07/14/2026
July 13th.
Years ago on this day (we wonât age ourselves đ), Zach caught my young heart completely by surprise and got down on one knee to ask me to marry him. But first, he sang a brand new song he had written just for me, surrounded by people who loved us and had prayed over our lives.
I can still see it so clearly. And somehow, it also feels like a blur. What many people may not realize is that the couple standing there that day was only 18 and 21 years old. Some days I laugh and think⌠what on earth were we thinking?
But the truth is, I knew. And I think the people who really knew us - our family, mentors, and friends - they knew too. We were home to each other.
Iâve learned there is never really a moment when you feel completely âreadyâ for the things that matter most. Marriage. Parenthood. Starting a business. Chasing a dream. There will always be unknowns. That really, all you have is love, faith, surrender, and the courage to keep saying âyes.â
Years later, one of my mentors from my teenage years told me something Iâve never forgotten. She said that although I was young, she saw a maturity in the posture of my heart that went beyond my years. She believed that if anyone in our generation could make a lifelong commitment at that age and truly live it out, it would be Zach and me. Looking back, I know she was seeing something deeper than my age. What she saw wasnât simply me- It was Christâs life at work within me, quietly shaping me long before I even understood it.
And somehow⌠weâve made it. Not because weâve done everything right.
Weâve made it through joy and grief. Through celebration and heartbreak. Through seasons of abundance and seasons where we wondered how weâd keep going. Through dreams fulfilled and dreams that are still unfolding.
Tonight, Zach is playing at the iconic Bluebird Cafe in Nashville. A dream heâs carried for years is being embraced, and I am SO proud. And while heâs there, Iâll be here with four boys who couldnât be prouder of their dad as well - right there, another dream embraced. Four boys, big hearts.
Then thereâs this shoppe. Every time I unlock the door, Iâm reminded that this, too, is a dream I once could only imagine. Over the years, this space and platform has given me a front-row seat to thousands of stories. Stories of marriages experiencing their own joy & sorrow. New babies. Empty nests. Diagnoses no one expected. Dreams coming true after years of waiting. Others wondering if their dream had quietly passed them by. The details are always different, but the longing underneath is often the same. Weâre all wondering if the life weâre living is enough. If weâre doing enough.
If weâre getting it right.
Recently, Zach wrote a song that has been playing over and over in my heart. It says: âDid you ever think that youâd get it right? Kissing in the rain. Holding crying babies. Bikes in the driveway. Grass-stained jeans. Screen door slamming. Kids chasing⌠Is this what it feels like living the dream? I think it is.â
The older I get, the more I think thatâs exactly it. Maybe living the dream was never about arriving at some perfect destination. Maybe itâs this. For me- itâs four boys filling our home with laughter and chaos. Cheering on my husband tonight as he steps onto the stage of the Bluebird Cafe, while I get the privilege of living another dream here at home. Unlocking the doors to a little shoppe that has become so much more than a business. The conversations across the counter. The ordinary Mondays. The hard seasons we never wouldâve chosen.
The moments that donât seem extraordinary until one day you look back and realize⌠this was the dream all along.
And sweet friend, I know you have your own dream lived as well. If youâre waiting for life to finally begin, donât miss the beauty thatâs already unfolding around you. Sometimes the dream doesnât announce itself. Sometimes it sounds like a screen door slamming, kids laughing in the backyard, a spouse chasing a dream, a customer sharing their heart across a counterâŚ
âŚand the quiet realization that this ordinary, beautifully imperfect life is far more sacred than you ever imagined.
With love
From, Amanda
