The annual Renatus’ MC Sweat Hogs rally was today, and it was held at Central Texas Harley Davidson in Round Rock. It was also the bi-monthly Council Of Clubs & Independents meeting. I haven’t been to CTHD in a while, so it was nice to see all the new bikes. They had lots of stock, there were bikes everywhere. The meeting was well attended, and Renatus’ had street tacos available for those of us that were hungry.

We had our monthly United Clubs of Austin meeting Sunday, down at Willie’s Joint in Buda. It was pretty hot today, and Willie’s is an outdoor venue, but at least they have good tree cover, so most everyone got some shade. The meeting went well, but for me and others the mood was subdued because of a recent loss of Torch from our community. He will be missed, we will remember, and we will keep moving forward. Please pray for his family. Be safe out there.

A friend posted some photos of a wedding that he and his wife attended. It was simple and outdoors but all the usual characters were there. If you have ever been involved in a wedding, you will have heard about the “best man”. The best man is the confidant of the groom, usually his most important friend or brother. He comes before the groom and prepares the way. He coordinates many of the details of the wedding for the groom, in particular he is responsible for the wedding rings. They call him the best man because he plays a very important part in the wedding.

During the wedding ceremony, the best man gives the rings to the groom so that the bride and groom can complete the symbolic joining as husband and wife. A joyous moment indeed.

After that moment, the best man’s responsibilities are essentially complete. He is still the best friend and brother, but his role decreases as the groom and bride are joined at the center of the ceremony.

The Bible talks about this concept in John 3:26-30, John the Baptist began his ministry before Jesus did and proclaimed that someone more important than him was coming; someone who could permanently wash away their sins. After Jesus began His work, someone asked John the Baptist about Him;

““Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.”

My paraphrase:
“Rabbi, did you know this Jesus fellow that you talked about, is baptizing people, and everyone is following him?”
John answered, “You heard me say, ‘I am not the Christ, but God sent me ahead of time to tell people he was coming.’ I am like the friend of the bridegroom. I am excited to hear that he has arrived, and my joy is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.”

In the same way, before I accepted Jesus as my Savior and Lord, I was the most important person in my life. But from that moment, my heart was changed and He came to live inside me. Now, as I live life, my role in making decisions becomes less as I learn that I can trust God with His plan for my life, and I get to watch it unfold, as I release my will to Him, .

Do I still get to make decisions? Sure, God gave me a brain and He expects me to use it, but now that Christ is living in me, He can show me the right choices in my decisions. I get to enjoy watching Him work through me. That is indeed my desire, how about you?

OurNew Life Riders had a chapter ride today out to Crossroads Cafe in Swertner.  Turns out they were closed today, so we ended up going to Dale’s Essenhouse in Walburg. As usual I took the car and met them at Crossroads, just in time to follow over to Walburg for lunch. I chose to leave my “big” cameras home, and brought just my cell phone. So, though I have pictures, they are kind of a disappointment, at least those taken on the road. Oh, well, I was driving, so I shouldn’t have been taking pictures anyway right. Fortunately we made it to our destination ok, and I got to have their biscuits and gravy, which I will say, was really good. Lots of crumbled sausage in the gravy, plus two sausage patties besides. other was plenty for lunch, and enough left over for dinner. After we got out food, one of our member (who shall remain nameless) called and wondered where we were as they hade been running a bit late and missed is at Crossroads.  They ended up in Bartlett, to look around ,and I invited them over to the house for some AC and cold water. They accepted, so I met them in Bartlett and led them to the house for talk and cool down. All in all, a pretty good day.

I went to the second Pistons on the Bricks this evening, and there were quite a few classic and custom cars and trucks that turned out, not to mention all those people like me that came to look at all the beautiful cars and trucks. There were several vendors selling food and beverages on the street, and of course Lois and Jerry’s was open serving dinner if you wanted to get out of the heat. I went for my monthly usual Bratwurst and Sauerkraut. Speaking of heat, I think it was a little cooler than last month, or maybe it was just that we had a light breeze flying through that helped everyone stay cool. In any case, it was another successful event for Bartlett, and special thanks to Karen for the safety cones that strongly encouraged all those drivers to slow down as they drove past all the excitement.