Re: Sweet Chaos

Here's a post from the summer that I think you'll truly enjoy. Leave some feedback and share it with your friends and family!

This weekend was crazy.

This weekend was awesome.

This weekend was the most fun I've had in a long time.

And this picture pretty much summarizes it:

Sweet, sweet chaos. That's the only way to describe it.

We spent the past weekend hanging out with a lot of people we had only ever met once in our lives, and a lot of other people we had never seen before. It didn't matter, though. Love was in the air. It was a different sort of love, though. A sweet, chaotic, beautiful love - one only possibly born of God.

How else can you explain this situation? 

30 people, all unrelated, gathering together...

In the name of adoption.

In the name of love.

In the name of worshiping God, who has brought us all together, regardless of geographical or biological distance.

For their children, whom they love with all of their hearts.

For their children, who may be a little tanner than the rest of us, but are the most beautiful sightin the world.

For their children, who were alone, but now have a place they can always call home and people they can always call family.

This weekend was a picturesque portrayal of God's love. It was out of control, chaotic, fussy, messy, and a little cranky at times. But there has never been a more beautiful, more sincere, more passionate love among a group of people. And it is that love which pulls my heart-strings. It'sthat love which brings me peace. It's that love that moves my heart toward adoption, toward love.

God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. [Ephesians 1:5]

I believe this weekend gave God great pleasure. He saw his children, adopted through his Son, caring for his little ones, who they had chosen to adopt in love.

I can't wait for the day that God leads us down that same path. And it's coming soon - my heartcan feel it.

How have you experienced adoption in your life? Has it been a positive or negative experience? Do you have relatives or friends that are adopted? How has that shaped who they are? Have you ever considered adopting a child? Why or why not?

I'd love to hear from you about this (or anything else!). Just leave a comment or shoot me an e-mail!

Re: She Said Yes!

This is a continuation of reposts from 2011. Enjoy, leave some feedback, and share this with your friends if you enjoyed it!

We're goin' to the chapel and we're gonna get marrrrried...

Okay, just kidding. 

Been there, done that. One wedding was enough for me!

Today, two years ago, my wife and I stood before hundreds of people and proclaimed our love for each other. At the ripe, young age of 19, we knew who we wanted to spend the rest of our lives with, and we weren't ashamed.

Too young? Psh.

Too tough? Yeah right.

Too much for a 19 year old to handle? Wrong-o!

Two years ago today, we were wed. But five years ago, to this very day, we started dating. And we continue to date to this day.  

Yes, married people still date each other. 

It's way better than pre-marriage dating.

Truuuust me.

So, in honor of our five years of dating, I'd like to share with you five things I've learned since being married.

1. She is always right.

You and I both knew this was coming. It's the first thing most guys learn after being married for any amount of time. No matter what, no matter where, now matter when or how. She. Is. Right. Is she wrong? Too bad. She's right. Does it make sense? No. Does it work, though? Definitely.

2. When you marry the girl, you marry the family.

Now I definitely have to be careful about what I say here, because her family does read this blog from time to time... just kidding! I love them! Having a set of in-laws is like having an extra set of parents, which is great more times than it's not. But I definitely could've used a little more warning about how true this is before I got hitched.

3. I married the most beautiful girl alive.

No, this isn't open to discussion. I did, and that's that. Just look at her! 

4. There is an appropriate length for every piece of hair on my head. 

This most certainly coincides with the first thing that I've learned - she's always right. Every single piece of hair has its place on my head, and if it gets outta control, Kalyn will let me know. Is my hair getting a little long? Always. Is my mustache starting to show itself? Shave immediately. Is there hair anywhere on the sides of my face? Get that razor out. Is my beard longer than it is in that picture? Gotta find the beard trimmer before Kalyn trims it herself. 

(Okay, she's actually pretty nice about it. I'm just telling you what I know!)

5. You don't stop pursuing the love of your life after you get married.

This is probably the most important thing that I've learned over the last two years that I missed before I got married. And it doesn't mean you start seeking more wives after you find your first one (unless you're into that sort of thing). Most of us (guys, at least) are left with the impression that once we say "I do," there's no more work to be done. You've got the girl - what else do you need? Well, there's a lot more to it than that.

You see, I love my wife. And I love her too much to stop pursuing her. She deserves my very best, and I want to try my hardest to keep winning her love. I want her to keep liking me as she did before we were married. Therefore, I am going to keep pursuing her like I did before we walked down the figurative aisle.

This girl means the world to me, and I am amazed every day at how much she cares about me. So today, this is just one of the ways that I want to say...

I love you, Kalyn!

I'd love to hear from you! Leave a comment or send me an e-mail! And while you're at it, "Like" the Life Before the Bucket Facebook page and find a way to follow this blog!

Re: Captchaphobia

In order to enjoy the holidays with people (instead of my laptop), I'm going to be reposting a few of my favorite posts from 2011. Enjoy and remember to follow Life Before the Bucket!

Alright, I've got a bone to pick with the Internet. Does the Internet have bones? I don't know. But I'm going to pick one anyway.

Let me preface things with this: I'm pretty good with computers. I understand technology, and I can navigate the Internet like nobody's business. If you need to know something, I can usually figure it out.

However, what I cannot, for the life of me, figure out, are Captchas.

Captchas are this evil invention that keeps spammers from flooding websites with nonsensical dribble about their diet pills that can help you lose 500 lbs in a day. However, they are also so coolthat they keep me away from stuff at times. Absurd!

Please tell me I'm not alone in this. Please tell me I'm not the only person who has "failed" a captcha online. Especially on Facebook. I'm not sure what it is about the captchas on there, but they're meant for space aliens. They don't make any sense! My blood pressure rises a little each time I see that familiar box pop up to confirm that I'm a Homosapien, or at least a really smart monkey. And sometimes, the pressure gets to me.

So maybe I'm crazy, and a little out of my mind, but I'm all for getting rid of captchas. I've had enough of my intelligence being insulted with ridiculous word puzzles every time I want to tell a friend "Happy Birthday" on Facebook. I don't want word puzzles; I just want to use the Internet!

So let's start a petition. Let's get rid of captchas. Until there's a way that people can simply verify that they're human by using a computerized heart rate monitor or blood test, I say... Bring on the spam!

Okay, so maybe I'm being a little facetious. But seriously, am I the only one who has ever failed one of these? Are there any other Internet peculiarities that fluster you? Leave me a comment and let me hear about it! Or e-mail me - I love responding to e-mails! And while you're at it, Share this post with one of those little buttons right there and find a way to follow Life Before the Bucket!