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______________________________________ "Bitter Beauty" by Michael T. Powers The funeral was for the dad of a coaching friend of mine and it was being held about an hour and half away. I needed to attend the wedding because I was officiating it. (My full time job is as a youth pastor). The roads were icy and all the warnings were about not traveling if you didn't have to. So I had to make a decision. If I go to the funeral and something happened on the way there or the way back due to the dangerous road conditions, I might not be able to make it to the wedding in time. Not having a minister there to marry you might not go over well with the bride and the groom. I decided not to take the chance and just leave very, very early to head to the wedding, which was 40 minutes away. It was really hard for me to not be there for my friend. The ice and snow were not welcome in that aspect. Then there was the bride. Imagine being a beautiful bride who has planned and dreamed of her wedding day for so long. One of the worst things I think a bride could deal with would be having a snow and ice storm on the day of her wedding so that those traveling to and from the wedding might be in danger. On the one hand you have the stress and inconvenience for those trying to travel to the funeral and the wedding due to the weather. On the other hand, you have this amazing beauty being displayed all over the area. As much as the bride was worried about the weather, I have to say that one of the most beautiful, amazing and meaningful moments I have ever witnessed at a wedding took place that day. About ten minutes before the ceremony started, big huge flakes started falling outside of the venue windows. The venue, called the "Creamery 201" in Fort Atkinson, WI is a beautiful place to have a wedding and reception. It is nothing but 25 foot high windows towards the back and on either side of where the ceremony was taking place. When the music changed to the song that bride was walking down the aisle to, I got goosebumps. Being the officiant I get the same view that the groom gets as his beloved is being escorted down the aisle. The bride's face was beaming. The groom was getting choked up with emotion. And surrounding this precious moment was big soft beautiful snow flakes falling around her. It was like the moment was being lived inside a huge snow globe. I took it all in and appreciated the amazing beauty of God's creation and the amazing beauty of God's design for marriage. It was a beautiful ceremony for two people who were so in love with each other, but also who were going into their marriage with their eyes wide open to how hard it was going to be to make a marriage last for a lifetime. A bitter icy cold morning of not being able to attend the celebration of a full life that was lived, ended with a beautiful celebration of a couple who were entering into this new chapter of their life called marriage...
HeartTouchers@aol.com Copyright © 2020 by Michael T. Powers Email Michael and let him know your thoughts on this story! To see some photos that go along with this story you can see them at this link on Facebook! Michael T. Powers, the founder of HeartTouchers.com and Heart4Teens.com, is the youth minister at Faith Community Church in Janesville, Wisconsin. He is happily married to his high school sweetheart Kristi and proud father of three boys. He is also an author with stories in 32 inspirational books including many in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series and his own entitled: Heart Touchers "Life-Changing Stories of Faith, Love, and Laughter." To preview his book or to join the thousands of world wide readers on his inspirational e-mail list, visit: http://www.hearttouchers.com Most importantly, Michael believes that life is not about religion, but about a relationship -- a relationship with Jesus Christ. ______________________________________ Creation Q & A “What About Organic Remains in Fossils? Should they even be there?” A scientific journal recently published a review of eighty-five reports of “organic remains in fossils.” These included “blood vessels, dried but intact skin, and connective tissues on or inside fossils like dinosaur bones . . . red blood cells and bone cells . . . [and] biochemicals specific to animals (not microbes), including proteins, collagen, elastin, ovalbumin, and keratin.” What was the big takeaway for them from this incredible report? You’ll have to read on to find out! The Institute for Creation Research wrote an excellent article on the above review. It states that the reports in this review “call for a vast rethink of the mainstream age of fossils,” having revealed these three trends:
What do the researchers writing this report think might explain all these soft tissues and the supposed incredible ages? . . . They basically just say they aren’t sure. So, what was the big takeaway? What do the researchers writing this report think might explain all these soft tissues and the supposed incredible ages? Well . . . they don’t really know. They admit the soft tissues really shouldn’t be there if they’re millions of years of age, and that experiments confirm that things such as proteins can’t last that long. But they don’t question the ages of the fossils. They basically just say they aren’t sure. You see, evolutionists must have millions and billions of years even to try to propose their (false) ideas of evolution. Well, I can give them the answer! These fossils are not millions or hundreds of millions of years old! And the reason why finding such tissues is a global phenomenon is because of a global event! These fossils were rapidly and catastrophically buried during the worldwide flood of Noah’s day, around 4,350 years ago. That’s only a few thousand years, not millions! When we start with God’s Word, we can make sense of what we observe in the world. Without the history God has given us in his Word, researchers are left with fairy tales and data that makes no sense within their worldview. Science always confirms the Bible! Get More Answers on Answers News This item was discussed today on Answers News with cohosts Avery Foley, Dr. Gabriela Haynes, and Bodie Hodge. Answers News is our weekly news program filmed live before a studio audience here at the Creation Museum and broadcast on my Facebook page and the Answers in Genesis Facebook page.
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