It was a searing, sunny day on August 9th, 1989 and as dusk fell on little Blake's bedroom, the party and birthday cake, candles and presents were now just memories bouncing around in his head. He smiled as he slept dreaming about his special day and all the while, little did he know that God was introducing his future bride to the world half a country away as he fell asleep.
The long awaited entrance of Gretchen Alexis Horning came late, she took her time, as is her style and overstayed her welcome in the womb by 2 weeks. Her delivery was a bit stressful as she had gone into distress and the emergency C section went well around 10:30 that evening of 8/9/89. She was miraculously perfectly healthy with a full head of blond hair. The knowledge of her future groom just celebrating his 4th birthday while she made her entrance was still 22 years away yet to be discovered.
This February 9th, 2013, Blake William Ringenberg and Gretchen Alexis Horning took the vows of Holy matrimony in a place called Union Meeting House in Marietta, PA. With both their birthdays being August 9 and making their wedding date Feb. 9th made me look up the number nine and find out what it means. In ancient Hebrew, numbers are also words which mean something, 5 is grace, 6 is man, 7 is perfection, 8-infinity and the number 9 means Harvest or fruitfulness. We've had 2 reports so far that two of the wedding attendees have had major spiritual revelations because of what they witnessed and heard at the wedding. This was indeed a Union Meeting if ever there was one.
It was started by 3 blasts of the shofar, issuing in the presence of the Lord and chasing away any foul spirits in the vicinity.
Our prayer pastor, Eric Smith gave a brief word on the meaning of marriage which was just a snippet from his recently published book: The Science of a Woman and the Art of Manhood. He talked about this fine building we stood inside of as a very well crafted structure made from wood and that eventually, even though it's stood now for almost 200 years that someday it would be just dust or ash and was indeed in a state of decay. It is also in need of constant maintenance as well. In comparison, a tree that the wood is obtained from, while in the ground, is in a state of growth and is alive needing no maintenance other than what God feeds it. Marriage put together by man is like all other man made items, in a state of decay, while a marriage that God brings together should be alive and in a state of growth. He talked about how people commonly accept the premise that marriage takes hard work to make it last. But conversely, he told us all that it is a lie and told long enough has become accepted as truth. He challenged us that when we live a life just as God planned for us, with Him at the center of a man and a woman and a man living as he was created to live and a woman doing the same, it should be easy to maintain a Godly marriage and be filled with joy all the days of it; all the while being in a state of growth and satisfaction in all ways. 
Blake's brother-in-law, Ian who is fluent in Hebrew, then gave the Bride and Groom their first communion together and said a Hebrew blessing over them both, while our other daughter Jess played and sang beautifully behind them. He shared with us the english interpretation as well. Then they were introduced as Mr. & Mrs. Blake William Ringenberg for the first time. 
After pictures and a time of hors d'oeuvres and some refreshments, we took a 2 block trip down to the riverside to set off about 40 Chinese wishing lanterns after dusk. The bride and groom rode down in a horse and carriage with Just Married on the back. (Love and Marriage, love and marriage... go together like a horse and carriage.)
It was a magnificent site to see all these lanterns take off over the water. 
I should back up and remind you that this was the weekend of the winter storm named Nemo. We had half the guests coming from all over the country and were forewarned that many might have a tough time making it. We prayed that Nemo would not effect this event in any way. Not just prayed, but we used our authorization to command the weather in Jesus' name just as He had calmed the storm and the waves on the Sea of Galilee. Many kept reminding us of the weather forecast to which we'd respond, "We prayed." Our faith would not be shaken. Then the forecast kept changing and it went from the original 1" to 3" to 4-8 inches with blustery winds following behind. Again, many kept bringing it to our attention to which our reply would always be a calm "We prayed." Well, Nemo was not permitted around here. While all the counties surrounding and of course those north of us were pounded, we had a light dusting of intense snow that lasted about 45 minutes the night before. We prayed. The next day was indeed very blustery and again there were those who thought we'd have to call off the lantern launchings. We were not worried and told them that when the time came, it would be perfectly calm. The lanterns were important to Gretchen because of her favorite movie, Tangled. Gretchen has always been Rappunzel with her long flowing golden locks and that fairy tale remake had these beautiful lanterns in it. Well the time came and the howling wind just an hour before was now totally gone as we stepped outside. It seemed warmer too for some odd reason. So the lanterns went ... mostly. Some people burned theirs up on the launch pad but just a few.
The rest of the night was a blur, of course the highlight for me was the Father-Daughter dance and I chose the 
Mark Harris song, Find Your Wings. I asked if she would dance the first part on top of my feet like we did when she was small and we had our Daddy/Daughter dates in the house.
The night came to a conclusion as they left for their wedding night spent in... Intercourse, PA. Where else?
Gretchen and Blake Ringenberg will live happily ever after starting in a small town called New Carlisle, Indiana. They are our beloved children in whom we are well pleased.
... I pray that God would fill your hearts with dreams, and faith to have the courage, to dare to do great things. I'm here for you whatever your life brings. So let our love give you roots, and help you find your wings...
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