The Lake Ate My Glasses!!

Let me paint you a picture of a relaxing and lovely weekend, spending time at the lake with my wife.  This was the first time we were able to stay together for a few days out there.  There weren't a lot of people around and the conversations and the fun we had was special.

But then we come to Saturday afternoon.  I, (JC) decided to brave the lake and actually swim.  I wasn't wearing my contacts because I don't have goggles yet.  Thus I was wearing glasses.  Swimming out to the dock wasn't too bad.  The motions came back to me and even though I was tired, I felt good about it.  Sitting on the dock, goofing off with some kids and my wife, I was having fun.

Then, I decided to go back into the water.  Thinking I was able to slide off the dock gently, I sat down and pushed off.  Yeah, gently was not the way I exited that floating piece of wood.  I went under.  I came up, shaking my head.  I heard my wife yell something about glasses and then they sunk!

I felt a decidedly sad sense of loss.  And even after Brianna made a valiant effort to find them with her snorkel gear, they were gone forever. 

I have heard tales of giant pike in this lake.  Makes me wonder if my glasses are now being used on one of the ancient scholarly fish...

"Before You Plan Your Wedding, Plan Your Marriage" Review

Greg and Erin Smalley are relationship speakers who have written this book with the engaged couple in mind. The writing style is very conversational, telling stories about how their engagement and marriage worked, giving good examples of how not to solve problems as well as how to solve those problems.

We took a long time working through this book, just because we wanted to read it aloud to one another. In the middle of wedding planning was both a good time and a bad time to try to read this book. A good time because we were dealing with some of the examples they gave. A bad time because we were simply too busy, especially the last week, to finish it. That said, we did get most of the book done before the wedding and just now finished it up.

A few of the points that I pulled from the book:

• Make a safe place. Don't be harsh to one another and cause walls to go up. If you are in a safe place relationally, that allows you to hold your heart out and trust the other person.
• Know yourself and deal with your own problems. Don't expect your spouse to solve your issues. You have a responsibility to yourself and to your spouse to be healthy, both emotionally and spiritually.
• We all have buttons that get pushed. Get to know what your buttons are and why they hurt. Deal with it and don't get caught in a fear dance. Fear dancing is basically entering into a conflict and letting your buttons get pushed and then you push the other person's and the dance goes on.
  
• Find ways to be a team and make decisions in a win-win way. What does a win look like for you in this situation? Sorta a compromise but not in a one person losing type of a way.

A lot of this book promoted good discussion between Brianna and I. I have good memories of reading a section in the car and then discussing the topic for many a mile. I definitely recommend this as a conversation starter. And it's a good communication building tool to read it out loud to each other. I would recommend this for both engaged couples and those who are already married! There are concepts in here that would benefit all couples.

Five Stars!

Shopping

I woke up the other day expecting a nice quiet morning, maybe a little shopping in town, and some snuggle time with my honey. Instead I was subjected to a ritual that baffles every man's mind. That is the all day Shopping Trip!! (Cue ominous drums here).

We had been blessed by a substantial amount of money from our wedding. We had a list of rather large items that were needed for our apartment.

The first stop was a furniture warehouse. This wasn't too bad. We made our decisions fairly fast and I had a nice place to relax while waiting for the details to be made. Hey, I can handle this!

The second stop consisted of checking out a couple stores to see if they had pantries or microwave carts... They didn't. My feet hurt. Oh boy.

Third stop was Home Depot! Now this is a place I can handle. The pantry and the cube shelf were found here. Okay, nice...

Fourth stop was Walmart and we spent a lot of time here looking for what we needed. Did you know that a BBQ box can balance on the top of a cart? We also found the rest of the big items here for decent prices. Tiring out, but satisfied. The back of the Caliber is filling up...

The last stop, the place that Brianna claims brings happiness to a woman's shopping soul: Bed, Bath and Beyond!! My very masculinity quakes as I enter this store... (Add some mournful wind instruments to the drums). We spent the rest of the afternoon here, getting most of what we wanted from what was left on the registry (neat thing is that we get 10% off for a year - so gift cards go a long way...). More nice knives, a duvet cover and set, pillows, and many other things that began to blur together.

Finally, the money is spent, the car is stuffed to the brim (thanks to my Dad for showing me over the years how to pack a vehicle), and we return to home!

Now, I have to admit that while it was a long day and I was dragging my feet, I did have fun. Getting to see the blessings from others take a more tangible form was extremely cool. I survived the intense shopping day and I still love my wife!

Just don't ask me to spend that much again.... *grins*

The Beginning

The day had come! JC stood at the altar watching for his bride to come in. He bounces a little as the anticipation builds! This moment had been waited for and thought about for many days, weeks, months... No backing out now, even if he wanted to. This was it! The thoughts that had been going through his mind came back to him... Could he do this? Could he step up and be the leader, the man of this marriage? Could he take that responsibility? And, since those thoughts had been laid to rest in Christ, he knew he could. Even when mistakes are made, he knows that he can rest in Christ and the identity as a son of God.

There she is! Bright and shining! The ivory dress is absolutely beautiful, but pales in comparison to her eyes and her smile!

The ceremony goes on, and JC pledges his love to Brianna. They both state their faith, that Jesus is the foundation of their marriage. The ring is given as a circle of love and not a shackle. The vows bind them together under God. John (JC's Dad) blesses them and gives them a quarterstaff as both a symbol of JC's place as a protector and that God is the one to give him, give them strength.

Unity is pledged by the pouring of the sand. They are now one and to pull them apart won't work. JC and Brianna then take their first Communion together, reminding them of Jesus' sacrifice and the redemption found in Him. He is their Rock and their Foundation.

It's time now and they are presented as Mr. and Mrs. JC Reagan!!!

This is the beginning of a new and exciting journey!