I have been pondering language. Have you ever noticed that the way we talk is just a bunch of noises strung together. Not just the english language, but all languages. It amazes me that we can run a bunch of noises together and understand what is going on. I started to really pay attention to these noises and how you change a noise just a little bit and it form a whole other word. Amazing.
I guess this really the only way that we can communicate, through noises. I just wonder how we came about these noises and wonder “is that French to you?”

There are things that strike me as weird. You know what I am talking about? Those little things that make you say, “that was weird.” Now usually these thoughts or ideas of something being weird come to me at weird moements (go figure). I have decided to start to record some of those weird moments ands see if you agree with me.
I know one thing, a lot of the time, the things that I find funny in my head or things that I find weird, are often not thought of in the same way as others. Usually I laugh to myself and then keep a running joke in my head, well it is leaving the head and onto the screen.

#1 The Was Weird…
Today at the youth service at church, the band was singing the song “Might to Save” by Hillsong. As everyone sang the chorus, “Savior, He can move the mountains, my God is mighty to save, He is mighty to save. Forever, Author of salvation, HE rose and conquered the grave…”
Now the reason I have HE in bold is because I swear I heard the guy leading the music say, SHE rose and conquered the Grave, Jesus Conquered the Grave.” I started thinking in my head how weird it would be if God was referred to as a She and not a HE. Just a weird thought that was running through my head for the rest of the time. I thought about how funny it was that it sounded like the guy said “She conquered the grave, Jesus conquered the grave” and wondered if anyone else noticed. I am sure that no one did and if they did would not find it funny as I did.

I wonder, was that weird, or am I weird for thinking that was funny/weird?

*Kyle

Lets face it, today could be one of the greatest days of the year. Really, I would go as far as to say it being better than Christmas day. Not necessary because it replaces Christ Birth (or Death) or is better than Christ Birth, but because today is one of the most anticipated days of the year. Today starts March Madness, the madness that affects so many people has spread into a frenzy of people calling in “sick” and others just not showing up to work at all. I actually heard on the radio yesterday, that this week is the highest week of vasectomies. What a great, and not so great, way to get to stay at home and be paid for it. Based on that stat alone, today should be a holiday. It would save a lot of mans dignity and a lot of pain. Really Christmas has been reduced to gifts and keeping Christ out of Christmas. That is the reason why I find it better than Christmas.

Now, you might disagree with me because there are several of these days, March Madness days. There will be just as many games tomorrow and some more next Thursday and Friday. The question could be asked, “should we give all those days off?” Yes. But I will be a realist here and say that we (all basketball fans) want the first day of the tournament off. This gives enough of a fix for the week to last us until Saturday and Sunday. As well, it gives a great break in the week in the week. Usually most holidays are on Mondays (Presidents Day, Columbus Day, MLK Day) so what better way then to have a midweek, Thursday break. You can take away a day off, you can expect more work from us from the day before, but give us this “holy” day to watch and eat.
I will go out on a limb and say that production would be up, performance would be up, and overall moral would be up in the work place. For the ladies that are not interested in watching some basketball, they can do what they should be doing, making us food (just kidding, thought I would throw that one in there).
Should today be a Holiday? Weigh in and lets see if I need to talk to Obama about this.

*Kyle

I have been working on my bracket, and have been listening to the experts. And the first team that I have moved into the final four is…..MIZZOU. Call me a homer, call me crazy, or call me a genius, I have put my hometown team in the final four for a couple of reasons, here is why:
1) They are in the best region “to do work” They are in the West region. The number one seed in this region is Connecticut, who I think is overrated and Mizzou will beat. Refer to number 3 to see why.
2) Even though they are ranked number 3, they are the underdog. I always like cheering for the underdog, and usually they rise to the challenge. As soon as Mizzou beats Cornell, they immediately play Marquette. To me, people will probably pick Marquette over Mizzou. If (when) they win that game they will most likely have to play Memphis (number 2 seed). Most experts have Memphis in the final four, this expert has Mizzou upsetting them and heading into a big match up with Connecticut.
3) They press the whole game. This alone is the reason why I think that Mizzou can beat Memphis and Connecticut. Mizzou has a deep bench, they have athletic big guys (Carrol and Lyons) and they have good defensive guards. Mizzou is a second half team, mainly because the team they are playing is tired and Mizzou is just getting into stride. They play Marquette in the second round. Marquette will not have a lot of time to prepare for their press, will be tired, and will struggle handeling the ball. Memphis will have more time to prepare, but have not been tested (in my mind) this year inside Conference USA. They then go on to play a battered and tired big east team, Connecticut. Sure, Thabeit will block some shots, but Mizzou will outrun them and bring home the victory, 58-54.

Those are my reasons and my thoughts.

Who do you think will be in the final four?

*Kyle

I have decided to take on a challenge for the week. It is called the Daniel Challenge and was recommended to me by my friend Adam Everett. He completed it as well as Dan Maricle (another friend of mine) completed it with him. The fast/diet calls for strict adherence to what Daniel (in the Bible, the guy in the lions den) ate. For more info check Daniel 1.

Pretty much, it callsto be  a vegan for the week. No meat, milk, or processed food. I love milk and I love meat, but the hardest part is going to be no coffee. Coffee is the wellspring of life and I drink from that well.

You might be wondering why I am taking up this challenge? I am wondering the same thing. Actually I have been working on eating better since January (not my new years resolution) and have been working out since November. I have lost 15 pounds in the last three months and am down to 188. I wanted to try a new challenge this week, and I am going to Hawaii next week. I hope to get down to 185 and continue with my healthy eating until the end of May and see where I am at.

If you are interested in the Daniel Challenge, let me know and I will email you the PDF.

*Kyle

On Thursday’s I attend chapel. At chapel there is singing, preaching, and good ole tom foolery (Not some much on the last part, I just like saying that).

Today, I listened to a soldier speak at chapel. Now you might be wondering why this is a big deal…refer here
No matter if you agree or disagree, one of the big issues I have here is that it was an assembly, not a chapel. If we are going to have chapel, it needs to be chapel. We have almost had more assemblies during chapel than actual chapel service. What is a chapel service? The usual church like service: music, preaching, and the uniting of believers in worship. More often than not, we are having people come in and not preach, but just talk about something that they are doing or are interested in, not preaching. Maybe I am making something out of nothing, but it can be a big deal when you have to go each week. You start wonder why we have it.

Well, today we had an assembly, not a chapel. The plan for today was to have music up front, then go into a time of prayer and prayer groups. Not a bad chapel service.
Well, at the last minute a soldier and his wife walk in to the service. Out of no where people started clapping. I thought that was strange that people were clapping, but I guess that is not out of the ordinary, go to any airport and follow around a soldier and you will see people saying “thank you” with their hands in applause. After they stopped clapping, we started chapel off with some music. The last song was “The Wonderful Cross.” A song that deals with the death of our savior, the opposite of what the world would say is a “great victory.” I was expecting to enter into a time of prayer, but I was mistaking. Before I could shut my computer down, the soldier had the mic and people were giving him a standing ovation. I started to wonder how he got here today. Thankfully he answered the question for me by telling me that he received a care package and wanted to come and thank us. He told us where he served, and told us about his family. He said this, “While I was in the army, I missed the birth of my 7 month old baby girl, all three of my sons birthdays, but it was worth it because I am here to see the next generation who will rise up and serve our country and protect us.” Wow, I sure would have a hard time missing all my kids birthdays and birth to serve others in Iraq, to each his own.
After about five minutes, he said that was all he had for us and opened up the floor for questions. I could not help but sit there and here people ask him questions about what was war like? How long have you been there? Are you helping other people and not just killing people? Questions along those lines.

Now, as you read this, you still might be wondering what the big deal is here. That I am making a big deal out of nothing and I am just wanting to be rebellious and find problems with anything. Maybe I am, but I could not leave this one alone. This is my thoughts about nothing, take it or leave it.

Here is why it bothered me. When I look at the military, all I can see is the picture of redemptive violence. This is the idea that violence will bring redemption to save others. Now, it is interesting to see that Jesus used an act of violence (death on the cross) to save the world. But, this was an act done to Him, not Him doing the act. “Kill one man, and be considered a murderer, kill thousands, and be considered powerful.” For a long time, America has been the moral police. And the way of enforcing things is power, power to use force. This idea of redemptive violence brings about the acceptance of using violence to bring peace. Just look at the idea of capital punishment. You did evil, and now we do evil to you to repay you for the evil you did to someone else and call it even. This is suppose to bring some sort of peace and closure. To me this is counter to the Bible and to Jesus. Redemptive Grace is preached from the Bible, not an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
Now I don’t know this dude that spoke this morning, and I don’t know his heart. But I feel sorry for him. I feel sorry that he has to miss his children, I feel sorry that he has to kill people because he is told he is protecting us. I feel sorry that he is going to have to live with this “sacrifice” of killing others to bring us peace for the rest of his life. This goes back to why I think that we need to separate America and Christianity. To promote the sword over the Bible is wrong. “When you pick up the sword, you put down the cross” -Dr. Gregg Boyd from his book The Myth of a Christian Nation
We had many students line up after chapel to ask him questions about his life, and to ask him about what it was like. Am I saying that we should not support the army? Yes, I am. If we support the army, we are supporting redemptive violence. I have been really struggling through this, and have been going back and forth on whether or not I support soldiers. In good conscience and in light of what the Bible teaches, I cannot support the act of war, and the soldiers that carry this act out.
Today, I felt that we were supporting the act of war by bringing in a soldier to speak to our students during chapel. A time set aside each week for our school to come together and worship our God, our creator, and the one that gives us grace.

I am working through this stuff, and you might think I am out of bounds and crazy here. Maybe I am crazy, but I know one thing, if i am crazy because I reject what America teaches about war and peace, than I am fine being considered crazy. Someone else was also called crazy in the Bible, Jesus (Mark 3). Not calling myself Jesus, just trying to be like Him.

Blast away
*Kyle

At the beginning of my teaching career (august or so) I learned about a unit that was done in February called purity week. Not really knowing what that meant, I just kind of looked over it and decided I  would figure it out when the time came. Little did I know that it would turn into one of the best two weeks of the school year we have had.

“Please don’t show that Ted Bundy video again” one of my students commented when I mentioned that we were getting ready to start purity week. This video brings back haunting memories to all of the 8th graders last year. Apparently it was a “Focus on the Family” video (I would be scarred too) that interviewed Ted Bundy and talked about how he watched pornography which led him to kill people. After hearing this, I knew that I was going to be up against a challenge.

Having this challenge in front of me, I decided to follow what I was learning in Men’s Fraternity and talk about mans sinful nature and the state of manhood today. It started out slow but picked up some steam towards the end.
The hard thing about teaching this touchy subject is the parents. I had to kind of tip-toe around some issues that I wanted to talk about, the parents said that a 22 yr old doesn’t know anything and he is not talking to my child about purity.
With this problem in front of me I decided to start what I called a “man lunch.” With their parents permission students could attend a more “in-depth” time of discussion. This time turned out to be the best part of man week. Questions were submitted and answers were attempted. We had great discussions about girls and dating, life as a man, and other sensitive material.

We ended man week with a ceremonial lunch. Gathering all the parents and 7/8th grade guys together for a “last supper” style lunch. I handed out certificates that had the definition of manhood on it: 1) reject passivity 2) accepts responsibility 3) leads courageously 4) expects a reward, God’s reward. As well it had some symbols on it. First it had a cross, saying that we had to die to ourselves and our sinful nature. Second, it had the word “oath” on there saying that we were taking an oath that we will pursue authentic manhood. Finally, it had the word “calling” and an arrow pointing up, symbolizing the calling up that they were being called to. At the bottom of the certificate it said “Hold the Line,” meaning that they need to stand together in their pursuit of manhood.
If you want to see the certificate, click here.

The ceremony went great, the week went great. This was one of the most beneficial times for me as well as the guys. I love discussing issues that we as guys face and how we can conintue to work through them.
There were some things I learned from man week:
1) There is a wide view on how old “kids” should be to talk about this stuff.
I understand that they are the parents and I am not. And I also understand that they know more about their son then I do. But I heard wide varieties of what they thought was appropriate and not appropriate for their little sons. I would ask them what age they thought it would be good to talk about this? “Probably 16″ one parent told me. Kids are developing younger and younger and hitting pre-pubescence around age 8 or 9. I have found that students have questions, and are looking for answers. If not answered by their parents they move to somewhere else to find the answers. I don’t have any kids (that i know of, kidding) so I am not speaking from experience, just what I have seen. I feel like we need to give them a Godly perspective on what God has given us.
2) Any time you talk about Girls, guys listen
It was amazing, you could hear a pin drop in the classroom. I have never heard these guys that quiet before. Most of them wanted to talk about it for the rest of the year.
3) We need a new definition of what being a man really is
I found that a lot of guys thought that being a man happened when you got married or had kids (or did the thing you have to do to have kids….SEX). What I found was that they were highly confused as to who they were. Am I a kid, a teenager, a young man, a man? Who am I? With this issue being pressing, I realized that it was important to look at two men in the Bible, the first Adam and the second Adam (Jesus) and see how they were men and what they displayed as being a man. We contrasted their actions with our definition and then came up with a plan on how each one of us can live this out. I have also found that not only girls have identity crisis, but guys do as well. When these two get together, they create a huge problem.
4) Guys are the remedy for the future
I love that word remedy (probably because of David Crowder) but I really do believe that if guys followed what was taught in the Bible about manhood things would fall in line. I have a huge heart for girls and ministry. Probably because I have two younger sisters and I want them to have what is best. But there is one problem, I am not a girl (no comments please) and so for me to work with girls is really hard and inappropriate, I wont be affective. But I know that if I can work with guys, girls will follow. Guys are the problem and guys can be the remedy (with Jesus in their heart). Seeing the affect of not having a father through the statistics of many men, and even seeing the affects of having a father but having an absent father. I have realized that the hope of the world (besides Jesus) is guys. I am not pumping up guys egos here. Actually I am putting them down a little. I am putting pressure on all guys shoulders to lead and be men that God has called them to be. I am excited about the possibilites that are to come.
The week was awesome. The guys seemed to really step up and take the challenge and watch what they say around girls and how their actions affect girls. I hope that they will continue to “Hold the Line” and be a Man.

*Kyle