Hey, friends and fam! I have some exciting news to share (that several of you already know at this point). Please allow me to officially introduce my boyfriend, Coach Adam Christopher Bishop!! ❤
God is doing something NEW,
and we're both excited about where He's leading us!
Adam loves Jesus wholeheartedly, and he leads with protective strength and gentleness. We have shared values and complementary strengths and personalities, and I'm thanking God very regularly for bringing this man into my life. He is fun, kind, forward-thinking, and a very solid and intentional communicator (in writing, via phone, and in person). I so admire his heart for Jesus and the way he consistently loves, serves, and leads others. This is new territory for each of us in very different ways. Adam is a widower, an incredible dad to three great boys (12, 15, and 17), and the Head Football Coach and Associate Athletic Director for Regent Preparatory School in Tulsa. (For context, he was faithfully married for almost 20 years to a wonderful woman named Kelly Lauren Bishop. She passed away in June after being diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, having blessed her men to move forward with courage and encouraged her boys to watch their dad and follow his Christlike example. Their family is clearly beloved and very well supported in this season by the Regent School and Evergreen Church communities. They all know the Lord and are anchored by the hope of heaven as they grieve and gradually process this heartbreaking loss).
God has prepared this path, and Adam and I have individually sought wise counsel as things progress here. We've had many intentional conversations about God's appointed timing and it being okay for him to be excited about this and grieving for Kelly at the same time.
In a story that does not mirror my online dating history, Adam was on eHarmony less than 24 hours when he found my profile - (very out of his comfort zone to try online dating, but he was looking for a Christian woman who specifically mentioned Jesus in the intro/headline, and he found me - yay, God!) We messaged for a couple days there, then he asked if he could call me. I have been semi-awkward and nervous every step of the way here, but it's also been really fun and exciting, and Adam is good at making me feel more comfortable. We connected well and had multiple hours-long phone calls, then I would recap the highlights of those conversations with Mom and Chet. lol I put Chet in charge of reining me in if I got ahead of myself, but he was also fully on board with Adam before we'd even met in person. I'm still laughing about this one! lol
Our first official date was at the OSU v. UCF football game - I had talked to him enough to trust that we could handle that much time together without it getting awkward, and I was not wrong. We met around 10:15, then we held hands and prayed together in my car before heading over to the stadium - praying for wisdom and discernment, for God to clarify it quickly if this was not the right fit, and for Jesus to be the foundation of whatever we build together if it is. ❤ Here's what I wore that day, thanks to some input/advice from Mom, Rach, and Chet:
We mostly hung out inside, and I was cracking up at Adam's ability to listen attentively to me while also knowing what was happening on the field in some detail. He likes that I am not competitive and mostly oblivious when it comes to sports, and I LOVE that he is a football coach who leads the boys with so much heart and Christ-centered purpose. It's all giving me Ted Lasso and Friday Night Lights vibes, and again, I'm totally here for it!
Here's our first photo together. ❤
We ran into my cousin Emily and her family, so she was technically the first person in the fam to meet Adam. I grabbed a couple pics with Miss Kartsen Blair, then we went on to find a table and keep talking!
We ran outside for my favorite Friends in Low Places moment, then Adam bought us concert tickets for Garth's show in Tulsa next weekend - FUN!!! We sat in the Braum's parking lot for 2+ hours talking after the game, and Adam prayed for us before he left. We both agreed that God was in this, and we decided we wanted to move forward and meet each others' people. (Adam's oldest son was in a wreck the night before, so he was running on very little sleep, so we parted ways around 5:30, making it a 7-hour first date in Stillwater, bookended with prayer!) ❤ Then I promptly drove to Tulsa to recap all of that with the wonderful Wilson fam over Andy's custard! =)
After I talked with everyone individually about him (everyone in our lives seems excited and very on board), Adam came to OKC to meet the fam! He got to my house around 1 o'clock, and he and I got to have lunch and go shopping together. We came back to my house for the afternoon, where we covered some important topics and had our first kiss (aka my first kiss ever, and I love that it was with him)!
We grabbed Hideaway Pizza and brought it back to Mom and Dad's. He talked football with Jace, volleyball with Kyndal, and technology with Triston. I love that he's multifaceted and can connect with everyone on some level. As an athlete who played baseball in college and has spent years coaching football, I assumed he would mesh well with the fam - I was more nervous than he was about that meeting, but it all went smoothly. Jace and Kyndal were totally themselves around him, which brought me joy! We sat outside for a bit and watched them play basketball, then we headed back to my place where I quickly packed a suitcase for the Tulsa trip...
(The Wilsons are in Disney World, so I'm staying at their place for a few days - Adam and his family live two miles down the road from them in Bixby. Thankful for God's timing and answers to prayer in that, as well.)
Definitely looking forward to reading this when I get back home tomorrow!
True story:
Thursday night, I got to watch him coach for the first time (Game #7 in an undefeated season for Regent thus far). SO. FANTASTIC. As I'd already assumed it would, this week has confirmed some things. He was worried I might hate the football life, but I assured him I'm 100% on board!
It was an away game in Mounds. I got there an hour and a half early and got to meet two of his boys (the youngest, Owen, and the oldest, John David). I'd already talked with his mom and his middle son, Judson, on the phone!
I had texted earlier that day with Joni, and I was so glad to meet her in person that night (she was Kelly's best friend and is very supportive of their family and sincerely excited about this for Adam). She's a legit football fan and brings cowbells to ring for the team, and she gave me this one for that game! lol
I wore the Regent quarter-zip sweater Adam had given me the day before, and I sat by Barbara, Adam's mom, and had a great talk with her! A cold front came through that night, and I was very impressed with how kind and caring everyone around me was - giving me a rain jacket (Adam) and a blanket (Joni) and gloves (Joni's mom) and hot chocolate and an umbrella to block the wind (Barbara). So nice!!
I had fun watching the game and cheering with the fans, but even more fun seeing in-person some of the traditions I'd heard about. Adam built this football program 16 years ago, and it is atypical in the best ways. He cares more about their hearts than wins and losses, and they do so many cool things that make me excited about his leadership style. (Commitment cards where the players set weekly goals, a mom's prayer circle before every game, friends and family surrounding the boys after the game as Adam encourages and motivates them, then the boys on the team give each other shoutouts/words of affirmation, then Adam prays over all of them, then the Mom's coordinate to bring and serve dinner for them. Every. game.) Yes, please to being a part of that culture and dating the man who built it!!! I told him his words are likely more influential for those boys long-term than what they hear from their teachers, and the ripple effect of his leadership is deep and wide! He is humble, prayerful, and purposeful in all of that, and it. is. attractive.
He'd warned me early on that we needed to be prepared because him bringing a woman to the game would start some conversations around the school and the team. I was aware of that, but pretty locked in on him, and his people made me feel very protected. When he hugged me on that field, it felt like a T-Swift and Travis moment (or something more epic than that). lol
This = me with Joni and Barbara, helping the moms group serve BBQ chicken sliders, mac n cheese, pumpkin bread, etc. post game! After all of that, I came to their house for a couple hours. He did a quick radio interview with the Sports Animal show, then we sat on the porch swing out back, and it was fantastic and redemptive!
Still feels a bit surreal to me, but I'm deeply grateful for it!!
Look at me having a boyfriend who can put air in my tires! lol
Walking the pedestrian bridge in Bixby and discussing future plans and dreams!
He is such a good dad, and I'm genuinely excited to continue getting to know the boys!
Last night, his oldest son joined us for an Italian dinner, and it was good to talk to him about senior year stuff! This is at his house after dinner... he was starting to change in to comfy clothes, but I caught him to get a photo before that. He doesn't really do social media or take many pictures, and I told him we do *not* have that in common. lol He'll get used to me; it's been fun learning about each other!
Last night was also fantastic. After our dinner at Ti Amo, the boys joined us outside and we made s'mores over the fire pit and talked about some of the Regent events and traditions. Y'all know I love a s'mores and fire pit moment!! I was in open-toed shoes, but Adam's shoes and hoodie fit me well, which made me pretty happy too! We've covered so much ground already in our conversations... we love Jesus and we love each other, and we are going to work through the Preparing for Marriage book together, potentially followed by The Meaning of Marriage by Tim Keller. ❤
Perhaps the most surreal part of all of this for me is the mutuality - we BOTH feel like we've won a great prize here, which makes it feel like such a wonderful gift from God! His genuine interest in me is a very new feeling, and my mind is still spinning a bit as I adjust and relax into that. I am far more familiar with unrequited love and deferred hope than I am with hearing (among other things): "If it's okay with you, I want to be very intentional about pursuing and desiring and protecting you - I read the blog for hours last night; I'm gonna be your biggest fan - I'm going to help you get that book written - I can't believe you're still single; there are a lot of stupid men out there - I'm amazed by what the Lord is doing here - I feel like I've found gold, or something more valuable than gold! - I've got this; let me lead - I'm here; I'm not going anywhere - saying that you're pursuing holiness was the most attractive thing you could have said to me - you're really beautiful; please don't be hard on yourself - please call me anytime you need anything; you don't have to do everything by yourself anymore - I'm thinking long-term, and I want us to have many years together." Please protect this man at all costs. lol
Let's do this, Coach Bishop!
❤❤❤❤
This was today's email from Christine - another well-timed gem.
Okay then, I'm off to hang out with Adam then join his family and friends for a cookout tonight! Very much looking forward to a gathering with my friend group soon when the Wilsons return from Florida! Thanks for sharing in our joy here. And Spirit-led prayers would be appreciated as we move forward! ❤
I've gotta say I'm loving this 4th quarter comeback in my "year of dating" goal!! lol God rewards those who sincerely seek Him, and He loves to write redemptive stories, and this is genuinely more than I dreamed!! I will go ahead and close with this verse, as I think it nicely sums up our feelings here. I'm so grateful that Jesus answers prayers and paves the way and makes our paths straight. We are two imperfect people with unique life stories, and we still have a lot to learn about each other, but we are prayerfully walking into this new chapter together. God has been good and kind to us, and we are genuinely excited and hopeful about where this is headed! ❤ ❤ ❤
