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We were married 38 years ago today at the 1st Baptist Church in Birmingham.  A beautiful place with a beautiful bride.

We kind of shocked the church wedding coordinator with a different kind of ceremony, turning ourselves around so we were facing the people and our vows being presented to us from the congregation.

What wonderful vows taken from the scriptures and truly offered to God and each other.  After the service we headed downstairs to a simple reception.  Theresa made her own dress - it was lovely.

Thank you Theresa for 38 years together.   -  Richard

Listen to Theresa sing - In My Life  -

Shaky Video by Richard Dalton

Grandma and Grandpa are very happy that Ariel will soon be just a drive to Chicago away.

The Crew - Elisabeth, Sarah, Carolyn, Jon and Jess

In Our Lives we love them all -

For decades young people have flocked to seeker-friendly churches that feature culturally relevant services and a casual environment.

Now, a new denomination that emphasizes tradition and centuries-old sacraments and practices is drawing them in.

The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) officially began in 2009 with hundreds of congregations that severed ties with the Episcopal Church.

In Albany Park on Chicago's north side, a group of college students and recent graduates have started one of the ACNA's newest church plants.

They worship on Sunday afternoons, renting a church building that's close to several university campuses.

New Denomination, Old Worship

While the congregants are casually dressed, the service has a more formal, liturgical feel and the students that CBN News spoke with say that's exactly what they like.

"I love the emphasis on Scripture. I love that we read four long passages every Sunday so you really ingest a lot of scripture each Sunday," said Andie Roeder, who studies at Moody Bible Institute.

"And I love the way it's interactive so there's a call and a response and you get to pray back and forth," she said.

Deacon Mike Niebauer, who oversees both the Albany Park congregation and one at Northwestern University in Evanston, said the liturgy builds community and helps students who often long to be connected.

"I think it's easy for so many people, especially young people, to feel like they're not anchored anywhere, not rooted in anything, particularly people who are very mobile" he said.

"So the idea that the church traces its roots back and its worship back 2,000 years to this very day is I think something that's very attractive," he said.

Anglican Fever

Archbishop Robert Duncan dubbed the movement "Anglican fever" in an address to the Lausanne Congress last year.

CBN News spoke with Anglican leaders who are witnessing college communities springing up, from Florida to Massachusetts and beyond.

A possible reason for the growth is the authenticity. Many congregations in the new denomination gave up buildings and property in order to break from the Episcopal Church and its increasingly liberal theology.

One of the worst cases happened in Binghamton, N.Y., where the Episcopal Church evicted the Good Shepherd congregation and then sold its property to a mosque.

Rector Matt Kennedy found out about the new owner while he was driving by the old property and saw a crane taking down the steeple.

"It was very sad," he said. "Because it is a place where generation after generation the gospel had been preached."

"People have come to know Jesus Christ, people have been brought from darkness into light and now it has been sold to a group that promotes the darkness," Kennedy added.

A Different Approach

While property battles are still a reality for many congregations, ACNA leadership doesn't want to focus on the courtroom drama.

Instead, the group is ambitiously planting new churches with a goal to double in size to 2,000 churches in five years.

The strategy involves combining Anglican tradition with modern church planting models from Africa.

"They're actually following some of their southern and global Anglican churches in how they're building churches using less trained leadership," explained Lon Allison, evangelism expert and director of the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College.

This is exactly what's happening in Chicago.

Rev. William Beasley has overseen the planting of nine Anglican churches in and around college campuses there. He said he expects continued growth with students.

"I think we're actually just beginning," he said. "We're at the very beginnings of something that's perched to grow exponentially."

What's drawing young people to the Anglican Church is what many would not expect. It's about sacraments, like weekly Communion and traditional prayers, that the entire congregation participates in reading.

"I like the fact that it's something that Christians around the world are saying, and that they've been saying it for a long time," said Wheaton College student Josh Melby who attends a church just off campus.

"I grew up in a Baptist church my whole life," fellow student Michelle Nelson added. "So coming to an Anglican church where there's liturgy and sacraments every week, I appreciate the tradition."

Moving Forward with Faith

Students also appreciate the church's global connections. The ACNA is part of the Anglican Communion worldwide and has enjoyed a close relationship with like-minded orthodox Anglicans in Africa and South America.

"I felt like my interest in missions and working with global poverty, those were all being spoken to by a very passionate body who's passionate about serving the poor and being there for the needy," Wheaton student Matt Jones said.

Another area of growth for the new denomination is in the Latino community.

CBN News visited a worship service in Franklin Park, a northwest suburb of Chicago. Hispanics there and elsewhere appreciate the Anglican worship style, its reverence, and its community.

In the end, what may also be drawing young people, Latinos, and others is the integrity that comes from standing for one's faith.

It's a process that has profoundly shaped the character of the ACNA.

"Whenever you have to lose something for your faith, be it a pension or a building, whenever there's a sacrifice, it's also a moment you can choose to go forward, without bitterness, without rancor, and you become refined," Rev. Beasley explained.

One of his congregations surrendered its building to the Episcopal church more than six years ago.

Today, that church has bought its own property and plans to move in next year.

In Binghamton, New York, Church of the Good Shepherd now meets in an old Catholic church — perfect for its congregation which has doubled.

These are all encouraging signs for a young denomination determined to advance the Gospel and multiply the church.

Source Link

Marriage is clearly a troubled institution in American culture, and that includes even among American Christians. The problem is that so often Christians have accepted the world's definitions of marriage. While many Christian books have been written on marriage, Tim Keller's "The Meaning of Marriage" is one of the best.

What makes "The Meaning of Marriage" so excellent? At least four things. First, Keller gives a vision for marriage. His main reason for writing the book, in fact, was to give both Christians and non-Christians a vision for marriage. What is Keller's vision for marriage? Keller writes, concerning the meaning of marriage, that "It is for helping each other to become our future glory-selves, the new creations that God will eventually make us." More than this, Keller (in Chapter 6) relates marriage not only to "the dance of the Trinity" but also to Christ's love of the stranger (Chapter 5).

The second reason "The Meaning of Marriage" is so excellent is that Keller bases his views on the Bible. Time and again, instead of turning to what the world teaches about marriage, Keller returns to the Bible, especially Ephesians 5. While Keller begins with the Bible, he does more than just quote Scripture: he unlocks its meaning and applies it to our lives. This is what makes his teaching on writing so profound and powerful. While he doesn't cover every possible topic, he does give a theological vision for marriage that will change your marriage for the better or better prepare you for marriage in the future.

Third, in presenting a biblical view of marriage, Keller directly challenges the worldly views of marriage, including many that have infected the Church. Among the most popular of these myths is that we should be looking for our "soul mate," in the sense of finding someone we're presently in love with. This view minimizes the importance of the hard work that goes into marital love. Keller also rightly rebukes the idea that we should not go into marriage expecting to change the other person. To the contrary, marriage is precisely for the purpose of sanctifying one another, and Keller demonstrates some of the many reasons why marriage is such a powerful means of sanctification for Christian spouses. Keller takes on many other myths as well, for example, the idea that marriage is primarily for self-fulfillment, instead of mutual sanctification and becoming one with another.

Fourth, "The Meaning of Marriage" is both readable and practical. Keller's ideas are rooted in theology but are written in a very readable prose. Most importantly, his book is eminently practical. While it's not a "How To" manual and doesn't give you every detail, he does amply illustrate and explain his major ideas on marriage. So practical is "The Meaning of Marriage" that it's applicable not only to Christian spouses but also non-Christian spouses and Christian singles. He has, for example, a chapter on a theology of singleness (Chapter 7).

There are many profound insights in the book. There was little that was new to me as a priest and as a husband who has worked every day on his marriage for 18 years. But there were still many revelations and "Aha!" moments that reminded me of what it was all about and encouraged me to love my wife to an even greater degree. As I'm writing this, she's out of town on a business trip (which she never takes). I can't wait for her to return so that I can begin immediately putting into practice some of the things Keller has taught me.

Here are some of his best insights:
1. You never marry the right person. No 2 people are compatible. For this reason, marriage takes a lot of love and work. Also, marriage profoundly changes us!
2. Two-thirds of unhappy marriages will become happy within five years if people stay married. Keller uses this to demonstrate the power of making and keeping a vow. Promising is the key to identity and is the very essence of marital love.
3. Actions of love lead to feelings of love.
4. Marriage is a friendship, and friendship must have constancy, transparency, and a common passion, which, for Christians, should especially be Christ.
5. Each spouse should see the great thing that Jesus is doing in the life of their mate through the Word. And each spouse should then give himself of herself to be a vehicle for this work of God.
6. Your spouse IS the "someone better" you're looking for! This is true if you see him or her in terms of the glory God intends for them, a work to which you are called.

There's much, much, more, and each chapter holds its delights and wisdom for the reader. I highly recommend both "The Meaning of Marriage," as well as "The Mystery of Marriage" by Mike Mason!

Keller presents his teaching on marriage, based on a sermon series of his, in the following chapters:
1. The Secret of Marriage - how marriage and the gospel relate
2. The Power for Marriage - submitting to one another out of love
3. The Essence of Marriage - covenantal commitment
4. The Mission of Marriage - marriage and mutual sanctification
5. Loving the Stranger - the power of love (all 4 kinds)
6. Embracing the Other - man and wife as one flesh; the Trinity as a model for marriage
7. Singleness and Marriage
8. Sex and Marriage
Epilogue and Appendix (Decision Making and Gender Roles)

By Fr. Charles Erlandson (Tyler, Texas United States)   Amazon Reviewer

My mother, Marion Dalton was born on the Fourth of July and died on Christmas Day five years ago. Life is not as interesting without Marion, there was always something different with Marion.  You could expect the unexpected.   Here is a poem I wrote years ago in tribute to Mom:

Marion Gertrude Dalton 1924 - 2006
Written in 1984 for her 60th birthday

Marion, an American
Was born July the fourth,
With firecrackers cracking:
She’ll be a patriot of course.

For God and country, apple pie,
And motherhood for sure;
Parades with flags keep marching by
To mark each birthday year.

Marion’s an Eagle
Far to the right of Ron.
She’s colorful, red, white and blue
With bumper stickers on.

Gertie, she’s a traveler
From L.A. to D.C.;
She catches most all the summits,
And not just on TV.

Grandma, she’s a marcher
Who’s seen on nightly news.
The grandkids wait til six o’clock
To find out granny’s views.

Mrs. D. is flighty,
Not always down on earth;
But it would take both earth and heaven
To measure what she’s worth.

by her son, Richard

Somehow, Einstein's smiling countenance inspires everyone in the room — no matter what their social style, gender, or title.

The only thing I find more fascinating than this is the incredible amount of powerful quotes he left behind.

1. "The only real valuable thing is intuition."

2. "Imagination is more important than knowledge."

3. "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science."

4. "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new."

5. "The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once."

6. "The gift of fantasy has meant more to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge."

7. "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."

8. "The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."

9. "Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school."

10. "No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it."

11. "The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing."

12. "Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."

13. "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."

14. "Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile."

15. "When you sit with a nice girl for two hours, it seems like two minutes. When you sit on a hot stove for two minutes, it seems like two hours. That's relativity."

16. "If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts."

17. "What really interests me is whether God had any choice in the creation of the world."

18. "A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be."

19. "A question that sometimes drives me hazy: am I or are the others crazy?"

20. "A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need to be happy?"

21. "Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen."

22. "Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts."

23. "Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere."

24. "Intellectuals solve problems, geniuses prevent them."

25. "I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious."

26. "I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."

27. "I think and think for months and years. Ninety-nine times, the conclusion is false. The hundredth time I am right."

28. "The value of a man should be seen in what he gives and not in what he is able to receive."

29. "Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value."

30. "We still do not know one thousandth of one percent of what nature has revealed to us."

31. "You ask me if I keep a notebook to record my great ideas. I've only ever had one."

32. "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."

33. "It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer."

34. "Not everything that counts can be counted; and not everything that can be counted counts."

35. "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."

This is our CHRISTMAS GREETING to you - music and all.

I asked Theresa to do a recording of one of my favorite Christmas Hymns
- Of the Father's Love Begotten. ENJOY !

A bit of an update from The Dalton's -
I am working on a huge media vision that covers all of Metro Detroit.  This link may help you catch the LookUpDetroit VISION for connecting, blessing and reaching to our neighbors.  I continue my personal ministry both in the city and suburbs.  Here is a recent Advent Message I delivered in Lapeer, MI.

We are involved at Church of the Holy Redeemer, a church we pioneered with a small group starting in a school in Sterling Heights years ago. Theresa, every Saturday leads worship there at at 5 p.m. service and also is part of the music ministry most every Sunday.  She also serves as the Manager at the Give Thanks Bakery in Rochester just a few blocks for our home.

OUR THANKS AND PRAISE THIS SEASON AND DAILY IS TO
OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST

- OUR LOVE AND PRAYERS GO WITH YOU IN 2012.

Thank You for the Grace
Thank You for the Gifts
Thank You for the Group

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge-even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you-so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

(1 Corinthians 1:3-9 ESV).

GREAT AUDIO MESSAGE ON CHRISTIAN WORSHIP ! -  Fr. Richard

Biblically correct worship—is there such a thing? This presentation discussed the trend from structured liturgical to free-flowing worship and helped determine if this is biblical. Are there biblical guidelines for worship? Is the fashion for rock-group-style worship a pure gift from God or a capitulation to the spirit of the age? Wright led listeners on spiritual journey regarding how to best glorify God and reflect his image in the world through worship.

Find the Podcast for Mobile Listening - Number 10  -  iTunes Link

Source Link at Calvin College