Hot, Hot HOT!!!

I know, last weekend I was complaining about the "chilly" weather. It was actually a beautiful weekend. I was still able to lay out by the pool and work on my tan. I was only out for about an hour before I felt myself beginning to burn then went inside. Even though the air was on the cool side, the full sunshine is still quite intense. This weekend, however, it will be near 90! The good news though, is that the humidity will be way down (less than 50%). There's been much talk about the dry air and how it increases the threat for brush fires. While I understand their concern, I'm still not complaining. The low humidity makes SUCH a difference.

Last Game

This weekend I attended my last Tiger game of the season. It was a cool day (62 at gametime), but PLENTY of sunshine (it was nearly 70 by the end of the game). While I didn't have any guests with me this weekend, I didn't let it hinder me from having a good time. In fact, I rather enjoyed it. I could come and go on my own schedule. Like halfway through the game when I decided to leave my regular seat and go sit on the berm in left field. There I could just lay in the full sunshine (and the berm just happened to block most of the wind, too). What of course made it a good game was the 4-0 victory over the Washington Nationals. The Tigers are off to a great start. They are 16-11 which puts them in 3rd place in the American League and tied for 4th in the Spring Training Grapefruit League. Will the Tigers actually have a winning season this year???

The Last Cool Down?

Another cold front moved through yesterday. I hope this is the last we will see of the cool temperatures. I'm sure you don't want to hear me complain because I'm sure you'd all wish for these "cool" temperatures. I woke up to only 62 degrees! Tonight, it's actually supposed to get down into the upper 40s. And it will only be 70 for the game tomorrow (but it's still supposed to be clear & sunny - perfect for tanning). But considering that it has been in the 80s (and near 90 on some days), these temperatures are "relatively" much cooler. I'm really not complaining. This weekend will actually be PERFECT weather. Before long, it's going to be so hot and muggy that I will wish it to be only 70.

A Baseball Weekend

This weekend was a baseball filled weekend. I attended two, yes TWO, Tigers baseball games. The first was on Saturday against the Dodgers. It was a beautiful day, not one cloud in the sky. Our seats were like 6 or 7 rows right behind home plate. We were up 2-0 which included a LONG GONE home run by Craig Monroe. I thought we had clinched the win, that is, until the 9th inning when with 2 errors, we lost the lead and the game 3-2. It was disappointing, but I quickly got over it. It's just entertainment and I had a good time.

On sunday, we only had to travel as far as Kissimmee to watch the game at the home of the Houston Astros. Their stadium is a lot smaller than Joker Marchant Stadium, but there were still plenty of seats available. This game however, we were able to pull off a 5-2 victory over the Astros!

It's Baseball Season!

Yesterday, I kicked off my 2006 Detroit Tigers Spring Training baseball season down in Lakeland, Florida for a game against the Toronto Blue Jays. It was a beautiful day, 81 degrees with a few clouds to keep me from getting too hot at times. I still got a sunburn, even though I put on sunscreen. It's not bad though. It doesn't hurt, it's just a little pink and it will eventually turn to tan. The only bad thing was that they lost 3-1, but it was still fun. Those 3 runs were scored in the first 3 innings and we held them for the rest of the game. I have 3 games left this season (two this coming weekend). GO TIGERS!

Immortal Combat

This was the theme for the LCMS Florida/Georgia District High School Youth Gathering this past weekend in Jacksonville. I'm curious to know if other districts had this same theme (though I'm sure their gatherings aren't until the summer). We had 11 teenagers (plus two other adults who liked to act like teenagers at times). The focus of the gathering was all about spiritual warfare and how to adequately arm ourselves. Our weapon is the "Sword of the Spirit", i.e. the Bible. One of the fun things we did was to design "war paint" on someone in our small group studies.


For our servant event, everyone went to a local park to assemble and distribute boxes of food to needy families.

This was the largest gathering to date for the district - 550 kids! I'm sure to other larger LCMS districts, this number may not seem all that impressive, but for our small district, it's pretty good. We maxed out the Radisson Riverwalk Hotel & Convention Center in Jacksonville. A good time was had by all, and I pray that the kids walked away with a new perspective.

Youth Gathering

This weekend I am helping to chaperone the LCMS Florida/Georgia District Youth Gathering in Jacksonville. We have 11 kids attending (8 boys/3 girls) from Trinity. It should be a lot of fun. I'll have more to report when I get back.