jeff’s blog

the vows

Filed under: meditations, random thoughts — Jeff @ 6:30 pm

These, my wedding vows…

Each morning I will remember the blessings you bring to my life, giving thanks to God for drawing us together as one.

I will daily strive to be more Christ-like in my thoughts and my actions, learning to embrace and express the perfect love of Jesus in our marriage.

I will listen to and respect your feelings and desires, valuing your thoughts and opinions as we make decisions through life.

When we disagree, I will look first for my own failures and shortcomings.
When I am wrong, I will admit it quickly.
When I am wronged, I will forgive unconditionally.
In both joy and sorrow, I will support and encourage you.

Today I promise these things to you
before God and in the presence of those we love -
a covenant between us for as long as we both shall live.

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the call of Christ

Filed under: benedictions — Jeff @ 8:26 pm

The call of Christ:

Look past the surface to see the reality of who people are.
Treat all people with dignity and respect - even those who are different.
Seek to heal divisions instead of creating them;
and remember your own humble position before the ruler of Heaven -
standing firm not in your own strength,
but in the richness and power
of the Holy blood of Christ.

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paulo coelho

Filed under: quotes and reflections, random thoughts — Jeff @ 5:13 am

Needing something to read yesterday, I picked up coelho’s new book, which, while interesting enough itself in its own right, had this retort from a woman who was refused communion by the church:

“I swear that I will never set foot in a church ever again. Once more, I’ve been abandoned by a family, and this time it has nothing to do with financial difficulties or with the immaturity of those who marry too young. A curse upon all those who slam the door in the face of a mother and her child! You’re just like those people who refused to take in the Holy Family, like those who denied Christ when he most needed a friend!”

With that, she turned and left in tears, her baby in her arms.

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April in the Gardens

Filed under: Uncategorized — Jeff @ 9:11 pm

Approaching one full year of discovering the holistic gardens, and April is turning out to be one of the most beautiful months there yet. If you live in College Station, you simply must visit. Pics from today:

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Springtime at the Gardens

Filed under: pictures — Jeff @ 4:01 pm

It’s been a while, but I was able to head out and get some shots at the gardens over the past few days. Here are my fav 6.

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I just want to complain about it…

Filed under: meditations, random thoughts — Jeff @ 8:31 am

A couple of weeks ago, I received an anonymous email stating that I’d “hurt a fellow brother in Christ” due to “[my] actions regarding his choices”. The fact that I have no idea who I’m alleged to have hurt or what I’m alleged to have done notwithstanding, the email caused me to think quite a bit.

As I’ve thought about it on various occasions over the past few weeks, there are two things I keep coming back to. First, it’s interesting to me what people will write when their name isn’t attached to something. I was talking with Seth, who told the story of a preacher who received a letter in the mail with only the word “fool” on it. “I’ve had a lot of people send me letters and forget to write their name,” he quipped, “but this is the first time I’ve ever had someone write their name and forget to write the letter.” A policy I’ve inherited from multiple mentors is that anonymous complaints are best sent straight to the circular file. The sad commentary, I think, is that we are willing to write things without our names attached that we would never write if people knew it was us. One of the challenging things about writing on this space for the past two years has been that everyone out there knows it’s me, and has a direct line of fire this direction.

The more important point of the story, at least for me, is that the person who wrote the email, despite their assertion to the contrary, didn’t really want to solve the problem. While I generally don’t respond to anonymous complaints, I did write a brief note back stating that I would be more than happy to apologize and make the situation right, but I had no idea how to do that. As expected, I have yet to receive a response. There are dozens of ways the situation could have been improved, and almost all of them involve coming to me personally. The real issue, though, is not pointing the finger at my anonymous critic, but myself.

How many times am I exactly this way? Often, I am faced with something I don’t like, and my first instinct is to complain about it, even when an easy solution is at hand. It will be late at night, I won’t have any food in the house that can be made quickly, and, talking to a friend, I’ll say that I’m hungry. “Go get something to eat,” comes the response. “That requires that I get up and get my car keys/walk into the kitchen/expend some effort… I don’t want to do that - I just want to complain about it.”

I just want to complain about it. How true. How often are there situations in my life when my first response is to complain before doing anything to fix the problem? I’m reminded of a story in John 5 where Jesus comes to a man who’s been an invalid for years and asks him this simple question: “Do you want to be healed?” Instead of answering the question, the man quickly starts making excuses, causing me to question whether he really wants to be healed or just wants to complain.

I think the main lesson I’ve taken from this episode is that when confronted with a situation I don’t particularly like or am upset about, I want to make a renewed effort to be a part of the solution, rather than part of the problem. I don’t want to stand there while someone offers to fix the problem, and turn them away, preferring simply to complain.

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images.wisch.org upgrade

Filed under: general news — Jeff @ 2:57 pm

We’ve recently updated our wedding and image websites. Head over and take a look!

Also check out a new place you can buy my photos.

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God sees everything…

Filed under: benedictions — Jeff @ 2:57 pm

Be real.
Don’t put on a show.
God doesn’t judge you based on what other people think.

Do good.
Go about your work.
Don’t worry about who gets the credit.

Know this:
God sees everything,
and rewards those who earnestly seek him.

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rsb at the palace

Filed under: pictures — Jeff @ 3:28 pm

RSB was at the Palace Theater in Bryan last night. A few of my favorite shots here, as well as a link to the gallery.

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recent anoles

Filed under: pictures — Jeff @ 4:46 pm

The past two times I’ve been out to the gardens have included several nice anole pictures, as well as a couple of other random shots. Here’s a wrap-up of some of the shots.