The Power of Purpose

I just saw Hugo, directed by Martin Scorsese, and it was an outstanding production and intriguing story that kept me engaged from the first few minutes. The 1-minute clip that follows was one of the most powerful moments (skip the ad).

Saturday Morning Cartoons

It Saturday morning cartoon time! I confess that I used to watch Tom and Jerry every Saturday morning. There’s nothing like sitting around in your pajamas with a bowl of Lucky Charms laughing at the slapstick humor of those old cartoons. My 2 1/2 year old grandson loves Theo from Whitestone Media! He’s watched each episode at least 25 times now and can’t get enough of them. These stories are biblically faithful and well-done all the way around. Highly recommended. Click the image and buy one or download a free episode!

“What if your healing comes through tears?”

I’m a musical snob. There…I admitted it. In fact, I don’t like most Christian music for many reasons. Whether the words are shallow, theologically inaccurate, or the music is redundant to the point of boredom or just plain annoyingly loud, it’s rare that I find a Christian song that I like. Needless to say this makes genuine worship in music for me rather difficult. No doubt this has much to do with my professional career as a musician as I am hard to please. [Please don't say something trite like "It's not about you." Of course it's not about me. But worship in music is about my being able to connect through the medium of music and if you're wholly distracted because the quality or substance is lacking, then you would have difficulty, too.]

Yesterday while on the way to work I was surfing the radio stations and came across this song by Laura Story called “Blessings.” It was profoundly moving and—dare I say—worshipful. At least for me. Check this out and take the time to note the words (below). They’re solidly biblical and offer an important message on the sovereignty of God and the deep love of God in our suffering.

 

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we’d have faith to believe

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It’s not our home

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the achings of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise

What Are You Doing This Weekend?

A Wedding to Remember

Once in a while there is a rare moment in life when heaven and earth seem to meet and something profoundly divine occurs. June 26, 2011, was just such a moment. My wife and I had the privilege of giving our daughter’s hand in marriage to a wonderful man dedicated to Christ. The wedding was held just outside Jonesborough, Tennessee with the magnificent Blue Ridge Mountains as the stage. In every way it was a wedding to remember. What made it most memorable were the vows shared by our daughter Kathrin and her husband Jimmie. With their permission, I am sharing them here.

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Jimmie’s vows:
Kathrin,
Today, I come to show my love and commitment to you by taking your hand in marriage. From a Christ-centered perspective I promise to love and respect you through the trials of life. My love for you has been cultivated by all that you are…your amazing heart, strong mind, and stunning looks. I vow to remain pure and committed to you for the rest of our lives.

The love and commitment I have found in this relationship extends beyond us; it includes your son, Teagan. I promise to love, respect, and care for Teagan with the same commitment and desire I have for you. I wholly accept the responsibility of teaching and instilling a Christ-centered life in him. One filled with plenty of cultural exploration like you love…by cultural exploration you meant to teach him the culture of all types of sports, right? I am honored that you have chosen me to be the father figure in his life and I thank the Lord for blessing me with a wife that is more amazing than I ever imagined.

You are my true love, Kathrin!!

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Kathrin’s vows:
Jimmie,
I stand here before God, family, and friends to make a promise to you. I promise to be your loving wife the rest of my days on earth. I promise to respect you as my husband, partner, and best friend. I promise to love you unconditionally, and support your dreams, goals, and ambitions. And I promise to stop putting tomatoes in everything I cook. I also wanted to thank you publicly for being the godly man that I pray Teagan models one day. Thank you for being the man that I am blessed to call my husband. And thank you from the bottom of my heart for being the father to my son that he deserves. I can’t ever thank you enough for loving us, but I will tell you everyday for the rest of my life “Thank you.” I love you James Hunt.

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Before pronouncing them husband and wife (by the pastor and sister of the groom!), my daughter had asked that I offer a prayer for them. With all my heart, I prayed:
Father in heaven, thank you for this glorious day and the magnificent celebration of this marriage. We understand that this is not just a new chapter in Kait and Jimmie’s lives but a complete re-writing of their stories. By your sovereign, loving hand every line in this new story has been orchestrated by you; from the moment they first learned each other’s names to this day when they express their lifelong commitment to each other. We ask, therefore, that you would be the main character in this new story and that you would make them faithful servants to each other in fulfilling their vows.

Would you guide their choices and guard their hearts; inspire their love and encourage their friendship? Would you give them joy through every trial and a profound sense of your goodness and care? Where they are weak would you make them strong? Would you give them the will and the skill to raise Teagan in the nurture and admonition of the Lord?

Would you grant, O LORD, to Jimmie and to Kait, an understanding that they equally share the privilege and responsibility for promoting increased growth in the character of Christ? May they know your goodness, sense your presence, and trust your steadfast concern for them. Most of all, we ask that you incline their hearts to embrace the cross of Christ that brings power for life now and the resurrection of Christ that brings hope for the life to come. We pray these things in the mighty and wonderful name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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After pronouncing them husband and wife, their first act as a married couple was to share in communion. May God richly bless their lives for his glory!