Beautiful Feet

Saw the movie Cinderella recently and I gotta say, that Fairy Godmother has great cobbler abilities. I'm not talking about a fruity baked dessert, but rather cobbler in the shoe making sense. Those Swarovski crystal slippers with butterfly embellishments were gorgeous! I read that it took 8 people 150 hours to make the shoes for the movie and there were six versions before they picked their favorite. It has six-inch heels and 221 facets. They are certainly breathtaking ... but completely unwearable. Too delicate.

Which brings up the topic of shoes. For guys it's easy ... a pair of dress shoes. They can be patent or matte leather and hopefully with tough enough soles to stomp a glass wrapped in a handkerchief (should you elected to do so ... Mazel tov). Course, guys can always wear athletic shoes or even sandals. But what should the bride wear?

I'm all about those Cinderella shoes. A bride needs to look spiffy from head to toe, and a good pair of shoes finish the work of art. I know Ayla was originally thinking beach wedding and barefoot with flip flops for the reception, but now that she's getting married riverside and on a deck, shoes are necessary. Kayla will be getting married to Anton in a church in Montgomery, so shoes are needed there too.

My white satin shoes

I wore a pair of white satin pumps. I only wish they'd have had some sparkle. But they were comfy. I even dyed them purple for Aunt Jodi's wedding when I was the matron of honor. So that would be my advice ... make sure they are comfortable. You will be standing most of the night, so you want shoes that won't be murder on your feet. (Bring band-aids just in case!) However, knowing Ayla, they will be crazy high heels. You can always kick them off at the reception and don a pair of flats, flip flops or satin slippers.

There's a lot of bridal shoe styles out there from low to high heels, satin to lace, pearls to crystal sparkles, bows to feathers, flip flops to boots, flowers to ruffles. They can certainly be fun. Brides can even wear different colored shoes just to have fun. There's even a gal who will personalize your wedding shoes (www.figgieshoes.com) - of course, your Uncle Greg could do that for you. Regardless of what you choose you will have beautiful feet.

What does the Bible say makes beautiful feet? The bride in Song of Solomon wears sandals (7:1). But shoe wear isn't the most important. Isaiah 52:7 says, "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, 'Your God reigns.'" Beautiful feet are those which tell the world about Jesus Christ. We like to call them Good News Shoes ...  as described in Ephesians 6:15 "As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace." We always need to have ready the story of what Christ means to us, what He's done for us to share at a moment's notice. You just never know who you will run into that needs to hear about Christ's love.

So that's what we recommend ... shoes that will be comfortable enough to wear into the night that you may share the grace and love of Jesus Christ not just with your future spouse, but with all your guests, There may be a few souls there who will really need to hear it.

Discussion: What kind of shoes would you like to wear at your wedding? Why is that style or color important to you? Do you feel like you have Good News Shoes ready to put on when necessary?

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for shoes that protect, fit and allow us to stay on the move to glorify you. We pray our souls are always ready in soles fit to spread your Gospel of peace. In Jesus, Amen.

Where There Is Kindness

I am making meatloaf for Daddy for dinner tonight. Aside from kishka, which I will never make in this lifetime, meatloaf is his favorite meal. It's Grandpa Z's recipe, filled with oatmeal, Ritz crackers, Whatsthishere Sauce (Worcestershire), BBQ sauce and eggs. He loves it. It's one of those comfort foods that I know will bring him peace as soon as he smells it. And it's one of the few foods your Daddy will actually eat every leftover of. I have never thrown an ounce of the two pound meatloaf away, ever. It's one of those things I will make for him when I know he's had a rough or busy day. It's a meal to sigh over for him.

Wednesday Daddy asked me if I would lead acapella singing on a hymn at a funeral. He asked me as I was driving to the funeral because the person who was supposed to sing it backed out. Now, I have no trouble singing, but I have terrible stage fright and this was in front of a large group of people without ever practicing. My gut was saying "Heck no!" but I the family had no one else. So I did it for Daddy ... reluctantly yes, but I did it. The whole time I am singing, "It Is Well With My Soul," I'm thinking to myself, "No, it is not." But I love him, so I did it.

Two days ago, Daddy carried every single packed Christmas box back up to the attic. Not because he likes to, but because he loves me. It's the same reason he dragged every last one of them down from the attic for me. Love.

It's those gestures, those moments that truly show love. That thing you do or buy just because they like it. That extra effort you make. You will have zillions of opportunities to do these things over the years. Not all will be fun for you, but they will certainly mean something to your loved one.

Galatians 6:9 says "Let us not lose heart in doing good." And Philippians 2:3-7 says: "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men." And who better to do all these things for than our spouse?

It's loving kindness, plain and simple.

There is a new movie coming out March 13 called Cinderella. In the trailer for the movie, the momma says to little Cinderella, "You have more kindness in your little finger than most people possess in their whole body. And where there is kindness there is goodness and where there is goodness, there is magic." So make an effort to stir up some magic in marriage. You are both worth it.

Now, I've got to go finish this magical meatloaf.

Discussion: Tell about specific things you remember your loved one doing for you out of kindness?

Prayer: Lord, You do sweet things for us all the time because of how much you love us. Thank you for that example. May we remember to not only do kind things for our spouse, but also for all those around us. In Jesus, Amen.