Brently has a Girlfriend

I never thought the day would come when I would have a girlfriend, but lo and behold, the day has arrived. Many have already understood that it was close by the much bigger smile I’ve had on my face this last month of getting to know Sari; but, for those who didn’t know, now you do. My co-workers have definitely noticed a difference since I’ve wanted to get everything finished up so quickly at the end of the day, and because of my incessant singing on the job. They know I’ve got someone on my mind. My jr. high guys have showed their excitement by exclaiming phrases like, “Brent has a girlfriend” and such. My family is excited also because it is as evident to them as it is to me that Sari is a gem of a girl. I was talking to JJ the other day and he asked me the question, “So why do you like this girl over the rest in the world?” I asked him if he wanted 50 reasons or more. Thus, I decided to make a list of the first 101 things that I like about Sari. Please note that they are not in any specific order and there will be many more to add to the list every day.

101 Reasons I like Sarah Joy Cowger:
1.She loves God more than she likes me
2.She loves the Word of God
3.She is committed to fellowship
4.She loves the church (only being in Az since August 06, she has gone to great churches and has been at EVBC since October)
5.She is already in a life group
6.She has had a women’s Bible study in her apartment now for a couple of months
7.She loves ministering to women
8.She ministers with me at 7ten
9.She is shorter than me
10.She has an amazing family
11.She likes my family and enjoys hanging out with them and getting to know all their unique and different personalities
12.She is an excellent communicator
13.She is down to earth (something my brothers said about her)
14.She loves her job (she teaches English 101 and 102 at ASU)
15.She made me cookies when I was sick, dinner when I was hungry, dessert for a student ministry staff event, and brownies just because I like them
16.She is teachable
17.She asks great questions
18.She shows she cares for people
19.She know where she is at in life (purpose, direction, goals, etc)
20.She is musical (great voice, plays guitar, piano, violin), and she likes it that I’m musical
21.She loves spending time with other women and encouraging them to follow Christ
22.She loves her dad and has a great relationship with him
23.She is modest in clothing yet always looks very beautiful
24.She enjoys doing normal things with me (shopping for shoes, eating, coffee, taking me to the airport, swing dancing, going to ASU mountain, watching movies or musicals, symphonies, etc)
25.She makes other people feel loved
26.She values advice from other people
27.She is a minister to her co-workers and some have already come to church with her
28.She cares for hurting people
29.She is outgoing and can talk to any person very easily
30.She loves workplace ministry
31.She is very artistic
32.She is in tune “to the 5 love languages” and how to best care for people
33.She likes other people to lead
34.She doesn’t talk bad about my driving and is not a backseat driver
35.She likes my laugh even though it is loud and obnoxious; she doesn’t mind people staring at us because we are both laughing so loud
36.She isn’t embarrassed when I am weird and crazy (even when I dressed up in short 70’s shorts for dodge ball)
37.She lets me be myself and even is okay with me talking about boy smells and what goes inside a Kleenex . . . also she loves joking about one of their families favorite chili. . . it is called, “Damn Good Chili.”
38.She is so honest with her feelings (the first time we met, I was especially encouraged by this refreshing characteristic about herself)
39.She is frugal with money and loves to get a good deal
40.She is so easy to talk to and we can communicate on the phone or in person for hours without it feeling long at all
41.She loves her students
42.She loves her role as a woman and though she loves her job, she knows her primary role will be to love her husband and then her family
43.She is disciplined with her quiet time with God in the morning
44.She is merciful and balances my black and white nature very well
45.She loves hymns and great Christian music but also enjoys cultured and secular music as well
46.She loves the grace of God and is especially passionate that it is “unmerited favor”
47.She loves her extended Jewish family and wants more than anything for them to follow the messiah Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord
48.She enjoyed the pastime of going to garage sales with her family
49.She is S.M.A.R.T. and has finished her masters and a year of her doctorate
50.She is humble about her education and doesn’t make me feel UNSMART
51.She teaches me many new cool vocab words
52.She makes me desire to be a pure man of God who puts Christ first in all things
53.She is supportive of not kissing until we are committed to each other
54.She is adventuresome and could enjoy a good hike (one of her favorite family pastimes is camping)
55.She likes good books (we even read a whole book out loud together-though not my favorite book, it was a great time)
56.She is very respectful of authority in her life
57.She is secure in who she is and doesn’t need a man or marriage to complete her . . . she is complete and content in Christ alone and knows that she will only be content with those other things if she is content now with where God has her
58.She is joyful and has a million dollar smile
59.She says cute phrases like: “oye vey,” “oye abrah,” “wheuf,” “good question,” “done,” and “Yoooouuuuu.”
60.She is an affectionate person and gives great hugs
61.She doesn’t put on a façade for people (she knows who she is and is comfortable with it)
62.She loves good comedy and has a great sense of humor (we once had dinner and her straw had a hole in it so she asked the waiter if she could have a straw that sucked. . . I laughed)
63.She enjoys good television and movies, but does not waste hours of time on them (evidenced by her 12 inch T.V.)
64.She has a very cute apartment full of pictures of people she loves and that love her
65.She doesn’t care about the riches of the world and knows what it means to be content with little or much
66.She loves musicals and good theatre . . . her favorite is ANNIE
67.She doesn’t like coffee though she loves going out to coffee shops (extra hot Chai and tea are her thing)
68.She made me some hot lemon tea when I was sick
69.She uses every chance she can in class to casually bring up the things of God
70.She enjoys swing dancing and has a great time doing things like this
71.She loves campus ministry (she was involved in Campus Crusade and learned to have a heart for people and missions through her time there)
72.She went to China for 6 weeks on a missions trip. She has a heart for going overseas every few years for a SHORT amount of time
73.She is the only person I know who has ALMOST as small of hands as I do
74.She is daring and takes risks (evidenced in moving to Az on her own, rock repelling, dating me, etc.)
75.She has always lived with roommates until now and knows how to be selfless (she once had like 6 female roommates in the same house. . . yikes)
76.She would rather study the Word of God herself than read a commentary
77.She loves to underline in her Bible, and she has a lot underlined (wink wink)
78.She has a lot of great female mentors and loves counsel from Godly women
79.She is so much fun to be around and can make a fun time out of anything
80.She is a great listener
81.She is so honest and genuine
82.She is forgiving of my many faults, harshness, and insensitivity
83.She is wise and mature
84.She and I can joke about our difference in age without it being awkward
85.She and I also joked with people about us when we were just “SUPER FRIENDS”
86.She comes from a fun family (Sari’s mom Caryn once told me that Sari is a great belly dancer . . . it was totally a joke, but it made me laugh big time. Her dad John crafts pottery and one of his famous works is his chain smoker cup . . . which is very artistic and made me laugh)
87.She enjoys cultured food but is cool with my EXTREMELY simple tastes
88.She and I can be in a serious conversation and then hear a song on the radio and just break out in a cool dance groove
89.She went with my sisters and my mom to a “Women of Faith Conference” before I even introduced them
90.She sways really cutely when a cool song comes on the radio or when she has got a tune in her head
91.She loves and encourages my friendship with guys; and she has great friendships with girls
92.She loves real conversations with people and likes to really have true fellowship with others
93.She is only spoken well of by people that know her (especially her family)
94.She loves her brother David, and the first time I met her she said that she would have coffee with him every Saturday morning if their schedules matched
95.She is fine with me asking tough and awkward questions . . . she lets me put people on the spot even though she is much more tactful
96.She is the essence of cute . . . her blue eyes, blonde hair, great dimples, shortness, enormous smile, sweet voice, intoxicating perfume, demeanor, etc
97.She is not so detailed in stories that she loses me, but also makes them interesting
98.She is not an administrator of details, but she does what she needs to for things to get accomplished
99.She really worships God with all her heart, soul, mind, and strength and loves her neighbor as herself ( she also expresses herself in the corporate gathering)
100.She reminds me of the Proverbs 31 woman
101.She makes me want to be near her all the time and I can’t wait to find out the next 101 new things I like about her