Tebow Time

This weekend may be Tim Tebow’s biggest test as the quarterback of the Denver Broncos. He’ll lead his worst-to-first AFC West team (8-5) against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, the AFC East’s best team (10-3). Tebow has converted critics into fans in his astonishing 7-game winning streak that has featured six, count-’em, six 4th quarter come-backs. He is 7-1 as the Broncos qb this year.

The vitriol and venom that has been spewed about Tim Tebow has been nothing short of astonishing this season. He’s been demeaned and ridiculed for more than just his football skills. It’s his vibrant and in-your-face faith that has upset the apple cart and shown us the depths to which political correctness and inverted tolerance have infected even the sports world. In our culture’s strange way of labeling, “Tebowing” has become synonymous with praying in American slang this year.

I’ve not read a better post than Jen Engel’s Why the heck do we hate Tim Tebow?

From his advocacy of abstinence to his infamous “You will never see another team play this hard” speech at Florida, it is like he is too good to be true. He is too nice, and thereby we want him to trip up so we can feel better. We want him to be revealed as a hypocrite, and when that fails to happen, we settle for gleefully celebrating his failures on the football field. And why? Because he dares to say thanks?

She continues:

I could not figure out what was causing this onslaught of venom for a guy almost everybody claims to like, and I finally decided it is more about us. He makes us uncomfortable. He is a reminder that the blue-red, liberal-conservative fight over taking God out of everyday life is intellectually dishonest. He is too good.
Tebow is proof that God goes comfortably into whatever arena of your life you wish to take Him.

Engel notes that Christians, in Tebow’s defense this season, have often been as nasty and little as Tebow’s critics. It does not help to glorify the God that Tebow lifts up when we do not demonstrate love.

Christians, of all people, should be used to criticism. After all, the Christ we follow promised us that we would receive it if we were genuinely following Him. The problem for many of us is that we receive criticism justly. When we are maligned unjustly for living holy and authentically good lives, that is one thing. However, we ourselves malign the character of God when we act in ways that deserve criticism.

Tim Tebow is walking the walk as he’s talking the talk these days. I can’t imagine the immense amount of temptation and attack he must be under. Rather than arguing our cases about Tebow, can Christians resolve to simply pray for him and for those who are made uncomfortable by his vocal faith?

Don’t be surprised by how God can use anyone surrendered to Him. Strange things happen when ordinary people commit to live lives of faithful obedience and joyful love.

The following video is a funny look at how dramatic and surreal this season has been so far for Tim Tebow.

Another video with Tebow’s testimony:

By the way, I’m rooting for the Broncos this weekend!

Possibly Related Posts:

• Resisting terror: the VT shooting of December 8, 2011
• Guy on a Buffalo
• Chasing the wind
• Never Say Never
• 5 more things…

Resisting terror: the VT shooting of December 8, 2011

I was at lunch with a friend when I got a text. It said simply:

“Stay at the LH – apparently there were gunshots.”

My BBQ sandwich was right in front of me, but it seemed like a slow fog descended on the table. I read the text to my friend, and then did something that has become a habit for news and information. I checked Twitter.

It was crowded with reports of a gunman on Washington Street in Blacksburg. There was one person shot. Washington Street? That is where our church’s office is located, and it’s about 150 yards from the Virginia Tech basketball collosseum.

Then my phone began vibrating with texts:

“REPORT OF GUNSHOTS NEAR COLLOSSEUM!”

“Shooting on campus.”

“Possible suspect on VT campus who fired some gun shots in Cassell parking lot..”

Lunch was over. I called Carolyn to let her know I was OK and then began trying to call Cody, our worship leader who had last been at the church office when I left. He didn’t answer his phone or the texts that I sent him. Within minutes, there were reports of a second shooting and another body.

Source: The Collegiate Times of VT

There was a fist that began clenching my insides into the size of a golfball. I said a hasty goodbye to my friend, who had driven in from Salem for lunch and headed for the church office. My imagination and scattered thoughts were running faster than Seabiscuit.

Before the day concluded, we learned with the rest of the nation that the person shot on Washington was a VT police officer. The second shooting death (at the time of this entry) had been reported by many news agencies as the suicide of the gunman.

Cody returned to the Lancaster House (office) a few minutes after I arrived to find it empty. He had left his phone in his car while running errands. We spent the afternoon inside the locked house, tying Christmas cards on candy canes for our church’s float in a local Christmas parade. We listened to the police scanner and followed the Twitter feed. At one point, a stream of police cars, marked and unmarked, as well as a SWAT van and other rescue vehicles roared past our office headed to Squires Student Center where there reports of more gunshots. (Those turned out to be false. The scanner soon buzzed with the police demanding someone to tell the VT waste disposal folks to quit emptying dumpsters. That may have been the sound folks heard.)

News outlets ran far behind Twitter, another powerful example of the website’s influence in the transformation of our information avenues. As an example, VT’s student newspaper, The Collegiate Times, saw their Twitter following grow “by more than 18,000 — to more than 20,000 from 2,000 just before the news broke. The growth shows just how Twitter can amplify a single message, or a single account, even if that account is a college newspaper without a local following.” (Source)

But it wasn’t the power of Twitter or social media that taught me another lesson today. It was the power of God’s Word. This past Sunday, I preached from the gospel of Luke in chapter 21, verses 5-38. The message title was A Bright Hope in Dark Times. (podcast and notes here) In the middle of the confusion, fear and angst of the day, it seemed that a recognizable voice reminded me of one particular verse:

“…do not be terrified…” (v9)

The context of the chapter is Jesus’ prediction of terrible times that were to come on the world and on Israel itself in the future. He urged His followers to not allow the darkness of the times to keep them out of the light.

It was easy today to get caught up in the heartache and drama of another tragedy in Blacksburg. I felt the fist in my stomach clench and release several times over the course of the afternoon. Cody and I prayed diligently for our campus and community, and for the families of those who had died.

Yet, the voice from Luke 5 beckoned quietly. It wanted my attention. It wanted my obedience. Jesus told His followers, “Do not be terrified.” It has been said that the Bible contains more than 350 commands for us to not be afraid. That’s a difficult imperative to obey in the midst of confusion, evil and death. Yet Jesus affirmed this other-worldy confidence in Matthew 10.28:

“..do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.”

I hunted down a conversation I vaguely remembered in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Fellowship of the Rings between Frodo the hobbit and Gandolf the wizard:

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.
“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

Profound words. We all live in dark times. Sometimes the darkness and evil is much closer than our hearts can stand. At times like today, it’s just down the street. But I take great comfort in the words of Jesus, and I encourage anyone who finds their courage faltering to consider them:

“Do not be terrified.”

God will supply all we need in dark times to shame those who love the darkness. He supplies courage to face tragedy with an unconquered spirit. He also supplies the very tears we shed over the brokenness and rebellion of this evil-stained world.

Let us mourn. Let us grieve. Let us heal. But let us not fear. Fear will forever cripple those who allow it to grip them. Let those of us who have experienced the love of God gently but determinedly display it when darkness seeks to swamp our faith with fear.

VT students are gathering tonight and tomorrow in candlelight vigils around the memorial to the students killed in the infamous April 16, 2007 shooting. Their lights urge us to remember lives cut short. Their lights also are a visible rebellion against darkness.

Let us rebel with them against the darkness of fear and the war it wages on our spirits.

“Perfect love casts out fear.” (1 John 4.18)

Possibly Related Posts:

• Tebow Time
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• Chasing the wind
• Never Say Never
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Guy on a Buffalo

Wow. Sometimes, you’re just amazed at the time people have to waste… and how grateful you are for it.

Here’s the first in a series of shorts called Guy on a Buffalo.

The scenes are taken from a movie made in 1978, titled appropriately, Buffalo Rider. Here’s the entire 1978 movie. You can thank me later.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Tebow Time
• Resisting terror: the VT shooting of December 8, 2011
• Chasing the wind
• Never Say Never
• 5 more things…

Chasing the wind

Our last guest blogger for the week is Shawn Barnard, pastor of Crossgate Church in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Shawn and I have been friends since college, and then we both went to the same seminary. He and I have brainstormed about countless projects together and done, well, none. We’re dreamers, and when we get together, the church’s problems are solved in three minutes or less. We can laugh at anything, and at times, we cringe at our own irreverence.

Our lives intersected in a wonderful way when he became our pastor at Second Baptist Church in Monticello, Arkansas. I was the BCM Director at UAM then, and after having served as the interim pastor at Second for several months, we were elated when the church voted to call Shawn as pastor. Those were great days of being so near one another. He was a huge blessing and support when Carolyn and I related that we sensed God calling us to start a new church in Monticello.

Shawn blogs once a year at shawnbarnard.com. ;) Here’s Shawn’s take on “5 Things I Didn’t Learn in College:”

It’s hard to believe that 24 years have passed since my freshman year in college.  Even as I type this my daughter is sitting in a college class, and I wonder if she is thinking that perhaps years from now someone will ask her to blog about five things she didn’t learn in college.  And, if so, I wonder if such a thought will give her pause in how she might live differently tomorrow than today.

Maybe such a thought will give you pause as well, and in doing so will encourage you to live with much purpose and clarity of vision.

1.  I didn’t learn that you couldn’t catch the wind.

Contrary to what you hear at high school commencements and from best selling self-help books, you can’t grasp the stars they tell you to reach for in life.  And if, by chance, you could they’d burn out . . . that’s what stars do.  They fade out.  In the same way, all the things that this world has to offer will fade as well.  To pursue what never satisfies or brings ultimate joy is like chasing the wind.  But don’t take my word for it.  Listen to a guy whose wisdom is Scripture worthy:  “And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.”  Ecclesiastes 2:10,11

(On a side note:  I’ve often wondered what it might look like if I were to run in a field trying to catch the wind.  I’m sure it would become a YouTube sensation and start a movement as meaningful as planking.)

Be careful to consider what you are chasing after and seeking to embrace.  Which leads to the second thing I didn’t learn in college . . .

2.  I didn’t learn how to discern the significant from the insignificant.

Learn to pursue what really matters.  In college everything seems significant, at least in the moment.  But the truth of the matter is that what has the illusion of being significant often times is a distorted caricature of what is really significant.  I’ve come to understand that there are two things that are truly significant in this life:  loving God, and loving people.  Sounds simplistic, I know.  But when asked “what’s the greatest commandment?. . .what’s the main thing? . . . what’s most significant?” (I’m paraphrasing, of course) Jesus claimed that it was for us to love God with everything we have, and to love people.  That is significant living because it goes beyond this life and touches eternity.

3.  I didn’t learn that there is a difference between existing and living.

Perhaps a snapshot of your life looks like this: You wake up, get ready for the day ahead, eat breakfast, go to class, come home, get on Facebook, Tweet your friends, watch T.V., go to bed, and then it begins all over again in the morning. And that’s your life. It’s what you do, and you go through the motions . . . and exist.

But isn’t there more to life than just existing? Absolutely. The longing inside to really live, and not just exist, is in every person. The question is how do you get there? I believe that you and I were created for the purpose of living, not existing.  And because I believe that God is the Creator, living can’t happen apart from knowing God through His Son, Jesus. The Bible affirms that truth: “Whoever has the Son (Jesus), has life; whoever rejects the Son, rejects life.” (1 John 5:12) Jesus said, “I have come that you might have life and have it to the fullest.”  (John 10:10)  

So my encouragement to you is this:  Refuse to exist and choose to live.

4.  I didn’t learn the power of a moment savored. 

Learn to savor the moments God puts before you.  There is no savoring without slowing.  We are far too busy, and much too hurried in our culture.   Listen to God’s voice when He says, “Be still and know that I’m God.”  And take David’s advice when he says, “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!”  Hurriedness is the enemy of delighting in God.  And when there is no delighting in God, there is no flavor in the moments of life.

5.  I didn’t learn that I need people in my life who aren’t impressed with me, and love me enough to hold me accountable. 

Let other godly people whom you trust sharpen your life by holding you accountable.  In other words, press your life against those who love you enough to speak into the places of your life that you can’t see or just don’t want to see.  God’s word says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”  (Proverbs 27:17)

Some food for thought:  A masterpiece sculpture isn’t created without a sharp chisel and skilled hands.

As a free treat for you all, I thought I’d include a fun little project I made for a birthday party for Shawn back in 2004 that we shared with the folks at Second Baptist. I know Shawn will be grateful that I still have the image.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Tebow Time
• Resisting terror: the VT shooting of December 8, 2011
• Guy on a Buffalo
• Never Say Never
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Never Say Never

Say welcome to Carolyn Noble, my BFF and FFB (forever favorite bride) of 21ish years. Carolyn and I met in college. I was smitten with her from early on, but I had no idea she’d not only be my bride but also my hero. We’ve been through a lot together. I feel sometimes like we’ve lived three lifetimes together with all the challenges and experiences we’ve had. (You can read Our Story here.)

Caro blogs occasionally with Kristy Hales over at itsneitherherenorthere.com. She tweets as journeygal. I was delighted when she agreed to write an entry for this Back 2 School series. Enjoy!

After reading Amy’s entry about Dear Freshman Amy, I couldn’t really focus on what I wanted to say. Her words were powerful and sincere. I want to print off her letter to herself and save it for my kids. It was priceless.

I thought long and hard to find things that college did not teach me and I really could not find one thing. What I did find was that there were many things I learned in college that were not found in a textbook. I would like to share those.

1. Laundry stinks! I hate laundry. It is a weekly struggle for me. I always tease that I want a laundry maid but we are in the wrong profession for that. I got to thinking that is something I surely did not learn in college. No one taught me that I would have to deal with laundry the rest of my life and deal with the severity of how much I hate it. Then it was like deja vu. I think the same white laundry basket I have now was the one I had in college. The clothes are still piled high and unfolded. They are clean though. Just like in college. Some things never change.
2. Nothing beats a home-cooked meal. I remember my days at Ouachita Baptist University where hours were spent at “Walt’s” cafeteria. It really wasn’t named that but that is what we called it. There was a big, jovial man that ran the cafeteria for years. The food was not the best but it was where much socializing happened. It was the hang out. I can not remember what we actually ate there but I do remember the homemade meals I had at professors’ homes with their families. There was nothing like it. There really wasn’t anything better than a home-cooked meal. That is still true to me today. I love to go out to eat, don’t get me wrong. What I really love is fellowshipping around a table with food that only comes from a loved-one’s kitchen.
3. Church is important for all ages. I hear statistics of how young people drop out of church at college age. I didn’t and I am so grateful. I plugged right in to a church there in Arkadelphia. It was actually where I met Jeff and helped him with his youth group. It wasn’t exactly like my home church that was many miles away, but it was still the body of Christ that I longed to be a part of. No one sat down with me and told me to go to church. It was a longing. I am so thankful that I went while I was in college. I learned so much.
4. Cancer is a text book. That is one text book I got at college I sure did not want to read. I can say now that the lessons I learned from it then have totally impacted my view of life now. It still amazes me how God worked while I was sick at college. My friends, family, doctors and professors rallied around me like a hurricane. I learned the importance of community and how God can work out the smallest of details. I am telling you it was by the grace of God alone I was able to deal with the treatments of cancer, stay at college many miles from home, graduate from college and get married all in one year. Mostly, it drove me to be totally dependent on Him. For that I am grateful.
5. Never say never. No, not Justin Bieber, he wasn’t around then. College taught me to never say those words again. Period. I said I would never marry a preacher man like my high school friends predicted for me. I said I would never date Jeff Noble during my freshman year when he was galavanting around campus with a different date each night. Now look where I am now. What happened? Never say never. OK? It’s not worth the torment. Seriously though, I am so thankful for Jeff Noble. I promise he was NOT in the ministry when we were dating. I can still remember the night he told me he felt called to full time ministry. I think it was at night so he didn’t see my face. All I could think about after he said those words were all the words I was about to eat. Now, 20 years later, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I am beyond blessed. I am glad God is in control and that we don’t always get our own ways and plans.

God does know the plans for us. He is in control. I would do it all over again, the same way, even though there were some rough spots. What I learned in college was not only found in the many text books. It was the people and experiences God set out for me. I wouldn’t trade that education for anything.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Tebow Time
• Resisting terror: the VT shooting of December 8, 2011
• Guy on a Buffalo
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5 more things…

Welcome Jeremy Woodall to Back 2 School Week! Jeremy and I have quite a bit of history together, beginning with Carolyn and me being youth camp sponsors for his church’s youth group when Jeremy was in the 7th grade. He was like a gerbil on steroids then. Now he’s a hamster on HGH…

Jeremy has so much life experience, having served as an Army Ranger in Afganistan before returning to Arkansas to serve with us at Journey Church in Monticello on our leadership team and as worship leader. He then served as an Assistant Director for Baptist Collegiate Ministry at UAM under Tracy Reed. He’s now serving at First Baptist Church of Star City, Arkansas as youth minister.

Our family is grateful for his and Becca’s friendship. He’s just one of those guys who is a constant encouragement. Oh, and he blogs at jeremywoodall.com.

And now… heeeeere’s Jeremy:

Journeyguy, thanks for the opportunity to guest blog for you this week! What an honor. College was a great time for me. I learned how to be a disciple of Jesus as well as being a disciple maker. I could go on all day about the things I learned in college but what about the things I didn’t learn? Well here is five things that I did not learn in college, for your reading pleasure ;)

Possibly Related Posts:

• Tebow Time
• Resisting terror: the VT shooting of December 8, 2011
• Guy on a Buffalo
• Chasing the wind
• Never Say Never

Gold and Mr. Alexander

Neal Nelson is the Baptist Collegiate Minister at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. He has served there since 1997. Neal is a great communicator, but his passion is to see lives truly transformed. Whether it’s hunting, sports, or simply spending time at a coffee shop, I love how Neal invests his life into college students, seeking to lead them to an authentic love relationship with Jesus Christ.

We’ve been friends since about 1996, and Neal was one of the first to take me hunting in Arkansas. It consisted of sticking me up in a deer stand and leaving me alone in the dark. There were no other real instructions.

I never saw a deer that day, and when we were leaving, he asked if I enjoyed it. I said it was nice except that I finally had to get down from the stand to relieve my coffee-laden bladder. I still remember the sudden, quizzical look on his face when he asked, “Where did you pee?”

“At the bottom of the tree. Why?”

He shook his hand in exasperation, and I don’t think he took me deer hunting again…

Here’s Neal’s entry:

#5 – I didn’t learn why Mr. Alexander expressed such anger about being asked if gold was going to be on the test in college.

Walking to science class in the eighth grade somebody told me to ask Mr. Alexander if gold was going to be on the test. I confess my birth happened at night but it wasn’t the previous night. So instead of asking myself, I got the guy sitting beside me in the class to ask for me. Mr. “A” as we called him – our normally mild-mannered and well liked teacher – screamed at the unsuspecting student to go to the office and wait on him. Of course, the student immediately identified me as the real mastermind behind the diabolical plot. Mr. Alexander screamed louder at me. I received several hard hits with a paddle, which today would constitute abuse. I still don’t know why asking if gold was going to be on the test made Mr. Alexander so angry. The mysterious reason still creates a void in my soul. I had hope “higher” education would reveal the answer but I was disappointed.

#4 – I didn’t learn how to spell in college.  

I am hooked on phonics but words must sound different in Arkansas because I still can’t spell. Without spell check my writing would probably be on a sixth grade level. The same is true about math. How is that possible?

#3 – I didn’t learn how to handle conflict in college, at least not in class.

Relational conflict is no respecter of person. The rich along with the rest of us experience conflict daily. I have decided after forty-two winters have passed that the ability to handle conflict well is one of the best indicators of happiness. One of my regrets in college was moving into a small apartment by myself my sophomore year. I shared a house with two friends from high-school my freshmen year and while it was fun there was constant conflict over the usual stuff.(bills, cleanliness, noise) I decided living on my own would help me be a better student and it probably did help my GPA. However, in the grand scheme of life learning to resolve conflict in a healthy manner then rather than later in marriage would have been a better choice. A college degree may help in attaining a job or more likely acceptance into a program for another degree but it will not prepare people to get along with one another. I wonder if we all had to choose between making a three digit salary with constant conflict or living below the poverty line in peace what would we would choose? (Prov. 17:1)

#2 – I didn’t learn the meaning of life in college.

One would think that after spending a small fortune on tuition and books one would learn the point of life. Honestly I am still not about the point of college.

#1 – I didn’t learn the secret of being content in college.

Being content (not complacent) has been one of the great struggles of my life. Content people are as rare as “normal” professors. Culture sends an extremely confusing message about contentment. On one hand there is the message that everyone is ok as they are. On the other hand we see thousands of images that suggest if we only bought a particular shampoo, gum, or cleaning product, we could be happy and beautiful. American culture seems to owe its existence (or at least its economy) to discontent people. And yet contentment is a major theme in the New Testament. Paul told young Timothy that “contentment with godliness is great gain.” (I Tim. 6:6) He told the believers at Philippi that living life in Christ was the secret to being content. (Phil. 4:10-13) I hope that you will seek contentment in Christ and through his strength in you this semester.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Tebow Time
• Resisting terror: the VT shooting of December 8, 2011
• Guy on a Buffalo
• Chasing the wind
• Never Say Never

Dear Freshman Amy…

Today’s guest blogger for Back 2 School week is Amy Lawson. She’s a good friend of both Carolyn and me from our Ouachita Baptist University days. She was Amy Ables then. Amy’s blog is Snoodlings, and she is one of my favorite bloggers. She’s an amazing writer, able to combine being both profound and whimsical. (I wonder if that’s why her Twitter ID is whimzie? Never thought to ask.)

It’s been fun keeping in touch with her digitally. I’ve also included – free for your enjoyment – a picture of our Sadie Hawkins date from OBU days. It was from TWIRP week (The Woman Is Responsible for Paying – and asking), which was every OBU guy’s opportunity to leave his wallet at home.

For guests from Snoodlings, thanks for stopping by! Enjoy!

I graduated from college twenty years ago. Two decades. One score. Many bad hairstyles ago.

Thanks, Jeff, for the assignment. Writing it made me wonder how I might have done things differently if Iʼd known then what I know now. I decided to write a letter to freshman me.

Dear Amy,

Look at you packing up your monogrammed towels that someone gave you as a graduation gift! Youʼll be using those to wash the dog in twenty years, by the way.

Youʼre all packed and ready to embark on one of the greatest adventures of your life. I know youʼre expecting to change and learn a lot over the next four years, and you will, but I think youʼd be surprised at just how much you arenʼt going to learn in college.

Besides how to fold a fitted sheet. Which you still havenʼt mastered.

So what else wonʼt you learn in college?

First, and youʼre probably not going to want to hear this, but youʼre not going to learn that itʼs perfectly okay to graduate before you meet Mr. Right.

I hate to break it to you, but youʼre not going to leave college with the man of your dreams. You will have several false alarms. You are going to be sure I was wrong about this, but trust me, itʼs not going to happen just yet.

Every time one of your college friends comes back to the dorm with a sparkly ring finger youʼre going to panic just a little. And youʼre going to graduate feeling like maybe youʼve missed your chance. But itʼs going to be okay. I promise. Heʼs out there, and although you think you are, youʼre just not ready for him yet. I wish I could tell you to quit worrying about which corner heʼs going to be around and start enjoying this opportunity to make friendships with some really great guys who may not be Mr. Right, but are perfectly fine Mr. Right Nows.

Speaking of relationships, you wonʼt know until after itʼs done that making and maintaining friendships during the next four years will be easier than it ever has or ever will be again.

All night “study sessions” fueled by Dominoʼs and Coke will turn into marathon discussions with your girlfriends about life, love, and the pursuit of the perfect hairstyle (which youʼre still pursuing, by the way). This will be the last time youʼll have as many guy friends as you have girl friends and you will benefit greatly from their different slant on how the world works. Your friends will challenge you to grow deeper in your relationship with God and you will learn what it means to really intercede for others in prayer.You donʼt know it now, but itʼs hard to make and maintain friends after you graduate from college. Life gets busier with work, marriage and kids. Iʼm not trying to depress you, I just want you to take advantage of this chance to make deep and lasting relationships.

Along those same lines, the third thing you wonʼt learn in college is that underneath their labels, the cool kids, jocks, nerds, and Cru crew are pretty much the same.

Some may seem to have life figured out and some may actually believe that they have it all together, but inside, we all have similar questions, struggles, and desires.

I didnʼt learn that in college. I learned it on MySpace. (Donʼt ask. Itʼs a future time waster and itʼs pretty much dead now anyway.) One day I accepted a friend request from this guy who graduated from college with me. We didnʼt run in the same circles. He was a “wild boy” who was a part of “that” fraternity, the one that was always getting in trouble. In the process of catching up on our lives after college, we both recognized that neither of us is the label we wore in college. Life has a way of leveling those kind of things out. Now we both love our spouses and our kids and we are busy trying to be the people God made us to be. I canʼt help but wonder if weʼd have been friends earlier if I hadnʼt assumed I knew who he was because of the group he was in.

Keeping people in boxes weʼve created for them reminds me of the fourth thing youʼre not going to learn in college. You are not going to learn all there is to know about God.

Even though youʼre at a Christian school and you think you have a pretty good idea of who God is, let me just warn you, He is going to continually blow your mind. He refuses to stay in the boxes you keep building for Him. The longer I know Him, the more I realize how little I know.

You think your parents and your pastor and your professors have God figured out. Youʼre going to get caught up in the idea that what youʼve always been told is always right. You are going to feel very uncomfortable with the idea that people you love, respect, and trust arenʼt always right about everything, but then youʼre going to learn that although people are fallible and will let you down, you can always trust in God. Even when trusting is the very hardest thing to do.

Remember the not-so-pleasant places in Dr. Seussʼs Oh, the Places Youʼll Go? In a Lurch, in a Slump, the Waiting Place, Alone? Oh, wait. You canʼt remember because that book wonʼt be published until your junior year. Anyway, just trust me, you have yet to go to some places you wonʼt want to be. Iʼm not going to go into details because itʼs some scary stuff, but you need to know life isnʼt always easy. And as hard as it is for you to believe right now, there will come a day where you will question everything you have ever believed. You will learn then that “unshakeable faith is faith that has been shaken,”

because your faith will be shaken to its very core. Trust me when I tell you what you believe about God is going to fail you but God will never fail you. Iʼm still trying to figure that one out myself, but just know that God is so much bigger than you know right now.

God wonʼt the be the only one you donʼt have figured out by the time you graduate. The fifth thing you wonʼt learn is that God made you special and He loves you very much. For one thing, the Veggie Tales havenʼt been invented yet so you have no idea who Bob the Tomato is, much less the motto he uses in every video. Sure, youʼve sung “Jesus Loves Me” and your relationship with Jesus is based on your knowledge that He loved you enough to die for you, but you are going to continue to struggle with the idea that He loves you just as you are.

I know you struggle with the idea that anyone loves you just like you are. Thatʼs why youʼre always trying to make everyone happy. Youʼre going to choose your major and your church home and your friends and almost everything else based on what you think would please the majority of the people. And itʼs going to make you miserable because youʼre going to always feel like youʼre either “too much” or “not enough.” Youʼre sure youʼre too wordy, too needy, too indecisive. You think youʼre not organized enough, not Godly enough, not pretty or sweet enough.

Itʼs going to take you many years and tears to figure out that God loves you unconditionally. You will have to learn, like the psalmist says in Psalm 45, that God your King is “enthralled with your beauty.” Oh, how He loves you! You just have no idea.

Itʼs going to sound strange coming from your older self who is now a parent and should be stressing the importance of hitting the books and excelling scholastically, but donʼt get so caught up in the academia that you miss this chance to learn about life and who you are. Sure, I want you to make good grades, and you will, but I also want you to learn how to make a life.

Youʼve got a great one ahead of you. Love, Amy

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Guest clogger?

Our second entry in the Back 2 School Guest Bloggers’ Week is from Darrell Cook. Darrell is the director of the Baptist Collegiate Ministry at Virginia Tech and has been in campus ministry for like, 32 years. I can’t remember how old he is even though I wrote a birthday tribute to him this year. He’s a great friend, a co-mastermind behind churchplanting123.com and interacts redemptively with collegians on a daily basis.

After several misunderstandings (“Guest clogger? That’s not exactly my style of dance.”, “Guest logger? I don’t have a lumberjack shirt.”), I agreed to be a guest blogger on Jeff Noble’s often-acclaimed and sometimes read “Notes from the Trail.” Seriously, I’m happy to do it because I love my pastor, look up to him, and learn from him regularly. So here they are, “Five Things I Didn’t Learn in College.” Jeff’s keyboard, enjoy the time off.

1. Women and men communicate differently – Okay, I did know this a little bit back then, but most of my knowledge in this area has come post-college. The four females who live in my house continue to teach me daily how to communicate.
2. The Redskins are a bad football team – Didn’t learn that in college, because they were good back then. Since they have never seen it, my kids don’t believe that the Redskins were ever good. They really were good a long time ago. Honest.
3. The Church is more resilient than I can imagine – Two churches that I have gone to don’t exist anymore. My father (a former pastor) warned me before I left for seminary that I might be heading in the wrong direction because, “the church is full of hypocrites.” I have seen good people treated badly by church leaders on several occasions. But despite all of that, I have time and again seen the radiant Church rise out of the ashes of a bad situation. The Church is at her best when people understand the ministry of reconciliation, when her people embrace the gospel, savor the freedom Christ brings, and spread the word to others of the goodness and faithfulness of the Father.
4. Knowing what to pay attention to and what to ignore is pretty important – I used to think that absorbing as much info and experience as possible would help me along the way, but many things that seem useful are just distractions. Finding the still small voice can make every other sound, no matter how seemingly helpful, take its place as just background noise.
5. Don’t take it personally – There are countless opportunities in life to be offended by the words, actions, or lack of action of others. Too often I have taken offense when it would be much wiser to assume the best and extend grace. Colossians 3:12-13 speaks loudly to me here, “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”

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Five things I didn’t learn in college

Our first entry of the week is from Almost an M, the author behind almostm.com: Thinking • Unthinking • Rethinking – Making Disciples in a Post-Christian Context.  He’s a great friend who has served overseas and may wind up back there some day. Now, he and his family are living missionally in Dallas, TX. I’m grateful for his perspective and creative thinking about the church.

Thanks, JourneyGuy, for letting me have some fun with this. I loved me some college days and all that came out of that, but here are 5 things I didn’t learn while at university.

1. How to tell a difference in “flavors” of ramen noodles – in spite of a good, collegiate try, I never acquired this skill. I could see the differences in color, but the taste was always some similar salty, noodly combination. Perhaps you can do better in this area, but I hope you have a little less frequent opportunity in this area than I had. (BTW – I did learn that 4 ramen meals in one day has some pretty negative side effects.)
2. How to dance – if by dance one means moving to the beat and / or in some graceful way, this is something I did not learn to do back then–or since.
3. How to count – of course this skill I mastered in kindergarten.
4. What to expect when parenting offspring – this didn’t even cross my mind.
5. How to drink coffee – needed to do this. Wanted to. Tried many times, but it was just too bitter. Have since gone to a couple cups a day, but it was not a part of my academic regimen. That ate uptake may have cost me a tenth or more of a point on my GPA.
6. How normal and weird a transformed life could be – while at university, I am sad to write, churched people were both more likely and comfortable to be around me than were those that were not regular church-goers. Since those days I have done away with a good measure of piety and really begun to seek out those that are without Christ. This seems to be so much more in keeping with the life of Christ, but a little bit awkward for some that would prescribe a life of retreat from the world.

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Brown & Green

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A la carte: Pack your casket, junk DNA, Cydia tweaks, World Cup

Pack Your Casket

Another VT collegian offers some profound thoughts as she rediscovered the missional heritage of Southern Baptists this past week. I encourage you to read the whole entry, but consider this from Katie Kochuba’s blog:

That fundamental truth makes me want to dance like an African tribal member. A love like that should compel anyone who believes it to willing pack their belongings in a casket and move to an isolated area of the earth to share it with the hopeless. Or reach out to the less fortunate in your city. Or adopt a child. Or lead a Bible study in your community. Or love on a family who needs encouragement.

Matthew 28:17-20 is a mandate, but we should be willing to go because of the grace that has covered our lives, because of the hope that Christ gives us, that surpasses any materialistic object or relationship that’s in our lives.

Katie is working at the IMB main offices this summer. I’m grateful for young adults who not only have a biblical world vision but who cultivate it.

Junk DNA

One of the things that I remember my youth minister constantly preaching to teens about their identities and hang ups was that “God don’t make no junk.” It was an encouraging reminder that no matter what one’s self perception is, God is sovereign, loving and infinitely aware of our condition – whether it be our appearance or disability. What others perceive as ugly or malformed is not so in God’s eyes. It is all for His purposes.

I’ve been remiss in continuing my review of Francis Collins’ The Language of God which I started here, but one of his premises in favor of theistic evolution (and ironically, one of renowned atheist Stephen Hawking) is their assertion that there are vast parts of the genome that are “junk” – not used for anything. This is evidence in favor of their version of evolution. However, in recent months, continued scientific findings are showing that what was considered junk may actually have purposes. This supports Jonathan Wells’ work entitled The Myth of Junk DNA which was vilified upon its release this year. (Source) It’s encouraging to see articulate scientists taking initiative to differ from long-held assumptions about evolution. One writer calls evolution a “scientific pipsqueak in a suit of cultural armor.” He makes an excellent point that evolution is bolstered more by cultural weight and academic momentum of the past 100 years than scientific proof.

Top 7 Cydia tweaks for your iPad

For you geeks out there, Apple released today a new firmware for its iDevices – 4.3.3 – which closes the hole that enabled you to jailbreak your device using jailbreakme.com. If you haven’t jailbroken yet, or want to retain your jailbreak on 4.3.1, don’t upgrade to the latest firmware. (When you plug your device into the computer, iTunes will notify you that you can upgrade to the latest firmware…)

From Twitter this week

Here are some tweets I fav’ed this week that may be of use, inspiration or at least generate an eye-roll:

• What is Google+? (helpful videos for those wondering) HT
• I recommend you chickens learn to talk. Nobody ever said let’s go get a bucket of parrot. (via @crankfetter) HT
• It’s impossible to say “Good Eye Might” without sounding Australian. (via @James_Lyle) HT
• Don’t believe the stats – an entry by pastor/author John Ortberg which echoes a review I wrote a while back.
• What would national repentance look like? (via @Stevetsunami) HT

Women’s World Cup

I’ll confess immediately. Even after a a trip to Spain this summer, I’m not a soccer fan. That is, until last Sunday. I was eating at Bull & Bones here in Blacksburg with the Davenport family and the Women’s World Cup match with Brazil was on every TV in the place. We were quickly inducted into fans as the US gals’ team got a bogus call on a penalty kick. They went on to win against Brazil in OT last Sunday, defeated France on Monday and are scheduled to play Japan this Sunday in the finals. This video shows “How You Rebound After Almost Getting Eliminated From The Women’s World Cup On A Questionable Call.”

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The rain in Spain

When we arrived in Donastia on Friday, it was wonderfully cool weather – in the 70s. On Saturday and Sunday, however, it soared into the 90s and was HOT. On Monday evening, however, a storm blew through, and it’s been drizzling most of Tuesday. The weather is now back in the upper 60s/lower 70s. Incredible.

That also describes our experience here so far. We’ve been humbled to see the excitement of the Basque children in the kids camp to learn English and to learn about our culture. They’ve loved our western garb (cowboy hats, bandannas, and plaid shirts, mostly). More than 40 are enrolled, and they all paid to participate. Paying for an experience like this communicates its value, and parents here are eager for their kids to have an experience with Americans they trust. The Txat Room has a growing reputation in the city for excellent conversational English teaching and real relationship building. We’re blessed to be associated with them.

On being unplugged
We’re at the mall this afternoon on their free WIFI. We’ve been nonstop since our arrival and mostly unplugged. It’s been wonderful to be reminded and enforced to unplug and be for people. It’s humbling to plug back into life, faces and relationships. We need to encourage one another to fast from electronics and social media more often.

On beauty and ministry
Donastia is a place of breathtaking natural beauty. We’ve been by the coast on the last two evenings about sundown, and the scene is an ocular overload. I’ve been disappointed in every single picture we’ve taken. Words nor pictures can do the scene justice. It’s not just the visual but it’s the smell of the water, the noise of the birds, the company of friends.

I asked some of our friends here if they ever take it for granted. I wasn’t surprised to learn that indeed, it’s easy to do. The old adage of familiarity breeding contempt may be too strong of a description, but it at least fosters complacency. As my family is experiencing this together, it’s a reminder to enjoy the simple things and wonderful beauty available around me wherever I am – in Spain or in Blacksburg.

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Saturday in Spain

We’ve been so excited (and tired) the last couple of days. By the time we finally hit the sack here on Friday night, we’d been up over 30 hours. I didn’t sleep much at all on the planes – really just dozed here and there. The Erwins urged us to stay awake until 7:00p or so, and we made it to 9:30. A bed felt so good.

Saturday (and you can see the post I wrote for the Northstar Spain Team site below) was our first full day here. It was spent in orientation, more touring, and getting to meet some of the other workers here. I’ve been on several international trips before, but it’s always humbling to see it through someone’s eyes who has never been overseas. That joy is compounded when it’s your own kids. Sam and Adelyn are sponges. It’s been such a surreal experience introducing them to the world and how much God loves all people on this trip.

Here’s my latest post from the Northstar Spain Team site:
Saturday in Donostia was humbling and amazing. The team spent most of the morning in orientation getting ready for the kids’ camp this week. We enjoyed an incredible lunch of Spanish turkey and ham with Spanish lettuce on Spanish wheat and white bread. ;) (Sandwiches always seem better overseas or if someone else makes them, and in this case it was both.)

After a morning full of orientation, we were able to see the Txat Room (“tx” in the Basque language gives you a “ch” sound). It’s a dynamic business that enables its American owners to engage the Basque people in the English language at an intentional conversational level that results not only in better skills for the customer but also in genuine friendships. We hope to be able to meet and engage some of the clients in conversation this week.

Another fun thing – hanging out with Tucker King again. He’s here assisting the Chat Room for the summer as well!

We rendez-vouzed with Clare Knickman for supper. Clare was part of one of the BCM teams to Spain and was offered a summer job here. We spent the evening playing on the beach, watching a breathtaking sunset. 

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Hearing what you want to hear

We have selective auditory capacity. We literally choose to hear only what we want to hear. It works visually as well.

Proof positive? I can call my kids to come do a chore, and they claim (after I storm into their presence irritatedly) that they never heard me. However, if it’s time to eat or go somewhere fun, they show up before I finish saying, “Let’s go.” In the same way, our son can walk by discarded dirty clothes on the floor for a week without being able to see them.

Sounds like normal kids and teens, doesn’t it?

It’s unfortunate that we perpetuate our selectivity into “maturity.” If someone speaks truth to us that we don’t want to hear or consider its implications, we “turn a deaf ear.” We conveniently “overlook” significant issues that might make us uncomfortable.

The reverse is also true. We voraciously consume flattery. We love to hear from others anything that might make us feel good, smart, funny or good-looking. I hear less and less of the latter…

It’s a problem that’s been around a long time. In the New Testament letter of 2 Timothy, chapter 4, verse 3, its’ recorded:

For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear.

Hearing what we want to hear is a contagious disease that inflates our egos. With this perverse selection of unreality, we can truly not discern truth after a time. We construct a play world with ourselves at the center, and only what lifts us up reaches our ear drums.

The age-old adage for news reporters is a good guide here:

“Consider the source.”

For instance, if someone with extremely poor vision, wearing coke-bottle-lens glasses bragged to you about your looks… while looking slightly off into the distance… you would probably discount their compliment. And wisely so.

It’s the same for whatever else you’re allowing into your selection. Consider the source. Is what you want to hear coming from someone you would trust with your life? Are those whose compliments you dine on truly speaking significance into your life? Or do they turn around and utter the same banalities to the next person they want to impress?

The good news? There is Some One who will always speak truth into your life in a way that will benefit and bless you – even if it’s not what you initially want to hear.

What you want to hear only matters if it comes from the right source.

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Life-force sucking

It’s no fun to be around negative people. It’s a wonder that what they so easily perceive as faults in others cannot be self-understood in themselves. I was referring to the types of conversations that these folks seem to generate when a friend described them perfectly.

“It’s a life-force sucking experience,” she said.

Exactly.

It’s so refreshing when someone captures in language an experience that has not been describable before. Conversations with negative people are “life-force sucking.” The sheer ability to put it in words almost gives one courage to endure the next experience.

If that wasn’t enough, the same friend contributed another winning thought seconds later. We were wondering whether negative people ever sense that they’re being negative and desire to change.

“I hope so,” she said. “Conviction is not a friendly reminder.”

Boom goes the dynamite. Two winners from one conversation about negative people. If you use either quote in your own conversation, just tell folks that “Emily came up with those.” And remember, keep negatives for old pictures…

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Designer detours

Carolyn and Adelyn returned from a run to Target with a dejected look on Carolyn’s face. Adelyn promptly grabbed her jambox (one that holds an iPod) and bebopped outside with the neighborhood kids. Carolyn plopped on the couch in fashion defeat.

The story goes that while out shopping, she had tried to convince Adelyn that she could get a plain pair of mesh shorts and fashion them up. Or whatever. The explanation went over my head. When it comes to fashion, I still wear sweaters in the spring and corduroys at the wrong times. My favorite jacket is a white fleece zipup that looks like it was freshly sheered. Carolyn and Adelyn, on the other hand, are fashion queens.

Just this past Sunday, I left for church in a sweater. Carolyn woke up bleary-eyed in time to see my attire and rasped out, “You’re not going to wear that are you?”

My first thought was a retort along the lines of, “No, I just thought I’d put it on and head out the door in it to see what you’d say.” But, I’ve learned after 19 years of marriage to simply respond, “Huh?”

“It’s spring,” she said.

“It’s cold,” I replied.

I wore the sweater. A small triumph for men’s fashion rights.

However, two hours later as the fam arrived at church, Adelyn (who was unaware of the sweater dialogue) approached me with a half-donut in her hand and said, “Dad… uh, you don’t even match.”

How can one preach with confidence with that kind of family support?

Back to the story…

At the store, Carolyn tried to convince Adelyn that she could make her a very hip pair of shorts if she’d just get the generic kind. I assume that Caro would throw the generic shorts into a plastic bag with shiny beads, hot glue, a Seventeen magazine and shake it all up and thus produce a stunning pair of Wonder Shorts sure to be the envy of every other sixth grade girl at Blacksburg Middle School. My role, of course, would be to ensure that the Wonder Shorts fell 2-3 inches below the knee.

Adelyn would have none of it. So Carolyn sat on the couch in the aforesaid state of fashion defeat.

Another story…

I reminded her of my buddies Chris and Tony from junior high and high school. They had two other siblings, and with a family of four, it was hard to provide them with the “in” clothes of the day. We all went to Pulaski Academy in Little Rock, and the demand for stylish duds was high.

Chris and Tony’s mom came up with an ingenious solution that I’ve always admired. She cut Izod alligator logos from socks and old shirts and sewed them onto new, generic collared shirts. Chris and Tony were always wearing Izod clothing. Anything alligatored was all the rage back in the mid-80s, and their mom’s craftiness and cunning enabled all her kids to dress in “style.”

Just thinking…

Faking it to fit in… begs a comparison of faith and fashion. I suppose that as long as pretending doesn’t go deeper than a shirt, one may be called a good steward rather than a hypocrite. On the other hand, insisting on the “real thing” may indicate the need for adjusted expectations if appearance becomes a person’s ticket to acceptance.

By the way, it’s April 8 and chilly enough outside to wear my sheep. Yay! Nuff said.

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Sugar Bowl blues

You might recall that friends and family helped send me and our worship leader to the Sugar Bowl. A Hog fan and a Buckeye fan traded barbs for just under a month. On Christmas day, Sam also was delighted to find that he had a ticket and was bowl bound. It was our first BCS bowl game.

We had a blast, but the final score, OSU 31, Arkansas 26 cannot unpack the intensity of the game. The Buckeyes played five players who will be suspended for the first five games of next year. They traded award paraphernalia for tattoos and money about two years ago. Those five players made the difference for OSU in the game. According to ESPN.com:

Pryor even sold a sportsmanship award from the 2008 Fiesta Bowl, along with his 2008 Big Ten championship ring. More egregious to Ohio State fans, he sold a “gold pants” trinket — an iconic charm given to players who are a part of a victory over archrival Michigan. He may not be easily forgiven by Buckeyes fans who revere such traditions. Pryor must repay $2,500 for selling the three items.

So there was that.

Then there was the later revelation that Sugar Bowl executive Paul Hoolahan pressured the NCAA and OSU to allow the soon-to-suspended players to participate in the Sugar Bowl so that it would be a good matchup.

Then there was the hype around Ryan Mallet who at one time this season was a Heisman contender. The sheer athletic ability and sensation of Auburn’s Scam Newton finally quieted his bid and all other hopefuls.

It was an epic matchup.

But it was a disgraceful first half. It was difficult to stomach as the Buckeyes surged forward and ended the half 28-7. But it got downright nail-biting as the Hogs clawed their way back into the game, field goal by field goal with another TD and then a safety.

The only point in the game that Cody got snippy was when he looked down the row to Sam and said innocently, “Hey Sam! Look! Our score is reversed.” (It was 31-13.) He was a great winner and a fun sports partner for the trip, but especially for the 4th quarter.

As the final minutes ticked away, Arkansas stymied OSU’s offense time and again. A questionable safety was awarded to Arkansas after stopping a run play in the end zone. The first half was all Buckeye, and the second half was all Razorback.

Finally, the Hogs stunned Ohio State with a blocked punt with 1:09 left in the game. The Hog fans were going crazy, and the Buckeye fans were not only subdued. They were deathly silent. I looked down my row and one point and due to the excitement of the game, I failed to snap a picture whose image remains seared in my memory of the experience. Cody and two OSU fans next to him were sitting down… their heads in their hands in disbelief and shock.

Their depression was short-lived, however, after an Arkansas receiver dropped the first pass attempt by Mallet (dropped passes plagued Arkansas all night and subsequently spawned a plethora of jokes about the Hogs’ reception being worse than AT&T’s). Unfazed, Mallet stepped back and fired a second pass… right into the soon-to-be-suspended hands of Solomon Thomas.

Sam and I transformed from jubilation to depression quicker than Professor McGonagall can turn into a cat. Cody, likewise, with from despondency to elation. OSU knelt on the ball in the following seconds to end the game.

It had been a great game, and we’re still grateful to have been given the opportunity to go.

Hindsight

It’s hard to decide how I feel about the suspended players playing in the game. The sports commentary in December and January seems to have heavily come down on the failure of the NCAA to step up to the moment and demonstrate integrity. After their exoneration of Cam Newton earlier this year amid suspicions, the general mood of the public towards the NCAA is not one of moral confidence.

One sports writer said that while OSU snapped their nine-game losing streak against SEC teams in bowl games with the win. It should be an important accomplishment and a relief for the program.

“But the victory has a dirty feel, and reeks of poor judgment and misguided priorities.”

On the other hand, I’m not sure any Razorback fan would have wanted to win (and it seems a foregone conclusion that we most certainly would have without the contributions of those players) against a hobbled Buckeye team. It’s rather hard to boast of a win against a team that didn’t have all its resources present.

The bigger picture remains elusive for most and should not depend upon loyalty to a team. I think we all lost in this year’s sports shenigans.

In September, it was announced that former USC star Reggie Bush’s Heisman Trophy would be given back and his accomplishment expunged from the Heisman record. “In the Reggie Bush case, USC was given a two year bowl ban for using an ineligible player in two bowls. That ruling was arbitrary and the first of its kind.” [Source]

I think one thing we’re seeing is the inner turmoil involved among “leaders” when they are faced with making difficult decisions. It’s not easy to penalize a student-athlete when it will affect other athletes, a team and a school and a fan base who did nothing wrong. What we need is consistency. As much as it hurts, we need leaders who will establish and stick to rules and procedures for the betterment of the organizations and institutions they lead.

Another thing is the ridiculous amounts of money involved in college sports. It’s not easy to justify the excessive and extreme amounts of financial benefits that coaching staffs receive when they win their conferences or get selected to a BCS game (Here in Blacksburg, VT football coach Frank Beamer received a $50,000 bonus for winning the ACC and another $75,000 bonus for the Orange Bowl. VT athletic staff is compensated with bonuses all the way down to the equipment managers [Source]). It’s especially contentious when the athletes they rode to those games receive little in comparison to the work involved (does a 3 or 4-year full scholarship – when non-athlete students receive the same for merit – justify the financial reward received by coaches and schools?).

The sheer fun of sports is tarnished when rules are ignored and regulations are obscured. I have no solutions. Just a bandwagon.. Is anyone catching this?

The one thing I’d like to have heard from all this on January 4 is.. “Mallet throws! He catches it! Touchdown!”

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Review: The Dumbest Generation

The subtitle of this book hooked me. It’s “How the Digital Age Stupifies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or Don’t Trust Anyone Under 30).” Since I’m over 30, you can trust this review…

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New Year’s Eve blogging reflections

New Year’s Eve. We’ve been there before. Done that.

After a fun early evening with friends, we’re back at Noble World HQ, with the TV and housepants on.

Daughter and wifey are on the couch watching old episodes of Monk on the Roku. I’m on the couch with a Macbook and a mindful of musing. Tomorrow is 2011. It’s just another day, yet because of our calendaring system, we treat it as sacred. Interestingly enough, it is a powerful opportunity to practice valuable introspection. Resolutions will come and go over the next 90 days, and this entry may prove personally meaningless as well. Yet, on the last night of 2010, some of brain energy is directed to the past five years of blogging here at journeyguy.com.

Bluntly, my blog is not where I’d hoped it would be. Five years ago when I began blogging, I envisioned my blog creating ongoing conversations and dialogue with a worldwide audience. Narcissistically, I thought Notes from the Trail would become a preferred destination and bookmarked stop for thousands. It hasn’t.

With great appreciation to the 150-200 folks a day that stop in (according to Google Analytics), I certainly don’t want to discourage your traffic. I’ve enjoyed the friendships and comments that this blog has generated, but I wonder… Is it a good mental investment? Should I direct my energies elsewhere? Or should I work harder to focus journeyguy.com in order to generate a larger audience?

I love writing. I do. It’s cathartic. It’s a catalyst. It’s community. But my end goal is not necessarily random entries about random life happenings. Problem is… I don’t know what my end goal is.

I have dreams about getting a book published. But then I question my motives. Every church planter/pastor that is worth their salt (you detect any sarcasm?) wants or has a book published. Do I really want to toss in a trite contribution to the cesspool of contemporary churchianity? Do I really have anything to say that is real, beneficial and ultimately and truly God-exalting?

And so I ponder on the Eve of 2011.

To blog? To book? I still have hopes that one may lead to another. Consider the story of the Pioneer Woman whose blogging has led beyond books to a movie. It’s enough to depress aspiring, consistent writers such as yours truly.

And then there’s the counsel of Ecclesiastes 12.12:

“But, my child, let me give you some further advice: Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out.”

I’ve got a book project or two on the burner. Maybe 2011 will be the year of focused, intentional effort for publication. We’ll see. Right now… I think I’ll go watch some Monk. It’s New Year’s Eve, after all.

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