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Welcome to the brand new (as of September '06) online home of Kyle and Esmeralda!
We hope you enjoy parusing our site, even if there may not be much to see initially. We do have plans
to add more things over time, including more pictures, videos, music/movie reviews, and whatever other
little life tidbits we may think of. Given that we're starting a brand new life together (as of November 11, 2006),
we figured a website would be a great way of keeping records* of big events and life lessons, not only for ourselves, but
for you as well. We hope you enjoy what you find, and feel free to drop us a line whenever you have
thoughts, suggestions, or critiques of what we have up here.
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the kissing rocks of sedona, az
For those who don't really know and perhaps just found our website by a matter of chance, or for you
first time visitors - we are newlyweds! To hear all about our love story click here...
* Disclaimer
Even though we do intend to post up many of our personal thoughts, experiences, and reflections on life, we also
keep in mind that this website is a very public arena, leaving no privacy whatsoever. So, if it's seems like we're
being very generic in what we may be referring to in a given story, or if we perhaps don't give full and complete
names, descriptions, and whatnot, then just remember that this is intentional, and not because we're being haphazard
or anything. Email addresses will also not always be plainly spelled out, in an effort to
ward off the spammers
who use web spiders to pick up addresses off various websites. But don't worry, any live body will be able to understand
what the address is, so you can still email us if you like!
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[still pondering what to put over here]
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Ragamuffins, an explanation
As Esmeralda and I began disseminating the name we chose for our website domain, we quickly realized that we
were going off a concept, this word "ragamuffin," that seemed foreign to most people we know. And, truth be told,
they're right! It is a rather foreign concept in our society. I was introduced to the word by my brother
Ryan, who gave me a book called "The Ragamuffin Gospel" by Brennan Manning. I, in turn, gave a copy to Esmeralda
a few months into our courtship.
In his book, Manning defines the ragamuffin as being one who has been beaten down, bruised, burnt-out, and
bedraggled in life. "The earthen vessels who shuffle along on feet of clay." "The wobbly and weak-kneed who know
they don't have it altogether and are too proud to accept the handout of amazing grace." More often than not, this
is the very way Esmeralda and I feel. Yes, we've recognized the salvation God has offered, and have accepted His
free gift, but as we go forward and face trials and temptations, we so often find ourselves falling down. The gospel
of Jesus Christ, though, reminds us that no matter how many times we fail, screw up, or slack off, God is ready to
restore us by His grace. Grace alone, which God provides, should be enough; and so that's what we strive for.
To touch on another point in it all, let's look at the initial connection of ragamuffins with Jesus himself. First, when Jesus,
the very embodiment of God-the creator of the universe,
took on flesh to come and live among mankind, He did not seek out those who gave the appearance of majesty, togetherness,
and the like, but rather sought out the ragamuffins - those belittled by society for not being good enough, disciplined
enough, or smart enough. Second, Jesus himself, in speaking with Nicodemus (a religious leader) made it clear that the
very salvation he brought to this world is not a product of any action, thought, or emotion that we as humans possess, but
is rather a free gift that God gave out of love (see John 3:16-18,
Romans 6:23). In John 14:6, Jesus also follows up by noting
that this very salvation He offers is the only way we can be united with God once again in Heaven (post-physical life).
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