Spiritual Sundays/Brides/Announcement

This week, I am participating in Spritual Sundays and am sharing an eDevotion, plus making a very big announcement!

It's been a long time since I last posted, a really long time. I think the last I posted was in January or February, and here it is May already!

So very, very much has happened during that time.

My sweetie Mike and I have been dating for just over a year now.


It was a long, cold, harsh winter.


But spring finally arrived.


I even got a new (to me) car!


Mike wrote another excellent eDevotion, this one about an interesting subject. He titled it:

My Day as a Bride

"“I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.” Revelation 21:2

Recently a big bridal show came to town and I was there. (It’s too hard to explain why.) They had a huge room full of booths where people sold the kinds of things that brides like. You could browse dresses, flowers, jewelry, cakes, crystal. There were photographers, disk jockeys, travel agents, and hotel managers. One lady would take your ordinary folding chairs and wrap them up in satin sheets which seemed like a bad idea to me because I couldn’t see what would keep old folks from sliding out of there. Caterers had toothpicked samples of their finest grub. A harpist would sit you down and pick a little for you.

But more than anything there were lots of excited young girls. They shot from table to table with no signs of waning enthusiasm. They giggled with their friends or their mothers and tasted cakes and tried on crowns. You could tell this was not work for them. There were a few grooms there too. They didn’t look so good. Most of them had the same expressions that I see on a lot of guys in church on Mother’s Day – like they were there against their will.

Like I said, the young ladies were the highlight of the day. They were so excited about becoming brides – and why not? I am too. According to scripture the Church will be the bride of Christ, and I owe it to those girls for reminding me what a big deal that is. It’s something to squeal about.

It seems to me that lent, if you care anything about it, is a time to prepare ourselves to be the bride. Lent can seem pretty gruesome, with all its thorns and ashes and fish dinners. But this is also a time for excitement. It’s a time to get ready for the Biggest Day of Your Life – and then to live happily ever after."

Maybe some of you have already guessed the reason why he was at a bridal show. In late February, Mike asked me to be his wife!!!

His church was very excited to learn that he was going to have a wife. Rumor got out ahead of time, so our big announcement came as no surprise. They were ready for us, with signs declaring their congratulations!


This is as close as we are going to get to an official engagement portrait.


Mike was pretty happy when I told him he didn't have to buy me a ring, as it has been my heart's desire to wear the ring that belonged to my grandmother. She became a bride in 1920, I believe!


The very first thing I did was buy a wedding dress! I was hoping for a proposal, so had already been searching eBay for a dress. I was very lucky and found one that I loved for only $111, and it was brand new with tags!


I found lovely earrings on sale for $10. The aqua and lime green are going to be my colors.


I'm making my own bouquets. Mine will be somewhat similar to the one pictured. I love hydrangeas and roses! Hydrangeas grew in my grandmother's garden.


This is the style of dress my bridesmaids and I selected, except it will be a lighter blue called "pool."


My future step-daughter Corinne will be a bridesmaid, and my daughter Tara is going to be my matron-of-honor.


A young woman that I knew from church since she was a little girl is starting a cake business and offered to do the cake at cost! This is a picture that she is using for inspiration.


Hopefully, I will be posting more pictures as I prepare for my wedding day, which is rapidly approaching: June 18, 2011! And if any of you reading this are pastor's wives, I would really love some input on what I can expect in that role. In three weeks, I'll be a preacher's wife!

Spiritual Sundays/Joy -- Sermon Excerpt

Once again, I have been absent from Blogger for the better part of a month. For two weeks straight, I have worked 14 hours of overtime. In addition to that, I have been trying to keep my home clean (a never-ending process), trying to see my sweetie as much as possible before he goes to Kairos (prison ministry), and trying to get a decent amount of sleep despite it all (unsuccessfully).

Coming up, I have an autumn trip through a forest, and some fall prettiness on my front porch, but first...

With no further ado, I am sharing an excerpt from my sweetheart's recent sermon. I was delighted that he mentioned my dog. I have to say, he is right on the money in what he says about my little Jack Russell dog Jake. Oh, he looks so innocent here. "Berry Sweet" and "Berry Good" it says. Ha! Not quite. Anyhow, this is what Pastor Mike had to say. And I have to admit, I enjoyed every bit of it!



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"I have a friend who has a dog. I don’t want to sound bad, but this is the most useless dog I’ve ever seen in my life. This dog would have to improve a lot to be as smart as a lamp. He makes messes on the floor, he barks at the wall. He bites sometimes for no reason. But still, I have to say I kind of like this dog. I have a soft spot in my heart for this dog. Because every time I go over there this dog nearly turns himself inside out because he is so happy to see me. He has this little stub of a tail and he almost wags it right off. And he’s happy about everything – you know how dogs are. You feed the dog and the dog is happy and dancing around – oh boy, oh boy, I’m going to eat the same thing I ate yesterday and the day before and I just can’t wait! You take the dog in the car – oh boy, oh boy, I get to go in the car – this is the greatest thing ever! And I think, why can’t Christians be as smart as dogs? How’s come dogs are better at showing joy than Christians are? We have so much to be happy about – we have so much to be excited for, but you would never know it most of the time!


OK, I read this and its supposed to be true – I have my doubts though. But even if it isn’t true it’s a good story. When missionaries were in the northern part of Alaska they were trying to translate the Bibles for Eskimos, but there were some problems. Any time you go to translate the Bible in any culture, there’s a difficulty in translating some words because cultures and languages don’t always have the same words. There was no word in the Eskimo language for joy. And as they were trying to translate joy, biblically, they drew from experience. And as they watched, they saw that the happiest, the most joyful moments in those Eskimo villages were in the evening when they fed their sled dogs. They’d go out, and the dogs would yelp and wag their tails and get all excited. And so, out of that experience, they pulled the word for joy: "wagging their tails." So like, for instance, in that passage where it says, "The disciples, after the resurrection, saw Jesus and they were full of joy," in the Eskimo version it would read, "When the disciples saw Jesus, they wagged their tails." Why can’t we wag our tails?"

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I wonder why we don't show more joy. We live in an incredible world. Even on my worst days, I can look out my window and see something to be joyful about. This earth we live on is so beautiful.

Sometimes joy is a choice. We can choose to look out the window on a fall day and see all the leaves on the ground and think about all the raking we have to do, and how we dread the approaching cold winter temps and weather, or we can look out that window and instead see the beautiful colors in the trees, and we can go outside to enjoy the sound of the crunch of leaves under our feet, the smell of autumn in the air, and enjoy marshmallows roasted over a bonfire to create s'mores.

Mike used a passage from Romans 5 as inspiration, which includes the verse, "And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God." He leaves His glory all around us! All we have to do is look for it and take joy.

And if we get so excited that we wag our little (or not so little) tails in joy, well then, isn't that just a testament to His awesomeness?

C'mon and shake your tailfeathers....I know you can do it!

Have a great week. And for more Spiritual Sunday goodness, head on over here.

Spiritual Sundays/eDevotion -- Blind Date

It's time for Spiritual Sundays. This week, I am sharing a post about love...God's love and the love that we as humans seek from each other. The author of the eDevotion is my sweetheart, Pastor Mike. This one is called "Blind Date."



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Blind Date

"Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea. I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers." 2 Corinthians 11:24-26

I was sipping some kind of harsh Kenyan brew at a coffee shop in Toledo. The woman across the table from me was surprisingly lovely, and our conversation was pleasant enough. Then at some point she excused herself to go to the ladies room. She took her purse.

I got down a whole cup of that blistering hot coffee and started another before she got back, apologizing like a monk in sackcloth for taking so long.

No more than a minute went by and her cell phone rang. She said, "I’m sorry, I better get this." Hey, I understood. It was her friend – her car had broken down and she was stranded at work and her boyfriend couldn’t pick her up and could she please, please come and get her and take her home?

My date apologized again and then the evening was over.

I sat there fascinated. Never in my life have I watched a grown adult perform such an intricate act of unmitigated horse manure. Never have I seen anyone work so hard just to get away from little old me!

Now, before you feel sorry for me being dumped and all, let me say in all honesty I wasn’t that interested either. Quite frankly I would rather have the story than her any day.

Still, dating can be a real kick in the chitlins. That’s why they write country songs like, "She Ripped My Heart Out and Stomped That Sucker Flat," and "Billy Broke My Heart at Walgreens and I Cried All the Way to Sears."

I could be wrong, but my theory is that God created romance partly to make a point – the more real living you do the more vulnerable you become. And the more vulnerable you are the more real living you do. If you want to be warm and safe climb into a coffin. You can get them now with silk sheets and everything. But if you want love you’re going to take your turn on the whipping post. And if you’re going to live the love of Christ, call your tailor right now and have yourself measured for a cross.

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I might be veering a bit away from the spiritual here, but I thought it would be a great time to talk about how I met Mike. We have been dating 5 months as of today.

I had been alone for 10 years and 5 months as of the day I first met Mike. I jumped into the dating pool almost immediately after my marriage of 12 1/2 years split. Believe me, I felt at times like I was going through all of those things that they talked about in the above Bible verse. I estimate that I had at least one date (and some long term) with about 30 different men in that time. Some were nice sweet guys, but a pretty fair number were quite the opposite. I dated men who turned out to be liars, cheaters; one was a swindler and later went to prison for raping someone. I had been grabbed at, inappropriately kissed and groped. I remember how flat-out dirty I felt after one date who, upon my leaving, full on grabbed my breast. Yes, dating is a sometimes bumpy road. I also met men that I fell for, but apparently, they didn't return my same feelings.

Every single one of those men that I had dated since my divorce were men that I met on the internet. I had tried meeting men in other ways, but no one ever asked me out. Still, I never ever gave up, but in the last couple years had started slowing down on the dating. I figured that if I wanted a good, quality man, I had better start being a good, quality woman.

One day, I was browsing profiles on a site called OkCupid. I can't remember if he spotted me first, or if I was the first to notice his profile, but when I read Mike's profile, I liked what I read. He had a great sense of humor. Then I read that he was a pastor. What? I had an idea of what sort of men I liked, and a preacher was NOT one of those types. Still, I had a feeling that I should write to him. If nothing else, I might have a really nice friend.

We began writing. It's funny, but he lived only 6 miles from my hometown! It was easy to verify that he was exactly who he said he was. Soon we started talking on the phone, and it wasn't long at all before he asked if we could meet. I was happy to say yes, and was eager for our first date. In the past, I might not have been so excited. After a series of dates where you meet someone new and they don't meet your expectations, or you get your hopes up only to have them dashed...well, dating can be something you actually sort of dread after a while. But not in this case. I was ready to be open and vulnerable, and I was really excited about meeting Mike.
(This picture was created by an artist named Doug Hyde)
Our first date was wonderful! After a great meal at a Chinese restaurant, our conversation was flowing so well that we went to a local state park and spent more time talking.

From that point on, we have been seeing each other an average of twice per week, and sometimes even three times a week, even though my home is now about an hour away.

And this week? This wonderful, handsome, sweet man told me he loved me.

That sure makes the trials and trepidations and heartaches of the last 10 years worth it, because if not for that, maybe I wouldn't be as appreciative of a truly good man.

And I thank God for him every single day. I love you too, Mike!

Spiritual Sunday/eDevotion -- Crush

Yikes, I didn't get up any other posts this week! Well, this week coming up, I will be doing a product review, will post on some unexpected nature that I found in my yard, and hopefully, will get around to doing a Pink Saturday. For today, however, I'm participating in another Spiritual Sundays.

I am again sharing an eDevotion written by my boyfriend, Pastor Mike. He writes weekly (sometimes every other weekly) eDevotions that he sends out. I love these! I like his folksy way of telling a story and making me feel things on a personal level. The eDevotion that I am sharing today is called "Crush," and it is my favorite that I have read so far.



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Crush

"Is not Ephraim (Israel) my dear son, the child in whom I delight? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore my heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him, declares the LORD." Jeremiah 31:20

I get a lot of prayer requests, as you might imagine. A recent favorite came from one of our Cub Scouts. He crept up to me on the sly and said, "Pastor Mike, there’s this girl that I really, really like – could you please pray that she will like me too?" I could tell by his face that he was as serious as poison oak.

Now, if I were a good pastor, no doubt I would have gently explained that that’s not the sort of thing one prays for. God doesn’t manipulate people for our benefit, so He’s probably not going to turn up some little girl’s thermostat just to warm her up for you. But I forgot to say that because, well, I just sort of felt for the little dude. He had these big droopy eyes that said, if this girl would just like me all of life would become Wonderland. If she doesn’t, well then stop the world because I want to get off.

You’re going to think I’m cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs, but that boy is a picture of God. I think God pines for us like an aching puppy lover. What God wants more than anything else – more than he wants us to behave ourselves, more than he wants us to feed starving kids in India – is just us. Our love, our affection, our company. The number one promise in scripture is not "I will forgive you" or "I will help you" (though those are both in there plenty), but it’s "I will be with you." Hoping, no doubt, that we will return the favor.

Pastor Mike, there are these people I’m just crazy about. We’re talking head over heels. I think about them all the time – I can’t even sleep at night. But it’s hard to tell if they even like me. They seem interested in other things. Will you pray, Pastor Mike, that they will like me back?

I’ll give it a shot.

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One of the things I loved so much about what Mike wrote here is that for me, it made our Lord so much more real. It made me feel the love that God has for us and His longing for us to be with Him. It touched me in a way that nothing else has.

When I found this picture, it seemed perfect for this post. Look how much He loves us! Look how much He craves our fellowship!

He can't wait to pull us into His embrace!