That Time of Year

As the school year begins to wind down, my schedule seems to be filled from day to night. This weekend is going to be one jammed packed weekend. There won't be much time to just relax, take a deep breathe, a do nothing. Here is a brief rundown of the weekend to come:

Today:
6:00 DCGO Retreat

Saturday:
Until 1:00 DCGO Retreat
Home to get a few quick things finished
4:00 Hanah's Birthday Party
Somewhere from 6-8 an open house to attend

Sunday:
Church
Open Houses

Should be a fun weekend, but really, really busy. One of the reasons I am looking forward to summer is just slowing down my pace to some degree. I am a pretty busy person and it seems like I am on the go all the time. I am ready just to relax and not be so rushed all the time. Anyone relate?

Student Ministries- A True Joy

I have the privilege of working with some incredible students at NMC. This has been a fantastic year again in our youth group. God has moved in miraculous ways. Every Wednesday night our gym is packed with students who are passionately seeking the face of God. What is really amazing to me is that these students are far more ahead of me at this age spiritually. I often wonder what it would have been like to have a youth group like this when I was in high school.

Last night was a little different twist. It was "The first meeting of next school year." We invited this year's 8th graders to join us and this year's seniors were not there. It was pretty cool to see a student introduce each incoming freshman and all the upper class men clapping for them to feel welcome. I don't know if you can remember entering high school, but I remember being pretty nervous. Last night was a great beginning to next school year.

I am looking forward to getting to know some of these students at Summer Camp this year which will take place in July. This summer is going to be very exciting! I am a part of a mission team going to Washington, D.C. in June to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to those that are lost. I had the opportunity to go to New York City last summer and it was one of the biggest spiritual moments of my life. I am really excited to see how God is going to use our team in D.C. Please pray for our team as we travel, as we are in the parks sharing his word, and that we all will step out of our box and really be on fire for him!

I am really going to miss the seniors as I really have gotten close to many of them. This senior class has a lot of strong leaders who are going to make a difference in the world for Christ. Thank you all for an amazing four years in the NMC ministry and I am looking forward to seeing what God is going to do in your lives.

Summer Official Start: 4 PM June 6th

I am so ready for summer. Summer is one of the best times of the year for me. Below I will list some really exciting things that I am looking forward to beginning in a few weeks:

• Spending a lot of time with my amazing girlfriend



• Vacation on the beach



• Mission trip to DC



• Summer Camp



• Lots of days at the beach or pool



• Spending time with family and friends



• yard work



• softball



• sleeping in



• working out

These are just a few......I am so excited!

The Champs!

Champions

Last night was the championship game of our basketball league at the Elkhart Sports Center. We were going up against the number 1 seed, the Killer Bees, who haven't lost a game all year long. I knew this was going to take a great effort by my team to even stay in the game against them. This was a team who had a lot of confidence going into the game. It showed in warm-ups that they were expecting to beat us.

Let's just say my team showed up in a big way! We took a four point lead into halftime behind some gutsy performances by everyone. Our center, Aaron McDowell, twisted his ankle right before halftime so that was a big concern. I got a really bad cramp in my calf and I played through pain the whole second half.

The second half was some of the best ball we have played all year. We took a ten point lead with about four minutes to play. At that point, it looked like the upset was really alive. However, never count out the Killer Bee's, as they stormed back to take a 1 point lead with 50 seconds left. At that point, I took an inbounds pass and drilled a three in the corner to put us up by two. The Killer Bee's then missed some crucial shots at the end and I put the game away hitting free throws to help capture a huge 59-55 win!

This was one of the best games I have every been associated with, including all my high school and college games. I am very thankful that I had the chance to play with a great group of guys! Thanks Aaron, Robby, Dustin, John, Mike for allowing me to be a part of this. This was a great game that will go down as a classic! The DUCKS are Champions!!!! Thanks to all of our fans for coming out and supporting us last night, it was awesome!

Final 2

Tonight is the final showdown of American Idol. David Archuleta vs David Cook. What are your thoughts? Who will win?

I am so bummed I am going to miss the show tonight because of my basketball game. I should be able to watch some of the final show tomorrow night.

One thing is for sure....a David will win! My vote is going for David Archuleta. Humble kid, great singer, big career ahead of him.

Team Updates

It has been awhile since I have updated how my teams are doing. So, with much enthusiasm, here is a recap:

The Ducks- My basketball team, who has been together since March has really done well. We have only lost three games and won last week in the semi-finals. Tomorrow night is the championship game against the Killa B's, who is the number one seed. This has been a great group of guys to be around and we have done really well in our first year together. If you aren't doing anything tomorrow at 7, come out and support the Ducks!

Softball Team- Well, we have played six games to this point in the spring, and we are 6-0. This is a great start and I am really looking forward to a fun summer of softball.

Tomorrow night is a little frustrating for me. I have a double header softball game as well as my championship basketball game. This won't be a hard choice however as we are chasing a title in hoops!

Mother's Day

Yesterday we celebrated a very important day, Mother's Day. I had the opportunity to spend some quality time with my Mom this past weekend. Spending time with my Mom is always an enjoyable thing and a very special time. In looking back on my life, every year that goes by, I begin to see more and more of how my Mom has influenced my life. Here are just a few of the many things my Mom has done for me:

• She has always been a prayer warrior for me. She has prayed for me when things are going well, and when hard times have hit my life. I have appreciated her Christ-like love for me being a strong Christian woman of God.
• She attended thousands of sporting events of mine through my life. Even though she might of rather gone shopping, worked with her flowers, etc., she still sacrificed her time for me.
• She has always been one of my biggest cheerleaders. This includes the area of sports, coaching, whatever I was doing at the time.
• Her unconditional love at all times, no matter what the circumstance.
• A Godly role model growing up in the word of God. Just by the example she sets as far as reading her bible and praying regularly.

These are only a few things why I love my Mom so much! She is truly special to me and I treasure her so much!