Category Archives: Miscellaneous

I Do.

The best words I’ve ever said:

I, Jonathan, take you, Sarah, as a gift from God,

to be my lifelong companion through tears and laughter,

sickness and health, in times of plenty and in times of want.

I will love you consistently and prayerfully, now and forever.

I promise to be faithful to you and honest with you.

I will respect you and trust you. I will help you and care for you.

I will share my heart, my stories, and my laughter with you

because you are my best friend.

I will forgive you as we have been forgiven by God.

I will work with you to live a peaceful life

as Christ has called us to live.

And, with you, I will work to further compassion, justice,

and peace in our world.

I will love you and be thankful for the blessing of your love

until death parts us.

 

Happy 1 Year Anniversary Sarah Sigmon. You’re the love of my life.

 

 

My Day Today

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One of the things Sarah and I love to do is share what happened in our days at the dinner table.  I generally forget about 80% of my day, so today I decided to write down some of the things that happened in my day.  Since I frequently get asked what a typical day looks like for me, I thought I would post it today.

  • Read/Commented on Proverbs 4 at the rCalvary church blog
  • Wrote a couple of thank you notes
  • Re-arranged a worship schedule problem
  • Called a potential youth teacher for a vacant week this month
  • Picked out a book (and my top 5 picks) to do later this Spring for our youth group
  • Cleaned my desktop from being filled with icons
  • Cleaned off my work desk
  • Contacted a Flower City Work Camp Executive Leader about an adult problem (and sent another note to someone with updated health insurance information)
  • Responded to ~25 emails in my inbox from the weekend.
  • Researched and wrote a youth group lesson for tomorrow based on the book of Proverbs (this was the biggest chunk of my day – probably 3 hours).
  • Had my ever-important lunch with the secretary
  • Uploaded, edited, and printed pictures for Girls Ministries and Christmas decorations
  • Filled out a leader recommendation form for Flower City Work Camp and mailed it (after a phone conversation)
  • Planned some worship and video ideas for FCWC as part of helping serve on the programming team
  • Hung up some sweet artwork we filmed for the Kids Christmas Play on my door (Picture below)

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  • Checked up on a student from church who was in the hospital on Sunday
  • Tweeted” (love this word)
  • Posted a video of Tim Keller which explores “What the Bible is Basically About” to my Posterous Site and Facebook
  • Watched a sermon on Proverbs
  • Set up my multiple meet-ups for the week with people
  • Came up with a creative way to address some of our student’s doubts that the told our youth team when we did a series on Doubt last year (pretty excited about this)
  • Made the final decision with Steve about how we would be backing up the computers at church (short-term and long-term)
  • Helped begin to clean out the sound closet with Kevin
  • Got about 30 notifications of about 50 new friends I suggested for Pastor Bob (our lead pastor)
  • Gave two friends public speaking advice (still confused why they asked me, but I hope I helped)
  • Filled in information for 12 youtube videos (still private, but public soon)
  • Made a couple of changes to Sarah and I’s new budget.  We are planning to track every dollar we spend this year.  We’ll see how long this lasts.
  • Talked to a parent about a potential FCWC problem with some students.
  • Put up a promo on facebook about youth group tomorrow

Then, I came home and had a nice night with Sarah.  I would call this a “typical” Tuesday for me (except I normally have a meeting with Pastor Bob, but he was out of the office all day).

What was your day like today?  Anything exciting?

Our Church’s New Website

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!

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13 Engagement Questions

engagement bench

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.

13 Engagement Questions:

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.

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I Want To Help With The Nashville Flood

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:

  • Helping people repair their homes
  • Purchasing equipment to assist with the relief efforts
  • Purchasing supplies such as water and food (all but one water treatment plant has been shut down!)
  • To feed people

Hundreds have been left with nothing.  Please pray and help if you can.

nashville-flood-1Moving building

nashville-flood-2Sinking Car

nashville-flood-3Man in East Nashville, walking out to his car

nashville-flood-4Downtown Nashville. Unreal.

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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.

Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

martin_luther_kingBelow 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.

Haiti Response

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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.