A Trip To The Court House

Well..it happened. Standing next to a very tall handsome man on a cool winter day, I raised my right hand and repeated words after the county clerk employee. We answered many questions and signed on the dotted line. The result..we have our marriage license and can now legally and officially get married! This picture is us at the Henry County court house just after we received that piece of paper.

We are closing in on the one month mark away from the wedding. Time has really flown by. We have received wonderful words of advice from many friends and family. Here are a few that a co-worker printed off for me that I thought were funny.

“Spend all of your time loving instead of going to work.” --Tom, Age 7
“Don’t forget your wife’s name..That will mess up the love.” - -Erin, Age 6
“Be a good kisser. It might make your wife forget that you never take out the trash.” - -Randy, Age 8

Here are more words of wisdom we have received:

“Never go to bed angry”
“Hold hands as much as possible”
“Kiss for at least 20 seconds each day”
“Compromise is key in marriage”
“Always be a forgiver”
“Make a choice to love each other each and every day.”
“Make God your number one priority.”


We look forward to putting those suggestions to good use. If you have any positive words of advice to add, please do. I’ll put them in our wedding book.

Faith That Moves Mountains

This week, I opened my Bible and stumbled upon a verse in Matthew (17:20). We are told that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, we can move mountains. That is pretty remarkable…moving mountains. Let’s face it; I have trouble scooting my couch away from the wall to sweep underneath it occasionally. Moving a mountain..on my own? Does this require those space mover plastic discs that are “As Seen on TV” early in the morning? If so, I might be able to act now and get a second set free for only the cost of shipping!

(Fact: The average mustard seed is about one sixteenth of an inch in diameter.)

After hearing him speak, I read a book by a well known pastor (and ex-pro football player). In Dr. Ken Hutcherson’s book, “Enough Faith” he explains the concept of the mustard seed verse well. "It’s not how much faith you possess, or how big your faith might be that matters. And it’s not your credentials that matter, either. What matters is knowing about the authority you have in Jesus Christ and then putting that authority into action. Go forward with confidence, my brother, my sister, because you have all the faith you need."

This makes me think our dear friend, David. Remember him? He stood before a giant with only a sling shot and a handful of stones. Goliath might as well have been a mountain. Compared to David, he was practically impossible to go up against. He towered over him. Did his voice rattle the ear drums of the small harp playing boy we know as David? I wonder if the ground shook with each step Goliath took towards him. Did Goliath’s breath feel like gusts of wind on David’s face? Maybe. It doesn’t really matter though. David didn’t let anything bother or intimidate him. David was armed with the authority of Christ..and he knew it. That giant crumbled before him. All because he moved forward with courage to go for it. All because he had the faith to move that mountain.

Have you ever had one of those moments? One where you feel you are standing before a mountain, a giant, a monster, or what seems to be the impossible? I have. Maybe you are going through that right now.

I was recently talking with someone about a situation that seemed impossible to be worked out. I found myself saying the words, “You know, if He can raise people from the dead, He can definitely work something like this out. Nothing is impossible with God.” I was reminded with the authority of Christ, the impossible is possible. My faith continues to go on. It is a work in progress just like every other part of me but is at very least the size of that mustard seed. And with that…I know I can move mountains. I believe it and am thankful for it. I thought I would share my thoughts on it this week. If you are going through a trial, challenge, or having feelings of hopelessness in some area of life, hear His promise to us. We can move mountains. Claim that, and go forward!

Behind the Scenes

This past Sunday, I was given the opportunity to speak at a church in my area about the needs of orphan children in our world. Getting to the point where I displayed the first slide on the screen was not as easy as I had thought it would be. The week prior, I felt a flu bug coming on. My computer even had to make a stop to the Geek Squad on the Friday before. As I stood in front of the church and saw the children’s faces up on the big screen, I realized the battle against the enemy had been won. The attempts to keep me from speaking had failed. God was at work behind the scene, and my prayers had been answered.

I met some really wonderful people at the church that invited me to speak. One man in particular came up to me with a story that left me with chills.

I have a friend who was once a missionary doctor in Africa. He lived and worked far out in the middle of a distant village. Every so often he would ride his bike to the nearest town to buy needed supplies. The bicycle ride to town took two days, and he would make a tent to sleep in with a box that he carried on this bike. One day he took off towards town to get the supplies. He bought the supplies and made a camp site in a remote place on his way back home. The next morning, he got up and started on his way home.

While riding, he saw something on the side of the road. It was a man…a very injured man. He stopped and attended to this suffering person. The injured man looked up, and said, “Please don’t help me.” The man explained to the doctor that he didn’t deserve to be helped by him. When the doctor asked him why, the man explained. “My friends and I had seen you in town and had followed you yesterday. We waited until you had time to set up your camp and would be asleep. We were going to rob you. When we got to your camp, there were 14 armed men standing around you. We got sacred and ran away. I was going to rob you, I don’t deserve for you to help me.”

The doctor was amazed. He was traveling alone. He knew the armed guards surrounding his tent must have been angels sent from above. He helped the man on the road and returned home. When he returned home, he called back to the US. He called his friend and told him what happened. The friend went silent and asked him what time of day this attempt at robbery happened. The friend here in the US explained that his own sleep was interrupted by a feeling of need to pray for protection for his missionary friend in Africa. The feeling was so strong that he called more friends to join him in praying. This all happened the exact time the doctor was about to be robbed.

Can you guess how many men that friend called to join him in praying for protection for the missionary? You got it…13! Remember..the robber said that fourteen armed men protected the missionary as he slept.

As the hair on my arm settled back into place, I was reminded of something so important. There are battles going on around us behind the scene each day that we don’t or sometimes cannot see. The Lord is so gracious to take care of us in ways we will never comprehend or know. He does it for the missionaries and soldiers on foreign soil, and He does it in each of our lives here while we go about our daily routine. He amazes me. He helps, heals, fights for, and loves us even when we don’t deserve it. God is good.