The Big Day is Coming!!!!!!!

What do you do when the day of your wedding is coming and it won’t come fast enough, yet you don’t feel ready either? Do you ever feel ready though? I have learned over the past month how unbelievably selfish that I am. It scares me to think how much is going to change, and yet so excited that my dearest friend will be the one to walk through life with. For example…

Leslie and I have the opportunity to move into a house vs. living in the apartment that I currently live in. My lease is up and they are jacking the price up so we started thinking about moving out into a house. Oh Lord, the frustration behind this decision!!! I would, however, finally get the yard that I have been wanting for years, have a place that I am not embarrassed to invite people to, and allow us to start our marriage in a place that neither of us have lived in. The only downfall is the cost of living. What do you do? Do you take the risk and trust that you can do it or do you take the safe road and live in a place you hate?

Add on top of all these decisions the fact that after 29 years, she and I have to talk about every decision that we make for the future. We have both been so self reliant till now that it seems like trying to stick two magnets together with the same pole facing each other. We want to connect, but with so much resistance to change it makes it interesting.

The great news is that the wedding day is coming and we will never have to live in a different state again. We will get to make these decisions with each other as a couple, bound by God, and continuing to learn to die to self. I can think of no better way to live my life. I can’t wait to share my life with Leslie and learn together all the joys of life.

A month of Service

One of the gifts of being on Young Life staff is working for a month on an assignment at one of our national properties. Some say it's much like a vacation, which it seems like from the pictures, but let me tell you this year was long, hard, and full of God's grace.

I was able to get Leslie on my assignment this year which allowed us to be in the same place at the same time for a whole month, a thing that we have not had the chance to do becasue we dated long distance. She was amazing!!! She was responsible for overseeing the college age volunteers for the month, while I was responsible for the entertainment for the month. The property where we were working is Young Life's only family directed property, "Trail West"! It was like going home for me as I had had 3 earlier assignments in my career but this was different than any other by far. The assigned team was great, property was great, and time with my fiance' was really great!

It was a very different time for me of realizing that I am no longer alone in this world. For the first time in my life I had to think about telling Leslie my plans, talking over the day, and making sure that someone else was being cared for. The truth is that I did a really poor job all month of caring for her, but Leslie was great! She understood how draining that my job was and she was extreamly independent and caring in a crazy season of our engagement. It was an interesting month for us as we continued to see life in a whole new light.

It was not without a few dumps and freakout moments though! I have had my days where I didn't know who I was or who the crap was taking over the thoughts in my head. Scared to death of failing at caring for a spouse, being financially responsible, and helping with the little deatails of planning a wedding that I really don't know how to help with. Needless to say, while I was on my assignment pointing others to Christ...I was struggling myself to hear his discernment for my own life. He is ever present though and gives strength when we can not find it on our own. The month was amazing and I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to serve Him and others for a month.

I think that pictures do a much better job of showing the month, so I will put a few below and catch up the blog on another day...


Leslie's sister Allie got to come visit and even got to meet "Cletis and Clyde"!


The "Godfather of Soul" and the "Prince of Funk"


Dear Friends...


Program partner and dear friends... The Sanchez family!


Leslie and Katie O at KrunkFest!!!


The finale of the week. Tableau!


Cletis and Clyde entertaining thier friends!!!!