A Beautiful Day For a Wedding

Sunday afternoon I was in College Station to perform a wedding. The happy couple are members of my church and have planned long and prepared well. It was a joy and an honor to officiate their wedding as a wedding is about getting married.

Yesterday they had their wedding, today they are married.

The word “wedding” comes from the Old English “weddian” meaning, “a pledge.” A wedding is the joining of two people who have pledged to each other.

A wedding gives birth to a marriage. 

Weddings are rich in tradition and range from the fabulously expensive big white wedding to two people standing in my office. Typically, weddings contain the following elements:

• Someone to perform the ceremony
• A wedding license
• Vows or words of promise
• Rings
• A verbal response of “I do”
• The pronouncement of “husband and wife”
• A kiss of some kind

I perform on average six weddings a year. Some are held in churches while others are event/destination weddings. Some are members of my church and some are from the community. Half a dozen a year doesn’t sound like much, but I’ve been doing them for forty years.

Some observations from having officiated 240 weddings:

• Grooms are typically nervous, perspire and wonder why all the expense and fuss.
• It’s a priceless look on a groom’s face when he sees his bride walking up the aisle.
• I’ve never seen a bride walk the aisle who wasn’t smiling radiantly.
• Someone cries: the bride, groom, parent, grandparent, or all of them.
• No matter what they say, wedding pictures never take “just a few minutes.”
• Receptions are about: relief, joy, tears, celebration, pride, and a little sadness too.

Weddings are rich in tradition and laced with sacred customs.

Not us, or our wedding place, but close, really very close.

I’ve performed weddings in huge churches, tiny churches, standing in two feet of snow, standing on the edge of mountain cliffs, next to rivers, in homes and wedding chapels, in the parlors of Bed and Breakfasts, in my office and all kinds of places.

The two most memorable weddings?

My own and my daughters.

 

 

 

 

The Loyal Sports Fan

Team loyalty gets me into trouble with the friendly and the not so friendly. I know, already you are asking, “What?” Well, does team loyalty necessitate an acidic hatred of all other players, coaches, teams and cities?

Some say a definitive yes. I dare to say a cautious no. 

Don’t hate me.

 FAN LOYALTY?

• Root for the local team, hate all others.
• If two local teams: swear undying loyalty to whoever came first.
• Only wear the caps, shirts, jackets and underwear of your team.
• Amp up support for post season events.
• Face painting strongly recommended, but not absolute.
• Body painting for men with weight problems acceptable.
• Tailgate & halftime parties, snacks, and victory celebrations required.
• Boo, hiss, complain, insult, yell, and throw things at opposing teams
• (If watching on TV, ignore the thing about throwing stuff)

HERE’S A THING

What happens when your company relocates you to another city? Do you remain loyal to your old team or do you drop them and embrace a new one?

EXAMPLES…

If you get transferred from Boston to Dallas are you required to hate the Patriots and love the Cowboys?

If you get transferred from Houston to New York are you required to hate the Astros and love the Yankees?

I know, the wisdom of Solomon wouldn’t be enough. 

Speaking of loyalty, should you be loyal to your spouse only when you are in town? Can you be unfaithful as long as you are in another city? Shouldn’t spousal loyalty be absolute regardless of where you are? Does geography determine loyalty?

Here’s another: Do you still love America when you are out of the country? Based on Fan Loyalty Guidelines, when I’m in Port-au-Prince, Mexico City,  Beijing or Jerusalem I should be loyal to Haiti, Mexico, China and Israel. It’s just a thought.

AND ME?

Forty years ago I became a Florida Gator fan. It doesn’t matter why. We currently live in Houston, Texas and have for 23 years. It’s been tough as there are several college teams of note in this state. Here is how I’ve steered through these shark-infested waters.

That’s not me there on the left. Close, really very close, but no. 

• I love the Texas Aggies, Longhorns, Red-Raiders, Cougars, Horned Frogs, Mustangs and Bears and just over 1200 high school teams.
• I love the: Texans, Cowboys, Astros, Rangers, Rockets and Mavericks

Sure, I have my favorites, but I don’t boo, hiss, say horrible things or chuck stuff at the other players. Can I cheer, root, clap, and support my team without hating and denigrating the other teams and players?

NOW JESUS

His disciples once rebuked a man for trying to do miracles. Jesus told them to leave him alone, that he wasn’t their enemy.

Speaking of enemies, Jesus taught his followers to pray for them, to be kind to those who would persecute them, and to forgive everyone.

I know, it’s tough to discuss sports and fan loyalty when you bring Jesus into it. 

TO CLOSE

This morning I’m giving thanks that even though he loved his fellow Israelites, Jesus still offered himself as the perfect sacrifice for all others too. Like me.

Thank you Jesus for not booing, hissing, yelling or saying horrible things or throwing things at me because I’m not from Jerusalem. You are the best!

Shalom

What Kids Do

FROM PROVERS 22:15

“Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child”. 

I guess that’s right, it sure seems to be.

• Adam and Eve had trouble with Cain
• Noah cursed one of his sons
• Eli’s sons were wicked men
• David had a son who plotted to steal his throne
• He had another son who raped his sister
• Isaac was lied to and deceived by a son
• Jacob had sons who wanted to kill one of their brothers
• Joseph and Mary had sons who didn’t believe in Jesus
• Aaron’s sons were killed because of their foolishness
• The children of Israel were stubborn, rebellious and sinful

WHAT ABOUT ME?

• At five years old I buried my mom’s watch
• At eight I set the back fence on fire
• At eleven I got caught for public mischief
• At twelve I got swats for talking too much in class
• At fourteen I burned up some cotton trailers
• At seventeen I went around town opening fire hydrants

WHAT ABOUT JESUS?

He was twelve when he separated himself from his parents and stayed behind in Jerusalem while they traveled north to Nazareth. When Joseph and Mary discovered he wasn’t with the caravan they headed back and it took them three days to find him. When they did, they were not happy. Nor were they impressed that he was sitting with the Rabbi’s studying and discussing the Torah.

TO CLOSE

I could tell stories of my own kids, but I won’t. But I’ll leave you with this. Kids can be foolish, impulsive, rebellious, unwise, disobedient and snarky. They are capable of mischief, breaking the law, fighting, stealing, cheating, lying, and other such behaviors.

Not all kids do all those things. I didn’t. But I did enough. Moms and Dads, I love you and pray for you and I know sometimes you want to pull your hair out. It’s okay, go ahead. But also know that from the first family on the planet to the very last, parents will know frustration and even heartbreak over what their kids can do.

Hang in there. You are in good company!

“Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child.”

World’s Biggest of its Kind

HERE’S SOMETHING

According to the internet the biggest car wash in the world is here in the Houston area.

Also big is the Astrodome that opened in 1965 and was the world’s first multi-purpose sports stadium and the first air-conditioned dome. It cost $35 million to build and into today’s economy would cost $278 million. It was dubbed,

“The Eighth Wonder of the World”

There is an anti-Astrodome group who lobbies to have it torn down to make room for  parking and green space. However, early in 2018 Harris County Commissioners voted unanimously to restore the Dome at a cost of $105.

POLITICS?

The chief advocate for Dome revival was Ed Emmett but he lost his seat on the Commission to Lina Hildago who steered the Commission to put a hold on Dome renewal believing that Houston needs to invest funds in flood control and other needs essential for a better quality of life for its residents. So once again, the debate rages and it seems unclear if the plans for the Dome will resume or not.

NOW JESUS

One day in sunny Jerusalem, the Christ was teaching the crowds in the temple courts. Some of his disciples commented on the stones used for the temple, and rightly so, for  the base stones weighed 165,000 pounds each.

They said, “Look, Rabbi, What massive stones, what magnificent buildings”.

Jesus had some interesting interactions with stones, of which Judea had no short supply.

• The temptation in the desert, “Tell these stones to become bread”.
• “God can raise up these stones to become children of Abraham”.
• Speaking of children, “I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out”.
• “And they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus slipped away.”

Big or small, for good or evil, stones, rocks and boulders were a daily part of life in Judea. Houses were built of stone walls, as were fences and buildings.

He would also say of the temple to his impressionable disciples,

“All these stones will be torn down, not one will be left upon another”.

FOR HOUSTON

Houston has other impressive buildings, quite a few actually. But perhaps nothing as impressive as the Dome, or at least as it once was. Will it stand? Will it be torn down? Who knows?

But perhaps it’s not the most impressive thing. For somewhere in the Houston suburb of Katy is the world’s largest car wash. It’s even in the Guinness Book of World Records. Its 255 feet in length, which is almost a football field. Seems fitting since the Dome was the home of the Houston Oilers Football Team, as well as and Astros. It’s still home for the Houston Rodeo, which receives 2.5 million visitors annually.

TO CLOSE

I just ask that we take a moment to see Jesus, high and lifted up, and offer a simple word of praise to his name. He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings and is bigger than Buc-ee’s Car Wash.

Pretty Impressive Huh?