Back to the Grind

I have to admit the Holiday's were pretty brutal on my weight loss goals. I didn't really gain any weight but I definitely didn't lose any. With the new year starting one of my resolutions is to get down to 200 pounds. I'm not a huge fan of resolutions because most of the time I don't follow through with them, but this one is different. I have already lost 40 pounds and now want to lose 15 more. Jamie has done a great job with groceries and I'm starting to work out again. This is a big deal to me because I know it will help me live a healthier and longer life. I've never really cared about my body or what I'm putting in it and I'm so thankful for the revelation I had in 2oo8 and look forward to continuing my new lifestyle in 2009 and for the rest of my life. I also want to give a shout out to Debbie Hinzman and Josh Pearman for their weight loss. I'm super proud of what you guys have accomplished. Keep it up! I don't normally ask for comments but if you are on this kind of journey I would love to hear about it.

Dallas Recap

As much as I would like to blog about the Cowboys demise I will pass because I know how I've felt when the Colts have blown it and I feel bad for my friends. Plus I sent a lot of tweets on Sunday expressing my thoughts so this Dallas update is not about the Cowboys, it's about Jamie and I's little getaway to Dallas.

This was Jamie and I's first trip to Dallas and we had a blast. Here are a few highlights:

1. We stayed at the Hilton near the Galleria with a great deal on Priceline. It was actually the first time I have ever used Priceline. It worked out great.

2. The highlights for us were good friends, good food and the Galleria.

3. Good friends - We met up with friends Jason and Tina McCollum whom we were on the same youth leadership team in Springfield, MO. We haven't seen them in 4 years and it was great to connect with them and we look forward to seeing them again in the future. It's pretty awesome to have friends that you haven't talked to or seen in 4 years and when you connect hit it off like you saw them last week. Jason and Tina were amazing youth leaders and I pray God's best for them.

4. Good food - We went with our friends to Pappadeaux for dinner where I had the best fried chicken tenders and fried shrimp ever. It was great and a place we will definitely eat at again.

5. The Galleria - This by far the biggest and nicest mall I have ever been to in my life. Every store looked sharp including the Taco Bell. It also had an indoor ice skating rink and the biggest Christmas tree I have ever seen in my life. The mall is 4 stories tall and the tree went from the bottom floor to the top of the mall. We also found some great sales which always helps. Jamie was in heaven.

6. We also went to the Cheesecake Factory for my birthday and had an all around relaxing weekend together. We really enjoyed Dallas and will definitely do some more getaways there.

Christmas Update

We had a great Christmas, here are a few highlights:

1. This is our first Christmas with Jace and it was awesome to watch him tear open and play with his presents.

2. This was our first Christmas not in Indy with our family, or at least for a little while.

3. We got Jace a mini drum set and he loves it. We thought he may just pound on one drum but he hits the snare, the tom and the cymbal. Sometimes he'll do a combination of hits, it's pretty amazing or at least we think so for a 15 month old. His favorite to hit is the cymbal and he is starting to learn the kick drum. I will have to post a video in the future of him playing a drum solo.

4. Even though Jace got new toys his favorite are still the remote's and our cell phones :).

5. Jamie made an amazing Turkey with stuffing, sweet potatoes and green beans. It was off the hook.

6. Around noon on Christmas day our doorbell rang and we thought who in the world is that. Jamie looked through the peek hole, screamed and opened the door and there was my dad! I had absolutely no clue it was a complete surprise and he brought all the families gifts from Indianapolis. He drove 12 hours to surprise us and it was a great surprise. This is why this was almost our first Christmas away from family but it was our first Christmas outside of Indy.

7. The previous day we lost our camera in Dallas and had no way of taking pictures of Jace's first Christmas but thank God my dad surprised us and brought his camera. He got lots of pics of Jace and we didn't miss out on recording these memories. Thanks so much dad for the surprise, it was a huge blessing.

8. Christmas 2008 was very memorable for Jamie and I and ultimately we are thankful for Christ and his gift of salvation for us. It's the greatest gift we ever received and we're thankful for a loving, graceful, merciful and faithful God.

Weekend Update

It's late but here it is:

1. I lost my fantasy game and did not win a championship this year. Bummer, but I enjoyed all the leagues I was in and look forward to doing it again next year.

2. Last night I watched the Three Amigos and Rocky IV, two amazing movies. I also went for a late night workout which totally reaggravated my neck injury which led to a painful night of sleep and a painful day today. Currently the pain has died down and I will be taking it easy to keep it that way.

3. I turn 28 this Wednesday, wow I feel old. In two years I will be 30! Craziness.

4. Jace has been a little under the weather, I'm praying for God to heal him. I hate seeing him sick.

5. I had some amazing fried chicken Friday night made by Mrs. Sharon, the wife of our care director Shelby Johnson. It was awesome! We also played dirty santa and I left with a Sonic card and gave away probably the worst gift. It was great! I will never forget Brian Rush our Programming Director saying "next year I'm bringing trash!" He got my gift.

Thoughts & Highlights From My Week

1. I tried a different drink at Starbucks. I normally get a Banana Chocolate Vivanno or a Peppermint Mocha. Instead, I tried a 4 pump vanilla brevee misto and it was ok. Hopefully I will like it becasue it's $2 cheaper then my normal drinks.

2. After the Colts big win last night I am now going to cheer my heart out for the Lions. I hope they beat the Saints and get a win. I was originally hoping they go defeated but now I feel bad for them.

3. I made it to the Championship of our staff fantasy football league and am playing our media director Andy Wynn. I got a huge game from Manning and am feeling good about my chances. Last week I also had a huge victory over our kids director which felt great! She was the number 1 seed and I took her out. Haha.

4. My body still hurts from my fall earlier this week, specifically my neck. My neck feels like I slept on it wrong, which is an annoying pain. It was really hurting on Wednesday but now feels better. I'm praying the pain will be gone by Sunday.

5. Tonight is our Director's Christmas party and I can't wait. I love getting to hang out with the other directors from Peoples church. It's gonna be a fun night.

6. Wednesday we had an all staff Christmas party which was a lot of fun. We ate some yummy Hideaway Pizza and played boys vs girls in catch phrase. Just in case you are wondering I won't keep you in the dark...the boys won!

7. I'm starting to read through the book of Acts and I'm excited. This book has always inspired me to dream big and I look forward to reading through it again.

A Very Different But Satisfying Night

Last night I had a date night with Jamie. We found a sitter for Jace and then went to Chili's and did some Christmas shopping for Jace. It was a very nice night and now to the part that was very different. When our date started I decided to turn off my phone and keep it off for the entire date which was about 3 hours. This is a big deal because I have the iPhone which allows me to check email, the internet, facebook and twitter which can easily consume my time. Believe it or not I did not go crazy or die :). I didn't even miss it. After realizing how nice it was to have my phone shut off I decided to not watch tv when we got home. Typically I will get home and find some sort of sports to watch, instead I spent a few minutes on the internet (I wasn't completely unplugged), read a book and then went to sleep. To my suprise I'm pretty sure I fell asleep before midnight! This never happens but I woke up today feeling refreshed and satisfied with the previous night. I will have to do this more often. For those that are in the iPhone, blackberry, internet, tv world like me I encourage you to try to have a night like this and I pray it will be as refreshing for you as it was for me.

My Body Hurts Pt. 2

Yesterday I went to a Youth for Christ Christmas party, which was at a bowling alley. Jamie and Jace came with me and we had a great time hanging with our friends Vernon and Amy Deas and the YFC interns. While others were bowling I was following Jace around as he walked all over the bowling alley. He's a little explorer and every once in a while he'll pick up some speed and put some distance between me and him. Well he did this and starting going down one of the lanes so I started running after him without realizing they just waxed the lane. So here I am running to grab my son and the next thing I know I'm flying in the air just like when someone in the movies runs over some marbles. Jace also slipped and fell. Instantly I picked him up to make sure he's ok and then tried to figure out what hurt more: my body or my pride knowing people saw me wipe out. I think it was both, when I turned around only 4 people had seen me fall, my wife and a friend and two guys eating. The two guys eating were cracking up and trying to hide it. I'm not gonna lie I wanted to punch them in the face and see if they thought that was funny, ha. Of course I did not punch them and instead just laughed at myself with them. Needless to say my body hurts!

My Body Hurts Pt. 1

Saturday I decided to start lifting weights again as part of my workout. I got this workout from a friend where I get my heart rate up and then do as many reps as I can in 30 seconds. I do 3 sets of this and on the 3rd set I have enough weight so I can't finish the reps. This workout shredded my muscles. The first workout I did was chest and my triceps and pecs are killing me. Yesterday they were a little sore well today is day two and now they are killing me. It hurts to put my cell phone to my ear, a coat on and wash my hair. Although my muscles are hurting its a good pain and I know the more consistent I get that the pain will get better. But for the next few weeks my body is going to hurt.

Random Thoughts

1. Wednesday night we had a great youth experience. 7 students made commitments to Christ and 4 signed up to get baptized. We have about 20 students signed up for our next baptismal bash and I'm pumped to see these students take another step in the right direction in their relationship with God.

2. Wednesday night I also went completely out of my comfort zone with a few illustrations. I mainly use stories for illustrations but this Wednesday I dressed up, busted out the cabbage patch, running man, carlton off fresh prince and almost broke myself. I also had a costume change in the middle of service. I was nervous but I feel everything went very well. By the way it's hard dancing in flip flops, I don't recommend it.

3. Today at Mpact we had between 280-300 students attend our club. It was awesome! God has opened a huge door to win many students at John Marshall to Christ and I'm excited to be apart of it.

4. Tomorrow we are going tubing at the Bricktown Ballpark with Ignite our College and Twentysomething's ministry. We are meeting at the Sonic at Bricktown at 3:30 pm and then going to the park at 4 pm for 1 1/2 hours of tubing. Tubing costs $10 and I hope to see many college and twentysomethings from People's Church there. From what I understand they fill the ball park with tons of snow to make a huge ramp to slide down. It's gonna be sweet.

5. Epic is doing its first ever New Year's Eve Bash and it's going to be off the hook. We are having a concert by Exodus, Dre Murray, Secret Service and the Uprise Click. It's on December 31st from 8:30 pm - 12:30 am and it's gonna be a lot of fun. Students make sure you bring lots of friends to take in the New Year at Epic.

6. I'm looking for two big fantasy playoff wins this weekend. In one of my leagues 8 teams made the playoffs and in the first week of the playoffs the 1-4 teams lost, including me I was the 3rd seed. Craziness!

7. Tonight is our volunteer banquet and I look forward to sharing my appreciation for all my volunteers. They are amazing and there is no way this ministry would be successful without them.

That's not my grandson, it;s an old man

These were the words my Babci (polish for grandma) said when she saw me on Skype. She lives in Connecticut and is over 90 years old so we don't get to see her much. She also has dementia and when my dad told her who I was she didn't believe him because she said all she saw was an old man. Ouch, I'm only 27 and the way she kept repeating that statement could cause someone to fall into depression haha. It didn't really bother me because I know web cams aren't in HD and with my shaved head and her bad vision I'm sure I really looked like an old man to her. Honestly she could call me an old man as much as she wanted if it gave her her memory back. Dementia is an sad thing and when she saw Jace she didn't know who he was but with a big smile she kept saying "he's a cutie" over and over again. She went from a confused look of whose that old man to her entire face lighting up when she saw Jace. I guess as the commercial goes "Laptop $600, webcam $40, my babci seeing Jace for the very first time...priceless." It was a moment I will never forget and although she probably doesn't remember it, in that moment she was very happy to see Jace. I guess if there is any sort of takeaway from this; it is never take your family for granted and cherish every moment with them. Life is short and can change at anytime.

Thermal T-Shirts

Monday I bought some thermal t shirts because I'm freezing all the time and I hate being cold. The only time I like being cold is before I go to bed so I can snuggle into my covers and get warm. I have never had this problem until I started losing weight. I guess the 40 pounds I lost were keeping me warm :). I used to be a guy who would start sweating just from peeling an orange (Kevin James Comedy) and now I'm cold when I sit next to the window at Starbucks on a chilly day. I love the thermal t shirts because I can wear them under a hoodie or a t-shirt instead of wearing a hoodie under my winter coat. I also got a skull cap to keep my balding head warm. Here's to thermal t-shirts and being warm!

A Blog from Jace

Jace saw daddy blogging and wanted to write his own blog, so here it is:

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Please comment if you have the translation. I think it says "Daddy stop trying to get me to say milk, just give me MY MILK!"

It Happened Again

I am in four fantasy football leagues and this year has had an unfortunate reoccuring theme for my teams. At least 5 times this year I have lost a game on the last play or minute in the Monday Night football game and it happened again yesterday. I was winning by 4 points until DeAngelo Williams busts out on his last run. I would rather get destroyed then beat in the last minutes of the Monday night game. Hopefully next week my opponents don't have any players on the Browns or the Eagles. I have two teams left in the playoffs. One with the People's church staff and the other with my leadership team. I also thought I was a hardcore fantasy football player being in 4 leagues until I met my pastor who is in 6 leagues! He is a fantasy machine.

My Wife the Holiday Queen

Jamie loves the holidays and really loves decorating for the holidays. We have decorations for fall, Thanksgiving and Christmas. She has socks for the fall, Thanksgiving and Christmas. If you are listening to music with my wife after Thanksgiving it's all Christmas music. I came home one day from work and boom the Christmas tree was up and decorated. We even have a Christmas tablecloth on our dining table. And to top it off Thursday I went to get my driver's license renewed and when I came back my wife was on the top of the ladder putting Christmas lights on our house. When I say the top I mean the very top like she falls off and she's breaking a few bones. She put her life in danger because she has always wanted to have Christmas lights on the house. Jamie is one of those people that when she makes up her mind about something nothing will stop her and if you drive by my house you will see how. I appreciate this quality about her I just wouldn't risk my life to put Christmas lights on the house :). When it comes to the holidays we are very different but I will admit I love the different holiday desserts she makes in the fall, Thanksgiving and Christmas and I love and appreciate her a lot.

Christmas Decorating

I'm not a scrooge but I've never been into decorating for the holidays. I've read many friends blogs, tweets and facebook status where they are ecstatic about decorating their house or tree for Christmas, especially those that get a real tree. It almost sounds adventurous as they describe their search and their find. As for me this does not excite me in any way, shape or form. Even as a kid, decorating the tree was a chore not something I looked forward too. It was annoying not enjoyable. Maybe it's my lack of artistic ability or creativity. Lord knows I struggle to even match my clothes, without Jamie I would be a mess. If she had a penny for every time I've asked her "does this match?", she would be a millionaire. Matter of fact I once did a sermon on decorating a tree with a friend and the parts I decorated looked horrible, after service more people made fun of my tree decorating then compliments on the message, lol. Maybe when Jace gets older I will get into it because he does, but currenlty I'm not interested in decorating a tree or a house. To those that are, more power to you and I will enjoy driving past your home and saying wow that look at that house. Now my wife that's a different story and a blog for another day.

Lazy Day

Here are some of the highlights or lazylights of my day off:

1. Slept in cause last night I stayed up til 2:30 am watching a movie. I am definitely a night person. If I had the choice of staying up til 3 am or waking up at 5 am, I would choose staying up til 3 am every time.

2. Hanging out with my little guy. I love spending time with Jace. His new thing is he's always trying to sit on our laps and when we get him out of his crib he always gives us a hug and a kiss. I can't say it enough I love him to death.

3. Going to get my Oklahoma driver's license. Hopefully the lines won't be long.

4. Paid some bills. Always fun!

5. Ran out to the mail box in shorts and a t-shirt. Not smart, it was freezing!

6. Won another free trip from cheaptickets.com. Yeah right, those scams are annoying. I remember when I was in high school and I got my first "You won a million dollars" junkmail. I was so excited I called the number then realized it was a scam and have been bitter ever since. Just kidding no bitterness but they are annoying.

7. Watching Survivor tonight and hoping Corinne gets voted off. And I have to say Randy getting blindsided two weeks ago is my all time favorite survivor moment. It was awesome! As Crystal said "Randy is a troll", LOL.

8. Jamie is making a very yummy pasta and spinach dip tonight. I will eat it and enjoy it. I may even post some pics of her masterpiece.

Sit Back and Observe

This is exactly what I got to do tonight. At our youth experience one of my leaders, Derek Colvin, spoke for me and did a very good job. Since he spoke I got to sit back and observe our experience. I got a good look of what the audience sees which was very weird on a Wednesday night because I'm so used to looking at the audience not the stage. It was weird but also productive; I definitely saw some areas we can tighten up and got some ideas for doing illustrations. Tonight was very enjoyable and I look forward to getting back in the pulpit next week.

The Battle

The battle against my flesh has begun. After all the bad eating I did over Thanksgiving I now find myself craving the foods that will stop me for getting to 200 and put me on the track for 240. Especially Steak n Shake, I had a two shakes and a frisco melt over Thanksgiving break and now I want Steak n Shake all the time. They were soooooooooo good. It's funny before Thanksgiving these cravings where minimal, now they are haunting me. It's gonna be tough but I'm determined to get back on track and not stuck in the world of "I will start tomorrow". I learned from the last 4 months of losing weight that the first couple weeks are brutal but after that you get into the routine and it is much easier. So the Battle has begun again, Lord help me as I journey towards 200!

Weekend Update

1. Saturday we drove back to OKC from Leavenworth, KS. It was a very boring drive and our home was a beautiful sight. There's nothing like sleeping in your own bed.

2. Watched the Bedlam game and was hoping OSU would win but Oklahoma is clearly the better team.

3. Speaking of OU, they were given a gift from the BCS. I am not at all a Texas fan but they got hosed. It would be poetic justice if Missouri beats OU and Texas goes to the National title game.

4. A lot of my friends in Oklahoma will not like number 3. Haha.

5. Sunday I preached all 4 experiences at People's Church. I consider it a huge honor to speak for Pastor Herbert and I really enjoyed it.

6. The 4 experiences were awesome with many people giving their hearts to Christ.

7. I was also very tired after preaching 4 times so after church I came home and sat on the couch and watched football the rest of the day.

8. Speaking of football, I have to say "I love Oklahoma City"...once again they showed the Colts game. Most of the people around hear claim to be Cowboys fans but I believe deep down inside they are all Indianapolis Colts fan.

9. Speaking of the Colts, it was ugly game but a win. I'll take it. We are now 8-4. Go Colts!

10. I put on a few pounds from the holiday so its time to get back to the grind and hit 200 pounds.

Update.

Due to vacation and the holiday I haven't blogged much so here is a little update and with Thanksgiving tomorrow I won't be blogging again until Dec. 1.

1. We arrived in Indianapolis last Thursday and it is freezing over here. It is about 20-30 degrees colder then OKC.

2. Everyone loves Jace. He has spent time with all of our family and they all have said he is handsome, easy to watch and very talkative. He also loves music. He has been playing the guitar and drums a lot.

3. I got to see my grandparents who live in Europe so this was a real treat.

4. Sunday night I hung out with old friends from high school and watched the Colts game, it was a lot of fun especially since the Colts won. It's weird but me and my friends have not talked for months and got together one night and picked up like we've been hanging out every week. These are good friends.

5. Saturday I played flag football in 20 degree weather and just about died. It was fun but I was in pain the rest of the day. I probably will never play sports again in that cold of weather.

6. Jamie and I had a romantic getaway Monday night and it was awesome. It felt great to getaway for a night with my beautiful wife. We had a lot of fun and need to do this more often.

7. My eating has not been as good as I would like so I will have to get it back in gear back in OKC.

8. Trying to make time to visit 4 families is rough but we've made it happen and have enjoyed spending time with all of our family.

9. I have clinched playoff births in three of my fantasy leagues and need a miracle to make it in my keeper league.

10. It's thanksgiving and I have a lot to be thankful for. First I'm thankful to God and all He has done in my life. I'm not worthy and feel very blessed. I'm also thankful for my wonderful wife, she is amazing and I don't know what I would do without her. I'm thankful for Jace who has brought much joy to our lives and I'm thankful for my family, friends, People's Church and the staff I get to work with. Life is good and all of these things are again a product of God's goodness. Thanks Lord!

All I Want For Christmas Is.....

Some clothes that fit! Losing weight has been great and my clothes are now a testimony to how much weight I've lost. This is a good and bad problem. The good is I've lost a lot of weight, the bad is I'm going to have to buy a lot of new clothes. What's also bad is clothes that I really like look horrible on me. For instance, last year I got a new Colts Jersey that fits me well, now it fits me like a dress and doesn't look right at all. I love wearing jerseys and most of them don't fit now. Most of my dress shirts are too big and the once size 38 jeans now look like clown pants on me. I had a shirt picked out for a wedding a few weeks ago that I really liked, I put it on and it looked like I borrowed one of Shaq's shirts, luckily I bought a size large dress shirt that day for $9 at Aeropastle. Speaking of I can't remember the last time I'v bought a large, but it felt good. I'm also enjoying wearing size 34 and wondering if I can get it down to 32? That would be awesome. With all of that I have to say I enjoy having this problem much more then waking up and have something feel too tight, calling myself a fat bag of snacks, blaming Jamie for shrinking my clothes in the wash when I was really gaining weight from all the junk I was eating and then getting in a funk. I did not enjoy those days and could only blame myself. My new problem is much more enjoyable.

Weigh In

On Monday I was 1 pound away from reaching 210 pounds, it seems over the last two weeks I've hovered around 211-214 so I'm pushing extra hard to get to 210. I've found that the more weight I lose the harder it is to lose it quickly, but its slowly coming off and it will be staying. The good thing is I'm not gaining so I'm very happy about that. I also plan to work out a lot during the holiday because it will not be hard to gain 5 to 10 pounds especially since we will be with family during Thanksgiving. After Thanksgiving I start working towards my goal of 200. I look forward to meeting 200 pounds.

Jace Update

Here are some Jace updates:

1. Jace is a copy cat. He copies sounds we make, faces we make, his friends in the nursery and if you blow on him he will blow back.

2. Jace loves to give hugs and kisses. There is nothing greater then coming home and having Jace run to me and give me a big hug. I love it! If you ask for a kiss he will give you but beware he's into the open mouth kisses, haha. We'll have to work on that.

3. Jace loves to play outside. If our front or back door opens Jace makes a bee line to get out.

4. Jace is an expert at hiding the remote control. At least once a week we play "where did Jace put the remote?" This last time he put it in his closet.

5. Speaking of remote's Jace loves to play with them and cell phones.

6. Jace loves people and People's Church. Every Sunday he greets as many people as he can as he walks to the nursery. He gives out fives, smiles and flirts with all the ladies.

7. Jace plays football, every week we play catch and after he catches it he spikes it. I think he's trying to throw it back but for now we will call it a spike. And we are working on getting him to say "Go Colts."

Mpact

Mpact is a campus club I help lead for Youth for Christ at John Marshall Jr. High and High School every Friday. The past couple Friday's we have been exposing students to Mpact and preparing them for when we start doing teachings. Well today was our first day to hold a club and it went awesome. We had Mpact during all three lunches at John Marshall and we had at least 75 students in each club. We got to pour into at least 225 students today! Praise God!!! The numbers are awesome but what was more impressive was with 75 students and only 2 leaders in a loud school hallway the students paid attention and were engaged to the entire teaching in all 3 lunches. Now they were also waiting patiently for free pizza but I was still impressed. We are praying that the school will let us use the auditorium in the future which will give us an opportunity to reach even more students with less distractions. I'm excited for this campus club and expecting God to do some great things. Thank you Lord for an awesome club today.

Shame, Shame

Shame, shame on me, I have been a terrible blogger lately and I want to apologize to all who follow my blog. Lately I have been sick and have gotten into the whole twitter craze. With twitter it's easy to drop a statement on my iPhone here and there and blogs can take some time and thought. So blogging has suffered becasue when I'm sick all I do is lay in bed, sleep and I probably whine a bit too. I will admit I'm a big baby when I'm sick. Jamie can testify. Speaking of Jamie, she is an amazing wife. She has a ton of patience with me and treats me well when I'm sick. Matter of fact Wednesday morning she got me some orange juice and DayQuil before she went to work and then made me a yummy grilled cheese when we got home after service. Today I'm feeling much better after receiving some meds and prayer from my doctor on Wednesday. I thought it was real cool that my doctor prayed for me. That's what's been up with me. As for today it's been good, I got to rest, I feel better, I enjoyed Survivor, took Jace to the playplace at the mall with Jamie and the Patriots lost. Tomorrow I'm looking foward to going to work and finishing off the week.

Two

Today I worked on two sermons. Sometimes when I write sermons I have a good flow where everything comes together with ease. With the good flow I get into a groove where it seems like the points and illustrations just fly onto the paper. But then there are times where I feel like I keep running into a wall or banging my head against a wall :). I read over my message and wonder, "Does any of this make sense?" This can be a frustrating place to be but it also causes me to persevere to get the message on point. To me writing a sermon is a form of art and I really enjoy it. Today I had a decent flow and I have both messages about 90% finished.

Busy Week

Wow I only have one blog for this week, that has never happened so here are the highlights of my week:

1. Monday I led the Edmond high school community group and it went very well. We had a discussion, some food and played a game called psychiatrist.

2. Tuesday Jace and I ran errands while Jamie was at worship practice.

3. Wednesday we kicked off a new series called Identity. I spoke about Integrity and it was an awesome service. We also had some of the scariest clouds I have ever seen in my life pass through OKC on Wednesday. It looked like something out of the movie The Day After Tomorrow.

4. Thursday I had lunch with a new pastor friend in OKC, watched Survivor with Jamie and watched the browns vs broncos game. Survivor was awesome, the power players keep getting blindsided and Bob the old guy is a stud.

5. Friday I had Mpact at John Marshall's lunch and at night hung out with Andy Wynn and some of his friends playing Rock Band until 1 am. This is why I personally don't have a game system but I enjoyed singing Eye of the Tiger and watching Andy play the drums, it was hilarious.

6. Today I just found out Penn State lost which means Ohio State can still win the Big Ten and the BCS is gonna be a mess again. I also just saw Alabama beat LSU and am getting ready to watch the Oklahoma State vs Texas Tech game, go Oklahoma State!

7. Jamie is also making French Onion soup and I can't wait to eat it. My wife is an amazing cook, she made chicken curry yesterday that i had for lunch which was very tasty.

8. Jace is only one but today we were playing catch with the football. It's pretty awesome to play catch with him even though he is so young. And when I say catch i don't mean i was putting the ball in his lap, I would toss it and he caught it. What can I say he's a stud!

9. Lastly I am still at 212 pounds I need to lose 2 pounds and keep them off for Thanksgiving. After thanksgiving I'm going for 200 by the end of the year.

Weekend Update

1. Jamie and I enjoyed attending Justin and Rachel Chandler's wedding. We are very happy for them and wish them the best.

2. It felt real good to get an extra hour of sleep Saturday night, especially since we got in a little late from Springfield, MO.

3. This week I went 2-2 in fantasy football and my two losses literally came in the last minute of the football game because of a stupid interception and a 15 yard catch by Chris Cooley. Unbelievable, I have to admit I'm a little bitter right now.

4. On a better note the Colts beat the Patriots and remembering that has brought joy back to my life. We may be struggling but it's always a good season if we beat the Patriots.

5. I can't believe Iverson was traded to the Pistons for Billups, I did not see that coming at all.

6. The Thunder got their first win, whoohoo! Go Thunder!

7. It was good to see some old friends this weekend.

8. It's November and I was wearing shorts today, I love this weather!

Random Thoughts

1. We are in Springfield, MO for a friend's wedding on Saturday.

2. Jamie and I went to school at Central Bible College in Springfield, MO so the area is still familiar to us.

3. The best part about Springfield is visiting old friends and Cheddars. We love some Cheddars especially their spinach dip!

4. Don't forget to go to Chipotle today. On Halloween Chipotle gives away free burrito's to anyone who comes into their restaurant wearing aluminum foil. We will be hitting them up for dinner tonight.

5. The one thing I don't like about Springfield is the drivers. Today traffic was backed up on Glenstone, National and 65 all at the same time. Now I know you thinking was it ruch hour? No it was 1:30 pm. It was all good though because we got to Cheddars and had some spinach dip with some friends.

6. Tomorrow morning we are getting together with some more friends at Cracker Barrel, this is my favorite breakfast place. Their biscuits and gravy is amazing.

7. Yes I'm still losing weight and not going off the deep end this weekend even though I've blogged about a lot of food :).

8. Jamie is also super skinny and looking mighty fine. I love my wife to death and I'm excited to have this little getaway with her.

9. I'm looking forward to this Sunday at People's Church. We are starting a new series called the Miraculous and then at 6 pm we are having Ignite, an experience for college and twentysomethings. College and Twentsysomethings make sure you are there!

$1.93 in OKC

This is how much I paid for gas today, it feels good living in Oklahoma City so I thought I would blog about what I like about Oklahoma City.

1. The people of OKC are very friendly. There is definitely southern hospitality here.

2. Gas is cheap and there really is no bumper to bumper traffic during rush hour.

3. The speed limit on the pike is between 70-75 mph, I love it!

4. So far I've experienced a dry summer which I like and a mild winter which I also like.

5. Last but certainly not least I love working at People's Church. I love the staff, I love the youth ministry, I love my youth leaders, I love the new friendships we've made and I love what God is doing through this church.

Daddy Time with Jace

Jamie had worship practice tonight so I had daddy time with Jace. Here are some of the highlights of our night:

1. As soon as Jamie left I see jace squatting, grunting, with a red face and vein popping out of his forehead. Yes it's the poop position. Thanks buddy! So we started off by changing a poop diaper.

2. Then we went to walmart to get the car's oil changed. During this time Jace played with some balls in walmart, walked through the toy section and got scared when daddy put on a batman mask. I have to admit it was pretty funny.

3. After walmart we went to the att store and Jace was offered a job by the manager when he snuck his way behind their counter.

4. We came home and practiced spiking the football. He needs to get used to scoring touchdowns :).

5. Then we came home and Jace did his job of pushing the garage door button. This is one of Jace's favorite things to do and he does it every time we come home. One time I was going to leave the garage open and take Jace inside but he is so quick he managed to push it without me stopping. He's a smart little man.

6. Next we had tickle time. I love tickling Jace and hearing him crack up.

7. We finished the night off by Jace drinking some milk, snuggle time, putting Jace in his pj's and then down to bed.

It was a great night. I love being a dad and I absolutely love Jace.

Different times

The last three seasons the Colts have started 9-0, 13-0 and 7-0 or something like that. This year is very different, we are 3-4 and it' not been very enjoyable as a fan. However, I believe this is good for the Colts because this season is testing them. I think it's also testing my character, in the past a start like this would have me in a total funk that would probably last until they played again. This year is different, currently I am disappointed but tomorrow is a new day and there is more important stuff going on then the Indianapolis Colts. It's weird to hear me say that but it's true.

Random Thoughts

1. Today we started Mpact at John Marshall, I got to meet a lot of students and look forward to hanging with them every Friday at their lunch.

2. I'm sick again and it stinks but I hope it's only a 24 hour deal.

3. I'm really looking forward to the Ohio State vs Penn State game tomorrow. Go Buckeyes!

4. Today we talked to my grandparents over Skype. The flew into the states from France and we will get to see them in December. I'm very close to all my extended family and can't wait to see them.

5. Jace is now saying hi and is still the cutest kid in the world.

6. Jamie made an amazing beef stew tonight. It was sooooo good I had two bowls.

7. I'm looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow!

Almost There

Today I weighed in and I was 212, I am 2 pounds away from my initial goal and pretty pumped up about it. I was a little nervous after the retreat I went on because although I didn't eat terrible I also didn't eat great. It must have been that killer game of dodgeball where I burned a bunch of calories or at least I burned my arm and ribs. I'm also wearing size 34 jeans which hasn't happened for me since elementary school. The last size I remember wearing lower then a 36 was the husky size. Yes I wore husky size jeans and it was pretty embarrassing but I'm feeling good and shooting for 200 now. I may hit 199 just to say I'm under 200. This has been a great journey and I've been encouraged by friends who are on it with me. All I know is this year for Christmas and my birthday a brotha is gonna have to get a new wardrobe. This is a good thing.

Meet the Parents

Tonight I challenged the students of Epic to Influence their parents by honoring God with their lives, praying for their parents and by finding ways for their parents to encounter Jesus. After a call for salvation we had students come up to pray for their parents. God has given me a huge heart for families and for student/parent relationships and it was a blessing to watch our students pray for their parents and their friend's parents. We also had many students turn in salvation cards tonight. It was a great night and I thank God for the work He is doing in our students lives and with their relationship with their parents. If you missed the message make sure you go listen to it on the Epic Podcast on iTunes.

HABITS

Tonight I shared with my youth leaders HABITS we should have as leaders. These HABITS deal with the basics of Christianity. Sometimes we can get so caught up in doing ministry that we forget or neglect the basics of Christianity. Here are the HABITS I challenged my leaders not to neglect:

Hang time with God - This is personal worship and prayer.
Accountability - We all need somebody to lean on and they need us.
Bible Reading - This is one of the easiest basics to neglect.
Involvement with our family - This is a basic that can do the most damage if we neglect it.
Tithing Commitment - This is not an option, it's a matter of obedience. Malachi 3:8-12.
Strive for Holiness - Too many pastors and leaders are having moral and integrity failures.

If one of these areas is not a HABIT I encourage you to make them one. For your ministry, your family and yourself. I'm not perfect but these are some the things I strive to be HABITS in my life.

Good Weekend and a Big Monday

Good Weekend

This weekend I took students to Lake of the Ozarks, MO for a retreat. We had a great band called Freely who did worship (check out their myspace) and our speaker was Andy Estrella who does College Ministry at Missouri State University. It was great hanging out with my students, praying with them and seeing God work on their hearts. These weekends can be tiring after all the driving, making sure everything goes smoothly and a killer night of dodgeball (which the adults dominated) but they are also very rewarding. This was also a good weekend for me to pray and focus on the future of Epic. I have been praying and consumed by the question, "What do we need to do to reach more students with the good news of Jesus Christ?" I don't ever want to get complacent and as long as their are unsaved students in OKC I should always be consumed with this question.

Big Monday

With that question on my mind we are launching two community groups for Epic tomorrow night; one in Edmond and one on the southside. I'm praying these groups will be used to grow students spiritually and to reach students who are far from God. If you have questions about these groups please call me at People's Church. More Epic Community Groups will be coming in the future.

Epic Podcast is finally working!

As of today the Epic podcast is finally working. You can download it on iTunes by searching Epic Student Ministries. Go check it out. Our Got Sex series is on there and our Meet the Parents series will be on next as we go through the series. Parents I encourage you to listen to both series and check out what we are teaching your students about sex and their relationship with you. This is a great way for you to dialogue with your student about what they are learning on Wednesday nights. Thanks for subscribing and I hope you enjoy the messages.

OKC Thunder

Tonight I went to the first OKC Thunder home game ever. There was a good crowd, good energy, a bad pretzel, an unfortunate loss and great fellowship. I also got to watch 3 of my friends try to dunk the basketball off a trampoline, this was hilarious and the highlight of the night. I'm excited for the Thunder's season and look forward to going to more games. I officially have a team that I'm cheering for in Oklahoma. I will probably get a jersey but I still have to figure out my favorite player. Go Thunder! Whose ball it is? THUNDER BALL!

Weekend Update

1. Saturday I had a great time watching the OU vs. Texas game with some friends at our house.

2. Sunday I had a great time watching the Colts game with some friends at our house.

3. This weekend was a big football weekend. I also went 3-1 in my fantasy leagues, well it may be 2-2 if Eli and Plaxico tear it up but I think I'm good.

4. Jamie sang on the worship team this Sunday and did a phenomenal job. My wife has an amazing voice and I feel very blessed to have such a gifted wife. She also leads worship for Epic and does a great job.

5. During the football games Jace was playing with his football. That's my boy!

6. This weekend was very relaxing and I enjoyed my time with my family and friends.

7. Currently Jamie is trying to comb Jace's hair and he is running from her. It's hilarious.

Random Thoughts

1. Today I arrived at the church and was amazed how much steel has gone up. It looks amazing.

2. Tomorrow is OU vs Texas, I'm ready to see how crazy these OU fans are. I think Ohio State vs. Michigan is a bigger rival but others say differently so we will see. For the OU Fans Boomer..... and for the Ohio State fans O-H.....

3. Today was a busy day but a very efficient day. I like having days where I feel like I get a lot accomplished. I also got to pour into a new youth pastor today from Stillwater and really enjoyed my time with him.

4. If the Phillies and Red Sox win their series I will not watch one game of the World Series.

5. Jamie, Jace and I took a nice walk through the neighborhood tonight. The weather has been perfect in OKC.

6. Fall and Spring are definitely my favorite seasons of the year.

7. The Epic podcast is still down but hopefully it will get working next week. I will let you know.

Thank You Oklahoma City!

I checked to see what NFL games were on TV this week and to my surprise the Indianapolis Colts game was on again. This is the 3rd non nationally televised game shown in Oklahoma City and I love it. Thank you Oklahoma City for showing the Colts some love. I know this is a random blog but I just wanted to share my excitement.

Bad News and Good News

Bad News - Epic is on the iTunes store but the podcast is currently not working because the company who created the podcast is making some changes and we have to wait for that to finish before the podcast will work. So for those that subscribed hang in there with me it will hopefully be resolved soon.

Good News - On another note I got my test results back today and I've dropped my total cholesterol from 226 to 152 , my bad cholesterol from 153 to 102 points and my Triglycerides 183 to 74 points. These terms might be hard to understand so basically my health is a lot better. I'm very excited about these results and with God's help I will keep them great for the rest of my life. This is a huge testimony and it's all because of God. I never thought I would be able to change my lifestyle and eating habits because I love food, especially the bad ones, but with God all things are possible. Thank you Lord for helping me do something that I have never been able to do on my own!

Epic is on iTunes!

We finally have a podcast on iTunes for Epic Student Ministries and it is all because of sermonplayer.com. All I had to do was upload the sermons and they created a rss feed for me to input on iTunes and now all of our messages are available online for free! I'm pumped about this for a few reasons:

1. Students can download our sermons off iTunes onto their iPods and listen to them if they missed a service. However students this is not a reason to miss Wednesday nights, we need you their every week! But if you HAVE to miss you can go listen to the message.

2. They can use the podcast to refer back to old sermons where they are trying to remember a scripture or a point. We just concluded a 4 week series on Sex and a student could easily forget a scripture or a point, now they can get the message off iTunes and listen to it again.

3. Students can share messages with friends who aren't able to make it to Epic by burning a message onto a cd for a friend or refering them to the podcast.

4. Parent's can now listen to our messages and use them to follow up and have conversations with their students. I know a lot of parents want to give their students space so they don't come into the service, well now they can be apart of the service from their ipod or computer.

I'm super excited for this podcast and I know God is going to use it to reach many more lives. To download or suscribe to the podcast all you have to do it go to the iTunes store and put "Epic Student Ministries" in the search bar, hit enter and it will pull up our podcast. Look for Epic and my name because there is another Epic Student Ministries podcast.

Again we just finished an awesome series called Got Sex, parents go check it out and students if you missed a message from this series go listen to it on iTunes!

Random Thoughts

1. Houston we have a problem...Jace knows how to open the dog cage and take off his diaper.

2. I'm still sick and it's pretty annoying but praise God I weighed myself this week and I'm at 216. Only 16 more pounds to go.

3. Go Dodgers and hahahahahahahahahahahaha to all cubs fans.

4. I'm looking forward to Colts vs Texans on TV Sunday and Ohio State vs Wisconsin Saturday Night.

5. Saturday I have a Caleb's core meeting and I look forward to pouring into our student leaders.

6. I hoping to go 4-0 again in Fantasy this week.

7. The weather in OKC has been absolutely beautiful and the $2.99 gas is even better.

8. Steel is going up on our new building and it is a pretty awesome sight.

9. Jace just took off his diaper and is running around naked. On that note good night!

People who have influenced my life Pt. 3

I met Konan Stephens 3 1/2 years ago in Columbus, OH. Konan was the District Youth Director of Ohio and I was a new youth pastor. Konan was someone who supported, encouraged, resourced and challenged me. He is someone who thinks outside of the box and was cool with every youth pastor in Ohio. This impressed me a lot because sometimes ministry can be political with cliques and Konan was the same with everyone. I respect him a ton and appreciate his friendship. He also gave me an opportunity to preach at two camps, be a director over sports at Camp X and the opportunity to help plan and put together fine arts. I was honored to serve in these areas and learned a ton through these opportunities. Konan was also the first person to challenge me to have a personal growth plan, which is basically setting goals for my spiritual life, family, ministry, finances and physical health. This plan helped me grow and I was able to share the plan with others. Konan also gave me a free copy of Seven Practices of Effective Ministry by Andy Stanley. After reading this book it became my favorite ministry book and remains my favorite. Konan's heart was resourcing youth pastors and he did that with me many times and I'm very thankful. Konan is also a great speaker and challenged me in the way I preach. Check out his sermons on www.myc3church.com. I believe I'm a better person and better youth pastor because of my relationship with Konan Stephens. I thank God that he put Konan Stephens in my life. Konan is currently pastoring C3 Church in Pickerington, OH.

Tough Little Man

Today I went with Jamie to Jace's 1 year doctor's appt. This was a tough one because he got three shots. What's worse is, if you know Jace he is a super happy kid, very friendly and he's walking around the doctor's office hamming it up with no clue he is getting ready to get stuck with 3 needles. Well he cried when he got his shots but as soon as mommy picked him up he stopped crying and starting grabbing for things on the wall. He is a tough little man and recovered great from his shots. As a parent it stinks watching him be in pain but we know he needs these shots to be healthy. I kept tellin him "it's ok buddy, you needs these shots so you will be healthy". He obviously had no clue what I was saying. He doesn't know that the shots are good for him but we do. I wonder if sometimes God allows us to endure pain or hurt because in the end it will make us stronger and healthier. We don't know that but He does. If your going through a struggle, some pain, some hurt; put your trust in God. He knows the beginning from the end and He can use that thing to make you stronger and healthier.

Crazy Wednesday

1. I have been sick for the last three days and have not enjoyed it. I hate being sick and this morning I felt pretty bad again but tonight it seems like it is going away. I'm praying by tomorrow I have no aches, sore throat or headache.

2. I'm glad we did an uncensored tonight because it would have been tough for me to preach while being sick. Our uncensored went very well and my leaders did a great job using God's word to answer tough questions from our students.

3. I'm sure some are wondering what is uncensored? Uncensored is a night where we take prescreened questions from students and then answer them on a Wednesday night. It's called uncensored because no question is off limits. I then give these questions to a few of my leaders who research and answer them with God's word. Tonight we did a Got Sex uncensored so we answered questions students had about sex. It went very well and even led to more questions after service. I'm glad the students feel that they come to a place where no question is a stupid question and they won't be judged. We also had at least 10 students commit their hearts to Christ tonight. THANK YOU JESUS!

4. Next month we will do an uncensored for our Meet the Parents series where students can ask any questions about family, their parents, their relationship with their parents, anything at all.

5. The Cubs lost, whoohoo! Go Dodgers and Joe Torre. They are my pick to win it all.

6. Well to end I just want to say I'm loving life right now. I love Oklahoma City, I love People's Church, I love Epic, I love my job, I love my son, I love my wife and I love God. I'm very thankful for where I am and there is no greater feeling then being in the center of God's will. Nuff Said.

Weekend Update

1. I dominated all four of my fantasy football games, whoohoo!

2. I had a great time with my family and I'm glad they were able to visit. They loved People's Church and I look forward to seeing them again at Thanksgiving.

3. College football was crazy this weekend with many upsets.

4. Jace's birthday party was Saturday and we had a lot of fun with all of friends that came. Jace also had a lot of fun with his cake.

5. I think I got sick Sunday and I'm not feeling good today at all. I hate being sick.

6. I'm excited to announce I will be setting up an Epic podcast soon on itunes. Stay tuned for when this happens.

Random Thoughts

1. My mom, step dad and little brother are visiting us right now. It's great to have my family here and I'm enjoying my time with them.

2. Jace turned one years old on Thursday, September 25th. Wow, I can't believe he is already one years old. He had some cake on Thursday and at first he wasn't sure what to do with it but then he tried to stick the whole piece in his mouth and tore it apart. It was awesome to watch him with the cake. I love Jace a ton and look forward to many more birthdays with him.

3. One year of fatherhood has been amazing too. I absolutely love being a dad and I can't imagine our lives without Jace. Everyday Jamie and I wonder how can we love this little person soooo much! He is amazing.

4. Jamie also made a very yummy cake for Jace's birthday.

5. USC lost to Oregon State, whoohoo! I watched the whole game and loved it.

6. I'm still cutting the weight and am down to 220 pounds. 10 more pounds to reach my initial goal.

7. Wednesday we talked about Dirty Thoughts at Epic. I spoke to the students about what they are allowing to enter their minds and I know it really challenged them. Next Wednesday we will address student's questions about sex as we end this series.

8. Our next series is Meet the Parents and this will be a very insightful series that no students should miss. Parents also make sure your students don't miss this series, it's gonna be lifechanging as we talk about parent/child relationships.

People who have influenced my Life Pt. 2

I met Brett Payne when I was a sophomore at Central Bible College. Brett was the Student Ministries Director of theburn at Hope Community Church and I was attending Hope and wanting to get involved in his student ministry. Brett allowed me to get plugged in and gave me many opportunities`to serve at theburn. He allowed me to preach, teach Sunday school, lead a small group, plan retreats, a summer camp and some outreaches. Brett didn't know but I wasn't enjoying Bible College and I was ready to drop out of CBC and leave Springfield to serve at my home church in Indianapolis when we met, but serving at theburn gave me something to look forward too and so I stayed at CBC. It not only gave me something to look forward too but I also learned things from doing ministry at theburn that I would have never learned at Bible College. The experience was priceless and I'm very grateful to Brett for giving me so many opportunties.

Serving under Brett I was able to glean a few things. One is he really showed me the importance of building a team, Brett was great at this and ever since I have always tried to build a good team to do youth ministry. He also really challenged me to live a life of prayer. I began to particpate in prayer meetings and even start some. Ever since then I've tried to pray as if it all depends on God and live as if it all depends on me. I've also really tried to challenge students to live a life of prayer in youth ministry. I thank God for putting Brett Payne in my life. Brett is currently the GM of US Operations for Endis, Inc.

People who have influenced my Life

This week I'm going to blog about people who have helped mold and shape me as a person as well as those who have helped influenced the way I do student ministry.

First up is Paul Hinzman. I met Paul when I was 17 years old at Abundant Life Church in Indianapolis. He was the new youth pastor and I was told I needed to check him out. So I visited his youth group and the first thing I remember is he about crushed my hand with his handshake. I wonder if he know I was a heathen dog who may give him some trouble. Anyway from the first time I met him I was impressed because of all the unconditional love he showed me. Even though he knew all the garbage I was into he never treated me differently. Matter of fact, in my eyes he went the extra mile when he visited a musical I was in (bye bye birdie) where I played a drunk guy and many other roles. That is something I will never forget and it had a huge impact on me as a person and in the way I do ministry. Because of Paul going to my play I have always tried to visit student's games, musicals, band competitions and once I went to a fencing tournament. Paul was real and always communicated God's truth which eventually led to me giving my heart to Christ under his ministry. After that he mentored me, allowed me to lead worship, preach, gave me many ministry opportunities and has always been there for me. I also learned the value of being tactful, which when he first knew me I had little to none, but after a few years with him I got much better at it. Today he is one of my closest friends and continues to impact my life. I thank God that he put Paul Hinzman in my life. Currently Paul is the District Youth Director of Illinois.

Weekend Up's and Down's

First the Down's (these aren't major downs):

1. The Colts are 1-2 for the first time in a long time and 0-2 at home for the first time since 1998. I guess I would rather them stink early and finish strong.

2. Sunday night was the last game at Yankee Stadium. This is a stadium I always wanted to go to but never got a chance. I will definitely visit the new one.

3. I lost one of my fantasy games.

Now for the Up's:

1. Pastor Herbert preached an awesome message on "how to have an affair". Check it out at www.peopleschurch.tv. It was very practical and one every married couple should listen to.

2. Many people were baptized today at People's Church, it was awesome! I love seeing people get baptized.

3. The Buckeyes finally started Terrell Pryor and he had 4 touchdown passes.

4. I know I won one fantasy game and will hopefully win two more after tonight.

5. I booked an awesome worship band named Freely for our fall retreat. They led worship at the camp we went to.

6. I had two really good workouts and ate pretty well this weekend and am looking forward to meeting the scale this morning. I never thought I would have said that.

7. Heroes and Survivor start back up this week, these are two shows Jamie and I like.

Random Thoughts

1. Tomorrow I will be playing outside with Jace, cutting the grass, watching college football, relaxing, hanging out with a friend and eating an amazing Italian dish made by my wife. It will be a great day!

2. At Epic our Got Sex? Series has been going very well. We only have two weeks left and then we will start a new series called Meet the Parents. I'm really looking forward to teaching this new series about student/parent relationships.

3. The Colts have a tough division game against Jacksonville this Sunday but I'm expecting them to pull it off at home.

4. My mom, stepdad and little brother are visiting next week and I can't wait to see them. I love hanging out with my family and I'm really excited about them visiting People's Church.

5. I'm hoping for another 4 wins with my fantasy teams this weekend.

6. Every week at Ignite we are seeing new faces and I'm looking forward to another great experience. College and twentysomethings bring a friend this Sunday night!

7. Jace got a white Peyton Manning jersey for his birthday coming up which matches my white Reggie Wayne jersey. He's my little quarterback.

8. I've decided that since the Yankees will not make the playoffs this year I'm going to root for former Yankees and it won't be Lou Pinella of the Cubs. I'm pulling for Joe Torre and Don Mattingly of the Dodgers. Go Dodgers!

9. The fall is approaching and I'm super excited becasue I love to wear jeans and hoodies. I could wear them everyday.

10. Jamie did some clothes shopping for the first time since she's lost weight and got some new jeans. I must brag that my wife looks mighty fine in her new jeans. For those that read to much into things she always looks fine, it's not just the jeans :).

222

After my cheat night at the fair I was dreading going to the scale because I knew I had probably gained some weight. So today I went to the gym, worked out and then approached the scale. I stepped on and expected to see 228 or any number over 224 and to my suprise it showed 222. Yeah!!!! Pretty soon I will be breaking below 220 and I can't wait.

Wednesday Night

Tonight was part 2 of our Got Sex series and it went very well. We talked about how Sex God's Way (waiting til marriage) protects them physically, emotionally, spiritually and their future marriage. I shared a lot of statistics and the students responded very well to the message. We also had at least 9 commitments to Christ. Preaching on sex can be uneasy at times but it is a series I will do every year because I want to see students honor God by remaining sexually pure. We live in a very sex saturated society so next week we will talk about dirty thoughts and how media can affect our mind which plays a big part in our sexually purity. I believe this series is changing lives and setting up our students for success.

OK State Fair Cheat Night

Tonight we went to the Oklahoma State Fair on "Two Dollar Tuesday". Prior to going to the fair I asked a few people what was the best part? What should we experience? And the overwhelming answer was the FOOD! Nobody said rides, karaoke, the petting zoo or the games, everyone said food. Not only that they got specific, I was told to try a corn dog, sweet potato fries, turkey leg, funnel cake (elephant ear where I'm from), fried oreo, chocolate covered cheesecake, Indian taco and more. When we got there we saw all these foods and more like fried twinkies, fried cheese on a stick, chicken on a stick, basically everything on a stick. For dinner I did pretty good, I had grilled chicken on a stick and part of Jamie's Indian taco which is a lot of lettuce, cheese, beans on a yummy taco shell. Then came the cheating, I don't know why but I felt like I had to try chocolate covered cheesecake and a fried oreo, so I did. I shared the cheesecake with Jamie and only ate half of a fried oreo because it was ridiculously rich. I cheated a little but it was a little and will remain a little. The old Chris would have pounded the whole cheesecake and ate all 4 fried oreos. The new Chris just had a little cheat night.

Weekend Update

1. Ohio State took a beat down which stinks for the big ten, which now looks as weak as the MAC. It was a tough game but I expect them to win the big ten, go to the Rose Bowl and win!

2. The season is over for the Yankees so here it is...I guess there is always next year.

3. The Colts had an awesome comeback win and I got to watch every minute of it. Whoohoo, if you heard screaming Sunday around 3 pm it was me watching the game.

4. I dominated all 4 of my fantasy football games.

5. I'm still at 224 pounds and working on getting under 220 by the end of the month. I feel great and have started to work out more.

6. Jace gets mad when Dungy plays with Dungy's toys and doesn't let Jace grab them. It's hilarious.

7. It's been nice and cool in OKC so the air conditioning is officially off.

8. Tuesday we are going to OK state fair for the first time ever.

9. It was a great weekend and now I'm looking forward to a great week.

Random Thoughts

1. This is going to be a great football weekend. Last night had an awesome game between USF and Kansas, today we have Michigan vs. ND, USC vs. THE OSU and OU vs. Washington, tomorrow I get to watch Colts vs. Vikings (whoohoo!) and then cap it all off with Cowboys vs. Eagles on Monday night.

2. I'm a football junkie I could sit in my house and watch football all Saturday and all Sunday. I love it!!!

3. I'm praying for those in the gulf coast, this hurricane season has been crazy.

4. We had a staff dinner last night and it was a ton of fun. It's also great to watch Jace play with other kids since he is walking.

5. Today Jace and I are going to play in the rain, whoohoo!

6. Missionary friends of ours are getting ready to have their baby and I can't wait to find out what they had and it's name. Bart and Melissa we are praying for you.

7. I just saw a player get hit so hard in the Maryland vs. Cal game that he started throwing up. It was green and it was nasty.

8. I'm looking forward to an amazing day at People's Church tomorrow. We are doing an awesome series called Roommates, Bad Dates and Great Mates.

Jamie Did It Again

My wife never ceases to amaze me with her awesome cooking. Tonight she grilled Kebabs and they were off the hook. I have never had kebabs before and this was a meal I could eat multiple times. She grilled them in a mesquite marinade perfectly. I seriously considered eating two because they were soooooooooooooooo good, but I had self control and realized I can enjoy the other one on another day. She also made some awesome guacamole and salsa this week. My wife absolutely tears it up in the kitchen. She loves to cook and I love to eat her cooking.

Cram Night and My Leaders

Tonight we had cram night and it was awesome! Even though it rained we had a great 3 on 3 bball tournament, giveaways, a phenomenal service and most important 44 students committed their hearts to Christ. Thank you Jesus!!! Tonight had a great energy, unity, diversity and I'm expecting many students to come back for the conclusion of our "Got Sex" series. Not only was the night amazing but my leaders were off the hook. Without my leaders nights like Cram night would not be possible. Thank you guys so much for your commitment and heart for students. They take care of so much my main focus tonight was preaching and meeting students. I have some amazing leaders and I thank God for each one of them. You guys are awesome. We have had two weeks in a row of good momentum and the great part is the best is yet to come. Students make sure you are at Epic next Wednesday at 7 pm as we hit part two of our Got Sex series.

Weekend Update

1. NFL is back and I'm lovin it, although I did not love the Colts performance. They need to step it up.

2. Ohio State also looked pretty weak against Ohio, hopefully they can bounce back against USC. I can't wait to watch that game.

3. Saturday I gave Dungy a bath and played with Jace in the water in the backyard, it was fun.

4. I fit in some 36 jeans this weekend, whoohoo! It's been a while since I could fit in 36's.

5. Pastor Herbert preached an awesome message on "Things to consider before you say I do". Check it out at www.peopleschurch.tv.

6. Bignite was a big success. We are growing every week and this experience is gonna impact the lives of many college and twentysomethings.

7. Sunday we skyped my grandparents who are in Belgium and they got to see Jace for the first time outside of pictures. Technology is amazing.

8. I've talked about my weight loss a lot, but Jamie has lost a lot of weight too. She is an amazing woman.

Recap of Got Sex Pt. 1

Yesterday we had an awesome service at Epic. I talked about how God created sex for marriage. The students were very attentive and many students committed to God and their future spouse that they would abstain from sex until they are married. We also had 15 students commit their hearts to Christ, thank you Jesus!!! It was an awesome night and to God be all the glory. Next week is our Craziest Fan Cram night and we are expecting many more students to commit their hearts to Christ. God is doing a great work in the lives of students in Oklahoma City and I'm honored and humbled to be apart of it.

224 Baby

I'm officially under the weight I was when I got married. I am 224 and still going down. I probably haven't been under 225 since high school. My weight is dropping like crazy and it's evident my eating habits are making a huge difference. I have also started to work out more because I know it will be tough to get down to 210, but I have complete confidence that I will be there by Thanksgiving. Thank you Lord for the strength to do this!

Jace is Walking

Wow crawling has not lasted long. Jace just turned 11 months and is officially walking. Watching him grow up is pretty amazing. With walking has come some bumps and bruises. This weekend alone he has busted his lip and cracked his head on the chair because of his new learned skill. He is fearless and his personality is growing. As I speak he is getting mad at his bowling pins and throwing them around. It's cracking me up. I love this little boy to death and it's crazy how fast he is growing up and he's not even one. His bumps and bruises this weekend reminded me that when we are learning something new not everything is going to be smooth. We will have moments of frustration and get mad and throw bowling pins, which Jace is continuing to do. Sometimes our walk with Christ can be like this when God is stretching us to do something new, we will have bumps, bruises and get frustrated but the key is to never give up. Jace is upset but he is still playing with the bowling pins. I don't even know what he's frustrated at but I'm sure he will figure it out as long has he keeps playing with the bowling pins. So from me and Jace, keep playing with the bowling pins no matter how frustrating it is, God will help you figure it out.

Random Thoughts

1. I'm in one more fantasy league, whoohoo, that makes 4 and I'm gonna dominate all four of them.

2. Looks like the Yankees and the Red Sox aren't going to make the playoffs. That would be crazy, but it won't bother me if the Yankees don't make the playoffs if the Red Sox miss them too.

3. In one week and one day I get to watch the Colts season opener, yeah!

4. It's raining it's pouring the old man is snoring in OKC.

5. Next month we are starting a series called Got Sex? at Epic. I'm going to speak on Why God Created Sex, Sex God's Way and Dirty Thoughts. Students bring all your friends and parents bring all your students this will be one of our best series of the year.

6. Every year I will do a sex series because I believe fornication and sexual immorality are one of Satan's biggest tools to destroy the lives of teenagers.

7. This Sunday night at 6 pm, Ignite will have it's second service. All college and twentysomethings make sure you are there. God is going to use this experience to impact college and twentysomethings all over OKC.

8. Tonight I will hit up the scale and I'm hoping to be at 225. My eating has been good this week but I haven't worked out a lot. I'll give an update on Monday.

9. I love People's Church and I'm super pumped about our future. We have a great team and lives are being changed every week. Thank you Lord for what you are doing!

Pandora Radio

Pandora radio is another discovery I have found on the internet thanks to my friend Andy Wynn. Pandora is a website where you can create your own radio station with your favorite artists. Example: If you like Frank Sinatra type his name in the "create a radio station" box and Pandora will play all Frank Sinatra music and anyone who sounds like them. Not only that but if the station plays a song you don't like you can skip it and it will never play that song again. Pandora basically learns your favorite types of music and plays it all day long. I love it! Currently I have a Israel and the New Breed station, a Rascal Flatts station, LeCrae station, Fireflight station and a Hillsong United station. It also has an application for the Iphone. It's awesome and I just created a Boys II Men station, whoohoo! Check it out at Pandora.com

YouVersion

Over the past few months I have been using YouVersion to do my devotions and I love it! I am not much of a journaler (i don't think that is a word, but you know what I mean) but have always envied those who are. I've tried a couple times to journal but never stuck to it. I think I stopped because my handwriting is so bad I can't even read it, haha. And one of the main reasons I like YouVersion is because it allows me to journal online. With YouVersion I can read the Bible and Journal online on my laptop. It's awesome! It also has a concordance, commentaries and is very user friendly. Plus I can read my typing much better then my handwriting and I won't get writers cramp. And to put the cherry on top there is an Iphone application so I even have it on my phone. The advances in technology are great and they have opened doors for me to journal during my devotional time. If you interested check it out at youversion.com. It's been a blessing for me and I hope it will be a blessing for you.

Date Night

Jamie and I love Jace a ton but it was great to have a few hours away from him. Tonight a friend watched Jace for us while we had dinner at Chili's. It was a great night of conversation, eating and we didn't have to worry about Jace getting jealous and wanting our food :). We did miss him like crazy while he was away, but it was great to have a night for me and Jamie. Jamie and I are still watching our eating so we cheated a little bit, but cheated in a way we have never done before. We started off by splitting some chips and salsa, we split a side salad and then we split a burger with NO fries. Not only that but we both couldn't finish our half of the burger. We saved some pounds and we saved some money. It was an awesome night and we were very proud of each other. I really enjoyed this time with Jamie and need to make it happen on a more consistent basis.

Slackin

I just realized I haven't blogged since Wed so here are some updates:

1. Thursday I had my first fantasy draft and it was a blast. This league is a keeper league which I have never done before and all I gotta say is the Stallions are going down in week 1! I love fantasy football and I have two , maybe three more drafts to go.

2. Team USA is in the Gold medal game and I want to watch it sooo bad, maybe I will sleep til 1 am, watch it and then go back to sleep.

3. Jace has been launching some nasty diapers lately and if you are wondering yes I gag when I change them. I hate poop diapers, I would change every pee diaper if I didn't have to change one poop diaper. I'm gagging thinking about it so I'm moving on.

4. Today I went to Incredible Pizza with our students and had a blast. Again I'm attracted to the basketball game, but today my best was only a 71. I hope to get 80 someday. As for our students they are all about getting a million tickets, which I think they did.

5. Jamie also tore it up on the basketball game scoring over 40 a few times. If you haven't met my wife she is lots of fun and definitely the life of the party.

6. Tomorrow we kick off our first Ignite experience for college and twentysomethings at 6 pm. I'm super pumped and I believe God is going to use this experience to reach college and twentysomethings all over OKC.

7. The NFL and college football seasons starts in less then two weeks. Go Buckeyes and Go Colts!!! Here is another prediction Chris "Beanie" Wells will win the Heisman Trophy this year.

8. The Yankees won today and the Red Sox got beat 11-0 and that makes me happy.

9. As for the meltdown I'm at 129 pounds and still need to lose 19 pounds. The process has been very rewarding.

10. Thanks for taking time out of your day to read my blog.

Fun at work

Today our staff took a field trip to Incredible Pizza. This is the first time we have ever done this and it was a blast. We ate, laughed, competed and had a lot of fun. We started off with the go karts and I didn't win but I was apart of a wreck and I beat Pastor Herbert so I will take that. Next we hit up the basketball hoops and Pastor Herbert pretty much dominated everyone, until I beat his high score of 68 with a 71 and then a 74. Victory was mine until he tied my high with his own 74 right before we left. I couldn't believe it. Either way I'll take the tie on the high score because he killed me many times head to head. Then I hit up the motorcycle and stunk it up. Andy dominated every race. It's awesome to be apart of a staff that has fun and enjoys life together.

A Great God and an Amazing Wife

I thank God for helping me lose weight and change my eating habits, but I also owe a huge thank you to my amazing wife. As you read in my blogs before Jamie is an awesome cook and she remains an awesome cook but she has changed her cooking habits to help my eating habits. My wife still makes amazing meals but now they are a lot more healthy. She has also been a great accountability partner and a huge encouragement. Without her I would not be seeing as much change as I have and I thank God for an amazing wife. Thanks babe and I love you!

15 pounds

As of this morning I have lost 15 pounds, this has never happened in my life and I give all the glory to God. Never in my life have I been this disciplined with my eating and that's because I have always tried to do it on my own and failed. On my own I would always cheat, justify eating something bad and give into the temptation of eating something bad. In the past I would lose five pounds and think ok I've done pretty good so I deserve to cheat and I would cheat and cheat and cheat until I gained those five pounds back and then try to lose 5 pounds again. I would continue this cycle and get no where, except for high cholesterol and feeling defeated. But now I feel convicted every time I want to cheat and have maintained my new eating habits. Matter of fact, yesterday I had some killer cravings and got a Dr. Pepper (I love Dr. Pepper), nobody would have known because it was just me and Dr. Pepper in my car. I took two sips and instantly felt convicted so I put the cap back on the Dr. Pepper and threw it away as soon as I got home. Take that Dr. Pepper and thank you Jesus and Holy Spirit for your conviction. This time I feel God's spirit helping me and giving me the strength and control over my eating. It's a pretty amazing feeling and it's all because of the Lord. And I have full confidence that God will complete this good work that he has started in me and it's going to bless me and my family. Again, thank you Jesus.

Random Thoughts

1. I'm looking forward to watching the Olympics this weekend. I'm excited for the track and field events and I can't wait to watch USA vs Spain tomorrow in basketball. Go USA!

2. I'm continuing to eat good and feel good. I've been a little slack with working out so I'm trying to step that up.

3. My Yankees are letting me down and if they don't step it up I will have to force out the words "There is always next year."

4. Tonight I rented a movie from the $1 red box, I can't believe we are now vending dvd's. So much for snickers and starbust, go to a vending machine and rent a dvd. Craziness.

5. My heart is beating like crazy because I just watched Michael Phelps win an impossible race. Unbelievable I can't believe he won he was behind to the very end. He is a BEAST!

6. Tonight I'm gonna work out and watch some more Olympics.

The Best Year Ever

Last night we had 14 students give their hearts to Christ. Praise God!!! I love seeing students give their hearts to Jesus, it's awesome. Currently we are in a series called The Best Year Ever where we are challenging students to win their schools for Christ and if they do that they will have The Best Year. It was a great night and students are getting pumped about reaching their schools for Christ. I believe with all my heart that many students who are far from God will get connected to God because of the students of Epic, which will lead to their Best Year Ever. I love the students at Epic and I'm excited about and anticipating our BEST YEAR EVER!!!

U-S-A!!!!

I'm watching the USA dominate Greece in basketball and loving it! I think I have scared Jace three times by my cheering. It's a dunkfest and the alley oop that Wade thew to Kobe as he was falling out of bounds was off the hook! If you are at work today and missed it, check it out on Sportscenter. It's great to see this team doing so good because the last couple of Olympics have been embarrassing. If they keep playing this way they should have no problem winning the gold. This year I'm into the Olympics way more then I have ever been and am really enjoying them. I think I've watched every Michael Phelps race. He is a beast. And their relay where they came back and edged out France was amazing. Jamie and I were cheering like crazy when they won. Go USA and make sure you win the medal count.

Skype

I have recently been introduced to the technology of Skype and I love it. Skype is an internet program that allows you to use your computer as a phone to call anyone who has internet. The part that I like is I can call anyone in the world, which is big for me because I have family in Belgium and France. We can now talk to them for free and if you have a webcam you can video chat for free. I'm all about the Skype and now relatives I have in Europe can talk to and see Jace all for FREE. My grandma in Connecticut that is too old to travel can now see Jace for the first time over the internet for FREE. Maybe for some Skype is old news but for me it's new and it's great. Skype is allowing us to connect with relatives we normally see once every few years. It's also very user friendly and the sound is very clear. Check it out at www.skype.com.

Six Steps

Jace just took six steps all by himself. My son is a beast and I'm so proud of him. He will definitely be walking soon. I just needed to share that with everyone.

Diet vs Changing Eating Habits

First off I would like to report that I have lost 10 pounds, whoohoo!! I have 25 more to go. With that a lot of people have asked me how my diet is going and I've come to the conclusion that my diet is going no where because I'm not on a diet. I'm changing my eating habits which is changing my lifestyle. To me a diet is short term and the changes I'm making are long term. Once I reach my weight loss goal I want to continue to eat healthy because high cholesterol and heart disease doesn't always deal with weight. I also want to work out to be in shape not because I need to make up for the junk I have eaten. Not only that but changing my eating habits has caused me to feel better physically and mentally. It's a great feeling! If I was on a diet, I would only have self control for a certain amount of time but I want to have self control with my eating for the rest of my life so I am changing my eating habits. Proverbs 23:2 (put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony) has opened my eyes and if you struggle with it too I challenge you to change your eating habits instead of going on a diet. Eat to live rather than living to eat. YOU CAN DO IT!!! For those that have been encouraging and praying for me, Thanks!!!

Random Thoughts

1. Tonight I'm chillin at home with my family and looking forward to the time I'll have with Jamie and Jace.

2. Favre in a Jets jersey is just crazy, but I'm happy for him and I hope they dethrone the Patriots.

3. I'm also excited for the Olympics. Go USA!!!

4. Tonight Jamie is making some low fat fettuccine with wheat pasta. I know it will be amazing.

5. Jamie has been on this weight loss journey with me and has been a tremendous support. We are both cutting off the pounds. It feels good to be able to make these changes with my wife and I know it will also be a blessing for Jace.

6. Preseason football has started and I'm not a huge fan of preseason but it's nice to have pro football back. One month until the season starts and I can't wait. Go Colts!!!

Puppies and Babies

Tonight I took Dungy for a walk and it was a beautiful night. As I walked him it struck me how alike him and Jace are. Here are some ways my puppy is like my baby boy. Just like Jace, Dungy likes to put everything in his mouth and I mean everything. He went after rocks, paper, plastic, bugs, and cups. Just like Jace, Dungy wants to explore the world. He has to sniff out everything just like Jace has to check out every corner of our house. Just like Jace, Dungy is a ball of energy. I'm still trying to figure out if I walked him or if he walked me. And just like Jace, Dungy loves people. It's funny my dog completely ignores other dogs but makes a bee line for every human he sees. I don't know why these things struck me tonight during my walk but they did so I thought I would share.

God is Good

Tonight we started a new series called "The Best Year Ever". It's our back to school series and I believe it's going to set the tone for a great fall. I believe God is going to use the students of Epic to reach out to students who are far from God all over the city. Even tonight we had 8 students give their hearts to Christ. There is nothing greater then seeing someone give their heart to Christ. This is why I do student ministry and I'm humbled to play a small part in someone's eternal destination being changed forever. Epic keep bringing your friends and Search Out the Lost! God is changing lives and the best is yet to come!!!

Stuck in Arkansas

I'm currently hanging out in the lobby of a Midas Auto Repair shot. This morning my battery light started to pop on and off and after we got gas to head back to OKC my car would not start. We got a quick jump and praise Jesus there was this Midas 50 feet away from the gas station. We pulled into the Midas and my car died again. The alternator is being replaced because it was only putting out 2 amps when it is supposed to put out 14. So we are loosing some time and this repair is going to put a little dent in my wallet, it's safe to say I have hit a bump in the road. Life is filled with many bumps in the road and today I hit a little bump, but I'm not going to let it ruin my day or steal my joy. At this moment I can smile and chuckle at this bump because there is nothing I can do to change it. The only thing I can control right now is how I react to this bump and it's feels much better to do it with a smile. I think too often in life we allow bumps to steal our joy and ruin our day so I encourage you to guard your joy, don't let the bumps ruin your day, roll with the punches, do it with a smile and laugh at it. Because whether I laugh or get ticked off the fact still remains that I need to replace alternator so I can get back to OKC.

Weekend Update

1. Friday I went to a pretty amazing wedding, but it had some temptation. At the reception they had milk and white chocolate fountains with cookies, marshmallow and bananas to dip in them. They also had wedding cake and lots of chocolate covered strawberries and I'm proud to say all I had was one chocolate strawberry and a lot of fruit. The fountains were calling my name but I resisted.

2. I also went to Mustang, OK for the very first time, it was pretty cool.

3. Saturday I chilled with my brother, Jace and Jamie and we watched Dr. Dolittle, that is a very funny movie.

4. Sunday we had an awesome service at People's church, it was very practical and one I believe everyone needs to hear about our finances being built on the rock, not sand. Check it out at www.peopleschurch.tv it will challenge and bless your life.

5. I also drove to Arkansas with my friend Brian Rush. I'm so glad he was with me because it would be a boring drive for someone to do by themselves. I also had an opportunity to eat a Big Ruby Tuesday burger but I resisted and got the salad bar. Thank you Lord.

6. Changing my diet has been hard, but I feel so much better about myself. This week I have eaten to live instead of living to eat and I really believe the Holy Spirit has helped me have self control and it is an amazing feeling. Thank you God for the strength to get my eating under control.

As Jace would say "Oh Yeah"

As the baseball trade deadline passed I have to say I was pretty impressed with the Yankees and pretty confident that they would make the playoffs. They made some pretty good moves, but their moves cannot compare to the Red Sox trading Manny Ramirez. As a Yankee fan I thought I would never say this "I love you Boston, thank you so much." Manny is the yankee killer, he has destroyed us and now thanks to Boston he is on the other side of the country and in another league. The Boston Red Sox just secured the Yankees playoff spot and I just wanted to say "Thank You"!!! My new prediction is not only will the Yankees make the playoffs but now I believe the Red Sox will not make the playoffs. This is gonna be a great season.

Guys Night Out

Tonight me, Jace and my little brother Stephen (age 22) hung out tonight while Jamie was at worship practice. We went to Bricktown, Hideaway Pizza and then the Penn Square Mall. It was a fun night and Jace was a very good boy. It was nice to have a guys night out and I'm glad my brother is in town. He got here on Tuesday and is leaving after church on Sunday. I don't get to see him too much because he lives in Indy and is attending Master's Commission in Ft. Meyers, Florida. He is going to suffer for the Lord at the beach :) while he is preparing to be a youth pastor. So I'm pumped he came to visit me in Oklahoma before he goes to Florida and I'm really excited for him to visit People's Church. He is going to love it.

Jace Update

Our little man has turned into a wild man. He is everywhere and talks like crazy. Speaking of talking he has added some new words to his vocabulary. He says juice, oh yeah, yeah and today he said Momma. Jamie was very happy. He also likes to say yeah after we tell him no, which is hilarious. It's hard to give a stern no, when this little voice immediately says Yeah. He also has perfected the judo chop, except he does it a mile a minute like Ehonda off Streetfighter and he shrugs his shoulders. He is also standing on his own more and more but not walking yet. I'm sure he will be there soon so we are cherishing the moments of his speedy little crawl. He's a handsome little fella and I love him a lot. Not a day goes by that I don't feel blessed to have such an amazing son.

The Blog is Back

After a great week at camp and preaching 4 times Sunday the blog is back. We had a great week of camp. The camp was a lot of fun and our students lives were impacted in a powerful way. Our team also won which always leads to a good week of camp. Go Yellow!!! It was very hot in Texas but when I got home I realized it was just as hot in Oklahoma. We have officially hit 100 degrees which I'm not too happy about, but we also have gas for $3.41 which makes me wanna shout Hallelujah, thank you Jesus! Anyway it's great to be back home in my bed because that bunkbed killed my back. I'm also officially back on Operation Meltdown and this time I have some people to kick me in the tail. My goal is to lose 30 pounds by Thanksgiving, so bye bye fast food, sweet tea, soda, frappuccino's, carbs and sweets. Pray for me!

Camp Week

This week I will be at camp so I will be on a little blogging break. I'm expecting God to do some amazing things in our student's lives at camp and am looking forward to a fun week. Please pray for our students lives to be impacted, safe travel and that I won't lose my voice.