If this doesn't move you, you need... Well let's just say you need to pray for your heart.This is a story that I heard, but wanted more details on, so I asked Stephanie to find them. I think you will be as touched by it as I was.
I first learned of Eliot Mooney maybe a year ago, but when someone else forwarded the video again recently, I thought it was time to feature it on this blog. What follows is the story of the Mooney family. Then you will want to watch the wonderful video put together by Eliot's father, Matt.
Proud parents Matt and Ginny couldn't have been excited about the arrival of their first child, Eliot, on July 20, 2006. Just 12 days after Eliot's birth, Matt wrote, "We celebrate Eliot's life and the miracle God has given us in him each day at 4:59 pm with a birthday party. Today he will be 12 days old!! Each day is amazing and we are loving being parents and seeing the many answered prayers."
Before Eliot was born, Matt and Ginny knew their precious baby had Trisomy 18. They knew that every day with Eliot was a gift.
Trisomy 18 syndrome, the second most common Trisomy after Down Syndrome, is due to the presence of an extra #18 chromosome, meaning that the child has three chromosomes in the eighteenth position instead of the normal two. It occurs in about 1:5000 to 1:8000 births.
Unlike Down syndrome, Trisomy 18 is usually fatal, with most of the babies dying before birth and those who do make it to birth typically living only a few days. However, a small number of babies (<10%) live at least one year.
A few days after Eliot's homegoing, his dad Matt read the following at a gathering that celebrated Eliot's life.
An underdeveloped lung. A heart with a hole in it. And DNA that placed faulty information into each and every cell of Eliot’s body - could not stop the living God from screaming of Himself through a child who never uttered a word. To an outsider it may seem nothing short of foolish to credit all this teaching to Eliot, but I Corinthians says that…”the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
It goes on to say that God’s wisdom is unlike ours and his tools are not what we would imagine. His tools are not the ones we would craft.
Not a pulpit. Not a slick presentation. Not a bestselling book. But a 6 lb. boy with Trisomy 18. God found great pleasure to take a lowly thing in the eyes of the world and show Truth.
...We encourage you today to not forget Eliot. To not forget whatever his sweet life taught you. Please go and do that which has been stirred in you through his life. And we look forward to hearing of the ripples he has made in eternity.
Thank you, and God bless you, Matt and Ginny. I can't wait to meet Eliot. If I get there before you do, I'll tell him of your ongoing love for him...but I'm certain he already knows.
This article originally appeared on Randy Alcorn’s personal blog, August 7, 2008. Visit the blog at http://www.randyalcorn.blogspot.com/ to read Randy’s latest thoughts on the Christian life, discipleship, books, family, and more.
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Mark Dever serves as the senior pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC. A Duke graduate, Dr. Dever holds a M.Div. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, a Th.M. from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. in Ecclesiastical History from Cambridge University. He is the president of 9Marks Ministries and has taught at a number of seminaries. Dr. Dever has authored several books and articles, most recently, What is a Healthy Church? and The Gospel and Personal Evangelism (Crossway 2007). Earlier books include Nine Marks of a Healthy Church (Crossway 2000, 2004), The Deliberate Church (Crossway 2005), Promises Kept: The Message of the New Testament (Crossway 2005), and Promises Made: The Message of the Old Testament (Crossway 2006). He and his wife Connie live and minister with their son, Nathan, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
Helpful Financial Guidance: Dave Ramsey
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By Michelle Boorstein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, February 15, 2009; C07
The assignment: write each other a love letter. The setting: a Christian marriage-strengthening conference at an Arlington County hotel.
Not the most romantic of backdrops, but there they were yesterday, on Valentine's Day, 530 people spread all over the first floor of the Crystal Gateway Marriott with the late-morning assignment. Body language hinted at intimacies. A couple squeezed close together on a big chair, reading to each another. Another sitting shoulder-to-shoulder beside a lobby fountain, talking but looking straight ahead.
Then there were Brad and Dana Riley, who stayed in the cavernous conference room after most people scattered, scribbling away amid the empty chairs. About their nine-month-old marriage, already tested when Dana's daughter and grandson moved in last summer. About how they dated briefly a quarter-century ago, when Brad was not a believing Christian. About their random reconnection at church two years ago.
"When we re-met, something told me you and I would be together," wrote Brad, a 44-year-old tradesman from Stephens City, Va. "In some ways I not only admired your commitment to God but envied that part of you. . . . My past has been a hard part of my life. Do you know how long it's been that I could actually place my trust in someone?"
Every pair walking around with orange workbooks and name tags had a tale at the "Weekend to Remember" conference, run by the megaministry Family Life, headquartered in Little Rock. This was the first of 130 such conferences across the country this year.
A pair of lieutenant colonels married 23 years said divorce looked "very attractive" to them until they came to one of these events a few years ago. A chic-looking couple in their late 40s said they do spiritual retreats every year with a list of life and marriage goals; they gave off a happy, we're-at-camp vibe.
Two Alexandria newlyweds said they want to focus less on their differences. "When you first meet, you think you're so alike, and then it's like, 'He's from Mars!' " said Deborah Davis, 32, a computer programmer who has been married "one year, four months and two weeks."
"But we really are from the same place, the same creator. We need to appreciate that the other is a gift from that creator and why," she said.
Family Life began in the 1970s, an outgrowth of Campus Crusade for Christ, a largely Protestant ministry that includes tens of thousands of people on campuses worldwide. Its marriage conference program has grown every year, and experts say it is now the largest faith-based marriage conference program. Family Life's biggest event ever is this weekend in Dallas, with 4,000 attendees.
Even in a recession and at $260 per couple, enrollment hasn't gone down, said Bob Lepine, chief content officer for the conferences. "People are waiting later to make the decision to come, but they are coming," he said.
Much of the Arlington conference was composed of snappy multimedia presentations with speakers using clips from such movies as "When Harry Met Sally" and "Father of the Bride" interwoven with biblical references. The audience was told that keys to a happy marriage involve establishing independence from your parents (the workbook cites Genesis), embracing the man's role as family leader (Corinthians, 1 Peter, among others) and understanding that Satan -- not your spouse -- is your enemy.
A belief in gender differences was a theme, with one speaker discussing the economy and saying that a woman's profession is not her identity, as it is a man's. Another speaker and the workbook said communication can be boosted by understanding that a man's highest priority is respect and that a woman's is love.
The Rileys said they came to the conference for time alone -- he had planned the trip as a secret Valentine's Day gift -- and to talk through their newly shaped household. He wants them to be prepared for future challenges, or for what he called "the next attack."
Deborah and Clifton Davis, a 30-year-old cable installer, wrote their love letters in a hotel bar that hadn't opened yet. She wrote about the months before they met in person, when they had communicated online and on the phone. He talked about his faith and encouraged her to keep hers together.
"Every time you talked to me about the word of God, you ministered to my spirit, called me back into God's love," she wrote. "That was the quality that first drew me to you."
The workbook asked couples to write not only about qualities that drew them together, but also those they have come to appreciate since being married.
"Our differences are teaching me how to give love," Clifton wrote. "And to communicate in a way that's not normal for me. To express myself and to give love."
© 2009 The Washington Post Company
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By Scott Williams
I’ve always been curious about wedding chapels in Las Vegas. There are over 100 wedding chapels there, including three where you don't even have to get out of your car. Yes, you can actually get a drive-thru wedding in Las Vegas.
Recently I had the opportunity to satisfy my curiosity when I was in Las Vegas for the national BlogWorld convention. Driving up Las Vegas Boulevard (The Strip) from the airport, within 15 seconds of passing the iconic "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign I saw my first chapel: the Little Church of the West, which opened in 1942 and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1992. Famous marriage ceremonies conducted there include one of Zsa Zsa Gabor's nine, one of Mickey Rooney's eight, one of Gregg Allman's six, one of Judy Garland's five … Well, you get the point.
That’s what comes to mind when I think about marriage chapels in Vegas—big on ceremony, small on commitment. But then I interviewed a couple who had just gotten married at the Little Church of the West, and I saw a slightly different picture.
Michael and Lindsey had known each other for more than four years. Rather than sink a ton of money and planning into a big wedding like their friends back in Dallas tend to do, they decided to go simple on the ceremony and save their money for the honeymoon right there in Las Vegas. While I think their decision to not have friends and family there to witness the blessed event wasn’t the best idea, I sure couldn't argue with avoiding debt for a three-hour wedding and reception. Turns out the average cost for a wedding in their suburb of Mansfield, Tex., is between $27,000 and $45,000, not counting the engagement ring or honeymoon.
Back in the car, I continued driving The Strip. It seemed I never had to go more than a few blocks before finding another wedding chapel. On just one side of the road I photographed 10 of them, and I wasn't looking very hard.
These chapels run the gamut from the ridiculous to the sublime. Each one seems to fit a niche market:
You've got your cowboy weddings, Star Trek weddings, military weddings, and of course your Elvis weddings, officiated by an authentic impersonator. Then there’s the more traditional fare like garden weddings, weddings by candlelight, and scenic outdoor weddings.
These weddings are going on non-stop in Vegas. In my short afternoon drive up The Strip, I witnessed no fewer than seven couples either in the middle of a ceremony, or just walking out of a chapel after getting married. Since Nevada law requires no blood test, waiting period or residency requirement, all it takes is $55 cash and proof of residency (anywhere) to obtain a license. Oh, and the Clark County Courthouse is open until midnight every night, including holidays. The cost of the ceremony is up to you.
As I made my pilgrimage northward, I came to a fork in the road where a palm-tree lined boulevard headed left toward downtown. It was so picturesque that I almost missed what was on the right. Emblazoned across the side of the white art deco building, it jumped out at me: "Say I Do" Wedding Drive-Thru.
How could I pass this one up?
As it turns out, yes, people can get hitched without leaving the comfort of their car (or motorcycle, or RV, or 18-wheeler). As long as they have a county wedding license, it works the same as any "traditional" Vegas chapel wedding.
The director there, Pastor Charles, was kind enough to sit down with me and answer my endless questions. As it turned out, what I learned about this particular place busted some of the myths I held about the whole Vegas chapel culture.
First, the director was a bona fide pastor. And there were also other clergy on staff. Second, he counsels couples before he marries them. Third, Pastor Charles had never married anyone who had been together less than two months, nor had he married anyone who was drunk. The vast majority of couples were from somewhere besides Las Vegas, including a huge number from other countries. In fact, when I first walked in, he was talking with a couple from China he had just married.
But what surprised me most was learning that the “Say I Do” Wedding Drive-Thru follows up with every couple. Within a few weeks the newlyweds receive a call thanking them for choosing the chapel and asking how they're doing. The staff tries to keep up with couples for a year or two.
Another thing that made this chapel different? Pastor Charles doesn’t buy into local conventional wisdom that couples today don't really want a religious ceremony. "They really do want it,” he says. “They may want it quicker than they could get at a church, but they still want it. And we realize that this is what's going to keep their marriage together."
At the end of our conversation I told him I worked with FamilyLife, and that we hold Weekend to Remember® marriage conferences across the nation every year. Any U.S. couple he marries is within driving distance of one, I said. At that point, he asked for as many conference brochures as I wanted to send him; he wanted to make them available to couples who came in to be married.
As I have reflected on our conversation, I wonder if there is really much difference between the weddings at Las Vegas chapels and those that occur every week in many churches across America.
It’s as if a drive-thru mentality for weddings and marriages pervades our culture.
Most couples invest huge amounts of time and money on the ceremony and reception, but little on the actual marriage. According to the 2005 National Survey on Marriage, only one-third of all couples receive premarital counseling, even though about three-fourths of first marriages are performed in a church. It's not that these couples don't want to prepare better. In that same 2005 study, 88 percent of respondents said couples should get premarital counseling, and nearly half said it should be required.
And Christian couples certainly need the help in their marriages. In possibly the largest survey of its kind—the Family Needs Survey—FamilyLife polled 90,000 individuals in churches. Surprisingly, only 57 percent of respondents reported having happy, healthy, satisfying marital relationships.
This sets up a tremendous challenge for the local church.
Style over substance may be fine for a Las Vegas chapel. For followers of Christ, it’s not. We need to move beyond the drive-thru mentality.
God tells us in His Word that the marriage relationship is to reflect Christ and His relationship to His church. In a culture that is obviously wearying of so many cheap imitations that call themselves marriages, Christians individually and churches collectively need to display a picture of what marriage is really meant to be.
Whether a couple is married in a church or a drive-thru chapel, after the "I Do," one is just as married as the other. At that point, it's all about the relationship and moving together toward oneness. Marriage requires a huge investment of time and patience in each other to grow toward oneness, which keeps a marriage strong.
We have the opportunity to teach couples how to make that work … and avoid the drive-thru marriage.
This article originally appeared in FamilyLife Culture Watch, a blog about marriage and family in today’s world.
One of the best opportunities for engaged couples to learn what they need to know before marriage is through our Weekend to Remember marriage conference. Click here to learn about conferences coming up near you.
Copyright © 2008 FamilyLife. All Rights Reserved.
Used By Permission. http://www.familylife.com/
“He who walks with integrity walks securely. But he who perverts his ways will become known.” Proverbs 10:9
"As religion and faith are being driven out of the public square, the Judeo-Christian ethical foundations that have sustained our country since its beginning, are being lost and are being replaced with a humanistic amorality, a self-centered, pragmatic indifference that will ensure that our moral compasses will fail to point us in the right direction in the future."
— Archie B. Carroll Professor of Management, Terry College of Business, UGA.
I was recently saddened when I was informed that Brother Daniel McFather, Head Football Coach of the Lanier County Bulldogs will not be returning next year. It was also brought to my attention that Brother David Parker the Defensive Coordinator of the Lanier County Bulldogs will not be returning next year, as well. I mention these two men for a reason, not to be political, or to use this article for a personal commentary, but to mention these two men of God in the same sentence with the word integrity.
The word integrity is defined by Webster as an adherence to a code of values; incorrupt; soundness; completeness.
These two men will not be returning to coach at Lanier County next year probably because someone or some committee gauges the success of a football team by wins and losses. And to a certain point I agree that wins and losses should be used to make these kinds of decisions, but the caveat is at what expense?
Do you give up moral fiber, Men of God, Warriors of the Word, who first teach young men about Jesus, who teach young men how to be responsible husbands, true and faithful mates to their spouses, how to not just be a father to a child, but how to be a dad? Men who have a passion and a deep desire for the young men they coach to develop a strong character so they will grow to be good citizens.
Please believe me when I say I like winning as much as the next guy. As a matter of fact I hate to lose at anything. But, I am not willing to compromise my witness for the Lord, nor am I willing to compromise the lives of young people in order to put more wins in the W column.
Brother Daniel McFather and Brother David Parker and their families will be greatly missed on the sidelines in the fall of 2009 and beyond. But, the real void will be felt in our community and in our local body of believers.
I began this article with a quote by Professor Archie B. Carroll of the University of Georgia. Professor Carroll mentions our moral compasses. I want thank these men and their families for helping keep this small community’s moral compass pointed in the right direction.
May God Bless You and Your family,
Bro Vic
