Kylie turned nine today! We spent the week in Tulsa visiting family. Kylie made her first trip to a cemetery. She has been asking about granny Smith and she wanted to see where she is buried. It was a painful experience and one would have to question my parenting ability for taking her. However, we pulled up to the grave side and Kylie said "is it the one with the flowers?" I said "yes" and she got out of the car walked over to the grave and just sat down. She sat there for a few minutes in complete silence and then she began to wipe her eyes. I was a mess at this point but sat down next to her and just held her while she cried. Without a word we stood up and went back to the car. Kylie as only she can do to me, melted my heart when she said "dad, it is OK, she is in heaven now". I responded with "I know she is and we will see her again one day."

Pronunciation:
\ri-ˈstȯr\
1 : give back , return 2 : to put or bring back into existence or use 3 : to bring back to or put back into a former or original state : renew 4 : to put again in possession of something
This 1947 HARLEY KNUCKLEHEAD rekindled a fire in me. When I was in St. Louis a couple of weeks ago I went to a friends house. His name is Kurt, he is an amazing man, he has an amazing family and look at what he has done. He reminded me that everything can be restored. The lesson I learned by looking at this restored 47 knucklehead would impact me a week later when I was visiting with some friends. Now, if I had seen this motorcycle sitting in an old barn I would have seen a pile of junk. When Kurt saw it, he saw what it could be---not what it was but what it could be. The idea of seeing what "can be" and then accomplishing it, inspires me. Three things come to my mind when I see what Kurt has done. 1. Nehemiah rebuilding the wall. The wall was destroyed and Nehemiah knew what it would take to restore it and then restored it. 2. My dad--seeing his life being restored. Literally watching him rebuild his life. After being crushed by my mom's passing away he has his footing back and is walking again. (I am proud of you dad) 3. The challenge I could face. ---That's all I will say about that, for now--- When I see what Kurt started with and what he has accomplished it brings inspiration and two questions I can't wait to have answered. The question's I am asking today is "What will "it" look like when "it" is restored?" and "Will God use me to restore "it"?"

So, while in Texas...I ate way too much, met some amazing people and accomplished what some said was impossible. However impossible it looked to be, I was dead set on walking on the field that is known as the home of the Texas Longhorns. We got to the stadium and we waltzed into the main Football office where I ran into several coaches and saw the national title trophies collected over the years and Ricky Williams Heisman. This was all great but the goal was to get onto the field. This was not an easy task. As I have already said some believed this to be impossible. Once we got inside the stadium we were met by locked gates and more security than I thought was possible....we made our way into the locker room area. We ran into some players and I was standing in the tunnel that the players use to enter the field on game day. It was really cool but as you can see--- we faced yet another set of locked gates. I was about to jump the fence when ((no really, I was going over))...When I saw a gate open for a golf cart to exit. Kristina and I rushed around and with a great deal of confidence and walked through the open gate as if we knew what we were doing. The "Keep Off the Grass" signs were a great suggestion but I felt in my spirit that they were just that---a suggestion. So, Kristina and I had an amazing trip to Austin that ended with a story that will no doubt be exaggerated by the time I tell it to any of you in person.

I wish I had....I have heard this a few times in my life. In fact I have said this a few times in my life. I have found myself saying it a lot this past week. I just returned from St Louis. I went to St. Louis to do a wedding. While I was there I got to catch up with a bunch of old friends. When I got to St Louis I said "I wish I had my camera, I want to take some pictures to add to my blog". Well, it just so happened that I was staying with one of my best friends in the world. He told me (he, being Eric) that he would take pictures on his new first gen iphone and send them to me. I was happy with this arrangement. However, here I am several days after the fact and I am saying "I wish I had....my pictures to post". I will continue to wait with the rest of you for Eric to follow through with his commitment. Other than that, Life is good for me right now. I am very busy but God is doing some great things in me right now. Kristina and I are going to Austin, TX this weekend. I am leaving the clubs behind but I will be speaking at a church on Sunday. As busy as I am right now it would be real easy to microwave an old message. Most of you know how I feel about that---so, be praying for me as I attempt to prepare for this weekend. One last thought just for Mandi- Your dad and I are still praying for you. I have no doubt that you will repent soon. If you keep going to the snake handling church your uncle Dale and uncle Joe Jo are coming after you 8>).


Fast forward one hour later and this is ERIC'S RESPONSE.--
Seriously dude, you went public with some bad info....I totally sent them to you, twice! Check your spam box or something. In the meantime, i'm thinking about creating my own blog...and maybe I'll spread dirt of how you stole my dads dress socks 5 years ago and never returned them!
Sent from my iPhone

Radical devotion to Christ:
Karen was a Southern Baptist missionary in Iraq and was killed by unknown assailants March 15, 2004. Her story is told in the book Lives Given, Not Taken: 21st Century Southern Baptist Martyrs, by Erich Bridges and Jerry Rankin. In this book I ran across the letter that Karen wrote and left behind in an envelope for her pastors to read. The envelope said "Open in case of death."
(Here is part of that letter)
“You should only be opening this in the event of death. When God calls there are no regrets. I tried to share my heart with you as much as possible, my heart for the nations. I wasn't called to a place; I was called to Him. To obey was my objective, to suffer was expected, His glory my reward. . .
I was called not to comfort or to success but to obedience. . . .
There is no Joy outside of knowing Jesus and serving Him.”

The question I have asked myself and would challenge you to ask yourself is…..
Do you have the heart of a missionary? Use this as a guide—

The missionary heart:
Cares more than some think is wise
Risks more that some think is safe
Dreams more than some think is practical
Expects more than some think is possible.

This is not only a great guide to check your heart, it is also a great prayer to pray over your life. This is what Kristina and I are praying over Kylie and Clayton.