DC trip

Crystal and I took a road trip to DC and got to stay last Friday - Monday. We had never been before. Really Fun times.

We pretty much saw EVERYTHING while we were there & ended up walking about 7-8 miles on Sunday seeing the sights. (we were pretty wiped out that night, good thing we've been getting in shape lately... sort of.)

We actually started off our day at National Community Church led by Mark Batterson (also author of the pimp book In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day). They meet in theaters across DC, but their main location is the Phoenix Theater IN Union Station which is right in the heart of DC, just a few blocks from Capitol Hill. Really cool to see a church gathering right in the heart of their culture!

On Sunday night we hit up Ebeneezer's Coffeehouse which National Community Church established in '06 & is owned & operated by them still. In fact, they were voted the #1 coffee house in DC in 2006! That's pretty awesome!!! Ebeneezer's also serves as a venue for 2 Saturday night worship gatherings.

We walked around all day to see the historic sights...

the Captiol building

the Supreme Court (that's me and Crystal on the steps in the left pic)

the Library of Congress - i REALLY wanted to go inside for a few hours because of my addiction to books, but they were closed on Sunday of course.

the Washington Monument

& reflection pool

the Smithsonian Museums... too many to see in one day so we opted for the Air & Space and the Natural History Museum (Crystal had to see the Hope Diamond & that's me "flying" the 1st ever airplane).

the Lincoln Memorial (that's one big joker)

And of course, the White House

*actually, while we were standing in front of the White House the news crew from the local Fox station interviewed Crystal & me. Pretty crazy. Interviewed us about politics - which we know nothing about. Who's Ralph Nader anyway? (JK)
They just put 5 second clips of each of us on the news... Crystal looks great but I look pretty dumb & goofy with a weird laugh (hope I don't always laugh like that). If you want some ammo to make fun of us you can watch the news clip here. we're a couple minutes into the segment.

*Sunday night we ate at the famous Old Ebbitt Grill which is just a block over from the White House. It was established in 1856 and has been the favorite restaurant of many of the presidents. Really good food too.

On Monday we went out to Arlington Cemetary in the afternoon. Crystal really enjoyed it and got a lot of cool pics. I would have been fine just to see the pics vs. spending a few hours of my afternoon there - but remember - "happy wife, happy life!"

While we were there we did get to see the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier... but the coolest part was this old school, Roman colliseum looking amphitheatre made out of marble. I gave a passionate public address in this venue while we were there : )

Really cool trip overall & the coolest part was that I got to do it all with my best friend in the whole world. No, not George W... my wife.

Passion DC

I have wanted to post every day since Friday, but didn't have internet access! Bummer... but now I'm back.

I always come back from Passion recharged & with a renewed awe of how amazing our God is. Tons of takeaways that I want to share with you all, but I'll have to share most of them later this week (mainly because I left my notebook in Crystal's car & she's at work).

- Louie was rockin' the faux-hawk! I mean, he's definitely like the coolest guy in the world... but at 50 can he legally rock the faux-hawk? you be the judge...

- the 1st night (Friday) Louie talked about each of us leveraging our lives for "the most important thing of everything" = the Name & Fame of Jesus (Revelation 5). We each get a little match that burns (life) for a bunch of years & then it dwindles down & goes out. But, I wanna throw my little match in with the eternal, glorious flame of Jesus & make that flame as bright & famous as I can. Because once my match (life) has burned out, that's the end. Just a simple talk, but a great reminder that living my life for Jesus' fame is all that matters.

- Francis Chan gave a pimp talk about the Holy Spirit in our lives that really rocked me. I'll share takeaways from this in another post this week. (You can download his whole 7-part series on the Holy Spirit for free on iTunes).

- Charlie, Tomlin, and Matt Redman definitely led us in some amazing times of worship... heavenly. Some of the stuff these guys write seems like a 

few angels sent them some MP3s

 of worship in heaven (bootlegged copies of course).

- Louie continues to spread the story about Ashley (which you can read about partially here & here - May 10th) adding new elements all the time. Really cool. I've got some major takeaways from one of his Saturday talks, but for now this is burned into my mind = whatever you're facing that's rough... forget the "sunday school" answers for now & remember the cross. When you think on the cross be reminded that "God is painting on a canvas bigger than you can imagine!" 

If you were there the day they crucified Jesus you would have probably been freaking out and losing your mind... but God was painting on a canvas bigger than they could see at that time. And today, God is painting on a canvas bigger than you can see.

- I LOVE that at Passion '07 Louie and the gang decided from now on Passion would be about

about wedding worship & justice (putting action to our songs). The name behind this is Do Something Now which you can read about how college students at Passion '07 came together to give over 1 million dollars (yeah, million with an "m") here. At Passion DC we partnered with local homeless shelters to provide items they needed plus built us some wells in Africa! (water-borne illnesses is the leading cause of death among children in Africa!)

"We will not be the same, and the world has changed." This weekend we collectively brought 11,117 pairs of socks and 2920 towels to the shelters of Metro DC! Plus, we gave $42,201 to build 14 wells in Africa AND $36,217 for Passion Kampala. Amazing!

- speaking of Passion Kampala that brings us to the World Tour.

One of the coolest things ever is that Passion is going to 17 cities around the globe! (Students from these cities all come for free... costs Passion about 7 million total.) Leaders from the Church in Hong Kong, London, & Paris were all in DC for us to unite with in prayer for the gathering in their cities this summer. + we got to partner to pray for & support the gathering in Kampala, Uganda. pretty flippin' sweet.

- read louie's thoughts on Passion DC here, here, & here... or check out the blurb about Passion DC on the passion website here.

(props to my amazing wife Crystal for getting all these pimp pics at the conference)

Yep, me & Crystal did make it to the spot I wanted to visit (where Forrest reunited with Jenny... also known as the Washington Monument). I'll share some more pics & cool stuff we did in DC later this week.

DC or bust

Road trip with my wife bright & early tomorrow morning to our nation's capitol. that's right... Charlotte

to DC. we've never been & we're staying til Monday. Crystal's got a list of stuff she wants to see, but the only thing I wanna see is that big monument where Jenny & Forrest Gump met up again by the big pool of water. "Me & Jenny was like peas & carrots again."

We're going for one of the final Passion Regionals. Passion conferences have been like my "mecca" that we take a pilgrimage to each year. Passion '05, '06, & '07 were amazing and yeah it's a little disappointing that this will only be a mini-Passion packed into a weekend... but it's totally worth it bkuz it frees Louie & the gang up to take Passion to the nations. This summer they're hitting up 17 of the largest cities in countries all over the globe. My boy Piper can't make it & King Crowder is out too... bummer. But, the other pimps will be rockin' it with us all weekend - Louie, Francis Chan, Charlie, Tomlin, & Matt Redman. gonna be off the chizzain.

Crystal & I have been road trip junkies the past few months hitting up Flint & Grand Rapids, Michigan (Jim's wedding & Mars Hill), Myrtle Beach, Lake Lure, Raleigh, Atlanta, PA, now DC, & next Miami in a few weeks.

Lots of fun times with just me & my wife chillin', talking about all kinds of stuff, and singing with the radio at the top of (my) lungs. Then, apparently these things make my wife really tired so she falls asleep.

So, after all these road trips, I'm an expert at maximizing these drives... you say, "with what - snacks? sunglasses? a comfy pillow?" ah, you forget that I'm a learning junkie... so I am prepared to finish some books on CD - Mere Christianity (C.S. Lewis) & Don't Waste Your Life (Piper) + 987 podcasts currently on my iPod & a little notebook that hides nicely between the seat and the door to scribble down all my takeaways from what I'm hearing (*but don't tell Crystal because she hates it when I write while driving). So, I'm stoked about the total of 13 hours of learning on my way up & back.

We've got wireless in the hotel room, so I'll try to post some updates from Passion DC. peace...

(turns out there is no internet in the hotel room! update you when i get home!)

final sermon

This week I'm reading [re]Understanding Prayer: A Fresh Approach to Conversation with God by Kyle Lake.

It was shocking when Kyle Lake died a few years ago at only 33. He died while baptizing a new believer because of a freak accident with the heater in the pool & the mic. Kyle was the pastor at University Baptist Church in Waco, Texas. Chris Seay (now at Ecclesia) started the church back in '95 with David Crowder (who is still the worship pastor there).

Everyone that knew him said he had an enormous passion for life! Kyle always ended his sermons with the phrase: "Love God, Embrace Beauty, and Live Life to the Fullest." He was ready to speak the Sunday morning that he died... but never got to deliver that final sermon. His wife found it later on his computer and below is an excerpt from that talk he never got to deliver. BUT, it sure is powerful... and very WOW to think that he passed away the same day he was supposed to give this talk. I want to live my life with the same passion and fullness that values every moment like Kyle describes below. AWESOME reminder for me!

Live. And Live Well.

BREATHE. Breathe in and Breathe deeply. Be PRESENT. Do not be past. Do not be future. Be now.

On a crystal clear, breezy seventy-degree day, roll down the windows and FEEL the wind against your skin. Feel the warmth of the sun.

If you run, then allow those first few breaths on a cool autumn day to FREEZE your lungs and do not just be alarmed, be ALIVE.

Get knee-deep in a novel and LOSE track of time.

If you bike, pedal HARD... and if you crash, then crazsh well.

Feel the SATISFACTION of a job well done--a paper well-written, a project throroughly completed, a play well-performed.

If you must wipe the snot from your three-year-old's nose, don't be disgusted if the Kleenex didn't catch it all... because soon he'll be wiping his own.

If you've recently experienced loss, then GRIEVE. And grieve well.

At the table with friends and family, LAUGH. If you're eating and laughing at the same time, then might as well laugh until you puke.

And if you eat, then SMELL. The aromas are not impediments to your day. Steak on the grill, coffee beans freshly ground, cookies in the oven.

And TASTE. Taste every ounce of flavor. Taste every ounce of friendship. Taste every ounce of Life.

Because it is most definitely a Gift.

(Kyle Lake, 1972-2005)

christians?

This was a really optimistic & cool answer to the question "what could Christians be known for in 30 years?" (after understanding the ridiculously horrible name Christians currently have in society.)

I would hope people would look at us and say,
"Those Christians are the ones who run in when everyone else is running out.
Those Christians are the ones who didn't give up on the crumbling inner cities.
Those Christians are the ones who brought peace to Darfur.
Those Christians are the ones who put an end to human trafficking.
Those Christians are the ones who helped win the war on AIDS around the world.
Those Christians are the ones who write those incredible lyrics, pen those unforgettable books, and create artwork that's mesmerizing.
Those Christians are the ones who helped my mother when she got Alzheimer's.
Those Christians are the ones who were kind to me when I was new to the area.
Those Christians are the ones that made me want to believe in God."

- Margaret Feinberg, from UnChristian (Dave Kinnnaman & Gabe Lyons)

(fullscale blogs about my takeaways from this great book coming soon...)

funniest thing all week

Oh WOW! I really don't even know what to say! Adam, one of our pastors at Ridge, told me to come into his office last week to check this out. He said something like "I've heard some crazy & bad preachers in my day, but this is the worst." I was a little skeptical because I've heard some pretty bad stuff in my day too. 2 minutes later I had fallen on the floor from laughing so hard. I'm telling you that this short clip will MAKE YOUR DAY!

there are way too many things wrong with this to even write about... just suffice it to say that this guy is extremely ignorant/misinformed, but is probably arrogant enough that it would be a waste of time to try to inform him. so, at least we can get a kick out of it.

definitely the funniest thing i've seen/heard in a LONG time (and I laugh a lot). Enjoy...

click here to watch it

20/20

Over the last few months I've been thinking a lot about what I want to see when I look back on my life. I am very aware that the things I do today will determine what I look back on in 50 years. I've got some crazy big dreams & goals, so I've got to be proactive today in order for them to be realized tomorrow. I know at the end of my life I will have 20/20 vision as I look back over all the choices I've made... but today I am able to do something about it.

In light of all my introspection [I'm allowed to use big words like that every once in a while] I want to share a small part of this song from my favorite band of all time [guess who... may they R.I.P.] with you all today. Read these words and let them sink in deep. Remember, hindsight is always 20/20, but today is the day to do something about it.

Did I make every moment count?
How much did I sit about?
Doin’ not the good I know to do?
What will I say when I’m faced with His glory,
The saints and the angels as I tell my story,
Will the works I’ve accomplished be worthy of heaven?
What will I think lookin’ back???
What was gold and what was dross?
What was gain and what was loss?
What will stand and what was fleeting?
And what will I change while my heart’s still beating?

20/20

check this out!!!

ok, I promise you that this is going to be PIMP! Many of you know that I have a huge heart & passion for Africa + a huge passion for orphans & children around the world. in fact i want to start a ton of orphanages throughout sub-saharan Africa one of these days. You guys know I'm all about Compassion International too... and if you don't just read this post. Compassion is doing what Jesus was all about us doing - feeding, clothing, educating, & helping the least of these. There's nothing like sponsoring a kid through Compassion. I highly recommend it, but again just go read about it here.

So, I think the deal goes something like this, but don't quote me... Compassion wants to see more children sponsored in Uganda. So, they called up the top 15 or so Christian bloggers in the country (bloggers who have the most hits & readers) & invited them to go on a trip to Uganda with them! Check out all the peeps who are going here. For the next week they will be blogging from Uganda and sharing with us firsthand what Compassion is doing there with these kids!

Carlos Whittaker is on staff at Buckhead which is one of Ridge's partner churches. He also happens to be one of the most popular Christian bloggers in the country. what's that? Is the renown blog on that top 10 list? no, but thanks for asking... maybe in the top 25 : ) You can read more about the whole thing in Uganda on this post from Carlos. The Ridge staff raves about this guy's blog and claim that it's the funniest thing since watching me dance. Carlos is going to be blogging from Uganda all week this week... it's gonna be pimp... i promise. So, go read it everyday!!!


Also, you can read the official Compassion blog from Uganda here.
You can also read about it from Anne Jackson who writes frequently on the Deadly Viper blog which is run by my homeboy Mike Foster who for some reason added my blog to his blogroll with the likes of Craig Groeschel & Mark Batterson and Carlos??? Maybe he thought I was someone else? jk, Mike's just the man! Go read his book by the way! Anyway, Anne will probably have another cool perspective in Uganda.

***I REALLY believe in what Compassion is doing. I think it's awesome. I think if Christians stepped up to the plate to truly be the church then we could take care of so many of these kids who need clean water, food, healthcare, & basic education. (Read more about that here.) SO, pass these above blogs around to your friends & tell everyone to read about them this week! hype it on facebook or your own blog! Just spread the word.

It was one of the coolest things in the world to me when I heard about several people sponsoring children through Compassion after they read this post. Think how awesome it would be if you pass the word along about this blogging tour through Uganda & one of those little girls gets sponsored by someone you know or one of those little boys gets to go to school from now on because of you simply passing the word along. Tell EVERYBODY you know! (think email, facebook, etc...) Told you this would be pimp!

It all starts in the next few hours & they come back to the States on the 18th. Let the blogs begin!

my first house!!!

I remember how cool it was when I bought my first house (pictured here)... it wasn't all that long ago. pretty cool day.

Well, today I sold my 1st house & that was pretty cool too. A great lady from Orlando found a great house and it was a perfect fit! I'm really excited for her. I would have posted a pic, but it was too dark by the time all the papers were signed.

My dad is really the Real Estate expert after living here in Charlotte for like... ever. He knows this city like the back of his hand and is the best Realtor there is. Check out his pimp website here.

I've sold stuff my entire life... candy (like a rockstar), root beer, tahitian noni juice, cars, +++ but selling the house today was pretty cool. Cool to help someone find their "home." So, if you know anyone looking or selling a home in the Charlotte area - give me a shout out : )

hey... & if you're not busy Sunday night - 6pm then swing by the Levine Senior Center in Matthews (behind Sycamore Commons) & check out our pimp new series at Ridge... Louie Giglio is like my hero & if you've never heard his talks you've gotta come check it out.

all about the kingdom (+ shot glasses)

There are a lot of great churches in Charlotte who are spreading God's fame... and like I said yesterday, we're on the same team. I'm really excited to tell all you guys about another one of these churches besides the one I'm at.

Next Level Church is making waves for the kingdom here in Charlotte. They're doing something called "project 485" (not to be confused with these guys). Basically they are going to plant a Next Level campus near every exit around 485 here in Charlotte. That's a rockin' goal & I'm excited about what they're doing to spread God's renown!

They're 1st campus is in Balantyne & they just had their 1st worship service this past Sunday. Robbie McLaughlin is the Balantyne campus pastor & a friend of mine. Let me tell you something really cool about Robbie. He is the campus pastor at this awesome church which is a pretty "lofty" position. BUT he leads worship for us regularly in Upstreet - one of the children's environments at Ridge. "Let me get this straight," you're probably asking about right now... "This guy is on staff at a big church and is the campus pastor launching a new site + he foregoes his Sunday naptime to come and lead worship for a group of elementary kids!???" - YEP. Actually he AND his wife Samantha... & they do an amazing job! No pride or ego there. I think God will take their humility & amazing talent and do awesome things.

Now you're probably thinking "where have I heard of this next level place?" (I know, I know, I'm psychic & a mind-reader... a little freaky isn't it?) You may have heard about them recently in the Charlotte Observer, foxnews.com, CBS evening news, Fox News, and several other media outlets!!!

Kinda crazy, but Robbie walked into Ridge a few Sundays ago for soundcheck in Upstreet & said something like "you better be thankful I love you guys because I'm turning down an interview with Fox News to be here." Not sure that I would have done the same for him... just kidding... well, maybe. Next Level's lead pastor Todd Hahn (who I'm pretty sure also planted Warehouse 242) took Robbie's spot on the interview & did an awesome job.

"OK Patrick, tell us what got them all this attention??" Shot glasses. That's right... shot glasses. They took them to the bars in Balantyne with their logo on them and an invite. The glasses read "give us a shot." Pretty cool, huh?

Check out Todd's interview on Fox News here.

To read the Charlotte Observer stories click here & here.
You can check out the video about the shot glasses from Robbie & Todd here.

Anyway, I was stoked for several reasons when our lead pastor Chris announced several weeks ago that the Ridge staff would be joining Next Level Balantyne's first worship gathering & helping out in any way we could. That was this past Sunday. That was really cool to be a part of another church's opening service when we just had our 1st a few short months ago. It was sweet & Robbie's got a great team that's ready to rock Balantyne for God's renown.

So, does it seem odd that one church should want to help a new church that is starting so close to their own? Is it weird that Next Level offers to help us in some really big ways? Aren't we competition? There's a Greek phrase that is a great answer to this question = HECK NO!!! We're not competition, we're both all about the kingdom! We're on the same team & I'm happy to be working along side Robbie & these guys in this awesome city!

***The Balantyne campus' public launch is this Sunday - February 10th. If you live in Balantyne or know someone who does - give these guys a shot.

rivalry week

Carolina vs. Duke or Yankees (God's team) vs. Red Sox (Satan's team)... which is the greatest rivalry in sports? No doubt that these are the top 2. Feel free to disagree, but you'll be wrong. These 2 are the greatest 2 rivalries in all of sports.

So, tonight was a fun night. i LOVE Carolina & HATE Duke with all my soul. One of my friends was over watching it with me, but he wasn't my friend tonight, because he's a Duke fan (sorry Lopo). Too bad our superstar point guard (arguably the best in the country) was out tonight as well as our backup. So we went after Duke with our 3rd string point guard who couldn't cut it with Winthrop. We got beat, but we'll beat them at Cameron... you can quote me on that.

USA vs. Mexico tonight too... I Tivo'd it & am watching it right now while writing this blog, so don't tell me the score. It's a crazy nasty rivalry too...
For some reason it seems like the church acts like this! Which makes me scream "what the heck?!?!?" Definitely the opposite of what Jesus wanted.
It shouldn't be about a particular church, it should be all about Jesus & His kingdom! It seems like there are a lot of people who dog other churches & pastors. They hate on them like I hate on Duke because they're the "other team." In the church there's gotta be 1 team.

I'm excited to be a part of a church that is all about the kingdom, not just itself. "We don't want to raise a banner in Charlotte that says Ridge church, but a banner that says JESUS." Therefore we're about other churches in our area too because we're on the same team!

Sunday we got to hang out at a new church's 1st worship gathering and just helped out in any way we could. It was really cool & I'm pretty excited to tell you all about it in my post tomorrow.
So, you can hate on your rival in sports... but there are no rival churches! We're all on the same team working to advance the kingdom... ACT LIKE IT

95 year old advice

I enjoy learning from a guy named Tony Campolo. I listen to his podcast a lot & have read a few of his books. I'm currently in the middle of about 50 books right now & one of them happens to be Adventures in Missing the Point which Tony co-authored with Brian Mclaren. I really like the book and it has a lot of interesting stuff that really pushes my presuppositions.

Now, I know some of you are probably throwing things at your computer screen & cursing at me or calling me a heretic right now for even mentioning these guys. I would simply like to refer you to this post I wrote a few weeks ago. If you think Campolo is a heretic then that's fine... I've still learned a lot from him and respect him for some good things he's doing. I can't read everything he's ever said, so I'm not endorsing everything... just the good stuff I've read.


At some point in the last year or so I heard Tony talk about a really cool survey he did. In staff meeting on Monday morning our lead pastor Chris talked about this survey & it was an awesome reminder for me. I'm so glad Chris talked with us about it. Basically, Campolo polled a bunch of 95 year olds!!! & asked them this question:


"If you could go back and live your life differently, what would you change?"


WOW! What a great question. When those 95 yr. old dudes started talking I bet Tony was on the edge of his seat! They've got the best perspective for a 25 yr. old like me who will be in their shoes one day. Here were their top 3 answers:

1) I would have reflected more (evaluation)
I don't think any of us do enough of this. We're too busy. We're too scared. We're too satisfied with our current situations and productions. I want to constantly reflect and evaluate the job that God is giving me another breath to do.

2) I would have risked more (faith)
Man, I'm gonna be a risk taker! I never want the fear of the risk to hold me back from doing something pimp for God's kingdom!!! I'm not holding back. I can handle coming to the end of my life and saying, "I made some really stupid mistakes." But I will not look back and think "I wish I wouldn't have been so careful and safe... I wish I would have went for it."

3) I would have invested more in things that would live on after I'm dead
WHOOOOO!!! This what I'm all about. I am going to live my life doing stuff that will continue to spread Jesus' fame 100 & hopefully 1,000 years after I'm dead! One of my best friends Ethan and I wrote our epitaphs a while back... I know that sounds pretty freaky, but it was an awesome exercise recommended in a book YOU NEED TO READ - Chazown. I want my epitaph to say that I was part of sparking a revolution that continued to spread God's renown for hundreds of years after I've kicked the bucket.

***Pretty cool Tony, thanks for doing the survey. What will YOU say when YOU'RE 95? Will you have one of these 3 regrets? I hope not. What are you gonna do about it NOW?



[on a side note: Chris said something else really cool in staff meeting that I think is original with him. It was so cool I had to put down my cinnamon bun, pick up my pen, & write it down! here you go: "our direction is more important than our pace." That's PIMP... part of me wants to unpack that, but I know it would turn into another blog... so, I'll just let you chew on that statement & let me know your thoughts in the comments.]

quote of the night

it was a really fun night last night with about 20 or so people in my house watching one of the greatest upsets in superbowl history as the Giants took down the seemingly unbeatable Pats.

There were several moments and one-liners that caused the room to burst into laughter, but one really sticks out in my mind... the identity of the person being quoted will be protected, so we'll just call him Bob. It went something like this...

*The TV kept showing shots of Peyton Manning in his skybox throughout the game. One of these shots was prolonged and...


BOB: "Who is that guy?"

Everyone in the room: "Peyton Manning"

BOB: "WHAT!?!?!? He's not playing?!?!?"

Everyone in the room: "no"

BOB: "Man, I could have swore I saw Manning on that quarterback's jersey!!!"

Everyone in the room: <Uncontrollable laugher>

date night rocks!!!

I feel like one of the best decisions I have ever made for my marriage is DATE NIGHT!!! Every Friday night my smokin' hot wife (Crystal) & I go on a date. It's not even on the calendar, not up for discussion, it's just a natural part of our lives. I really can't even remember when we started doing it, but it's been at least a year or so. We don't schedule stuff on Friday nights because they're just not free. If something must happen on a Friday night then we simply move date night to another night of the week... but we absolutely have a date night every week! It's in the budget. For as long as we're alive there will always be a date night.

I think a big part of the importance of a "date night" is this = no matter how crazy the week has been or how crazy the weekend is gonna be my wife KNOWS that on Friday night I am fully hers and all my focus is on her. Now, of course she has my attention the rest of the week too, but you all know how it can get with jobs & responsiblities. Without a date night it would be easy to go 3-4 weeks or even more without having a "date." So, even if everything else in the week is goin' crazy and Crystal & I haven't had very much alone time... we know that date night's comin'! Everything else stops & I focus on my wife.

This is something I won't ever budge on either. It's not like this is something that you can convince me to stop. Like you could maybe convince me to stop drinking lemon lime gatorade, or cancel my HDTV service, or sell my beloved old caddy, or stop wearing these ridiculously comfortable & pimp green, yellow, & red Pumas I wear... it would be tough, but you might be able to convince me of these things. BUT, you will never convince me to cancel date night. My wife is too important to me. Our marriage is too important.

So, if you've been married 30 years or 30 days I would really encourage you to start a "date night". I think it could totally change your marriage & definitely change the future of your marriage.

Thanks to some gift cards, in a few minutes we're going to Outback (one of our favorite restaurants) to hit up some filet mignon & then come back home to enjoy a movie together. I love date night & I love my wife... I don't know what I would do without them.