Colby's Call: Alabama vs Florida International

Okay, so last week I was a little off on the score but I still covered the spread. This week is all about numbers, and boy do we have them. Whether you believe it or not, five-star athletes and depth does matter. If you are Florida International you want to strike quickly and early, but let me tell you--it's not going to happen tonight. Expect a 35-point-or-more blowout under the lights at Bryany Denny. I am going with a score of Alabama, 41; Florida International, 6. Key players to look for tonight will be freshmen sensation Trent Richardson #3, Mark Ingram #22, and of course the infamous Julio Jones #8.

Other games to look for will be Auburn vs Mississippi State and USC vs Ohio State. Here is what you can expect from those games:

AU vs MSU

Look for Auburn to wear down MSU in the second half to win by a score of 28-17.

USC-OSU

Forget about the Buckeyes in this one, they are as overrated as a team can be. I am calling a beatdown at the Horseshoe on national television. My final call will be USC dismantling OSU by a score of 48-24.

Colby's Call

Every Friday I am going to post my prediction for the Alabama game. Here is my call for Saturday's matchup: Tomorrow night around 10:30 you will see a score of (or at least closely resembling) Alabama 38; Virginia Tech 10. This will involve two touchdowns from outside of Alabama’s offense--I believe there will be one by the defense and one by special teams. Any difference in score will be minimal. Get ready Hokies, I am feeling a beat down in Atlanta this weekend. Roll Tide!

My First Father's Day

On June 21st of this year I celebrated my first Father’s Day. It was not the way I expected to spend my first Father's Day, but it was my first nonetheless. If you don’t know, Kathryn's and my first child, Lucas, was stillborn in December of last year. This was obviously a difficult time for us, and has only gotten harder as the days pass. Life is different when part of your family is absent. I read a quote that summed it up like this, “If your parent dies, you lose a part of your past, but if your child dies, you lose part of your future.”

Though my first Father’s Day was a day of sorrow, it was also a day of great joy. For one, I was so proud to be the father of Lucas Brooks Mouchette and the proud husband of his mother. Another reason it was a day of joy is because I found out that, on my very first Father’s Day, I was actually a father of two! Yeah, I know, how gracious is God to bless me with news like that on a day that had been so mixed with emotions? I will never forget it. I had just arrived at a family gathering at Kathryn’s grandparents' house when Kathryn pulled me outside, sat me down, and pulled a pregnancy test out of her tiny clutch. With excitement and fear in her eyes she gave me the news of our second child. What a great Father’s Day!

Today at fifteen weeks, we are still excited and scared. Pregnancy is so difficult after loss, so please pray for my wife and my baby. Pray for the protection of our child and pray that Kathryn would be protected from all the sicknesses that are going around. (Keep in mind that she works in an elementary school.) Thank you for your prayers.

Thinking back on our first four years

Last Wednesday, Kathryn and I celebrated our fourth year of marriage. A part of me is saying 'I can't believe four years has already gone by,' yet another part of me is saying, 'It feels like we have always been.' I mean, I can hardly remember a time when there was a Colby without the Kathryn. I am the biggest fan of my wife of four years.

Over the last couple of days I have been reflecting on our years of marriage and have come to realize just how much we need God's grace in our lives. Something that I have learned and want to pass on to others is the primary purpose of marriage. I wish that I would have known this before I asked Kathryn to marry me but remember, God's grace has been evident in our lives. Well, what is the primary purpose of marriage?

The primary and beautiful purpose of marriage is to showcase the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul tells us in Ephesians 5 that wives are to submit to their husbands as the church submits to Jesus. He also teaches that, as the wives are to submit, husbands are to love their wives as Jesus loves His church. What a calling we have been given! What that means is that when people look at my marriage they should be able to see a picture of Jesus Christ and His Church. I am to love Kathryn as Jesus Himself loved the church and gave Himself for her. It is my prayer that I will love my wife in that way.

Thank you Father for your overflowing grace in my marriage and thank you Kathryn for loving me.

Charleston: Day 2

Meet Sam, our horse. He took us around town.

Sam took us to the church house...

Sam took us to the graveyard...

Sam took us to eat shrimp and ham stuffed collards....

Sam took us to eat Jelly Belly Beans...

Sam took us to get a throwback pack of Big League Chew...

Sam, thanks for the memories. We love you.

Destination #3: Charleston, SC

Tuesday afternoon we arrived in the city of Charleston, SC, a place full of rich history and beauty. I love this place! 

After we arrived and checked into our third B & B of the week, we headed out the door to explore Charleston and find us something to eat. Here is a shot of us as we enjoy each other as well as the beautiful landscape.

  

After searching for a restaurant we landed here at S.N.O.B. My beautiful bride got the crab cakes and I went with the fresh swordfish. 

Here is my swordfish...........

Someone stole my swordfish! Okay, I really ate it.

After we devoured our meals we took a stroll to this romantic venue. I was totally feeling the swings on the pier. It was so relaxing here and the people were oddly friendly. Guess a nice pier will do that to you? 

Here are some friendly pier people. 

Check out rule #5. Pooping or Puking in fountains is bad. Remember this if you ever feel a rumbly tummy in Charleston.

This morning I got up and went for a jog and, as you can imagine, it was amazing. Here are a couple of early morning shots.

Well, it is almost time for lunch and we are about to head out to do some touring. I will post more from Charleston later.  

Destination #2: Asheville, NC

Until I get some pictures posted I am going to avoid giving bland details about our every move, but I do want to give you the highlights. Our Asheville highlight may seem a bit unexpected--it was not the beautiful landscape of the Great Smokey Mountains reaching as far as the eye could see, or the splendor of the Biltmore estate; nor was it the incredible dinner we had at The Early Girl Eatery.  Instead the highlight of our time in Asheville was the time spent with the owners of our little B & B, Larry and Nancy Merrill.   

 

The Merrills are truly one of the friendliest couples I have ever met and are excellent at what they do. What I love most about staying in a bed and breakfast is the awkward, spontaneous conversation that you have with random people who you have never met and will never see again. I mean it is quite humorous to wake up, roll out of bed, and come to the breakfast table with complete strangers. Some people might even feel a little sick at their stomach just thinking about the awkwardness of this setting, but I believe this is a situation we should place ourselves in more often. In fact, I would say that as believers we should be on the lookout for times of unplanned conversation with people that we don't even know. How else will we ever learn about people enough to reach them with the good news of the gospel? The more I think about it the more I'm amazed at how isolated my life as a minister really is from the world. I mean sure I go to Starbucks and Panara a lot but typically I find myself, even in those settings, surrounded by a normal circle of friends. I believe that I can learn a lot from my new friends Larry and Nancy, people who truly just love other people.