Battle of the Bands

One of the local christian radio stations is having a battle of the praise bands and the winning band gets a $10,000 sound system upgrade. Here is the link to Central's submission to the contest. Please go visit and leave comments on the video, Go...Now....Run....FASTER.......THANKS!!!!

http://www.ugclocal.com/wvfj/25148964.html

Know Sweat - Part One

So I promised some posts about my trip to Memphis and here is my first.
We all arrived at Central at 7am to get everyone loaded and on the road. No incident here, My van had most of the boys and all the luggage.

Chasity had mostly girls and Ryckie had our supplies in his truck. Since I was the one with the GPS, I was designated as the leader. We packed our lunches and fueled up and hit the road. A few hours later we are cruising through downtown Birmingham, AL. I knew that there was a fairly new section of highway that runs from Memphis to Birmingham and as I was looking for it, the GPS locked up for a second and I ended up missing my turn. So here we go, cruising through inner city Birmingham trying to pick up a highway that I later discover is so new, it is not yet on the GPS map.

After a few minutes of searching, I give up and just follow the GPS and I am on the same country road that I remember driving nearly 4 years ago after my wedding. After an hour or so of searching for a somewhat civilized settlement to stop for restrooms and lunch, I decide that a gas station is going to be the best option, so we unload in the blazing heat and enjoy our packed lunch.

After lunch is over, we hit the road again and finally pick up US 78 and ride straight into Memphis. Total trip time is right at about 7 hours. Oh and there may have been a u-tun involved somewhere in Memphis while we were looking for Christian Brothers University, but honestly I don't remember.

We all pile out of the van into the blazing heat and wait for Ryckie and Chasity to return with our room assignments. I end up with 5 guys in my suite. 1 high school student, Andrew (Ryckie's son), and 4 middle school students, Andrew, Juan, Brandon, and Daniel. If you are not familiar with Ignite, all the students get nicknames so all the guys above will now be referenced as follows, G-Force, Gabby, Hammerhead (story to come later), Tattletale, and Sharpie.

The sponsors attend a leaders meeting, and then it is time for dinner and the worship service that night. Worship was good, but our kids were "too cool" for the games. So to close out day one, I will share a few pics of our very humble living quarters. And yes, I do have spider-man sheets and pillow, and a Lighting McQueen blanket. I know I am cool.

Home Sweet Home

I am finally home. After roughly 800 miles round-trip and countless hours in a van full of middle schoolers and a couple high schoolers, I am home. This past Monday I said good-bye to my family and I embarked on an amazing journey to one of the most poverty stricken cities in the United States, Memphis Tennessee. Me, and my dear friends Chasity and Ryckie took 21 kids to Know Sweat and to say we got to know sweat is an understatement. I got to know an amazing woman, some awesome kids, and a couple of outstanding leaders. God opened my eyes and broke my heart. God made me cry, something He has not done in a very long time. There is so much to tell you about this trip that I can't fit into my blog, so starting tomorrow, I will try to write once a day for a week letting you know about this wild adventure. But before any of that, I have to say thank you.

Thank you Ryckie for being the amazing leader that you are. I have learned volumes just by watching you.

Thank you Chasity for being a great friend and putting up with me and my tendency to take things over even when it's not my place.

Thank you Matt and Tom for being great hosts and exhibiting a true attitude of Godly servant-hood to me, and everyone in our group. You guys were always smiling and made the whole week a smooth week, even when we faced some challenges.

Thank you Ignite kids, I love all of you guys and I would not have traded anything in the world for this experience with you. Andrew, Gabby, Katie, and Emily, you were my go-to guys. You all inspired me and I am so very glad that I got to know all of you better. I look forward to living up to my new nickname in future Ignite trips. I may not be able to be a sponsor right now, but I will always be there for all of you.

Finally, I have to thank my wife. Faith, you prayed that God would reveal himself to me in some way on this trip and He answered your prayers in an indescribable way. You were willing to spend a week at home alone without me and most importantly you missed me. I am so happy to be back home with you, I missed you so much.

Check back tomorrow for more about my Know Sweat experience and see how God has disturbed me in such an amazing way.

Fight Night

Nothing is better than a night out with some god friends, good food, and seeing a bunch of grown men beat each other up. Tonight's fights are now over and most of the results are not surprising. But what is surprising to me is Forrest Griffin's upset win by decision over Rampage Jackson. Jackson came out strong in the first round but after Forrest took out his left knee, he never looked the same. From the second round on, it was Forrest's fight to loose, and he stuck to his plan of keeping Rampage at a distance and made the right moves at the right time. I hate seeing a title fight go to the judges, but the decision was clear, Forrest beat Rampage and it was not even close. So there is a new king on the hill. How long can he stay there.

Here are a few pics from tonight.

I swear Greg is not drunk......or is he?
The ring girls must be on TV, Adam just can't seem to pull himself away for a picture.
The whole crew.....You missed a good time if you were not there. Come join us next time.

UFC 86

I promised them, so here they are. My predictions for tonight's UFC 86. We are only going to cover three of the fights here, so lets get started.

Gabriel "Napao" Gonzaga (8-3-0) Vs. Justin "The Insane 1" McCully (8-3-2)

Will is calling this fight for Gonzaga. Gonzaga has incredible BJJ skills, and as we've seen with the Crocop fight, he knows how to stand up. I'm sure he's been working on greco-roman since his loss to Couture. I say this fight will go 2 rounds, latest, by submission.

I am going to have to agree with Will and call this fight for Gonzaga, but I do differ on the method. I have a gut feeling this is going to be a ground-and-pound fight all the way. Once McCully is on his back, its all over. Gonzaga takes this one in the first round by TKO - strikes.

Josh "Kos" Koscheck (13-2-0) Vs. Chris "Lights Out" Lytle (35-15-4)

Will - I'm not a Koscheck fan. Lytle is very explosive and I think this fight will go 2 round, latest, by knock-out.

Kevin - I am not much of a Kos fan myself, but its more for personality reasons. I believe that Kos will come into this fight with a huge chip on his shoulder and with something to prove. Unfortunately this will mean Lights Out for Lytle. It will be rough and bloody, but I give it to Koscheck by split decision after 3 solid rounds. This one takes my Fight of the Night pick.

And now for the match we have all been waiting for.

Quniton "Rampage" Jackson Vs. Forrest Griffin

Will - As much as I'd like for Forrest to win, I don't think he has a strong stand up game compared to Rampage. Rampage has knock-out power and has a great wrestling background. Forrest has great endurance, but I don't think this fight will last all five rounds. Forrest's game plan will probably be greco-roman wrestling, trying to neutralize and close the distance on Rampage's fists. I say this fight will go 3 rounds, latest, by knock-out.

Kevin - This match will be Rampage's toughest since he won the title from the Iceman. A lot of people are selling Forrest short on this one. I would love to see him win, and I think he is going to put on a great show, but in the end, Rampage will prove to be just too much for Forrest to handle. Rampage will work hard to keep this fight standing up, and if he does so, I see him winning by KO in the 4th round. If it was not for Forrest's amazing chin, It would be over much sooner. This is Forrest's first 5 round fight, and I believe we will see him run out of steam near the end of the 4th and in turn open himself up for a devastating blow from Rampage. I must make a disclaimer though. Watch out for Forrest if this fight goes to the ground. Taking Rampage down and keeping him down is the key to Forrest winning this fight, but I just don't see it happening.

Well, we are just hours away from the party starting at Buffalo Wild Wings at Stonecrest Mall. come out and enjoy some Wings and catch what is looking to be a good night of fights.

The Song That Changed The World!

And if you don't believe me, ask anyone who grew up in the 80's.

God Is In Control

There are days that just scream that God is in control and there is no way that you can question it. When a job opens up right when you need it, then God speaks through a chance encounter, and when all the pieces just fall in to place, it is impossible to deny God's hand in all of it.

Today, God is screaming at me.