GETTING CLOSE

Only a few more days until what I expect to be one of the best summers ever. I will provide details as it happens, of course. First up, Memphis in May music festival with some friends. Rockin' out with Ben Folds Friday night!

BUSY WEEKEND

Very busy and eventful weekend for the Lewis crew.
Parents came to visit. We had a good time. We hit up the Dixon, Putt Putt, the Peabody, Rendezvous, and Mud Island.
Today Erin has a wedding shower and we have Life Group.
Also, we named our new preacher at Sycamore View.

CUBS VS. CARDS

The St. Louis Cardinals are the main rivals for my Cubbies. They play in the same division and the "friendly rivalry" has heated up in recent years as the Cubs have been more of a threat in the division. Much is made of the length of time it has been since the last Cubs World Series. So, we have to find positives. This is one that helps with Cardinal fans who are friends and family:

SILVER LINING

After last night's defeat a dark cloud hangs over Memphis. It's not as bad for me, though. My wife and I were in the same ESPN bracket competition. The determining factor was last nights game, so I had dual interests in the game. If Kansas won, then I won the competition, but my current hometown team would lose. A team I have watched live this year (my advance scouting was lacking since I thought they would lose to Texas). I decided I would sacrifice the competition and root for Memphis, even though it would mean Erin would beat me in a sports related activity. All my hours of watching ESPN would be for naught.
I had all but conceded defeat and began to face what would be humiliation for an indefinite amount of time. Then it all changed and the universe has rightfully restored itself (how self-centric is that?) Now, I have scored higher than Erin and won all my facebook brackets. So, although the hometown team lost, I still gained. She is taking me out for smoothies tonight. The dark cloud that hangs over Memphis has a silver lining for me.

WEDDING WEEKEND

This weekend I spent time in Kentucky doing wedding stuff. Here are some pictures:








Chattin' with the groom.










This is me with my beautiful bride.

MAUNDY THURSDAY: ALSO GOOD

Maundy or Holy Thursday is today. This day in easter week gets less attention, I think. Although, I must confess that I haven't paid attention to any part of Easter week before last year. There were some pretty important events that happened on this day leading up to Good Friday and ultimately Easter. This day commemorates the Last Supper between Jesus and the Apostles, the washing of the Apostles feet, Jesus' mental struggles in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the betrayal of Judas. They are all very important aspects of the last week of Jesus' life and ultimately very important to us as Christians.
The instructions of remembering Jesus through a meal is something that is done by Christians today. Jesus' servant leadership of washing feet sets the bar high for His followers as we strive to be the people we were created to be.
The scene of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane gives us a glance of how human and divine Jesus was while on earth. His human nature wanted to be protected from the sacrifice he must make for us. However, his devotion to God the Father gives us the example of following God's will, even when it hurts.
The most tragic event of this day is the betrayal of Jesus. Judas Iscariot's love of money should be a warning to us that earthly temptation is out there and can cause us to turn our back of Jesus. If an Apostle, a man who was with Jesus daily can be seduced, so can we. Tragically, Judas could not forgive himself and ended his life after realizing the wrong he had committed.
I think Holy Thursday is a day worth spending some time meditating on. It is a huge part of the narrative of God.

GO 'CATS

Last time the 'Cats played Marquette we were a 1 and D-Wade triple-doubled us out of the tourney. No expectations this year, UK and their fans are just glad to be there.
Speaking of expectations. Last year I picked 15 of 16 sweet sixteen teams.

DON'T FORGET TO WEAR (BE) GREEN

March 17th is St. Patrick's day. The day people wear green to avoid being pinched (or avoid wearing green if being pinched is more your bag). So on this celebration of greenness I thought it would be good to incorporate another kind of green. Environmentalism. Here are a few easy ways to be more green:
1. Don't use shopping bags. Bring your own or carry the item out.
2. Recycle. Googleing recycle centers in your area is sure to give some locations to take your paper, cans, and plastics.
3. Unplugging unused electronics when not in use saves earth resources and money.

LET IT SNOW

This weekend reminded me how much I enjoy playing in the snow.


Friday afternoon we got a good snow in Memphis. After a good snowball fight Jacob, Glen, and I built a snowman as you can see.





















This picture shows the remnants of Saturday. I enjoyed a time of sledding and snowball fighting Saturday afternoon.

CULTURAL GARB

MOTIVATION

What motivates people? This thought came from a conversation I had about the election. I brought up the question of why a person ever want to run for president. Do they run because they really feel like they can make a difference, or is it an ego, narcissism thing? When I step back and view the election process it seems like a race to win and then it's over. The process of winning the race is no-holds barred, then it is over. The point of the whole thing is just to win.
This makes me think, more importantly, what motivates me to do what I do. Do I do things for personal victories, or boosts of my ego? I hope not. I want to do things to make a difference, not just to say I have done them. I hope my motivation of service is to make a positive outcome for other people.

BASEBALL: ALREADY AND NOT YET

I live close to a high school and the other day I heard a couple "pings". I realized that they were bats and they were practicing softball. Yes I know, it was only softball, but still I felt for the first time that baseball season is coming. Today I have been been encouraged further that the season is approaching. I surfed over to cubs.com and saw that they were in the middle of a game! A spring training live box score was before my eyes. Spring training is already underway. It felt even better when I saw 8-1 Cubs. Some people say baseball season is too long. Well, I really like baseball and cannot get enough. Can't wait for the real season to start. I got MLBTV for Christmas it is going to be sweeeeeettt.

I AM NO POLITICIAN, BUT...

First of all, I can't believe that I am writing a blog on politics.
I am no politician but, I can get the feeling of a properly played political tactic. After all, that is how my age brackets votes are won. It is no doubt Obama is a favorite in my demographic. He is trendy, nice smile, warm, and is not negative. He offers us "hope". Our generation is not really sure what we want, but it isn't what we have right now, and he provides the "something different" attitude.
His opponent, Hillary however has all of a sudden gotten dirty. I remember little from the elections Bill was a part of. All I remember is Bill's appearance on MTV playing some jazz music. Good tactic for the young generation, let's elect someone cool. Along the same lines as Obama, laid back, approachable. Hillary is more rigid, and now the only platform I am aware of with her is Obama's speeches are empty and he is persona only. Anytime I see a Hillary headline, it always involves Obama. The alternate is not true, other than the occasional article defending himself.
This is a very bad idea for a woman. Men can be strong willed and could probably get away with more aggressive mudslinging (although I still am turned off by it). For a woman though, to be strong willed with men and aggressively stating her mind leads to a description anyone in politics (or in general) wants to avoid. I think the description is a um... witch, or something that sounds like that.
If it is possible for a woman to win the Whitehouse, confident compassion is it I guess, I don't really know. I do know one thing though-- the description of a strong willed, aggressive woman is not it.

THIS IS THE SONG THAT NEVER ENDS....

Okay, this may well come to an end someday, but this website is kinda cool for looking up any song you can think of and playing it for free. Just a little passing on of info to brighten your day. Click here to enjoy.

YOUTUBE ME