Short, Sweet, and Charming Home Wedding--Uncle George and Irina

A week ago, we met Uncle George's sweetheart Irina from Russia, when we spent Christmas Sunday afternoon with Jonathan's folks and family. 

"Are you coming to the wedding?" Uncle George asked me.

"Are you inviting us?" I laughed, because after all you don't go to weddings you aren't invited to!

We knew it was going to be a very small home wedding, and we didn't have any idea what to expect!

Well, that evening after bringing them to our church candlelight service and then to see the Many Lights of Christmas at the Nazarene Bible College after service,  Jonathan told Uncle George and Irina that he and I would come to the wedding. 

Uncle George had first gotten acquainted with Irina clear back in 2012, and had traveled over to St. Petersburg a couple of times, including earlier this year. But it was only recently that she was able to get a visa to come to America.

It was a very small, simple wedding in Uncle George's home.

A friend of Irina's from California, along with the friend's daughter and son-in-law, had arrived a couple days earlier and helped to find flowers and decorate the living area for the wedding.

I thought they had done an outstanding job of transforming the elderly widower's little space into a wedding celebration. 

There were several vases of flowers on top of furniture and counter, that Irina herself had arranged, since she had studied flower arrangement. 

This beautiful cake, which the friends had ordered from Whole Foods, was on the table, surrounded by a silver wrap and several candles. 

Jonathan's mother had made a plate of darling little bell candies, five of which Amelia promptly set on the cake.

Everyone was more than a bit nervous except Amelia, Irina's friend's daughter. 

Her take-charge, positive, cheery ways saved the day. 

Jonathan's dad got the last-minute job of being best man--and Amelia wouldn't have him to wear his blue tie! Off she hustled him to fit him with a bright red tie!

After which he reminded her that wasn't he supposed to have a boutonniere?

Yes, he was, but none had been prepared!

So, Amelia-fashion, she whisked a red rose out of one of the vases, trimmed the stem, snipped a bit of baby's breath and, minus a pin, stuck it in his pocket, which his suit coat thankfully had!

And there he was, all ready to do the duty of best man!

Just before the officiating lady arrived, Amelia and we got busy lighting the candles on the table.

Amelia found a little box of matches--in which was one little match!

"Imagine it being the last match!" she gasped, striking it and protecting the tiny flame with her hand. 

We managed to light the other candles from one match and another candle. 

There was a good bit of laughter, banter, and last-minute making do.

Above, the marriage official and her husband have arrived, and she is taking her place for the little ceremony.

Nobody knew what to do except Amelia--self-made wedding coordinator rising to the occasion!

She told everyone what to do and made everyone laugh and feel as comfortable as possible!

Here she is standing waiting to snap photos of the procession across the livingroom. 

First comes best man with matron of honor on his arm. 

(Bride is hidden back in the bedroom.)

Amelia told them where to stand.

Next, she brought the groom, Uncle George "down the aisle."

Then Amelia turned on the wedding march on the stereo and here came the bride!

This beautiful scene was priceless--sweet and beautiful Irina coming out on the arm of her friend's son-in-law.

Irina is such a lady!

Although in her 60's, I believe, she is graceful and gracious, sweet and trim. 

She walked the little ways, tipping her head to the guests

and whispering her thanks to us and the others for coming. 

I loved the charming little head piece. It was perfect for such a wedding instead of a youthful veil.

Amelia showed her where to stand, and Uncle George was gasping, "Whew!"

at the beautiful lady standing in front of him. 

"In poverty or in wealth, in sickness or in health, in failure or in triumph...

if you make these promises to each other, please say together, 'I do," said the wedding officiator.

And they said together, "I do."

Then there was the ring ceremony.

"I pronounce them husband and wife," said the officiator.

And the kiss.

"Now congratulate them!" sings Amelia, busy with her husband taking pictures!

So we clap and cheer and get started.

I wish Irina the best--and I do so hope to reach out more to her in the days ahead.

I have a special place in my heart for the dear people of Russia. 

And I do so hope and pray that she will be happy.

A next door neighbor and wife, very nice people, were also present. Here the man is congratulating Uncle George.

 

And Jonathan takes his turn.

The signing of the marriage license.

Jonathan's father signing as a witness--something he probably wasn't expecting to do very much ahead of time.

Cutting the cake to feed each other.

Laughing a lot and serving each other cake!

"It's the best wedding cake I have ever eaten!" I said, after tasting this amazing, fruit-filled cake.

"That's because it isn't a wedding cake!" Amelia laughed.

It was "just a cake." I think the frosting must have been whipped cream or something instead of shortening and powdered sugar. It wasn't too sweet, and almost everyone noted how good it was.

Amelia set on a carton of luscious blackberries, blueberries and strawberries, some of the biggest I've ever seen.

We got a picture with the bride and groom and Jonathan's mother and father. 

I couldn't believe that the outfit I had chosen to wear actually matched the wedding!

Here is the group that was present, except for the wedding officiator who had already left

and Amelia's husband who took the picture.

We got such a kick out of Grandpa being unable to get this tie off because it had a new-fangled zipper. 

Thankfully Jonathan had recently tried out a tie with a zipper, and had some idea how to deal with it.

And I learned a new Russian word for zipper--molnya.

Irina had arranged her own wedding bouquet of tiny white roses. 

It was beautiful. 

Amelia said how they had agonized over calling one flower shop after another--all were either closed after Christmas or had no flowers. 

They were finally able to get all these, if I understood correctly, from King Soopers. 

The little ceremony had taken only about 15 minutes, and the bit of celebration afterward was over in another 45. 

So we took this final photo, under the paper pompoms hanging from the ceiling,

of the new husband and wife--

Uncle George and our new Aunt Irina!

Congratulations and best wishes!

It was such a delight to have Irina want to come back to our church the next day, with Uncle George and her friends!
We have a few more pictures of the that group in front of the church, but I will go ahead and post this much right now.

His Presence for Christmas

She had paused at the end of the afternoon,

as the sun was setting in the west, and the moon was rising in the east.

Paused there at the lone cottonwood tree after finding that the trail up the hill was too deeply covered with snow to allow her shoes to go on. 

She had wanted to find a little trysting spot somewhere along the way,

just to say something simple.

The song the pastor and his wife had sung near the end of last Sunday's candlelight service was still playing itself over and over in her mind:

"Your presence for Christmas."

What we really need is Your presence, Lord, for Christmas!

It had been sacred moments, those moments listening to this heartfelt song.

Not a hand stirred to clap as they had for other pieces.

The moments, the music, and the prayer of the song were too sacred.

And tears had moistened a mother's eyes, bloodshot with weariness, because that song put into a few words her heart's prayer for this Christmas:

"All I ask for Christmas is Your presence!"

She had written a few ideas down for her husband and children in case they couldn't think of anything particular.

New dish cloths.

Apricots, dates, or golden raisins.

Herbal coffee substitute.

Tillamook cheese. 

Pistachios.

Fruit flavored herbal or zinger tea.

She didn't really want anything lavish.

She was a pretty simple person--content with the basics--

and a bit of country charm.

But she had sat there for just a few moments that evening, looking through the branches of the cottonwood at the moon rising,

and saying this one simple sentence:

"I just want Your presence for Christmas!"

It's hard to know how to get that--His presence.
How to feel it, sense it, know it.

The next day, the same mother walked the same trail, only in boots this time.

She passed her usual trysting spot, filled with snow.

On up the trail a ways she stopped, listened to the wind.

The quiet was amazing.

Up further was a windmill turning in the breeze.

Christ had said that just as you can't see the wind, neither can you see the Spirit.
You can't see His presence.

The things of the Spirit can't be seen with the eyes, 

or felt with the hands
or tasted or heard necessarily.

Yet the things of the Spirit are as real as the wind, the windmill, the snow, the sunshine,

the dripping of the snow melting in the little ditch

and forming one single little round frozen drop.

A little moment of Pennsylvania.

A small sense of something actually wet and gurgling,

of ice cracking underfoot into wetness underneath.

She sat on the bank of the other side of the small trees there along the path.

Last night's snow was shimmering white and totally smooth.

It was so utterly beautiful--the scene, and those moments of quietness,

just the Lord and her.

Your presence, Lord!
We seek You in the middle of the grind of daily life,

in the middle of Christmas vacation when school is laid aside and we take time to clean cupboards and vacuum edges and send Christmas greetings to friends.

Raising a large family of many children has taught me a lot about what the presence of Christ really means. 

I'm the kind of person who, though I love times of noise and laughter and fellowship and fun
and though I scream the loudest at volleyball games and home school competitions,
I also long for quiet, and peace, and time to ponder.

I love to write the thoughts that come to me.

But sometimes my life is filled to the brim with duties and noise and children underfoot and their squabbles in my hair and all through the house,

and the presence of Christ seems to evade me.

Teach us how to find Your presence, Lord Jesus, for Christmas!

In the white of the snow.

In the quiet of a country walk.

In humble moments of intercessory prayer.

In the surprise of bird songs in the lone cottonwood tree.

 In learning patience through suffering.
In rejoicing with those who rejoice--missionaries in Papua New Guinea rejoicing that nine boys from the orphanage gave their hearts to Jesus last night--
Missionaries in Uganda rejoicing over conversions after seeing the "Jesus" film, women delivered from witchcraft, and people hearing about Jesus who had never heard of Him before.
In the joys of ministering through Christmas caroling to others.

 In the sharing of your heart with someone you love--

getting down to brass tax, being honest, being up front, sometimes making mistakes,

confronting, apologizing, seeking to understand,

asking forgiveness, giving a hug,

being reconciled.

Yes, the presence of God comes through being reconciled to our husband or our wife,

to our mother or father, sister or brother,

extended family, church family,

neighbors, friends, enemies.

It happened again this morning--a problem, things happening around us bringing up old pain, talking it out, saying sorry, hugging, 

being completely reconciled, expressing tenderness and love

and can hardly wait to be together again. 

That's His presence for Christmas.

In the forgiving of oneself when others won't forgive.

In releasing blame, whether of yourself or of others, in situations where you have done all you could  and still there isn't reconciliation.

In putting into God's hands all the things you cannot control--
remembering that the only thing you can control is yourself--
and even that only by the grace of God. 

That is His presence for Christmas.

In remembering that when Christ came, 

He brought goodwill to men,

but He also said that He came not to bring peace but a sword. 

And sometimes that sword divides especially at Christmas time

when the ways of the world contrast sharply with the ways of Christ-followers.

Recognizing the inevitable divisions and heartache that will happen

when you choose to follow and love Christ and His will and commands

more than your closest relations or friends and their expectations or opinions--

that is His presence for Christmas.

In the work and the practice and the humdrum of life--which sometimes gets done on our knees--

in the reaching out to new folks at church,

in the inviting of someone of another race and color to our table at the church Christmas party,

in trying to make life a little easier for someone else,

by putting our shoulder under their load just a little.

That is His presence for Christmas.

Lord, we want Your presence for Christmas, a presence not just felt in the denying of ourselves and the doing of Your will,

but in the recognition of You-

the great I AM.

The One Who loves us with an everlasting love. 

 And though we cannot always feel Your presence,

we can know it is there,

by faith in the Great and the Lowly I AM. 

Let Your love flow both to, in and through us

this Christmas season!

Amen.

Christmas Bears

Friday night our pastor and his wife and family hosted a lovely Christmas dinner for the church family.

I loved the cute decorations on the table.

Sis. Kearney had asked our family to have a little skit along with other fun things their family was going to provide.
We had just read the most hilarious Thanksgiving story about Irving Bear who loved to eat more than anything else in the world, and how his friends had to teach him a lesson about what was more important--food or friends for Thanksgiving.
We adapted the story for Christmas instead. 
Carrie and the children helped dress  up these paper bags for the skit.

Irving Bear, with his T-shirt that says, "I love FOOD."

His bear friends were stationed at appropriate places around the room to do their parts in the skit.

Here Renata Jean Bear (Carrie) is sitting at the piano.

Jonathan read the story while the children acted out their parts.

The worst (best) part was when Irving Bear's paper bag mask fell off as he was gathering all his marshmallows, candy canes and gingersnaps--

much to the delight of all the little children watching up close

(and all the adults, too!)

Thurp Bear (Timmy) waits by the sliding door to do his part.

Sabra Bear, Renata Jean Bear, and Thurp Bear all teach Irving a good lesson.

After the skit, the bears helped unwrap a surprise--
a Christmas money wreath for the pastor and his wife from all the Foothills Missionary Church Bears!

The "Bear Family" with the pastor and his wife and granddaughter.

I loved Sis. Katherine's creativity with how she attached money and gift cards to this wreath.

Some of the bills were folded in fan shapes.

Others were rolled up and tied with bows.

Then Bro. Kearney divided us all up by tables, and we had to take turns singing parts to "The Twelve Days of Christmas." Bro. Chase ended up singing solo for "the partridge in the pear tree," and stole the show. The Kearney clan roared out "Five gold rings," every time around, and were definitely the loudest.
Bro. French brought out that in olden days, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" was actually a code song for the persecuted church. Each verse had a gospel meaning.
That was new to me, and I'd like to research that. The partridge in the pear "tree" was almost certainly Jesus, as the song always comes back to that.
After that good activity, the Kearneys did this little skit along with the song
"Percy, the Puny Poinsettia"
who was puny because he was not watered enough.

All the pretty poinsettias were chosen and bought, leaving him lonely and sad. 

Finally a crying little girl (Bro. Kearney's granddaughter) came and loved the puny poinsettia and cheered it all up!

 That was a very cute piece!

It was great seeing another family willingly do something fun together like that.

Then we had two games. This one, we were given a gift box, wrapping paper, ribbon, a bow, scissors and tape, and each table of people was supposed to wrap the box, but one hand had to be behind our back! We had to work together with one hand!

 Then the three Kearney young ladies were the judges to decide which gift was wrapped the best--

 and there would be prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd best.

 This table won the prize!

It was such a fun evening! We finished with Christmas carols.

Even church people need some joy every once in a while!

And it was definitely an evening of lots of joy!

It can help heal hurting hearts, and there isn't a church anywhere that doesn't have its share of hurts and problems and people who look cross-eyed at each other
and wish the other person would either shut up or grow up.
And so, simply because we do have to be serious about working out problems together,
we also need to be serious about getting together to eat, laugh, sing, worship, have fun, and be just a little bit silly together!
(And was it ever refreshing to hear other people who roar with laughter as loudly as some of us Lucases! Hey, some other people actually do know how to laugh, after all!)