Contrary to popular belief...

I'm not dead, and neither is this blog, though I'm not necessarily sure how you would have been able to tell recently. It's crazy to think I've gone a month without posting. Allow me to give you the dime tour of the month.

Sunday, March 15th - I led (note, I didn't say "preached") at CrossWalk

Sunday, March 22nd - We had our first church softball practice. I had a sniffle and a tickle in my throat that I THOUGHT were signs of the beginning of my typical week or so of draining sinuses that seems to accompany the coming of spring for me in recent years. Realized the next morning, however, that it was actually a last attack from cold season. I slogged through most of the week and was feeling better just in time to pack up and get ready for...

Friday, March 27th through Monday, March 30th - The annual pilgrimage to Clearwater, Florida and the Phillies spring training. The mood was a triumphant one this year, and it was great to be down in the warm weather celebrating the return of baseball season. We spent a frustrating (due to 30 MPH winds) day on the golf course as well. All in all a great trip, and we got back just in time for me to fight through my sunburn and spend a very busy week preparing for...

Saturday, April 4th - The Bible quizzing tournament that I run every year. We were at a new church this year, with, unfortunately, our smallest field ever. However, it was a great facility with a very helpful host church. Everything ran smoothly, and I spent less time than ever on setup/teardown stuff both before and after the tournament. Of course, the trophy shop forgot to attach ribbons to most of the medals I gave out (you know, the things you actually use to hang them around people's necks), and we had a snafu with the individual scores that I'll have to correct. All and all, though, a very fun, but very long day. Ordinarily I'd kick back and chill the whole next day, but that wasn't an option because...

Sunday, April 5th - Headed south (though not THAT far south) for a family Easter dinner (mom's side). Came back for CrossWalk, and then headed home to watch the Phillies open their defense of their World Series championship, which didn't go very well. Luckily, baseball has a 162 game season, which leads me to...

Wednesday, April 8th - I took the afternoon off from work and went with a friend to see the Phillies game, before which they hand the World Series ring ceremony, something I just HAD to see my own eyes. It was a totally awesome experience, and it seemed the game itself was going to be a letdown, with the Phillies trailing 10-3 and looking at an 0-3 start, until they score 8 runs in the bottom of the 7th, with nothing more than walks, singles, and a HBP. Easily the most bizarre rallies I've ever seen, and the wildest comeback I've seen live.