Extra Pickles Please

Kind of a sad but neat true story that I heard today. A 15 y/o recently passed away; in his church he was known as a leader (not just a leader, THE leader). His father would write life lessons and put them on post it notes and stick them in his car. His son inherited this trait and did the same thing. At the time of his death the police officer said he had his Casting Crowns CD blaring (which is a great album by the way) and told the father he could retrieve the post its from the vehicle. The father gathered the post its and gave them to the minister giving the eulogy.

The minister read the latest one that the boy had written, it was dated the date of his death. The child had been working at McDonalds and a woman had complained that she had ordered her burger without pickles. There was another woman in line that was visibly homeless. The homeless woman offered the boy a dime (because that was all she had) for the pickles off of the burger. The boy gave the whole sandwich to her, the woman was so thankful that she began crying. In his post it note he related the events back to his Christianity. He said that so many times we act like the first woman and feel that we are entitled to God's love when in reality we should be thanking him at every turn. Just like the woman that asked for pickles and got the whole sandwich. We asked for forgiveness and we were given the keys to the Lord's Kingdom.

What an uplifting story, this boy was wise beyond his years. On the day of his funeral 3 kids his age were baptized. My jaw dropped when I was told this story, it literally gave me goosebumps to realize that a 15 year old could come to such a profound analogy. I pray that my spiritual walk can be as strong as this boy's walk was.

Eventful Weekend (The Gump Luck Strikes Again)

Friday we had our wish gala (a work function) at the Skirvin. It was kind of neat, but also kind of surreal. The party was a black tie or best ensemble event. We arrived and the theme was a middle eastern type setting. There were two big camels on each side of the room. We were told the entertainment was going to be belly dancers. I assumed there was going to be like 4, but come to find out there were like a dozen. After that there was dancing. They people created a circle, after much convincing Amy went to the middle and acted like she had a fishing pole in her hands. She "reeled" me in as I acted like a fish all the way across the circle.

Saturday was a pretty busy day. I helped a buddy move, went to the gym and worked out, and finally went to Dealing for Dreams (another work event). Then the Forrest Gump luck struck. The event was a casino style shindig with all proceeds going to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. I decided to put my money in and started playing. I did incredibly crappy, but at the end of the night they were raffling off prizes. There were all kinds of prizes including dog training, a day at the salon, a night out on the town etc... The two biggest prizes up for grabs were an all expense paid trip to Vegas for 2, the other was floor seat to the Oklahoma City Thunder B-ball game. I ended up winning the Thunder seats (which I was more interested in). My old roommate won the Vegas trip. Apparently I can pass on my good luck to others.

Sunday I watched football.

Today we played softball and went 1 for 1. We won a game and we lost a game. Our goal this year is to win 2 in a row. I have a busy week ahead, but it should be a fun week. I will keep everyone posted. Should be some feel good reading.

Ridgecrest Rising & Tidbits from the Weekend

So we are in our 2nd season of softball. The first time we did not do so well, we were playing in a league that was way above our skill level. We went down a level and did much better. We lost our first game 19-13 and we won the second game 16-2. Cant wait for next week!

Friday we went to Chesapeake Energy to watch Graham Colton and Jewel. I have caught a lot of flak for going to this concert. In my defense, I originally wanted to go for Amy and so she could go to a concert that she would enjoy. I must admit though, I really had a great time and thought both acts were really good.

We went to the State Fair on Saturday. I ate incredibly too much. We both had a great time and it was easy to get around because it was sprinkling outside. I would like to get out there one more time while it is in town, we always love going to the fair.

More to come soon...

I want to thank everyone for all the thoughts and prayers. In times of strife, you really find out who your friends are and how much you are loved. Things are getting better, we are both mending broken hearts still. I think that we are both trying to handle it the same way, we are trying to forget about it and think about other things and not dwell on it. This works most of the time, but going to church was tough because everyone was coming up to us and hugging us and offering their condolences. It was sweet, but it also made it tougher to deal with. I told Amy that we probably wont get over it anytime soon, but it will get easier. I certainly hope so.