One Year Anniversary...Blessed!!!!!

 

Our Wedding Commitments

     Christine, as we stand before God, family, and friends making public our commitment to one another. I wish to make it known that I recognize; first of all God's authority over my life, which is exercised from His loving heart. God's Word gives us the perfect example of love in Jesus' death for His Bride, the Church. Due to His perfect Love and amazing Grace, we, by Faith, have repented of our sins and accepted His free gift of Salvation. Because of our personal relationship to God through His only Son Jesus, I want to be your husband so that we might serve our Lord together. I recognize that He has blessed me and entrusted to me your life as a free gift that I have not earned. That together we may grow in the likeness of Him and our home be a praise to His glorious name. Christine, I commit to love you with His love, to forgive you with His grace, to provide for your needs through His enablement, to pray for you in His name, and to lead you as He leads me as long as He gives us life together. Through all of the pressures of the present and uncertainties of the future; I promise you my deepest love, my fullest devotion, my tenderest care, and my faithful prayers.

      In recognition of all these things and as Psalm 34:3 expresses my heart and my vision for our life together, "O’ magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt His name together" , Christine, my friend and my love, will you take me as your loving husband?

     Kenny, as I start my new life with you I stand in awe at the incredible blessings God has bestowed upon us. We do not deserve all that we've been given, yet it's showered upon us graciously. On this special day I am reminded of the verse James l:17, which says, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of Heavenly Lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."  With a gift such as you, I know that many new responsibilities face me. I cannot do this on my own strength but by God's grace and power working within me I desire to be trustworthy as your wife by following your leading submissively, even as unto Christ, loving and serving you in all circumstances as long as He gives me life on this earth. I will live first unto our God and then unto you, supporting you, obeying you, loving you unconditionally and staying pure to the marriage. My desire is for us to live in the full glory of God's love, serving our Lord and helping those in need. Through the pressures of the present, and uncertainties of the future, I promise you my faithfulness; to follow you through all of life's experiences as you follow God, that together we may grow in the likeness of Christ, and our home be a praise to Him. I will ever strengthen, help, comfort, and encourage you. I will care for you and the family tirelessly.

      I will pray for you in His name and forgive you with His grace. "Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay.  Your people will be my people and your God my God."  Kenny, my friend and my love, will you take me as your loving wife?

Our Wedding Prayer

      Heavenly Farther, Lord we thank you for your presence during this very special occasion. Lord, foundationally, we affirm that in living, Jesus loved us. In dying, He saved us. Buried, He carried our sins far away. In rising He justified us. And in Returning, He will glorify us. Lord, this is the Gospel, the good news, that we unashamedly believe by grace through faith and we praise you for the special gift of salvation that you have given us. Lord your word tells us that if we obey Your commands, Your love will abide in us. This is the desire of our heart and we call upon You for help in demonstrating Your love to each other and to the whole world. Lord, we are not perfect and in our flesh there is no good thing, so we humble ourselves and surrender to allow the power of Your Holy Spirit to work in our lives. Lord, Christine and I are in total agreement and ask that you seal upon our heart our words as we pray our devotion to following Your will.

Through the power of the Holy Spirit...

Lord, we commit to love You with all of our heart, soul, and spirit

And to live first unto You and then to each other

Lord, we commit to surrender our will in order to follow Your will

And to worship the Lord our God and serve You only

Father, we commit to walk in a manner worthy of You

And to please You in all respects

Lord, we commit to joyously give thanks to You in all things

And to go wherever You may lead us

Lord, we commit to love one another unconditionally

And to pray together daily

Father, we commit to forgive one another as You for Christ’s sake have forgiven us

And to share our Faith and teach others about Your love and forgiveness

Lord, we commit to be faithful in attending church

And to serving the ministries for which You have called us

God, we commit in obedience to giving, at a minimum, a tithe of our income to help fund the work of the Lord

Father, we commit to being Christian parents for Alicia and Anna

     And to provide for the needs of Alicia and Anna

Lord, we commit to pray daily for Alicia and Anna

     Father, we commit to provide a Christian environment for Alicia and Anna, one that is comforting, accepting, forgiving, and loving

Lord, we commit to always be there for Alicia and Anna

Finally, Lord, we commit our marriage to being a living example for You and Your love for us

     Lord we are so grateful for those who are present here today and we ask that you bless each family represented. Lord, we thank you for Jesus our wonderful Savior who demonstrated the greatest act of love in dying for our sins. You are an awesome God and we love You. Lord, move in this place tonight and move in our hearts. May you receive all Honor and Glory for everything good done in our lives. Father we pray that you use us mightily in the ministry for which you have called us and help us Lord to share our faith and demonstrate Your great Love, until the whole world hears.

And all this we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen

Sisters of Joy...in more ways than one

A few weeks ago, we had a friend (http://www.ashleyfaithphotos.com/) offer to take photos of our family to help her begin building her portfolio. Alicia and Anna were very excited about getting photos taking of the family (with Abby inside her mommy’s belly.) They were running, jumping, laughing, smiling and doing all sorts of poses.  The photos are great and definitely express the joyful time we were having.   



Through God’s grace and strength, we are continuing to rise above our challenges and circumstances as we live our lives as a blended family. We are often asked if Alicia and Anna get along. Our answer is always yes. We believe the girls truly love and care for each other and we consider that a huge blessing from the Lord. They play together, sing together, sleep in the same bed together, share clothes with each other, etc.

Now, it is by no means perfect all the time, but for the most part joy is evident. Joy is evident in Anna’s energy and how she pleasantly hums the song on her heart. Joy is evident in Alicia’s beautiful smile and sweet personality that she expresses to everyone.

And…more Joy…is on the way. Abigail Joy, that is.

Soon our little baby girl will be here and we all look forward to her as a blessed addition to an already joyful family. I get excited (joyful) when I think about how little Abby is going to look up to Alicia and Anna. Not only will she be watching her Mommy and Daddy, but her little eyes will be focused on her big sisters as well. Their personalities, attitudes, and abilities (like cheerleading and ice skating) will have just as much influence on Abby as mine and Christine’s will. I cannot wait to hear little Abby burst out in laughter while playing with her big sisters. There is no sweeter sound than the laughter of a child full of joy.

Christine and I are committing ourselves to teach Alicia, Anna, and Abby to always have joy. We want our home to be a place where faces express genuine enthusiasm and where attitudes are uplifting and positive regardless of circumstances. This is so challenging in today’s world. There are so many worldly things competing for attention and purposefully trying to steal our joy.

Jesus tells us in John 15, that if we obey Him, His love will abide (remain) in us. He tells us these things so that His joy may be in us and that our joy may be full. We want to express to the girls this verse, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in truth.”  (3 John 1:4) Choosing to obey Jesus, to abide in His love, and to walk in His truth will lead us to be joyful in every situation.

I have heard it said, “Basically, there are two kinds of people: people who choose joy and people who don’t.” Jesus chose to have joy while enduring the cross and despising the shame. Paul chose to have joy while he was imprisoned and beaten repeatedly for His faith in Jesus. And it was Paul who said, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice." (Phil. 4.4) So with the help of the Holy Spirit, we should be able to have joy in whatever situation we are facing as well.

Although connected by marriage, Alicia and Anna are genuine sisters of joy. I believe this is true because they choose to be joyful when they are together. This expression of joy will have lasting impact on their baby sister, Abigail Joy. I know that we are still a couple of weeks away from her due date, but this joyful family is so excited and can’t wait to see and hold our little Abby J. Who knows? She could come today!

Happy MOTHER's Day!!

Why God Made Mothers…

(Anna’s answers to a questionnaire from Sunday School)

1. Why did God make mothers?

                To have kids to share the earth.

2. How did God make mothers?

                God made them with love.

3. Why did God give you your mother and not some other mother?

                He knew what was best for me.

4. What kind of little girl was your mom?

                Very sporty.

5. What’s the difference between moms and dads?

                A mom is a girl and a dad is a guy.

6. What does your mom do in her spare time?

                Read the bible.

7. What would it take to make your mom perfect?

                Nothing.

8. If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?

                Her glasses.

Dear Mommy,

I love you sooooooo so very much. You make me smile. You are sparkling.

I love you ♥. You rock. I love love love you so much.

♥

Anna

I believe, therefore I speak..."Do you believe this?"

"Jesus said unto her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.

Do you believe this?" - John 11:25-26

Painting by Brian Keith Daniels at FBCW Men's Conference to song "I Will Rise"

Good question!

This passage of scripture is one of my favorites. Martha’s brother, Lazarus, had been dead for four days. Immediately when Jesus arrives on the scene, the conversation turns from death to life. It turns from being dead for four days to living again!

Whenever we read a passage from God’s word, we should take time to reflect and meditate on what the Lord wants us to receive from His word. We are to look for the application, to answer the question, “What does this passage require of me?”.  

I believe that the application for this passage is obvious. Everyone is required to answer Jesus’ question…

 “Do you believe this?”

Do you believe in Jesus?

In answering "YES", you proclaim...

He is the resurrection – the “coming back to life” of those who are dead. (John 11:25)

He is the life – the eternal living one for those who are alive. (John 11:25)

He is the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world. (John 1:29)

He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and that no one comes to the Father but through him. (John 14:6)

That there is no other name under heaven whereby we must be saved. (Acts 4:12)

He died for our sins, that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day. (1 Cor 15:3-4)

Many will attend church this Easter weekend where services will have an emphasis on the message of the Resurrection. We will all sing (some well, some not so well), hear the truth of scripture, and fellowship as though we are all going to Heaven. When in reality, this is not the case.

Many will ignore Jesus’ question as though it was only for Martha to answer. Many will leave church continuing to believe that they do not need a Savior and that they are good enough on their own to get to Heaven. Many will continue searching and pursuing other ways to God. And many, if they continue this thought pattern, will die in their sins. This is a hard saying! However, in John 8:24, Jesus makes this very clear when he says, “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”

Do I believe in Jesus?

Absolutely I do and I will tell you why. It is actually rather simple. I believe in Jesus….

BECAUSE HE LIVES!

And that is the truth that we celebrate this weekend. As believers we have a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (1 Peter 1:3). Because I believe in Jesus, the grave has lost its victory over my life and I am no longer afraid of death.  I trust in Jesus and I will not perish because he has given me eternal life. “What Joy, what joy for those whose hope is in the name of the Lord. What Peace, what peace for those whose confidence is in Him alone.”

I am so excited about this Easter weekend. I can hardly wait for it to get here. The message of the Resurrection has the power to change lives and promises eternal life in Heaven if we will believe. 1 John 5:13 says, "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life."

The spirit of my heart this Easter is 2 Corinthians 13-15, “It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.”

My prayer for this Easter is that more and more people will finally answer “YES” to the question asked by Jesus. For the first time in their life they will truly give thanks to the glory of God because He lives!

"You ask me how I know He lives? He Lives within my heart"

“Do you believe this?”

Persevering While Holding Hands....

The trail to see Panther Creek Falls is a 3.5 mile hike to the base of the falls. The first mile is a little uphill and downhill, but really not bad. The next 2 miles are mostly flat as the trail winds its way next to the creek. The last .5 mile is similar to the first mile, however, when you reach the crest of the falls and begin to hike down to the base, the last 100 feet is quite challenging. The trail leads you on the side of a ridge and you are basically walking on rock and if the rock is wet, it can be rather slippery. The trail does have poles and cabling to serve as hand rails for safety, but some of the poles have broken free from their foundation in the side of the ridge and dangle in the air. If you miss your step and begin to slide, you could reach the bottom in a hurry, with some discomfort. If you are able to get up, remember, its 3.5 miles back to the car. So you have to be careful!

There are so many amazing things to help us remember our journey and our quality time together as a family on a beautiful Saturday. The trip to Longhorn afterwards was quite rewarding. After you have hiked 7 miles and have only eaten granola bars and some beef jerky, you can get quite hungry for a juicy steak. The scenery of the creek and the forest was peaceful and beautiful. It really drew us away from the busy city and traffic filled life we endure every day. But there were a couple of things about our journey that God used to reveal Himself to me in a mighty way. These things gripped my heart and demonstrated to me how much I am blessed and that His strong and mighty hand is holding mine on this journey called life.

I can’t say enough about my lovely wife, Christine, who is 7 months pregnant. She was very excited to go on this hike and was not going to let the fact of being pregnant prevent her from enjoying time outdoors with her family. That’s right, she hiked 7 miles while 7 months pregnant! I was so proud hiking on the trail as we passed numerous hikers who were amazed that she would even attempt such an adventure. Several were impressed; some said she was crazy. We have all heard the figure of speech that says, “Women are to be barefoot and pregnant.” Not my wife! Christine was quite comfortable in her hiking shirt, shoes, and skirt.

 

The perseverance she demonstrated was humbling to me. I know that there were parts of the trail on our way out that had me winded, but I tried not to show it. Of course, we paced ourselves which helped prevent her from overdoing it. On this journey God showed me how strong and unselfish my wife is. Not very many would even attempt to hike the 7 miles, let alone while pregnant. Christine is a strong woman and relies on Jesus to help her overcome whatever she is facing. She is unselfish and she does not let her circumstances prevent her from an opportunity to spend time with her family. She makes me so happy and I know that whatever we may face together, she (through Christ) possesses the strength and endurance to persevere to the end. I have a blessed marriage.

There was another member of our family on this journey. Christine and I were both very impressed with how well Alicia did on the hike. As I have reflected back on the hike and allowed God to teach me some spiritual lessons, He has really spoken to me on the relationship between a father and a child. I had done some research about the trail before we went on the hike. Throughout the whole journey to the falls and back, Alicia would ask me several times, “which way do we go?”, “how much further?”, “are we almost there?” She asked because she knew that her father had more knowledge about the journey than she did. The path had some parts that were uphill and some were downhill, but also a good portion of it was flat. This is also true of the journeys our Heavenly Father may lead us to endure. So it would only be reasonable that we ask for His guidance and direction on our journey. As we were getting closer to the falls, Alicia’s excitement began to build. She would repeat, “We are almost there. I can hear the falls. We are almost there.”

We made it to the crest of the falls, but this was not our end destination. We now had to descend to the base of the falls where we could rest, eat a snack, and enjoy the beauty and roar of the falls. We had been warned by others who were coming back from the falls that the last 100 ft. was the most difficult on the trail and to be careful as we made our way down. So we felt we were prepared. As we started our descent we came to a section of the trail that made us feel that we were walking on the side of a cliff. We were about 20 ft up on a slope. We were almost there, but we still faced the most difficult part of the journey. We still had one section where we had to walk on sloping rock that was a little damp and slippery.

Alicia being the adventurer she is, decided to step out in faith and go first. She made one very crucial and important decision before she proceeded; she grabbed her father’s hand. Two steps on the sloping rock and her feet slipped and she began sliding down the hill. The next thing we know she was dangling in mid air, but she was safe because I had hold of her hand. Although Alicia’s feet were not far from touching the ground, her momentum from sliding would have caused her to continue down the slope all the way to the bottom for a nasty fall. In one motion, I lifted her up and over so she could set her feet on solid level ground. Christine and I were able to make it with no issues and once across to more stable ground, we checked to make sure that Alicia was okay. She did have a scrape on her leg, which was nothing compared to what might have happened had she not had hold of my hand. The interesting thing was that I was extremely calm during the whole event. I am sure that Alicia’s heart was beating out of our chest, but she did not scream or cry. We proceeded down to the bottom of the hill, sat down on some big rocks, and began eating our snacks.

After about 30-45min of rest, we decided to make our way back 3.5 miles. The part of the trail that was so challenging coming down was much easier going back up. We made it up to the crest of the falls and there was a path that led us out onto the rocks near the creek. This was pretty fun and allowed us to get really close to the rushing water. One section had two fallen trees lying across the creek. These logs were suspended above the creek about 10 ft. I was feeling adventurous and decided to climb out on one of the logs to get a picture. Not to my surprise, Alicia wanted to come out on the log with me as well. Christine was visibly nervous for both of us. After we climbed back safely to the rocks, Alicia said, “That was scary, but not nearly as scary as when I slipped and almost fell.”

I was so encouraged by Alicia’s faith to continue to overcome fear. We have done many things together but this was the first adventure where she faced danger and I had to be there for her. The Lord used me to lift her to safety and I will never forget that. There never was a time where I had to carry Alicia, but if she had really hurt herself by falling, I am certain that I would have carried her all the way back. Alicia means so much to me and I, like most dads, believe that she is a daddy’s girl.

The journey back was less adventurous. The last half mile seemed to take forever and it felt like the path was all uphill. However, we still enjoyed ourselves and were excited when we could hear the cars from the highway because we knew we were almost done. There is so much God has taught me through our journey. As a family, we will probably have many hikes together, but this one will probably be remembered more because of Christine’s perseverance while pregnant and a rather scary moment for Alicia where things could have really turned out badly, but God was with us and everyone was safe. It was great! Such is life.

If we look back over our past journeys that God has led us on, there are a few that have those tense moments where we felt that things were going to turn out badly. There are those points along the journey where we are almost to our destination, but we still have to overcome the most difficult part to reach where our Heavenly Father wants us to go. There are journeys we have to forget about our obstacles and circumstances while persevering with the Lord’s strength. Those are the journeys we reflect on the most.

During our journey, we may not know which path to take, how far we have to go, or what parts of the journey are flat and what parts are uphill, but our Heavenly Father does. When we talk to him along the way, it makes our fellowship much sweeter and our journey much more enjoyable. As long as we are in our Father’s presence and within the sound of His voice, there are parts along the journey where he allows us to walk on our own. However, there are also times where we may need to be carried and He definitely possesses the strength to carry us.

If we are to experience the best, we must proceed with perseverance and faith while holding on to our Heavenly Father’s hand. Challenges we face can be so treacherous and if we go for them alone, we risk getting hurt badly. Although we may hold the Father’s hand, we still may experience a few minor scrapes or cuts as we travel through some difficult situations. It is still a risk, but He will always save us if we slip and fall. When we are dangling in mid air, He will gently lift us up and place our feet on solid ground.

I am not sure if I initiated holding Alicia’s hand, or if she initiated holding mine. It may have just been father-daughter intuition due to a close trusting relationship. She could have said, “No Daddy, I can do it!” That would have proven costly not only for her, but also for me as her father. No one likes to see their child fall or get hurt and it’s the same way with our Heavenly Father. If we will just hold on to His mighty hand through whatever struggles we are facing, He will keep us safe from harm throughout our journey.

Each journey we complete builds our faith and we can hardly wait to see where our Heavenly Father is going to lead us next. Once we sat down to eat at Longhorns, I asked Alicia and Christine, if they would like to come back and do this hike again. Both of them said yes. Of course, Christine would like to wait a few months.