Weddings

 We attended a wedding last night. It was amazing. The groom is a student of my husband. He delivered our mail for a while too. Our normal mailman - Chuck - was injured and out on leave for quite a while. We went out to meet the substitute driver, and he knew exactly who we were because he had seen my husband's car in the driveway. Over the last year, we got to know him from our visits to the school and the field trip to the International Auto Show.

His wedding was really spectacular. They attend a church in the Four Square denomination. They are very devoted to the Lord and to each other. Their pastor spoke about their commitment and determination. It was very obvious that their church is very bonded. They have a close knit community, and many of them were there last night. He spoke of the pair's commitment to live the law of Chastity and keep themselves pure for each other. I was very impressed at their decision to follow the Lord in that respect. So often, that is looked down upon. 

We are sending our kids the message that sex before marriage is okay and normal. Through television and music, Satan whispers that it's okay, everyone is doing it. Lyrics that we find fun and catchy are really about sinful and devilish things. We laugh at shows and say "Oh, that is just on TV, it isn't real" and expect our kids will know that we follow a different standard.

Here is a couple who made a commitment to each other long before they knew each other. Who were nurtured in the community of their church. And who stuck to their beliefs through the storms of life.

Good for you guys!

As I was sitting amongst their friends, family, and fellow church members - a talk by a member of my church Elder Bruce C. Hafen came to mind. It is called "How We Lost The Plot". In it he says:

"The changes in recent decades have portrayed marriage as an individual adult choice, rather than as a crucial knot in the very fabric that holds society together. We have increasingly lost sight of how much every marriage, and every divorce, affects other people—especially children. 

American writer Wendell Berry once described why relatives and friends come so gladly to wedding receptions. These happy gatherings have the feel of a community event—because that’s what they are: “Marriage [is] not just a bond between two people but a bond between those two people and their forebears, their children, and their neighbors.” Therefore, Berry continues: “Lovers must not . . . live for themselves alone. . . . They say their vows to the community as much as to one another, and the community gathers around them to hear and to wish them well, on their behalf and on its own. It gathers around them because it understands how necessary, how joyful, and how fearful this joining is. These lovers . . . are giving themselves away, and they are joined by this as no law or contract could ever join them. Lovers, then, ‘die’ into their union with one another as a soul ‘dies’ into its union with God. . . . If the community cannot protect this giving, it can protect nothing. . . . It is the fundamental connection without which nothing holds, and trust is its necessity.” 

Picture the community silently saying to the new couple, “We need your marriage to succeed - for our sake!” And picture the new couple silently saying to the community, “We need your support to help us succeed - for our sake!”"

The pastor asked us to pray for them and their union over the next few weeks and months. I feel like he knew that they needed their community to succeed, and the community needed them to succeed as well. 

And now, on to cute pictures of my kids.

Roslyn is really liking the music. She has stared to dance:

Beckett was riding the crochet  mallet like a horse:

Roslyn really wanted the ball:

 She got it, and didn't want to give it back: