just a photo with someone moving to birmingham.. and his extra smooth new hat. what can i say.. he is a smith.

this Christmas season..

I hope that everyone has a truly amazing Christmas season. I really hope that I do. Yeah, I know.. that sounds a little bit greedy.. a tad self-centered. But my hope is not to have an amazing Christmas by the ways of our culture.. but by the way of One much higher.

You see, the pages of the Old Testament have been coming alive to me lately. Yes, mainly because thats what my class studies are covering, but the Lord's Spirit still moves through them. And this morning my heart has been resting in this one passage from the book of Haggai.. just check it out..

Haggai 1:5-6 >>
Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.

As I read through the pages of this very short book (only 2 chapters), I started to think about how we look for so much out of our holiday seasons. The anticipation of things to come are so great. We hope for so much. But yet I realize, we (I definitely included) miss the true hope that is there. We will probably eat of extra tasty food: turkey and ham with all the trimmings, maybe a t-bone from Waffle House.. we might get our fill - for that day. Then we can drink some of the best eggnog, tea or wine (you know, depending on age), but the next day we again will be thirsty. We can receive some the coolest of clothing: lucky jeans, inspi(red) shirts, diesel shoes, or Members Only jacket (they are on a come back); but each of them will fade - beyond the point where the fade is cool. And all of our Christmas cash can be spent on things as if it had just fallen out of our pockets.

But the Lord had something so much cooler for the people of Israel in the message of Haggai.. it was HIMSELF. "I am with you, declares the Lord"(1:13). "I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts"(2:7). The people were rebuilding the temple, which was the place of God's presence. But this temple was small and NOTHING in comparison to the temple which had been destroyed earlier.

But the Lord was showing His people.. it has nothing to do with the size of our temple or house (the coolness of our clothes, the taste of our food and drink, the amount of our Christmas cash).. it is He - by His presence - that makes things glorious. It is presence of God in Christ that can amaze you this Christmas season. That is the message of the season that puts me in awe.. God came to the earth as a baby - to be with us. I hope we each have an amazing Christmas season in that.

slingin slade smith..

so you gotta let me do a little bit more of big brother bragging here.. check out an article just released online on my little bro - Sophomore quarterback at Fort Payne. They are 11-0 for the first time in school's history. It's all pretty smooth.. so check it out.

lets play some monopoly..

so forget all the crazy odds.. cause someone still has to win! I got Park Place and if you got the match then we will be splitting the pot - 60/40 >> your way!! So let me know what pieces you got and we can have some fun. Here is what I got ::
- Park Place (Boardwalk gets us a $1,000,000)
- New York Avenue (Tenn & St. James gets us $1,500)
- B&O & Penn Railroad (other railroads gets us $5,000,000)
- Baltic Avenue (Mediterranean gets us $50 - which is more than 0!)

so let me tell you how smooth our God is.. and He connected the dots to that point thru a problem that Jake had. See Jake had an issue with losing his F11 key, which just causes a lot of problems - especially when you are sporting a stylish apple like he has. but my issue with the F11 does not have to do with the physical key itself.. well.. sort of.. but not really.

okay.. so where in the world is this going?? well here it. Hit your F11 key. Go ahead. Yes, the one towards the top of your keyboard.. between F10 and F12. Just hit it.. you like that?? yeah, pretty cool, huh? now don't freak out.. it didn't mess up your computer, you can just hit it again to take you back to your "regular" view of things >> and that was my problem - I hit it again.

see my F11 on my keyboard was fine.. it was my F11 in my life that was the issue. as i went through my papers, exams, and assignments, I carried a viewpoint that our lives are just "regular." nothing special. nothing spectacular. nothing big to it. for me.. i am just getting a masters. but as my heart began to long for something more.. our God revealed Himself as that thing in life which is so much more. it is Christ in us that makes us so much more than "regular." We as Christians are HIS!!

how did He draw me to that? not by the passages I'm use to.. it was in the words of Balaam, found in Numbers 23:20 (check it out.. its a cool OT story), "I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot change it." in its context things get really smooth in God's blessing of His people, Israel. A covenant which was formed with Moses for God's chosen people. Moses lead his people not by his own strength, but by the glory of God. A glory which transformed Moses' regular life into something so much more, by giving him a small glimpse of His glory - Exodus 33 (another good one).

we can so quickly fall into the belief that our lives are all about the here and now. the daily tasks of life that become so redundant and minuscule. we can begin to walk through life thinking that there is nothing exciting about it. but God's Word declares something so much greater. "When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." (Colossians 3:4). God has chosen to bless us with Life. a non-normal life, but Life in Him.. Life for Him.. and Life through Him. There is nothing larger than God's glory, and He has declared us a part of that, and there is nothing that we can do to change that. nothing! Christ has declared us His. So when those times come when you just don't "feel" it.. all you might need to do is hit that F11 to get that better view of the "bigger picture" for our lives.

what do you want for Christmas??

so i have definitely found something for my Christmas Wish List :: click on the photo above to view the details. make sure to check out all the Product Descriptions >> the last one is the best!!

little bro on a highlights show..

so check out the video of Fort Payne over Etowah..

it was an awesome game by both teams..
Fort Payne is 6-0 for the first time since the 1950's!!

another fun saturday..

so after a crazy friday of 2 tests and 2 papers due.. which yes, that made watching the auburn game a little bit different as I had my Old Testament notes out.. but Mer and I headed up to Fort Payne - for another Ft.P victory. 5-0 for the first time since 1971.. how about that for the Wildcats.

so after all that, I got to enjoy a great dove shoot with some fun guys. Smith Newspaper Publishing opened up their lodge for a day of shotguns. Barry, Slade, and I were joined with family friends - the Smith's (its their place) and the Barnes - then had some cool additions to the squad. We had 4 Auburn Football players with us. After a close win on Thursday night, these guys took off to a cabin in Mentone and came to the shoot. I'll let you guess who they were - one had a great interception Thursday night while covering SC best receiver.. one scored his very first Auburn career touchdown (first of many to come).. one who is from Fort Payne and annually attends the shoots.. and one who I was thrilled to see as he was one of my Basic guys from the days at Frazer.
>> if you get three out of the four.. i'll be very impressed. feel free to use some online rosters - espn has a good one.

there were a lot of birds flying.. but not many in our direction.. but as always - had a blast in camo with the guys. War.Eagle.

happy birthday bro..

So my little brother Slade.. ain't so little anymore. Today is Slade's birthday!! Up in Fort Payne, he went to get his license, and I'm not talking about the drive with your momma kind.. I'm talking about the real deal drive by yourself kind. Slade is 16 and will be cruising through Ft.P in his LandRover - and yes.. i could go on and on how that one isn't fair!! Come on.. some of you remember the Prelude.
Many of you know how much I value authentic brotherhood.. and I can say that it is only because of all the brothers that I have been blessed with. My life would be completely different without them. Regardless of how far away in distance we are.. we always find a way to stay close in heart.

Slade has got that Smith charm. We always have a ton of fun.. and we always will as long as he remembers that no matter how "big" he gets.. I will always be able to take him down!! He knows it.

But I have to say how proud I am of Slade as a brother - both by blood and by spirit. Slade is a Christian. He knows where true life is found >> in Christ alone!! His deepest desires are for the Lord to be reflected through his life and his passions.

I love seeing the leadership in my "little" brother continuing to form. It's there with his friends at church and school.. and its there on the playing fields. I love watching compete with the talents he has been given and worked hard to train, but I love watching him more lead his teammates into the presence of the Father.

Happy Birthday #6
keep playing the game for Jesus.

-----------------------------
if you want to keep up with Slade on the ball fields..
his games are online at www.FortPayneSports.com
or the game coverage at The Times-Journal

you gotta love the weekends..

Meredith and I have been living it up on our weekends.. doing a ton of traveling for everything from football games (a lot of those) to beach trips and reunions. Putting a lot of miles on the car is always fun, but can get you tired for the week.. but hey.. come on.. you know its worth it.

we headed down to orange beach with the cool kuhlers!! had a blast just relaxing on the beach, throwing the football in the rain, and playing some putt-putt golf with the cooper's from redstone.

check out the heavily fortified sandcastle that patriso and i made with our flag waving high.

then we followed it up with another great weekend trip to nashville.

we had a straight up stellar time with the old au crew in nashville this weekend. great times of catching up and late-night celebrating of new things going on. definitely something we have to do more often.

mer and i didn't get to stick around for the dancing at decade.. but still had an awesome time hooting and hollering for those tigers at sam's for the auburn vs. lsu game.. war.eagle!!
we had a great time.. a great cooked breakfast.. thanks ladies for the hospitality.. but you always have to watch out for that chair.. hanna knows.

are you ready for some football..

cause I definitely am.
war.eagle

get abstract..

so here is a fun site to get all your inner Jackson Pollock expressions out.. just click to get creative.

our new couch.

our new couch finally came in.. and this thing is huge!! we are still trying to get it all situated, but we love it!!

a great sunday..

Mer and I had a blast this past Sunday out at FarmLinks with our church >> Redstone. We had gone to breakfast with my beautiful grandmother and great aunt in Sylacauga.. and then headed over to Parcell's Farms for a small group leader training. After the training was over, the fellas just had to play a round on the amazing FarmLinks course.. I highly reccomend it, especially when its free.. thanks JH connections!! Pictured above is Matt, Rob, Jason and I on the 250-feet elevated 194 yard par 3.. which I put a soft 7 iron onto the green pin-high on. The place is definitely one of the best I've ever played.. right up there with Indian Pines.. okay, maybe not.

The training was a great time of reflection and encouragement from Luke 24.. "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?" and that is my continual desire to leave an impact on the lives of others, so that the Spirit of the Lord would burn deep in their hearts, as we live life-on-life.

those photos from Tulsa..

so Mer and I had lost our cable to load from our camera.. and I owed Ty some photos.. so here they are.

Ty and Amanda in front of their new place in Tulsa..

they live right off of Route 66..a few pictures of their places

Slade chillin on the couch.. our flight was delayed so we had to spend one extra night..

so here is their neighbors to the left..

and here they are to the right.. no lie.. right next door.. short run south of the border.
and because of our flight mix up (which did put us in the airport for 7 hours.. not so much fun) we did get to go to a great cookout at some of Ty and Am's new friends' land.. with a couple of these.. that part.. yeah.. really fun!and lastly a shot that I got on the road to Tulsa.. just a sign for a certain world traveler who I thought would enjoy. Sorry alittle late.. but come on.. its there.

thanks to Firestone..

this is going to be my weekend in Nashville..


Firestone has hooked us up with tickets and pit-passes to the Indy Firestone 200. I'm totally pumped about it all.. plus the chance to see some great Nashville friends.. good weekend ahead!!

list of my travels this week..

so here is the order of the states that i've traveled to in this last week >>

Alabama
Mississippi
Tennessee
Arkansas
Oklahoma
Georgia
Alabama
Florida
Alabama
Auburn
Georgia
South Carolina
North Carolina

Auburn was a special stop that gets treated as a state.. Right now Mer and I are in Tuxedo, North Carolina at Camp Greystone giving a hand for the weekend. Pictures of all the travels to come.

i'm heading to Tulsa..

well Ty and Amanda are all packed up and ready to move to Oklahoma..
I'm going to join in on the fun of driving across the country (half-way)
and catch a flight back to B'ham with Slade and my Mom.
Tulsa >> here come the Smith's

:: David Ely ::

well this weekend Mr. David Ely is getting married!! I won't be able to make the wedding, but some of his groomsmen and ushers came into Cocina today for lunch with him. It was great to catch up on all that the Lord is doing through him.. and his new bride (who I got the privilege to meet once before in the restaurant >> the kid has done good - trust me!!). But since I won't be making the wedding celebration, I thought I'd send a shout out to him blog-style.

we can all be blessings this new family with prayers as they go on administrative staff with the Navigators in Colorado Springs, CO. If you want to holla at him with a congrats, you can reach him at David.Ely@navigators.org .. May the Lord amaze you, David, with His love through Mary Beth's heart. Congrats to the new Ely family!!

Proverbs 3:5-6

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."

I will trust in the Lord when I don't understand,
until I can trust in the Lord because I do understand.

.

- Cars -

You just gotta see this movie.. Pixar has definitely done it again!! And what will make it even better is if you can go to the Saturday or Sunday matinee.. Mer and I got to go today while we waited for some putty to dry in the kitchen before we painted. It was so awesome because the matinee was filled with Moms, Dads, and a ton of kids.. which just makes any good animation even better. The movie is extremely well put together,, and keeps you laughing the whole time. So go check it out.. I guarantee you'll be glad you did.

a lots been going on..

so a lot of things have been happening with the Smith fam, and Mer said I need to post some stuff about it all.. so here you go >> i know you've been wondering..

I've officially returned to a job that some folks might remember >> waiting tables. bringing back the good ole days at lonestar.. but only now at a smooth new restaurant called the Cocina Superior. It's a real stylish place with a serving staff that is cool and all about some teamwork.. which makes any restaurant better. so if you are in b'ham,, come check me out for lunch.


Mer and I had an incredible time with my family in Santa Rosa for a week. Had a ton of fun with all the bros and Mer, Kat, and Amanda.. plus the always important Barry and Momma. When we go to the beach.. we go ALL out at the Beach. Eating at some of the best restaurants ((it was great running into k.a. at the Red Bar >> its like Chappy's = you are always going to see someone you know there)) As well as the brothers playing some extra competitive games ((even ones we , Robert & I, created - pictured below)) Santa Rosa with almost the whole family >> It truly doesn't get much better than that!! We even got to swim with a few "special" friends..


The house is coming along nicely.. about to start getting into some paint colors. we still haven't been in town long enough to get out of the boxes and everything situated.. but we are getting there. i'll post a few more sneak peeks in the next few days.. but Mer and I want to do the place up right before we put it on the full out display.

All the bros shaved our heads for the summer.. here is Slade.. yeah, i know.. there is some resemblance.

I've been able to read alot lately.. finishing up some great classics >> Raggamuffin Gospel and Seizing Your Divine Moments.. while starting some new ones >> Gilead, Ruthless Trust, and God is the Gospel.

This one is for Momma Jessie.. just to add to those flashbacks.

and finally me and one smooth riding Harley. if only it was mine..
one day.. one day.

so there you go.. just a few of the things that have been going on with me.. and now its your turn to update >> can't wait to see them.