I Am Sold 100 Per Cent on Marriage!

"Foreasmuch as Clayton and Jean have consented together in holy wedlock...... I pronounce that they are husband and wife...." --- statements made at conclusion of a wedding ceremony held at Monroe Chapel Methodist Church, south of Clarion PA, on June 13, 1953 by Pastor Paul B. Dunlap.

I confess to a long standing conviction -- I'm 100 per cent sold on marriage for some solid reasons!

First, my life is richer and fuller because of a very special person by the name of Jean who has been my wife for 58 years. That means she has worn many "hats" in her experiences with me over these years. She has been confidant, friend, lover, comforter, supporter, partner, mother of our five children, nurse at times, prayer warrior, and the "always there" person whom I so often needed!

Second, marriage is that very special arrangment in which two persons become as "one." It is a perpetual sharing experience over time. Each day is an open door to new adventures and opportunities. Sometimes the experiences are trying, difficult and painful -- but the comfort is in knowing one is not alone -- the "partner" in this special arrangement is there to share and to give support -- so together, you press on. But there are the blessed times and those numerous occasions of joy and delight which make the painful moments fade away into the valley of insignificance!

Third, this is a great institution because God Himself so arranged it to be. In the book of Genesis we are informed that a man will leave his father and mother and be joined unto his wife and they shall become one flesh (Genesis 2:24). Jesus confirmed that this is how it is to be when it comes to the issue of marriage as He made reference to that early declaration in the book of Genesis -- a man leaving his parents behind and being joined to his wife with the result that they are no longer two, but one in that special union known as marriage (Matthew 19:4-6).

However, in unstable times such as these there are those persons and groups that want to alter this special arrangement which God has clearly established. These are days of "redefinition" and the vain attempt to say that marriage must also include 2 sodomites or 2 lesbians being permitted to marry! There is absolutely no Biblical revelation that permits this to take place. God has explicitly set the boundaries for marriage and sexual expression and experience. Those are limited exclusively to a male and a female within the covenant of marriage.

Yeah, yeah -- I know, such statements as these place me in the category of a Bible-thumping, mean-spirited, homophobic radical. But I can live with that knowing that the day will come when God will have the last word on this issue and will confirm that the arrangement of marriage that He originally revealed through His inspired Word is indeed true.

We are warned that the time would come when there would be those persons who would, by their very conduct and attitudes, cause the earth to become defiled -- "The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants, because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant." (Isaiah 24:5).

I'm sold 100 per cent on marriage and the fact that it is limited to one male and one female -- and the best wife I ever had agrees with me on that. We claim that we are living proof by the grace of God revealed in Jesus Christ that it is indeed very true!

And now a PS on that wedding, preceding events, and later ones -- I was on a short leave between my schooling in TN near Memphis and my orders to report to Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station near New Bern NC. We had to get blood tests, apply for marriage license and all those details in a short time. We made it to the court house about 45 minutes on Saturday before it closed to pick up the license. The preacher was about 20 minutes late for the wedding which was scheduled for 8:00 PM. We had a fender-bender accident turning into a motel that was closed for our wedding night and then went back to Clarion to the hotel. Some neighbors surprised us with a serenade on Sunday night. We left early on Monday morning for North Carolina. It was raining in New Bern when we arrived. We got a newspaper and started looking at apartment ads. Found a kind of broken down place and rented it for a while, and set up housekeeping -- a chair collapsed the first time Jean sat in it -- and no, she was definitely not overweight! Anyway, I thank God that in His great mercy and goodness, He arranged for Jean and me to meet, fall in love, (at our home church) and eventually enter into a very special covenant known as marriage reserved exclusively for one male and one female!

Oh, and now a PPS: I heard an unusal tribute to marriage a few years ago -- a man was asked, "If there is such a things as reincarnation, what would you like to come back as in the next life?" Instantly without hesitation the man answered, "My wife's second husband!" Sounds like he was sold on marriage also, does it not?

Finally, a PPSS: A while back I got a card for Jean which was very simple in its design and in the words expressed -- it said this, "I wonder where all the years have gone, but never how else I might have spent them." On this day of June 13, 2011, those words still very much apply!

And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."
--- Matthew 19:4-6

Still in Honeymoon Mode After 56 Years!

Clayton & Jean - June 13, 1953

And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate." --- Jesus speaking in Matthew 19:4-6

Today is Jean's and my 56th wedding anniversary. It was 56 years ago today at about 8:30 PM in evening at a little country Methodist Church 6 miles south of Clarion PA that God joined us together to be husband and wife. The wedding had been set for 8:00 PM, but the pastor, Paul B. Dunlap, was over 20 minutes late due to driving from the Erie Annual Conference session which was being held at Allegheny College in Meadville PA.

We still regard this as being in honeymoon mode in spite of the years involved -- more in love with each other than ever, if that is possible! We dated for two years before taking the big step into marriage and even then people thought we were too young for such responsibility. The summer we started dating Nat King Cole's song, "Too Young," hit the top in the charts. It's always been one of our favorite secular selections of music.

We did get a bit of a running start in the world since both of us graduated from high school when we were 16 years of age. So here we were standing before the altar in the church at ages 19 and 17 and taking vows of love and loyalty to each other as long as we would live.

God did not become real and personal to us until a few years later when each of us accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and He did a miracle of change in our lives. Shortly after becoming Christian the call to serve the Lord in preaching and teaching His Word came and within about 22 months after accepting Jesus as Savior and Lord, we were appointed to serve two Methodist Churches in New Castle PA.

As a wife and mother of young children, Jean never complained about our being in the ministry. She often sacrificed in ways I cannot describe in this space. Her love never wavered. No man could ask for a better wife than she. God has so wonderfully blessed us through these many years, undeserving as we are!

That is why we are still in honeymoon mode after all these years. Earlier today on Facebook I mentioned what I consider one of the greatest testimonies to the special nature of marriage and why it is so valued by a couple who are deeply in love with each other. A man was asked one time this question: "If there was really such a thing as reincarnation and you came back in a second life on earth, what would you want to be?" His answer was immediate as he said, "If there were really such a thing as reincarnation, I would want to come back as my wife's second husband!"

I rest my case!

He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor from the LORD. --- Proverbs 18:22

Same couple above a few years later down the road of life!

Another Date for FDR's "Infamy" Slot!

As of March 19, 2008 an anniversary will be noted. The media will give attention to it and likely President George W. Bush will also mention it. The anniversary is year # 5 since we launched a pre-emptive strike and invaded a nation in the Middle East known as Iraq.

It is also likely that some statistics will be mentioned along the way in this observance. Such things as:

• number of U. S. military personnel who have lost their lives.
  
  
• how many have been wounded, and maybe, how many have been maimed for life as a result of the many roadside bombs used by the "enemy."
  
  
• how much this operation has cost us in terms of billions of dollars, or have we reached the trillion mark -- if we haven't, hang on because we are bound to get there -- wars don't come cheap anymore!
  

However, it is highly unlikely that the following will be mentioned to any significant degree:

• how many military families have been dissolved through divorce as a direct result of this Iraq thing.
  
  
• how many suicides among military personnel have taken place since we got involved in this debacle -- the rate has been increasing as compared to conflicts in the past.
  
  
• how much "profit" certain U. S. companies have made under the pretense of "rebuilding" Iraq -- one company with which Vice President Dick Cheney used to be connected is doing especially well, as are others!
  

But there is one statistic the president, vice president, members of Congress and the mass media will not mention at all -- not even a whisper! And you can hunt high and low within the ranks of church groups -- big name denominations and independents -- again, not even a squeek out of the vocal cords!

But you can see it here and this may be about the only place you will see it -- it is a very important number. You will have to travel a bit to see it -- and once you do, will you mention it to a few other people?

Travel on over to A Much Avoided Statistic on the 5th Anniversary of the Invasion of Iraq! There is a link at the bottom of that area which will bring you back to this place.

This will also help you to remember another reason for placing March 19, 2003 in FDR's slot for dates which will live in infamy!

Surely at the commandment of the LORD this came upon Judah, to remove them from His sight because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, and also because of the innocent blood that he had shed; for he had filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, which the LORD would not pardon. --- 2 Kings 24:3, 4

An Anniversary NOT to Celebrate!

* 3,196 U.S. military persons killed (does not include military killed in Afghanistan)

* 24,042 U.S. wounded (does not include military wounded in Afghanistan)

* Iraqi civilian deaths - more than 58,000 but could be thousands higher

* before "war" 1/2 million Iraqis living outside Iraq; now 2 million living outside the country

* U.S. money cost = $360 billion; Afghanistan debacle puts total to $500 billion and still climbing!

* projected costs of providing medical and disability benefits to vets of Iraq and Afghanistan "wars" at $350 billion to $750 billion! --- Source: Associated Press combined with government statistics - March 18, 2007

Four years ago today (March 19, 2003), upon the insistence of President George W. Bush, the United States launched a military invasion against Iraq. There were "reasons" given by the president as to why this was absolutely necessary.

As we continue to plod along and as a "surge" of a larger number of troops flow into Iraq, legitimate questions are being raised about this thing. Protests are increasing in number and the U.S. Congress is torn as to what to do next -- the prez wants more money and more manpower -- cries from members of Congress want to set deadlines and get the troops back home -- defenders of the "war" are saying we're getting there but just be patient, because a lot of good is being done, and the country will become stable.

On this last one -- yes, "good things" are being done -- some contractors with good connections are cashing in big on that one -- already scandals have surfaced because millions of dollars to do some "good things" cannot be accounted for! Do those contractors wear those big baggy pants that high school kids wear, since those pants have pockets all over the place and certainly can hold a lot of money??????

No, this is an anniversary some will not want to celebrate -- 3,200 families continue to grieve the loss of loved ones (the number of fatalities has now passed the 3,200 level since above figures were published) and thousands of other families carry a burden for loved ones who will be maimed and handicapped for the rest of their lives! That's just the beginning. We tend to forget military casualities in that place called Afghanistan -- military people continue to be killed and wounded there also!

One of the greatest tragedies of this quagmire is that the president and his administration do not (or intentionally refuse to) recognize the reality of what Islam really is. A simple proof is this -- if Christians and Muslims worship the same God, as the prez insists, then let him go into Saudi Arabia, or Iraq, or Iran and announce to the leaders that he wants to set up some churches for Christians in which they may worship, and let him insist that the Christians be guaranteed freedom to broadcast their message of salvation through Jesus Christ, and to distribute literature promoting Christianity. Further, that all this will be financed with money coming from the United States.

How far do you think he will get? And yet he talks about spreading "democracy" throughout the middle east -- a very warped view of "democracy" will work, IF all the citizens are Muslim and Islamic "law" is the law of the land -- but then, you really will not have any sense of "democracy" as the average American perceives it!

However, a far greater tragedy is the fact that the president and the members of his administration are blinded to the spiritual, moral and ethical bankrupted condition of this republic and express absolutely no concern about our inevitable rush toward national disaster due to such massive defiance and rebellion against the Creator of this universe. Instead, there are the repeated uses of the phrase, "God bless America!," and the deadly assumption that we still have the blessing of God, when in fact, we do not!

A letter, (Mr. President, We Need to Set Our Own House in Order First!), is sent to the president and/or the vice president about every 10 days or so with copies going to other elected officials, church leaders, etc. It is an effort to remind elected officials of the need to get this republic squared away in relationship with Almighty God. I also realize I am in a position similar to the prophet Ezekiel who was told by God to sound the warning and the call to repent -- at the same time God told this man in so many words, "You tell them -- they won't listen to you, because they won't listen to me. But you tell them anyway!" It's unlikely the letters will ever get to them -- but if they did and were actually read, they probably would be dismissed as the ravings of a lunatic. But at least with clear conscience I can stand before God and say that I tried to do what He put on my heart and fulfill the calling He has given me.

Celebration on today's "anniversary" anyone? Excuse me, but I'm going to pass on this one!