I love grapefruit

I caught my second spring training game this afternoon.
It rained and rained last night. Even at noon today, it was raining. But the rain finally stopped, they pulled the tarp off the field and by two o'clock we had baseball. The Braves were in town facing the Tigers. We sat on the berm in left field and had a great baseball day. Jeff Francour hit a shot 30 feet over my head. I ate a torpedo dog, popcorn, a coke , and a lemonade. By the 4th inning the skies were clear, with a slight breeze. It was a great day at the ballpark.

He Did It Again!

Tiger Woods!
He birdied the 18th hole (again) to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational for the 7th time.
The dude is simply ridiculous. It is amazing to watch how he gets better when the pressure gets heavier.

It's good to have him back on tour.
Well done Tiger!

Done-zo

It's official, I can't win either of the two brackets I am entered in.
I admit that this angers my competitive self, but I love the madness all the same.

I cannot wait to see how many Michigan State fans will pack into Ford Field for the in-state Final Four in Detroit.

Out of the clear blue

I was laying in bed Sunday night, and God brought my buddy Blaine to mind. Blaine and I went to India on a mission trip together four summers ago. We don't talk much, but the twice a year conversations keep us up to date. So when God brought him to my mind, I knew it was time to give the boy a holler.

Well, he beat me to the punch. Monday afternoon, while sitting in Systematic Theology, my phone starts buzzing. Sure enough, it's Blaine. I finally got a hold of him this evening. Turns out, he is on his way to Iraq for a seven month tour of duty.

So I want to ask that you would be praying for my friend, as well as all f the other thousands of folks serving around the world.

Blaine, take care of yourself my friend!

Day Four

My first bad day.
I was 4-3.
I continue to lode the close ones.
I fell back a little in my bracket polls,
but I am still within striking distance.

Day Three

I was 7-1 on day three. Unfortunately, my one loss was the Oklahoma game. I picked them to lose to Clemson. Michigan beat Clemson in the first round, and was not the match-up problem that I thought Clemson would create for Oklahoma.

The bad news is my bracket took a hit.
The good news is that Oklahoma is on the sweet Sixteen.

Day Two

I mirrored my first day with an 8-4 showing.
Not all that great, but I didn't kill my chances.

Day One

My record after day one is 12-4.
I had three losses by a combined 8 points (Butler, VCU, and Clemson).
I need a good day two to catch back up.

New clothes

My softball team won the league championship Tuesday night, and all I got was a totally awesome T-shirt. I don't know who decided to replace trophies with t-shirts, but I want to shake his or her hand. I love a good championship shirt.

Our team game from a run down in the bottom of the 7th to clutch victory. Mad props to Chuck who drove in the winning run with two outs in the last inning.

It was great season. everyone contributed. I love them boys.

March=Madness

The ball has tipped...and I am in sports heaven. Few sports events are more precious to me than the NCAA basketball tournament.
I have my bracket filled out 5-2 thus far) and I watching like my life depends on it.

I'll keep you posted on my record.

Productivity

I recently read that a Nasa study found that their pilots were 34% more productive after they took a nap. Figuring that whatever is good for Nasa is good enough for me, I just took a nap, and I am about to jump on a full night of studying.

My hands are screamin'

I was going to blog something very inspirational, but I have been making note cards for almost four hours. My hands hurt. I am done for the night.

See ya tomorrow.

Are you really good

Each day, as I walk the halls of the main office at the Sheriff's office, I constantly exchange pleasantries with co-workers. "Mornin," Good afternoon," and "how are you?" are some of my favorites. If not careful, I always answer the last question with a resounding "great!" But if I get honest, I don't always feel great. I just don't want to let on that something may be going on or that I am less than good.

So that got me thinking, do other people do the same thing? I believe the answer is an overwhelming yes. And that begs the question, why?

First conclusion: Asking how someone is doing is many times a formality, not genuine interest. We don't answer honestly because when we do people look at you like they want to poke their eye out. Our culture wants to appear to be nice without the effort required.

Second conclusion: Staying surface level can cause you to miss out on blessings. This morning, a worker friend of mine asked me how I was, to which I almost blurted fine, but I realized that I wasn't fine; actually, I felt a little down, so I answered a "little down." She stopped what she was doing and proceeded to bless my socks off. Her encouragement put my focus back on God (away from me) and completely changed my frame of mind for the rest of the day.

So my encouragement to you is to be genuine. When you ask someone how they are doing, mean it. And when you are asked the same question, answer honestly. You never know how God will utilize that short exchange.

Bamboozled by the Strawberry Festival

The dreaded call came at 2:37 pm this afternoon. Our softball games had been canceled for the Strawberry festival that takes place in Plant City every year. That's right. You heard correctly. My next shot at recreational immortality was put on hold for short cake.

Everything is alright, though. I capitalized on the free time and worked on note cards for the THREE tests I have this Monday.

Another Week...Another Blessing

Life moves fast!
It feels like every other day is Sunday.

I am usually a proponent of time moving quickly. But what I have realized is that when life rushes by, I spend so much of my attention on trying to keep up, that I fail to recognize and appreciate the blessings God is pouring out upon me.

This past week I had a down in the dumps, freak out moment. And my wife was there to listen, build me up and pray for me. I could easily go on from that moment, concerned solely on whatever is next on my to do list. But instead, every time I can slow down and remember that moment, I can give praise to God for being faithful and providing such a great wife.

When we slow down to see the blessings in life, we gain better perspective and we're in a better position to give praise to God.