breath

This past week has been the hardest week of my life. Me and my new bride just returned from our honeymoon a week ago today!! The honeymoon was absolutely amazing! We went on a week long cruise and ate our moneys worth! This whole week, we both longed to be back on that cruise ship going back the the amazing beaches and eating the great food! Then, I make a turkey sandwich, sit on my couch, and plan our next cruise!

Marriage is going great! We have been busting our butts trying to catch up on work while getting our house cleaned and doing a little shopping! Life is great! I just wanna share a quick story.....

We were waiting to get off the ship at 7:30 last sunday morning and happened to be stuck next to the biggest whiners alive! It was probably a 45 year old couple that evidently knew way more that the cruise ship directors. They were complaining about every 5 minute delay and were bashing all the cruise staff because we were 20 minutes late getting off the ship (because they hadnt opened the security check on the port.) When we finally got to leave, they tried to cut infront of people and almost started a fight.

Me and bre sat there and just laughed until the room cleared then just easied our way off the ship. Let me just say this to everyone thats been bashing leaders, just relax. This cruise staff just gave this couple the best week of their lives and with one delay, they automatically throw them under the bus.

If you are mad or upset with leaders in your life, breath. Look at where they have brought you to before you condemn them to Hell. If the leader is really that bad, go talk to them to their face. Have some patience and integrety.

Love mixed with a little of Holy Crap!

My freshman year of high school was a weird but great time for me. I had just changed school districts from Fulton county to Forsyth county and knew absolutely no one. I joined drumline and met some friends there but I still felt so awkward the first day of class. If any of you know me, you know it wouldnt take me to long to get to know the people in my class. I remember getting to know one guy in my personal fitness class that was a little ...um... well.... he was really nice. We will leave it at that. There were a couple of girls that sat across from us in the classroom and one that was exeptionally pretty. Come to find out, she was in my buisness procedures class to. Lucky me! (btw, that class was a waste of my life.)

As time went on, I got to know this girl day after day and got in good with her friends (guys- take note of that. Get in good with her friends! You will thank me later.) I figured out her name, likes, dislikes, hobbies, family, and anything else she would tell me. We would get in trouble in class for talking and laughing and cutting up. Then it happened....

I posed as a office assistant and told her drama teacher they needed her in the office. I asked her out, a freshman in high school, knees knocking, voice cracking, butt sweating, all of it. She said yes. Then a week later... it was over. I wasnt good enough..... oh freshman romances. The pursuit didnt stop.

So I didnt what ever man does when he gets hurt by a girl he likes..... date her best friend! haha I did and we had fun. When we broke up though, the pursuit was there for the girl that broke my heart after a week.

She asked me to go to a wedding with her one day.... If you a pursuing a girl and she asks you to go hang out, jump on that!! Clear your schedule (not that I had one as a 15 year old but you know what im saying.) We went and danced and sang and had a great time. We sat down to take a break and it happened. I got enough confidence to slowly reach over, pick up her hand, and lay it in mine. OH MAN!! It was magical!!

In my parents driveway after the wedding on September 21, 2002 when I was 15, she was 16, I looked at her under the moonlight night and simply asked "Breanne Gravitt, will you be my girlfriend?"

She will become Breanne Dodd in 5 days!!

I cant believe I have kept her this long. I am so stoked about this marriage but often I sit back and think, holy crap! Im getting married! Ive never done this before!! haha We are so excited to begin this journey and share life together every moment. But we need yalls help. We dont want to take this covenenant between each other and God lightly at all. We dont want to become another statistic. We want to focus our marriage on God and let all the things fall into place. We want to ask for prayer as we get ready for the greatest day of our lives.

Pray for our focus
our attitudes
our words
our strength
our love
our flights and honeymoon (saftey)
our future
our pursuit of each other, that it would never die
our respect of the covenant we will make
our joy
our laughter
our lives
our happy ever after.


Thank you guys for all the prayer and support. 5 more days!!!

Its about time!

I started this blog as soon as I began working at Lanier Hills Church in June with hopes of writing twice a week. As you can see, it is September 17 and this is my first entry. My bad. A little about my self. I am getting married in 30 days!! I am beside my self excited!! My future bride is Bre. We are high school sweethearts and are so excited to be married! I have to most amazing job being the student pastor at Lanier Hills Church in Gainesville. We are the "perfect church for people who aren't." Here is what compelled me to write my first blog.....

I am sitting in Jittery Joes Coffee shop in Midway right now totally wired! I have been cutting caffine out of my life over the summer mostly because I cant afford it. I had to come down here to take care of some wedding stuff so I figured I would stop by and get some work done while I wait for bre to get off work.

I came in and ordered my coffee, sat down and fired up my laptop. It is me and one other guy in here. He is sitting right at 11 O'clock from me typing away and secretly rocking out to his ipod. He has the typical white earphones in and everyonce in a while I catching the head-bob begin. Probably Metallica. I slid my earphones in and am softly listening to none other than Enrique Inglesias's "Dimelo" (thanks FBCA students) when I hear that coffee shop manager tell the Barista "wait, the music isnt on.... go turn on another cd." Me and Metallica guy are perfectly content with our music we have going on but they turn on the cd player and crank it up. As I reach up to crank the volume on my mac to battle what is now rocking out in the coffee shop, I look over and Metallica is turning up his ipod.

How many times in life do we do something just because it is the norm and that is what we are suppose to do... In happens all the time. Most of the time is completley subconscious. You pray before you eat, before you got to bed. At church, it is 3 songs and a sermon. Is your Christian life turing into "oh there is no music?" Or, is it how Jesus viewed it in John 5:19, "So Jesus explained himself at length. 'I'm telling you this straight. The Son can't independently do a thing, only what he sees the Father doing. What the Father does, the Son does.'"

What would happen if more and more people stopped making there walk with Jesus a norm and a formula but instead, seek Him with a real passion and only do what we see Jesus do, not what the world says is a norm for the Christian life?