Leader Retreat

This last weekend was a great time. I along with 6 of our leaders left the heat for the Arizona high country.  We spent 3 days up in Strawberry, AZ. It was beautiful to get away and hang with some close friends. Ministry can be hard, but it makes it easier when you have good people surrounding you. Volunteers are what keeps the church floating. Thank you so much to james, kim, matt, steven, ally, and my beautiful wife. The weekend was great and I love you guys. 

When was the last time you played in the rain? This weekend we played in the rain. Not just sprinkles coming down, but it was a serious down pour. The rain was coming down in buckets, and it was AWESOME!! By the time we got back to the cabin we were all drenched with huge smiles on our faces! Thank you!

beautiful rain

Baseball Fever!!

Baseball has had a very special place in my life. Growing up I was like many kids in the sense that I wanted to be a Pro baseball player. I really wanted to play ball my whole life. I played in high school. My sophomore year I started as the catcher on my JV team. Then my junior year I was devastated, I got cut from my high school team. I cried for 3 hours straight that night. Thanks to  buddy of mine, I decided to go out for the team again my senior year. I figured if I didn’t I would regret it for the rest of my life. I ended up starting at 2nd base that season!!

All that said, I love baseball.

Last week, I had the opportunity to see 2 of the most important places in the history of baseball. My first stop was in Cooperstown, NY. This is the home of the Baseball Hall of Fame.  WOW! This place is amazing. Just seeing the plaques of great players like: Babe Ruth, Gerhig, Dimaggio, Musial, Banks, Schmidt, Gwynn, Mantle, and I could go on for days. Seeing the bat that Ruth hit his called shot with in the 32 World Series in Wrigley Field. Seeing the shoes that Ricky Henderson wore as he stole his record base. I even got to see a picture of Andre “the hawk” Dawson saying good bye to his faithful right field bleechers at Wrigley. I want to make a case for Dawson. He must be in the Hall! Seriously, his stats are good enough, he is a former MVP, and he is the man. My trip to Cooperstown was unbelievable, I have a renewed respect for Americas past time. Thank you Cooperstown.

As if that was not enough, I spent last Wednesday at Fenway Park in Boston. The smell of dirty Yawkey Way, the sausages grilling, the Boston accent flying around everywhere. As my wife and I walked into the stadium I was like a kid on Christmas morning, I walked down the tunnel up to the field and it was magical. There I was standing in Fenway. I walked down to the Sox bullpen and watched Dice-K throw in the pen. This field was magnificent. The only bad thing, was the weather. We were stuck in the direct sunlight on a 90 – 90 day (degrees – humidity). We got to watch the Sox murder the twins 18 – 5. It turned out to be a great day to watch a game. Any day at Fenway is  a great day.  

Thank You Baseball. On top of that, I got to watch something I won’t forget, Josh Hamilton in the Home Run Derby. It was amazing.

Fenway Park