While we feel our story is special and unique to us, we know our story wouldn’t exist without the stories of our parents. We feel incredibly blessed by how our parents raised us and their ability to remain steadfast in their faith and love for each other even in hardships. Over the years, our parents have shared with us the love of Christ, and more than share it, they’ve demonstrated it. We would be remiss if we celebrated our marriage without honoring the marriage of our parents and sharing their stories.

Mom and Dad, thank you! We love you dearly.

Long, long ago, when we were very young……

Colleen: Randy went to a JuCo (Neosho County C.C.) in the fall after his H.S. graduation, and that’s a whole other story! Let’s just suffice it to say “God doesn’t waste anything that you give to Him, and He will bring beauty from ashes.”

After one semester, Randy started going to K-State in January of 1975. Within a few days of his start at KSU, he asked God to take his life and make it new. Kenny Allen (lifelong friend; their moms grew up together, and their families spent many times together) invited Randy to a prayer meeting. It was the first time in his life that he saw the moving/living/active Spirit and Word of God. These young men were boldly proclaiming God’s word, and praising Jesus for answered prayer, and asking the Lord to grow them to bring Him glory! It was altogether fearful and amazing for him.

Randy began attending an independent, coed Bible Study. This was the first time Randy had really done any looking at the Bible outside of church. Although his parents were Christians, and really had strong, God-honoring faith, Randy had not been excited or drawn to “church things” and had really intended to stay as far away from that as possible when he went to college. But now his life was being changed by faith and belief in Jesus.

Randy started spending most of his time with people from the Bible study, and there were sometimes “dates” with other members. Randy’s sophomore year, Chris Burnett, my older sister, had asked Randy to go with her to her sorority’s spring formal. He reciprocated with an invitation to his trombone teacher’s end-of-the-year cook-out picnic. Randy liked Chris as a friend, but perceived she was wanting this to be a “couple”, and he wasn’t drawn to her the same way.

Randy: The first me I met Colleen, (two years younger) was when she had come to visit Chris on a little sister weekend in the spring of 1976. As per college fun, she was part of a LARGE group that packed into Chris’ car for a late-night Vern’s donut run! However, I didn’t really take much notice of her at the time. Colleen started her freshman year at KSU in the fall of 1976, living in a campus dorm and joining the same sorority and attending Campus Crusade, like her sister, and getting to know her sister’s friends. I began to notice her and thought she was really pretty. One of my apartment roommates, John, was kind of “the guy that dated all the girls”, and he had a couple of dates with Colleen. I asked him how his date was and he said, “You should ask her out.” I said, “I’d like that, but she wouldn’t want to go out with me.” But John encouraged me to try. So, I asked, and she said yes! Mid-September 1976 was our first date. It was a triple date miniature golfing with 2 other roommates from “the apartment.” and their girlfriends. We had a great time and when we left the golf park, Colleen went back to “the apartment” where I lived, and we talked and talked until it was really late (like 2am) when I took Colleen back to her dorm. She was soooo tired that she moved/walked like she was drunk. I know that’s what the people on desk duty thought! And I remember asking God “Could this be who I am going to marry?”

Colleen: However, Randy was a guy my sister Chris wanted to be in a more-than-friend relationship with. At the outset, I assured Chris that Randy and I were “just friends” and it was NOT “serious”. But as God had planned, Chris began a relationship with a guy that eventually became her future husband, and Randy continued to pursue me.

Randy and Colleen at Worlds of Fun. Summer of 1978

Randy: Colleen and I had a few more dates, and I was sure I was in love. I told her I loved her. which she recalls as being a bit “scary.” I didn’t understand that having a guy interested in her and going on dates was a new experience for her. One night as we sat in my car talking outside her dorm after a date, I was playing one of my favorite “homemade” cassette tapes of “Pat Boone’s New Songs of the Jesus People” and I realized this particular tape had a very ironic, abrupt end of this side. The last song was “For Those Tears I Died” … and the recording ended just before the word “denied” was sung. So here I was talking with this girl who I knew I was in love with, and I felt like was the one God had affirmed He led me to, and just like this recording I was going to be DENIED. …and here this song was playing (as we talked) and I knew the end was coming…. But it played right on! “You won’t be deni…..ed” Then it ended. !!!! I said “DID YOU HEAR THAT?” She looked at me like what do you mean? I said “Did you hear it say” and I sang, You won’t be deni……ed”? Colleen said yeah, I heard that. I said, but that’s never been on that tape! I rewound the tape and played it again. It ended like always, right before the word DENIED. Although that was a sign to me, God knew there would still be some testing/growing that I would go through.

Colleen: In junior high and high school, I never went to a dance with a date, or a homecoming or prom. I did have a “boyfriend” that went to a catholic school, for 4 months my senior year, but he dropped me before Valentine’s Day! When I went to college it was a new experience to have a guy show interest in me. It was exciting to have a social life! I was interested in having guy friends. I once went bowling with a guy and encountered Randy there – awkward! I went to a KSU basketball game with another guy friend and watched Randy in the pep-band more than the basketball game! At Christmas time I asked one guy to go with me to my dorm formal and then I invited Randy to go with me the following night to my sorority formal. However, when I told Randy about my schedule and desire to see/date other guys, he was pretty much devastated! At first, Randy reluctantly said “ok” but in a short time he admitted that he could not accept that kind of a relationship. Randy did not want me to be with any other guy and told me that he would NOT be asking me out anymore if I accepted dates from other guys. He wanted to be my one and only!

Randy: I kept praying that God would show me what was to happen next if there was more to our relationship. We didn’t see each other for a week or so. Colleen called on a Sunday afternoon and said, “I’d like to see you, and talk with you.” She informed me that she broke the date with the other guy to her dorm formal and invited me to be her date to BOTH Christmas formals! She also said, “I feel like God is preparing me to be your wife.” It was the first week of December and needless to say, I knew God answered my prayer. I sent her a dozen long stem yellow roses.

Colleen: This was the first time I was ever given flowers from a guy!

Randy: While we were in my car leaving the second formal, I first proposed to Colleen, “Will you marry me?” Colleen replied that she was not saying “No”, but now was not the right time. I definitely had some growing to do. Colleen invited me to various sorority parties and formals between December of 1976 and Spring of 1978. I remember again telling her that I loved her and wanted to marry her, but she still was not ready to say yes.

Colleen: We don’t remember exactly when we met each other’s parents. Randy thinks that he met my dad when he came to KSU for a father/daughter (Chris) weekend the spring of 1976. Randy visited my home in KC over Christmas break ’76 and met my mom and younger sister and maternal grandmother. The spring semester of 1977, sometime somehow, I went to Wichita and met Randy’s parents and youngest brother. Randy also has a brother that is my same age that attended KSU and whom I had already met. He also has two older sisters, but they were living elsewhere on their own.

The summer of ’77, I rode a Greyhound bus from KC to Wichita to visit Randy for a weekend. We both had summer jobs and visited each other a weekend or two, talked long distance, and wrote a few letters.

Randy: The next school year, Fall ’77, was my senior year. I spent the majority of that year, pretty much like I had always done…. whatever was most important to me. The Lord, and having fun with Colleen, and friends… I had fun with school too, but grades were not a high priority! It was at the beginning of the spring semester of 1978, while having hot cocoa at my apartment after we had been sledding that I again asked Colleen to marry me. This time she said YES! We did not have any definite marriage plans, because Colleen was just finishing her sophomore year, and I was not on schedule to graduate in May of 78 due to not completing or passing everything required for my Music Ed. degree. Colleen’s sister, Chris, was graduating and was engaged, getting married shortly after graduation, and most of my peers were also graduating, or had graduated the previous year.

We had talked with our parents, who were supportive but also knew that we both had college degrees to be completed. At this point, no one else knew of our engagement except our parents and one close friend for each of us. Our wedding was far enough in the future that a specific date would be determined some time down the road. I began preparing to make plans for where I would live the next school year.

The last week of spring semester ’78, Colleen and I went to see a concert at the K-State Union. The group performing was called BRIDGE, and I had a friend (’77 grad) who was playing with them. This was a Christian, professional recording/touring group, and I was excited to see both my friend, and this group (I had listened to some of their first album).

I knew my best friend had spent some time that day with our friend in BRIDGE…. While waiting in line before the concert, my friend in the group came out and saw us in line. He knew we had been dating/together for a couple years, and he asked, “So, what’s the deal now? Are you guys engaged?” Wow! In that split second, my heart stopped. I thought to myself “I really don’t think my best friend would have told him” … I also thought “we’re right here with a number of other friends who are unaware of our engagement…. what’s Colleen going to think? … how should I answer?” I didn’t know how to answer, but stammered with a “Umm, no” … but with a smile and the look on my face like the cat who ate the canary. Then my friend said “Well, BRIDGE usually has a trombone player, but we don’t right now. I’ve been telling the guys in the band that they need to hear this friend of mine from K-State play trombone! So, after the concert, stick around and I’ll introduce you to them.”

That night I did audition for the band leader, and a week later I was asked to join the group. Once again, I thought I had it all figured out… “I’ll travel/perform with them this summer, and then go back to KSU in the fall to finish up my degree.” But the owner of the group said “We usually ask for a full year commitment. I’ll take you, whichever way it needs to be, but I want you to pray about it tonight and let me know tomorrow before we leave.” I went home and told my parents, and my mom said, “You need to go for the whole year!” And she explained her reasons…. And I felt like God was telling me “Honor your father and mother.” Of course, I also talked (phone) with Colleen.

Colleen: I knew that Randy desired to be able to play on the road. I questioned how I would ever fit into that dream. But, I knew this would be a great opportunity and sensed God’s timing. I agreed with his mom that he should join the group for the full year.

Randy: So, I committed to a full year touring with BRIDGE. My friend in the group was assigned to be my roommate for the first few nights I was with the group, and that first night, he told me “I had to ask if you and Colleen were engaged before I was going to tell you about auditioning for the group, because it wouldn’t be a good thing for you to be apart if you and Colleen were engaged.” I then told him the truth.

Colleen: Randy traveled and I continued school, taking full semester loads and receiving a high GPA, being more focused on my studies. We wrote lots of letters, and Randy was the envy of the group; almost always receiving mail at each venue. Randy also racked up a very large “long distance” phone bill.

Randy: BRIDGE played all over the US and some in Canada. Whenever BRIDGE was playing in the area, Colleen would make plans and be there…. and the girls in BRIDGE just loved her. BRIDGE usually got about two weeks off every year around Christmas, so Colleen and I went to Smith’s Jewelry in Manhattan, Kansas, and picked out rings. Dan Smith, owner, was a believer, and knew that I was making a very tiny amount of money. But Dan loved what I was doing, and said “just send me what you can each month.” December of ‘78, we officially announced our engagement.

Colleen: God grew us both in many ways through that year and continued to draw us to each other through Him. Randy left the group in late May of ’79, stayed with his parents and worked two jobs to make some money/pay off debts. We were married, August 12, 1979, at Nall Hills Methodist Church, Overland Park, Kansas. Honeymooned at Beaver Lake, Arkansas, and Branson, Missouri, and set up our first home in Jardine Terrace – married student housing at KSU.

Randy: Colleen had one semester left to complete her Early Childhood degree (cum laude), and I had three semesters of work ahead of me. Colleen graduated at semester and began as a graduate teaching assistant in the Early Childhood Dept.

Colleen Lyn Burnett and Randy Leigh Crow, engagement picture.

December 1978

Now as a married student, I knew God had allowed me this opportunity. I had a healthy fear in me that I needed to show I could be a good student, and a responsible young husband. I set to work and changed most of the Music Department’s opinion of me. During vacations/breaks I worked for a local business machines store, the owners of which were now the in-laws of my best friend. Between that income and Colleen’s assistantship, and a little of her savings, we could keep afloat and did so for the next year and a half. December of 1980, I received my Music Ed. degree (no cum laude here, mor like cum get outta here), but had achieved my first 4.0 GPA.

Colleen Lyn Burnett and Randy Leigh Crow, engagement picture.

December 1978

As you can imagine not many jobs were open mid-year, but I got a job with St. Xavier, the Catholic school in Junction City, and taught K-12 vocal music. While teaching at St. X, I kept looking and interviewing for band jobs. I had an offer from Washington, Kansas public schools, but was holding out for the prayer of

getting the Maize Bands job. A position I had originally “poo-hooed” but God made it come to pass, and we moved in with my folks (Bel Aire) in the home I grew up in, for a couple summer months, while driving up to the farm to clean-up, fix-up, prepare for living (our home for the past 40+ years, and my great, great grandfather’s homestead).

Fall of ’81, Colleen drove up to KSU each week staying Tues-Thurs, teaching and taking classes and continued to complete her assistantship, and I was starting to learn what being a band director really was like…And we were on our way… into this new world of married life. We had no idea the difficulties/struggles we would encounter through the years to come, but we clung to God’s promises, and saw His faithfulness, providing, protecting, and guiding us; He is good ALL the time, and He has blessed us in so many ways. To God be the glory!

Your story is not like ours; and our story was not like our parents. However, there are some similarities and invaluable commonalities:

• Faith and trust in God and His word/promises

• Committing your marriage to the Lord

• Staying committed to one another and your marriage vows. Ours were “To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, honor and cherish, forsaking all others, 'Til death do us part: according to God’s holy ordinance, and thereto I pledge you my love and faithfulness.”

Sometime around 2000, we chose Isaiah 41:20 as “our family’s verse”

18 ”I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs. 19 I will put in the desert the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle and the olive. I will set junipers in the wasteland, the fir and the cypress together, 20 so that people may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the Lord has done this, that the Holy One of Israel has created it.“

When I graduated from high school, I could not have ever imagined I would go to a private Christian College, be on a college cheerleading squad, meet and marry a girl from the small town of Brownfield, Texas, live in Iowa, and Kansas, and have as many as nine grandchildren. After all, I planned to be an architect and eventually marry my hometown high school girlfriend.

There have been times in my life when God has impressed heavily upon me to move in a specific direction. While extremely nervous about the significant changes, or downright wrecking, of my original plans, each time, I have been confident that I was truly hearing from God. As my college professor used to describe it, “knowing in your knower”. I knew in my knower, and time and again, I could look back and see God’s hand at work. Although I did make the correct decisions, I did a lousy job of guiding the individuals most impacted (family) by those life-changing experiences. But through it all, all the changes in geography, the new opportunities, and new faces have brought us to a place in life where we enjoy four beautiful daughters, four great sons-in-law, and nine amazing grandchildren. Just think what I would have missed if I had stayed with the original plan of going to a trade school.

When I was in college, I did not date much and that did not change after I met Cynthia. We spent a lot of time together due to both being cheerleaders and stunt partners (Oh for the days when I could lift a human body over my head!) While enjoying spending time together on campus, while not dating, it came as a huge surprise to me that one night, as we were talking across from her dorm, I “knew in my knower” that I should tell her I felt that I needed to ask her to marry me. It was even more surprising when she agreed!

Wedding of Les and Cynthia Bice

June 27, 1981

June 2024 marked our 43rd year of marriage. We have often joked with others that we have been married for so many years and happily married for seven years (or whatever number comes to our mind at the time). Unfortunately, there is a lot of truth to those statements. Our marriage has not, by any means, been the perfect, blissful marriage you would hope to have going in and there have been many moments of doubt and the temptation to go our separate ways.

When times like these arise, I reflect on, 43+ years ago, when “I knew in my knower” that I was to be married to Cynthia and to be together until one or both of us leave this earth to live with God. In Genesis 2 we are told that the husband and wife become “one flesh” or “as one”. That means Cynthia makes up half of the whole that I am a part of. So, I cannot imagine living life without her here with me. It would be unnatural. I would be half of who I am supposed to be. Outside of God, Cynthia knows me better than anyone. I am a better person today than when we met; for through the years, she has taught me things I did not know spiritually, relationally, and socially. She led me to a place where I could know and experience God in a way that I had not before. Although I have still a lot to learn, Cynthia has also taught (or tried to teach) me about what constitutes good relationships and good social graces. Even though it is sometimes hard to hear, I thank her for her diligence. Although it is not said enough, I love her and appreciate her for being the wife, mother, grandmother, friend, and follower of Christ she has been through the years and will continue to be.

July 2018

I look to our future years together with much hope & optimism. It will still require work and commitment. I look forward to the many moments we will have with family and, together, the opportunities for new challenges and experiences.

Les' 50tth Birthday Party.

April 2010

Like with all couples, our story begins well before our story begins. This is my side of the story.

After leaving high school, I decided to attend Wayland Baptist University. After making lifelong plans with someone to serve the Lord together forever, a relationship of several years ended in a confusing breakup. Granted, I was only 18, but I had let those plans become cemented in my heart. He was at Baylor, so I decided to be somewhere else. I showed up as a Freshman at Wayland Baptist University (WBU) ready to wholeheartedly figure this life thing out. I was going to study and learn, and serve God, even if that meant doing it by myself.

Man, were there surprises! So many! I had this expectation of the ideal situation for a young Christian. Living among like-minded individuals, pursuing knowledge in whatever area we chose, all while learning how to put Christ first and foremost in our lives. This expectation was dashed against the rocks of reality within the first semester. What I found was just a group of people who had landed at this institution of higher learning for various reasons. There was a crowd of men who claimed to be “called to the ministry.” Now, I 100% believe in being called. I know I was called. But like many other things, through the interpretation of local churches, there was SO much confusion. There was a lack of understanding that no matter where you walked out your faith, you were called to do so. And what are men called to do? Be pastors or missionaries. What are women called to do? Be pastors’ wives or missionary wives. I have never claimed to be any sort of feminist, but one thing I knew was that my relationship with Jesus and my calling was always going to be my own. If God led me to be the wife of someone, and that man was a pastor, I would be a pastor’s wife, and still have my own gifts and calling. If God led me to be the wife of any man, I would do so while still walking in my own gifts and calling. I could not imagine how anyone could see it any other way! Right?

Well, what happened was that I found myself in some sort of job interview situation. At least that is what it felt like to me. If a young man asked me on a date, it felt like I was being interviewed for a position. Can you play the piano? Could you lead a children’s ministry? Have you read Kierkegaard? Can you make your own clothes? Do you want to be a teacher or a nurse? Can you type? (I have to write lots of papers, so I need someone to type them for me.) I had many inquiries of my own. Many of them were not so well received. It was a common occurrence to be invited home with friends to meet family and friends, and to attend the churches we grew up in. I had dated a young man for a while, and he invited me home for the weekend. He played the violin, and I sang. We had worked on a piece together– “I Heard About a Man” by Cynthia Clawson and Ragan Courtney. We had been invited to perform this song at a few churches, so I did not think so much of it when we were asked to sing that Sunday morning for special music in the service.

After that service, as I was meeting his church friends, it was obvious, once again, that this was an audition. It was very clear that I had been talked about and that plans for us as a couple had already been discussed. Instead of being flattered, I just felt betrayed. The next week, I told him that I was no longer interested in pursuing a relationship with him. His friends, or our friends, felt this was a very bad decision on my part. I seemed to be expected to explain my position.

One of the friends to approach me to discuss this decision of mine was – Les Bice.

Through a strange chain of events, Les and I found ourselves on the cheering squad. There were six on the squad and four were incredibly opinionated – about everything! Les and I would often be on the sidelines just talking while things were hashed out. When Les asked me about the decision to no longer date this guy (who by the way, was a stellar human being) I struggled to verbalize what I was dealing with. In my heart, I knew that dating was not going well for me. God knew my heart and my struggle. As it turned out, it wasn’t through dating that we knew marriage was in our future. It was while praying in an empty stairwell.

Cynthia’s bridal shower

May 1981

Have things always gone well? No. Have we always made good decisions?

Absolutely No. Have we always been “in love”? No. Has this marriage been a lifetime of work? Yes, it has. Do we have total understanding? Not yet.

Have we been blessed? Beyond description! Have we seen God move in mighty ways? So many times! Has God provided all we needed – and more? So generously! Is this the man I would die for, even though I am not always sure how to live with? You got it!

Youth for Christ Office in Coralville, Iowa (1988)

The revelation in that stairwell has carried me through. Because it was so real, and so tangible that I can never deny that He gave me this man to love, cherish, and argue with. I love him. I am here until God decides our time here is complete.

KC Wine Co, December 2022