3 Short Important Prayer Requests, Please

1st Request:
In a couple of weeks Jimmy Ramirez and I plan to leave for Peru.  A pastor there has asked to work with us.  He said that for years he has believed and preached what we believe.  Please pray for God to give us all wisdom, protection, guidance, and blessing on this trip.  We want only God's will in all this.  I am hoping to make some other contacts while in Lima.
2nd Request:
Pastor Jimmy is making a ministry trip to our churches in Medellin and Cartegena this week.  He needs God's wisdom and anointing.  I should be helping more in Bogota while he is gone; I desire God's help too.
Last Request:
This month we are working on getting our Colombian Religious Visas renewed.  This is a big, important deal.  Please pray for this.

Thank you much, Phillip Dickinson

Who said WE had to get out of bed??

It is SATURDAY. (roll over)  This time we get to sleep in! (yawn)  We feel VERY lazy. (UGHH!)  Then Elijah comes downstairs and says (and I quote), "MiMi, wake up." (bad breath)  So Sarah goes and asks Mommy if we have to get up. Yes, unfortunately we have to wake up.  But that is okay because we don't need to be lazy.  Sarah and I get ready to make breakfast for a gift to Mommy for Mother's Day since she has to do something else.  So we go downstairs and start making Soppy Chocolate.  (You can go to one of Mommy's OOLLLD posts to get the recipe)  Mommy ends up helping us. ;-)

Mary really enjoyed it!

- by Kimberly and Sarah

Funny but true. (You can't please everybody)

I had to laugh at what C.T Studd said; it's so true.  (Meanings change over the years; I leave his words as he spoke them.) 

"Remember the miller's donkey . . . . the miller, son and donkey went to the market.  The miller rode the donkey all the way and people exclaimed, 'Cruel man, riding himself and making his son walk.'  So he got down and his son rode; then people slanged, 'What a lazy son for riding while poor old father walks.'  Then both father and son rode, and people then said, 'Cruelty to animals, poor donkey.'  So they got down and carried the donkey on a pole, but folks said, 'Here are two asses carrying another ass.'  Then all three walked and people said, 'What fools to have a donkey and not ride it.  So let's go ahead with our work for God and not care what folks say." 

- Charles Thomas "C.T." Studd, 1860-1931, missionary to China, India, Africa

Have little to offer God? There's hope for you!

 In God’s kingdom there are some with five talents, some with two talents, and some with one talent.  When it comes to accomplishing a task, God can take one with less intelligence, less abilities, and less potential but one who is wholly given over to God and then God makes up what that person lacks and uses him in mighty ways.  For an average man plus God, becomes a mighty man.  In light of this, does this mean we should disregard self preparation?  God forbid.  Should John Wesley have thrown out rigorous study, work, and prayer because God uses unlettered hillbilly preachers?  Should have a barefoot boy carrying a slingshot later disregarded kingly conduct and royal planning with the priest, his counselors, and his generals, because God once used him as a boy David?  No.  God uses us as we are as long as our heart is perfect before Him, but we should always strive to grow and prepare ourselves for greater service yet.  God wants perfect hearts, He wants them to strive to achieve in His will, and He wants to make them leaders.  I must worry about being perfect before God and about doing what He wants, and He will use me as His tool as He sees best.  But let's give God the sharpest tool possible.

~ by Phillip Dickinson

Faith that receives great promises

Originally posted on 6/14/07.

   He was 40 years becoming somebody. 40 years more becoming a nobody. Then 40 years more interceding between God and millions of people whom God wanted to make holy but who usually hated his authority -- what a life. Now (in Deuteronomy) Moses's death was nearing so he was giving last minute advice.He begins by reminding God's people how God delivered them from Egypt and had planned to bring them right into the Promised Land. They sent 12 spies to check things out there and tell them which cities they should conquer first. The spies returned and said, "It is a good land, that our God gives us." Moses reminded them that, "ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD you God:" (How? They were scared of the giants, great walled cities, and fierce warriors, and said, "We can't! We're going to die! Why'd you do this to us Moses?") "And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the Lord hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. . . . Ye did not believe the LORD your God . . ." (Deuteronomy 1:26, 27, 32) For this disbelief and murmuring God destroyed them and refused to let them inherit His promises; instead it went to their little children.

In my Bible's margin I have written, "Murmuring = disbelieving God. Disbelieving God = calling God a liar." Why? When we complain against our life's circumstances it's because we do not really believe God in what he says in Rom. 8:28, "All things work together for good to them that love God." And the children of Israel were disbelieving all of God's promises that He was going to bless them, prosper them, and give them that land. Disbelieving God is calling Him a liar. For they were scared saying, "The Amorites will destroy us! God delivered us from Egypt only to die at the hands of the Amorites!" But they were saying opposite of what God had said. "Take your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites . . . I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them [to give to you]." By their disbelief they were calling God a liar. Is our murmuring and disbelief any less evil.

What promises are for us? Read any Book of the Bible and you will find it jam packed with promises written for YOU and for ME! Believe those promises and there will be no room for murmuring nor disbelief in you heart. And when there is no water nor meat, but only giants and mountains and your enemies have you trapped, you will know that God will bring you through this with great blessings because He has promised such. Through trust you will inherit a better land.

Industry vs. Idleness

"From its very inaction, idleness ultimately becomes the most active cause of evil; as a palsy is more to be dreaded than a fever.  The Turks have a proverb, which says, that the devil tempts all other men, but that idle men tempt the devil."
"[One] said that employment was nature's physician.  It is indeed so important to happiness that indolence is justly considered the parent of misery."  -Caleb Colton, clergyman (1771-1832)

"Every industrious man, in every lawful calling, is a useful man.  And one principle reason why men are so often useless is, that they neglect their own profession or calling , and divide and shift their attention among a multiplicity of objects and pursuits."
-Nathaniel Emmons (1745-1840) 

"In every place we find working men most susceptible to religion."  -John Wesley (1703-1791)

Fullness Of Joy, God, & Madame Guyon

Originally posted on 6/11/07 after being published in "Dickinson Update," our missions newsletter.

Joy is a fruit brought by the Holy Ghost. With man, joy is impossible even in the most hilarious party. With God, joy is possible, even in the most hopeless prison. See Madame Guyon being hunted like an animal for sharing her faith. Then she was cruelly imprisoned for years. With immeasurable joy she wrote:

A little bird I am, Shut in from fields of air,
And in my cage I sit and sing, To him who placed me there:
Well pleased a prisoner to be, Because, my God, it please thee!

Naught have I else to do, I sing the whole day long;
And He whom I most love to please doth listen to my song;
He caught and bound my wandering wing, And still He bends to hear me sing.

Thou hast an ear to hear, A heart to love and bless;
And though my notes were e’er so rude, Thou wouldst not hear the less;
Because thou knowest as they fall, That love, sweet love, inspires them all.

My cage confines me round, Abroad I cannot fly;
But though my wing is closely bound, My heart’s at liberty;
My prison walls cannot control The flight, the freedom of the soul.

Oh, it is good to soar, These bolts and bars above,
To him whose purpose I adore, Whose providence I love:
And in thy mighty will to find The joy, the freedom of the mind.

God given joy gives us conquering strength in any difficulty. But the mystery to many is how to acquire this joy. We know that in God’s presence is fullness of joy. (Ps. 16:11) And at the right hand of God there are pleasures for evermore. Those who by living meek and holy lives dwell in the presence of God are privy to God’s joy. But what about those who are righteous and have been filled with the Spirit of God and yet are in heaviness through manifold temptation. Heartfelt joy in these times seems to be a stranger. In the midst of such trials, what is key to such joy that seems to be so elusive? Praise! God inhabits the praise of His people. (Ps. 22:3) And remember that in His presence is fullness of joy. God draws near when we earnestly vocalize praises to God. We pass through the portals and enter into the grand courtroom of God as we purposefully thank Him. He ushers us through the seeming ceilings of brass and into His Majesty’s presence by means of praise. For we enter into His courts with thanksgiving and into his gates with praise, where there is abundance of joy.

Madame Guyon said, “The stones of my prison looked like rubies; I esteemed them more than all the gaudy brilliancies of a vain world. My heart was full of that joy which Thou givest them who love thee, in the midst of their greatest crosses.” She was so filled with praises that she composed and sang this song.

Strong are walls around me, That hold me all the day:
But they who thus have bound me Cannot keep God away:
My very dungeon walls are dear Because the God I love is here.
They know, who thus oppose me, ‘Tis hard to be alone;
But know not One can bless me Who comes through bars and stone.
He makes my dungeon’s darkness bright And fills my bosom with delight.

God draws near and gives His overflowing joy when He is sufficiently praised.
-Phillip Dickinson

Our Colombian visa situation. Thx 4 praying.

Thank you for your prayers.  My day at the office went well.  I found out that I was facing a $225.00 fine due to us following the faulty advise of another government worker.  But as soon as the man helping me found out that I was a minister and Christian he reduced it to $125.00.  He also gave me his and his wife's number (she has a business which helps foreigners get their visas) and told me to call if I need help with getting our family's visas renewed.  Praise God!  In the next 3 weeks I have to renew all of our visas.  This is more cost (nearly $1,000.00 if all goes well) and trouble than I like to deal with.  But we will do our best, we all will pray, and whatever happens we'll take as God's will.  Keep praying.

Need your prayer today...

We would appreciate it if you would pray today.  I have some important paperwork to take care of downtown for our Colombian visas; and we need God to help all to go well.
Thanks,
Phillip

Baby Jeremiah: Good News!

Yesterday baby Jeremiah got out of NICU and got to stay with Daddy and Mommy, and the whole family got to be together!  Michael said that little Isaiah and Sophia were doing their best to love their baby brother to death.

I understand that later they will be seeing a specialist regarding his hemangioma. But today they should get to go home from the hospital!  Praise the Lord!  We so appreciate all your prayers.

Daddy with baby Jeremiah

My Mommy, a great homemaker!

A person that has influenced me is my Mommy. She is a great homemaker! She is a wife, a homemaker, and a mother. She loves her children, trains them, and cares for them. She cooks delicious meals, and she has a good decorating taste. But best of all she loves Jesus. A good character trait that Mommy has is that she is flexible. She can go without living room furniture (for a while) and can do a good job decorating without spending a lot of money. She likes to save money. My Mommy likes to bake, and cheers us with her baking. One way Mommy has influenced me is by showing me that a house does not have to be very fancy or rich to be a home. I chose to write about her because my PACE talks about homemakers. What better homemaker to write about than your own Mommy?

~Kimberly

What my Mom (and Dad) did right. Happy Mothers Day!

I want to honor my parents Phillip (Bud) and Sherry Dickinson.  Their two sons (Michael and I) dearly love and honor them today.  Important traits have marked my parents' character for as long as I can remember, and I know that without these traits, I would not be the man I am today:

1.) They taught us to work hard and to be happy to do the dirty jobs that no one would want to do.  (e.g. Mom, taught us young, along with many other things, to scrub floors with a rag on our hands and knees, and to clean toilets thoroughly whether our toilets or those in the church bathrooms.  Dad often had us hoeing the garden, splitting wood, helping him get greasy while fixing cars or making other repairs, pushing a lawn mower, or watching him get dirty unplugging the sewer.)  They enjoyed working hard and made work fun.

2.) They faithfully and happily took us to all of our local church's work days, revival meetings, camp meetings, missionary services along with giving happily of tithes and offerings.  They were loyal and giving.

3.) God and His glory were their passion, for they often talked of God, the glory days that they had seen, and about paying the price in order to have God's glory.  They prayed for and desired revival.

4.) I knew that they had the ear of God, for I have seen God work miracles in answer to their prayers.  They prayed fervently and often loudly.

5.) My mother for years has been a shouter.  (often where it was not popular nor welcome to shout God's praises)  But I remember at the age of 17 being overwhelmed with an inexplicable burden that God gave me for His presence in my life, by listening to her shout around the camp meeting we were attending in Michigan.  Praising and pleasing God were more important than people's approval or even than the neighbors' approval for she shouted praises out the open window of our house when she felt necessary and even when she was sick and in pain.

6.) My mother is a praying woman; I will never forget the times as a boy of walking in on her and seeing her kneeling at her bed with her eyes red with crying.  Prayer was a part of our life. 

7.) Mother was an avid reader of good holiness classics and had many of them in the house for us to find and read.  (Just one example will I note.  I well remember first finding the book Power through Prayer by E.M. Bounds around the age of 16 and I was so enthralled that I stayed up late into the night reading and praying.)  My Dad thoroughly enjoyed listening to good holiness preaching, and he had quite a collection of preaching tapes.  Their love for pure holy living instilled in me a love for the same.

8.) My parents both believed that their children were born with a sinful nature.  And did several things to help us with such.  They both knew how to use the rod well (usually the belt was handier for my Dad) and used it as often as we needed it and applied it until our attitude changed and we were truly repentant.  They believed our teachers when they were told that we were bad at school and they again applied the rod.  They kept us under fiery holiness preaching and stayed around to pray for us when we went to the altar.  They helped us see our need. 

9.)  My father is a hard worker with a servant's heart and is a faithful man (a rare jewel today) to his wife, family, truth, local church, and to his responsibilities.  How often I remember him working for free at our local church, or on the car of some preacher or missionary.  We his sons want to be like our daddy, our hero.  (He still does the work of two or three good men.  And I'm not just a little boy blindly bragging.)

10.) Though we moved several times, having the family in a good holiness church trumped having a good job; at least one very lucrative job offer was declined by my father (when he was needing a job) due to a lack of a holiness church in the area.  They wouldn't sell out their priorities, not for any price.

11.) My Father and Mother both greatly feared God and had an awe and a reverence for Him.  For example, I remember my father asking me not to sing Christian music in a flippant way (for God's name and holy themes were being treated lightly by such).  And at key times they would soberly remind us of those in the Bible who were struck dead due to sin.  To this day I have a deep love for and healthy fear of God and I take great care that I might not grieve God by speaking lightly of any sacred subject.  To them, holy and reverend is His name. 

12.) My parents held in very high esteem those who preach the Gospel and tried not to speak of their faults nor even of their sins.  Years later we their children, now adults, learned that they had known that a few of them were hypocrites all along.  Yet never did they ever talk of their sins to us children out of respect for authority and out of wisdom.  For because we children were ignorant, I look back and see how God used some hypocrites to bless and help our lives in many ways.  A "speak evil of no man" policy blessed their children.

13.)  My parents purposed to keep the lines open between their children and themselves.  They built a strong relationship with time spent being with and in listening to, and in communication and friendship with we their children.  They made sure that we were a close family.  But not just with their children, between themselves they showed affection and love and proved their commitment to one another.  We learned from their word and example that God HATES divorce.  Today our family is closer than ever (and much larger due to marriage and having children) and still the best of affectionate friends. 

14.)  Following the Bible was paramount.  If they felt the Bible taught something we followed that even if it meant sadly loosing friends.  If it didn't teach something they didn't worry about it even if it meant not being able to be a part of the "club" in the church leadership.

15.)  Of course like all of us, my parents have made mistakes.  But they have been humble, willing to ask forgiveness, willing to forgive, and refusing to get discouraged enough to quit or to cast aside their faith.  In the end faith is what matters.  They are living to someday hear those most blessed words, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a few things...enter into the joy of thy Lord." 

Baby Jeremiah

We are getting texts from my brother Michael updating us on baby Jeremiah and mommy Beth.  I asked if we can share news; I know that this reminds us to pray.  Last night Michael said, "Beth finally got to go back and see Jeremiah for a bit, she's very happy!  Jeremiah just slept, he's worn out, had a stressful day!"

This morning Michael wrote, "Jeremiah is still in NICU, but since Beth is feeling better somewhat, and is more mobile, she gets to be with him a lot more today!  Makes us HAPPY!"  "Big" brother Isaiah got to see his little brother Jeremiah and was pleased with that.  We laughed at Michael's joke that their next son will be named Lamentations.  Thanks for praying for them. 

Update on baby Jeremiah Wesley

Please continue to pray for baby Jeremiah Wesley.  The medical issue that I mentioned earlier is hemangioma.  In simple terms he has a tumor like mass of blood vessels on the back of his head.  So Jeremiah is in still in intensive care.  Right now they want his breathing to improve.  As you would know it would be hard for Mommy to be in one room while baby is in intensive care.  Pray for mommy Beth and daddy too.  Thank you.  

~He's Here!!~

Jeremiah Wesley Dickinson is here!!
7lb 11oz
We received this news around 9:08 (but just opened up our e-mail and found it!)
Wesley Dickinson is the name of Phillip and Michael's Grandpa Dickinson

(Phillip said that he will be the "Weeping Prophet" for the next little while!  =)

Congratulations!!!!  Michael, Beth, Isaiah, and Sophia!!

We love and miss y'all and wish we could hold the new little Jeremiah.  (We like the name!!)

Pray for our sister-in-law and baby

Please pray for my brother Michael's wife Beth and baby.  Tomorrow (Friday) she will be having their baby Cesarean due to a medical issue.  I know that daddy and mommy will appreciate our continued prayers.  Thanks so much.  I hope to post the good news of baby "?" later.  We love you, Michael, Beth, and family.  Sorry this isn't a current pic.

Michael, Beth, Isaiah, & Sophia Dickinson

Three dangerous things which bring backsliding.

"...forsaking the right way, they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the hire of wrong-doing."  - 2 Peter 2:5
Who was Balaam?  A prophet.  What was his way?  Making a market of his gift.  The New Testament speaks in three different ways about Balaam: "the way of Balaam," "the error of Balaam" (Jude 11) and "the teaching of Balaam" (Revelation 2:14).  The 'way' of Balaam is to make a market of one's gift, presuming on it, putting yourself in God's show-room.  'I am here as a specimen of what God can do.'  Immediately a Christian begins to put himself into the 'show business,' that is the way towards backsliding.  The 'error' of Balaam is seeing only the standard of natural morality and never discerning God's ways behind.  Immediately a Christian gets into the way of following his own wise common-sense morality, rather than the dictates of the Spirit of God backing the Word of God, he is on the high road to backsliding.  Beware how you guide your Christian life and your Christian experience.  Are you simply taking the ordinary high standards of the world in your business?  Beware, that is an error that leads to backsliding.  'Oh, well, they all do it, I must do the same.'  That is the ordinary standard; if it conflicts in the tiniest degree with the clear standard of God, beware!  It is an error that leads to the false doctrine which is the very heart of backsliding, making a judicious mix-up between corrupt worldliness and godliness.  That is the way backsliding will begin, it is fixing your eyes on the wrong thing.  The 'teaching' of Balaam is the corrupting of God's people.  Balaam taught Balak to corrupt the people by enticing them to marry the women of Moab.  That is the Old Testament incident, but what does it mean?  It means trying to compromise between corrupt worldliness and Christian profession.  These are three dangerous characteristics pointed out in the New Testament, and they are fruitful in backsliding.
-Workmen of God (The Cure of Souls) by Oswald Chambers

You don't have to go to Starbucks...

...to have an iced coffee. We like to make iced cofee at home. One day I was making this recipe and I decided to measure it so that I could post it.  You can put your own toppings on it like whip cream, choc. syrup and a cherry on top.  (you can also add ice cream) This recipe only has five ingredients!

Iced Coffee
2-3 tsp. instant coffee
15-18 cubes of crushed ice
1/2-1 cup sugar
4 1/2-5 cups of milk
2 bananas (optional)
Blend.
Serves 6-8

It's amazing what can be accomplished...

"It's amazing what can be accomplished if you don't worry about who gets the credit."
- Clarence W. Jones, 1900-1986, missionary to Ecuador

A. Clarke: A promise for parents trying to make the money stretch

Let the fruitful family, however poor, lay this to heart: "Children are a heritage of the Lord; and the fruit of the womb is his reward."  And he who gave them will feed them; for it is a fact, and the maxim formed on it has never failed: "Wherever God sends mouths he sends meat."  "Murmur not," said an Arab to his friend, "because thy family is large; know that it is for their sakes that God feeds thee."
- Christian Theology by Adam Clarke in the chapter "Parents and Children"

A New Twist to Peanut Butter and Jam

I got this recipe from B. H.and Gardens mag.  Issue May 2009 p. 196. I had never thought of peanut butter and strawberries together, but it is yummy.

 FRESH STRAWBERRY BARS
prep: 25 min. bake: 25 min. oven: 350F yields: 24 bars
3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
(I put only one cup of brown sugar and it was yummy)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup strawberry jam
4 cups small whole strawberries, halved or quartered
1. Heat oven to 350 F.  Line 13x9x2 with foil, extending foil beyond edges. Grease foil and set aside. 
2. In large mixing bowl beat butter and peanut butter on med. to high for 30 seconds.
Beat in sugars, baking powder, and salt until combined.  Add eggs and vanilla; beat until combined. Beat in as much flour as you can with the mixer.  Stir in remaining flour.
3. Spread dough in prepared pan.  Bake 25 mins. or until top is lightly browned and toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.
4. Cool completely on rack.
5. Remove from pan by lifting foil. (I flopped it out of the foil on to a serving tray.)
6. Spread jam and top with berries.  Cut into bars.  Serve at once or refrigerate for up to 6 hours.
TO MAKE AHEAD Wrap the Peanut butter base in foil; store at room temp up to 24 hous. Before serving, top with jam and berries. 

Say What?!

I looked this word up in the dictionary for my science PACE and Daddy read the definition with me and he laughed and said that I needed to post this on the blog.   So here's this VERY UNDERSTANDABLE definition.  (sarcasm) 

ar·thro·pod

 noun \ˈär-thrə-ˌpäd\

Definition of ARTHROPOD

: any of a phylum (Arthropoda) of invertebrate animals (as insects, arachnids, and crustaceans) that have a segmented body and jointed appendages, a usually chitinous exoskeleton molted at intervals, and a dorsal anterior brain connected to a ventral chain of ganglia.

God encouraged me today with this verse

God just gave me just what I needed today.  I have been feeling so overwhelmed, tired, discouraged, and sad.  There have been a bunch of problems . . . . normal problems that we all have in life, problems that always get better tomorrow.  To top it all off, today I haven't been feeling the smile of God.  I know, f-e-e-l-i-n-g-s we can't trust them; circumstances and feelings change with the wind, but at the time it still feels real.  I went walking to find my dear wife some medicine since she has been sick the last couple of days, and I decided to read while walking.  The first page I read was this:

"Rise and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness . . . to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me."   Acts 26:16,18

It was as if God was speaking to me saying, "Now get up and stand on your feet, there are people who need to be saved and sanctified, but you need to quit wallowing around in sadness so you can get something done."  I started crying blessed because God would care enough for me to give me a quick swat on the rear and say, "Get over it.  How can I use you moping around like this."  So I decided to look at the possibilities through faith . . . no, the probabilities. 

This makes me think of two quotes which let me know I have it SOOO easy:

"I live poorly with regard to the comforts of this life: most of my diet consists of boiled corn. . . . I lodge on a bundle of straw; my labor is . . . extremely difficult; and I have little appearance of success to comfort me . . . . But that which makes all my difficulties grievous to be borne is, that God hides his face from me."  -David Brainerd

"If any ask what success I meet with among the natives? -- tell them to look at Otaheite, where the missionaries labored nearly twenty years, and not meeting with slightest success, began to be neglected by all the Christian world . . . Tell them to look at Bengal also, where Dr. Thomas has been laboring seventeen years . . . before the first convert, Krishno, was Baptized.  When a few converts are made, things move on.  But it requires a much longer time than I have been here, to make an impression . . . "  - Adoniram Judson  

The Royal Wedding

The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king, who made a marriage for his son.  - Matthew 22

Britain's Prince William on his way to Westminster Abbey at the Royal Wedding in London, April, 29, 2011. (Alastair Grant/AP Photo

A romance with royalty like Prince William falling in love with a commoner like Kate Middleton fascinates us perhaps because it is a picture of what Jesus has done with us.  We see other captivating examples.  Ahasuerus, king of a great kingdom fell in love with the fatherless captive Hadassah also known as the “fair and beautiful” young virgin Esther.  And the elder rich Boaz fell in love with the young poor stranger in Israel, Ruth.  

At marriage the wife lays aside her name and takes on the name of her husband.  In the case of British royalty, Prince William's current title is Prince William of Wales. Under the rules of British titles, his wife born a commoner would be styled Princess William of Wales rather than Princess Kate, for she was not born a princess.  (However, most will still affectionately call her Princess Kate.)  Likewise we Christians are royalty only in Christ and we take on His name and loose our old identity in Him.

In the past on the day of the marriage, the bride, concealed under a thick veil, was conducted to her future husband's home.  (Easton’s Bible Dictionary)  This is how Jacob was tricked into marrying Leah.  I found it interesting that William and Kate after their wedding went to Buckingham Palace, the home of a Prince.  Christ went to prepare a place for us and he will come again and receive us unto himself and our heavenly home.  The bride's robe in Revelation 19:8 is white.  "And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints."  Today, brides such as Kate Middleton still carry on the custom a veil and of a white gown.  This custom today of a white gown still represents her purity.  And traditionally Christian weddings have seen the bride's gown and veil covering her from head to toe.  This tells her man that she lives for his eyes and his affection alone.  Biblical Christians today also cover their bodies as God teaches us in His word.  By doing such we are telling God we live for His eyes, His affection, and His approval alone, "forsaking all others'" (the world's) dictates, opinions, and affection.

When the preacher says, "You may now kiss the bride," this is the moment the couple has been anticipating, and with joy the groom removes the veil, beholds his bride's beauty, and they partake of each other's physical affection.  This important word "now" means that they’ve kept themselves pure for this moment, they are at last permitted to give themselves to the other's kisses.  This denotes keeping pure with not just body but also virginity of emotions and spirit.  The word consummation is not just used for marriage but for the end of the age and with Christ and His bride.  We are waiting and keeping ourselves pure to someday see him face to face and joy in His glory and presence.  Consummate means:  "To end; to finish by completing what was intended; to perfect; to bring or carry to the utmost point or degree." (Webster, 1828) 

I think that the custom of the husband not being allowed to see the Bride nor her dress until she is led to the altar speaks of anticipation, patience, waiting the proper order of things.

Having a groomsman is Biblical: In some Bible times, the husband and bride were not to see each other but live in separate places until the wedding.  The friend of the groom (groomsman) carried on communication between the two until the wedding when they could see each other.  John 3:28-29 speaks of  a "friend of the bridegroom" when John, Jesus' cousin says, "I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him.  He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth."  The groomsman, John the Baptist, communicated with God's people preparing them for the coming of the groom Jesus.

Bridesmaids (women of honor) attending the bride is also mentioned in the Bible.  Psalm 45:9  Kings' daughters were among thy honourable women: upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir.  And from that same verse we see the bride at the groom's right hand and today the married bride marches out on the right hand of bridegroom.  Psalm 16:11, "In thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."  We look forward to spending "forever" with the Groom and living happily ever after. 

Husband means, the “house-band,” connecting and keeping together the whole family.

We know in the past the young man was bound to give a price for the maiden such as in Ruth 4:10.  "Moreover Ruth . . . have I purchased to be my wife."  Jesus paid the ultimate price for us according to Ephesians 5:25, "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it."  Also in Act 20:28, "Take heed . . . to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood."  Today in our USA culture, the only price is, "forsaking all others, I pledge thee..."  

God tells us that marriage is indissoluble during the joint lives of the parties.  According to the media itself, unfaithfulness to his marriage vow is the main reason Prince Charles is so unpopular today and many want Prince William his son to be king instead.  God's moral law written on our hearts tells us that the husband and wife should be faithful for life.  Matthew 19:6  "Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder."  Romans 7:2-3 and 1 Corinthians 7:39 also mandate marriage's life long permanence. 

-Phillip Dickinson

~My Winnie the Pooh Cake~

(Mommy doesn't remember if she posted these pics of my cake on her blog, so I'm posting them on ours.)  I had fun taking a cake decorating class while in the US with my friends and cousins. This is one of the first cakes I made.