Love is in the Air!!

There is no denying it. Cupid is making the rounds these days! In just the past month Eric and I have had roughly 7 friends get engaged...and none of them to each other. These are all separate couples! And to add to it all, virtually all of them are planning fall/winter weddings. I thought it was hectic enough planning our wedding over 14 months. Some of them are planning for less than 4 months of planning time. Yikes! I guess this will be a real test of the relationship. If they've never seen the other person stressed out yet....it sure won't hide out through this experience. I suppose I should mention that virtually all of them have been dating for LESS than 1 year. Whew! I pray the Lord's protection on their relationship and future marraige.

Well it was quite the weekend. Eric and I headed home to meet up with family and throw a surprise 30 year anniversary party for his parents Saturday night. The planning process was difficult as we dealt with Eric being gone, all of us being at least an hour away from Fennimore, and a very busy summer. Not the best combination for planning. As the weekend drew closer the weather made it pretty clear we were going to need to make some last minute changes. Orinally the party was suppose to be outdoors, however with a constant forcast of rain and unbearable humidity, we shifted our plans to the church. Friday night Luke, Eric, and I went to "hang out with friends" in town and made a mad dash to the church to decorate. It's not easy finding anniversary decorations, at least when it's not 25 or 50 years. We did our best. We found silver table coverings to put down, used balloons, a few banners, and called it good.
Saturday morning was a rat race. Luke headed out for a run, which Eric and I intercepted to get him into town. Eric and I pretended to be going to the church to prepare worship for the next morning. Aaron had a basketball tournement 40 minutes away....and no one was any the wiser. We finished up decorating and headed home to get ready to watch Aaron play. The gym was hot and sticky. Players were falling down left and right on the court, and the refs didn't even stop to wipe it up. They're lucky no one pulled any muscles! We cornered Aaron's coach to make sure we could get him home on time for the party. More lies got us back home and over to the church to practice skits and finish last minute touches.
By 5:20 people were already showing up and laying out the spread of food. The women of the church are the greatest people you could ever ask for at an event like this. They know exactly what to do. They head straight to the kitchen to make sure everything is where it should be and ready to go. I didn't even have to ask anyone to do a thing. What a blessing! Around 6 pm they arrived! They brought them down blindfolded and on the count of 3 everyone yelled surprise!!! They were shocked...it was great! All of our hard work had paid off to give them a great night, which they deserved. Later on we did a traditional cake cutting. They gave into the cheers from the crowd to smush it in each other's face, along with each of the boys.
Luke, Ashley, Eric, and I had prepared several skits for the evening to relive some of the more memorable events of their lives. Of course we gave them the opportunity to tell what REALLY happened so as not to falsely portray them in any way. What a blast! I can't wait to watch the video back on it!
Finally we wrapped up the night with a open mic for people to share memories, encouragment, and thanks for their marriage. They have made such an impression on their community. What a testimony to the faithfullness of Christ in their lives.

Sunday morning Eric and I led worship. We made it all about love. The love of Christ that overflows for us. To even get a glimps of it is overwhelming. His love is entirely unconditional. We don't deserve any of it, yet He gives all of it. Think of what the world would be like if we could grab a hold of that. To be unconditional lovers. To accept people and love on them, even if they're different from us. Don't we all just want to be accepted and loved?? Who are we to determine who is deserving? It is all easier said than done. Which is why we need Christ in us each and every day.

Let's celebrate love more. The love of Christ. The love of husbands and wives. The love of families. It is through them, that we change the world and show Christ's light.