Wow! Lots has happened since last time I wrote on this blog...
Well probably the most important, and the most significant, happening that is that Bobby Valentine and Tifani Napier have officially become Mr & Mrs Valentine. We were married in a very small private "ceremony" at Magnolia Church of Christ Tuesday, April 27 by Joe VanDyke. We have been carrying on our long distance relationship for over a year now. LOOOOONG phone conversations. Criss-crossing the country via Delta, AA, and whoever would fly us. We finally decided that we just need to "do it." So we did! We are still in limbo on some things but one thing is certain ... the future is "us." Tifani is living proof that God will in fact work in the evil of this world to bring about something not only beautiful but even "good." In our "ceremony" the great prayer of Tobit 8.4-8 was read as our promise and prayer together.
"Blessed are you, O God of our ancestors,
and blessed is your name in all generations forever.
Let the heavens and the whole creation bless you forever.
You made Adam, and for him you made his wife Eve
as a helper and support.
From the two of them the human race has sprung.
You said, 'It is not good that the man should be alone;
let us make a helper for him like himself.'
I now am taking this kinswoman of mine,
not because of lust,
but with sincerity.
Grant that she and I may find mercy
and that we may grow old together."
And they both said, "Amen, Amen."
Then went to sleep for the night."
We went to Huntsville for our "Honeymoon" (well it was not our real honeymoon) and had an awesome time. We laughed the night away. We held hands as we walked and talked. We ate in the newly wed booth at the Melting Pot ... and we got caught in that torrential downpour in Nashville on I-65 and sat on the hwy for hours. But even there God brought a blessing ... Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death ... many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away" (Song of Songs 8.6ff).
The Pepperdine Lectures were this past week as well. Pepperdine continues to impress me with the diversity of speakers they bring in. Africa, Asia, and even North America was represented. The classes as well as the keynotes were top notch. John Mark Hicks and I continued the tradition of doing the "Late Night" with our class being on "A New Hope" for three nights. You can buy either a CD or MP3 of all three classes from Pure Logic Video HERE. Just scroll down till you see our mug shots ...
At Pepperdine I always run into old friends too. I saw friends from Milwaukee, old college class mates, former students, teachers and many others. I love it. This year one treat I loved was the "St. John's Bible Exhibit" in the Art Gallery & Rare Bible room. The St. John's Bible is the first illuminated, hand written Bible of "monumental size" in 500 years. It contains the entire RSV text (Hebrew Bible, NT & Apocrypha) ... the art work is stunning. You can see portions of it HERE
I got Rachael and Talya on Saturday for a while. One thing we did was go see Iron Man 2. I love the character and think Marvel has done a good job with the movies. Stark is hopelessly self-absorbed and has an ego that is super sized. But in the movie he learns that there is value in partnership and he may not have all the answers. The sound track is full of classic rock tunes basically all AC/DC tracks I believe. I liked it. The girls liked it. It was not quite as good as the first but it was still good. I will get it when it comes on Blu-Ray
The picture is our mini-honeymoon. A police officer offered to take a few for us and the one on the bottom is one of them ...
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