dis n dat

I think it's funny that companies advertise excersize equipment/systems on TV with the by saying, "Get off the couch and turn off the TV!" I think they know that people are weak and they want to get off the couch, but they really won't. BUT they will buy a product in hopes that it will prompt the life-change that is truly needed for real change. Case and point: we're having a community garage sale at church in a couple of weeks so the garage is full of donations... among them 6, count them SIX NordicTrack machines. Those things were like $300 when they came out. I used to take great pleasure in having the "risk free informational video and literature" sent to our home when I was a wee lad. Now we'll be lucky if we get $10 for them. crazy.

Hmmmmm what else, what else? It's July tomorrow... that's nutty. I have so SO much to do before 1- drama camp and 2- youth rally... yikes! Almost panic time... almost. Today I got two new books- Adam by Henry Nouwen. I'm not totally sure what it's about but it's short... and it was HIGHLY recommended by my intimate ally, JG. If he likes it, I'm sure I will too.
The other is "When You're Engulfed in Flames" by David Sedaris. Its a collection of random humorous writings, many of which were in the New Yorker. I'm really pumped to read both... where to start??
Good things.
tomorrow: new month, new priorities, new start.
hoo-rah!

oiy vey. 10 hours of Lord of the Rings today... how can sitting on a couch make me exhausted?

Oh see? SUPER TONES!!!!

Oh man this is the greatest!
The OC Supertones are reuniting and I'm going to see them at Sonshine next month. Awesome. I saw them when I was in high school a whole bunch of times and was totally into the whole Ska movement. Such a blast from the past. We had some great times at the New Union in NordEast, 'tis a shame that it's gone...

SO, to start off your week, enjoy the sweetly hardcore melodic tones of the Supertones:

Unite

Live and undrugged six years and countin'
Believer in Christ, Yes, yes, the blessed fountain
Apologetic warrior, chalk one up for the visitors
Casting fiercesome light into the shadows of midnight
To the underground we descend
With our whole gereration to defend
Got a whole army on my case, Got the devil in my face
'Cause that punk knows when's the end

Unite, ignite and spark a light to burn so bright the
Sight will blind the blind of this our modern time.

O yeah, I got a beef with the fence-sitters
Tiers among the wheat, the cop-outs, the quitters
Cut from the branch fruitless, no good,
Only one use and that's firewood
Pay no mind to the generation line
Forsake your sect and be color blind
The problem's not Hollywood, the problem's not Washington
The problem's a weak divided church of schizmed Christians.

Never going back the the darkness I was damned in
Now I turn my back on the place that I was found in
Flick a match on Babylon, burn baby burn
Raised my mind for all this time and now it's your turn
Got enough gasoline and plenty o' matches
Finally I'm free and I shake off the ashes
From the city of refuse, I refuse to pay dues
To you, not me, and none of the free and the few.

I'm not exactly sure what was up, but the interwebs in the area are all messed up. Several members who live south of me are w/o internet all together, and my service was sketchy at best this weekend. As such, some of my posts came through cyberspace at the same time even though 40 hours separated them... odd. so I posted dated a couple in order to meet my 1000 words a week minimum. Just so y'all at home are kept "in the loop".

Also, I have decided what song I would cover. ha!
Running on Faith by Eric Clapton.
WHY? Because it's a sweet tune that I can't get out of my head after I heard it the other day.
Lately I've been running on faith
What else can a poor boy do?
But my world will be right
When love comes over you

Lately I've been talking in my sleep
I can't imagine what I'd have to say
Except my world will be right
When love comes back your way

I've always been
One to take each and every day
Seems like by now
I'd find a love who cares just for me

Then we'd go running on faith
All of our dreams would come true
And our world will be right
When love comes over me and you

[Chorus]

Then we'd go running on faith
All of our dreams would come true
And our world will be right
When love comes over me and you
When love comes over you

teeth and internet

For some reason I've been treating bla(h)ging like a homework assignment that I don't want to do. I am busy, but I'm not too busy to spend a half hour writing... and yet I'm not taking the time to do so. Silliness, just silliness.
I don't want to treat this little experiment like it's an obligation or a "have to", because it most certainly is not. And yet here I am half way through and I am pulling teeth to put senseless drivel up for all to see.
Speaking of teeth, I am very excited to go back to the dentist soon. You may remember my previous post about the horrors of the dentist's chair. WELL, a super sweet Oral-B electric tooth brush and 2 rolls of floss later and I'm feelin' pretty good about my 6 month check up. I will be very disappointed if my time at The Smile Center is as un-enjoyable as it was in January. I'll keep you posted.

So, in summation, I am trying to weather the mental fatigue of summer nights and making time to bla(h)g, and my pearly whites are as pearly as ever.
good things.

300 years and the need remains...

* Presidential proclamation of a national day of fasting and prayer made by John Adams, March 6 1789.

I have thought proper to recommend, and I do hereby recommend accordingly, that Thursday, the 25th day of April next, be observed throughout the United States of America as a day of solemn humiliation, fasting, and prayer; that the citizens on that day abstain as far as may be from their secular occupations, devote the time to the sacred duties of religion in public and in private; that they call to mind our numerous offenses against the Most High God, confess them before Him with the sincerest penitence, implore His pardoning mercy, through the Great Mediator and Redeemer, for our past transgressions, and that through the grace of His Holy Spirit we may be disposed and enabled to yield a more suitable obedience to His righteous requisitions in time to come; that He would interpose to arrest the progress of that impiety and licentiousness in principle and practice so offensive to Himself and so ruinous to mankind; that He would make us deeply sensible that "righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach' to any people;" that He would turn us from our transgressions and turn His displeasure from us; that He would withhold us from unreasonable discontent, from disunion, faction, sedition, and insurrection; that He would preserve our country from the desolating sword; that He would save our cities and towns from a repetition of those awful pestilential visitations under which they have lately suffered so severely, and that the health of our inhabitants generally may be precious in His sight; that He would favor us with fruitful seasons and so bless the labors of the husbandman as that there may be food in abundance for man and beast; that He would prosper our commerce, manufactures, and fisheries, and give success to the people in all their lawful industry and enterprise; that He would smile on our colleges, academies, schools, and seminaries of learning, and make them nurseries of sound science, morals, and religion; that He would bless all magistrates, from the highest to the lowest, give them the true spirit of their station, make them a terror to evil doers and a praise to them that do well; that He would preside over the councils of the nation at this critical period, enlighten them to a just discernment of the public interest, and save them from mistake, division, and discord; that He would make succeed our preparations for defense and bless our armaments by land and by sea; that He would put an end to the effusion of human blood and the accumulation of human misery among the contending nations of the earth by disposing them to justice, to equity, to benevolence, and to peace; and that he would extend the blessings of knowledge, of true liberty, and of pure and undefiled religion throughout the world; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

First of all... that was ALL ONE SENTENCE!
Secondly, how awesome is that? And how needed today?
Thirdly, How fast would the ACLU be on that if any elected official would make that proclamation today?

hmmmm... I can't connect at home... so no bla(h)g for me today... here's hoping for better internet tomorrow!

blah. i'm tried.
sorry to be so lame. This weekend I'll make time for you, my faithful reader(s). Until then... have an iced tea.

Russell on my mind

For some reason I'm enamored with Bertrand Russell the British author, mathematician, & philosopher (1872 - 1970). Here's some of his thoughts:

If there were in the world today any large number of people who desired their own happiness more than they desired the unhappiness of others, we could have paradise in a few years.

In the part of this universe that we know there is great injustice, and often the good suffer, and often the wicked prosper, and one hardly knows which of those is the more annoying.

Passive acceptance of the teacher's wisdom is easy to most boys and girls. It involves no effort of independent thought, and seems rational because the teacher knows more than his pupils; it is moreover the way to win the favour of the teacher unless he is a very exceptional man. Yet the habit of passive acceptance is a disastrous one in later life. It causes man to seek and to accept a leader, and to accept as a leader whoever is established in that position.

haha, this one is just funny:
The place of the father in the modern suburban family is a very small one, particularly if he plays golf.

cover shmover.

This was supposed to be a quicky post telling you what song I would cover if I was in a cover-making mood... but it's turned into a much to drawn out thought process that has actually angered me.
The bottom line is I'm in a bad mood and every song I put down has made me mad, which is weird, I know... but such is the current state of affairs.

SO I wouldn't cover any song right now, I guess.
Lesson learned.

nah

I'm almost ONLY 1/2 way thru this little experiment. I once again lack any and all motivation to post...
here's hoping it'll pass quickly.

Gah i had a clever idea on which to write, but i've forgotten it. drat. VBS tomorrow. softball tonight- 1 win 1 loss; 0-4 game 1, 4-4 game 2. not too shabby.

i've come to the conclusion that regular joes like me who attempt to blog are pretty lame. We really have nothing of worth to say. Its pretty voyeuristic when you get down to it. So rest assured once this year is over I'll not continue this little slice of the interwebs. Until then, I'll try to be somewhat interesting.

gah! I'm sick again! These summer colds are the worst.
VBS next week. no rest for the weary-throated.
:(

It is still light out (kinda yellow with all these storms passing thru) and i'm going to bed. you've won, basketball camp. i'll get you next year.

People act like terrorism is a new problem, but I remember a certain Marty McFly having a disastrous run-in with terrorists back in 1985.

nice.

Gulf oil spill, ecological disaster or payback for Boston Tea Party? Touché England. Touché.

Mr. Rogers Rocks

This is probably cheating, but there is honestly nothing more I could do with this than direct your attention to it. Jason Gray is an amazing musician, but he's an even better writer. Here's his latest blog post. Perhaps you'll find that the Rabbit Room is a good place to spend some time. Enjoy!

http://www.rabbitroom.com/?p=7742

this. is. what. i. do.

Hello friends! It’s been a while since I’ve given the blogging experiment the attention it deserves. Rest assured it’s been 50% busy-ness 50% laziness. Its graduation season, as I’ve said many times before, and part of that is having to talk to people’s old relatives that I don’t know. The first question, typically, is, “what do you do?” I tell them I’m a youth minister which is followed up with, “what does that mean?” That’s a valid question. Sometimes I wonder that very thing. We in conservative Lutheranism have made our schools into our youth ministry, so the idea of a youth minister is a foreign idea to most. That being the case, it makes the fact that I even got a call in the first place something that is truly Divine. BLH had no idea what they wanted in a youth minister and I had no idea what to do as a youth worker. It wasn’t until I was able to learn from some amazing youth ministry icons like Doug Fields and Duffy Robbins that I found how impactful a youth guy could be.

To take the time to really explain what I do is something that I don’t mind doing, but isn’t necessarily grad party conversation stuffs. So I usually sort of play it off and say I play a lot of Guitar Hero and eat Taco Bell. I probably shouldn’t joke it off so much, and I might come across like I don’t care. I hope I don’t but really what can you do? Truth is, I would guess most people in our fellowship don’t think there’s a need for youth ministers, after all you and I never had one, and we turned out OK. Regardless, after I joke off my job description, roughly half the folks I talk to ask the worst question I could possibly imagine. I’ve had roommates and romantic interests ask me the same thing and it is really hurtful and down right rude. They ask, “When are you going to get a real job?”

I know what they mean, and I don’t plan on being a youth guy my whole life. But the idea that people over 30 years old are no longer relevant to teenagers or the pouring of ones life into the lives of kids isn’t a “real” profession is absolutely maddening.

Alas, at the risk of sounding either conceded or over dramatic, I will not do my best to describe what it is I do. Take that old guys that smell like pickles.

I mentor kids. If it isn’t terribly apparent from reading this bla(h)g, I’ve lived a heck of a life so far. There ain’t too much I haven’t done. That doesn’t make someone a good mentor, a long live of idiocracy, but I think it makes me a person who doesn’t judge and after 5 years of this gig, I’m someone who cannot be shocked anymore. More than that, I am 10-20 years older (and hopefully wiser) than the lads and lassies with whom I work, so I have a perspective on life they do not have. As such I’m able to be their conscious for them, if necessary, and ideally steer them in the right direction when it comes to life’s decisions. The greatest part of a mentorship is I get to share my faith. As Norb says, the Bible calls us to be witnesses; all we can do is express how we’ve seen God work in our lives. I know God is real because I’ve seen Him work in amazing ways, and I get to share that and give that assurance to kids every day. Its pretty awesome and the thing I take the greatest joy in. But someday I’ll get a real job.

I hang out with kids. Sometimes it is Taco Bell, other times its video games in the church basement, or watching a UFC fight in a bar (and grill). I always make a concerted effort to include as many kiddos as possible. Its so much fun. I get to connect kids to each other, help build community and encourage strong, Christian relationships. It is through hanging out that trust is built. What starts as going out for wings every once in a while can lead to, “hey so I really need to talk to someone”… you know? By spending time with kids when things are good, I’m letting them know that I’ll totally be there for them when times are bad, if that makes any sense. Maybe I’m giving myself too much credit, but the bottom line is I really love spending time with teenagers. Its fun to hear all the things that are going on in their lives and it truly keeps me up to date on the current youth culture. Good times.

I counsel kids. Life hurts, God heals. I am so humbled every time a kid approaches me with an issue or quagmire that has been burdening them. The fact that they would turn to me is the greatest honor. I tell ya, though. It is amazing the hurt and scars and turmoil that some kids have to bear. It is truly heartbreaking. I can’t even begin to tell you. There have been nights that I have honestly wept after an hours-long phone call or meeting because I was so painfully made aware of sin in this world manifested in the lives of kids that are stronger than I will ever be. The cool thing is there are so many ways to reach out to kids now- e-mail, texting, Skype, AIM, Facebook Chat… there’s a world of possibilities, and its really cool to see God working even on social networking sites.

I'm an advocate for kids. Sometimes there needs to be a mediator between kids and parents or between friends. Every once in a while that’s me. I know my kids. I see where they’re coming from and I try to be sympathetic even in with they’re being pathetically apathetic. Sometimes parents need a second opinion, and sometimes kids need validation. Sometimes kids who are being picked on need an adult to step in. I get to be a voice for kids who are unable to articulate for themselves, and that’s pretty neat. Nine times out of ten they have no idea I’m even involved, and that’s the way I like it.

I get to share Jesus with kids. I’ve written about this before, but it goes hand in hand with the previous paragraphs. The Lord has given me opportunity to every day share His sweet grace with His children. Is there anything greater? Today I spoke to 110 4th-10th graders at basketball camp about how we can honor God even in playing a sport like BBall. How cool is that? Or to see a big tough manly man of an 18 year old break down in tears when he hears that the crap that he was put on probation for is forgiven in the blood of Jesus… wow. Jesus is a reality to me, and it is my professional endeavor to model His love, share His grace, and help it become a reality to kids who are trying to figure out what the heck is going on in their crazy worlds. Awesome. But someday I’ll realize that it’s all silly and find something more adult to do, I’m sure.

Those are the cool parts of my job. I also plan events, clean up messes, make messes, get yelled at by church folks for using the kitchen, drive all over the world to see events and cheer kids on, put out fires, unwittingly cause fires (literally and metaphorically), sit in council meetings, and spend way too much time writing about what I do. :) There’s much more, I’m sure, but I think you get the gist. The bottom line is I'm blessed beyond words to get paid for what I do, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

So old school old people, ex-girlfriends, and annoying roommates: I have a real job and it rocks. Moreover, while you are drowning in a pool of self-loathing in your 10x10 cubical working for “the man”, or wallowing in your elderly plight in your plastic-covered Laz-E-Boy, I’ll be playing with Little Forrest, eating wings, and playing 500 with the coolest kids this side of the Mississippi. For Real.

This really says it all:

Fight night.