I am my Beloved's, and my Beloved is Mine

So then, they are no longer two but one flesh.

Therefore what God has joined together,

let not man separate.

- Matthew 19:6

It was two years ago today that my lovely wife decided she could put up with me and we tied the knot. We chartered a passenger ferry boat for a couple of hours and got married just off of Cumberland Island, GA near the south end of the Island where the Atlantic Ocean comes into Cumberland Sound at the FL/GA state line. The minister was a very dear friend of mine, Scotty Langford, who is like a brother to me, and has been my discipler for several years. Fort Clinch in Fernandina Beach, FL served as a backdrop behind us.

My wife loves to dress up our dogs, and sometimes we take them to the nursing home where she works and let them visit the residents. Our wedding day was no exception. She found a doggie tux for our male Chihuahua, Kasey, to be a groomsman. We made dresses for our female Miniature Dachshunds, in our wedding colors, of course. Prissy was a bridesmaid and Tilly was the ring bearer.



                                                            Of course I can't talk about our wedding day with mentioning me fishing at my own wedding! I had been teasing my wife that since we were going to be on a boat I had to bring my fishing pole, since the whole purpose of a boat was to get to more fish. I snuck a small collapsible pole onto the boat and started "fishing" on the way out. Don't worry, I didn't even have a hook on it, but just a small weight to cast it with a few times. Her jaw about hit the deck and my dad leaned over to her and said, "I brought him into this world, I can take him out for you."

One of the things Cumberland Island is known for is its herd of wild horses. I had been out in the Sound fishing in my own boat quite a few times and never saw a horse. My wife had it in her mind that the horses were going to come out that day. Sure enough, just as we said our “I do’s,” as if on cue, some horses came out to graze. They were not going to deny my bride her wish on our special day. Well, God didn’t deny it, at least.



Jesus said to him,

“You shall love the LORD your God

with all your heart,

with all your soul,

and with all your mind.”

- Matthew 22:37

To my beloved wife, I wish I could say I love you with all my heart, but that is how Jesus told us to love God. Sorry, honey, but you come second here. I do, however, love you as Christ loved the church. I give myself for you. I will nurture you in the Word, that you may be washed by the blood of Jesus, presented before God without blemish.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church

and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her

with the washing of water by the word,

that He might present her to Himself a glorious church,

not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing,

but that she should be holy and without blemish.

So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies;

he who loves his wife loves himself.

- Ephesians 5:25-28

We haven't always lived our lives for Christ as we do now. This isn't the first marriage for either of us, but it will be the last, and it is "till death do us part." I am yours, and you are mine. Happy Anniversary my love!

I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine.

- Song of Solomon 6:3

Sunday Fishing Lesson

Fishermen have always been known to spin a yarn or two about "the big one that got away." I've got a few of them myself. Jesus called four fishermen to follow him and be disciples, Simon, Andrew, James, and John. I'm sure they had their share of fish stories to tell, too. In this picture you see a couple of family heirlooms of mine that my grandfather had hanging on the wall in his house until he sold it to move out of the city to a small town near my dad. They now hang proudly on my wall, and I never pass up the chance to tell about them. The fish on the left is the first crappie (speckled perch) I caught when I was 6 or 7 years old. The fish on the right is a 6-3/4 pound largemouth bass that jumped in the boat with us. YES! Jumped in the boat and landed at my feet! And that, my friend, is no fish story! It's the absolute truth, just like the story I'm about to relate to you here. This true story is a humorous lesson in faith, integrity, and keeping one's word.

As a young child in the early 70's I lived with my grandparents in Tennessee. My dad was a single parent in the navy and had to deploy at sea a few times in a place called Vietnam. Every spring my grandparents would take a week's vacation and go fishing at Ross Barnett Reservoir in Mississippi with another couple with whom they were very dear friends. They would head home on Saturday so they could attend church on Sunday morning. I was with them this one particular time when they decided to stay and fish on Sunday. Now, my grandmother couldn't swim, but as long as she had a life jacket on, and the fish were biting, she'd head out in the boat. It was shortly after we'd eaten lunch, as I recall, when the sky started getting dark in a hurry. We'd been caught in rain showers before, but this day things would be a little different. The wind started picking up very quickly, and the water started getting pretty rough. We tried to head back in to the boat ramp but it was too far, and the weather was worsening too quickly. We saw a highway bridge over a side creek and headed toward it to try to get some shelter from the storm. The other couple was in a little bit smaller and lighter boat than we were, so my grandpa was leading the way, trying to smooth it out for them a little. The swells were so high we kept completely losing sight of them behind us. I remember seeing lightning hit the water maybe 150 to 200 yards from us. It was a very scary ride, for sure. We finally got up under the bridge and tied off to wait it out. My grandma was a very faithful, God-fearing, Christian woman. Her father and grandfather were both Southern Baptist preachers. I owe her a tremendous debt of gratitude for much of the foundation of my faith. In the midst of this storm she prayed to Jesus. She told Him that if He got her out of this alive then she would never go fishing on Sunday again! Well, I'm here telling the story, so we obviously got out of it ok. Now I know God's not in the exactly in the deal-making business, but He does make promises. God always keeps His promises, though we tend not to, no matter how well intentioned. God did make the ultimate deal (promise) though. He sacrificed His only Son on a cross 2000 years ago, that if we only trust Him that He conquered death for us, then we can have eternal life with Him. My grandma kept her focus on Jesus in the middle of the storm, just like Peter did when he walked on the water to Jesus. He didn't sink until he took his focus off of Jesus and let the storm around him overtake him. As for my grandmother, she kept her side of the "deal" she made with God that day, all the way till the day Jesus took her home some 20 years later. There was no way she was going to go fishing on Sunday again. The Bible says to let your "yes" be yes and your "no" be no. My grandma was indeed a woman of integrity, and she kept her word to God to the very end.

Jesus Calls Peter by Joshua Harris

Found this cartoon on Mikes Sumondong' blog Your Daily Word
I liked it so much I thought I'd share it. God has a sense of humor!

Which Sea Are You?

By: Carl Holland
Carl's Words of Inspiration

 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said,

out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. 

– John 7:38

In Israel there is a peculiar geographic phenomenon. Despite its small size, Israel is home to two landlocked seas. One was often a central focal point during Jesus’ earthly ministry, the Sea of Galilee. The Sea of Galilee is alive, teeming with life that has provided a living for many generations of fishermen. Its waters flow south via the Jordan River into Israel’s other sea, the Dead Sea.

For as the body without the spirit is dead,

so faith without works is dead also. – James 2:26

The Dead Sea is extremely salty and devoid of life. Its shoreline also happens to be the lowest point on the earth not covered by water at about 1360 feet below sea level, and getting lower. Despite its steady infusion of “living water” from the Sea of Galilee, it can never support life, and actually evaporates off more water than it takes in. The Dead Sea is dead, and dying.

So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot,

I will vomit you out of My mouth. –Revelation 3:16

Jesus laid down His life as THE Living Water to flow life into us as we were dead in our sins. If you were to be completely honest with yourself, which sea do you resemble? Are you the kind of Christian who is alive in the Spirit, breathing life into others, pouring out living water? Are the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) evidenced in your life? Or do you more resemble the Dead Sea? Do you do your Christian “duty” and sit in church every Sunday getting fed by the preacher? Do you then let it “evaporate” later, not even considering Christ the other six days of the week?

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. – James 1:22

There’s an old expression that goes something like “sitting in church makes you a Christian as much as sitting in a garage makes you a car.” Take heart! We worship a God of second chances! He is always willing to forgive. He will draw closer to you if you ask him and seek him with all your heart in spirit and truth. Don’t let the Word go in one ear and out the other. Take what you’ve learned and apply it to your life. DO the Word and be a blessing to others!

Holy Fishing

This is a joke I heard many years ago and I know it's been posted all over the place in one variation or another, but I like it, so I thought I'm post it on my own blog, too.  Hey, God has a sense of humor... just look at the Duck-Billed Platypus!  Well, here goes...

There was a Baptist preacher and a Catholic priest who liked to go fishing together a lot.  One day they invited a Jewish rabbi to go out in the boat fishing with them.  After a while, the preacher said, "I gotta make a nature call.  I'll be right back."  He hopped out of the right side of the boat, walked over to the shore, "answered the call of nature," then walked back, got in the boat, and continued fishing.  A while later the priest had to go too, so he hopped out of the right side of the boat, walked to shore, "answered nature," then walked back to continue fishing.  A while later the rabbi has to go, too.  He thought to himself, "well, if these guys can walk on water," hopped out of the left side of the boat, and sank.  As they are helping the rabbi back into the boat, through his tears of laughter the preacher says to the priest, "you think we should have told him where the rocks are?"