Tiffany and Eddie's wedding

Today my good friends Tiff and Eddie got married. It was a good day. It started out really stinkin' early this morning, around 6:00am for the girls as we began the "getting our hair done" process. This of course meant that I had to stop by Starbucks not just once, but twice today because we were all sooo tired. :-) Tiffany's parents put this whole wedding together-they made the cake, our dresses, decorations, bouquets, food-almost everything. It was pretty incrediable. And her whole family from Texas came up to help out with the occasion. They have been here for a week- 20+ people in one regular house. Its a little cozy. I think my favorite is Tiff's great Aunt who has been deaf her whole life. She has to be around 70. She is the sweetest lady. She can't hold balance very well so we all help her get places- but she is always smiling- and I just keep wanting to give her hugs. We arrived at the wedding destination around 3pm. Its amazing where time goes on these days. But it was a good day. The bridal party was almost all Pacific Alum, even though most of them were all too young for me to know them! Yikes- when did that happen? But we all got along famously- lots of laughter and smiles. Hundreds of pictures-hundreds of smiles later we were all a part of one of the shortest ceremonies of all times. Under five minutes. Seriously. It was crazy. But then we began the party!!! That was fun. Something about weddings, a dance floor and me-I just love it. The romance of a beautiful wedding wears down my senses and dance queen in me comes right out. As I sit here my feet scream at me in pain-but it was well worth it for the pleasure of an evening of carefree dancing! I must mention that I got to see two very old and dear friends of mine tonight-they were in state just for the wedding. What pleasure it is to sit and share stories with friends I haven't seen in years!! The bride and groom were beautiful. The music fun. The parents were very proud. It was a good day.

Reflections on my Baptism

Now that I am finally baptized I find it unbelievable that it took me so long to get here. It seems such a natural step of a follower of Christ. My hesitations were certainly fear based. As simple as not wanting to be and speak in front of a thousand people I do not know and share what is still to me an intimate story of my walk with Christ. Oddly enough, I have no doubt that my ministry will involve an unveiling of all my secrets to the world. Of all the stumbles and falls that make up my 27 years of trying to get it right- but always missing the mark. But, I haven't quite been ready to proclaim all of these things to strangers- and the Lord has not asked that of me yet. So thus the many years of putting off my baptism.

I do feel that the Lord has blessed me in every way concerning the day I was dunked. He truly answered my prayers. My friends and family were present, and it took my breath away the effort put forth by those people to be there! The one who performed my baptism is a very wonderful friend who knows me well. I really cannot imagine it being any other way. The words he spoke before the baptism were perfect. Short and sweet. I feel so blessed. And then to be able to stand beside my sister and my best friend and share this glorious day with them-in celebration of their baptism and mine. To proclaim a repentance of our sin and new life in Christ together.

Well, it was almost like a dream. How sweet a day it could be was almost beyond my highest hopes. Tears came down-Aunties, Grandma, me. To see how much joy and hope this day gave my Grandma and my Great-Auntie Leah (two great matriarchs of our family)- precious moments like these are to be savored. The sun was brilliant, the sky blue, the sweet smell of summer coming to life. I remember just taking a moment to look around- about 15 cameras going crazy. Smiling faces, encouraging nods, tears. I was standing in the ice cold Nooksack River, Blake was giving me instructions, Karla and Tiffany were about 10 feet away shivering as they waited their turn. And all along the shoreline- as close as they could get-my people. Those who love me. All of them smiling back at me. This is peace.

ps for more on this check out Fide Poeta, I have the link on the right of the screen- that is Blake's blog- the friend who performed the baptism. He did a beautiful job describing his experience.