2.52, 2.65, 2.76

Those were the prices I saw in successive order between 7:30 am and 1:30 p.m. today at the same gas station. In less than 6 hours the price of gas went up almost 25 cents!
Luckily, I was almost full so I went ahead and topped it off in fear that it was going to go higher. I think I am going to start riding my bike.

Went to DQ this weekend with Cindy and got to see lots of my relatives. We met my aunt and uncle Kay and Roger from Atoka, OK at Mamaw and Papaw's for some waffles before going to Broken Bow Lake. There we enjoyed a wonderful time on the lake and going to an old island we used to go to when I was a kid. I got to introduce Cindy to how to make Indian Face paint with the slate rocks that are numerous on that lake. I have post some pictures below which are from the lake.

After a nap that afternoon, we went to Wright City, OK to have a nice BBQ dinner with my Nanney and Papa and my other aunt and uncle Marilyn and Ricky Don. It was good to see everybody, get some much needed rest, and eat some good food.

We discovered that Suzie LOVES the water. She wore herself out swimming, which was a good thing b/c she slept all the way back to Fayetteville. She is really a good car dog and is no problem to travel with at all. No dramamine or Benadryl needed to help her make the trip.

You can't beat the weather up here today. There is a nice breeze blowing and it doesn't feel bad at all with the windows up and the air blowing through. I am starting to look forward to fall and that first crisp wind that blows through town. I was hoping for some good rain this summer for a good fall photo op, but not sure how things are going to turn out since it has been so dry.

Just wanted to put up some pics from this weekend and say hello. Looking forward to seeing how the Hogs do this weekend. Unfortunately, I can't go b/c I have to work. My schedule got rearranged and I was not informed, so instead of being at work this past Sat. I was in Broken Bow, which means I get to cover this Sat. for the guy who helped cover this weekend in my absense. Not sure whose fault that one was. Was it mine for not knowing to look at the new schedule that I did not realize was a new schedule or for not being told that I was given an extra weekend not originally on the original schedule? Oh well, at least they are playing Missouri state and not someone else.

The approaching storm

The Boat Driver (my dad, Ronnie)

Queen Suzie

Before and....

After

If you like Nora Jones....

check out this guy.

Awesome show in Fayetteville tonight. I highly recommend him if you ever get the chance to see him live. I bet he will soon be "too big" to come back to little ol' Arkansas in the future, seeing as he is playing in some large cities and he has been touring with Nora Jones this past year.

A Wedding To Remember

Let me preface this with saying I am not one to usually write about how awesome a wedding was, but the one I went to this weekend is an exception. It was not so much how "beautiful" the wedding was, but more what message the people involved in the wedding sent out. It was not even a message they directly gave at the wedding, but more like a reflection of how the lives of the two families involved reflected Christ.

I went to this wedding b/c Cindy was a bridesmade. I was actually looking forward to it somewhat basically b/c it involved Dennis Rainey's family (Family Life). His daughter Rebecca married a guy named Jacob Mutz. (You will probably read about in one of the upcoming Dem-Gaz Sunday profiles). There were a total of 18 children from both families (6 from the Rainey's, 12 from the Mutz) and almost all of them were in the wedding. I believe between all the grandparents and parents there was a combined 272 years of marriage preceding the two involved. What a legacy!

What I took home from this wedding was from the parents involved. Both sets of parents set a Godly standard at home. The parents honored God, honored each other, and taught their kids to do the same. They set a high standard but did it to Glorify God and now they have children who are doing the same. It sounds crazy to think of having 12 children, but it was amazing to see how much these kids loved each other. Both couples read something they had written out to honor their parents, something I have never seen done before. It was touching (can I say that?).

I left this wedding feeling as if I had a standard set before me by the way these parents have loved God and taught their kids to do the same. I feel as if I ought to write Dr. Rainey and the Mutz' and tell them "thank you" for being such awesome examples of what it means to live out a Godly life as a couple and raising a family to do the same. I felt honored to be able to be present at the wedding this weekend.

Psalm 127:3-5 says,
"3 Sons are a heritage from the LORD,
children a reward from him.

4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are sons born in one's youth.

5 Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their enemies in the gate."

After seeing two families with such awesome character with what is considered a large number of children, I had to ask myself "why do most Americans, particularly Christians, only have 2-3 children? If it is a blessing from the Lord, why don't we have more arrows in the quiver?" I am not married and don't have any children, so I can't really answer this yet, but it seems if more families like these two had a lot of children, a lot of good will come out of it to glorify God. Just a thought.

By the way, I got to see Cindy looking good in her brides maid dress as well. My parents and her parents met for the first time, which we both thought went really well. All in all, it was a good weekend. I was out $10 bucks b/c Suzie decided to tear a few things up in the Marlin's back yard, but they didn't seem too upset.

Laptop Frenzy

Did you hear about this story. I heard on the radio this morning that some people were beaten with folding chairs....all for $50. What does that say about our society? It is sad that people would act this way just for a laptop that is not that up to speed. The report says, "one woman went so far as to wet herself rather than surrender her place in line". OK, not even animals wet themselves. At least my dog Suzie knows to go squat somewhere so that she does not get herself messy. Is this what the Bible means when it talks about a "depraved" mind.

2 Timothy 3:1-5
" 1But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them." I guess I should not be surprised.

They Finally Did It!

Relevant Magazine finally launched their new website. It is a Beta version, but you can still check it out. I guess we will have to wait still a little longer for the radio/tv. Looks really good. Let me know what you think.

Swimming Lesson

The Dog Days of summer are upon us, so what better time than now to take Suzie for her first real swim. I did drop her in the water at Lake Fayetteville off the dock, but she was smaller and I was not in the water. Today, I took her to Lake Weddington and got in myself. The water was warm, but cool enough to feel good. Suzie did really good after she settled down. She even retrieved a stick. I am going to work with her more on this. I had just as much fun in the water as she did coolnig off.

I just started reading this book which Grant gave me before I left for Fayetteville. I wish I had started reading it sooner, because I can tell from the first few pages it is going to be awesome and could really transform myself and, especially, my community group. Thanks bro.

I am on call tomorrow, so my weekend really last tonight, unless by some miracle I get to actually sleep on Sat. night. I am not counting on it, so Sunday day will be reserved for sleeping until it is time to meet with the prayer team and for chruch. I hear we are expecting close to 500 total people on Sunday with the students back. Not bad for a church that is only about 5 years old and has only been meeting in its current location for 2 years. We must be doing something right.

Suzie Update

Here is a pic of Suzie at almost 6 months. She has really grown a lot. She is still a puppy at heart (you should see my back yard). She has proved to be a very good dog. I hope to do a little more training with her this fall to possibly get her to retrieving on the water. Right now, she does an excellent job on the ground, most of the time.

To catch you up on my world:
So, it has been a while since I have blogged once again. I took my medical boards last week, so I spent the majority of my time before preparing for it. It takes at least 3 weeks to get the scores back. You would think for a test that one pays $625 dollars to take and is computerized, you could get a score back quicker. Oh well.

Community group has been going well. We are doing a seperate guys and girls study right now, with us guys doing a study using the Band of Brothers mini-series and studying what it means to be a leader and a man of God based on 2 Tim and Titus. This was the brainchild of Grant.

I am doing an orthopoedics rotation right now, which has been really good. I am learning all about the amazing hand this week. The hand alone is such a decleration of God's infinite wisdom in how he created us. Sir Isaac Newton had a similar thought: "In the absence of any other proof, the thumb alone would convince me of God's existence". It bewilders me that there are not more doctors who are Christians from the evidence alone in intricate details of how the human body works.