One Fruit

After breakfast this morning, as we do every weekday morning, Paul and I were reading Scripture together.  Today’s reading came from Galatians 5:13-26.  In this section, the Apostle Paul is speaking to the church at Galatia about the living by the spirit.  As we read verses 22-26 specifically, I was reminded of the way it was explained to me one time.

The passage reads, “ ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.”

I was reminded that so many times we read this as, “But the fruits of the Spirit are…” rather than, “But the fruit of the Spirit is…”  Paul is not talking about many fruits, as we often refer to, but one fruit with many parts.  It was once described like an orange, rather than a fruit basket.  We often think of it as a fruit basket, each characteristic its own fruit.  By thinking of it like an orange, the fruit of the spirit is the orange, which each characteristic a wedge of the orange.  We need each characteristic to fully have the fruit, not some of them.  If we strive to pick and choose which characteristics we want, it is as though we are picking and choosing the nutrients we get from a particular food.  In this day and age we want all the nutrients from foods for our physical bodies, why wouldn’t we want the same for our spiritual self as well?

Full of Thanks

Today is Thanksgiving and while we are busy preparing Thanksgiving dinner (or at least most of it) for the first time as husband and wife, I realize there is so much for us to be thankful for.
One of the things I am most thankful for at the moment is that I have a very loving husband, who I had the pleasure of making a covenant with just 3 weeks ago, on our seventh anniversary in front of our closest family and friends.  For Paul's sake, I am so thankful that his grandfather's nurse was wrong, and that not only was he alive for our wedding, but that he was able to fully participate in all the wedding activities.  I am also thankful for my loving family, and the fact that it has grown and so has the love.  They all are looking out for the both of us, and are willing to help in whatever way they can.  This morning it was so nice to have a nice conversation with Dad, talking turkey and talking about how things are going.

The turkey is in the oven, and all the "fixings" are well on their way to being done!

Wedding Memories

Everyone told me that the day would go by crazy fast, and for wahtever reason, I didn't believe them.  That is, until Paul and I were on our honeymoon and looked at each other one day saying, "Do you remember what the cake looks like?"  Yeah, it went by fast.

The wekend started Friday with a luncheon for out of town guests.  It had a "Welcome to Maryland" theme with some of both of our favorites, along with Maryland cuisine.

After everyone ate WAY to much food (and there was WAY too much left over), Paul and I hosted our own version of Jeopardy, a way for our families to get to know each other and a way for them to find out some interesting stuff about us.  After all the questions were answered, and the prizes given out, Paul and I shared our story, how we met, how we felt about each other and how we started dating.  We realized that many of our families members had not heard the story, and they were all excited to hear it and were glad that we shared it.

After the party, and after everyone went home, we were able to relax a litle before the rehearsal.  The rehearsal went great.  It took a long time to hang the new banners that Paul's mom made for us.  Our musicians sounded great (even with a change of music at the last minute), the girls did a fantastic job, the guys were great, and Dad even made a joke!

  

 

Pastor Craig asked, "Who gives her away?" and Dad responded, "The milkman."

At least he got a few laughs out of that one.

After the rehearsal we shared a wonderful meal before heading to our respective beds to try to get a couple hours of sleep before the "Big Day."

My day started with hair and makeup at 6, I was up at 4.  Fortunately I was able to get a cup of coffee and a little bit to eat before getting going for the day. 

    

 

At this point the day really becomes a blur, and as of right now I have very few photos to help remind me of the day.  Us girls got dressed, then headed to the church.  Dad and I were fortunate enough to be able to ride in a classic car, a nice quiet ride through the country.

   

The service went very well.  Couldn't have asked for anything nicer.  After the service Paul and I piled back into the car to drive to the reception.  The reception was especially a blur.  Eating, socializing and doing all the "normal" reception stuff led to a very busy day before coming back to the condo for some more family time and gifts to be opened.

Then off to our honeymoon!