i hope you dance

OK, I'll admit that the song may have gotten way too much air-time on the radio, but the words are fitting here.

Ellen Elizabeth Shinnick became Mrs. Jeffery Harris Flannery, Jr. this past Saturday night. Jeff and Ellen both looked wonderful, and the entire wedding was beautiful. The rehearsal dinner was at Walking Horse Farm in Franklin, and it was great. Both funny and moving stories were told about the couple after dinner. It's obvious to those close to Jeff and Ellen that they're sincere, real, honest-to-goodness lovers of Christ. Ellen is a "prototype" of what a Christian young lady should be, and she's a great example for Meg and Sara.

The most fun part of the whole wedding was the wedding reception at The Factory. I served as the announcer for the evening and introduced the newlyweds. They had their first dance, followed by the father/daughter and mother/son dances.

The dancing by the wedding guests was limited at first. I danced with Sara, then went over to look at the song list. When I saw that James Taylor's "How Sweet It Is" was the song after next, I told Susie to get ready to dance. You see, even though I'm not very much of a dancer, Susie's even less of a dancer than me. But I got her out there and we thoroughly enjoyed our dance together. We even got back out on the dance floor for about 5 more songs, some of them fast songs, which Susie HATES dancing to. Before long, the dance floor was full. The dancing brought back alot of memories from college days, going to mixers at the different girls' dorms on campus at ETSU.

Seems that I try to find a life lesson in everything lately, so here goes: life's alot like the dance Saturday night. You may not be the best, but you've got to get out on the floor. And if you've got a partner, doing the dance together makes it that much better. It doesn't matter how skilled you are, just get out there and enjoy. You never know how much you're going to enjoy yourself until you do.

In closing, Susie and I sent both daughters off to camp yesterday. Sara got on a bus at church with Sydney and Amanda, and all three were full of smiles. We drove Meg to Linden, TN to meet up with the youth group from church. This was WAY back off the beaten path. Maybe it was just me, but I swear that I heard "Dueling Banjos" playing on the way there. Sara comes back Wednesday at noon, and Meg will be back at 4 PM Thursday. What does this mean for me? I get my wife ALL TO MYSELF until then! So if you call and we don't answer, I hope you'll understand that it's not personal. Because just like Jeff, I've been blessed by God with the wonderful gift of a precious wife who I find irresistable. And any time that I can spend with just her is another gift. So pardon us while we dance......