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.