KiteBoarding

I remember the first time I saw someone kiteboard on tv. And I remember the first time I saw someone do it in person.

"Mirrors" - A Flat Water Dream from Flysurfer Kiteboarding on Vimeo.

Epic Kites - Get Outta My Way from Big Fall Productions on Vimeo.

There are few things that I want to do more. Don't bristle at that. I'm not including things like having kids and reaching the world. There are few things I'd rather do with some free time on a Saturday. I've got to try it. Christmas present buyers take note.

Tumblr

I've been posting on Tumblr recently. Its just easier with everything that's going on. This blog is still live and will continue to house my longer pontifications. There's much to be said for brevity. Check it out.

Mr. and Mrs. Stricklin

Saturday I had the honor of officiating the wedding of my sister-in-law Rachel and her now-husband Drew. It was simply awesome.

The week before, the whole family came out to Texas to see me graduate and be ordained. We spent the weekend exploring the small corners of DFW that Jessica and I have come to love. It meant so much that they would all take off work, move exams around, and then drive all the way over here. Sunday we caravaned (sp?) back to 'bama. A side window in the Reynolds' van exploded on the interstate. My grandmother hypothesized that someone in LA shot at us because of our AL plates. Once we were back it was wedding week. I'm not going to lie... I was nervous. More nervous than I was at my own wedding. It was an outdoor ceremony. Everything looked beautiful. My father-in-law used a blower to blast pollen at the astoundingly lazy owner of the place.


I spent a great deal of time preparing for the wedding. I thought about what I would say, how I would say it, how people should move, how the music should transition, how to keep D&R from crying, how to remember to do all the major parts (vows, rings, kiss). I never thought about the vantage point I would have. Standing right in front of two people being joined together forever was humbling. Leading them through the vows that will direct and guard their marriage impacted me. It was an honor to be a part of.

I've been typing and deleting alot. I'll just say that its hard to express how excited I am for them.

Anticipation

There are some big changes coming our way. In two months (God willing)

• I will have graduated from Southwestern
• Jessica and I will be living in another city in another state
• I will finally be doing ministry full time
• I will be ordained
• I will have married two couples (so crazy)

To be honest, the anticipation of it all is pretty rough. I've loved our time here. I've built some great relationships, seen God do some amazing things, and learned more than I'd like to admit. Jessica and I have really made this place our home. But now, two short months away from a new chapter in the Ballad of Britton Latham, I'm having a hard time staying engaged. In fact, at this very moment I'm at a coffee shop "writing a paper." You see how well that's working.

Remember that scene in the first Matrix when Neo is rescuing Morpheus? (Yes I'm about to compare myself to Laurence Fishburne). He's running for the helicopter, trips, and basically tumbles toward the helicopter. I sort of feel like that... mixed with a little Buzz Lightyear.

The bottom line is (literally) that I'm crazy excited about what God is doing and where he's taking us.

Social

The stats on social networking use are staggering. I personally think that their success can be attributed to our desire for real connections with others. But real connections take time and effort... Twitter is much easier and seems almost as good. Right. Well, I think it is important for me, as a youth pastor, to understand developments in how we communicate and relate to one another. Consequently I have an ever-growing collection of social networking accounts. Most are under the name brittonlatham. You can find a list over on the right. I hope some of what you find while poking around in the links is interesting or helpful. If nothing else, you'll see what some of the networks look like.

For more information about social networking stats and trends, go to www.mashable.com. Better yet, get an RSS reader, or use Google's free GoogleReader, load it up with useful stuff, and let it track everything for you.