Blessed Memories




Psalm 145:7, 10
They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness,
and shall sing of thy righteousness.
All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee.

Today we’re walking down memory lane and marveling again at the lovingkindness and gracious providence of God that brought Paul and Natasha’s lives together in marriage two years ago this Valentine’s Day.

Our gratitude to the Giver of every good and perfect gift runs deep and our hearts overflow with joy and as we review the happy correspondence between us and Paul, as he asked for Natasha’s hand in marriage and we joyfully consented. 

We are thankful to God for every gift of His providence that nurtured Paul’s and Natasha’s spiritual lives. And we praise our precious Savior for so fully capturing their hearts and claiming the service of their lives!

Happy Anniversary Paul and Natasha! You bless our lives without measure with your love for Him and for us and we love you dearly!
We praise Him who “hath made every thing beautiful in His time... Ecc.3:11

_________________________

Dear Uncle Edwin and Auntie Maria,  

You know how long I have loved, cherished, and chosen your daughter above all the women of the world. You know the delight I have found in the challenge of pursuing her heart and the joy that I have in her. She is more than a dream come true and my heart bursts with passionate love for her. 

Where could I go to find a woman as she is? The beauty of her heart is like the sunshine brilliant with radiance. Could I find another girl as completely given to the the Almighty? Where is there another heart so completely consumed with seeking her King and ready to face pain, persecution, and suffering for His sake? She is of all women humble and graceful - wise and prudent.  

You know I value most her commitment to God and her deep walk with Him. I have seen and can testify to her faith and know that she knows what it means to spend hours on her knees before her Father. I know that He comes first in her life - above every dream, plan, desire, thought, word, action, or deed. She is given... and I treasure this as pure gold.
I treasure her love for the family and for homemaking. I know that she will make the home a place of beauty and cheerfulness. I love her sweet teasing spirit that brings sunshine into the family and into our relationship.  

I know of no other girl who knows better or seeks more how to build up the men in her life. Her affirmation, respect, honor, and trust mean more to me than you know. She truly knows how to fill the heart of a man and make him great. I have been ravished by her love and am captured with delight in her.  

I treasure her desire to have a whole flock of little ones she can call her own and to raise them for heaven and for greatness in the kingdom of God. I love her plans to educate them and teach them both of the things of God and this present world - to build them up into useful men and women of God.  

She is a queen in the kitchen and can make the most scrumptious delights. She is competent in every household task and I have complete confidence in her ability to run a home smoothly, keep it modest and neat, make it attractive and beautiful, and fill it with grace.  

She is careful with money and generous to the cause of God. I delight in the way that she handles the gifts God lays in her hands. She is industrious and productive - improving the talents He has given her.  

She is careful in her dress and deportment and carries herself with nobility and grace. She is humble and meek... ready to visit the poor or the wealthy, the outcast or those in high positions - with no pretense or show.  

She is beautiful. Stunningly beautiful. She is ever so gorgeous and incredibly physically attractive that it melts, captures, and fills my heart.  

She is a woman of all women and today I thank you because you have been the tools in God's hands to help craft her into the beautiful woman that she is.  

You were the ones to care for her every need as a little child. You were the haven for every trouble. From skinned knees to broken hearts... you have held her in your arms, comforted, and led her to our King. Thank you. She would not be the amazing woman she is were it not for you.  

She is your princess. Your delight and joy and song...  

And today, though I count myself quite unworthy, I ask for the precious hand of your precious princess. With your blessing it would be by greatest delight, highest privilege, and deepest honor to love and cherish her for life. To unite her with myself in marriage, to provide for, protect, and become a safe refuge for her heart and to love her as myself. To give my life to her and give my life for her and to love her with an indomitable love. To surround her with myself and for her to be the queen of my heart and the mother of my children.  

And so I ask for her precious hand in marriage and more, I ask to become your very own son. To love and cherish and to care for you as long as God gives us the blessing of living on this earth. I would like to be your son. I love you.  

With affection,
Paulo

Our dear son, 

Your letter asking for our precious Natasha’s hand in marriage and the story of God’s providential leadings in your life, faithfully guiding you up to the day your proposal, will forever be treasured as one of the most precious tokens of God’s lovingkindness to the Nebblett family. With great rejoicing, here is our answer in writing... ;) 

We are honored that you would ask! To have a young man of your caliber pursue tenaciously and joyfully win the heart of a virtuous daughter like Natasha is the dream of every devoted father and mother. It is the perfect culmination of a lifetime of loving and nurturing, of cultivating the noble and beautiful in her, while suppressing ungodly traits, and, generally, earnestly cooperating with God to restore in the human soul of this greatly beloved child the image of God. 

To say that we are satisfied is a great understatement. It seems fitting that we have the rest of our lives here on earth, and then eternity beyond, to express our praises and thanksgiving to the Giver of all good and precious gifts for sending you to claim our beautiful one... 

We told you once before that your elevated morals--integrity, self control, diligence, faithfulness and love of things holy, reveal the work of divine grace in your heart and hold promise of a life and character that will ever remain steadfast in God. We rejoice in that gift of grace and find no more noble hands to trust or safer keeping in which to place the life of our precious treasure. 

We’ve grown to love you as our very own son for the following reasons, just to name a few… ;) 

1.  You have a heart for God, and passion for the gospel as very few young men we’ve ever known (Deut. 6:5) and the evidence we have seen suggests that you are one of those men… “whose conscience is as true to duty as the needle to the pole” and “who will stand for the right though the heavens fall.” Ed 57.3  Our own deep love for Christ and desire to be loyal to Him makes us love you for it!
2.  Your love and loyalty to your parents. You are a very honoring son and the many implications of that are not lost on us.
3.  Your nobility of character- especially your integrity and self restraint--traits we highly prize in a young man, and your high moral standards, an evidence of which is your deep appreciation for  the virtues of our girl's character and her commitment to purity, modesty, etc. (In addition, in your personality, you express all of the above in a fashion that charms one and all! :)
4.  Your vision and sacred sense of mission, stemming from the calling of God and His obvious claims on your life.
5.  Your diligence in business (Prob. 22:29).
6.   Your long standing love/respect/affection for our family and particularly the love and trust you have bestowed on us-parents in the past 18 months (trust obviously akin to that which you've placed in your own precious parents).
7.  Your deep, heaven born, longstanding, steadfast, tender love for our daughter 😍 and your love of family in general (a value we hold dearly) and your desire to fill your home with the heritage of the Lord and His reward ;) (Ps. 127:3). 

All of the above have naturally awakened a deep love for you in these hearts. And your words expressing your own desire to be our son, to love, cherish and care for us to the end of our days on earth mean more than we can say. You are the perfect loving husband-to-be of our very beautiful, loving faithful and attentive daughter that tenderly regards both our present and future needs. We cherish your love and tenderness and are proud henceforth to claim you as our very own son. 

With tender affection….
Dad and Motherdee ❤️ ❤️