UFC 143 Predictions

February 4, 2012 by [Fight Pastor]

It is fight night in Vegas and I am here live! I had originally bought a cheap ticket to the fight but, fortunately, ran into Dana White who upgraded my ticket. Here are Brendan, Mike, and I right before Dana hooked us up!

Since the fights are tonight and I am late on my predictions, lets just get to it! Here are my fearless predictions for UFC 143.

Michael Kuiper by 2nd round TKO over Rafael Natal

Stephen Thompson by decision over Daniel Stittgen

Chris Cope by decision over Matt Brown

Edwin Figueroa by first round TKO over Alex Caceres

Matt Riddle by decision over Henry Martinez

Dustin Poirier by decision over Max Holloway

Ed Herman by 2nd round TKO over Clifford Starks

Renan Barao by 2nd round submission over Scott Jorgenson

Josh Koscheck by decision over Mike Pierce

Roy Nelson by decision over Fabricio Werdum

Carlos Condit by 3rd round TKO over Nick Diaz

I went back and forth on the main event. If it goes to a decision I would lean towards Nick Diaz. But, I am going with Condit for the upset. Condit’s win is going to annoy everyone that was hoping for the Diaz vs St. Pierre championship bout.

Let me know what you think.

Having a great time hanging out with the guys! Join us for the Super Bowl in Vegas next year.

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Highway 9 Church Campus Plans

January 31, 2012 by [Fight Pastor]

At our annual Vision Meeting for Canyon Creek Church we debuted our plans for our Highway 9 property. I wanted to show you the plans and explain our thoughts. I think you will be encouraged. Feel free to ask questions in the comment area and I will try to respond as soon as I can.

This is the front of our building and the main entrance. You will notice in the middle, where the entrance is, it is in the shape of an octagon. As you are facing the building; to the left are the children’s areas, behind the octagon in the middle is our large lobby, and to the right is our auditorium (which will also be a full-size gymnasium).

If we walked to the right around the building you would see this. The sign is located on the back of the auditorium.

When you finish rounding the building, you reach the back. You will notice another entrance in the middle. To the left is the auditorium area. To the right is the children’s area on the first floor and our offices on the second floor.

Next you will see the plans for the first floor of the building. The first floor includes the auditorium, the main lobby, and the children’s area. Click on the picture to have it enlarged.

The second floor is where you will find the church offices, some adult classrooms, and the youth area. Again click on the picture to enlarge it.

We are very excited about the future of our church. We believe that this Highway 9 property is the key to what the Lord will do through our church in the years to come. We are believing this building will be completed within 3 years. Join with us and pray for the permitting to go smoothly and the resources to come to enable us to move forward with the development.

It is gonna be good!

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New Shoulder Week 10: Ream and Run

January 31, 2012 by [Fight Pastor]

It is now two and a half months since my ream and run surgery. It is hard to believe 10 weeks have already passed. People used to always warn me that the years fly by the older you get. These 10 weeks prove that. It seems like only yesterday I was trapped in my house, exercising 5 times a day, heavily medicated and watching episodes of the OC. Now, life is almost back to normal.

I didn’t write a blog last week so I am sure you are anxious to know how I am doing. (Please note the sarcasm.)

I am down to doing strength exercises 2 or 3 times a day. This sure beats the range of motion exercises I was having to do 5 times a day. The biggest challenge is the strength exercises take about 40 minutes each time. Fortunately I am hooked on the new version of Hawaii Five 0. One episode lasts the duration of my exercises. You know how when you get really hooked on a show and can’t wait to watch the next episode? If you watch shows while you work out it is great motivation to keep going. So I look forward to doing my exercises so I can catch up on the last bad guy Steve McGarret is gonna bust!

Here are a few pictures of my exercises which give you an idea of my range of motion. (Notice the fighter pose in honor of UFC 143)

Shoulder stretch is looking good.

After the supine stretch (above) I stretch my arm out to the side.

My least favorite strength exercise

This is my row simulation exercise

Stretch and life my arm up on the side

I am down to 2 Advil in the morning for pain. I will occasionally take 1 oxycodone in the afternoon once I have completed my exercises, if my shoulder is very sore. Overall the pain level is about a 4 on a scale of 1-10. The pain is worst during my exercises and a bit sore afterwards but, overall, very much improved from even a couple weeks ago.

The biggest challenge for me is patience. My life is back to normal. I am working full-time again. Driving my car. I don’t notice many restrictions until I tweak my arm in a bad position or I attempt to move my arm in a direction or a way that it is not ready to move. It is in those moments I am reminded that I need to be patient. I was warned this recovery would take up to 12 months. I am only 10 weeks in. I keep reminding myself that I had dramatically improved over 10 weeks and will improved dramatically again over the next 10. But patience is the key. Stick with the exercises and stretches. Don’t lose faith!

As far as sleeping, I am able to sleep on my stomach again. My should gets a little sore right before I wake up but hasn’t been a hindrance in my sleeping for a couple weeks. I would say sleeping is back to as difficult as it was before the surgery. Now it should start steadily improving.

Here is the tricky part for me…..

I leave tomorrow for a 2 week whirlwind adventure. I am in Las Vegas from Wednesday until Sunday. I am there for UFC 143 and to watch the Super Bowl. It is an epic environment! I leave Sunday for Los Angeles. I will be there serving at a board meeting until Tuesday. Then Tuesday I fly to Orlando, FL. The first 2 days are for a conference, then my family arrives and we will spend the next five day hanging out with Mickey Mouse at Disneyworld.

It is going to be a blast but a challenge. I have to travel, carry luggage, and make it through security. Follow me on twitter @fightpastor to hear the updates. Somehow on this two week adventure I have to carve out time 3 times a day to do my exercises.

That should be interesting! I will update you.

My picks: Nick Diaz

My Picks: Patriots

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UFC on Fox 2 Predictions

January 25, 2012 by [Fight Pastor]

It seems the UFC has a fight card every week now. Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining. I love watching fights. It has become difficult to keep up on predictions though. Here are my predictions for this weekends free fights. Too bad Comcast doesn’t have Fuel TV. I am going miss on the pre-lim fights.

Joey Beltran by decision over Lavar Johnson

Charles Oliviera by decision over Eric Wisely

Cub Sawnson by 2nd round TKO over George Roop

Mike Russow by 2nd round KO over John Olav Einemo

Michael Johnson by decision over Shane Roller

Evan Dunham by decision over Nik Lentz

Demian Maia by 2nd round submission over Chris Weidman

Chael Sonnen by decision over Michael Bisping

Rashad Evans by decision over Phil Davis

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Goodbye to 40, Hello to 41

January 17, 2012 by [Fight Pastor]

Yesterday, I turned 41. My 40th birthday was pretty epic. Yesterday was but a blip on the radar. I have been told that 41-49 are fairly anti-climactic. If not unmemorable.  Fortunately, as a blogger, I can’t reflect and record, for posterity sake, my memories from these years. Starting another tradition, every year, the day after my birthday, I am going to look back on the previous year and highlight my top ten memories.

The challenge will be to find 10 highlights from each year. Lets see how I do. These are in no particular order.

  1. Israel.  I have always wanted to take a trip to the Holy Land. For many reasons, money, time, political unrest, I haven’t had a genuine opportunity until this year. It was especially awesome because I was able to share the experience with my wife.
  2. Vacation with Di to Hawaii. Both Di and I turned 40 in 2011. For her 40th birthday I surprised her with a trip to Hawaii. I had arranged everything all the way down to childcare for the kids. Since I only gave Di a week notice it took her several hours to mentally adjust to leaving so soon (and trusting I had really take care of all the details). Everything worked out and it was a blast.
  3. Hawaii (again) with the kids. Di and I had such a great time when we went, we decided to go again a few months later with the kids. In preparation for the trip I watched Lost with the kids. They became Lost fanatics. Besides spending hours at the pool, their favorite past time was visiting all the different Lost sights. Another cool part of the trip is that my parents decided to join us at the last second.
  4. UFC 126 and The Super Bowl in Las Vegas. My brother-in-law and I started a tradition a couple years ago where we take a bunch of guys to the Super Bowl in Vegas. The UFC always has an amazing fight card that weekend too. It is always an incredible experience. In 2011 we went with a great group of guys. It was an awesome time. They say a picture says a 1000 words. I don’t know what this says but it sure reminds me of Vegas.
  5. The New Building. Our church had outgrown our building. We were in desperate need of a place to have services until we were able to complete our construction project on Highway 9. Unfortunately that project was going to take about 4 years. We were out of options. God provided an AMAZING solution. The building by Boeing is a miracle.  
  6. Ream and Run Surgery. If you pain even a remote amount of attention to my blogs or my Facebook you are well aware that I had my shoulder replaced in November.
  7. Advanced Coaching with Church Leader Insights. In October, I began my third year of “coaching” with Church Leader Insights. The previous two years I flew out to New York once a month. This final part takes place in Orlando. The coaching network has made a profound impact on my life and my church.
  8. Cage Fighting in the USA. Several times throughout the year, a film crew from Current TV flew up and interviewed me. They spent several weekends taping our services and talking with fighters I chaplain. In December the episode aired. I have had an average of 5 contacts a day since from people watching the program. It was the most positive portrayal of our church and our Fight Pastor ministry yet. I was very encouraged!  
  9. My daughter made the high school soccer team. I can’t believe that my baby girl is in high school. She has grown up into an amazing young gal (I couldn’t say woman. It was too much.) This year she tried out for her high school soccer team and made the JV squad. She started every game at outside mid. I was so proud. Now I need the years to start slowing down before she goes away to college.  
  10. Travis Kerwin aka Kermit got engaged. I have known Travis since he was in junior high. He turned 30 this year. Travis has been a part of every ministry I have led. He has been a huge part of Fight Pastor. The only thing missing from Travis’s life was Mrs. Kermit. Finally, God moved several mountains and brought Rebecca into his life. I haven’t seen him since. Be careful what you pray for.  
  11. Took Elijah to his first UFC fight. My 11 year old son, Elijah, is just as obsessed with MMA as I am. He watches every fight with me. He knows every fighter. He has been begging me to take him to a fight for a long time. Since Vegas is no place for children he had to wait until the UFC finally came to Seattle. They did this year. Elijah was able to sit ringside!  

I tried to keep it at 10 but couldn’t get it below 11. Having 11 highlights in one year is pretty amazing. Turning 40 has been great. A great year for me, my family, and my church.

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