March Madness

What comes to mind when you hear the phrase "March Madness"?  NCAA basketball?  Maybe the
madness that creeps in as winter gets too long and you can't wait for spring to be here?  Whatever you might think of...the first thing that pops into my head is the college basketball tournament.  I admit that I do fill a bracket out trying to predict the winners, and I'll also admit that I'm not very good at it.  Case and point is the fact that my wife and I have been competing against each other year after year to see who does better with their brackets.  We've been married 11 years, we've done a bracket each year, and I have won once.  Yup...I'm 1 for 10, a 10% winning percentage. 
Isaac was asking me about the brackets this year and as I was telling him about this competition, as if it is really even a competition anymore, and I tired to explain to him how hard it was to lose each year and make it look like I was trying to win.  I told him it was important to daddy that mom's self esteem be built up this time of the year and that I had to let her win most of the time.  He wasn't buying it...the kid's 6 and he has already figured out I'm full of it a lot of the time.  I promised him that the honor of the Wohlhuter men was on this years challenge and that him and I combined could take mom of her championship post.  Stay tuned to see what happens.
If you'll engage in a little mental stretching with me we are about to celebrate another kind of tournament victory in a couple months.  Jesus is going to win the ultimate game against sin and death when he is resurrected from the tomb.  As we prepare for the joy of Palm Sunday, the darkness that follows Maundy Thursday and Black Friday, and eventually the greatness that is Easter I want all of us to think about what Jesus' victory means.  How do we say thank you to Jesus for his gift of eternal life and forgiveness that he secured for us so long ago?  Do we live a life that reflects the selflessness that Jesus showed on his journey to the cross?  Does the fact that our freedom has been bought with a price affect how we live our lives?  Easter is certainly a celebration, and it should be a reminder that we are called to live as best we can as lights of the Spirit.  Take these next two weeks and take note of where we could do better, and take note of where we are living a Godly life.  And, if you have some inside tips on the tourny I'll take those too!