welcome

Greetings & Howdies from the scenic hills of central Texas! We are Mark and Traci Neyland, building on what God calls a "great mystery."

When a man pursues his bride (a woman) as the Lord Jesus pursues His Bride (that's us), they form the "great mystery" of Ephesians 5:32 — the beautiful parallel of Romance.

This two-word phrase "great mystery" is used in the Bible only once and refers to Romance; specifically, this profound parallel between tangible and eternal Romance.

These two parallel pursuits share the same five counterparts which comprise the blueprints that a man and a woman need to build a relationship that prevails against the enemies of Romance:

his love
is the Source of Romance, that pursues Her Trust by making the first move to prove to her how exclusively valuable she is to him.

her trust
is the Potential for Romance, because only Her Trust allows for the sincere exchange of Intimate Talk.

intimate talk
is the Life of Romance, where the ongoing sharing of secret hopes and dreams intertwines them with an internal Cohesion.

cohesion
is the Strength of Romance, necessary for unmarried couples to pursue Marriage, and necessary for married couples to keep it.

marriage
is the Fulfillment of Romance, when their inward oneness is consummated by their own outward oneness; dancing unashamedly, freely, and joyfully.

The story, of how Traci and I met, involves God profoundly syncing the lives of two faraway strangers:

I was reading His Word and the parable of a man's search for a precious pearl (Matthew 13:46) when God told me to relocate from Seattle to pursue my own pearl at a certain church in San Antonio.

So, on September 10, 2000, I packed my car to pursue a perfect stranger.

Soon afterwards, I noticed her, and was not only freight-train struck with her beauty, but also completely won over by her kindness toward others.

As our first hour of conversation grew into several, she showed me a one-time prayer-letter that she had written, to express her heart's desire for God to send her the right man.

The date on her letter was September 10, 2000, the very same day that I had packed my car, from over 2,000 miles away, for the road trip that would change our lives forever.

On December 22, 2001, I married the most beautiful woman I've ever seen.

God has given us two precocious boys and a keenly articulate girl who amaze us with who they are, and continue to substantiate our zealous appreciation for morning coffee.

welcome his word our songs