Weddings, Weddings, and More ...

Tomorrow I have another wedding for a young couple who are living in Indy now. She grew up here in the church and I had the privilage of performing her sisters wedding just a couple of years ago. This has been a year of weddings including my son's as well as two of my daughters best friends. Last time I counted there were 14 weddings on my calendar for 2008 and I must say that I have loved doing each one of them.
There is just something about being a part of such a joyous day and being there when a bride and groom share their vows of love and commitment with one another that is just such a Holy moment. It reminds me of the joy and pleasure that have come in my own marriage and as I look at these couples I pray for them that they will know as much and if possible even more joy than I have experienced.
I can't quite imagine that I'll ever have quite as many weddings in another year but I've enjoyed them now and look forward to those that are yet to be scheduled in the coming years.

Some Old New Pictures

Yesterday on my day off I spent some time reading on a photo forum and working on touching up some of my pictures. I've been looking at other peoples pictures for a while now and trying to learn what I can about lighting and such things. Well I took the plunge and posted a couple of pictures to get some feedback on things that I've taken and what I might learn to become a better photographer. It is actually a bit scary to throw your "stuff" out there and just let people have at it. I'll see what my delicate psyche can take after I hear peoples responses.
Here is one of the pictures that I posted.

Jeremiah

Today's reading was Jeremiah 7 - 8. It is sad for me to read this alongside the morning news. We just haven't learned at all. We chase after all the things that lead to temporary pleasure and not after the things of God. We make our religion look acceptable through doing the right things and yet we no longer know what the voice of God sounds like so we make up our own rules.
Oh, that we might hear the voice of the Lord and follow in God's ways!

Second Five

I won't report each and every day on my reading, but I'll do it to start with at least so that together we develop the habit of reading the Bible for at least five minutes each day. I'm not reading for preparation of anything, just simply to listen for what it is that God might be saying to me personally.
Today I read through Jeremiah 4-6. In it God continues to blast the people for their lack of faith and how far they have gone away from the intent that God had for them. The word of hope in the midst of it is that no matter how bad it is God will not completely destroy them (or allow them to be destroyed). It is a hard word to hear with all the things that are going on in the world around us right now. With the financial issues, war and violence, etc. it seems like we are not far from the people of Jeremiah's day. It doesn't seem like we ever learn.

First 5 Minutes

Today we challenged people to begin reading the Bible for at least 5 minutes each day in the coming weeks. So I'm getting started today and started my reading in Jeremiah and read chapters 1 - 3. It was a reminder of how much God wants people to follow him and stay connected, neither falling away and loosing heart or choosing to look for other options beside God.

Growing Up

This weekend in the services we will be focusing upon the invitation to grow in our spiritual lives. As I'm pondering that I'm faced with the question, "When do we tell people that they have learned enough about God?" I don't ever remember saying anything like that in my preaching or teaching, in fact just the opposite, but it seems like there are many people who have gotten to the point where they think they know enough. So I'm having to ask why the church by and large has allowed people to give up becoming more Christ like?
I don't know as if I will have an answer by Sunday but I at least hope that I'll be able to offer a wake-up call to some folks to begin thinking again about what their role is in growing up into the likeness of Christ. I'll try to come back next week and share anything that we learn together in the midst of this.

Silly Dog

Lucy is staying with us while our son and daughter-in-law are on their honeymoon. She is a good dog, but rather silly in many ways. She has come in and just made herself at home like she never left.
Last night I was sitting next to my wife on the couch and she proceeds to just climb up and make herself right at home between us.
I'm guessing that in another day or two she will have some energy again. Because she went to the wedding and played with all the people she has been a bump on a log for the most part with small bursts of frantic energy through in just to keep us on our toes.

Great Weekend

This isn't a picture from the wedding but it is a picture of the happy couple and their puppy taken several months ago.
Saturday we celebrated the wedding of Kyle and Melissa in the rain in Holland, MI. It was a great weekend and the joy that was evident on my sons face the whole time said that Melissa is the right one for him. (The rest of us have known that for some time.)
In spite of every one's bets I held it together through the whole service and didn't need the pocket full of Kleenex that I had just in case. It really was a privilege to be able to perform the wedding and to be there in the midst of it all.
Now today it is back to work and I have almost no energy! I guess the weekend really took it out of me.

Another Ray of Hope

Hope comes in a variety of ways and today I can see just a bit better. It is tough at times when your days are up and down in such extreme ways, but in the midst of it God does provide a ray of hope when I let myself stop and look. Today I'm focused upon the joy of family coming together for my son's wedding this weekend. It will be a great time as we welcome Melissa into our family in an official way even though she has been such an important part for the last several years.

Hope Pursued

Some days you just need to chase the hope that is out there in the world. Maybe we will never get to the end of the rainbow but we can always keep pursuing it.
I'm on the chase and refuse to give up hope.

Hope

Hope has come up this past week in a number of ways. It hasn't been overwhelming just glimpses of what is yet to come our way. Some of it has actually been hard work to see and accept but it does make a difference when I look for it on a regular basis. I'm not quite close enough to touch it yet, but I can see that there is a chance of getting a lot closer today than I felt there was last week.

Rainbows

In the book of Genesis the rainbow is given as a sign from God of His presence and covenant. It is a sign of hope and one that we need in many ways.
Sometimes the rainbows show up at just the right time and sometimes we have to go looking for them. Right now I'm looking for them and this is one of the pictures that does remind me that there is hope in the midst of even the driest and desolate of times.

Keeping the Head Up

Yesterday I wanted to see more than I could of the future and I was just a bit down as you might have been able to tell.
Today I've got my head up a bit more and I'm trying to focus upon where the sun is shining and where I'm ultimately headed. I was reminded in a number of ways yesterday that I need to remember that God's promise of His kingdom is coming but not yet here. While it might be dark in this moment there is sun on the horizon and that is the direction that I'm headed.

Some Light Would Be Nice

There are times when I feel like I'm just walking through life in the midst of the shadows. It isn't that I can't see things but it just isn't really clear. There are places that I'm just not sure what is there because there isn't enough light to make it all out. Right now is one of those times and I'm praying that God might shine a bit of light upon the surroundings of my life right now so that I can make a bit more sense out of it all.
Even though the 23rd Psalm says, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of evil I fear no evil." It isn't easy to actually live in the midst of the shadows and right now I desperately want to see where God is/is going to be working in my life and the lives of those around me.