Chad with an afro

FINALLY! The great picture of me with my afro back in 1995. I was a theatre major at SCAPA at the time and we were putting on Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which our version was set in the 1970's. My director asked me not to cut my hair for 8 months... which I didn't. I grew it out to about 8 inches and because my hair was so thick and curly (when I had hair at all!) I was able to just brush it straight up in the air and it would stick. I didn't have to use hairspray at all. Now, please please please keep in mind that I didn't actually walk around with my hair like this every day, though looking back on it I probably should just for fun. After the show was over, I cut all my hair off.

Don't be jealous :)

People keep asking me who the girl in the picture is. It's my old friend (just friend) Clare that I went to school and worked in theatre with for a few years.

Two fun things to update everyone on this morning.

First:

Our premarriage class started last night and went better than expected. Karen and I are trying out a new format by taking an 8 week course where all 8 sessions are 1 hour each that meets on Sunday mornings and moving it to a 4 week course that lasts 2 hours each night and meets on Wednesday nights. I enjoyed the change of pace and felt like it will give us more flexibility in our teaching time.

I rewrote our first two sections of material yesterday (yes, it was kinda last minute) and added a full section dealing with marriage expectations. This turned out to be a hit with the class as it allowed for honest discussion time as well as some goofy teaching regarding common expectations where Karen and I jokingly battle over stereotypical expectations.

We met Allan Conner who is the new Care Minister in charge of overseeing all premarriage ministry at Southland. He sat in on the class for the first hour and was very pleased with how it went. He told us before the class that he has a passion for marriage ministry and wants to talk to us more about our interests and ideas to see how he can help us minister to couples. This is extremely exciting news for us because we weren't sure what level of involvement he was going to really have outside of just the premarriage stuff, but from what he said he wants to do a lot more and expand our focus to more couples such as young marrieds. Again, it's definitely a God thing because we have been pushing to have Southland step up it's efforts in ministering to all couples, not just engaged couples.

One funny side note to mention... before the class started, a Korean girl approached me and said "Hey Chad!" It took me by surprise because I didn't immediately remember her name, but I recognized her. Then I remembered it is my cousin that I haven't seen in years! Yes, I know what you're thinking. No, I'm not Korean no matter how much I look like it ;). But yes, I have a few Korean cousins. So yeah, I've never been responsible for any family member's premarriage counseling. This will be interesting.

Second:

Many of you know Michael and Toni got engaged at Christmas time and are planning on getting married this summer. Karen and I are so excited for these two awesome believers. They have an outstanding relationship and are a pure joy to be around. Well, Michael and I went out for coffee this past weekend and he asked me to be his best man. What an absolute honor to stand next to a Godly man like Michael on his wedding day! I was just excited that I could go to the wedding and witness a beautiful marriage beginning, but now I'm actually in it! I secretly think he asked me because he didn't want to have to pay to have my hair done ;). More fun commentary to come on this later...

updates

Well, I'm starting to get back into the swing of things. Having the week off between Christmas and New Year's Day can spoil someone like me that tends to stay so busy that I don't have a lot of free time. This is the first year Karen and I stayed home for the full 10.5 days we had off instead of skipping town. I must say that we got a lot done around the house! Other than that, here's an update on the happenings of me:

• I consented a patient at 5:30am this morning and was actually awake enough to speak coherent sentences (4 cups of coffee will do the job pretty well!). While going to pick up the blood that had been drawn, I was mistaken for a doctor by a nurse simply because I had my magic white lab coat on. I laughed and wanted to tell her "Yeah, my real job is in marketing and graphic design... I just consent patients about once every week or two. SOOO FAR from being a doctor."
• My graphic design skills are growing as I learn more and practice more. I've been given several nice, higher profile design projects here at UK. I've completed 2 of them and gotten good feedback. The biggest project is going to begin next week, which I'm a bit nervous about because it's a website that tons of people look at every day and I don't want it to suck. I'm also designing an exhibit booth that will be used by several UK departments and it's been a blast to work on so far. I like the creative part of my job. It's great to sit back, loose myself in my CD collection, and design for a few hours.
• The premarriage class Karen and I teach begins next Wednesday. We are trying a new format out that we think may work better for everyone involved, but will have to adjust the teaching to fit the format. We've really enjoyed working on curriculum and trying out new ideas. Engaged couples are fun and challenging to work with because they have expectations that have yet to be discussed or disputed. Ohhh but there will come a day when one of them can't figure out why the other is so upset about the way you get ready in the morning or which way the toilet paper is supposed to go on the bar. Side note: It's supposed to go over the top, not under! Thankfully Karen and I agree on that one.
• I'm excited about our cooking club tomorrow morning. Breakfast foods are some of my favorites when done right.
• I highly recommend the documentary "Beyond Gates of Splendor." I have it if anyone wants to borrow it.

Michael and Chad at the cooking club...

Longhorns

I'm back from vacation and all I have to say is GO TEXAS! I've been telling people all year to give Texas a shot at USC if you want the USC winning streak to end... Finally, I was right :).

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=2281000