LEAVING FOR ZAMBIA

Hey friends and family, I am leaving for Zambia this minute (assuming the plane takes off in time). I am looking forward to this opportunity to serve in a place that is outside my comfort zone. I appreciate prayers as I am traveling and while I am there. The travel is going to be gruesome, as I have never traveled overseas before. I hope to update anyone who is interested in the happenings of the trip on the Zambia Mission Blog. I am hoping my Cubs will still be in first place after my 27 day absence from watching them.
Also, Erin and I will be apart for 10 days. That is the longest we have been apart since we have been married. That will be difficult. Prayers for that are welcomed.
I am excited about my chance to experience another culture and broaden my horizons. I want it to be more than that though. I want to help these people and be a servant first.

CHANGING MOTIVATIONS

A while back I wrote a post about motivations. I am trying to do a better job recognizing the motivations behind my actions. It has been challenging and difficult in itself.
My next question is how to change motivations when they are not proper. I know that I should do things without expecting praise. How do I prevent myself from acting with the expectation of praise in the back (or front) of my mind? How do I change my mindset from, doing something just to have it done or for recognization rather than doing it to expand minds, or out of pure service.

BLUETOOTH .02

CHINGRISH

WHAT ARE YOUR LIFE LABELS?

Blogger allows the blogger to label their respective posts in a way that defines what the blog is about. Looking at my labels it appears that I choose to write about things the most that deal with my wife and sports. My blog is not necessarily a representation of my life the way a journal would be. I do not therapeutically write everything on my heart in my blog, so my labels are not necessarily an indicator of my actions, thoughts, etc.
If I had to label my life what would it look like? If each of my actions were labeled and grouped together what would accumulate the most "life labels". How we spend our energy is worth pondering. Service, entertainment, self-fulfillment?

CHINGRISH

Often imitated...sometimes not well...

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.