Showing posts with label wedding. Show all posts

Monday, February 10, 2014

Always Loved You - Now Think On This (Steve Martin)

Always Loved You

"My beloved responded and said to me, ' Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come along. 'For behold, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. ‘The flowers have already appeared in the land; the time has arrived for pruning the vines,and the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land.”
(Song of Songs 2:10-12 NASU)

As she walked down the aisle that cool October evening, my heart increased with skipped beats. The original song I had written for her, using those words from Song of Songs Chapter 2, had been prepared weeks earlier. Now as I tried to sing them, soft and gentle, while playing on the borrowed six string guitar, I got choked up on the second verse. She was so beautiful. And I had waited so long.

When she finished walking the eternal length of the aisle, I had to set my guitar down before I dropped it. This was the moment to soak it all in, as our gaze upon one another filled our souls with passion. Nights of crying out to the Lord had been fulfilled. She had come.

There was a time just two years earlier when I didn’t believe this was going to happen. I had been engaged to another, and it didn’t work out. That one was meant for another. But now this beautiful young woman, whom He knew was the right one, was coming to me. Is it any wonder why I love the Lord so much? Just one look at her, my sweet Laura Jean, is enough.

This really happened, when my awesome bride Laurie entered the church sanctuary and glided to the wedding altar. Her full length, laced pure white gown covered her entire body, while hazel eyes looked at me from under the sheer veil. What could I do, except try to contain my heart from leaping out with joyous ecstasy.

And now decades later, because of His everlasting mercy, grace and provision has sustained us through the thick and thin, the joys and the sorrows, while commitment to the full days of our lives continues to keep us, we both love the Lover of our souls. He has always loved us. He has always loved you.

“I am my beloved's, and His desire is for me.” (Song of Songs 7:10)

You may have come to the place where your soul needs to know His love, of His heart for yours, of His passion and desire for you, His beautiful creation and Bride. Doubts may have arisen from rejection, while forgotten and forsaken relationships have brought you to the point of giving up on your hopes and dreams. That desire for a man who really cares. The longing for that promised wife, or maybe just a little more of living the abundant life?

There is One whose desire for you is never ending. He has sought you in your sleeping hours, in your waking moments, in your hours of grief and despair. He is the One your being longs for.

The lover of your soul knows what price has been paid for you. Yeshua has come. He has suffered the ultimate. He has risen and now lives, so that you can too. For Him to be with you through thick and thin, through joys and sorrows, until the length of your days has been done, and then beyond.

“Hurry, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices." (Song of Songs 8:14)

He has come for you. He has always loved you, and He always will.

Now think on this,

Steve Martin

Love For His People

Founder

Love For His People, Inc. is a charitable, not-for-profit USA humanitarian organization started in 2010 to share the love of the Father in the nations.

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Now Think On This #111 – Always Loved You Steve Martin

Date: In the year of our Lord 2014 (02.10.14 Monday at 7:00 am in Charlotte, NC).

All previous editions of my Ahava Love Letters and Now Think On This can be found on this Blog, and our messages website: Ahava Love Letters

Monday, October 28, 2013

Benny Hinn's Ministry Changed After Reconciling With Wife (Many marriages need help.)

How Benny Hinn's Ministry Has Changed After Reconciling With Wife

Benny Hinn is a man on a mission. Since God has healed his message, there’s a new twist to his ministry—praying for the healing of troubled marriages around the world. Charisma News asked Hinn about this new facet of his ministry and the fruit it’s bearing in nations around the world.

Charisma: Has your message changed at all?

Hinn: No, not really. I mean, I've always preached healing, but I'm focusing very much so on salvation. Well, I do three things now at the meeting. Of course, in the first part, I focus on salvation because I always want to see people saved at first before I administer, and the altar calls are always packed. I focus on family healing. In South Africa, 50 percent of the crowd came down in a church of 11,000. Think about it—that many people actually walked down whose marriages were breaking up or on the verge of breaking up.

I was stunned in Madrid. The first night, I asked those that were having marriage troubles to come down. The pastor just looked at me in shock. A stadium packed, and a third of them came down. There’s lot of people in the body of Christ suffering like this, families just broken or breaking up.

I think Suzanne's and my healing has just had some impact. I go through my situation. My marriage was a whole lot worse than I can even talk about. And I say to people, "You think yours is bad. Mine is probably way worse than you could ever imagine. Again, God healed Sue and I. And if God healed us, He'll heal you."

It's stunning. You see them come down, and they start sobbing and crying almost instantly because the pain is so deep in them. I never dealt with that part of ministry in the past with couples and homes and families. I identify with them. They identify with me. It moved me so deeply to tears.

One lady cried so bad, I think she almost fainted, that poor thing. The pain in them starts coming out. The minute they walk down the aisle, before you get the chance to even pray for them or talk to them, they're already crying, many of them. And then you go down and comfort them and put your hand on their shoulders and minister to them.

I’ve looked at many of them and said, "Now, you look at me," and I took them by the cheeks. I lifted their faces because they were bowed with such sorrow. I said, "God did it for me. He'll do it for you. Please believe it." People want to believe it, but it's something hard for them to believe, [that] God can really do it for them. And it's been an amazing eye-opener anyway for me and Suzanne.

Charisma: What do you think is causing so much trouble in Christian families?

Hinn: That's a great, great question. Sue and I have thought of doing a conference for people with family troubles. I want to learn more about it to help them. I don't know what's going on with other people. In my case, it was family and the stress of ministry and being too busy. I didn't pay attention to Suzanne's pain. That's what caused our problem. And then Suzanne having to struggle with what was happening to our family—and you know that story.

In South Africa, people were just weeping everywhere because Suzanne opened up. She said, "Listen, here's what I went through. Here's what I was on. Here are the drugs I did. Here's what Benny did." And then I opened up and said, "So, here's what I did. Here's what I ignored. Here's what I should have not ignored."

And at some point, people laughed and they cried. And we talked for about a good half-hour. A lot of healing took place as we were talking, as they saw we were being transparent. That made them comfortable—that we were ourselves with them and didn't hide anything.

And finally I said to the crowd in Africa, "Now, we were honest with you. Now you have to be honest with each other and yourselves: What is it that has caused your problem?" This is so powerful because they see the love between me and Sue. We're holding on to each other. Suzanne is kissing on me. She's loving on me on the platform, and people see it's real, that it's not phony stuff, that we're not acting. This is real up there.

Then I said, "Now, you tell each other now that you will fix it. Just like we have, you will." And they stop crying and say, "We will fix it. We will fix it." And it's just powerful. Really, it makes you cry. You just stand there, you know. You just think, "Oh, my God! I can't believe I'm seeing this."

Benny Hinn: The Anointing Is Still in Operation

Healing evangelist Benny Hinn is back with a passion. After restoring his marriage, Hinn is once again traveling the world—this time with his wife, Suzanne—and holding crusades where miracles are manifesting.

Charisma News caught up with Hinn to get the latest report from the field.

Charisma: I hear God is restoring your ministry.

Hinn: The ministry is coming back. The anointing is still in operation. People are seeing that.

Number two, they are coming because of the deep hurt, deep pain, deep need. Sickness is still there. And thirdly, I think they come because they say, "OK, the Lord has done something for him. We're happy for him and Suzanne." They want to support this, and they show up.

So, it's been very exciting. I don't know what the future holds, but we're all excited about it, and I'm happy to see the Lord do it. This is real. Sue and I have never been happier.

Charisma: You’ve been ministering in packed-out auditoriums around the world these days. What’s going on there?

Hinn: Well, since my remarriage I have seen an upsurge. The crowds have come back in most places, especially in the Far East. I was in Manado, Indonesia, in July. We had 200,000 people show up for the crusade. I have not seen crowds like that in three years. It was stunning.

We were only expecting 80,000. They told my team it was the largest crowd they have had—ever—in that part of Indonesia. I was in Madrid last week; the stadium was jammed. People were just ecstatic.

There just seems to be a lot of excitement out there about my reunion to Suzanne. It's just a very, very exciting time in our lives. Sue and I are doing incredibly, marvelously glorious. Really, I've not had such contentment in my life. It’s like this is our time of peace and recovery. I think sometimes when somebody is healed, it heals everything else around them.

Charisma: Tell us about the miracles in London.

Hinn: I was in London at Westminster and rented the Westminster Hall across from Parliament. It was jammed out. It was magnificent. While I was in London, three miracles stood out which were just so amazing. One girl—I'll be showing it on TV in two weeks—was flown in from Pakistan with three holes in her heart and crippled. God healed her.

Two friends in their '60s who were born deaf were both healed. And it just stunned the crowd. It actually stunned me more than anyone else, I think. My son is now working with me. During the divorce, I saw him become so angry and bitter.

And there he was last week, standing, crying and worshipping God on the platform as he saw the miracles and was helping his daddy. It's a precious thing to see your family healed also when God heals you.

Charisma: What’s next for Benny Hinn?

Hinn: Doors are swinging open. I'm going to China, by the way, if you can believe it. I've been invited to preach in two cities, Shanghai and Guangzhou, in January. India has opened up big. I'm going to Buenos Aires, Argentina, in December, and they're expecting massive crowds.

And Africa. Dear God! The invitations I'm getting now for Africa can keep me there probably the whole year. So it's like a resurrection, a resurgence. I'm beginning to do some big meetings again in the U.S. I don't know that I'll ever go back to the stadiums because it's very, very expensive. But I am doing convention halls and centers. In fact, I'm coming to Orlando to the convention center early next year.

More: CharismaNews

Monday, October 14, 2013

Jonathan & Hannah Avalos Wedding & Reception Photos Video - Oct. 12, 2013

Jonathan & Hannah (Martin) Avalos

- Married Oct. 12, 2013

Wedding cake by Mary Ann Blade

Unity candle - Hannah's Grandpa Otto Unzicker's Bible

Bible turned to 1 Corinthians 13

Centerpiece on each table for reception

Napkins at each seat for guests

Hannah & Jonathan with her siblings -

Christen Blade, Josh and Ben Martin

Hannah and Jonathan with full Martin family

Married couple with parents

- Steve & Laurie Martin, Grace Avalos

Married couple with Hannah's grandparents

- Lila Martin Parker and Bill Parker,

Lorraine Unzicker (Laurie's Mom)

Bridal party

(L-R) - Becca, Persida, Tabitah, Christen, Hannah

Groomsmen

Reception area on Main Street at MorningStar

Thank you Lord! Mazel Tov!

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Daughter Hannah and husband Jonathan Avalos Wedding!

Hannah and Jonathan!

Heritage International Ministries

(home of MorningStar)

Laurie (middle) with Mom and sister Linda

Laurie and Mom

- Lorraine Unzicker

Cake by Mary Ann Blade!

Beautiful setting for all weddings!

Unity candle and Bible

Laurie's father Otto Unzicker's Bible

- opened to 1 Cor. 13.

Oldest son Josh Martin with his three sons

- (L-R) Logan, Jensen, Daniel

Our good friends Michael & Mary Ann Blade

(Cakes by Mary Ann!!)

Married couple with son Payton

and Jonathan's Mom Grace Avalos

Jonathan and new grandson Payton

Our family - Mom & Bill Parker,

and our four children - Josh & Chelsie and 4 kids,

Ben, Hannah and Christen

Our four children with new son-in-law Jonathan

Our children: Christen, Josh, Hannah, Jonathan and Ben

Chelsie Martin and her four kids (Josh)

Father of the Bride.. .and more!

Newlywed with Dad and Moms

Wedding party

Newly weds with Grandmas (Martin side)

The ladies!

The gentlemen!

Yeah! Yeah!

Hannah and her beautiful bridal court.

The reception area

Trevor Tiessen and Ben Martin

Reception

Rob the DJ, Ben Martin and Neal Knapp (nephew)

After formal photos

My oldest sister Sue Johnson

and husband of 40 years Dave

Father-Daughter dance

Ben Martin sharing a good word.

Daughter Christen Martin Blade

with husband Andrew and son Jack Blade!

My brother Rob Martin and I

Hannah wore the same dress Laurie did (36 years ago.)

Beautiful then and now!

Daughter Christen and son Jack Blade

Honeymoon car

My sister Janet Rovenstine and husband Nate

Oldest son Josh with family

Youngest sister Lynn Cowell, husband Greg,

Madison and Zach

Sister Mary Smith with husband of 36 years Bob,

son Jesse and wife Ali,

daughter Julia and

grandkids Chase and Peyton

Sister Colleen Baker with son Neil

and daughter Kari, along with her husband Ron Barnes

and twin kids

Lord Jesus (Yeshua) is the

Light of the World

Thank you Lord!