Weigh in #3

Sorry about not reporting last week. I only lost .5 lbs.

This week, I stayed exactly the same. Weird. But we did go out to Red Robin this week. Darn those fries. And the ranch dressing. And the BBQmayo. And the Honey Mustard. Oh well.

Weighn in: 291 lbs.

Total lost: 5 lbs.

Pictures from Labor Day Weekend

Our good friends, the Milers, drove up to Salem for Labor Day weekend and we had a blast. Here's some pictures to make you feel like you were stalking us the whole time.

So Matt & Corrie decided after we had purchased some berries from the market that they still needed more...and found this berry tree/bush on the way home.

Matt & Jeff joined a Fantasy Football League for college football together and had their draft on Friday night...2 minutes after the Millers arrived. Whew!

Caleb & the girls.

Sunday night, we all went to the Oregon State Fair and had a great time. Though it rained off and on, and everything there is expensive.

Elephant Ears. This may have been the only reason we went to the fair.


The Millers enjoyed their first elephant ear ever...and Corrie went into sugar shock.



Petting Zoo.

That's my boy.

Our good friend Jon Hastings also made a trip to Salem (his hometown). Really good to see him.

My Recent Surgery

So I was in our weekly worship planning meeting this morning and my fellow worship leader, Logan, shared something with me that made me stop. Ever had that happen to you? Somebody says something profound our outside the proverbial box, and you are forced to have brain surgery to see if the doctors can successfully infuse this new truth into your cerebellum. I had that moment today.

We were talking about worship (imagine that) and he shared something he heard recently at a chapel at Corban College here in Salem. Here it is.

Corporate worship is our chance to align our stories with His.

All of us are crafting stories of our lives. Some of us choose to have a victim story (actually most of us do). Others have dominant stories, where we seek to gain power over anyone and everyone. Still others choose to have stories where we believe anyone who disagrees with us should be put to death, or at least slapped across the face with a black glove. Those of us who come into our weekly worship time with the body of Christ are in the process of writing our stories. Truth be told, the majority of our stories look nothing like the story of the gospel. Yet when we are able to sing songs of worship or recite powerful scriptures or hear the life-changing truth that God has breathed into the written Word, then our story becomes aligned with His. When we choose to give up our story and abandon ourselves to the story He's writing in us, then "abundant life" is ours.

This is my story.
This is my song.
Praising my Savior all the day long.

This will change the way I lead worship. The surgery is underway. And I love it.

Pictures of my boy

Last night, we went to our staff picnic out and had a blast playing volleyball, and eating s'mores. A good friend who works down the hall from me at the church brought her camera and snapped off some pictures of Caleb. He's pretty photogenic.

Click on this link to see them.
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=67379&l=888d2&id=674246144

Reunions, birthdays, videos, oh my!

A lot has happened since we last talked.

Let me recap.

Andrew Peterson really did sign my chest. Told you.

Our good friend Mandy Spotts and her boyfriend, Ryan, came down to have dinner with us. They read Caleb his bedtime story that night.

The whole fam travelled up to Yakima for Kara's 10 year high school reunion. It was a whirlwind trip with activities on Friday and Saturday that kept us moving. Seeing all of her high school friends was good for her, and I enjoyed myself too (even though I thought I would dread it).

Kara with her bestest friends from high school, Dot & Heather.
The whole gang.

Jace...wow!

Greg Dawson, the man, the myth, the legend.

Caleb made some friends too.

He even met a girl, but don't worry. There were chaperones.

We had just enough time to see Grandpa & Karen Santos. Caleb wants one of these someday. So does daddy.

We were visited by my cousin Cristi and her Greenville friend, MO. We apparently were trying on some new shorts that the girls had purchased earlier that day. I'm wearing Cristi's.

It was Cristi's 21st birthday. We made her wear a beautiful but subtle sash to the restaurant where we shared her first "adult beverage" together. Good times.
You didn't know my son came with his own convenient carrying case.
Caleb enjoying his first corn on the cob.

Some videos for your viewing enjoyment.