The Already, But Not Yet, Kingdom

I recently (just short of two weeks before my wedding) got the opportunity to preach at the church I am currently ministering at as the Pastor of Jr. High Ministries. And although I teach often in our Jr. High ministry, I hadn't yet had the opportunity to preach in the main service at our church. And the even sweeter thing (for me at least), was that I got to pick the topic. And so, for me, I picked something I'm passionate about (as you can maybe figure by my blog title)-- the Kingdom.

Here's the link to the podcast:
http://godspacelb.org/Podcast/?page_id=23

If that doesn't take you to the 2008 tab of podcasts, click on it, and my sermon is the top one. I hope it's as much a blessing to listen to as it was to study and preach.

I got married! On January 10th, 2009, at 1:00pm, I got married to the beautiful Elizabeth Ashley (at the time) Ortiz. Now she is a Schliep! Woohoo!

I know everyone says the day will fly by and just be a blur... but I feel like I was able to soak it all in pretty well. I vividly remember the morning with my family for breakfast and with my guys getting ready. I vividly remember how much fun the pictures were beforehand (just with my guys and my family-- no seeing my bride). I vividly remember the ceremony (especially when my beautiful bride came through the back doors of the church). I vividly remember the pictures with everyone after the ceremony. I vividly remember my dance with my wife and my dance with my mom. After that, it really WAS all a blur! We were so blessed by so many people coming to share in the day with us that it was a struggle to make it around the room to greet everyone!!

But as I reflected on the day, and as I get more and more feedback from others who were there, I've concluded that I LOVE how our wedding turned out, in all aspects of it. I love the mix of people that were involved in our bridal party. What a wonderful mix of family, old dear friends, and new dear friends. I love the mix of people who came out to share the day with us. From our family to our friends who are as close as family... from our Bethany Church family to our SMCC and Huntington Beach EV Free families... from our friends we see every day to our friends we haven't seen in months to years... from co-workers to old coaches... it was a blessing to share it with you all.

And most importantly, as my bride and I talked more, we loved how much of a celebration the day was. And it wasn't so much the celebration of us we were noticing-- it was the celebration of what God has done in and through us that led us to each other. What a beautiful way to spend a day.

Here's a slideshow from our AMAZING photographer, Christy Collins.  To see more of her work, visit her business page http://www.photo-edge.com/.