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”.

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

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.

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.

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.

* As believers, we need to prepare our hearts to suffer for Christ, to be ready when that day comes.
* When we suffer for our faith in Christ, it can strengthen our faith and solidify our obedience.
* Before we committed to Jesus, we lived to satisfy ourselves, but after we convert, we start to become concerned with living by God’s will.
* A believer’s refusal to participate in an activity is a silent condemnation of that activity. Be strong.
* Our unbelieving friends will often be hostile toward us (believers) because of our new lifestyle (in Christ). They will one day face God and be judged for their evil.
* Prayer helps us prepare for end times.
* When believers experience deep love for other believers, we will have a human network of support to help us through crisis.
* To cheerfully share one’s home is different from social entertaining. Entertaining focuses on the host while sharing your home focuses on the guest.
* To serve others with God’s strength is to be able to go above and beyond and to do so for one purpose: God will be given glory in everything through Jesus Christ.
* When we suffer for our faith in Christ, we experience the joy of sharing in his glory. People who suffer for the same reasons share a bond.
* We can only receive blessings for suffering when we suffer for faith in Christ. When we suffer from doing evil, we are not blessed.
* We should not seek out suffering for being a Christian, nor should we avoid it. Just do what is right.
* Believers’ suffering is not because God has lost control, it is a purifying process to draw us closer to him.
* God will never fail us if we remain faithful.

Go the extra mile – This phrase used to describe making an extra or extraordinary effort originated from Jesus. Jesus said this during the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5) when he was teaching this followers about having a serving attitude (Matthew 5:41).

Blind leading the blind - Jesus said this in Matthew 15:14 when he was referring to a group of people who were too proud to follow any way but their own. He said it was like the blind leading the blind.

The Promised Land - Often used as a sports analogy for achieving success, this was first used in the Bible to refer to land God promised to the Israelites (Genesis 15:18).

Here are a few examples…. You may have heard the phrase “the writing on the wall”, which means some event or some thing (usually bad) is imminent. Did you know that saying originated 2,500 years ago? You can find the passage in Daniel 5, a story about how Daniel was the only person who was able to read a message of prophecy written on a wall for King Belshazzar.

Another common phrase we hear today is when a skeptical person is referred to as a “Doubting Thomas”. The original “doubting Thomas” was a disciple who would not believe that Christ had risen from the grave until he saw it for himself (See John 20).

In the world of sports, it’s not uncommon to hear “David & Goliath” used as a phrase to describe a heavily favored team competing against a weaker opponent. This, of course, refers to the heavily favored soldier, Goliath, fighting against a shepard boy, David. See 1 Samuel 17.

I’ll share more phrases that originated from the Bible over the coming weeks.