Proposed. Engagement.

I was told today by one of my co-workers that I now have a fiancé.

"Interesting and scary", I thought. Just 24-hours ago I had a girlfriend.

Last night I gave the talk/sermon/talk at the gathering. I spoke on faith.

The main idea of the talk was to look at the perspective of faith...not the idea of faith, but rather, the object of our faith -- Jesus.

I'm not quite sure how good of a job I did. There were a few moments where I blundered and forgot to say some things. In addition, I'm not sure how effective the talk was, so I'm not quite sure how well it was received. My hope was that it hit the home of everyone's heart. If that happened, then I am happy.

Last night's talk had two purposes: give a talk on faith and then make a transition to propose to MaryAnn in presence of our community.

Toward the end of my talk, I spoke on the idea of faith and marriage--and my internal/mental struggles with it. As I made the transition into that realm, I asked MaryAnn to stand up and look toward the back on the sanctuary. At first she was reluctant and asked "why". I responded with "just turn around."

When she did, she saw her entire family sitting in the last row. That was one of my gifts to her. I thought it to be a good to sneak her family into the sanctuary and be present for the proposal.

Upon seeing her family, she immediately knew what was coming next. But instead of proposing to her, I continued talking a wee-bit longer. I proceeded to thank Greg for the opportunity and then spoke to the crowd. In the mean while, MaryAnn was on the edge of her seat--rooting me on--to hurry up with the proposal. It was actually quite cute.

So, then, I said, walking toward her, "I've never done this before ... umm...MaryAnn, can I have your hand in marriage."

I'm thankful she said yes. Phew!