Take a video tour of our church’s new website! The address is www.rcalvary.org and I am SO excited to have this project completed. It’s going to be such a good tool for ministry.
Thank you to Steve Otto for all his hard work. I had so much fun working on this with you!
If you’d like to watch the tour in HD, you can click here. Enjoy!
Sarah and I are getting married in less than 3 weeks now. To say I’m excited is a bit of an understatement and is a direct result of why I’ve been neglecting the ole blogosphere. I was asked these questions by a bridesmaid friend to be read at our Rochester shower, which will provide you more insight into Sarah and I’s lives/relationship. And some laughs too.
We also have one of those “The Knot” websites - and I tried to do it up pretty good, so you can check out some videos there.
Enjoy.
1. When when and where was your and Sarah’s first kiss (with one another)?
Well the first kiss was actually when I asked Sarah to date me, which was on the cheek, but she denied me on that one. This took place in October, and she said we had to wait until Christmas to kiss. Then, Christmas came, and I did not kiss her. When it came to New Years Eve, and we were driving home 6 hours in what was the worst blizzard I’ve ever been in, Sarah asked me why I hadn’t kissed her yet. I kind of deflected the question and tried to get out of it, as I had already planned to kiss her later that night. I did end up doing that, but the story also shows how open and honest our communication has been throughout our relationship. I also got some sort of weird enjoyment out of having her hanging for that week in between Christmas and New Years, wondering when I would finally kiss her.
2. Describe that kiss in one word.
Faaaaaaannnnnnntastic!
3. If Sarah were a flower, which one would she be? Why?
She would be a rose, because roses are my favorite. And they’re beautiful too.
4. After you and Sarah are married, what is the first thing of yours that she will get rid of?
Probably what she labels “my junk”. Which would not be one or two things. I am a pack rat and love my old trinkets. I suspect one day to come home and be missing a significant portion of my childhood and to be very upset. If there was one thing though, it would probably be my old clothes, making room for hers.
5. What is the first thing of hers that you will get rid of?
Her uncomfortable love seat. It shouldn’t even be labeled a love seat, because it is uncomfortable and impossible to take a nap on.
6. When will you have children and how many? (Don’t worry, we won’t hold you to it. Accidents happen )
We will have 2 children and we will wait a few years (probably 3). No whoopsie-babies, Lord willing. :) Sarah wants 3, but that is just because she grew up in a house with like 14 kids.
7. What is Sarah’s favorite flavor of ice cream?
Sarah does not like ice cream, as it upsets her stomach. But she is a big sucker for frozen yogurt. Her favorite flavor is chocolate chip cookie dough. She recently bought peanut butter, and it’s been in there for weeks. Bad choice. Back to chocolate chip cookie dough we go.
8. Coke or Pepsi?
Water. She’s a health nut.
9. How many cups of coffee does Sarah drink in one day (currently)?
Well I have been trying to get Sarah to ween off of her ridiculously high coffee intake for a long time now. Luckily (in a weird sort of way), she recently got sick and could not drink coffee for a week. Now, she is drinking about 3 cups a day, rather than 10.
10. What is a petname/nickname that you have for Sarah?
We don’t really do pet names, but I call her “babe” or “Sar” a good bit. This question makes me want to come up with one though. I’m open to suggestions.
11. What is your favorite physical feature of Sarah’s? What is her favorite physical feature of you?
My favorite feature of Sarah’s is her big eyes and her cute face (I guess that’s two). Her favorite feature of me is either my abnormally large biceps or my eyes (lame).
12. What first attracted you to Sarah?
What first attracted me to Sarah was her personality and the way she communicated with people. When we were at Sarah and John Cleghorn’s wedding, I observed her from a distance and how she interacted with others. By the second day of the weekend, I was asking questions about her to John Cleghorn and Andy Allen, not worried at all about covering up my intrigue of this woman.
13. Now something gooshey to keep the old ladies happy: What about Sarah do you find most attractive/loveable/enjoyable/etc/?
The thing I love most about Sarah is her love of people. She cares deeply about others and makes many sacrifices for those around her. Her love of God shines through in this area of her life. This also spills into her love for me. She forgives me when I do something (or say something) stupid and cares for me when I have a bad day. She is also a phenomenal listener, who is insightful at discerning when to simply lend a ear and when to speak up and re-direct the situation towards a solution. She accepts those that are different from her and people feel loved after spending time with her. She’s a keeper.
If you are wondering how to help with the Nashville flood, there is a great church in Nashville that many of my friends attend that is working desperately to help.
The church has set up a fund which you can donate at here (select “Flood Fund”). Money will go towards:
Hundreds have been left with nothing. Please pray and help if you can.
Moving building
Sinking Car
Man in East Nashville, walking out to his car
Downtown Nashville. Unreal.
Tanker flipped on its side against some trees.
I read that if the accumulation had been snow instead of rain, it would have been the equivalent of 13 feet of snow in Nashville. Crazy. I hope you can join the relief effort.
The Exchange with Ed Stetzer, 05-04-10 from Ed Stetzer on Vimeo.
Below are 15 MLK Quotes worth reading and contemplating:
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
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I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.
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Faith is taking the first step even when you can’t see the whole staircase.
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Only in the darkness can you see the stars.
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Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
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If a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.
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To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.
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Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable… Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.
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All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.
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At the center of non-violence stands the principle of love.
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Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?
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Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
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Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.
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He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.
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I just want to do God’s will. And he’s allowed me to go to the mountain. And I’ve looked over, and I’ve seen the promised land! I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land.
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I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.
Quick post, because I can’t let this just slip by before falling asleep tonight:
Amazing/Gutwrenching photos of Haiti.
Trustworthy organization to give help through.
Local response here in Rochester - Parkminster (another church in Chili) is hosting a silent auction for an orphanage they support in Haiti that was completely destroyed this Sat night at 7pm. The friend I talked to said his father runs the orphanage and had to literally drive over dead bodies to get back home. Unreal. Details here: http://www.parkminster.com/
One of my college best friends singing a song in response to the situation.
Pat Robertson drives me completely crazy. All we can pray for is that Pat decides to retire soon.
Then I learned the actual history of Haiti here and here and on CNN.
This is what Pat should have said.
Donald Miller then put Pat’s comments into perspective for me and pointed towards a Christ-like response.
My prayers are with the people of that country.
Where should we spend our time? In the Overlap - that’s where.
“The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” - Frederick Buechner
Everyone has their opinions of Facebook. Most think it is fantastic for all of it’s functionality and features, some think it is a waste of time, and some don’t understand it at all. What I wanted to throw out there tonight was a challenge to all of us who are striving to follow God.
My question: How easy is it to judge people on Facebook? We can think in our head while reading someone’s status and think “wow, jimmie is a nut job” or “I can’t believe julia said that - I thought she was smarter than that” or “she should grow up and not spend so much time on Facebook”. Now, I will say that some of those critiques are actually legitimate thoughts and that sometimes there is no wrong doing on your part when thoughts like these arise. Some people just post certain updates to get a reaction from people (ex/ “George W. Bush (or Barack Obama) is a terrorist and a Nazi and hates America”). However, often times we can actually be doing wrong on these social networking sites and we can completely miss it every night.
My observation is that many people who are the typical facebook judgers are the ones who do not post frequently, but are on the site with just as much frequency as others. They are simply the people who look through photos for long periods of time, read other people’s profile pages, etc. My point is not that there is anything wrong with that, just that we should be aware of our hearts and minds when reading through people’s posts. Sometimes we (and I say “we” because I’ve participated in this unfortunate act) can go looking for the latest gossip and have some poor motives while mindlessly cruising the internet. There is so much that could be behind the reason that someone is posting something. Maybe that person is in need of attention (and not recognizing it). Maybe they want to persuade you of something. Or…maybe they simply find something entertaining or interesting.
Maybe the real reason for the judgment is that there is envy. Maybe you wish you had more time and could “waste” it on facebook. Maybe you wish you had more friends or that you had a bigger influence. Scott Williams posted today saying maybe you have IOI, meaning you find yourself “Irritated on the Inside” at other people. There is nothing wrong with feeling irritated, but letting that irritation turn into judgment is where I believe the problem can lie. I think the emphasis has to be empathy, as always. This is what Jesus advocates for in a frequently quoted passage from Matthew 7:
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
If there is actually a problem that you feel needs addressed, the correct response would be to actually privately talk to the person about things they were posting that you found offensive, inappropriate, or that they had some malicious purpose to them.
A new friend on twitter wrote me today and said, “We’re all fighting for significance.” Sometimes our hearts can be filled with envy or pride and we can completely miss it, even with something as stupid as logging on to facebook late at night to read some mindless activities of friends. So - check your heart, make sure it’s right, and continue to enjoy facebook, twitter, and all these other fun sites for connecting with friends.
