Two Of Our Best Friends – Part 1

Jeremiah & Keri Duckett are two of our best friends in the world. They were a part of the original I.G. crew in Ft. Worth when the first church was started, and we have done quite a bit of life with these two. Among just a couple of those things are becoming best friends, falling in love, and marrying our spouses. We grew deeply with them in the context of Biblical Community, and were on mission together with our lives. Back in January we hosted Student CPx: Concentrate in Las Vegas. We had some of the I.G. Ft. Worth crew come out to join us. Jeremiah & Keri led us in some powerful times of worship. I encourage you to take some time, get out your journal, Bible, reflect, & watch this video. Enjoy…

(We love you Duckett’s!)

more about “J & K Duckett Worship: SCPx Vegas par…“, posted with vodpod

 

For Your Entertainment…

While in Texas last week we caught this little ditty on video. My oldest brother challenged my youngest brother to a “wrestling” (“Grappling” in Jui-Jitsu terms) match. Mind you, my youngest brother is a Jui-Jitsu instructor. My oldest brother is…NOT. However, oldest siblings always seem to think they could always “take” their younger siblings…NOT the case here. It was hilarious. We walked over to the “Snow Jui-Jitsu Academy of Keller” where the fun began…

Cabbage Patch Doll…

Morgan was hanging out with our friend Chelsea a couple weeks back, and they were dressing the kids up. Hilarious. Someone made a comment about Cabbage Patch Kids, and we came across some pictures of CP dolls….It’s gotta be the cheeks…!

Minus the crazy red hair, of course….but look at the FACE!

Oh the joys of having a little girl…and rad friends who do crazy stuff. I love it. Thanks Robbin’s!

Married To Jesus…

I am currently reading through the book of Romans with my “LTG partner”. I came across a neat little piece of insight this morning in Romans 7:2-4 that I thought I’d share with you all…

” ²For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. ³ So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man. ⁴ Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.”

Wow. I am daily humbled by the fact that we, as The Church, are the Bride of Christ. He is the Bridegroom, and is making His Bride ready for His return. It says that we have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that we may be married to another-Jesus! Just as the woman above is released from the law of marriage to her husband upon his death, we are released from our marriage to sin because of the law through the death/resurrection of Christ. Just as she is released to marry another, WE are released to marry another-Him who was raised from the dead.

We are released from our marriage to sin, and set free in our marriage to Christ because He has died, and is risen for the redemption of our sin. He is our Bridegroom, and we are daily being sanctified/made pure/holy for His return. My favorite part of this passage is at the very end…

“…that we should bear fruit to God.”

We are released from our marriage to sin because of the law, and set free to marry Christ…SO THAT WE MAY BEAR FRUIT TO GOD! I love it. May we walk in this freedom today, realizing our freedom from sin, and marriage to Christ for the purpose of His Kingdom!

Dearest Eliza…

A few days ago I posted the letter I wrote to Morgan as she began her adventure as a mommy. I also wrote a letter to Eliza a few weeks before the birth. After she was born Morgan and I spent some time alone together with her. It was a beautiful time of worship as I prayed, and spoke these words over them in Jesus’ name…

7.12.2009

“Dearest Eliza,

I am humbled that the Lord has chosen your mommy and I to be the first two people who get to welcome you into this new world. We do so in the name of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ who did for us what we could not do ourselves, become sinless & Holy that we may commune with the living God. It was God who formed you inside of your mother, and allowed us to be blessed with you. We have committed to a life centered on the Gospel, and kingdom of God. We realize that first and foremost this means we get to raise you as a disciple of Jesus. Aside from each other, we now commit to placing you before anyone else. It is upon this foundation that you enter into our lives. May this become a reality as you grow into the woman of God that He created you to be.

We begin this first conversation with you by confessing our weakness, and brokenness. We admit that we do not have the ability to accomplish this task of raising you that has been laid before us. We humbly confess that we will not always know the right answers, and will likely make decisions that disappoint you. Due to the sin nature that battles inside of us we will probably be responsible, at some point, for pain in your life. It will be these times that we must ask you, as our daughter, for grace, mercy, and forgiveness. Our need for, and dependency upon Christ must be made known now, and we must all be reminded of this reality from this day forward. We are daily begging God for the power of His Holy Spirit to empower us to be equipped for a task such as this. We claim victory over your life right now in Jesus’ name. That victory covers our task as parents, and we are believing by faith that it covers your future decision to follow Christ as Savior with your life.

Eliza, we chose this as your first name that we may be reminded daily to declare these words over you. Your name means “worshiper of God”, or “consecrated to God”. We have a deep desire for you to grow to learn and understand what it means to be a true worshiper of God. We, as your parents, consecrate you, or “dedicate you”, and “declare you as sacred” in Jesus’ name. We declare, by giving you this name, a life devoted to God as your Heavenly Father.

With your middle name, Sage, which means “wise one”, we declare a life of divine wisdom over you in Jesus’ name. This wisdom will allow you to understand the very nature of God, and His Kingdom. It will also give you the ability to make decisions that line up with those Kingdom principles.

As your earthly father I commit to you a lifetime of love. I, once again, admit that my love is conditional due to the sin nature that lives in me. However, I commit to constantly pointing you to your Heavenly Father who’s love is UNCONDITIONAL. I can only pray that as I point you to Him, and you experience His grace and love that you might be able to extend that same forgiveness and grace to me during the times that I fail you. I commit to striving for these characteristics as your daddy:

Humility/Honesty: I will never lie to you, or take advantage of the Spiritual authority I have in your life. I will not deceive you into thinking that I always know the right answers to everything. Patience: I will not expect you to know things, and be able to do everything right all the time. I will patiently wait for you to grow, and mature in God’s perfect timing for you. I commit to teaching you slowly, and throughout your life what it means to follow Christ, and put others before yourself. When you mess up I will patiently help you learn more. Throughout this entire process I promise to pursue being in control of myself, my emotions, anger, and temper. I will need the power of the Holy Spirit for this one, and much grace from you when I fail to live up to this commitment. When the above things do not go as planned I am striving to be slow to anger, and quick to love. Of course, the foundation for all of these is Love. Love, Integrity, and Character, are the foundation in which I commit to building everything else upon.

Eliza, you are a precious gift to your mother and I from our Father in heaven. We are extremely grateful for you, and commit to spending the rest of our lives loving you and showing you how to love. Our purpose in life, which will hopefully become your purpose, is to know God, and make Him known. We are trusting that one way we can do that is to pour our lives, and love into you and your future siblings. We love you very much. We declare these things over you in the name of Jesus, our Savior. Amen.”

We ask that you, as our brothers and sisters in Christ, would hold us accountable to these commitments we have made to our baby girl. Thank you.

Dearest Mommy…

I wrote a letter to Morgan, and a letter to Eliza a few weeks before the birth. After Eliza was born Morgan and I spent some time alone together with the baby. It was a beautiful time of worship as I prayed over, and read these letters to my wife & new baby girl.

7.12.2009

“Dearest mommy,

You did it baby. You made it through this pregnancy, and brought this little baby girl into the world. You didn’t just make it through, but you insisted on making this a worshipful experience that brought glory to God. You set a wonderful example by disciplining yourself, and being determined to acquire as much knowledge about this process as possible. You ate well, exercised, and took care of yourself for the sake of our baby girl.

You have sought the Lord, and prayed countless hours for this baby. You have spent even more time in thought about this baby. You have a deep desire to raise her as a lover of Jesus. I want to declare the same victory we experienced in this birth over you as a mommy right now in Jesus’ name. You will have the same determination to raise this baby girl up as you did to care for her while she was in your womb. You will make your job as her mommy a worshipful experience that brings glory to God. You will set an example for many women of what parenting, and being a mommy can & should be like. From this point on this will be a new part of your purpose and life in Christ; this will be your biggest kingdom pursuit yet-to be a mommy to our children. You will continue to discipline yourself, and acquire as much knowledge about this process as possible. You will continue to be in deep thought, and prayer for this little girl. I know these things to be true based upon who Christ is to you, and your obedience to Him.

It is these things that cause me to fall more and more in love with you each and every day. I am lucky to be the husband and father of two of the most wonderful women on the planet. As your husband I commit to being right beside you every step of the way. I commit to leading the two of you, and providing for you in every way necessary. I have a responsibility to hold the below “family values” as priority throughout the rest of our lives as a family…

To family:
…This is a commitment to one another, as a family, that we are entering into by the grace of God, through Christ Jesus, made possible by His activity in our lives. We make this commitment as parents, and have invited you, as our children into this commitment in Jesus’ name. May this commitment, and purpose become real to you as you grow in maturity of faith by the grace of Jesus. (Using this statement as a filter by which all of our life decisions as a family are run through)

“Family Values”
→ To be giving of ourselves in every aspect of life. (Spiritually, physically, emotionally, etc.) To be sacrificial in that. Phil. 2:4 putting others before ourselves. This applies not only to one another, but friends, family, and strangers.
→ We will have open hands & open hearts, a loose grip on our stuff/possessions.
→ We will make decisions as a family as we seek the Lord.
→ We commit to being open and honest with one another about everything. (How we feel, etc.) We will clearly communicate our feelings to one another in a timely manner, refusing to allow a lack of communication to produce bitterness and resentment in our hearts towards one another.
→ We will have a time or rest/Sabbath as a family on a weekly basis. Family time will be a priority in our lives, and not just something we do once per week.
→ We will look to scripture for guidance, and have a solid foundation of Biblical Truth in which our family is built upon.
→ We will pursue our individual callings in the Lord, and help one another discover those callings/gifts. As we discover them we will encourage one another to walk them out through the power of the Holy Spirit.
→ We will teach one another to love deeply.

Morgan, I love you and am so proud of you. I can’t wait to begin walking these commitments out with you on a daily basis. I know it will get tough, and at times feel impossible, but I want you to rest in the fact that we are being led by the Holy Spirit. He will sanctify us through this entire process, and we will welcome it in Jesus’ name. I love you more now then I ever have before, and can’t wait to continue this journey with you.”

-Aaron-

Stay tuned for the “Dearest Eliza” letter in a couple days…

Eliza Sage Snow

The birth of our daughter was a powerful event to say the least. Many tears, thoughts, and prayers were involved in the birth of this little girl. We have watched the video of the birth several times over now; it is extremely powerful, and I wish I could show it to the world. (However, my wife might not appreciate that too much =) I am still processing my experience with the 12 long hours of labor followed by me catching my baby when she came out. I then gently placed her on her mother’s chest as she took her first gasp of air, and began crying. Morgan and I both exploded with tears of joy. I will be journaling the events of the entire evening over the next few days, but wanted to share this brief update with you now…

Eliza was born on July 12th, 2009 at 7:46 in the morning at Gentle Beginnings Birth Center in Hurst, Texas. She weighed 10 lbs. 3 oz. and was 20 inches long. Morgan delivered her naturally; both baby and mommy are doing very well. We owe that to our Lord Jesus who heard our desperate prayers throughout evening, and to our close friend, Ann Crowell, who delivered Eliza. Ann’s birth assistant, Cindy Haggerton, who is also our friend and chiropractor, also played a huge role during the evening.

We had the pleasure of having one of our best friends, Keri Duckett, shoot photos the entire evening. Keri is an extremely talented photographer. You can check out a blog she wrote about Eliza with more pics, as well as some of her other photography HERE. She is available to do maternity photos, births, engagements, weddings, etc. and can be contacted at: keriduckett@gmail.com. Keri put together this wonderful slide show of the birth for us…

Thank you all for your prayers and support throughout this entire process. You have been wonderful. From Target gift cards, and baby gifts, to pregnancy/parenting advice you have all blessed us tremendously. Thank you from the Snow’s; all THREE of us.

“Laughing With” – Regina Spektor

If you don’t listen to Regina Spektor’s music then you are missing out on an incredibly talented artist. My wife introduced me to Regina’s music a few years back and I thought it was really weird; I didn’t like it at first. Now I think it’s brilliant. Her latest album has an incredible song on it that you MUST hear….The video & lyrics are powerful, and posted below. (Regina does not profess to be a Christian that I know of, which makes this song even more touching)

Regina Spektor Laughing With lyrics

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one´s laughing at God when they´re starving or freezing or so very poor

No one laughs at God when the doctor calls after some routine tests
No one´s laughing at God when it´s gotten real late
And their kid´s not back from the party yet
No one laughs at God when their airplane starts to uncontrollably shake
No one´s laughing at God when they see the one they love
Hand in hand with someone else and they hope they´re mistaken

No one laughs at God when the cops knock on their door
And they say we got some bad

news sir
No one´s laughing at God when there´s a famine fire or flood

But God can be funny
At a cocktail party when listening to a good God-themed joke
Or when the crazies say He hates us
And they get so red in the head you think they´re ´bout to choke

God can be funny
When told he´ll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus
God can be so hilarious
Ha ha
Ha ha

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one´s laughing at God when they´ve lost all they´ve got
And they don´t know what for

No one laughs at God on the day they realize that the last sight they´ll ever see
Is a pair of hateful eyes
No one´s laughing at God when they´re saying their goodbyes

But God can be funny
At a cocktail party when listening to a good God-themed joke
Or when the crazies say He hates us
And they get so red in the head you think they´re ´bout to choke

God can be funny
When told he´ll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus
God can be so hilarious

No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one laughs at God in a hospital
No one laughs at God in a war
No one laughing at God in a hospital
No one´s laughing at God in a war

No one´s laughing at god when they´re starving or freezing or so very poor

No one´s laughing at God
No one´s laughing at God
No one´s laughing at God
No one´s laughing at God
We´re all laughing with God

Plans a Changin’

Morgan and I are both “planners”. We spend countless hours dreaming up plans for the future while typically staying obedient and content in the present. We usually hold to those plans very loosely, welcoming change. However, this past week has been a different story…

We are 6 days past our original due date, and Morgan’s belly continues to grow. One friend of ours joked, “I think soon Eliza will be going to school inside Morgan!” Haha! We are not worried about Morgan or the baby, as we have come to learn that it is very normal for first time Moms to deliver late. The reality is that this does throw a “kink” in the original PLANS…

I am gonna go ahead and take most of the credit for being anxious by the fact that our plans were being changed involuntarily. You see, the original plan was to be gone a total of 6 weeks MAX (Wait for baby, & 3 weeks recovery for Morgan) before returning home to Las Vegas. We would be in Vegas for a few weeks to get settled in before heading to Austin in August to host Student CPx, and then return back to Vegas again. We have now been in Texas for 6 weeks; no baby has been born. The math pushes everything back 3 weeks, or more. It basically means that we will most likely be unable to go home before we have to be in Austin for Student CPx. When it’s all said and done that’s just under 3 months away from home. That nearly gave me a panic attack. We are paying rent on an empty house, unable to work while away from Vegas, away from the work God is doing there through I.G. in the different simple churches, and the list goes on and on…

My anxiety lasted about a day. While Morgan and I were in prayer and the Word a couple of mornings ago we experienced much peace as the Lord whispered gently into our ears. He gave us a “Big Picture” perspective, and encouraged us to be grateful for this unplanned extra time we get to spend with one another before the baby. As we were reading through Proverbs together the Lord began to reveal to us that we have placed our security in the plans we have made for this baby, and our ability to BE IN CONTROL of things. It feels good to be in control, ya knw? He stripped those plans right out of our hands. We are now forced to trust in Him, not in our control of the situation. There are many things to worry about, but we are being forced (less resistant now=) to rest in the arms of our Father in Heaven. We appreciate your prayers and support, and cannot wait to share baby news & pictures with you.

Please be in prayer that labor and delivery go smoothly. Also, that the Lord would take care of all the details due to this unexpected change of plans in regards to finances, work, bills, I.G., Student CPx, etc. Thanks.

Texas. Baby. Daddy.

I just put my wife & mother in law on a plane to Texas. Yes, it’s ok to fly when you’re pregnant. I will head out tomorrow morning in the car with our dog, and enough stuff for a month or so of life in Texas. I wanted to post this to let you all know the “game plan” for the next bit of our lives…(If you know all of this feel free to skip down to the little “survey” at the bottom of the post…)

Our baby is officially due on June 28th, however, we’re praying for her to come a bit earlier. As many of you who have been pregnant or have children know, Morgan is beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable with this rather large baby growing inside of her. We have been reminded lately of how gracious our God is to provide us with such amazing friends & family who have supported us in everything along the way. From baby showers, to prayers for our marriage & pursuits of what God has called us to you have all been a reminder of the Grace of God in our lives.

I have been reflecting over our time in Vegas for the past few weeks. I can’t believe we’ve been here for a year and a half now. God has done incredible things here and all over the place. We have learned a lot, fallen down a lot, been humbled A LOT, and sanctified for His namesake. We have about 8 months left in Vegas, and will be packing up to move to Austin sometime in December of 2009. We will leave behind several thriving new communities of faith here in Vegas that will, by the grace of God, multiply into many more pockets of believers who will continue to proclaim the kingdom of God in Vegas.

We’re excited to return from Texas to Vegas with a new life in our arms. Up until now “how to handle children” in an “organic church setting” has been mere theory with a small amount of practical experience being involved with other communities with children. Our church here in Vegas is excited to pursue this experience with us…

While in Texas we will be spending time with our families, and old I.G. Community in Ft. Worth. It will be refreshing to say the least. I will be getting some things put into place structurally for “Intentional Gatherings” as an organization that will help to propel the vision and purpose forward. (Website, etc.) We will make a few runs down to Austin to prepare for Student CPx, which is coming up at the end of the summer. After the baby is born I will have a few places to go and teach on simple church planting. To say that things will be busy, fresh, and new may be an understatement!

I’m sure I am leaving some things out. I’ll bring this to a close for now. I hope this post answered some of your unanswered questions. I will be on the road for the next couple of days, but will do my best to update the blog. I have a few topics that I’m really anxious to write about. Hopefully, I will have a chance to do so once I arrive in Texas. For those of you who are quite a bit more interested in our new baby than anything else: don’t worry, I will be taking many pictures, posting many blogs/twitters, Facebook updates, etc. as the time comes.

To close: we’ve been playing a little guessing game around here. Would love for you to chime in…give your best guess for the following:

1) When do you think the baby will come based upon the June 28th due date? (early/late, & feel free to give a specific date as long as it is not a prophetic word claiming she will arrive AFTER June 28th!=)

2) Will she look more like her daddy, or mommy?

3) Will she come out with tattoos and/or piercings as many of you claim?

4) Will she have hair, and if so, what color will it be?

5) What color will her eyes be? (her mom has green eyes, and I have blue eyes)

6) Last but not least: Will she have me wrapped around her little finger…?