In July, Janelle and I will be married 4 years. By the grace of God, i was somehow able to track down the guy who video taped our wedding and miraculously he still had a copy that he had burned onto dvd. He assured me that he records many weddings, but that he never keeps copies of them. After 3+ years, i consider it to be a nice little gift from God.
It was not easy to keep it a secret, but without her knowing it, I re-recorded the song I wrote for Janelle and surprised her with on our wedding day as she walked down the isle. I also recorded myself singing a song by Westlife that I heard and liked (for both, I played keys and sang while taylor played guitar). Taken from the video are excerpts of me speaking, exhortations from Matt and Naomi Buckwalter (very good friends of ours who officiated our wedding) and our vows.
This is the video I surprised Janelle with this Valentine's Day:
"Janelle, this is the commitment I make to you today: I vow to love you with all of my heart – even the parts that hurt, to love you more than I love my fears and insecurities, to let you touch me where I am broken. And in the same way, I commit to bring healing to the areas where you have been wounded, to help you see beyond what you hate about yourself to what I love so much about you. I commit to lead you with humility as I walk in transparency and vulnerability. I promise not to have all the answers, nor to make them up when I don’t know them, but rather to lead you to the one who does have the answers. Janelle, I love and I vow to be love to you. I look forward to laying hold of our destinies in the Lord together as one."
"Jonathan David, today I both receive you and release you. I receive you as my husband and leader, my best friend and lover. At the same time, I release you, acknowledging that you belong to the Lord, to walk in the fullness of the things that God has called you to. I commit to trusting you, believing in you and with you, seeking the Lord and walking alongside you as the Lord directs our paths, to being your greatest supporter. Jonathan, you are the man of my dreams and it is with eager anticipation that I give myself to you today. I LOVE YOU!"
It was not easy to keep it a secret, but without her knowing it, I re-recorded the song I wrote for Janelle and surprised her with on our wedding day as she walked down the isle. I also recorded myself singing a song by Westlife that I heard and liked (for both, I played keys and sang while taylor played guitar). Taken from the video are excerpts of me speaking, exhortations from Matt and Naomi Buckwalter (very good friends of ours who officiated our wedding) and our vows.
This is the video I surprised Janelle with this Valentine's Day:
(it opens up with an excerpt from our wedding of me just talking - on a blank screen - so give it a minute or two.)
"Janelle, this is the commitment I make to you today: I vow to love you with all of my heart – even the parts that hurt, to love you more than I love my fears and insecurities, to let you touch me where I am broken. And in the same way, I commit to bring healing to the areas where you have been wounded, to help you see beyond what you hate about yourself to what I love so much about you. I commit to lead you with humility as I walk in transparency and vulnerability. I promise not to have all the answers, nor to make them up when I don’t know them, but rather to lead you to the one who does have the answers. Janelle, I love and I vow to be love to you. I look forward to laying hold of our destinies in the Lord together as one."
"Jonathan David, today I both receive you and release you. I receive you as my husband and leader, my best friend and lover. At the same time, I release you, acknowledging that you belong to the Lord, to walk in the fullness of the things that God has called you to. I commit to trusting you, believing in you and with you, seeking the Lord and walking alongside you as the Lord directs our paths, to being your greatest supporter. Jonathan, you are the man of my dreams and it is with eager anticipation that I give myself to you today. I LOVE YOU!"
