Quote from Forum Archives on July 20, 2001, 12:07 am

Posted by: SanInocencio1 <SanInocencio1@...>

this is awesome, the vision we have for our sons and daughters. A marriage
rooted in purity and the love of Christ.
Johanna
Life is the ultimate learning experience!
----- Original Message -----
From: Amazing Graze Farms <amazinggraze@valkyrie.net>
To: A Homesteader's Heaven <HomesteadHeaven@weloveGod.org>
Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2001 8:03 PM
Subject: [HomeSteadHeaven] Fw: NEVER BEEN KISSED: A HOME-SCHOOL LOVE STORY

>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <ManyPigs@aol.com>
> To: <amazinggraze@valkyrie.net>
> Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2001 9:03 PM
> Subject: NEVER BEEN KISSED: A HOME-SCHOOL LOVE STORY
>
>
> ================================================
> NEVER BEEN KISSED: A HOME-SCHOOL LOVE STORY
> ================================================
>
> Saturday, June 9, 2001
>
> Deep in the Hill Country of South Central Texas, on a quiet ranch,
> the world is about to change. There are no newspapers, there is no public
> fanfare -- but most of the more than 600 people gathered know they are
> about to witness something that the majority of Americans will never
> experience: A truly pure woman is about to covenant in marriage with a
> truly virtuous man for the stated purpose of building a multi-generational
> legacy for the glory of God.
>
> This is a true love story -- the kind of which you rarely hear about
> these days. From their childhood, both groom and bride had purposed to let
> their parents direct them in all things. Both had demonstrated an unusual
> ability to submit their wills to that of their parents'. Both were willing
> to allow their parents to guide the process of preparation for maturity
> and marriage, even when this meant taking a very different path from that
> traversed by friends and peers. In fact, both had purposed to have no
> other romantic relationship than the one reserved for the spouse God would
> give to them.
>
> When they stand at the marriage altar today, both bride and groom
> proclaim to the world that this is their first love. It is true love. In
> fact, today, they will take their very first kiss -- Ever! -- With anyone!
> -- And they will do it at the moment they are pronounced man and wife.
>
> But this love story is about more than just the bride and groom. It
> is about two families, an entire community of believers, and a new
> generation of children who are being raised to embrace and emulate the
> pattern for life preparation and marriage being modeled today by the happy
> couple.
>
> Though the bride and the groom are only in their early twenties, this
> story is actually more than three decades in the making. It is the story
> of two sets of parents, both first-generation home educators, who
> understood the Scriptures to commission them to raise their children in a
> manner set apart from the world. Both sets of parents embraced this
> commission, and for decades both sets of parents have prayed and planned
> and prepared for this very moment.
>
> For these parents, this marriage is a victory. It is a vindication of
> the fact that God's ways work. It is yet more evidence that He is the God
> of the covenant who honors promises and blesses obedience.
>
> But even more is going on. A major deposit is about to be made in the
> spiritual bank account of a community of believers. For the local church
> congregation of more than 150 who are gathered as witnesses, this is the
> first time that two members of their own assembly have come together in
> marriage. In a real sense, this couple represents the first fruits of a
> young church, which from its inception has been dedicated to praying for
> the marriages of its young men and women. For two years they have prayed
> for strong families. They have cried out to the Lord that he would be
> merciful and provide godly spouses for their children. They have asked Him
> to raise up another generation that will build on the principles of family
> revival their parents have embraced -- home education, multi-generational
> faithfulness, biblical patriarchy, covenant keeping, virtuous womanhood,
> and courageous manhood.
>
> Today, the little children of the congregation will be watching. This
> too is a blessing. It means that they are growing up with the right kind
> of examples around them. It means that there is the wonderful hope that
> they will grow up in a spiritual community where it is normative for young
> men and women to grow up in purity.
>
> The groom is Joshua Goforth. At the ripe old age of twenty-one, he
> has already distinguished himself among his peers as a man of vision,
> spiritual focus, and excellence as the graphic designer extraordinaire for
> all three of the Vision Forum catalogs (book catalog, All-American Boy's
> Adventure Catalog, and the Beautiful Girlhood Collection). Joshua, who
> joined Vision Forum immediately upon completion of his home education, is
> one of a growing number of home educated students who are demonstrating
> that a little bit of entrepreneurial vision, a lot of effort, and some
> good old-fashioned practical experience is a superior method of life
> preparation than a four-year journey through the halls of Babylon (a.k.a.,
> the modern college experience).
>
> With just moments to go before the wedding begins, I am standing and
> praying with the groom. He has given me the awesome privilege of assisting
> his father and father-in-law in officiating over the marriage. His last
> words to me as a single man sum up the message of this wedding: "I know I
> am not worthy of this woman, but I also know that God is doing something
> really special here, and He is doing it for future generations."
>
> The lady of the hour is Miss Noelle Wheeler, the twenty-four year old
> daughter of evangelist Richard "Little Bear" Wheeler. Vision Forum readers
> may recognize her as the girl who graces the cover of the Beautiful
> Girlhood Collection with such genuine sweetness and femininity, or as the
> author of our best-selling book DAUGHTERS OF DESTINY. Anyone who has met
> Noelle knows that she possesses a refreshing innocence and precious
> naiveté that only comes from a girl who has been raised around the sweet
> aroma of Christian holiness. Today, she is focused on one thing: preparing
> herself for her new earthly Lord (1 Peter 3) with whom she will focus the
> rest of her life in the service of Jesus Christ as they purpose to seek
> the Lord for many children and commit their marriage to a joint-dominion
> work for the glory of God.
>
> The marriage commences. It is perfect in every respect. Beautiful
> sunlight from the Lord and a pleasant breeze accompany the lovely strains
> of music which proceed from the outdoor gazebo by which bride and groom
> will take their vows. As I share a message of encouragement to the couple,
> accompanied by the vows of their covenant, I can sense a true spirit of
> hope and glorious expectation coming from the many well wishers gathered.
>
> But one last event is yet to take place. With just moments to go
> before bride and groom are pronounced man and wife, the father of the
> bride rises to approach the couple. He takes his stand before me. In his
> own inimitable style, Little Bear Wheeler reaches down to the ground and
> reveals a replica of the massive sword once carried by the original
> "Braveheart," William Wallace of Scotland. Raising the sword with both
> hands he proclaims the following words, which I will attempt to paraphrase
> below:
>
> "Kneel Joshua Goforth... In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I
> commission you to take my daughter. I have raised her with a sacred purity
> as few girls have ever been raised. Today, I give her to you. You are to
> be the loving lord in your home and over her. Cherish and love her and
> never forget what a rare gift God has given to you. Keep the sword in your
> house forever. When your children rise up and ask you 'father, whence
> comes this sword,' you must answer them that 'This sword was given as a
> charge by my father to me as a reminder that our family would forever be
> followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that the covenant of marriage is
> sacred and never to be broken.'"
>
> Last night was my ninth wedding anniversary. As my wife Beall and I
> reflected upon the joys of our own marriage and the supreme happiness God
> has given to us, we were also able to rejoice in the new marriage we
> witnessed a month prior.
>
> We rejoiced because the world is now a better place. We rejoiced
> because a promise has been kept. It was a promise given millennia ago to a
> great man named Abraham. It is a promise that was affirmed by Solomon and
> echoed in the words of the Apostles. It is a promise that more and more
> parents are claiming as they dedicate their children to the service of the
> Lord, as they fulfill the substance of the Deuteronomy 6 mandate by
> walking alongside their children through home education, as they turn
> their hearts to home and from the debilitating philosophies of our
> culture, so that they can raise warriors for Jesus Christ.
>
> I was there. I witnessed it from three feet away. It was sealed
> before the public with a vow and a kiss -- a very special kiss, the kind
> you don't hear about any more. A kiss of purity and innocence -- a genuine
> first kiss.
>
> Wake up happy tomorrow -- you serve a God who keeps His promises!
>
> Thank you Father, for reminding us that God's ways work.
> Thank you Father, for vindicating parents who have stood
> against the world, year after year, in the home education
> of their children. Thank you Jesus, for praying fathers
> who have turned their hearts to home. Thank you Father,
> for noble and pious mothers who have labored in the
> trenches of daily homemaking. Thank you Father, for
> raising up a generation of young men and women who we
> can actually set before our little ones and say --
> "follow their example." Thank you for the marriage of
> Joshua Goforth to Noelle Wheeler. We are all better for it.
>
> To view pictures from the wedding, please visit our Web site:
>
> www.visionforum.com/sp/sc/010719wedding.asp
>
>
> Standing Amazed in His Presence, I Remain,
> Your Friend,
> Doug Phillips
> President, The Vision Forum, Inc.
>
>
>
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