Jan and I got to attend a screening of Chalk, a mockumentary film that was directed by my friend Mike Akel and produced by my friend Mike McAllister.  It was part of this week's Austin Film Festival and was at the IMAX at the State History Museum.  It was kind of a last minute decision for us to go.  I had seen the movie previously but it was not the finished product at the time.  Jan had been wanting to see it so I thought this would be the best chance to go. 

I'm glad we did, because before hand I got to visit with Akel for a few minutes and he showed his new hardware off that they won previously that day!  The movie won for "Best Narrative Feature" which is a great honor!  I'm really proud of their achievement because I know how hard they've worked on this and I know that they are doing it for the right reason...the $$$.  Just kidding!  Congrats guys!

For my Austin friends, you can catch the movie one more time tonight at the Regal Arbor Theater at 7:00!  It's quite hilarious so get in and see it if you can.

Welcome Adam G. and his new blog to the B-Dub Blog blogroll.  (He's still working on allowing comments without the use of a blogspot account.)

http://adamandsarahguessfamily.blogspot.com/

Tell Big Smoove What up?!?!

This is an excerpt from Kyle's last sermon that he was working on.  How timely and appropriate and fitting are his words and ones that we should take to heart daily.  Kyle's legacy will surely live on throughout the generations...

---

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 70 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 crash well.
Feel the SATISFACTION of a job well done—a paper well-written, a project thoroughly completed, a play well-performed.
If you must wipe the snot from your 3-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

A friend of mine shared this verse with me and it is how Kyle will be remembered by us all that knew him:

Proverbs 10:7a - "The memory of the righteous will be a blessing"

I'm extremely shocked and saddened because of what happened to a friend and brother to so many of us this morning.  Kyle Lake died this morning as a result of a freak accident at his church University Baptist Church in Waco, Texas.  This is such a hard thing for me to comprehend, because of Kyle's overall greatness in heart and the awesome family that he is a part of - both the Lakes and the UBC family.  Kyle was the head pastor at UBC, which is where I got to know him during my years at Baylor.  He is also from my hometown of Tyler, where he was friends with my sister and a great influence on a number of my friends growing up. 

I'll remember Kyle mostly for being an upbeat encourager and an awesome teacher who never apologized for who he was and was passionate to see others pursue God and to know God.  He indirectly had a great impact on my spiritual life during a very important time in my life and for that I am forever greatful.

I've debated whether or not to post this but I've talked to a lot of my friends and I think the word is getting out.  If you are finding out about this from reading this, then I am sorry this was the way you found out.  Please pray for his family, friends, and UBC.  Some day I will ask God why this happened and why in this manner.  It is definitely something that I want an easy answer to, but I realize that is not the case.  God is sovereign, I recognize that, but we still hurt with a loss such as this.  A piece of each of us that knew Kyle died today, but the Lord will restore us all and show us His peace throughout all of this.

Thank you Lord for Kyle's incredible life and the influence he had on so many people.  Thank you for sharing him with us and showing more of you through him.  May his legacy continue and multiply through all the lives that he affected and loved.

It's not just a new cheesy Fox drama coming this fall...it's also the real deal for me as I attended my 10 year high school reunion this past weekend in Tyler!  Robert E. Lee Class of 1995 baby.  It was a blast getting to see everyone that was there.  It really was like stepping back in time as there were so many people that just seemed the same to me, only they either had less hair, more gray hair (myself included in that category), kids (some of them 3 and 4!!), or all of the above.  It was amazing to me how many people lived in Tyler and several that were in Austin. 

There were a handful of people that I missed seeing there - Cory Turner, Ryan Goff, Sarah Garza (Hunsley), and Eric Smith.  I've lost touch with the first three, so if anyone knows how I can get touch with them and you are reading this then shoot me an email (don't post here.)

The biggest suprise of the night came when this guy came up to me and I immediately knew who he was even though he never went to my high school.  It was actually someone I went to Baylor with and had not seen since he left sometime in '98 I think.  Who was it?   None other than Brandon Welch!!!  Whoah!  What a random meeting seeing him at my high school reunion.  It was great seeing him and getting to talk quite a bit with he and his wife Holly Brady who I went to school with.  All of you Segues who don't believe me, I'll post a picture here shortly to prove that it was indeed Brandon.

UPDATE

Here's B-Dub and Tiny Brandon...

It's official...I'm getting old.  My 10 year high school reunion is scheduled for August 13th in Tyler.  I'm really excited about seeing some old friends and getting to spend a weekend in my hometown.  I don't get to go back very often ever since my parents moved to Wimberley a few years ago. 

Are there any Raiders out there?  Let me hear from you.

By the way:  our football won the football state championship this year and I was there.  Pete - when was the last time Temple won? 

Crazier things have happened I suppose, but I wanted to share my excitement for my good buddy Gannon Sims for getting engaged!  He's marrying a great named Carrey who he met out in DC/Alexandria.  Here's to Gannon...can I get a boo?

I stepped back in time this weekend and had the house to myself for a couple of days while Jan was having her college roommate reunion at Laura Justice's house in North Austin.  That meant that Chance got kicked out of his house, so I thought I'd open up my place for him to stay.  It was just like old times, being bachelors and roommates again for Chance and me.  We ate, we watched movies, we went to the driving range, and slept till 10:00.  It was nice.  But, I'm glad that Jan is back now and we get to hang out again.  (No offense Chance) 

I did take most of yesterday to repaint my window sills which I did a shotty job of a year ago.  Actually, I had a friend come in to finish them out so they needed to be painted anyway.  They look good.  Next on the painting agenda, will be to finish the rest of the window sills (60% done) and then our bathroom.  Still haven't decided about tiling the bathrooms yet.  I'll keep you posted.  I'm sure you are dying to know.

It's been a busy last 10 days...I use the word busy to actually mean “worked a lot” in the last 10 days.  So much, I hit the 80 hour mark at around 1:45 on Sunday morning.  80 hours in 7 days...that's a record, but I'd rather not try to top it.  The short story is that we had a really tight solid deadline that we had to hit, and I'm happy to say that we hit it yesterday afternoon.  Now, I can breathe...hooray!

While I was working last week, Jan's brother and sister-in-law came down from Denver to stay with us.  When I got to hang out with them, we had a blast.  We ate at Chuy's for Kevin's birthday...happy 30th Beedis!  On Saturday night, we ate at Hoover's which I highly recommend for those visiting looking for good soul / home cookin'.  Sunday topped it off when we tubing down the Guadalupe River in New Braunsfels.  This is something that Jan and I would like to make an annual tradition.  So, if you come visit us in the summer months, we will tube and you will like it...immensely...seriously...just bring the sunblock and the cold ones. 

Tubular.

Nope.  No babies.  Tonight, I found out that my good friend Rob Truss and his wife will soon be moving to Austin!  Rob got a promotion with his company and he will be overseeing the Austin territory.  I can't tell you how thrilled I was when I heard this. 

Now that Rob is in the bag, I can focus my efforts on my other non-Austin friends.  Who will be next???  Hmmm...

I learned that you should always cut this person (to remain nameless) off after 1 drink.

Before 1st Drink:

And...

After 1st Drink:

Any Questions???

Everyone, I'm pleased to welcome Chris Leonard as part of the B-Dub Blog Blogroll.  Chris is a good friend of mine that lives here in Austin.  We've been in bible studies together and played on a worship team together.  If you get a chance, check out his site as you can learn all about who Chris is, and a little bit about planes, and if you're lucky enough you will find the link to differential equations.

http://www.ae.utexas.edu/~leonarct/index.htm

This is my friend Chance.  He likes to drink coffee.