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Apples of Gold
Radio Script for May 4, 2009
“My Daughter is Engaged”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
We kept looking at our cell phones.
Yes, we should hear something any minute now.
See, my wife and I knew something that our daughter didn’t – that if all went according to plan, she would be engaged before sun down.
And finally the call came. And the squealing and the pandemonium. And the rush to tell people before they heard it from someone else.
My daughter was truly surprised. She didn’t know he already had the ring, and she didn’t know he already met with me to ask for her hand in marriage. So she thought the proposal was still dangling out there in the future somewhere.
So there they were, walking on the beach at sunset, and suddenly she saw him go down on one knee. Emotions exploded out of nowhere. She covered her mouth, and finally the thought broke through, “You have to say yes. Say…yes.”
The element of surprise achieved. Job well done!
Now with both a ring and a date, they are officially engaged.
And for my wife and I that means two weddings this year. My son is getting married in June, then my daughter in November.
And let me tell you, I could not be happier about their choices. They are both marrying wonderful Christians who are passionate about the Lord. They are all very mature spiritually for their age, and I’m excited about the addition of these young people to our family.
As you can tell, this was a red-letter weekend for the Apple family. We feel so abundantly blessed.
And as the excitement from the weekend dies down, I step back and say, “How did we get here, to such a blessed place in life?”
And two words come to mind: Wonderful Counselor.
I really think it’s due to the Wonderful Counselor in our life.
Throughout our marriage I have always said, “We will go wherever God wants us to go – to the best of our ability to discern where that is.”
Well a few years ago we concluded that God was calling us to Tallahassee. And when we got here we did not make the rounds of churches.
We stopped by one church on a Saturday night. There was no service. The sanctuary wasn’t even open. There was some kind of meeting going on somewhere though, so it was kind of awkward – us standing there in the lobby, strangers in a strange place.
We knew little about the church, and yet something stirred inside me, “This is it.”
I believe that was the Wonderful Counselor. It was the Wonderful Counselor who brought us to Tallahassee, and it was the Wonderful Counselor who brought us to that church.
And we knew those were critically important decisions, especially for our children. We knew that, at our kids’ ages, our decisions would affect whom they would meet and therefore whom they would marry.
And you know what? Those decisions are just too important for us to make willy-nilly. I don’t want to make those decisions based on the economy or the highest paying job or the nicest house. I don’t want to decide based on where I feel comfortable or what I’m used to.
Listen, friend. These decisions are important! Especially when you have children.
You have decided to live somewhere. What did you base it on?
You go to church somewhere. What did you base it on?
Your kids go to school somewhere. What did you base it on?
Please don’t base these decisions on the same things everyone else does.
The far better thing to do is to take the advice of the Wonderful Counselor! He knows these things. He knows what’s best for you and your family.
Seek Him while He may be found. Pray constantly. Fast. Listen.
Yes, the Lord gives us free will. And better yet, He will give us wisdom.
Wisdom is ours for the asking!
I like what it says in Isaiah 28:26. “His God instructs him and teaches him the right way.”
I believe God will do that for each of us in these critical decisions. I believe He will instruct us and teach us the right way.
Isaiah 9:6 calls him the Wonderful Counselor, and I’ve seen the Lord be just that in my life.
At the time it was hard to see whether one decision was better than another. But now, looking back, I see those places in life where I think the Wonderful Counselor stepped in and pointed the way.
Not every decision was the most logical or the most profitable. But the key decisions have been surrendered to the leading of the Wonderful Counselor, and He has never failed us.
And now both our daughter and son are getting married this year, to two of the finest Christian young people I’ve ever met. What a blessing!
And my advice for them as they begin their new lives together?
Take time to listen, to seek the wisdom, and to surrender each important decision to the leading of the Wonderful Counselor.
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
© 2009 The Arrow’s Tip
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
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