Here’s a great song we’re going to break out next weekend at Central:

I think it’s perfect for Jake, Jen and Julie to pull off. Thoughts?

Here’s the week after:

Great stuff!!!

Vice president candidate Joe Biden goofed when asking Missouri State Senator Chuck Graham to stand up and be recognized. Only problem, Chuck is confined to a wheelchair. Watch:

That’s pretty funny. Oops!

I gotta get me one of these:

I guess I need a urinal first.  I don’t think I’ll get that one past the wife.

It’s been fun.  I’ve been off for two weeks now.  Helping change diapers, cleaning up projectile vomit, running kids around, cleaning house, building a retaining wall, making meals.  All in an effort to nurse my wife back to health.  I don’t know how they do it, these stay-at-home moms.  I’m beat.  I have to go back to work to recooperate from my vacation.

The thing is, you see, is that I don’t want to.  I love being at home with my kids.  I love taking care of my wife.  I love being around my family.  I know some guys that might think this is crazy, because they can’t wait to get back to the office, can’t wait to get away from their kids.  This is not me.  I am a family man through and through.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love me some man stuff.  Building things, poker, rocking on the stage with my Les Paul screaming, hanging out with the boys.  But, when it comes down to it, at the end of the day, I want to be home.  There’s nothing like rolling over on a rare “sleep-late” day and seeing my wife next to me.  There’s nothing like my boys running to the door, screaming “Daddy, Daddy!!!” when I get home from work.  Or walking into their room in the mornings to a “Daddy” chorus.

So…if anybody knows ANY way that I could stay at home with the family and still get paid, get great benefits, and never have to go into the office, I’m all ears!

My baby girl, Gabriella Mae, was born on Monday.  She was born at 5:43pm, weighed 8 lbs 4 oz, and was 19.5 inches long.  The wait is over.

So…I’m tired.  Nursing is going well, she sleeps like a rock, she is quiet.  Did I mention she is cute?

So I’m tired…and I’ll tell you why.

See this picture:

Yep…that’s here in the middle.  In pink.  The small one.  See the other two?  That’s why I’m tired.  Keeping up with kids and the house and all is hard work.  I don’t see how my wife does it so well.  I’m beat!

Thanks to all that prayed and helped out and called with encouraging words.  Thanks to all that will bring us food over the next few weeks.  Thanks to God for bringing her safely into this world.

Now all I need to do is get over all the pink in my house.  Sheesh!!!

Our kitchen table sits in a bay window, overlooking the backyard.  We have a giant hickory tree that sits about 25 feet from this window.  It is very fertile.  It sheds around 5000 hickory nuts every year.  Squirrels love hickory nuts.  We have 6-10 squirrels every morning in our backyard.

Every morning Grady sits and eats his breakfast while looking outside.  Every morning he screams “SQUIRREL” at the top of his lungs.  To him it never gets old.  Seeing these creatures is exciting…every time.

It makes me think about something: how is it that this never gets old?  It is the same thing every morning.  The same excitement, the apparent newness, the joy he gets in seeing the same squirrels over and over.

What if I lived my life with that same joy?  Would it ever get old?  Would I never grow weary?  I am reminded of Nehemiah 8:10.  I could use a little strength right now.  Maybe I start with living a life filled with joy.  After all, I have a great example to follow.

Do I look older to you?  I can’t tell.  I will tell you this…a little secret that I’m trying to push to the side: for the first time ever, I actually feel older.  I don’t get why.  Not today, mind you, but every day.  It’s been a little harder to get out of bed.  I need a little more time at the end of a day’s work to recover.  Things are getting louder.  More often than not I want to sit and read rather than go out and play.

Is this a slippery slope?  Can I break the pattern of aging, or at least feeling older?  At the beginning of May I decided to lose a bunch of weight.  I have stalled after 13 pounds.  Not bad, but not where I want to be.  This next year I am resolving to do a few things:

1. Lose the rest of the weight.
2. Find ways to feel younger, thus becoming more energetic.
3. Write my wife the sappy love song she’s always wanted.
4. Make my family’s lives a little more fun.
5. Be a better husband, father, friend and child of God.

I’ll probably think of a few more on this day of reflection, but for now I think it’s enough.  I’m getting tired just thinking about it. 

Man I’m old.

I go through phases on this journey.  Life, spirituality, weight, blogging.  It’s been rough.  It’s been fun.  It’s been bumpy.  Right now it’s a little tiring.  But definately worth the effort.

I need more hours in the day to get more things done.  Not things I need to do, but things I want to do.  I have the time to do the things I need to do.  However, the things I want to do are getting bumped farther and farther away.  Write, exercise, woodshed.  Things that bring me a little relaxment.

Is that a word?  It sounds good.  Relaxment.  The enjoyment of all things relaxing.

I need more relaxment in my life.  Don’t we all?  Would not your life be better if you took the time to relax and enjoy the things that God has given you?  If I took the time to do everything I needed to do, I would never get to enjoy my wife and kids, never get to watch a football game, never play my guitar in the wee morning hours.

I went to the pool last night with the fam.  Yeah, Grady almost drowned, and Rene almost went into labor, but overall I had a true sense of relaxment when the night was over.  It was worth having to get up a little early this morning to clean the dishes from supper last night.  Speaking of which…gotta run.  Those grits are going to be a bear to scrub.

Enjoy your day.  And relax a little.

This is not supposed to happen.  It wasn’t on my tech sheet, so shouldn’t have happened.

I am sitting in the middle of the sanctuary of Central Christian Church.  The floor is wet.  It is almost 1:00.  People are still here.  There is a buzz around and about his place that I have never seen.

You see, we finished a series today about spiritual warfare entitled “In The Trenches.”  Stephen wrapped up the message today by inviting people to clothe themselves with Jesus.  To put on the armor and enter the battlefield.  To get baptized.  We knew about one.  Frank.  He is 55 and today he gave himself to Jesus.  What followed is something that only could come of God.

The army of the Lord is 24 stronger today.  That’s right, I said 24.  Not by anything we did, not by anything we said, not by any song we sung.  24 people gave themselves to God by getting baptized.  I am still numb.  I am shaking as I type this.  I can’t explain it, nor would I try.  It is God and only God.

I pray this week that those that came forward stay strong in the battle.  Satan is ramping up the attack.  I pray that we as leaders remember that we did NOTHING today except open ourselves to what the Spirit would have us do.  I also pray that those that were here do not lose sight of why we do what we do.  This is the reason we sing and preach and pray and read and work.  The battle has just begun.  We can not let up for a moment.  The minute we put our shields down and think we can do it by ourselves, we will fall.  The enemy will not let up.  Neither can we.