Hand in hand

Saturday, February 02, 2013

the way of Love

I was on a path, all by myself. I was single and alone but with my Lord. Then God brought someone into my life... he was on the other side of the bridge... he waved me over and offered me his hand.

My own path was to my left and the bridge was to my right... I had to make a choice. I could stay on my path, the one that God and I were walking alone or cross the bridge. I could place my hand into his hand and walk with him. I took a deep breath, the assuring presence of my Lord at my side, and with shaking legs crossed that bridge grabbed his hand and took the way of Love.

We are now entering February. The month of "Luuuve." This will be my first ever Valentine's day with a boyfriend. We have been together together since Nov. 29th. So a little over two months.

This is all so new to me. I talk to friends and say that I'm on a "learning curve." Bruno is my first everything. Romantic love is wonderful. But I know it's not the end all. We are in a serious relationship called "Courtship" to see if we should marry. It is in both our hearts and desires that that is how it ends...or should I say begins? Because marriage is a beginning.

I do love him. I can feel it in my gut. Sometimes it almost hurts. I have cared for and in my own way loved other guys but it wasn't like this. Most of the time it wasn't mutual. A couple of times there was a mutual interest but there was no commitment. Romantic love should definitely have a level of commitment involved.

Our whole focus is not just the romantic side. We are growing in a relationship as spiritual beings and emotional beings and as just regular humans. He loves football, I'm not a huge fan. He's 38 I'm 31. He's a man, I'm a woman. (Some BIG differences come with that card!) He absolutely loves business, alot of what he knows about business I'm clueless on. I read, he likes to listen to teachings or educational shows. We have some really big differences in just who we are as individuals.

I am growing! as a person, as a spiritual being. Growing in self awareness in relationship to another human being. Sometimes I feel a little lost wondering is this what a relationship is suppose to look like!? For real! Hehe!

He is my first! He is my first boyfriend. First person that I've romantically told "I love you," and heard it back. He is the first guy that I've ever held hands with, written a love letter to, received a love letter from and gotten a dozen roses from.

Honestly this has been scary too. Because I know the seriousness of what we are doing. We are in a preliminary relationship to see if the other one is our "forever." If the Lord wills we will marry and it will be for a LIFETIME. We will never use the "d" word, divorce. That is not how we "roll." A lot of prayer has and is going into this. We pray every time we are together and almost every day if we aren't together.

I have asked friends and family for counsel and received a lot of prayer from them also. I've also started meeting with someone that has been married for over 20 years, a christian older lady friend. I feel I cannot figure this out on my own. I lean into the Lord for his guidance. Ultimately Bruno and I want and seek after God's best. Our tag line has been "Lord willing." When we say "Lord willing" we are talking about marriage, if the Lord wills we will marry some day. But in the mean time we are taking one day at a time, seeking His face and hand. His timing, his doors to be opened or closed.

I love this passionate, intense natured man in a number of ways. He is my friend "phileo," I love him with romantic love "eros" and we are growing in "agape," unconditional love through Christ who saved us.

Romantic love brings a fire to a relationship but the agape love of Christ, on which we both stand, is what would bring a love relationship through the tests of time.

"...but the greatest of these is love." 1st Cor. 13:13

Monday, January 28, 2013

winter walk with Bruno

-by Bruno-

by Bruno (can you see the church?)

it took multiple shots to finally get Bruno airbound! hehe

Bruno came and visited my family and I while I was home for an end of the year vacation. He took a train into Culpeper and I picked him up. One of my favorite memories was when we took a walk down the country lane down from my parents house. I froze my poor man out, remember he is originally from the Bahamas!

We enjoyed each other and took a lot of pictures as we walked. You can see some of the great shots Bruno took too. When we got home it took, honestly, like 10 minutes for my poor man to fully warm up.

Thanks Babe, this was one of the highlights of when you visited and met my family!

Monday, January 14, 2013

How I met Bruno

I have a boyfriend! Wow! Finally at the RIPE age of 30 God allowed a man into my life who has passionately and intentionally pursued me and is pursuing me. His heart and life is the Lord's. We both believe that God brought us together.

Many people wonder "How" I met him.

It all started through a dating website. Yup. Kinda ironic since I tried to meet other guys that way in the past. Even more ironic was that I wasn't using this certain website "properly." I was on Christian Mingle with a FREE profile/membership. When it's free you can't message people or do much on the site. You can see people and send them "smiles," tiny little notes with a smileyface emoticon. I had had a 6 month membership to E harmony a couple years ago and nothing came of that. It was all about God's timing and guidance to the person HE had for me. Not me "trying" to make it happen.

I hardly ever went on my Christian Mingle profile but I logged on sometime at the end of October. I went through all my "smiles" from tons of guys. A smile will say something like "I noticed you noticing me." or "Your profile brought a smile to my face." I don't know, just little tiny notes to put a lot of "hooks" out into the proverbial sea of available fish.

I received a smile from a young man with the username "Mantino1." He sent the smile on June 28th and I finally opened it in October. The smile said "I'd enjoy getting to know you better-interested?" The young man was from Lynchburg. I looked through his photos. It was weird because he looked like a young man from the singles group that I had been attending at an area church.

I did some investigating. Ok, "facebook stalking"! I looked through Cam's facebook friends, who is the leader of the singles group. He was "friends" with a young man named Bruno. In Bruno's pictures was one picture that was practically the same as one of the profile pictures of Mantino1. Same angle, straight on head shot with different color backgrounds. I was like, I think it's the same guy! I sent Bruno a note, this is what it said:

Hey so this is a weird message. But I'm kinda on Christian Mingle and I got a "smile" from a "Mantino" and he totally looks like you and he's from Lynchburg too. I like never go on Christian Mingle... but got on this evening, I don't have a subscription but have a profile.

Is that you? The question is, are you "Mantino." I go to Radical on Wednesdays and I think I've seen you.

If you are not "Mantino" than totally disregard this message!

thanks, Marie

I waited and he did not respond. I sent the note on Oct. 22nd. Wed. the 24th was the next time I'd see him.

At the end of the Bible study I talked to my friend Donna and was unsure about going up to him and talking. She encouraged me but also said I didn't have to, I was nervous. And if he wasn't on the site I'd be even more embarressed. I think some people think doing dating sites is kinda silly.

I got my courage up and walked up to Bruno, who was poised with a vacuum cleaner in his hand to clean up after the bible study. (This man has a heart to serve others.) I asked him about the dating site and he was Mantino! One thing that was attractive to me right off the bat was that he mentioned that he was in "the word" all the time with his roommate, "...even at the grocery store..." etc. I was like "yeah!" My faith is one of the most important things to me. I WANT a man that the Bible is important to.

When I was talking to him it seemed as if his face was "twinkling." He seemed attracted to me already and I was like "huh?! this is weird. Why is he already attracted??" He mentioned going out to coffee sometime. (We later communicated via FB and set up a day of when to go.) At the end of the conversation this big guy gave me a side hug. I remember I was wearing my big geeky college kid glasses, hair back in a pony tail and no make up.

We met for the first time that night Oct. 24th at a singles bible study over a vacuum cleaner. :)

A few of the God things. Around the time that Bruno sent me the smile, in June, he was going through some hard times. It was almost as if God threw out a blessing for the future through that small gesture of a Christian Mingle "smile." Bruno had had it in his heart to meet me. He was aware of me at the Bible Study and prayed to meet me. He had also prayed with a group of believers on Monday the 22nd that he would meet the person God had for him...I walked up to him 2 days later. He had wanted to meet me... had prayed in that direction and then I walked up to him because of a smile he had sent me about 4 months previously. Wow! I see God's fingerprints on the way that Bruno and I met.

It's amazing to be in a relationship with a Godly man. One who prays with me and talks things through. One who shows me, through the way he serves me, that he loves me. I thank God for Bruno Mantino.

After putting Bruno through a month of being "just friends" he called my dad and asked him if he could court me. Dad said yes! Bruno and I became "officially official" on November 29th. I'm thankful that he smiled at me... I found it... that I stalked him on FB then got the courage to go up to him over a vacuum cleaner and asked "are you Mantino?" In a nutshell that's how I met Bruno!

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Reflection

"The beginning of love

is to let those we love be perfectly themselves,

and not to twist them to fit our own image.

Otherwise we love only the reflection

of ourselves we find in them."

Thomas Merton

"My role in society,

or any artist's or poet's role,

is to try and express what we all feel.

Not to tell people how to feel.

Not as a preacher, not as a leader,

but as a reflection of us all."

John Lennon

"The air we breathe,

the water we drink, and the land we inhabit

are not only critical elements in the quality of life we enjoy

- they are a reflection of the majesty of our Creator."

Rick Perry

Pictures by Marie Parker and Kelly.

Friday, October 19, 2012

Downtown Lynchburg

I went with my friend Kelly to Downtown Lynchburg. It was around the time the weather was changing, quickly slipping into Fall-ish weather. We ate yummy BLT's at Water Stone then did a mini photo-shoot down the street from Water Stone.

It was dark when we walked out of the restaurant. There were old brick buildings, old factory buildings maybe, towering above us. Down the hill is the River. Running along the river is a train track. The street along side us was cobblestone.

The buildings and architecture around us made for really interesting and cool back grounds. This was Kelly's first time doing a shoot for "fashion blogging." She did good :) (Obviously she took the pics of me and I of her.)