Wow.  What a crazy crazy few months.  Let me start off by saying I love my fiance, and bride to be more than I have loved any single person on this Earth. Ever. Period. No Questions.  I have been doing my rules of engagment thing for some time now.  Check out some older ones. And if you have any rules of engagement that you have learned in your experience, or just general questions.  Help a brother out.

I know I haven’t had much input into this wedding.  Not necessarily because I don’t care, but because I don’t know. I honestly thought going into this that all I had to do was pop the question, and show up a little while later, kiss the girl, and live happily ever after.  I was wrong.

I don’t have the slightest clue how Andrea does it, and remembers every thing.  Some people might say my memory isn’t 20/20 anyway, and now throwing all of this into the mix.  Let’s just say I am not performing well.  So. On to rules of engagement number 6.

Give some input.  Make suggestions.  Handle it well when (if, but really when) your suggestions are shot down.

Like I said before, Andrea is awesome at this kind of thing.  Baby showers, parties, house get togethers, and now add weddings to her resume. She just gets it. (And she is gifted in bargain shopping, I think she gets it from her mother.) Normally when she comes to me asking a question, I don’t give much input.  That’s my flaw.  Let me say though.  You need to give input.

Women don’t think, “He’s not giving input about my (our, but really my) wedding.” (From what I gather about women.) Women’s minds don’t work like that.  At least not from my perspective.

A woman is going to be thinking,“He can’t even give me a suggestion about something as simple as centerpieces, what is he going to be like when we are choosing our first baby outfit, or if we are choosing a bed.  I can’t believe he doesn’t seem interested.  I want him to like it too, if he doesn’t give me input, I’m going to be wondering, does he like it? Does he love it?  Does he hate it?  Could I have done better?  Could I do worse? Do these shoes match my green purse, should I be wearing white?  It’s after labor day, but that’s kind of a thing of the past.  Right? I think so, yeah.  Right.  I wish he’d give me some input. How many calories does this fiber bar have?”

I might not always care about the decor of the wedding, or how centered or straight a picture on the wall is.  It’s not my fault, I’m a male.  What I do care about is that my future wife knows I’m willing to do anything and everything in my power to make sure we communicate, we are both happy, that I do have opinions and, I am going to care about stuff she cares about.

Guys.  A suggestion.  Throw some opinions out there.  It might even be a good one.  I did that with our invitations, and we’ve gotten 90 RSVP’s.  So, it can turn out well.  In my opinion, the worst thing to do is to keep quiet.

Some of the reasons I love thee.

• When we’re reading, in silence, I know every 10 minutes, (At least) I know she will laugh.  I know then she will look at me until I look back at her, and then say, “I have to read this to you.”
• She is so firm in her beliefs.  No one is going to sway her, and she is not going to back down.
• Have you seen her eyes?
• The way she can’t quite wake up until a cup of coffee.
• Do you know how often she writes Saxby Chambliss?  If he ever goes to prison, I KNOW he will have a pen pal.
• Andrea is not only the HOTTEST girl I have ever seen, she’s smarter than me.
• She’s feisty.  Sometimes, right before I get mad, and we argue, I have to try not to laugh.  Sometimes I do laugh.  Because she is cute as a button when she’s mad.
• Have you seen her eyes?
• This list could go on forever, but she is home from her bridal shower.  So, I have to help carry stuff.

Today would be my older sister’s (Adrienne Lee McMahon) 27th Birthday. So.. I felt this was appropriate for my repost this week.

When asked,”what makes a person?” Most people might say, what they believe, what they’ve done, what they stand for, what they’ve seen, or maybe even, what they haven’t done. I don’t think that’s it at all. What makes a person, to me? Who they love.

Tons of people have seen the world, Christopher Columbus discovered a new world, traveled around the world, and saw just about the entire world. Still, ended up spending a good portion of his life jailed for embezzlement. In the end, who was he really? Just another person.

Galileo. The first to argue that the earth does in fact does revolve around the sun. He believed that with all of his heart. In the long run, he was also jailed, and eventually forced to take back his beliefs. Maybe now, he is well respected, but in the end, he died, jailed, lonely. Who was he really? Just another person.

You see, I’ve been thinking a lot about Jesus Christ lately. He also spend his last days jailed, not with “holy men”, but among sinners. In a cell, staring at a wall, by one of his own. He still loved everyone. With all of his heart, he loved everyone.

As a matter of fact, one of the last things he did on this planet was invite a prisoner to walk with him in the kingdom of Heaven. At a time, when many men have spit on him, hit him, and turned their back on him, Jesus still loved them. Still loved us. Jesus loved that prisoner, as much as he loved anyone. Jesus knew, it takes a lot to love a sinner, but the sinner, needs it the most.

See some people spend their entire lives trying to change the world. Trying to come up with new theories, methods or beliefs. Not me. The world’s been changed enough. I take that back, the worlds been changed too much. If people spent as much time loving as they spend trying to change the world, or prove things wrong, this world would closer to the place it once was. Jesus had the right idea. Why is it so hard to follow? You’d think it’d be easy, but it’s not. It’s something we all struggle with.

Love should be what makes the world go round, not money, success, theories, inventions, or hate. I know it sounds obvious but, is it?

Today I chose Yootthaphichai.  His friends and family call him “O”.  You can too.  He is 4 years old.  He is an errand runner for his family and in Kindergarten.  He has been waiting for over 6 months!  He needs us for his education to continue, and to eat a healthy meal daily.  Please, if you find it in your heart, click the picture below or click here.

To Sponsor any Child of your choice. Click Here!

Personal and Family Information:
In his home, O helps by running errands. He lives with his father and his mother. His father is sometimes employed as a farmer and his mother is sometimes employed as a farmer. There are 2 children in the family.

As part of Compassion’s ministry, O participates in church activities. He is also in kindergarten where his performance is average. Soccer, singing and walking are his favorite activities.

Your love and support will help O to receive the assistance he needs to develop his potential. Please pray for him.

God, please help us remember that you love the entire world the same.  Help us set aside our selfish wants, and remind us that there are people out there whom we are called to.  God, you are wonderful, and we are grateful for everything you have given us.  Help us use what we have to improve your kingdom.

Amen.

When I think of the word surrender, I automatically picture a white flag. Normally being waved by a coward, in a foxhole or hiding behind something, because everything around him is collapsing and most everyone he knows has left or been taken from him. Only when I picture this, do I realize the power of the Word.
At first I thought surrendering to God is something I only have to do once, you know, just a one time thing. Now I know I was wrong. Initially, the surrender is easy, accepting Jesus as your savior, inviting him into your life, and confessing you are helpless with out Him. So the story goes.

When I try to explore deeper into my faith, it seems I have to surrender every time I turn around. I find an endless list of imperfections and flaws in myself, that I can’t look past without surrendering more to Jesus. I suppose it is because I am stubborn and prideful, and I can only let go a little at a time. My human imperfections blind me of just that, my imperfections.

Admitting defeat, (each time I have to) glorifies the Lord, renewing, and strengthening the true awesomeness of his love, power and forgiveness. So, although I might be weak, I may be a coward, daily I will wave my white flag. My flag not only shows my weakness, but also glorifies the Lord.

I am no longer afraid to be powerless, and to wave my flag. I invite you, young or old, new Christian or a “life long veteran”, black or white, male or female, to wave your white flag with me. What a beautiful way to glorify our Father!