the LORD, asking him what to do and for protection. The king assembles all the people of Judah and essentially leads them in a time of prayer best summed up by this line: “For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

Have you ever had that thought?

This is too big for me, but I know it’s not for you LORD.  

Anyway while they are all still assembled God gives his answer to one of the men standing there:

“Listen King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours but God’s. Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge at the end of the Desert of Jeruel. You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.’” 

That’s quite a promise.

And boy does God deliver. 

Jehoshaphat leads his army out early the next morning and leads everyone to sing and praise God as they are marching out to the place where they will fight the enemy.  

“As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. The Ammonites and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another. 

When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped.”

Wow!

A vast army was no match for the one true God. In fact, it wasn’t even a challenge. The people in need realized that they didn’t have the power to save themselves but they knew that God did and they believed that he could deliver them. Their faith that God was bigger than their circumstances allowed God to intervene and rescue them from certain peril. 

Awesome, right?

So wouldn’t it be something, if that same God was still around and present like that in our lives today? I mean think about if he offered the same promise! 

Oh, wait a second…

: )