A Glimpse at the Wedding

We had a wedding this past weekend, folks.

Our oldest daughter, Hannah, married her high school sweetheart, Alex.

And it was glorious.

God gave us the sweet gift of unbelievably perfect weather for not only the day of the wedding, but all the days preceding it - making preparing and decorating for Hannah and Alex's outdoor ceremony in our backyard on October 26, 2013, relatively worry free.

And so. much. fun.

But how much fun it was is the subject of another post I've got simmering about Hannah and Alex's wedding, so I'm gonna try to keep it out of this one. (It might be hard, though, because it was all so much fun!)

This one is about some pictures.

My dear friend, Sue Roweton, is pretty handy behind a camera. (major understatement) She has an eye for a "moment," and she readily agreed to be the party pic girl at our big event. She tried to tell me it was the VIP parking that swayed her decision to say "yes" to such an assignment, but I know it's because she really loves me and mine. It's nice to know you're really loved by a friend, isn't it? Anyhow, she did a great job capturing the big moments and some of the less obvious big moments.

It's some of those less obvious moments that I want to share here - I'm trying to save posting the main wedding pictures until after Hannah and Alex have seen them, but I thought they wouldn't mind a few peripheral pics.

Before the wedding, everybody but the bride and her crew got to buzz around outside. Here Alex, Lou and I are walking out our driveway to see the decorations that were by our subdivision sign. I liked this unexpected stroll with our now son-in-law.

After the year my 87 year old mother had, I would never have believed she would be at one of my children's wedding. But she was there, spunky as ever, and looked absolutely amazing. I know this will forever and always be one of my favorite pictures of her - and my boys.

And this might forever and always be one of my favorite pictures of me and my boys.

Luke, MOB, David

Our oldest son Luke, who now lives in LA, hadn't been home since March. It was a treat for him to see people he has a long and happy history with.

Bruce Morgan, Luke, Colby Morgan

It's ridiculous how much I love this next picture. This is the view out of my kitchen window not long before the wedding started. I have looked out that window thousands of times - watching my children play in this very backyard. Now it was full of so many other people I love.

And this precious soul with her precious baby? Lara Casey Weaver - who has been in our lives since she was born. I remember her first babysitting for us when she was 11ish. She spoke - and continues to speak - Godly truth, beauty, and goodness into our lives.

There are big, prayerful moments in life, and putting a ring on is one of those.

And those moments are appropriately followed by joy!

After the ceremony, we were hovering, waiting to be summoned by the official photographer.

Sue was hovering too.

I'm drawn to this picture of Lou and me for a couple of reasons.
    1. It's Lou and me, and I like us together.
    2. I don't know for sure, but I think Sue snapped this when our kids were being photographed with Hannah and Alex. When that picture was being taken, there wasn't another spot of real estate on the planet that had more of what Lou and I love bound up on it.

Another casual moment when my David just sat down by me. I always like that.

It was a good hair day for both of us too;)

 Another special father/daughter moment.

Lou and our Marea Faith

I'll end with a special moment at the reception.

First dance.

I love the look on Alex's face. I love seeing his wedding ring.

Definitely a whole lotta love going on!

Obviously I'm spending this week after such a huge life event in our family reflecting on it all.

We had a wedding this past weekend, folks!

I am so very grateful to God for the joy that surrounded it. There's a lot about life that doesn't have joy surrounding it. Those times will come and God's grace will be there for them too. But what a sweet gift of grace from God these joy filled events are!

Blessings!

The Deeper Magic

In late September, I went to hear some really smart people talk about one of my favorite authors, C. S. Lewis.

Who Lewis was and his massive influence as a Christian author is another post for another time. What I want to share here is the short paragraph from one of the conference speakers, Joe Rigney. His talk was the highlight of the conference for me - the one where I couldn't write notes fast enough. The one where I was silently saying "Yes! Yes!" the whole time.

As I look at the last sentence I just wrote, those "yeses" look happy to me. His talk didn't make me "happy." Happy is not...enough. It's a bit too shallow. Rigney's talk took me out in deeper waters. It was enlightening as well as sobering. It was inspiring as well as humbling. It reminded me just how kin Edmund and I are. (Edmund is the traitor in Lewis' book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.) Rigney's words made me want to fall on my face before God, who saved an underserving me just like Aslan saved an undeserving Edmund, and say, "Why, God? Why would you do that for me? Why do you do that for any of us? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."

The snippet at the end of this post may not hit you like it hit me, but I hope it whets your appetite enough that you'll want to listen to Rigney's talk. If you like Narnia - if you like Lewis - I think you'll be inspired by it. You can find it here.

Joe Rigney, seminar, “Live Like a Narnian: Christian Discipleship in C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles” —

We are, all of us, en-storied creatures, living our lives in a narrative, which means our lives have directions, trends, and trajectories. And Lewis is mindful of the fact that these trajectories are governed by an Author who is not mocked, who tells us that we will reap what we’ve sown. … Lewis is clear: we are always sowing the seeds of our future selves. We are embarked, heading in a particular direction, and sooner or later we are bound to end up there. Edmund reminds us that we might not like the destination at the end of our road. When it comes time to reap, we may find ourselves tied to a tree with a dagger at our necks. But, of course, Edmund’s story isn’t a tragedy. Yes, it’s true; reaping always follows sowing, like night follows day. But in this case, Aslan reaps what Edmund has sown. Edmund’s treachery, Edmund’s spite, Edmund’s beastliness is thrown onto Aslan and the Lion bears it away in his death at the Stone Table. This is the Magic of substitution, the Deeper Magic that turns traitors into kings, that turns beastly boys into just and wise men, the kind of magic that changes our stories forever.