The Frozen Tundra

This past weekend I (brian) was blessed to travel from the winter weather in Houston to the Twin Cities...and the frozen tundra. I mean seriously, when I left H-town it was 75 degrees and when I arrived in Minneapolis/St. Paul is was 17! Yeah, I couldn't feel my face. For those of you who now live in a warm climate...I'm sure you know what I mean.

I was honored to share in an amazing day with a close friend of ours, Matt Blackford. It was a day that he would commit his life to Amy and I was honored to sing a couple of songs for that amazing moment. But the wedding was not the only thing that I did while in the North.

Weddings can be expensive. But, Matt and Amy had found me a host family to stay with. How can I say this...they were awesome! As soon as I arrived in the Twin Cities, Tom and Patti picked me up from the airport and gave me a quick tour of the St. Paul area. We quickly returned to their house and I was able to find some extra clothes (I know what many of you are thinking...and you're absolutely right...I'm a wuss). After about 20 minutes Tom, who is about 6'3" and 240, laid his big paw of a hand and said, "Pastor, we're going to a wine tasting and you're coming!" Now, I was happy to oblige. We went to a quaint little store and tried several wines(eight in all), and left with a couple for the evening. As we were leaving the wine house, Tom laid his big paw of a hand again on my shoulder and said, "Pastor, have you ever had oysters?" "No" I replied. "Well, we're havin' oysters and you're havin' some." Alright, now I don't know how many of you have ever had oysters...but I put a number of them down, and right out of the half shell (for those of you who've never had the joy...think wet mushroom that tastes like the sea), but of course that came with another bottle of wine. Then, dinner was to start. Another couple came over and wouldn't you know it...they brought wine. We had oyster stew and several bottles of wine. Needless to say, I felt like I was in Europe once again! Tom and Patti were incredible hosts are the epitome of Hebrews 13.3 which says, "Do not neglect to entertain strangers..." To Tom and Patti...THANK YOU!

I was also able to visit with some very dear friends, Josh and Gail Brecht. I traveled with Gail for a year in a Christian rock band. We haven't seen each other in probably 4 years. As a musician, every once in a while you come across someone and you think, "yeah, she's got it." Well that's Gail and her husband Josh. They've since started a band called Fuller Still. If you have a chance, check them out. Much love to you both.

Below are the pictures from the weekend. I hope you enjoy!

A St. Louis Wedding

We made a trip to St. Louis this past weekend for the wedding of Meghan and Tim, friends of ours from our church community here in Houston. We were blessed to be able to attend the wedding (all while seeing family who live in St. Louis...we love you guys) and Brian did the wedding. That's right, it was the first official wedding performend by the new pastor, and as far as we know, they are married. Everything was signed, nobody passed out, they said "I do"...so, we think it took.

A perk to the wedding was the reception. I know what you are thinkng, "isn't that the perk of most weddings?" Well, yes...but this reception was held in Busch Stadium!!! In fact, you almost forgot that you were in the stadium until you went into the restroom (there's only so many places with that many toliets lined along the wall). It was awesome...their pictures were on the jumbotron for all the city to see. We ate toasted raviolli (it's a St. Louis thing...if you've never had it...you need to), spring rolls made by Tim's mom and Grandma's risotto. Need we say more??

The pictures are for your enjoyment! There will be more to come about our time in St. Louis...

A Weekend Wedding Whirl

Erin and I spent most of our Memorial Day Weekend in the car...traveling to two weddings; both of whom are very dear friends!

The first wedding was in Kansas City (the home of Hallmark)and we were treated to old friends, many of whom we have not seen in quite a while. It was so good to see all of you this past weekend. It has made our hearts glad. Might I also say...the KC BBQ was absolutely wonderful (for those of you from Texas who are reading this post...it's just different than Texas BBQ). The highlight was watching one of our dear friends marry a Godly man and committ to one another their lives. Really, really great!!

The second wedding was for our dear friend Daniel. Erin and I met Daniel while we were still living and working in Slovakia. He was a fellow missionary. This wedding took us to Omaha (somewhere in middle America) and treated us to wonderful food and good company. The highlight was seeing someone so important to us marry a Godly woman and committ thier lives to one another. Really, really great!

Congratualtions to you, our friends!!! Below are a few pictures of the trip (there is one picture of Erin and Kari that appears multiple times...they were never really satisfied with any of them). Enjoy.