Cold Feet?

Have you ever noticed that the Bible is a book of previews. God is constantly showing us and telling us what He is doing and planning to do in the future. The most obvious example is Jesus. The first preview came in the Garden of Eden when God sacrificed an animal to cover Adam and Eve. Then came the image of the serpent lifted up on the staff for the Israelites to look upon to be saved. Later Jonah spent three days in the belly of a great fish. David and Isaiah wrote of the sufferings of the messiah on the cross. Actually there are over 300 references in the Old Testament to Christ and his life. God gives us plenty of warning and plenty of time to learn. King David spent his youth protecting the flocks from wolves, lions and bears. It was all good training for his encounter with Goliath. The Children of Israel were being prepared for what God was GOING to do by what he was doing. One example was the crossing of the Red Sea when they fled Egypt. The Egyptian army was pushing in behind them and the sea blocked any chance of escape. Moses lifted up his staff and the waters parted and they walked across on dry land. It must have been really scary to do it, but the other choice was certain death at the hands of the Egyptian soldiers who held the Jews personally responsible for all the destruction and death of the plagues. They fled to the safety of the far shore and watched there enemies be destroyed in the surge of water. Forty years later the memory of this event must have encouraged them to step out into the swollen Jordan river:
Andrew Murray recounts that day: “You remember that the Jordan at the time of harvest overflowed its banks. The hundreds of thousands of Israel were on the side of the river from Canaan. They were told that tomorrow, God would do wonderful things for them. The trumpet would sound, and the priests would take up the ark—the symbol of God’s presence—and pass over before the people. But there lay the swollen river still. If there still unbelieving children among the people, they would say, “What fools, to attempt to cross now! This is not the time to attempt fording the river, for it is now twenty feet deep.” But the believing people gathered together behind the priests with the ark. They obeyed the command of Joshua to advance; but they knew not what God was going to do. The priests walked right into the water, and the hearts of some began to tremble. They would perhaps ask, “Where is the rod of Moses?” But, as the priests walked straight on and stepped into the water, the waters rose up on the upper side in to a high wall, and flowed away on the other side, and a clear passage was made for the whole camp. Now, it was God that did this for the people; and it was because Joshua and the people believed and obeyed God. The same God will do it today, if we believe and trust Him.”
Do you realize that God has already shown you what He is going to do in your situation today? Think back. Sometime in the past you asked something of God, shared what looked like an insurmountable need…and God brought you through. This time it may even seem more impossible but remember this: When you are learning to trust God, DON’T BE AFRAID TO GET YOUR FEET WET!

The Ring

Love only grows with commitment

It is the wee hours of the morning after Dustin and Michelle’s wonderful wedding. We are so happy with and for them. I guess one of the early signs of Empty Nesters syndrome (which I have been suffering with for hours now) is reflection. Retracing God’s steps in their lives reveals His wisdom and love. I remember first meeting Michelle. They started dating while Dee and I were on our lifetime dream trip to see the fall colors on the east coast. We had heard of her appearance through the family grapevine and knew who she was as a child, but not as a woman. We wondered, would this be God’s choice for Dustin? We quickly fell in love with Michelle and early on I literally threatened Dustin with “you will never find her equal for you so don’t blow it!” It was fun watching their love progress to the full expression we all witnessed a few hours ago. They don’t realize it yet, they couldn’t…but this is just the beginning of learning to love. I know. I thought I knew what love was 40 years ago when Dee and I approached our wedding. It is so much more than I ever could have imagined. I have seen something in the eyes of my elders that are years ahead of me that tells me I have a great deal more to discover about love, it never stops growing. I am delighted that Dustin took the step to marry Michelle now because I know this: LOVE CANNOT EXIST OUTSIDE OF A PERSONAL COMMITMENT. That was the point of the ceremony. They made a public declaration and commitment to each other. That commitment will grow as they grow, this is just the first step. They will experience a depth of love that others without this commitment will never know. Maybe this is why Scriptures pictures our relationship with Christ as a bride / groom relationship. There is only one condition for experiencing the love of God and that is a personal commitment to the savior. Have you made that personal commitment yet? That is why I am up in the middle of the night. Jesus wanted to talk and it was wonderful and very real.

Dusty and Michelle's Wedding

Daniel

My quiver is finally full: Aimee, Jodi, Michelle, Brooke & Doni

Our Love and prayers are with you always. God Bless!

The ceremony:

Deanna and I and Steve and Monica would like to thank you for sharing this moment with us. For Dee and I our youngest child, Dustin is taking a wife and leaving home. After 35+ years we are officially empty nesters. We don’t know if we should be filled with sorrow or song. Maybe a little of each would be right. Steve and Monica are not losing their only daughter Michelle, it only feels like it at first. They are gaining another son. You have already accepted into your heart and treated him as a son. This just makes it official and permanent. We all understand and rejoice in God’s plan for a man and woman from the beginning. God took the initiative in the formation of marriage because he realized our need as human beings for a deep and supportive relationship. It pleased God to create Eve for Adam knowing his life would be enriched. In a sense God had to share Adam with Eve, but He took Joy in doing it. God lost nothing of Adam’s love, He gained Eve’s love and eventually the love of their offspring which includes us. As parents, we have already begun to experience this love from them. All of us put our full support and blessings on this marriage, convinced that this is the hand of God at work in the lives of our children.

The reason for this ceremony today is to publically, officially and permanently consecrate (set apart) these two totally to and for each other. The purpose of this gathering is the celebration of LOVE, …… Dustin for Michelle, Michelle for Dustin and all of us who are blessed with loving relationships.
I believe and can demonstrate from my knowledge of Dustin and Michelle that God has designed each of you with a special gift to complete and compliment the other. You will either complete or compete. Compliment or complain. How it works out in the day to day events of life will depend on your individual consecration to God. Your gift of love to each other totally depends upon HIS continued supply of love to you. You cannot give what you do not receive. You each have what the other is lacking for wholeness…You need each other in a very healthy way. Not fleshly codependency, but a God endowed interdependency, each depending on the other, both depending on God. In your union of marriage you will see the world more clearly, you will be stronger, braver, more secure, better, more complete than you could be alone…You will face challenges with a combined strength, Joys will be doubled and sorrows halved in your sharing. What you bring to the other person in consecration under God will make them better but if you do the same thing in the flesh, it can make them bitter! Consecration to God and each other will be the cement that holds you together or the lack of it will be the brick wall that keeps you apart. In and of yourself, what you bring to the other will suffocate their soul , but in a spirit consecrated to the Lord what you bring to this marriage will replenish not only your own spirit, but their spirit with the refreshing waters of a life lived loved. If you do not know God loves you and live in HIS LOVE, you will have no real love to give.
This incredible gift of God’s love for you, individually and as a couple brings with it all of our blessings.

Who Presents Michelle to be Married to Dustin?


Dustin will you take Michelle to be your wife? Do you commit yourself to living loved in the Lord and sharing that love with her? Do you promise to love, honor, trust, and serve her in sickness and in health, in adversity and prosperity, and to be true and loyal to her so long as you both shall live?

Michelle , will you take Dustin to be your husband? Do you commit yourself to living loved in the Lord and sharing that love with him?. Do you promise to love, honor, trust, and serve him in sickness and in health, in adversity and prosperity, and to be true and loyal to him so long as you both shall live?

Dustin , repeat after me:
I, Dustin , take thee Michelle to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward; for better for worse, for richer and poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, according to God's holy ordinance.

Michelle repeat after me:
I, Michelle take thee Dustin to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward; for better for worse, for richer and poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, according to God's holy ordinance.

MAY I HAVE THE RING PLEASE?

Dustin is presenting to Michelle a wedding ring that he created with his own hands. It was made with the finest materials he could obtain, all the love his heart could hold and all the skill his hands could master. The quality of this ring will allow it to last a life time and more. Generations from now it will be unchanged and of a far greater monetary and emotional value. It is a symbol of choosing to live life Loved.

Where does their love for each other come from? For that matter where does real love come from at all? Poets write of it, singers sing of it, scientists ignore it completely as unknowable but it is undeniably there. Nothing I have observed in their two and ½ year courtship has ever caused me to question their love for each other…on the contrary, I have seen it substantiated, and affirmed time and again. The Bible says that God is love and all love originates from and through Him and will return to Him. Love exists because of Him. As you love each other, you are loving God. Thank you God for such a gift!
Dusty, Michelle, Since you cannot give what you do not possess the quantity and quality of your love will depend upon your relationship with God first. By your individual testimonies we know you already have that loving relationship with God to serve as the foundation for your loving relationship with each other.
Any other way makes for a power struggle, life becomes a war for the throne, struggling for who is in control. One theologian wrote:
Love is always about giving up control, and people are trained to think of taking control-even of God. In my experience, most people would sooner be afraid and in control than in love and out of control.
Let’s put that in context. The Bible and common sense teach us that God is the absolute owner of all. He is the creator/sustainer of everything of any description. As such He does not need to give any of his creation any choice whatsoever. It is His absolute, undeniable, irrevocable and uncontested right. But because He exists in perfect love in and of himself, he, by his very nature wants a loving relationship with us and He desires for us to have loving relationships with each other. To have that relationship GOD WILLINGLY GAVE UP CONTROL OF OUR WILL. He could force us, but in perfect love he chose to offer a relationship with us. We are free to accept or reject it. Free to live loved or live any way we choose. Listen to the heart of Jesus penned by the apostle John
1JN 4:13 We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17 In this way, love is made complete among us
1JN 4:19 We love because he first loved us.
Each of you has acknowledged that Jesus is the son of God so God does live in you. But each of you, in your own way and for different reasons has learned, like every other human being, to struggle for control. There is a healthy aspect to that. You each have had significant obstacles placed in your path…and have overcome.
For this to be a joyful and peaceful marriage you each must surrender any attitude of control and choose to love and live loved. Control for all of us is only an illusion that time will eventually unmask. Perhaps it is far better for us to find our peace in learning to live loved rather than in the frantic activities we employ to prop up our illusion of control.
Dusty, for you this means you must consider Michelle first in every activity of life. Peter said: 1PE 3:7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. God has designed her to respond to you as you follow Him. If you do not, she will naturally resist. God goes on to promise that if you live this way with her, she will literally be the perfect wife for you. Believe that with all your heart and you will live a joyful life.

Michelle God asks 1PE 3:1 Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, 2 when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. Michelle you are to model that you deeply believe that God is in control of all things so much so that you do not have to manipulate or control Dustin. I know you have this quality, this ability in you. I remember when your relationship with Dusty was just beginning. I asked a favor of you. You said to me “I’m not sure I understand but I will do it just because you asked me to”. I watched as you encountered other difficulties in life and I have never been disappointed in your reactions or actions. Inside every man is both a LOVER/LEADER and a Protector/Conqueror. His role according to Genesis is to subdue the ground, to take control, by brute force when necessary. Your role is to be his support, at his side, one with him. You will never beat him physically and you will never control him with force. If you challenge him as a conqueror, you will have a battle on your hands. If you approach him as your lover, leader/protector he will die for you. It is in his genetic code to be the provider protector. Your role is to model confidence in what God is doing and can do. You never want to fight with him, you always want him to fight for you. IF you will choose to believe God in this, Dusty will naturally want to do anything for you as a loving service, not a sacrifice. You are his companion, on the same team, working together. NEVER allow yourself to become his competition. You will bring out the conqueror, not the provider/protector God designed him to be. You are his COMPLEATION. He is not whole without you.
Neither of you will be perfect at your roles. At some point you will fall short. God resolves the inevitable issue of failure with forgiveness. He did that BEFORE the creation of the earth. Christ paid for all our sins on the cross, they are to be remembered no more and not held against us. If you will practice Godly forgiveness for each other your love will know no limits. God Promises:
PS 130:3 If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? PS 130:4 But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are reverenced/respected.
Relationships are forged in forgiveness. Forgiving each other for imperfections is a bond that will strengthen, not weaken your marriage. Be slow to anger, quick to apologize, always accept your own part in the problem and your love will grow.

Dusty will you place this ring on Michelle’s finger and repeat after me:

I crafted this ring as the emblem of my love for you alone./ I place it on your finger /for the world to know you are my love my treasure. My gift from God.

Michelle will you place this ring on Dustin’s finger and repeat after me:
In accepting your emblem of love / I offer you mine. /I place this ring on your finger / for the world to know / you are my love, my treasure my gift from God.
It is now my Joy to declare you husband and wife since you have willingly committed yourselves to each other for the rest of your lives. I charge you to remember every day that you are loved by the Father and each other. Live Loved. Fulfill your promises to each other. Love and serve the Lord. Let nothing separate you from each other.

YOU MAY NOW KISS YOUR BRIDE


Mr and Mrs Dustin Zimmermann

Dusty and Michelle's rehersal

Moving Day. Dusty built the bed, Michelle outfitted the kitchen.

Paramedic/Captain/brother/stress reducer

Stress reduced!

Stress INCREASED....priceless.

Wedding Stuff

Tomorrow is Dusty and Michelle's wedding. The families are circling like...maybe I'd better not finish that one...We are so excited and happy for them. Michelle is what any father would hope for in a wife for his son. I guess my quiver is now officially "full". It took 36 years but the time has flown by. I plan to post the ceremony tomorrow night with some pictures for those who cannot attend.

Spirit filled Woodpeckers?

I am in a time warp. Seems like I just took this picture of Dusty last year. With the wedding and all this week, the blog is down a ways on the must do list. Pity too. I wrote 3 seed blogs to myself just this AM. I didn't really intend to. I was laying in bed debating /battling to get up earlier this am...and losing...when Dee said someone was at the door. I had to get up only to discover it was a woodpecker! I guess if the Holy Spirit can use a Dove, a woodpecker would not be that much of a stretch. Anyway, I went into my office and the Holy Spirit gave me an answer to a major obstruction in the flow of the new disciples guide I am working on....make that 2 things now. Thank the Lord for destructive, annoying and Holy Spirit directed WOOD PECKERS!