Pretty Good Stuff

A cold front came through and brought with it Fall like temperatures. Seeing as we are 3 days shy of Halloween it seems appropriate that the thermometer would drop. However, I've lived in Texas nearly my entire life, so I've experienced both the "coat-covered-costume" and the "sweating-through-my-Superman-tights-as-my-chocolate-bars-melt" Halloweens. Looks like we'll be somewhere in between that this year. The forecast calls for a warming trend over the next few days.

Should be a nice weekend as we "fall back" and gain an hour of sleep Saturday night. As a church goer, I always look forward to the fall back and dread the spring forward. In my teenage years I began to seriously question a faith whose contenders insisted on gathering so early on Sunday mornings. Truth be told, I've never totally come to terms with the theory behind this tradition. Not that there's anything wrong with tradition...

Last weekend I was in Austin for a wedding. It's difficult to describe how pleasant an experience this was. My old and dear friend Allen Robertson married my sweet and new friend Cynthia Ray. It was a small gathering in a beautiful setting and everyone there was so happy for the couple; I mean genuinely happy. There was no pretense to the proceedings. There was simply honest sharing and an exchanging of vows in the company of loved ones and God Himself. It was a wedding that inspired me to love my wife more deeply, appreciate my children more, give thanks for my friends and make every effort to influence my community in a positive way.

All you had to do was notice to the way Cynthia looked at Allen, pay attention to the sincere feelings Allen shared so eloquently about Cynthia and listen to the stories being told as we shared a meal after the ceremony. The bride and the groom exude a spontaneous goodness in every aspect of their lives and that, my friends is as unique as it is good for this world.

Good friends, new relationships, inspiration, a changing of the seasons, all accompanied by neighbors sharing candy. Pretty good stuff.