He is jealous for me.

He is jealous for me.
He loves like a hurricane, I am a tree
Bending beneath the weight of His wind & mercy.

Today this was the song stuck in my head all day. This has been an interesting week. This weekend was a make-it-or-break-it weekend. Every day I have the opportunity to live out my own best interests and selfishness. I have the choice to let my flesh and what's easy do the talking.

But these words reminded me that it's not about how much I get frustrated by this inconvenience or this unfairness. I get so zoned in on what I have and don't have. I get so caught up in who loves who and who doesn't love who. I have to be better. Funnier. Smarter. Thinner. Prettier.

And that is not what the Lord requires of me at all.
He is jealous for me.


I am learning to have faith.
And I am learning to believe and trust in the few things I know to be true.
And I am learning that so much doesn't matter in comparison.

Oh, how He loves us.

Man, that blows my mind.

He is jealous for ME.
Just think about that a second.

Why? It doesn't even make sense.
But He is and everything points to this being true.
It makes everything else seem so irrelevant.
It makes my impatience with how quickly I get reports and receipts from our road manager seem so pointless.
It makes sadness over things working out or not working out such an obvious waste of time.

I don't have time to maintain these regrets
When I think about the way
He love us so.

So my heart is broken tonight for a lot of reasons,
but I think it's in a good way.
I think He's been waiting a long time for me to catch a glimpse of something bigger and I'm hoping that I might start to catch on, even if it's just glimpse.

If His grace is an ocean,
We're all sinking.

Awesome Week 2009: Day 6 & 7

So the end of the week was so awesome, I didn't have time to get pictures up.
Saturday started with a visit to meet Ryne Gilbert.
He is so teeny and has the most precious nose I've seen on a baby.
He's also a Cubs fan, which apparently is determined at birth.



Then Erin and I made a surprise trip to North Greenville to surprise our friend Leslie. I haven't been to the campus in two years so it was nice to visit the Fuge campus. I've also been in need of a roadtrip, even a little one.


Saturday morning, we went to church at FBC Spartanburg. It was on this trip that we got to spend quality time getting to know several staffers. We also got to act a fool when "Boom Boom Pow" came on the radio two times. You just can't stop the music.



We had Mexican for lunch. We learned about cheese skin, ranch and pepper grinders.




We went shopping at my favorite place, The Clothing Warehouse. It's the best selection of vintage t-shirts I've ever seen and there are tons of good t-shirts with numbers on the back. I can't pass up a good local sports team jersey.


We had to go home the very next day but we got to spend time hanging out and meeting some way fun folks. We also got to love on some of our favorites- namely Leslie.



After such an awesome week, I am definitely ready for a coma. I was out like a light, and though it was my awesome week, it's safe to say Erin was drug in to the festivities. She needed to a nap too.



The point of Awesome Week? It was like homework I gave myself. It was to remind myself that this is a good life. I carried around my camera and made a point of capturing the things I take for granted. I got a lot of the stuff I see on a regular basis and don't appreciate. I also had my eyes opened to things I hadn't even noticed before. Awesome.

Awesome Week 2009: Day 5

Day 5 of Awesome Week started with an early breakfast at the Pfunky Griddle in Berry Hill. This is my new favorite breakfast restaurant. I'd even be as daring as to day that I like their pancakes more than The Pancake Pantry...




There is no better way to start the day than with unlimited pancakes covered in M&Ms and chocolate chips.




You get your own spatula, so you know it's a pretty serious restaurant. I wish I were able to eat a lot more pancakes...


Today Erin got a birthday present in the mail from her brother. I can't tell you what he sent her because of national security and online red flags, but know that they are all the components for creating something with a BANG! If you know what I mean.



I guess that makes Nathan a good brother? If your sister was really hoping for a bomb.

Tonight I had hang time with Lucas and Cali. We watched Veggie Tales and Finding Nemo while playing with crayons and eating goldfish crackers. We're pretty much on the same wavelength when it comes to a good time.


This is Cali. She's a baby genius.


These are some of Cali's attempts at taking pictures for Awesome Week.




They played in the bathtub (as in a dry, empty bathtub) for about half an hour. Next time you and your friends are looking for something to fill the evening, try playing Ring Around The Rosy in the bathtub. We watched Finding Nemo and then red books about animals before finally closing our eyes and going to bed.


Images that didn't get captured: police analyzing a crime scene at Nolensville and Old Hickory at midnight. Also, all the shady houses we looked at today while trying to find a home to rent. Yikes.

Awesome Week 2009: Day 4

Today is Day 4 of Awesome Week.
You're going to get a sneak peek into the alternate side of my life: action sports.
Today I drove all over creation and finally ended up at a coworker's house.
This is Brandon Rizzo. He is the team captain for Outcast BMX, the BMX team I am responsible for. He likes Matt Kearney, fedoras, coffee and smart-mouthing me.



This is what I do all day. I get paid to watch BMX videos on Youtube. Don't tell my boss that.
The truth is that I have started trying to grow my action sports knowledge. Interestingly enough, it's just now that I am realizing how crazy some of these folks I know are. Like these guys are founders of BMX or can do front flips on bikes at the X Games. Ridic. I have their phone numbers. Let me know if you want to call someone.



This is the new website for Outcast BMX. Jacob is designing it, and it is definitely in my heart because right now I'm in a neon color phase. I'll let you know when it's finished so you guys can end the suspenseful waiting and go check it out.




I spend a considerable amount of time here. This is the YMCA at Maryland Farms. They trick me into exercising by playing movies on a big screen in a dark room. Kelly and Victoria greet us with gold and chocolate every time we come in the doors. You would think those gifts would be counterproductive to my exercising, but this is simply not the case.



I love having visitors at our house. Tonight we have a fellow Fuger spending the night. Her name is Dana Whitt and she is a fun artist. She's currently laying on our sofa trading funnny stories about camp and life and folks we know in common.

She's pretty lucky that we're letting her stay on our sofa and use our wolf pillow. That is definitely a place of esteem. Hit us up if you want to come hang out with the wolf pillow. We'll treat you to Half Baked Frozen Yogurt and tell you funny jokes. Our sofas are way comfortable too. Erin prefers to sleep on the sofa as opposed to her own bed and that's the dang truth. She's kind of like an alarm system should someone try to bust up in to McClellan Estates.

Awesome Week 2009: Day 3

This was day 3 of Awesome Week.
Synonymous with "awesome"? An Orange Kabam smoothie from Smoothie King.
Erin almost mowed down a guest today, so I figured a smoothie would be a good distraction. Nothing says "don't worry about manslaughter" like a a low-fat frosty beverage.





Tonight we went to Elana's in Brentwood. The Baklava was supposed to be goooooood, so I had to have some. It's a good thing I don't know how to make this stuff because someone would surely be calling a Uhaul and taking my butt to an obesity clinic. Rude? Maybe.





Rocky loves Emily.


This is a fruit wrap with chicken in it. It may look crazy but it was delish! They also sell Bubble Tea at Elana's. I think I'm going to add Bubble Tea to Awesome Week.


Then we went to Brentwood Baptist for Night of Mayhem. I haven't been to a Wednesday night service since last August. Tonight we came expecting to dominate kids in basketball, 4 square and kareoke.

I was verbally assaulted by middle schoolers every time I missed a play. They also changed the rules quicker than they changed middle school crushes. I'm going to take down some middle schoolers the next chance I get.




This was Extreme Musical Chairs. Erin hung in there for a few rounds. I'm morally opposed to musical chairs, even if they're extreme.



We wrapped up the day with Stranger than Fiction in the cinema room at the YMCA at Maryland Farms. What would've been more awesome? Apparently my friend Casey was at Fido for an hour with Hanson. She didn't call me. I would say I wasn't bitter but that would be a blatant lie.

Awesome Week 2009: Day 2

Today is Day 2 of Awesome Week.
There are a lot of things I didn't capture, but I got some good visual records this evening.


Today was a "work from home" day. I spend a lot time working from my sofa office. Today i enjoyed a tasty Boca Burger meal. Sign me up for soy burgers. I call my iPhone "the Ninja Turtle" because it's a hero in a half shell.

Also know this- I want to put an Apple sticker on my car. I own an iPhone and an iPod, but I don't feel like I can rightfully put the sticker on my vehicle because this Apple laptop technically belongs to my company. Confession.


Today was pretty basic when it comes to daily activities. But it is also Tuesday, which means Kairos at Brentwood Baptist Church. It is also Pizza Tuesday, which means Erin and I give ourselves permission to eat unholy amounts of baked pizza as quickly as we can manage.


No bathroom is complete without a flamingo.


This is where Kairos takes place. I'm fully confident that I could successfully survive in here undetected for a considerable amount of time if necessary.


Tonight we experienced a pilgrimage. Wilson Hall filled with literally a thousand people.



This is Amy Haywood. I like her because she sings as loud as she wants. She's also sick talented and tomorrow we'll get to see her basketball skills unleashed.


Tonight the entire church was turned in to a unique place for confession and interspection. Is that a word? Let's go with it. The halls were filled with people praying and journaling, putting down the stones that were once used to condemn them. That's what I like about this place. This is what sets it apart from other churches. This building wasn't built so they could brag about having a coffee shop. It wasn't to host top level concerts. It wasn't to make people drop their jaws upon seeing the massive building. It was to accommodate the tons of people who come through these hallways every week. These people are encouraged to make these halls their own. They are encouraged to work out their salvations with fear and trembling here. They're called to take responsibility for responding to the Lord. It's a big church that is meant to be lived in. That is what the church is for- life.

Let me tell you- I agree that you can't encounter Jesus and not be changed somehow. I'm doing a lot of changing right now. I'm excited about the person I'm becoming, and it's really not through any talent or awesomeness of my own at all.

Awesome Week 2009: Day 1

This is the beginning of Awesome Week 2009. What does that mean?
I've decided to document my life in pictures for the next seven days because there are a lot of things I don't slow down for. There are a lot of things I'd like to show you that I've never taken time to capture on film. So here it is:
My life.

This is my drive to work on Monday mornings. That's the city that I love, Nashville.
And a blue truck, about whom my feelings are indifferent.


This is where I work. Across from Jacob. It's a pretty legit office, as you can tell. I pretty much spend all day on Facebook, but I made it look like I was working considering there was a camera out. Jacob is actually updating his Myspace, which is a top of the line profile.


This is my boss, Gresham. This is also the second time in almost a year that I've seen him wear shorts. This picture captures our staff heading off to lunch, while Gresham is still diligently working.

This is our new Monday lunch super fave, the Copper Kettle. It's just outside the city and it smells like Thanksgiving at Aunt Sue's house every day. That is a business that takes itself seriously. Plus, it has a pretty stellar view from the deck.


Let me tell you, the blackberry salad will NOT disappoint.


There are no other visual records of who works at our company now. Taking pictures today was a first for these guys, as you can tell.


This evening, Erin & I headed over to Belmont University for Week 6 Opening Celebration.



This is where I came to camp one summer. It was the summer I cut my hair and the summer I first came to Nashville.




Campers headed off to their ministry track groups and Erin & I pretended to be campers too. We got all the way to one of the classrooms before someone realized we weren't your average middle schoolers. For one night, we were part of the Armadas.


We topped off the evening with a trip to a local favorite- Ben & Jerry's, because ice cream is better when someone hands it to you in a paper cup. Half Baked Frozen yogurt is a grocery staple in our household.


We took a walk around the block to discuss life-changing revelations and to try and capture pictures of fireflies. The latter was simply not a possibility. Instead we took pictures of the ridiculous buildings that are hiding all over West End and the Vanderbilt area. Get out of your car every now and then and just walk. It's crazy, what you'll see.


Then we opened the sunroof and took the long way home.


Broadway is where all the action happens. The day wrapped up with us going home and filming an episode of the Erin & MeLissa Show, which will premiere in just a few hours now. We're going to talk about celebrities and I've finally decided that I have to suck it up and start editing everything in Final Cut. And I just taught Erin how to use iMovie. Lame.

I had some pretty good late night chats with some Florida favorites and now I'm headed to bed. Tomorrow I work from home, so we'll see what awesomeness gets captured.
Good night moon.