the blog of Jerry Bolton
Posts tagged Our Wedding
…a covenant sealed in dreams
5What follows are the covenant vows that my wife Stephanie and I made this recent Saturday August the 2nd, 2008. They are quite copyrighted, but we would be glad to share them with you if you ask us. So please, ask us, mostly because we like to know they’re getting used. We did a lot of work on them over a couple months off-and-on, so while we don’t want to see them squandered or wasted, we also do want to see them shared and used of God to bless others… or something like that. I have a really hard time sounding stoic, I’m still pretty pumped and whatnot.
The gist is: We love these vows, we hope you do too. If you want to use them, ask us, we’ll almost definitely say yes – we just like to know who’s using them. 
Here ya go:
I, Jerry Taylor Bolton, take you, Stephanie Ruth Jenkinson, to be my wife. I recognize that God has blessed me with your love and entrusted your life to me as a gift that I have not earned. In recognition of this, I promise to sacrificially love you as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. I promise to courageously protect, fearlessly guide, selflessly serve, and generously provide for you, as he enables me. Through the pressures of the present, and the uncertainties of the future, I promise you my complete faithfulness; body, mind, and soul. I promise to lead you through all of life’s experiences even as the Lord leads me, that together we will grow in the likeness of Christ and establish a family that brings him glory and honour. I promise never to half-mean, never to half-love, and never to halve us – now that God has made us one. May the LORD deal with me as He sees fit if anything but death or His return parts me from you. These are my promises to you before God and the witnesses gathered here today.
I, Stephanie Ruth Jenkinson, take you, Jerry Taylor Bolton, to be my husband. I recognize that God has blessed me with your love and entrusted your life to me as a gift that I have not earned. In recognition of this, I promise to respectfully submit to you as the church submits itself to Christ by following his leadership. I promise to tenderly encourage, fearlessly follow, selflessly serve, and humbly counsel you as he enables me. Through the pressures of the present, and the uncertainties of the future, I promise you my complete faithfulness; body, mind, and soul. I promise to follow you through all of life’s experiences even as the church follows Christ, that together we will grow in the likeness of Christ and establish a family that brings him glory and honour. I promise never to half-mean, never to half-love, and never to halve us – now that God has made us one. May the LORD deal with me as He sees fit if anything but death or His return parts me from you. These are my promises to you before God and the witnesses gathered here today.
Jer & Steph’s Weddding Vows™ are ©2008 The Conglomerate International Corp. Unauthorized use will suck, and will probably doom your marriage. Asking permission is fun, good for your health, and Jesus most likely encourages you to do so. Almost for sure.
Side note: the “half mean, half love, halve us” part is taken from one of my recent poems.
Feel free to leave a note if you dig. ^_^
Side note: this was post #750. Not bad for ~5yrs.
…anticipate the backlash (grins)
0Current Tunage: Mars Ill – Flipside
Long lost track from Raw Material… gah! Epic awesome!
…and that, my friends, is what I like to call “getting married”. We just got back from the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee (highly recommended) and I feel disconnected and awesome. Hoping to have something to say soon. Marriage is good for you, and hard, and definitely an important component of sanctification, and I love it and plan to for a very, very long time.
…praise god from whom all blessings flow
1Current Tunage: Five Iron Frenzy – A Flowery Song
What a great recessional song! ^_^
note to others: folks ain’t jokin’ when they say the week before your wedding is stupid busy. ain’t jokin’ at all.
almost there, it’s packing time -_-
^_^
epic win
…abracadavers
0Current Tunage: The Classic Crime – Abracadavers
Where once they were promising, they now deliver on that promise in spades. “The Silver Cord” is my choice for record of the summer… though my Deepspace5 & Mars ILL order ain’t in yet.
I haven’t much to say. In five days I’ll be a husband and that’s pretty much the most exciting thing in the universe right now. I’m not nervous, just happy and stoked to almost be done with all this planning… but much more so, I’m happy and stoked to be married soon – to Stephanie nonetheless! What a blessing and how much more than all I could have asked for or imagined up.
In other news, I’ve writ my first new poem in ages. You can read it on my poetry blog… which is most easily found through the link on the right.
Read, enjoy, comment, dominate. Love.
…all eden’s wealth arrayed before your eyes
1Current Tunage: Thrice – Child of Dust
Beautiful harmonies.
Two weeks remain. Fourteen days.
…dead signal (seeing-eye fruit bat)
0Current Tunage: Thrice – Phoenix Ignition
Old favourites from old thrice.
Hey.
I’m well as well can be. If a bit sore, tired, and full of thoughts. I’ve been learning a lot lately, mostly about what’s yet-to-come and about what lies deep within. Challenging days behind, challenging days ahead.
Random, point-form thoughts of late:
- The last thing I deserve is grace, and yet it is grace that permeates my life.
- I’ve been contemplating the idea of a career in law.
- This coming school year will be my most academically demanding to date.
- Orange Julius makes me salivate.
- I’ve lived in my room for ~12 years straight. It’s strange to be leaving soon.
- Wedding showers are fun.
- I am a huge fan of Magical Todd and Nomeus. They are brothers and fellowsoldiers.
- I haven’t seen her in more than 24 hours and I think I’m losing my mind. The previous sentence would have made me gag severely not so long ago.
Some news:
Taking a bit of a sabbatical from these computer machines, more or less for most of what remains of the summer.
In any case, I do hope to update from time to time when I do chance upon an opportunity – though my honest expectation is that such times will be scarce.
If you need to get in touch, call or gmail me.
(And if you haven’t RSVP’ed yet, do it quick before I start my campaign!)
…oftentimes, i can’t make it alone
1Current Tunage: Mae – Sometimes I Can’t Make It Alone
I think, upon some reflection, that for me, it’s alltimes I can’t make it alone. As the original Zelda stated: “It’s dangerous to go alone. Here, take this!”
I am going to write a poem about driving “home” (here) from home (which is wherever Steph is).
I’ve been learning a lot more from being Engaged than I thought possible. Like, for instance, that a lot of what is learned about being Engaged (and how to do it well) doesn’t have an expiry date (ie. the wedding day). It’s actually a lot of useful, practical, and transcendent stuff. As a general rule, at least.
That being said, I think the most potent lessons have been the ones about how wonderful it will be to not be Engaged anymore. Not having to travel to each other, not having to use the telephone or IM to keep up to date, not having to leave each other (in general), and many other things.
Yes, I think the best lesson to learn from being Engaged is that getting Married to each other is the best idea you’ve ever shared.
If all goes as planned, we’ll learn the same lesson from being Married.
Those are my “I’m up way later than I should be” thoughts tonight.
…re: posting
1Current Tunage: Death Cab For Cutie – Someday You Will Be Loved
Taking a break from “Narrow Stairs” (the new record) for a bit. It’s very good though. In the meantime, “Plans” (album previous) is on again.
(steph is a teacher)
(i have a severe schoolboy crush on her)
(its not really a secret)
(i also have a grown-up crush on her, and i’m marrying her)
(i guess that’s not really a secret either)
(this was fun, lets do it again)
…re: not posting
0Current Tunage: Death Cab For Cutie – I Will Possess Your Heart
i blame the wedding
or something
bbl
kk?
…hey, hey, hey, mister dead man
1Current Tunage: Brand New – You Won’t Know
Picked up Deja Entendu and The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me the other day used but in good shape at Chumleigh’s. I was pretty stoked.
I’m sorry it’s been so long. It’s been a potent mix of working almost every day, trying to get our wedding invitations all done (which means a lot of guest list culling and cropping and such), reading books, listening to some really “whickedsick” tunes, and tossing around some TF2 to stay sane.
A potent mixture that has meant not much writing. I have a couple album reviews to finish ASAP. And by ASAP I mean “should have already been done a week ago”. Hopefully one will be up later today.
Speaking of today, we head up “capital-N” North for our last bout of Premarital Counselling, our first wedding shower, and quality time with fams. And a lot of driving and thus paying a buck and a quarter for a litre of gas, on regular occasion. Not looking forward to the driving or the pumping gas, but the outcome is pretty bliss.
I’m weary – haven’t had enough sleep in awhile. Not getting enough tonight either – can’t sleep. Too wired.
1. Not Even A Hint by Joshua Harris
(which has since been retitled Sex Isn’t The Problem, Lust Is, and is easily right up there with Arterburn’s “Every Man’s Battle” for books on the subject of battling lust).
2. Vintage Jesus by Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears
(which is so, so good. I <3>
3. Secret Believers by Brother Andrew and Al Janssen
(which I’ve really only read the preface and first chapter for, but it looks excellent).
In other news, T-minus eighty-five days remaining. I get more excited about it every day, by my estimations.
Hopefully, I’ll have much more to say soon. If not, know that I am busy being diligent and preparatory.
<3