My last class is finished. Now the hard work of grading term papers begins. I hope I can get them all done before my parents come down for a visit next week.

Only one week of classes left. And then Finals Week, or (as I like to call it) My Week of Pain and Misery. I get the final papers from my students the day before finals start, then I spend the next week grading them. Then, it's all over, and I can have fun all summer!

Yesterday evening I went to a reception for the Board of Trustees for my college and stuffed myself with fried chicken strips and fried mushrooms. Yummy.

My church is in talks to join with First Alliance Church. !!!! That is, merging our congregations, permanently. Our pastor told us last night at a special church session. Wow. I'm tentatively hopeful at the idea. None of the details have been ironed out; they're just testing the waters with the congregations. Stay tuned for breaking news.

Saturday night, in the final (live) episode of The Ultimate Fighter, my martial arts instructor Forrest Griffin and his opponent, Stephen Bonnar, punched, kicked, elbowed, kneed, and threw each other around the cage for three five-minute rounds.

(Stephen's Pre-Fight Interview)
"I know he smiles when he gets hit hard. That's not going to throw me. I'm gonna make him smile a lot."

The fight was a war. The fighters were skilled, well-conditioned, and evenly matched. There was no "down time" -- no boring pauses where the fighters danced around the ring, slowed down to take a breather, or waited for the ref to get the fight moving again.

(Forrest's Pre-Fight Interview)
Q: "What's your strategy?"
A: "I'm going to tell him some jokes. I'm going to get him on the ground, and tell him some dirty jokes. When he starts laughing, WHAM! I'll smash his face in."

There wasn't much laughing after a cut opened up on Forrest's nose, drenching both fighters in blood. We were afraid the ref would stop the fight (meaning Forrest would lose), but the cut was below the eye level, so Forrest could continue.

(Forrest's Post-Fight Interview)
"During the third round, as we clinched, I said to him, 'Let's finish strong,' so we both turned it up at the end."

I watched the match at a friend's house, and when it was done, none of us knew who had won. We awaited the judges' decision, as the fighters did.

There was a lot on the line. Not only would the winner get a six-figure contract for fighting in the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship), he'd also get a new Toyota Scion and various other prizes from the sponsors.

The judges announced their unanimous decision: Forrest Griffin won.

I screamed myself hoarse.

(Forrest's Post-Fight Interview)
Q: " . . . and, you receive this Rolex watch . . ."
A: "I can pawn this for a lot!"

Dana White, the president of the UFC, came into the ring a few minutes later. "We have decided," he began, "that there are no losers tonight. We will be offering both of you a six-figure contract."

(Stephen's Post-Fight Interview)
"I really wanted that car. Hey, Forrest, you're gonna have to let me drive it one of these days!"

It was an awesome fight. It was an incredible fight for the first live Mixed Martial Arts fight shown on cable. And it couldn't have happened to two better people -- I know Forrest from training, and from the reality show, Stephen Bonnar is a mature, no-drama, no-whine, all-around nice-guy.

I'm proud to be training with Forrest Griffin.

I went down to IHOP Atlanta (International House of Prayer) today with five of my students. We drove a van down, and stayed for quite a while. The House of Prayer there is very much like the one in Kansas City I used to be a part of -- they are both committed to 24/7 prayer and worship in the spirit of the Tabernacle of David, and they are "officially affiliated." It was absolutely fantastic. I spent six straight hours in the prayer room, and wished I could stay a couple more.

In other news, my martial arts instructor Forrest Griffin made it to the finals on "The Ultimate Fighter," a reality show on Spike TV showcasing up-and-coming no-holds-barred fighters. He's going to be fighting live in Vegas on Saturday for a $100,000 fighting contract with the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). I'm going over to a friend's house for a fight-party where we'll watch the match live.

This weekend is Campus Preview Weekend at my college. The number of people on-campus has swelled by 50%. Hardest hit are the girls -- 80% of the prospective students showing up are female, so they have to house them with students in the girls' dorms.

On the plus side, there's a guy I was working with in our martial arts group on Wednesdays. He has multiple injuries (back problem, twisted ankle, etc.), plus he's not very aggressive. He's new to the sport, and I go slow with him, and he's been getting better, but I think he's been discouraged, because so many of the other guys are so athletic.

Anyway, over Easter, he went home and hung out with some guys from his youth group he knew in high school. They got to wrestling, and he pulled out some of the stuff he had learned, and beat a friend he'd never been able to beat before!

Stuff like that makes me happy.