Tsh Oxenreider
About the Author

Tsh Oxenreider is the author of Notes From a Blue Bike and the founder of The Art of Simple. She's host of The Simple Show, and her passion is to inspire people that 'living simply' means making room for more of the stuff that really matters, and that the right,...

(in)side DaySpring: things we love
& you will too!
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(in)side DaySpring:
things we love
& you will too!
Find more at
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    • Kyle uses fake accents all over the world. It’s quite comical, actually, but he says the taxi drivers and store vendors understand him better than if he spoke pure English (when he doesn’t know the local language, of course). It sounds like he’s making fun of them, but he’s really not — he’s speaking English the way they hear and understand it best. 🙂

      • I lived in India, and I am married to an NRI, my husband gets frustrated when I speak English with an Indian accent, but it almost turns on as a default from living over there- funny! Great story.

  1. That’s a beautiful picture of God’s passionate pursuit of us – and soooo romantic! Loved it! Thank you!

  2. This was exciting to read and the most exciting part was at the end. Indeed God wants our attention and once we figure that out and start setting our eyes on Him the real ride begins!

    Thank you for sharing, pretty girl!

  3. Tsh,

    One of my favorite stories of all time! Beautiful, romantic, and the parallels you make at the end to God’s fierce love are perfect.

    Gosh, I’d like to have time to hear more of your stories…….

    xo

  4. “God loves you. And he’ll chase you to get your attention.” And now I have a big lump in my throat.

    Thank you for sharing this, Tsh! wow!

  5. That is a beautiful story! and I love how you incorporate God’s love for us in it. Great message 🙂

  6. Such a lovely tale.

    Our main journey is our 7 children–training them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. He is SO Faithful to show us the light for every step. But, even after 24 years of parenting, we must still depend on Him for every breath. And what He is growing them all into is Glorious!!! 🙂

  7. I think I might have had to give a playful slap to him for scaring me like that! ha ha! 😉 What a beautiful picture of God’s love! Thank you for sharing!

  8. Tsh, I love, love, love your story!! It made me want to cry as I thought of those things God does when we’ve given up and think perhaps He won’t show this time. Beautiful. And as a TCK myself, I understand on another level as well. Blessings!

  9. Tsh,
    Reading your stories, it is amazing how much our families are alike. How you met your husband, the places you have lived and worked in….. truly surprising.
    When I met my husband it was also ‘love at first sight’ and I knew right away that we would marry. 20 years later and here we are living now in the US with two kids hoping to move again back to Europe.
    Funny how life happens!

  10. Beautiful and romantic – especially at the end where you mention God chasing after us! Loved it!!

  11. Such a poignant picture of God’s deep & enduring love for us. I’m in love with Jesus & He’s in love with me!

  12. What a sweet story. Although a small country, Macedonia is a great place-it’s where my husband and I also met. 🙂

  13. TELL US MORE!!!

    Man I’m so eager for book 2 — and hope it includes more awesome personal stuff! So did you get married a year after that or did you both *realize* you wanted to get married a year after that? I couldn’t tell by the wording of “I knew then that he was marriage material. We did, about a year later.”

    • Oh yes, the next book will for sure include more personal, memoir-style stuff. The next next book will most definitely have personal stories. That’s the plan, anyway. 🙂

      The incident described in this post happened in October 2001. We were married in Austin, Texas in November 2002.

  14. I am really enjoying learning more about you, Tsh! Your blog and your book have already made a real difference in my life. Thank you for your work and for sharing yourself with us.

  15. Thank you! This post (for me) was that voice calling behind me. I didn’t want to look at it out of anger and fear. Now my eyes are welled up with tears after getting to the end and recognizing the “shoes” and then the face of the One who Loves me most reminding me that He is with me on my presently very scary journey.
    Thank you!

    • Nilüfer! Seni Düşünüyorum. You have no idea how much we miss you guys. Tate prays for Irmak nearly every night.

      Görüşmek, iletişimi koparmamak.

  16. That is SO sweet. I have been going through a difficult trial this evening and this post just lifted my spirits and my eyes unto the God of my life!

  17. Mmm. This was good for me to read this morning. What a reminder- “Christ swoops in and carries us home via the cross.” May that be the romance I am fully satisfied in, even when another comes along.

  18. This is lovely. Thank you for sharing. Great story and even greater illustration!

  19. Tsh, I love this story so much. Yes, he was most definitely marriage material. “He’s 6’2″ and I sleep with him” has popped into my mind unexpectedly all weekend, and made me giggle. 🙂

  20. Beautiful, WONderful reminder of how He pursues me! Chasing me down, in the darkness of my fears, fervent despite my ignoring retreat… How good is His love, how passionate, how romantic, my Jesus!
    No better analogy, as we celebrate the gift of His sacrificial love.
    Thanks, Tsh –
    Teri

  21. This is an absolutely beautiful story, especially right in time for Easter- the ultimate testament of Divine Love!

  22. I can see why you fell in love with him! Thanks for sharing your love story and bringing it back to God’s pursuit of us. I picked “Journey” as my word of the year back in January since God has me on quite an interesting & complicated one right now-living in two states…

  23. Oh Tsh, I loved this story. We were just in Skopje today for a dr. visit. That drive makes me cranky nearly every time but knowing it used to take 4 hrs from Prn makes me less so. LOVE the pics at the top. Some of my MOST favorite people.

  24. That was very romantic indeed. I have a story of my own too, I’m not ready to tell it to anyone yet though, for it’s a Highly Exquisite Piece of Art in “The Making.”(very emotional) I might still have more than other people; It’s those other people though that I truly hold high.

  25. What a beautiful comparison of how much God loves us! Truly He does stand beside us and guide and protect us! WOW!

  26. Dear Tsh,
    What a great story! But the most important part is the underlying message, it brought tears to my eyes. Really, God is indeed looking for us at all times, His voice following us, “Pretty girl. Where are you going?” Thanks a lot Tsh, for your message.

  27. I loved this. Oh if we knew His jealous pursuit of us and what we mean to Him. Wow, still sobbing, what a wonderful picture the Lord has given of His love through the gift of marriage. Thank you for sharing. 🙂

  28. Thank you, thank you, thank you Tsh. Thank you for sharing your beautiful story of how you met your husband. Thank you for your blog I am just NOW discovering (I am not quite sure how I have not come across it sooner :/ )
    Finally, thank you for your expressing your love for GOD and how wonderous HE is!

    Your mention of the cross really helped me remember (I especially needed to read this today) I have already been delivered and rescued from any adversity I have been through, am going through and will go through.

    You’re awesome and I love your blogs thus far!

  29. Wow, I was a fervent reader of your blog Simple Mom after the birth of my youngest daughter now almost 4 years old. At the time I was a stay at home mom an your candid and simple approach made you a invaluable resource of advice and encouragement. Then I got a job and stopped following you. For reasons I can’t comprehend I was inclined to click on your latest e-mail and I checked your about that had changed since the last time I read it. And like it normally it occurs on the web I fell on the rabbit hole that is the Internet until I came to read about your love story. Beautiful. What is more you wrote this about two years ago to the date and I have been wrestling with exactly the same subject: the pursuit of Love and His pursuit. And this I’ll take as confirmation of a post I’ve been meaning to write but lacked the courage to do so (I’ll link to it later). You are an amazing writer and for some reason until now I realized a woman of God. I just needed to share my thoughts.

  30. Wow, I was a fervent reader of your blog Simple Mom after the birth of my youngest daughter now almost 4 years old. At the time I was a stay at home mom an your candid and simple approach made you a invaluable resource of advice and encouragement. Then I got a job and stopped following you. For reasons I can’t comprehend I was inclined to click on your latest e-mail and I checked your about that had changed since the last time I read it. And like it normally it occurs on the web I fell on the rabbit hole that is the Internet until I came to read about your love story. Beautiful. What is more you wrote this about two years ago to the date and I have been wrestling with exactly the same subject: the pursuit of Love and His pursuit. And this I’ll take as confirmation of a post I’ve been meaning to write but lacked the courage to do so (I’ll link to it later). You are an amazing writer and for some reason until now I realized a woman of God.