Something to say about The Wedding.

Recently, Cass and I had the great honor of hosting the Beach Wedding Dinner of the famed couple, Kevin and Sharon.

It was incredibly fun abeit nerve racking. Give me a good 1000 strong youth rally anytime. A wedding dinner???

Man, That takes some pretty serious guts.

Kevin and Sharon are such an inspiration when it comes to their wedding planning. No cookie cutter wedding, nope, not for this couple extraordinaire. These two...tsk...tsk... have broken more rules than any other couples I know. Most weddings I've been to have overtures of a well-scripted drama. You know, Act 1. Scene 1. Church Wedding. Get in, do your lines, exit stage.

But this one? There was such a refreshing spontaneity on that day, an authentic unpretensious feel about it. That it was really about the Couple and not just some custom that just HAD to be carried out. Well, perhaps I feel this way because this time I have backstage passes to the wedding and can see all the inner workings of this age old custom.

All in all, it was a great experience and we are just so grateful to Kevin and Sharon for sharing such an important part of their lives with us. From the Mall to the church to the beach. It was truly a hilariously great honor.

well, Cass, I hope you were taking notes.

Leonard

We would like to wish Kevin and Sharon the greatest Joys ahead. May God take them both to heights they never thought possible! As they Journey together, may they always feel the love of God filling them, giving them the strength to go on! Amen!

Dreams of God


"Many people do not consider themselves creative, often because they can’t draw or sing. However, every human being has been given the most essential tool for creativity, and that’s the human imagination. There isn’t a person alive on this planet without imagination. You may not be very imaginative, or you may limit your travels through your imagination, but you have one.

The imagination is God’s gift of creativity to humanity. It is the one way you can see the ideal, go to places you’ve never been, step into experiences you’ve never known. In your imagination you have unlimited resources, unlimited capacity, unlimited range of influence. In some ways, in our imaginations we are most like God.

Unfortunately the material for our imagination is primarily filtered through our hearts. When our hearts are separated from God, our imaginations can move to tremendous corruption. But when our hearts are joined to God, our imaginations can be the birthplace of the dreams of God for our lives. What dreams has God placed in your heart? Have you allowed him to take you in your imagination to places that now he desires to take you in history? When God dreams, reality forms. When we dream of God, we are both transformed and become agents of transformation.

The church can become the place where the great artists of our time paint their first strokes and the great musicians sing their first notes. The church can become the place where the great thinkers and the great scholars and the great writers emerge. The church can become the environment where the future’s poets and film directors, dancers and doctors, grow up in community and learn that their talents are a gift from God.

The future leaders of this world will come from somewhere. Shouldn’t it be the church? In a world filled with despair, drawn toward darkness, and conceding to existentialism and nihilism, where would the beauty that calls human beings to aspire toward greater things come from if not from the church?"

-Erwin Rapheal Mcmanus
(Leonard's personal hero)

Cold Water


"Cold, cold water Surrounds me now
And all I've got is your hand
Lord, can you hear me now?"

- Damien Rice


Sometimes I find myself in situations that are just beyond my control. Where I find my security, my sense of balance and my self worth rocking helplessly on the merciless waves of circumstance, blown off by winds of criticisms and pressed down by rains of discouragement. They threaten to take me, knock me off my feet and drench me till I get so heavy I just don't want to fight anymore. "Let the waves take me and swept my soul out to sea or sink me to the darkest depths."

Ever felt this way?


I was in the prayer room this morning, praying for my life. Last week had been a week like that. If you ask me for a reason, I can't tell you, I can't really pinpoint one. Sometimes, its just a whole lot of things coming at you and you just feel overwhelmed. A friend of mine, Annjoo used to call these times, 'Piranha Moments.'

Apt.

I think we all have times like that. A phone call comes with news that shatter our world. A slow build up of negative criticism that like a cancer that eats at you. A disappointment. A rejection. A death. A lost. Somestimes, its all the above.

All these thoughts ran through my mind today as I was reflecting on the story of Jesus calming the storm. Basically, the disciples under the direction of Jesus set off for short boat trip to the other side of the sea.

(Ever thought you heard from God about doing something and when you do, you got into whole lot of trouble? And you are like, "God told me to do this?? This is suppose to be easy!" Righttt.)

Midway, they ran into a storm and were in grave danger of sinking. Jesus, of course, being the Prince of Peace and all that was....asleep. I kinda understand how that feels, try conducting a retreat for 500 people the whole day and see if you don't sleep through an earthquake.

So anyway, the disciples freaked out, woke the Master from his slumber and got scolded. "hmmm..The faith is weak in you, I sense". He then proceeded to off the storm like it was the most normal thing to do. Like pulling a plug.

Peter: So what did you do today? Anything interesting?

Jesus: oh, nothing much. Calm a storm or two.

Peter: slow day huh?

Jesus: the usual.

So as I was thinking about this story and my week that had just passed, I realised that the truth of the matter is that even in the midst of my storm, I am not really alone. The One who calms the waves, tames the winds and shut out the rain is in the same boat with me.

He could, I realised, at anytime stop everything with a thought, a wink or a whisper. We maybe in a situation that is beyond our control but its certainly isn't the case with Jesus. He is in control and the fact is that we may be exactly where He wants us.

Sometimes God calms the storm. Other times, He let the storm rage and calms the child.

Perhaps you are in a difficult or painful situation that you wish could just go away. Perhaps you think that God is putting you through some test and is looking from the front of the class with a red pen in His hands, waiting to see if you pass or fail.

Frankly, I don't think thats entirely true. ( see the Lord's Prayer line 8, "do not bring us to the test.') I believe that God uses those difficult situations in our lives as opportunities to prove His Faithfulness and is working with us, showing us how to trust Him and to overcome them.

I came across this quote which help me a great deal in putting things in perspective:

"All Things work out in the end. If it hasn't. Its not yet the end."

Scripture says that 'all things work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.' So I believe that everything I go through has a good purpose to it, I may not understand it now but someday I will look back on this time and say, "I'm glad it happened."

So if you are in a difficult time now, don't lose hope, God is in control. Good will come out of it. Hang on, trust in Jesus - the storm will soon pass. And when it does, you may find yourself stronger than when you were on familiar shores.

And perhaps even a whole lot bigger on the inside.


Oh Wait, I think I see land.

Leonard