Wedding Weekend Preview

I have many things to blog about, but I'm not going to get to it as quickly as I had hoped, so I wanted to share this sneak peak.

Just imagine Funky Town playing as you look at this image.

Youth Villages 5K

This weekend I completed my first official 5K, the Youth Villages 5K. My New Year's Goal has been accomplished and it is only April! There is plenty of time for a few more races this year. [maybe even one of the 15 flyers for races in the next 2 months left on my winshield]

This is the before shot:

And after with the FINISH LINE behind us:

I did run the whole 3.1 miles through a course with many more hills than my training routes. The two mile mark is always a struggle for me, and I was encouraged that the Collierville Middle School band was playing "We are the Champions" as I passed that point.

My official time was 48:46, which is 30 seconds faster per mile than I have run before!

[Thanks to Amy for the pictures!]

Lou's Pizza

Neighborhood Church's Community Groups invaded Lou's pizza again a couple of weeks ago for some pizza and Karaoke.

Some of the singers made Patrick want to drink:

But mostly we just rocked the joint...
And Lucy just looked cute:

Check out the air on that hair!

This video includes my premier Karaoke performance. I'm taking requests for next time so I can practice ahead of time (as if that might help)

2nd Anniversary

Two years ago, my day went from this:

to THIS:

Other than my birthday, today's date is one I will NEVER forget! Two years ago today I was studying abroad in Rome, Italy when I fell and broke both of my leg bones in my right ankle. I had surgery in Italy and spent a week in the hospital. Unfortunately my trip was cut short and I spent the entire summer on crutches and in physical therapy, but it paid off because my ankle is back to normal! (Proof is in the 4 miles I ran yesterday)

My Bracket Wasn't So Bad...

When I wrote this post a couple of weeks ago, I did not expect this to happen:

For the first time in my history of filling out NCAA March Madness brackets, I actually picked the tournament winner! And I picked Kentucky losing to West Virginia! These crucial picks made me the winner of our facebook bracket group(also for the first time ever!)

Tim went down. By 40 points. I expect much more respect when it comes time to smack talk next year.

One moment that I missed live, but have watched replayed many times culminated in this moment:

Robert, our pastor at Neighborhood Church describes the moment well on his blog:

Halfway through the second half West Virginia's Da'Sean Butler twisted his knee and went down in agony. The guy was in both physical and emotional pain, knowing this was his last college game and that he wasn't going to be able to help his team.

At that moment his coach, Bob Huggins, came out and, after yelling at the refs for a moment, knelt down, cradled him in his arms, and began whispering truth to him: that he loved him, his teammates loved him, and things were going to be ok. It was one of the most uncomfortable, yet powerful, moments I've ever witnessed in sports.

Last night Neighborhood Church came together with Cooper Church to celebrate the Resurrection. Bill Ganus and I taught on Luke 15, the story of the two lost sons. I closed with this story, as it gave me a picture of the Father who is in passionate pursuit of us because of His love for us. I am still quite uncomfortable with this kind of intimacy, yet I am extremely grateful for it!

Just another reason I love March Madness!

Rainmakers Faced a Drought

Our team was one-and-done, but we sure did have the most fun! Our first round opponents, Technical Sales only beat us by one point in the lowest scoring match of the tournament. All I contributed to the cause was style, too bad no style points were given.
Clayton (in the headband) scored most of our team's points and now proudly displays his headband on his rearview mirror. That is what I call team pride.

Skatelife Memphis

I will post the results of the Nerf Tournanment soon, but first I have a favor to ask:
Will you go to THIS website and vote for Skatelife Memphis to receive $250,000 from Pepsi to build a skatepark in a neighborhood that is just blocks away from where I am moving in May? You can can set up an account very easily or you can just sign-in using your facebook account, and you can vote once per day until April 30.

Here is an overview of their goals:
Our youth need more positive physical outlets to help learn focus, discipline and to develop a stron sense of self-esteem.

Close to one third of Memphis' children will be diagnosed with childhood obesity. Kids are not getting outside enough. between lack of access to healthy foods and easy access to video games, internet and TV, our youth simply are not being drawn to the outdoors for physical exercise.

To assure that we raise healthy kids, it is critical that our communities build recreational facilities that are a powerful draw for youth. A skate park is this facility and is appropriate for the inner city because equiptment costs are low and it does not require staff or coaches.

If we get this grant, we will be able to construct the first inner city skate park in Memphis. The skate park will make a major lasting impact in the Binghampton community because there are hundreds of children living there that will have walkable access to the park. Please vote!

If you live in Memphis or not, please vote for this project! Thanks!