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On Saturday February 19, 2011 I am jumping into Percy Priest Lake, no matter how low the temperature gets or how much snow is on the ground.

Am I crazy? Probably. But sometimes you’re allowed to be crazy for a good cause.

The reason I’m jumping into potentially icy water is to raise money and support for the Special Olympics (Tennessee) as part of the 2011 Polar Bear Plunge (Nashville).

Many of you know the Special Olympics is an incredible organization that provides sports and athletic competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. However, as a non-for-profit organization that receives no government funding, it relies on funding from individuals, corporate sponsors, special events, and grants.

By taking part in this plunge, I have been asked to raise $50 for the Special Olympics. I have also been asked to encourage people to donate, rather than simply pay the $50 out of my own pocket.

The team I am a part of is the High Hopes Team, formed by those at High Hopes Inclusive Preschool in Brentwood, TN. For those of you that know her, this is the school where Katie Peterson teaches.

If you would be interested in donating, you can click the link at the bottom of this post. Even $5 would go a long way! If just 10 people donated $5 each, the goal would be met, but I’d love to see the donations go even higher.

Since people wear crazy outfits for this, I’ve even considered allowing a donor of $30+ to choose what I wear (within reason). Still debating that one though…I have some pretty messed up friends!

So if you’d like to donate, here’s the link to the donation website:

http://www.firstgiving.com/2011-polar-bear-plunge-nashville-174516

Since all of money raised by High Hopes is collected on this page, feel free to leave me some kind of comment so I know who you are.

Thanks for all of you that help out! If you know someone who might be interested in donating to this cause, please pass on this link, RT this on Twitter, share this on Facebook, etc. Also, feel free to pray that the temperature is in the single digits. The colder the better!

[Photo source: http://bit.ly/f3cCuc]

For those of you are like me and only get your news from ESPN (I’m exaggerating…a bit), you might have missed this story. As of July 1, 2009, it is against the law to text while driving in the state of Tennessee. Here’s the full story from Knox News:

NASHVILLE – Rachel Nichol says reading or sending cell phone text messages while driving isn’t such a good idea – she’s had five fender benders, including one in a fast-food drive-thru.

“I was texting and I rear-ended someone each time,” said Nichol, a 20-year-old Nashville bartender. “You’re not looking at the road. You’re only using one hand to drive and it’s really dangerous.”

That’s why she supports a law prohibiting the behavior. It’s among new Tennessee laws that take effect today.

Violators of the texting prohibition would be fined $50, but the action would be considered a nonmoving traffic violation, meaning no points would be added to a person’s driving record.

It also exempts certain officials – such as officers of the state, campus police officers and emergency medical technicians – when performing their duties.

Opponents argued that law enforcement may not be able to tell whether drivers are texting or dialing and that texting is already covered under the state’s distracted driving law.

Tennessee Attorney General Bob Cooper agreed with that in an opinion he issued earlier this year when he said officers can currently cite a driver “whenever unsafe operation is caused by cell phone use, text messaging, applying cosmetics or any other activity that prevents the driver from operating the vehicle in a safe manner.”

But Maggi McLean Duncan, executive director of the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police, said the group believes the new law is still necessary.

“They felt the proposed legislation which is now becoming law clarified it very succinctly not only for law enforcement, but for the judicial branch, as well as for citizens,” she said.

Safety Department spokesman Mike Browning said the new law “does create a challenge to law enforcement in distinguishing between texting and dialing on a mobile phone, since the statute does not require that all communications be performed with a hands-free device.”

However, he said the Tennessee Highway Patrol will enforce the law “to help promote public safety.”

“Motorists should be aware that texting while driving is a dangerous behavior that can result in an injury crash or even death to the driver or other motorists,” Browning said.

Looking for a good way to spend your Wednesday nights?

A few months ago, several friends introduced me to a book called Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I had heard about the book, but didn’t know much about it. However, my friends told me it was life-changing and turned their lives upside down.

One of the friends that told me about the book, Eric Puschmann, told me about a small group study he wanted to start with the book. It sounded pretty awesome to me.

 On Wednesday, I was really excited to see this has become a reality. Beginning June 3, Eric will be starting a group study of Crazy Love on Wednesday nights at 6:30 PM at Cofer’s Chapel in Nashville, Tennessee.  

This is open for anyone. Eric, being the awesome guy he is, can actually get the books for us for only $10 each. That’s a saving of like $65 off the cover price (not really). Now, this is not a gimmick or ploy to steal you away from your local church. If you’re involved with your church on Wednesday night, stay faithful to that. But, there are many people out there looking for some way to get involved with something like this.

If you’re interested, you can get more info or even sign up at Eric’s blog: www.pastorpusch.com