Category: Relationships

Jonathan Dumas got married yesterday. My little boy is all grown up…

It really feels that way. I remember when I first met Dumas as he was transitioning from 8th to 9th grade. I immediately became his leader at Denton Bible Church and we bonded immediately.  Of all the guys that I mentor Jonathan and I are most alike.  We both have a passion for exotic cars and exotic women. We both love seeing a great movie and we love being around our best friends and playing ultimate frisbee.

I have been Jonathan’s mentor now since he was 15 and to watch him grow up into such a fine young man is a testament to God and how he has had his hand on Jonathan’s life all these years.  I am extremely proud of him and delighted to watch him enter into this next stage of his life.

Jonathan and Melinda’s wedding was beautiful and although I caught the garter at Travis’ wedding I didn’t catch it yesterday. However, I was by far the oldest single man there and so that means I should have caught it. Afterwards you would not have believed how many people came over and told me that they wished that I had caught it. It was as if they truly believed that me catching that garter would have meant that I was going to get married. Well, let me reassure you that there is nothing magical in catching those garters. I caught my sisters’ garter when I was 15. Over the years I have been in about 10 weddings and I have caught about 7 out of 10 of those garters and I am still just as single now as I was when I was 15.  The difference between then and now is that now I am ready to get married, I’m just waiting on God… did you hear that God? Hello? Like David I have to say, “How long must I sing this song? How Long? How Long? How long?” haha.

I still don’t have a house yet either, houses seem to be as uncatchable as women these days.  I’ve been wishing and hoping and praying that someone will accept my offer, but as of yet, no one has. Houses that have been on the market for 5 days that I have offered the full asking price on have been scooped up by someone else. Doors have been slammed shut in my face repeatedly. What seemed like a simple and uncomplicated process at first has turned into a battle, a competition that I am obviously outmatched by my opponents. Fortunately, I have a great couple of guys to live with and during this interim I am enjoying getting to hang with Chip and Nate and they are an extreme blessing to me.  The only thing that would make this living arrangement any better would be if the house we were living in was next door to where I worked so I wouldn’t have a drive at all to work.

Also, did I mention that I watched the movie The Illusionist starring Edward Norton? No? Well go rent it immediately, it is quite interesting and is sure not to disappoint.

I’m at the airport which is by far the very best place to people watch. THis guy is hobbling by right now with his leg in a cast up to the knee, however, he is wearing cut-off sweat shorts that are showing about 7 inches of bare white thigh – about 6 inches too much. Men’s shorts should always be knee length. I’ll only allow exceptions on swim trunks and only during competition.

 What is more interesting is watching people watch me. I’ll admit it, I’m a head turner. Sometimes they turn the other way out of horror, but they turn nonetheless. I definitely consider my huge size to be a blessing, I mean, I am practically a celebrity just for being big. I’ve been bought drinks in a bar just because I was “So freakin’ Huge”. It’s actually embarrassing and humbling and ego boosting all at the same time. I mean, for someone who has struggled with self-esteem issues most of his life to suddenly be admired for doing nothing other than being big is pretty cool. I used to let it irritate me to some degree, the constant asking, “Do you play football?” Now I like it. I enjoy the attention. I drink it in, why not? Life is short and God blessed me, just for most of my life I didn’t see my blessings as blessings. Instead I complained about them, I whined, I was such a huge baby. I’ve apologized to God for that many times. I hate discontentment over nothing.

So here I am sitting at the airport, watching people go by with my iPod on my head and my laptop on my lap. I’ve got a book too just in case the iPod and the laptop aren’t enough to keep me entertained. Oh, and right next to me is a Frulatti if I find myself in need of libation.

This weekend I am off to an SOS conference. I’m excited about it. It is the first one that I’ve been to that has been a full weekend. 4 nights, 3 days in sunny Jacksonville, Florida. Suddenly I am in the mood for orange juice.

Oh, and in case you don’t know the Mavs are in the play-offs and they won last night beating Golden State 112-99. Yep, I’m still a ManiAAC just in case you are wondering. I stopped writing too much about it here because I’m not supposed to say anything negative about being a ManiAAC and that is what is fun to write about! The behind-the-scenes drama edited and embellished to juicy perfection.

And in case you are wondering, I’m listening to Evan’s Blue while I type this. Rock on my bretheren and sisteren. Rock on.

If it hadn’t been for the fact that I was gifted with the genes of a lineman I am sure that I would be one of the world’s best and most accomplished runners. Prefontaine would have been a joke compared to me. Those runners from Kenya? You wouldn’t even know that they existed because they’d be so far behind.

 You see, my whole life has been nothing more than a series of sprints and marathons strung together to avoid problems and confrontation. Just this morning as I was walking into work I saw a call coming in from a friend. I hit “ignore” because I didn’t want to talk to this person and how dare they call me in the middle of the day when I just talked to them yesterday. Dang, Needy!

The odd thing about me is that one of my greatest strengths is making friends and meeting new people. People seem instantly attracted to me and if they aren’t it is most likely that they are intimidated or stupid.  I have a strong personality and if I am not the center of attention in a group I mentally take steps and make interjections so that soon the entire focus of the room is on me. I want the stage. I want the applause, but like most celebrities, (not that I am a celebrity by any stretch), I don’t want the papparazzi.  When my scene is over I want the curtain to drop and the crowd to dissipate. I want you to love and adore me when I want you there, but when I am ready for you to be gone I am soooo ready.  Is this selfish? Maybe, but in reality I think it is more the way a cat feels when it is in the clutches of a little kids hands. When it is held uncomfortably close and squeezed then suddenly it feels the need to squirm wildly and break free.  For some reason the fleeing of the cat only seems to make the child want it all the more. They’ll chase it and even though the cat loves the little kid, it has to get away. It needs some moments of solitude.

That is where I am at today in my life. Balancing my relationships and friendships so that I don’t feel choked. I love large parties, groups, tons of friends, but I want them to be like toys that sit on a shelf waiting patiently for me to come and pick them up and play with them. When I am done I want to stick them back on the shelf knowing that they are sitting there ready at a moments notice for me to play with and if I get tired of them, or if they make me angry, I can just pluck off their arms and legs and then stick them in the microwave.

Yes, it’s abrupt and cruel… but life is abrupt and cruel.

I would have to pick the cuisine – it was THAT good.

Jimmy McWhinney is in town for a brief moment and then he will be flown at warp speed back to China. Back to Shanghai to spread the Word of God in a world that is nothing like mine and everything like mine. I admire what he does, I do not envy it, but I do miss him when he is gone. He is my friend, he is my brother, and more often than he realizes he is my teacher – but that is true of all my close friends.

Jimmy came back to the States over a year ago and while he was here he traveled all over to visit friends, family and supporters and pretty much wore himself out. This time he decided to plan a weekend get-a-way to Selah Ranch where all his close friends could spend time together and spend time with him all in one wonderful relaxing weekend. The idea I must say, was brilliant.

I wasted no time requesting off for this once-in-a-lifetime weekend. 21 of us gathered together and at no point was I bored, or tired, or wishing that I was someplace else. On the contrary, I felt that this place was just a little tiny glimpse of what Heaven would be like. It was a place filled with the most delicious food, the most wonderful weather, and some of the most beautiful people that I never tire of being around. My only regret was that we didn’t have more time to just sit around and talk and to catch up and to find out every detail of what was going on in everyone’s life. We did, however, get to play Ultimate Frisbee, shoot a few skeets and play a rousing game of “21“.  I stayed up late both Friday and Saturday night, I tried my best to soak up every detail and to take every opportunity to spend time with these friends – some of which I hadn’t seen in over 4 years.

The above picture is of Alan and his newlywed wife Amanda. I remember waking up Sunday morning and seeing his Escalade outside and being delighted that he was still there. John and Alison sitting on the other end of the couch flew in from Colorado. We teased John that he was “Sawyer” from Lost because they have the same personality but you can’t help but love him.

Here I am ready to punch John in the face just for good measure.

This is Jenni Cribbs and that is her husband and baby on the right. I love this picture because it shows how fun and crazy Jenni can be even though most of the time she is very reserved and super sweet. If there was an award for the “Coolest Wife and Mom” I would have to give it to Jenni. She is so good to Dave and their relationship is a blessing to me.

And this is all of us. Friends that are closer than family. A group of people so diverse that only God could bring us all together.