I Got (Re) Married in my Flip-Flops!

How cool is this? First of all, Holly and I have been attending Mountain Lake Church for just a shade under two years now. It's one of the new breed of modern churches: rock-and-roll music, casual atmosphere, etc. You can even wear flip-flops if you want...hence the title of this post. The church's tagline (if you want to call it that...they call it their mission statement) is: "Changing The Way People Think About Church." Never have truer words been spoken. Since we started going there, the pastors have proven themselves time and again to be both outstanding communicators and exceptionally well-versed in theology. While I don't always agree with everything they say (some of the church's roots are in the Baptist tradition, and I was raised Lutheran/Presbyterian), I've nonetheless found them to be wonderfully encouraging, deeply insightful, and incredibly timely. All of that leads me to this...

As part of the church's recent series, "The Marriage Project," we had an opportunity to review our wedding vows as part of a group ceremony that served as the culmination of the message series. I originally thought that perhaps it would be a bit awkward to stand at the front of the church with 40-50 other couples, but it turned out to be an amazingly intimate moment for everyone. It was really quite inspirational, and served as a great reminder of how much Holly and I love one another. It was also a nice kick in the pants to remind us to show that love on a daily basis. Since no one who reads this blog was there for the actual event, I thought I'd share a copy of the vows from the service:

"Before God and all these witnesses; I’m renewing my commitment to love you; I promise to believe in you; I promise to leave everything and cleave only to you; I promise to love you. And I promise to submit to you. I promise to cherish you as God’s gift to me. I promise to respect you; and accept our differences. I promise to forgive you. I promise to pray for you and encourage you. I promise to grow in loving God with you. I love you with all of my heart and I always will; whether rich or poor; in sickness and health; as long as we both shall live."

It was truly an amazing and memorable day, and I'm thankful every minute for the incredible gifts that are my wife and family. I love you all!