And what a few days it's been. As I last posted, on Friday we were at a funeral. On Saturday we were at the other end of the spectrum as we celebrated a wedding. It was a beautiful celebration - two lives joining together. Very joyful, very romantic, very much a reflection of Doug & Elise. It was very fun for Reid & I to watch these two get married. We've known them since we moved to Hope in 1999 and started volunteering with the youth. Doug and Elise were among those first teens we got to know. It's fun to look at a new couple just beginning and remember that feeling. All the romance and dreams in the world.

And then today found us at yet another celebration. A friends 70th birthday. Chris is one of the most wonderful men you will ever meet. He has done more in his 70 years than most of us will do in a lifetime - traveling, speaking, creating and developing smarty-pants scientific theories. But his defining characteristic is the love he has for his Lord. The man is an extraordinary example of a follower of Jesus. I am so thankful that he and his wife Pauline are in our lives, and in the lives of our children. They are true gifts and if I end up half the person Chris is - I will have ended well.

So in the last three days we've celebrated life in its varying forms. In death, in marriage, in a birthday.

And every celebration has been wonderful.