Devotional Worth Sharing

As many of you know, yesterday was Rachelle and I's 7th anniversary. This morning, I was reading my daily devotional, and it fit perfectly. It reminds me of my duty and obligation to Rachelle as a husband. This devotional is definetly worth sharing, and it reads as follows:


For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church.
Ephesians 5:25

Gentlemen, it looks like we have it easy. After all, our wives have to “submit” (v. 22), whatever that means, but we just have to “love.” What could be simpler than that? Flowers from time to time. Chocolates on strategic occasions. Perhaps even a power tool or two she can claim as her own even though we use it most of the time. And if the situation is just right, we might manage a mumbled “I love you” just to make it clear. Submission sounds hard. It involves giving way to someone else. That someone would be us husbands. Does that mean what it seems like it means? We’re in charge? We call all the shots? We give the orders? Well, that would be something!

We’d better check our source again to make sure we’re not jumping to conclusions. Let’s see. If we go back to verse 21, uh-oh, something here about “submit to one another.” That could be a problem. But verse 22 does tell wives to submit. Verse 25 doesn’t tell us to submit; it tells us to love.

That little phrase “just as Christ loved the church” does show us several things. First, it tells us that our examples of loving above don’t really apply. Jesus never sent flowers to the church. He never picked up a box of chocolates on the way home from work as a peace offering. He never mumbled “I love you” through a mouthful of hamburger. Jesus loved by dying. He loved by suffering, hurting, and sacrificing. His kind of love sounds hard—almost as hard as submitting. Maybe even harder.

A dying kind of love that doesn’t leave us dead turns out to be quite a challenge. It might just take everything we’ve got. But here’s the deal. One of the primary reasons our wives struggle with submission is that they often have little real confidence in our love.

Genuine love paves the way for submission (not the other way around). Jesus died for the church before the church was around to submit.

Real love (like dying) doesn’t come naturally for us. If you want to learn to love your wife as Christ loves the church, you are going to have to ask questions, observe reactions, and experiment persistently in the area of love. Ask Christ to make you like him so that your wife can experience the kind of love that brings life to her! Figure out how to love her, and you probably won’t have to bring up the issue of submission.

Great Wolf Lodge

This weekend we went to the Great Wolf Lodge. I must say, it was a first class establishment, and we had a GREAT time. Rachelle, Hunter and I went with Heath, Jen and Ryder and Cash. We stayed in the "kid's cabin" hotel room. There were bunk beds, a TV just for the kids, and lots of room. The indoor water park and arcade was a huge hit!


Ryder, Cash and Hunter in the lobby next to the huge fireplace.











Hunter and another little girl in the lobby looking out into the waterpark.














Inside the waterpark.




























Hunter and me taking a break.














Click on the Video (below) to see more of our visit to the Great Wolf Lodge.

Dixie Lounging

Here is my hunting dog.

More Pictures That You'll Enjoy

Here are some more pictures that you might enjoy.

Aunt Jodi and Cousin Wyatt hanging out with Hunter.












Grandpa and me--discussing the secrets of life--at our Father's Day lunch.












Doc, Grandma and Grandpa at our Father's Day lunch.












Grandma Andy playing with Wyatt.













That's me with Wyatt and Hunter.













Rachelle getting a kiss from Grandpa and Grandma's dog--"Sammy"












Rachelle and Wyatt just before lunch.













Hunter showing Wyatt some love.













That's my bike and my little wild hog.

July 4, 2008!

We had a great time on the 4th of July. We headed back to Burkburnett to spend some time with Rachelle's family. We set up the "slip and slide" in Papa and Nana's backyard, and Hunter also went to the waterpark with cousins Rider, Cash, and Carson.








Hunter trying to figure out how the slip and slide works.


















Hunter beginning to understand how the slip and slide works.





















He's starting to figure it out now.













Perfection.













As most of you know, Hunter loves to blow bubbles.

Hunter at the waterpark.

Wildman about to take a trip down the waterslide.

Nothing like the refreshing spit from a turtle's mouth to cure one's thirst on a hot summer day.

Carson chillin at the waterpark.

Ryder and Cash trying to look innocent.

First Half of Summer 2008

The first half of the summer has been hot so we've been enjoying time at the pool.

Rachelle and Hunter practicing for his swimming lessons.

Hunter--trying to look good for the ladies.

Hunter, our future olympian, and his swimming lesson coach.

Hunter learning to jump into the pool.

Hunter making friends at the pool.

Hunter and his friend Rivers taking a ride in the red wagon.