Thoughts on a Royal Wedding

Ok, I know that everyone and their second cousin has put in their 2 cents worth on the Royal nuptials, but I would like to add another cent or two.
Most of what I have been hearing has been mocking, hateful, and jeering at our neighbors across the pond. Most of what I have been reading on facebook posts and hearing from the community folk is poking fun at the lavishness and "gaudiness" of the whole spectacle. Call me sentimental, but I sort of have a different take on it all.


 It has been 30 years since I watched Diana walk down that same red carpet with that train-length train, with bells peeling and horns sounding...I think it is high time to experience such pageantry again...Talk about reality TV, and yes, I must admit, I set my DVR for it.


It says something to me that the Royal Wedding was watched by 2 BILLION people all across the world. What were they wanting to see? Well, I doubt if 2 billion people would tune in for the latest Paris fashion show. What about the Super Bowl? I don't think so...I think people watched because, we, in our MTV and commercialism-saturated culture, long to see something beautiful...We yearn for the glorious... I  believe God created our hearts and souls to long for such beauty and pageantry. Why do we get choked up when we stand humbly the foot of mighty mountains, or feel so small next to the crashing waves of the ocean? It's the majesty of God's creation.

He has created us for a world not here on earth, but one so spectacular, that if our eyes can catch only a partial glimpse of what that world holds for us, our eyes are fixed on it. Our souls are created to long to see the lavishness and splendor..And yesterday- our eyes were fixed....Our ears were created to long to hear the angelic voices singing 'Holy, holy, holy', and our hearts to beat a little faster when we hear the bells peeling and horns blasting. And yesterday- our ears and hearts were fixed. 

Most  weddings today are all about getting the ceremony over with and getting the party started afterward. I am all for the party and celebration, but the ceremony yesterday made me stop and think about how we take our wedding vows so flippantly today. The holiness of such a moment seems to be lost today..Yesterday, in Westminster Abbey,  it wasn't. You could feel the holiness of the moment, as it was meant to be. I would urge  those reading this to read the transcript of the ceremony, not just the vows. A great reminder of how seriously God takes marriage, AND weddings. We were reminded that Christ's first miracle was at a wedding.


In a world where nothing lasts but for about 5 minutes, The Royal Wedding was a breath of fresh air, to watch a tradition that has been in place for 1400 years. I believe seeing such beauty and pageantry is good for the soul. God created us to enjoy beautiful things, as a precursor to what we will enjoy when we are with Him one day... I was awed and inspired by the men and boys choirs voices as they soared through that grand 1,000 year old cathedral. Today, the post-modern culture and commercialism have jaded our hearts from appreciating anything with truth, worth, or real meaning in our society. It was refreshing and lovely.


So try to see the Royal Wedding through a different prism other than the costly extravagance. You see, one day I get to be a member of the ULTIMATE marriage ceremony and wedding party, where  not a prince, but the KING Himself, waiting there to greet me. And my name is not just on the guest list, but I get to be His BRIDE! There is promised a lavish feast such as we have never tasted, and there will likely be music such as our ears have never heard in the grandest cathedrals. There may be solid gold plates and cups, pearl tabletops and diamond napkin rings, and gold embossed place cards on the table for every Believer.  I can get choked up just imagining it! He told us He was going there to prepare it for our Royal arrival.


So, you see, we are not so different from Kate. We are commoners who get to one day experience the real life fairy-tale of marrying the King and partaking in ALL His riches! All He has will be ours.  And we DO get to live happily ever after!

    

Dave Ramsey and Donkey Basketball

Hello everyone!


Well, I knew this week would finally come. I have been preparing myself for it, psyching myself up for it and doing mental push-ups in anticipation of it. We have begun work on the impossible task of  ( insert "Psycho" music here ): THE FAMILY BUDGET!!
We are taking the Financial Peace University course by Dave Ramsey in hopes that we can one day have... ....umm....financial peace. Seriously, it really is great. We are doing it through our church and we have been having so much fun with the group, especially knowing that we are pretty much all in the same dollar-hemorraghing boat of  having never saved a penny! Well, week 3 is upon us and it is the week for the more "lengthy" budget plan to be put in place. Dave says that most couples have a "nerd" and a "free spirit"...I discovered yesterday which categories that Jeff and I fit into when I compared my 12 month ( with 3 months of extras in case of mistakes ) colated, divider wielding, 3 ring binder-full of FPU Budget Forms, with a nifty cover that reads: SELF FAMILY BUDGET,  to Jeff's bent legal pad with 3 pages of illegible scribbles. ( Guess which we will be using??..Oh, the nerd is usually also very controlling! ) We have been diligently working, working to get our plan in place to start February out on the right track next week. So THIS week I have bought new shoes, new clothes, and today got a new $50 cut and color.( Jeff doesn't know about the coloring part yet )...AND Donkey Basketball tickets for tonight.


Donkey basketball is a fund-raising event wherein unsuspecting school personnel and parents mount trusty burros and attempt to fall off the beast less than the opposing team while scoring baskets if possible. It is really quite a spectacle! There was much falling, pulling, pushing, and sliding off the front ends of heads-down donkeys who had put on the brakes. There was even an ever-watchful crew of pooper-picker-uppers ready at a moment's notice with broom and bucket. At intermission it was announced that there would be donkey rides for $1. ( Jonah informed me that it was FREE donkey rides for $1 ). He started out the night with $5 and I thought, "What a great opportunity to teach Jonah how to BUDGET his spending cash!" Well, after a snowcone, sour straws, and a bag of Goldfish, and a Panther Pride bracelet, his $5 was no more. My lesson plan was going into action!  I was visiting with a couple from our Dave Ramsey class who was also attending, explaining to Jonah as they listened,  "That means you don't get a donkey ride. You have spent all your money. Once the money is gone, it is gone." When I went back to my seat Jonah came up to me waving a dollar bill that the other "Dave Ramsey" couple had given him. I looked over his shoulder and saw them laughing at me and my "lesson"!! How did it end? Jonah got a donkey ride.


So I guess before class Monday we have to finish up the budgeting process and figure up how much debt we have so we can add it to everyone else's in a collective lump sum to see how dumb we have all been with our money...
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Wait..I knew I had left something out of the budget...We forgot the Bath and Body Works category!!!

Welcome to the Circus

Welcome friends and family and those who may happen to stumble upon this little blog. 


Some of you may be saying, "Didn't she just start a different blog yesterday?"...You would be right.  I enjoyed it so much I thought I would do another one! The "Less of Me" blog will address overeating and food issues that I am trying to conquer....THIS blog is going to be about the day to day goings on in our household. Many of you have told me, "You need to be writing down all of the funny things that Jonah says".  Well, this is a way that I can do that, plus much more "behind the scenes" action that goes on around here. Here is a little bit about our family:


We are a pastor's family with 3 very different children in 3 very different stages of kid-dom.
Our daughter Jordan is 20 years old and has just gotten her first apartment. She is a gifted musician, and is leading worship at Dallas Life Church and helping to make ends meet by serving the public at Wal-Mart Pharmacy, where she has had many exciting adventures. She is the one who has lovingly labeled our family "The Circus". She loves God more than life itself.


Jarrett is 16 years old and a sophomore. He has recently gotten his driver's license. He is extremely smart and has a very quick wit. God has gifted him with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.  A GIFT, you ask?? This is a gift to a mother whose son always washes his hands, whose room is always clean and who does his own laundry. ( Only because he won't let anyone else touch it! ) He lives on Nacho Cheese Doritos and Spaghettios, and makes the best cheese dip ever! 


Jonah is 8 years old and is what has taken our family from "relatively" normal, to over the edge, into "Circus-ville"...He is a bundle of energy and could easily be mistaken for the Tasmanian Devil. His love language is definitely "physical touch", as he is always ready to give and receive a hug, and he STILL rocks to sleep in my lap every night, although he has to lay sideways across the chair. We never have to look outside to see when the moon is full...Jonah is as reliable as the calendar. It is because of Jonah that I have the iCarly theme song as my ringtone...Those little songs really grow on you!


We also have a Jack Russell Terrier named Dixie and a big gray and white, lazy cat named Fat Gus. He was just plain "Gus" until as he grew older, he also grew wider. 


Well, as this is just a welcome post, I won't go on...I'm glad you stopped by and hope you drop in often...


Oh, as I type this, Jeff ( my hubby ) has just brought to my attention that there is a slice of pizza on the next door neighbors' new roof....Who could have done that????