Amanda's Story part 2

TALE OF THE FOUR BRIDES

 "How I Met my Husband" 

By Amanda S.

PART 2

          From that day on, I saw Bruce in a different light.  I began to enjoy talking with him, and although I could tell he still liked me, I felt that he wouldn’t make the move to restore a relationship. 


 After much prayer and counsel from my parents, pastor, and teachers, I wrote him a letter telling him how I had changed, and wondering if he was still interested in a relationship.  Within 4 hours, I received his reply and found out that yes, he was still interested in me.  He had prayed and sought Godly counsel also and had felt that God had told him to “wait, if she wants to, she’ll make the first move.”  Upon hearing that, I experienced great peace, knowing that God had controlled every step of the situation and would surely continue to lead us.  

As unconventional as our “dating” was, God’s hand was evident throughout.  We both had made decisions when we were younger to keep ourselves pure until marriage and I am thankful to say that, by God’s grace, we kept those vows. 





 When we stood at the marriage altar on January 13, 2012, it also marked the first time we had ever kissed.

 It certainly was not easy to hold to such a high standard, but it was well worth it.  God promises to bless those who honor Him, and although I’ve only been married a couple short months, I can definitely say that God has blessed my husband and I.  We are currently living in PA and working to establish a deaf ministry in our local church, Tabernacle Baptist.  We are anxious to start deputation for Africa, but are waiting for the Lord’s timing and direction. 

          Psalm 118:23 says, “This is the LORD’S doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.”  If I could only have one verse to summarize our relationship, this would be the verse.  Remember, NEBC was not in MY plans, Foreign Missions was not in MY plans, and certainly Bruce Stuart was not in MY plans. 

But when I took the MY out, and replaced it with the LORD, I found a true joy and peace that passes all my understanding.  To some, this may seem like just a wonderful “happy-ever-after” story, but without my Lord’s hand guiding throughout, there would be no story to tell.


To God be All the Glory, 
Mrs. Amanda S. 

Amanda and her husband Bruce are currently living in PA and working together to establish a deaf ministry in their local church, Tabernacle Baptist.  They plan start deputation for their call to Deaf Missions in Africa, but are waiting for the Lord’s timing.

Amanda is a very sweet young lady with an amazing gift for American Sign Language!

Amanda just started blogging! You can visit her at 

To God Be All the Glory

Be sure to leave her a note that you read her story here!! 

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Tale of the Four Brides Special Announcement

Guess what???

Melissa and her husband Mark are expecting!! 

Congratulations to our friends! 

You can read her official announcement here

Blessed Beyond Measure

God bless,
~Rebecca

Amanda's story part 2 will be live in a few days!

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Amanda's Story part 1

TALE OF THE FOUR BRIDES

 "How I Met my Husband" 

By Amanda S.

PART 1

I was born and raised in New England. 

 I was saved at an early age, and as I approached the end of high school, I began to think about going to Bible college.  





I was all set to go to Oklahoma Baptist College and Institute. My plans were to go far away from home, because that sounded like a neat adventure,but God had other plans and He gave me no peace until I finally surrendered everything to Him. 

He led me to NEBC a small Bible College just 40 minutes from my home.  It was there that I met Bruce. He seemed interested in me right from the start, and I was flattered because it was the first time a man had ever seemed to like me.  

As time passed I began to I feel that he was reading too much into our relationship.  He was studying to go to the foreign mission field, and I didn’t feel that call.  So, while I liked him as a friend, I felt there could never be anything more between us, and in the fall of 2009 I told him so, and we “broke up.”

          In the summer of 2010, I had the privilege of going on a missions trip to the Deaf Nation World Expo.  I went because I had always had a strong burden for deaf, and this was a great opportunity to meet and witness to thousands of deaf from around the world.  While I was there, God began to strongly burden my heart for foreign deaf missions.  I struggled with it, but finally the night before I left, I surrendered my life to serve as a missionary.

          Back in college that fall, we had testimony time in chapel one day.  Bruce stood up and testified that during the summer, he began to struggle with the possibility of deaf missions.  He felt called to the people of Gabon, Africa, but wondered if God might be calling him to work specifically with the deaf there.  As he told his story and how God showed him and gave him peace about Deaf Missions in Gabon, I felt tears come to my eyes. 

It seemed as though God whispered to me, “I can take two people, separated by many miles, and give them both the same calling, the same purpose in life.  Won’t you give Bruce a second chance?”

TO BE CONTINUED...

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Happy Easter!

I hope you all have a very blessed Easter! 

Hallelujah, Christ lives! 

So, our big plans for our first Easter together will be visiting with my family...

And my brothers and sisters will be showing me EVERY SINGLE SOLITARY thing they got for Easter. 

Crossing my fingers that one of them will share Starbucks jellybeans with me!!!! :) lol

God bless and have a great day with your family and friends! 

~Rebecca

Amanda's story part 1 will be up on Monday!

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My New Jobs

Apart from taking care of a new husband and house I actually have other jobs to do! 

Now granted, they aren't paying jobs but I don't mind. The experience is well worth it. 

So my other jobs are....

Running our church's website, and teen blog

Church photographer, and Girl's Teen Leader. 

Running the church website is very interesting, 

especially as at first I thought...

"Running the website??? 

HTML??? I don't know HTML! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

(okay, I do know a little....but only a little)

But, after blogging for 5 years now, it hasn't been too scary. My experience with Blogger has been incredibly helpful to figuring out how to run a website. I have made a few mistakes, but as long as I don't delete anything... I'm doing great! Right? Right??! 

Anways...my next job is running the teen blog, 

The RVBC Teens 

I write the updates, activity info and post photos and I type up "Mr. Justin's Updates" 

Church photographer, 

this one is new. I just take photos of church events. It's fun, and I get to practice!

Teen Girls' Leader, 

Our youth group is mostly girls, out of ten students only three are guys. 

I have done teen activities with just the girls, and help them with different teen-girl dilemmas. 

Justin is the head of the youth group, and he will bounce off ideas on me for teen activities. We work together to get supplies for activities, clean up, games.... and the list goes on and on. I love our teens. 

So these are the different jobs I do, besides messing around with different ideas for a home business. 

The most exciting news right now that I have to share....

I was asked by my wedding's photographer to help him out with photographer at his nephew's wedding!! 

HOW AWESOME IS THAT??

God bless, 

~Rebecca

Next Tale of the Four Brides will be up soon! 

Amanda's Story will be live on Monday. 

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Melissa's Story part 2

TALE OF THE FOUR BRIDES

"My True-Life Fairy Tale"

By Melissa P.

Part 2




 I went back to school for my junior year just a week after the break up.

 I was nervous and scared, but also thrilled to see what my God was going to do!  My desire going into that semester was to fall in love with my Savior first and allow Him to bring my prince charming to me this time.  I wish I would have figured that out years ago!

 

 And then once again......it happened,

 someone came along to comfort me. 

  But this time, it was “as a friend” and a brother in Christ.  He respected my space and prayed for me all through that time, expecting nothing in return.   

 A month or two past and this young man,  Mark, began to show more of an interest in me.   I have to admit, it freaked me out!  I was so scared to mess up again.  I did not want my interest in him to be simply rebound and search for comfort.  I needed to get that comfort for Christ, not a man.  So, when we began to discuss a relationship, I panicked!  Something was telling me that I was not ready for that step yet and I needed to slow down! 

 That something was God Himself saying; fall in love with me first!  I know I devastated Mark when I told him I needed a week of not talking to him to figure out what God wanted.  He already knew what God wanted, but I could not take his word for it...I needed my Father’s Word! 

                Mark was wonderful about it!  He told me to take all the time I needed to know the Lord’s will.  He tells me now that his flesh fought hard against him.  He wanted to walk away and give up for fear of being hurt again, himself.  But, the Lord told him to simply wait and to trust Him.  So that’s what he did; wait and pray.  College friends told him to give up on me! “She never knows what she wants,” they would say; with which Mark would reply, “Yes she does. She wants God’s will and I respect that!”

                The week began rough as my flesh wanted to give into my feelings and just “fall in love’” with no guidance from the Lord.  But I ran to the arms of my Savior and begged for His peace!”  As I looked to Him, He began to give me that sweet peace that truly passes all understanding!  Still leery, I asked Him to send me something special to confirm that Mark was truly my prince.  That’s when my encounters with my beautiful blue jays began!  Anytime the Lord would remind me of a promise from His Word, I would see a blue jay in a tree, flying by a window, or sitting upon my favorite rock at the college. 


 Yes, a little thing like that reminded me of the Lord’s promises and they still do to this day.  Mark brought to my attention at one point that just like God’s promises, blue jays stick around all year long!  
The Lord had answered my prayer!

                We began dating on November 8, 2010 and due to my illnesses I had to quit school, go back home to Indiana, and spend the rest of the year in a long distance relationship.  I tell you my friend, if our relationship was not of the Lord, there is no way we would have made it eleven months apart.   

 

The Lord gave us an overabundance of grace during that period of time.  I would be lying if I said it was not that hard, because my heart resided in New England while I was back in Indiana. 

  But the Lord saw us through, and on November 11, 2011 I married my prince charming and let me tell you; because God did the work in bringing our two hearts together,
 I’ve never felt more like a princess! 

 



 

 

So, there you have it; my real life fairytale! 

 It was so simple;

just let God take hold of the situation and He’ll bring along the greatest of His promises! 



 “Delight thyself also in the Lord and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.  Commit thy way unto the Lord, trust also in Him and he shall bring it to pass... Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him...”  Psalm 37:4,5 & 7   
Those words never rang so true for me as they have now!  

~Mrs. Melissa P.~

Melissa is a pastor's wife here in New England,
 her husband Mark was recently ordained and is now the Pastor of a small, but quickly growing independent Baptist church here in New England.
Melissa is a very sweet and compassionate young lady with a wonderful sense of humor!

Melissa has her own blog!
You can visit her here at
Highest Calling

Be sure to leave her a note that you read her story here!!

God bless, 

~Rebecca


Amanda's story will be up next!! Be sure to come back!!

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Melissa's Story part 1

TALE OF THE FOUR BRIDES

"My True-Life Fairy Tale"

By Melissa P.

I professed faith in Jesus Christ when I was 7 years old.  As I grew older I doubted my salvation hundreds of times.  But, I kept going back to the word of my family and friends who assured me that I was saved. 

 In my early teen years, the fires of desire grew and I longed to be loved and taken care of.  I wish I could tell you that I did not date until I was in college, but sadly I have to say I had a lot of love interests.  I had no clue what true love was!  I professed to know the love of Christ as something wonderful, but if I truly would have experienced that love, I believe I would have been wiser with a“loving” in my earthly relationships.  

 

                I was never patient and as long as I can remember I wanted my prince-charming  to come and  sweep me off my feet, saving me from my “terrible”, uncultured world!  There I was; foolish, deceptive and giddy with each guy who would give me the time of day!  Yes, I loved and craved attention.  I loved to hear that I was beautiful and that I would never be left alone.   

Boy! Were they wrong!!!   

Each “fling” ended in loneliness and pain!  I always felt completely empty whenever each “frog” didn’t turn into my prince in the end.  

                Through God’s mercy and grace, He placed me at a Bible college in New England (NEBC).  I did not know it right away, but the two biggest decisions in my life would be made there!  I walked into this step of my journey blindly, but amazing grace was there ready to open my eyes so that I could proclaim with the song writer: “I once was blind, but now I see!”  

                I walked into my freshman year immature and impulsive.  What was I even there for?  “Following the Lord’s will” became my cliché!  I really was just taking basic classes and loving the social life.  Little did I know how the Lord was preparing my heart for great and wonderful things that I knew not yet!  I became infatuated with a guy that year, but through the wisdom God gave to him and circumstances I know now that the Lord allowed, all hope of a relationship with him ended that summer.  

 

                Just as it always worked; whenever my heart would be broken by one, it seemed another came along to “comfort” me...”as a friend.”   Of course, I’m sure you can figure out where this was going!  I went back to college for my sophomore year, and this new guy never left my side!  I loved the attention and thought I was on the right track...once again!  This guy eventually called my parents and said he knew I was the one and asked permission to date me.  Everything seemed like a true fairytale finally coming true and I was on cloud nine!  

                My whole mindset on life changed with that 10 month relationship: the most serious relationship I had ever been in!  I was going to live my life for me, for us!  We were going to make a lot of money and live the good life...but of course, we were going to give our share to the ministry. 

 Right. 

 

  The second semester of my sophomore year, the Lord would not leave me alone.  Every service seemed to talk on salvation.  Conviction set in during most invitations and that made me mad!  I was already saved!  Why is the Lord making my heart race and my head pound whenever a preacher compelled the lost one to come forward?   
Finally, during a special service one evening, my heart had had enough!  As the invitation song, “I Must Tell Jesus” was sung, 
I could not help but think; “I can’t tell Jesus anything!  I don’t even know Him personally!”  I stepped out of the pew, my heart pounding, and went to the dean of women.  She looked up when she felt me in front of her.  I began to cry, “I think I need to get saved.”  She took me in another room and that’s when it happened.  For the first time, I finally experienced TRUE love!  Oh! How the weight was lifted!

                From that point on, the relationship I was in became rocky.  I knew in the back of my mind that it was because God was trying to tell me that I was out of His will with this guy, but I tried to ignore His compelling.  I had become attached and I did not want more heartbreak.  To make a long story short, this guy became a real jerk to me and he said some of the most hurtful things I had ever heard.   

Finally, with the Lord’s conviction and my family’s pleading, I broke up with him.  Yes, tears fell... but my heart was relieved and my burden lifted!  
I wanted only God’s will and knowing that I was in it now, made the pain bearable.  

 

 



TO BE CONTINUED...............

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