Well, my Dawgs lost to Florida just a few moments ago. And I must admit…that hurt! Yeah, I’m a fan and I’m a believer till the bitter end but that was a tough loss. We just can’t seem to figure Florida out. Every year it’s something. Florida could be winless and we could be undefeated but they always play GREAT against us…and we stink it up.

But, I’m a TRUE FAN and I’m a die-hard Dawg. So, it’s time for us to regroup and win out the rest of the season. We definitely must post wins against Kentucky and Auburn. So, GO DAWGS!!!

Well, I just pulled into the driveway after several days in North Carolina. What a long drive! It was a great trip (got to preach 4 times and see a ton of old friends) but I’m so glad to be home again. I’ve never been much of a traveler- well, let me rephrase- I’ve never enjoyed traveling much but it seems I travel fairly often. I can’t tell you how good it was to see that big blue sign welcoming me back to the great state of Georgia. I guess it’s back to the old routine again. As if life is routine at all!

By the way, I just want you to know that I’m not a doubter. I still think my Dawgs are going to beat Florida this weekend. I think our defense will bow up and our running game will be stout. Joe T. will do what he needs to do to win. So, GO DAWGS! Even without Shockley we’ll pull out a “W”. At least that’s my prediction.

I know that the Braves lost but I’m still a fan. I had one of the coolest opportunities the other night to go to a playoff game. It was the Thursday night game between Smoltz and Clemens…the only game in the series we won! It was awesome.

We parked in the players parking lot and walked through the clubhouse to get to our seats on the front row. As we were walking through the tunnel underneath the stadium to get to our seats Bobby Cox was walking toward us. He knew my dad so he stopped and said hello and then dad introduced us…kind of a surreal moment. We sat just behind the Braves’ on-deck circle. I was literally 5 feet away from all the players getting ready to bat. Dad took a foul ball off the arm and Smoltz asked him if he was ok when he made it on-deck. He’s fine…he’s tough.

I bet if you had seen me that Thursday you would have seen the “wide-eyed kid” in me. I think we all have a part of that still in us; or at least we should! It’s the part inside of us that still is in wonder of life. The part that still enjoys things and appreciates life’s simple pleasures. I’m a kid at heart and hope I always will be!

Well, last weekend we had a Mission Team from Thomasville in town. It was incredible. They brought 60 people to North Cross to help us reach our community. We did all kinds of service projects in the community: door-to-door giveaways, business appreciation packs, free car wash…stuff like that. It was awesome! Those folks from Thomasville are GREAT people. They worked hard and we were able to touch between 3500-4000 people in a day and a half.

Now, I’m in Spartanburg, South Carolina. I’ve been here since Wednesday afternoon at a Global Missions Conference. It’s been pretty cool too. It’s made for a busy couple of weeks but the folks here are very encouraging and they are on fire for missions at home and around the world. They’ve prayed for us, given to us and even talked about sending a team to help us out. Sweet!

Next week, I’ll be in North Carolina. I’ll be preaching at the church where I served as Youth Pastor while I was in seminary. I’m looking forward to it because I’ll get to see some really good friends and I really enjoy preaching.

So, that’s the crazy month of October for me. Doesn’t it sound fun? Honestly, I’m kind of looking forward to November. But then again, when does life slow down around the holidays?

So much of life is really about perspective. Sure, I know that reality exists and it’s…real. But how you view reality says a lot about who you are. For example, sometimes it’s easy to get frustrated when things aren’t going the way you might expect. The numbers aren’t the best or you hit a roadblock. It’s easy to get down when things don’t work out like we plan.

But for me, I just have to take a step back and say, I love what I do. Even when circumstances are less than ideal. Even when the numbers aren’t where I want them to be. Even when roadblocks come and divert me from my original plan- there’s nothing else I would rather be doing, there’s nowhere else I would rather be, there’s no one else I would rather be.

I love being me. I love my life, my family, my wife, my son, my house, my dog, my desk, my mess! At least it’s mine right? Well, we know it all belongs to God but you understand my point. When it’s all said and done, a day being a pastor is better than any day doing anything else. At least that’s my perspective on it.