Journey to the Cross

Today is Good Friday. What does this day mean to you? What does it mean to most people?

This is what Good Friday means to me.....







Pretty heavy stuff. Praise God for sending His Son Jesus to die a death not deserved! He did it to pay my debt of sin that I owed, but couldn't pay. You can't pay the debt you owe, either. And we all owe a debt because we sin.

This is the message that I shared tonight at Journey to the Cross, an interactive walk and "tour" through Jerusalem as it would have been the week Jesus died. (The week we now refer to as "Holy Week" - Palm Sunday through Easter Sunday.)

Here is a photo of most of the cast from tonight.

This is my Dad. He was the Centurion who stood at the cross and told the story of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. If there had been voting, he would have won for best dressed and for best story. He was great! I was the character at the stop on the tour after his, and many people came to my stop very emotional. It was a very realistic portrayal.

As we celebrate this holiday weekend, remember that it's more than just another "holiday" with time off of school and work. Jesus died... but then HE AROSE! Jesus isn't dead! He lives! That's something to celebrate on Easter!

Reflection: National JOSC

In a "previous life" (read: the teenage years) I was an accomplished sport pistol shooter. I still enjoy picking up my guns and having fun at the range. But for several years, I practiced daily. I gave up weekends to go to matches and competitions all over the state of Florida. I was pretty good. (I used to Google myself to look up match scores and see my name in rankings published around the internet.) It became a prideful thing, and I knew that ultimately it wasn't my life's calling. So I gave up my Olympic dream. But not before I made it to the National Junior Olympic Shooting Championships three times during my high school years. 

[Above, you see me on the line at the OTC and sitting happy in my Olympic dream.]

I'm recalling this now because currently it's the week before Easter. And one year, my family sat in an airport on Easter Sunday because we were returning from the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs after one of my matches. I am so thankful for my family and for what they mean to me! My parents totally supported my sport of choosing, to the point of paying for my expensive hobby, and turning a trip out West into a family vacation so we could all be together on Easter, even if it meant being in airports and on planes. 

Through all the craziness of each of our lives, my family is a constant. I don't deserve the amazing people that God has blessed me with. Thank you, Jesus!

Well, from thoughts on Easter, to shooting, to family... that's my life. I love it.

What a Weekend!

This weekend was certainly an interesting one! For most of the weekend, we didn't have internet, cable TV, or our home phone! Today they finally got it working again for us. Phew! It's challenging to function without e-mail these days.

On Saturday, it was RAYS game time! I'm a Major League Baseball addict, as ya'll know. The Rays are my AL team, and Saturday was the first game I've made it to this season! The Rays were playing the Twins. We were quite the whole motley crew!

AJ really had to concentrate on taking this picture!
(From top to bottom) Pastor Greg, Sue, Kristi, Me, and AJ!

Kristi and I are big Evan Longoria fans. (Who isn't?!) Evan's on the DL right now, but he was presented with his Gold Glove award from last season. We were pretty excited to be there for that, since I hadn't even realized the presentation would be that day!

The game ended with a walk-off win! Johnny Damon came up with a hit at the perfect time, bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th! GO RAYS! (Our cowbells were clanging loudly at that point!)

Here you see the team mobbing Damon after he rounded first base.

I'm sure I'll be heading down to the Trop for more games this season, but the first one of the season is usually the sweetest!