Maddie's First Date

I took Maddie on her first date yesterday. We hit her favorite spot -- the mall. Where else can you get Chick-fil-A, ride a merry-go-round, and top things off with a sample from Teavana?

I wasn't sure if it was actually going to happen. Emily asked her, "Do you want to go on a date with Da-Da today or another day?" Maddie kept responding, "'Nutha day." Fortunately, I wasn't stood up. Hopefully there will be more dates in our future!

Extra Special Father's Day

Thanks to Maddie, I celebrated my first Father's Day two years ago. This year, however, was extra special. Micah William was born on 6/18. He weighed 7 lbs 1 0z and measured 20 inches. Everyone's doing well. Maddie loves to feed her "baby brudda" and says, "Da-Da, get him." whenever he cries. Here's a better look at our little guy. I'll share more once the dust settles.


"He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8

Profile Pics

You might be wondering why I'm posting profile pics of Maddie. Well, I took some of Em before we went to the pool this weekend (they've been classified until further notice) and once we were finished, it was Maddie's turn. She stood where Em was standing. I asked her if she wanted me to take her picture and she gave me that look (in the picture). After taking the first one (on the left), she turned to the side for another. It was one of the funniest Maddie moments to date.

Breakfast Exchange

A brief breakfast exchange this morning:

Me (pointing to my Bible): "Maddie, what is this?"

Maddie: "Jesus!"

According to John Piper,

99% of the actions you perform that influence your children are unpremeditated actions (i.e. facial expressions, posture, tone of voice, response to the dog, etc.). Your children will most likely imitate what they see makes you happiest. Your only hope -- if you want to influence your children for God -- is to be a certain kind of God-besotted person, so that when you react spontaneously what they see is God. And if children imitate what really makes you the happiest, then the priority parenting must be to find your deepest satisfaction in God, so that your joy in him spills over in what you say and do.

Click here to read the rest of Parenting for the Glory of God.

It has a name...

I took our community group to another level last night by sharing my desire to change my hairstyle. I can't help it. I go to North Point.

What's the new style? I don't know. Maybe something longer, which brought up this:


That, my friends, had me puzzled for years. I first saw it in college. There were two frat boys in my class with it. I never wondered what it was until I moved to Atlanta. It was all over! Was it a Southern thing? Or, were these guys just hiding something...

It took me nearly three years to muster up the courage to ask someone what it was. I was at the Tour Championship with my friend Jimmy. He's from Atlanta, went to Villanova...and didn't have it.

After noticing it all around me, I turned to Jimmy and said, "Jimmy, you see those guys back there with Vineyard Vines shirts and seersucker pants?"

Jimmy: "Yeah."

Me: "What kind of hairstyle is that?"

Jimmy: "Oh, you mean the SEC Sweep?"

Me: "The SEC what?"

Jimmy: "Sweep. The SEC Sweep."

Me: "You mean it has a name?"

Jimmy: "Oh yeah."

So THAT, my friends, is the SEC Sweep. It has a name. And, it's coming to a town near you (if it hasn't already).

Hillsong United

Emily and I had the opportunity to see Hillsong United this past Wednesday. This band from a land down under knows how to ROCK. It was quite the experience and I'm happy to see their newest album -- A_Cross // The_Earth -- made it to #2 on iTunes' Top Albums list.

They also have a great website -- I-Heart. I highly recommend checking out.

Magazi Update

It's been almost six months since my last Magazi post, so I wanted to share a recent picture of him and his family. They recently purchased the field in the background and are hoping to build a house (i.e. dirt floor, brick/block/cement walls and tin/corrugated iron roof). He sent his "report card" and appears to be doing fairly well in school. One of our favorite things he sends is his drawings. One even include stickers we sent to him!