Happy 5th Anniversary, Aaron and Anna!

Five years ago today, Aaron and Anna wed.

Their relationship had started as a friendship in an online group setting through college. The next step was a courtship where both sets of parents played a role in encouraging and advising them.

By the time of their marriage, Aaron and Anna's friendship was already rich and deep.

That friendship was marked by the ability they share to this day to laugh easily together.

After the initial photos, it was time. Anna and her bridesmaids were ready.

And Anna's daddy was ready to walk his little girl down the aisle.

So much joy marked the ceremony...

...and yet the young couple understood the solemnity of the vows they were making before God, family and friends.

This was Aaron and Anna's first kiss. They had waited until the alter for this relationship milestone.

By the end of the ceremony, the two had become one. On the way out of the church, they stopped to hug the parents who'd raised them for this very day.

Aaron's parents have played such a key role in the couple's five years together. Ric and Tina live about 10 minutes from the younger Nix family, and they have sacrificially served Anna and Aaron and their three little girls (with a fourth child on the way!). We thank God for Aaron's loving parents who are now our dear friends!

We exited the sanctuary as two parents overwhelmed with God's goodness!

So many friends and family came to join in our family's grand celebration.

Before heading to the reception, the wedding party had a blast taking this photo in front of the gorgeous theater in which Anna had been blessed to play violin for the local symphony orchestra.

Five years ago. Anna and Aaron were new to dancing with one another. Now dancing is in an important part of keeping their marriage fresh and fun thanks to dance lessons. They also love to play long, involved strategy games together. Anna even wins...sometimes. They've developed and invested in a number of shared interests. At five years their unity in Christ and devotion to each other is beautiful to behold! As I mentioned, they also love the shared adventure of parenting. Their little girls are 3-1/2, 2-1/2 and 9 months old. Aaron and Anna are eagerly welcoming children as the Lord blesses them with each gift.

This is one of my favorite photos from Anna's big day. Anna grew up in a close, tender relationship with her daddy. Letting her go was hard for him!

The day Anna met her birthmother
(Anna was 18)

I'm going to bring this post to an end in a way you might not expect. Our need to "let go" of Anna as she married wasn't the first or most crucial "letting go" in our oldest daughter's life. You see, we adopted Anna Mackenzie at birth. We praise God that her 20-year-old birthmother chose life instead of abortion for Anna. She sacrificially made an adoption plan for the little one growing inside her. We were the incredibly blessed parents she chose to raise her precious daughter. So Anna's very life began with a loving "letting go" by a brave woman we love dearly. On the 5th anniversary of our shared daughter, we give tribute to the woman who gave life to Aaron's wife. She's our hero!

Diary of a Maine Sunset

Denise:

"I shall make mention of the lovingkindnesses of the Lord..." Isaiah 63:7a

Jim and I continue to relish our week-long celebration of God's goodness in granting us 30 years together. Tonight the Lord gave us the sweetest gift tonight ~ a spectacular sunset.

Just as we finished dinner, we realized that something very special was about to take place to the west. We left the dishes as they were and dashed to the property's dock. We sat hand-in-hand on the dock in the slight chill of a late September evening, watching as the heavens declared the glory of God.

Once the sun dropped below the horizon, the sky was painted every shade of orange.

Until at last the evening purple of the Atlantic stood in stark contrast to the rich curtain of color adorning the heavens.

As darkness began to replace the unrivaled fireworks we'd been privileged to witness. We readied ourselves to climb the staircase to our temporary home.

When we reached the top, we stole a final glimpse of a sunset neither of us will soon forget.

Thank You, Lord.

"I  shall make mention of the lovingkindnesses of the Lord,

the praises of the Lord,

According to all that the Lord has granted us,

And the great goodness toward the house of Israel,

Which He has granted them according to His compassion

And according to the abundance of His lovingkindnesses."

Isaiah 63:7

The Most Important Meeting of Your Life

Jim:

 

Denise and I are in Maine celebrating God's goodness in giving us three decades together!

While we are here, we are immersing ourselves in God's word as well as a variety of other books, including a powerful book about marriage called You and Me Forever – Marriage in Light of Eternity, by Francis & Lisa Chan. We have just cracked it open and are already excited to see how God will grow our love of Him and our love for each other as we read together.

Even though we’ve just started the book, I feel compelled to share something important that Francis shares right up front… and it applies to far more than just marriage. Specifically, Pastor Chan reminds us vividly that our relationship with God and our eternal destiny is the only foundation on which to build a healthy marriage (or a healthy life, in general). He says,

“FEAR GOD. I’m guessing those are two words you didn’t expect to read in a marriage book. But nothing could be more foundational for marriage. Without a healthy fear of God, we will not fully enjoy life and love. Without it, our priorities will be completely off. Yet if a healthy fear of God is at the foundation of who we are, a beautiful life and marriage can be built upon this.”

He goes on to say that most people underestimate how terrifying it will be to see God. And yet, the examples we find of people in Scripture who have had the experience should get our attention:

• Job came face-to-face with God after complaining about how God had been treating him and said: “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees You; therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes.” ~ Job 42:5-6
• Isaiah saw the Lord in His throne room in a vision and was sure he was doomed because of his unworthiness:  “And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. Then I said, ‘Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.’" ~ Isaiah 6:4-5
• John encountered the risen Christ in a vision and said: “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, ‘Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.’” ~ Rev 1:17-18
• And Jesus said: “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” ~ Matt 10:28

Pastor Chan goes on to encourage us to frequently contemplate meeting God face-to-face, consciously preparing for the day that will matter for all eternity!

“Oddly, I meet very few people who think about that moment. Is it because we don’t really believe it’s going to happen? We think about upcoming vacations and imagine how much fun we will have. We think about upcoming trials and worry about how difficult they will be. Why don’t we think about seeing God for the first time? I try to think about it often because it keeps me centered.”

Further, he insists that we must lift our eyes off of self and stare at God. We must stop focusing on our transient life on earth and contemplate what our eternity will be like. He rightly points out:

“If we don’t stare at God, we’ll spend our time staring at lesser things. Namely, ourselves. When we focus on ourselves, we naturally begin to structure every aspect of our lives around the few years we have here on earth, rather than the millions of years we will spend in His presence… or out of His presence. We live as if we are not dying. We live as though the King is not returning!”

But He is returning! And Scripture is clear that His return should inspire awe and reverence in His children, not to mention abject fear in His enemies. Notice that both Old and New Testament passages convey the same terrifying image of God's judgment:

“The pride of man will be humbled and the loftiness of men will be abased; and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day, but the idols will completely vanish. Men will go into caves of the rocks and into holes of the ground before the terror of the Lord and the splendor of His majesty, when He arises to make the earth tremble. In that day men will cast away to the moles and the bats their idols of silver and their idols of gold, which they made for themselves to worship, in order to go into the caverns of the rocks and the clefts of the cliffs before the terror of the Lord and the splendor of His majesty, when He arises to make the earth tremble. Stop regarding man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils; for why should he be esteemed?” ~ Is 2:17-22

“Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?’” ~ Rev 6:15-17

In closing, I need to admit that Pastor Chan’s admonitions hit too close to home. I spend entirely too much time chasing counterfeits like wealth, pleasure, respect and esteem of others instead of intimacy with Him. I need to lift my eyes to heaven and stare at God. I need to spend time and energy contemplating life from the perspective of eternity. I need to proactively prepare to meet my Maker. I want the most important meeting of my life to be filled with awe, reverence and blessing... not terror.

How do you want that meeting to go for you?

An Anniversary Adventure

Denise:

Jim and I are thrilled to be in Maine celebrating our 30th anniversary. Today we visited the jewel-like seaside town of Camden. The sailboats were stunning. Here's a sample of what we were blessed to see:

Milestone Celebration

Mrs. Beaver:

Today is our 18-month anniversary, and looking back can be so healthy. The Lord has brought us so far! His faithfulness is unfathomable! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to those of you who have cried out to God on our behalf! We're more grateful for your prayers than we could ever express!

Here are some random photos of the sculpting God has done on the 15 of us (I'm including our beloved son-in-law, Aaron) to turn us into a family utterly committed to one another:

  

 

The Eternal Impact of a Marriage

Mr. & Mrs. Beaver:

As we share some of our favorite marriage quotes as a way of marking our 27th anniversary, Let us warn you that this quote is long by blog standards, but worth it. The powerful words come from a favorite parenting book called Gospel-Powered Parenting by William Farley.   

     "The message that our marriage preaches either repels or attracts our children. God wants your child to watch your marriage and think, 'I want a marriage like that, and I want the God that produced it." Or, "When I think of the beauty of the gospel, I think of my parents' marriage. I want to be part of a church that is loved by God the way my dad loves my mother. I want to be part of a church that finds joy in submitting to Christ as my mother joyfully submits to my father.'
     The gospel is the good news that the Groom loves His bride. He loved her so much that he humbled Himself, descended an infinite distance, became man, and suffered poverty and abuse for thirty-three years. Then in the greatest display of love in history, he allowed Himself to be tortured to death on a cross in His bride's place. The Son of God did all of this to serve His bride, to make peace where enmity reigned. What motivated Him? Love that surpasses knowledge! He longed to unite Himself in irrevocable love to an unworthy bride.
     But the gospel is not just about the Groom's love. It also provokes a response from his bride. When understood from the heart, it motivates her to humble herself, love the Groom with all her heart, respect him and serve him with joyful abandon. The gospel summons Christ's bride to yield to the servant authority of her crucified king.
     Here is Paul's point: Christian marriage preaches this union. It either makes [the gospel] attractive or ugly...What I am saying is that our marriages exist for something bigger than themselves, and our children are watching" (pgs.111,113)

Celebrating 5 Years

April 28 was the 5 year anniversary of Tinkerbell, Gigglebox, and Princess Bink's homecoming. So, while we were in Minneapolis for the conference, we decided to celebrate.

Dad and Mom took us to the Mall of America, and we did something fun, crazy, and out of the ordinary- we rode a roller coaster!

Before the ride-Jaynie, wondering if this was a crazy idea.

This was the wild kind of roller coaster, the kind that goes straight up and then drops so suddenly you wonder where you left your stomach. This also happened to be the kind that went upside down several times and the kind through which Tessa screams her loudest (I know, because I was sitting next to her). This was the first roller coaster any of our Russians (from Jaynie down) had ever experienced, and although they emerged a little pale and dizzy, they loved it and still can't stop talking about it!

Princess Bink didn't quite make the height requirements for the first roller coaster, but she still had her chance. After the older members of the family had staggered away from the wild ride, she and Mom boarded another roller coaster. Princess Bink's face as they rode round and round was one of amazement, nervousness, and delight.

Princess Bink, tense and unsure of whether she approved. Mom? Having a great time. That picture is visible proof of how blessed we kids are-our mom knows how to have fun. She's the best!

We can't imagine life without our girls. They are happy, creative, and loving. They are each other's best friends and love nothing more than to spend time with each other. Tinkerbell and Gigglebox love to read and often consume a chapterbook a day, and Princess Bink is becoming a better reader all the time. The girls often put on plays and puppet shows for us, create elaborate "houses" outside, and lovingly care for their dolls. Our 2nd Russian trio has a love both for Russia, their Motherland, and for America, their new home.

Tinkerbell, Gigglebox, and Princess Bink on their way home to America 5 years ago!

Thank you Lord for the way you have knit our family together.

~Lissie