Renewing Vows

Today my wife & I celebrated with friends and family in an informal “renewal of vows” ceremony.

Here are the vows I said to my lovely bride:
Nineteen years ago I had no plans… or really intentions … to be married. And then I met you. First of all, thank you for changing my plans.

I am proud and honored to be married to you. You are my best friend. I am humbled that God brought us together and has so richly blessed our marriage.

The Bible says when two people marry, they become one. We are one… and I couldn’t imagine life without you.

You:

strengthen my Christian faith.
make me a better person.
make me laugh.
honor me with your love.

The Bible also instructs husbands to love their wives just as Christ loved the church. That is an incredible statement…. a huge requirement. I know I haven’t always lived up to that standard, and today I re-commit myself to being the husband that God intends for me to be.

I promise to walk hand-in-hand with you through life’s journeys.
No matter what lies in our path, it will be our path, together.

And here’s what she said to me:
18 years ago today, we stood before family, friends and God and vowed to love one another for life. It makes me proud to stand here today and renew our vows again. You are my hero, my best friend and my rock. No one knows me better than you and because of you I am a better person. You’ve taught me to stand tall and to be proud of who I am.

I love how you love me unconditionally. I love your sense of humor. You treat me like a queen and I want for nothing because you fulfill me in everyway.

Today after 18 years as husband and wife, in the presence of God and our family and friends, I promise to always be beside you as your loving and devoted wife and always give you my best. I promise to love you forever and I anxiously await to see where life takes us.

May each special moment we share add up to a lifetime of special memories as we begin “Part 2”.

What is Christian Worship?

Christian Worship is: REVELATION & RESPONSE
Deutoronomy 6:4-5

Christian Worship is: A HABITUAL LIFESTYLE
Amos 5:21-24

Christian Worship is: DONE INDIVIDUALLY AND AS A CONGREGATION
Hebrews 10:25

Christian Worship: REQUIRES PARTICIPATION
Ephesians 5:18-21

Christian Worship: SUBSTANCE MORE IMPORTANT THAN STYLE
Micah 6:6-8

Christian Worship is: LARGER THAN OURSELVES
Revelation 7:9-10

Christian Worship is: PUTTING OTHERS AHEAD OF OURSELVES
Philippians 2:3-4

Christian Worship is: FIRST AND FOREMOST FOR GOD AND ABOUT GOD
Romans 11:36

* Source: BiblicalTraining.org

Well, sir I’m not selling anything…

For the past few weeks, our home has been inundated with phone calls from what we presumed to be a telemarketer. Three to four times daily, the same phone number (one we didn’t recognize) would show up on caller ID but the caller never left a message.

Finally, after growing tired of the calls, I answered. My plan? Tell them to take us off their call list!

After listening politely for about a minute, I finally told the lady calling “I don’t know what you’re selling but I’m not interested and would like to be taken off your call list.”

“Well, sir I’m not selling anything,” she replied. “I’m calling to inform you that you are past due on your credit card.”

“I am?”, I replied. “How much past due?”

“Well sir you’re $18 past due,” she said.

I laughed. While annoyed that I had forgotten to pay the bill, I couldn’t believe the effort that had been put in to collect $18.

“Sir, is there anything we can do to help you with that past due balance?” the lady asked.

What a ridiculous question, I thought. It’s $18. Still, I humbly said no there’s nothing she could do and that I would pay it right away.

The point is you can never judge a book by it’s cover. But don’t we do that all the time with people? We think we know someone’s personality by their looks. I could never be friends with that person. Or we think we know how someone will respond because “they could never change.”

I guess the lesson I learned yesterday we don’t always know. We may think we know, but we really don’t. Only God knows, and we should live with the humility and patience He desires instead of acting like we know as much as Him.

Devastating Sports Losses

I’m an avid sports fan (since my lack of skills prevents me from being an actual athlete) and have been most of my life. Of course in sports there are disappointing losses so I’ve combed through my memory banks to record some of the most bitter defeats I’ve experienced as a fan.

The losses are (in no particular order):

1994 Brickyard 400: My all-time favorite race car driver is Ernie Irvan. Irvan should have won the inaugural Brickyard 400 (first NASCAR race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway) in 1994 but thanks to a flat tire with four laps remaining, Irvan was deprived of victory. Jeff Gordon won instead, and thus began my disdain for Mr. Gordon.

1985 Iowa State-Drake football game: As a Division I-A school, you never want to lose to a smaller I-AA school but that’s what happened to the Iowa State University football team in 1985. Iowa State, which hadn’t lost to Drake University since 1957, lost the game 20-17. What made this loss so memorable is 1) it was Drake’s last year of Division I football so ISU would never have the opportunity to redeem their loss and 2) there were blue and white (Drake’s colors) “20-17″ bumper stickers all over town reminding Cyclone fans of the devastating loss.

1990 World Series: My favorite baseball team since about 1980 has been the Oakland Athletics. In 1990, Oakland made their third consecutive trip to the World Series. The A’s won the Series in ’89 (swept the Giants), won the most games in baseball in 1990 and swept the Red Sox in four games in the 1990 American League Championship Series. This team had superstars like Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire and Dennis Eckersley. They were heavily favored but lost to some team from Cincinnati. I probably could have accepted a World Series loss except for the fact that this one was in four games.

1988 World Series, Game 1: Kirk Gibson’s walk-off home run against Dennis Eckersley. Enough said…..

Iowa State vs. Hampton (2001 NCAA Basketball Tournament): The Cyclones lost to a #15 seed. How could this happen???

2000 NCAA Basketball tournament (Iowa State Cyclones): The 1999-2000 basketball season is Iowa State’s most successful ever. The team won the Big 12 regular season, the Big 12 tournament, finished 32-5 and finished with a #3 national ranking. The Cyclones lost in the NCAA tournament that year to Michigan St., who went to win the tournament. While the loss to Michigan St. still stings, it’s the NCCA tournament committee’s decision to seed ISU #2 that I’m bitter about. ISU deserved better and should have had a chance to play Michigan St. in the Final Four, not in the Elite Eight.

2001 Independence Bowl: Iowa State lost to Alabama despite outgaining the Crimson Tide 456 yards to 269. ISU’s offense struggled in the red zone and had to settle for field goal attempts. ISU kicker Tony Yelk missed three field goals in a 14-13 loss, including a controversial miss with just seconds remaining (ISU players thought the kick was good and were celebrating). This loss was particularly bothersome as I made the trip to Louisiana for the game.

A story of inspiration

Origins (Part 3)

I’m writing about phrases or sayings we know in our culture today that originated from the Bible.

The Choosen One: This is often used as an analogy to describe an exceptionally talented individual. This phrase was originally used to describe Jesus as the Messiah (see Luke 23:35, John 1:34).

Head on a platter: You’ve probably heard this when two people are angry with each other or, perhaps, competing against one another. Today the phrase is often used as a threat. This phrases comes from the story of John the Baptist and how King Herod beheaded him and put his head on a platter (See Matthew 14).

Better to give that to receive: This is a wise and true saying that many parents try to teach their children. But did you know that Jesus said it first: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ – Acts 20:35 (NIV).

Parting of the Red Sea: This is often used as a sports analogy to refer to a defense that leaves a wide hole for the offense to penetrate. This, of course, was originally used in the context of Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt. See Exodus 13-15.