Image + Text (1/3)

This week I've been blessed with opportunities to partake in two of my passions.

Taking pictures and reading books.

As a result, I have many goodies from both that I would love to share. The photos are from a morning I spent in Market Street of the Woodlands. It's a posh little shopping district that gave me some good material for my camera.
The quotes are from a book by John Piper entitled "What's the Difference: Manhood and Womanhood Defined According to the Bible." It is a short, 58-pager that overflows with Biblical truths about what makes a man a man, and a woman a woman. I give it both thumbs up. Here we go. Installment 1 of 3.

"At the heart of mature masculinity is a sense of benevolent responsibility to lead, provide for and protect women in ways appropriate to a man's differing relationships."

"At the heart of mature femininity is a freeing disposition to affirm, receive and nurture strength and leadership from worthy men in ways appropriate to a woman's differing relationships."

Our Little First Timer

No. My beautiful wife did not have an 18-day pregnancy ending in the birth of a 45 lb child. Though that would make me laugh and cry. And be excited. With a hint of fear.
Instead, she has a friend who has a kid who had a need for babysitting. Saturday came. It was a day Lisa and I had been anticipating with glee. Get paid to go the Houston Zoo for the afternoon. Amazing.

My wife and I had not been to the zoo since we were little lads and ladettes. Even better, our precious babysittee had never been. Nope. Not once. This would be his very first time to see the world outside of Beltway 8! A world chock-full of spider monkeys, fat elephants, skinny giraffes, and cuddly piranhas.

Our adorable, orange Crock-wearing boy had the time of his life. We spoiled the daylights out of him! We loved on that kid and made sure his first zoo experience was even better than the Chick-fil-A kid's meal he had on the way there. I think he would tell you it was, but only after making sure you understood that he got to see the "moonkeys" and the "choo-choos."

I Do. Do You? Yes I Do. Me too.

We are married! Praise the Lord. We're married!
4 months of dating.
4 months of engagement.
Lisa and I are finally here. Husband & Wife. The Rutledges.
The day of August 11th was a joyous one for us both. We anticipated and dreamed of it every hour of every day. We planned and shopped and prepared. We laughed with one another in joy. We broke down in tears from stress. We served each other in humility. We fought each other in pride. We had our moments. Good and bad and pretty and ugly.
But the 11th came. By His grace and sustained love, the 11th came. And what a sweet time it was!

The truism is true. The wedding day is a blur, and it's over before it ever began (and you don't get to eat any of your own cake). I knew all of that. I anticipated it. I pep-talked myself. But it still flew by. There are boatloads of details I never saw, and even more that I observed but cannot remember. However, I do remember some snapshots of the day. A few captured feelings and visuals that for some reason or other stuck with me. I grabbed them and held on tight. Here are a few of 'em off the top of my head:

• Tying my tie in front of the mirror at the Freeman's house that morning.
• Being the first one at the church. Sitting on the first pew in the empty chapel. Reading. Praying. Breathing.
• Lisa being even more beautiful.
• Hearing Michael and Alex lovingly shout "Kevin!" just like they always do.
• The abundance of paper clips in Pastor Butch's Bible.
  
• Seeing tears in my brothers eyes.
• Holding a glass of ice-water in both hands at the reception in my fleeting attempt to not sweat so much. It was a tad warm in there.
• The first dance.
• Liz dressing her son Grady (our ring bearer) in his miniature suit. The cutest thing I have ever seen.
• Eating one Chips Ahoy for breakfast.
• Big Joe's little tie.
• Chipping golf balls with Nathaniel in the foyer before the ceremony.
• Richard's toast. Not what it was about, but that he didn't utterly embarrass me.
• The sparkling things on L's wedding dress.
• The photographer teaching me and my groomsmen about high-powered rifles.
• Hugs and handshakes. Lots of them.
• The first kiss. Of course!

What do you remember? From our wedding? Or yours? Or someone else's?
Go on. Comment. Share the love!
Love y'all. Cheers.

On The Doorstep Of Marriage

Tomorrow is the big day! In 26 short hours I will be a married man. A husband! So surreal. In the midst of frantic honeymoon packing and last minute details, I wanted to take 3 minutes to say 'hi' and 'thank you'. Lisa and I are so blessed by your friendships, prayers, encouragement, and love. We look forward to the days and years to come!

Thank you. We love you. God bless you!