Monday, December 24, 2012

Obligatory Bucket List

1. Record 8 seconds a day for a month and compile it into a single video. Video here.
2. Record 5 seconds a day for two months and compile into a single video. Video here.
3. Record 1 second a day for a year and compile into a single video.
4. Take a picture of myself in the same position every day for a year.
5. Write a song that I really enjoy.
6. Be able to do sweeps on the guitar.
7. Be the vocalist in a hardcore band.
8. Start a church.
9. Start a youth program.
10. Have people read this blog.
11. Move to Germany.
12. Change a kid's life.
13. Own a house.
14. Become engaged.
15. Become married.
16. Become a father.
17. Become a grandfather.
18. Become buried.
19. Get to heaven.
20. Get some of my thoughts published.
21. Work in a coffee shop.
22. Own a coffee shop.
23. Finish college. http://on.fb.me/1PQqDyX
24. Finish college with at least a 3.5.
25. Get hired as a youth pastor.
26. Become a member of AICP (American Institute of Certified Planners).
27. Move twice.
28. Run a half-marathon. http://bit.ly/1cCiluQ
29. Run a marathon.
30. Be able to wake up at 6 or earlier without wanting to sleep all day.
31. Hike the Appalachian Trail.
32. Camp outside in the winter, in the woods, by myself.
33. Own a well-behaved dog.
32. Climb a 14'er besides Pikes Peak.  Democrat, Cameron, and Lincoln http://bit.ly/1WMAihp
33. Land a backroll on the wakeboard.
34. Land a 360 on the wakeboard.
35. Take up biking. http://bit.ly/1Wrnklx
36. Do a triathlon.
37. Read through the whole Bible.
38. Make friends in Europe to visit.
39. Don't get overweight (or become not overweight if overweight has been becomst).
40. Make up a new word. Becomst.
41. Learn German.  To the fluential maximum.
42. Bike trip- HVA -> Bay Port, MI -> Hopedale, IL -> HVA
... (to be continued)

Places I have been, things I have done:

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Some Thoughts On Dec. 14, 2012



*Keep in mind these are the thoughts and beliefs of a junior in college, not a theologian*


What do we do about this?
How could we have prevented it?

These are the questions that have been asked since the moment that the shooter entered Sandy Hook Elementary School last Friday. 

I have heard a lot of good ideas and a lot of bad ideas.  There are those that say that gun control should be increased because then the shooter never would have had the guns (in this case it may be correct, seeing as the shooter seems to have a mental disorder as described in this article, take that for what you will).  Others say that gun control should be lessened so that those with concealed permits may have the lawful right to carry in schools, thus protecting themselves and the students.  Not that I desire to delve too deeply into this, but I will simply say that I am not against hunting but I am definitely against the availability of assault rifles to citizens, even with background checks.  I believe WV Senator, Joe Manchin sums that up pretty well.  Now, I happen to be one who also believes that killing is wrong in any sense of the word, which means to me that concealed weapons are not the solution.  I believe it is possible to prevent situations such as the shooting with no death required on either part.  One of these solutions being what Marylin Manson said about the Columbine shooters, that he "would listen to them, which no one else did." Now this wouldn't work in every situation, of course, but many of those other situations can be addressed by John Howard Yoder's book, What Would You Do? (Great book, great read, great discussion, great thoughts, great feels, etc) Death will happen in this world no matter how much we push for peace; but dang-it, we can try!  And we are called to try (as Christians, that is).  End of that subject.

Now, I've heard a lot of people say that the reason this happened is because we took God out of our schools.  Shut up!  This pains me so much.  If you are naive enough to think that God isn't in schools just because public prayer isn't allowed then you don't know much about how God works (not that I know much either, I guess it would be better to say you don't know much about the beliefs of true Christianity...) and you shouldn't be throwing those words about carelessly.  God isn't in legislature, God isn't in laws, God isn't in the government, God doesn't stay within little boundaries that man has put on Him (He proved this with the healing of Naaman, and sending Elijah to the widow in Zarephath, and countless other ways).  God is in each and everyone of us (Luke 17:21).  He is in the people who run the government, He is in the people who enact the laws against them, He is in the atheist principle that cracks down when they see a student praying.  He goes where He pleases and, as is accepted by most all God-fearing people, this means that He is everywhere.

Ok, that little rant done, I (almost) apologize if my words were too brash for anyone.

Now, in all honesty, I believe that God (and Christianity) will flourish in atmospheres where He is limited by man's vain conceit, by laws enacted against Him, and in environments where people try and push their reasoning over His.  Examples from the past include the Anabaptist's in Europe in the 1500's, the early church (you know, the one that Jesus started, was persecuted by the Roman Empire, yeah, that one), and now this school in Connecticut.  God flourished within the likes of Vicki Soto, who hid her students in a closet and took the bullets herself, leaving all of her students unharmed.  God flourished within the community and country that surrounded the families of those who lost loved ones.  God flourished within Robbie Parker as he extended his love towards the shooter and the shooter's family.  And I guess you could say that God flourished when Obama quoted the Scripture, and all these people calling for God to be brought back into schools.  (Here is a video of Mike Huckabee talking about this, I was sort of wary of it at first, but take it for what you will (sorry about all the links)) Leave God out of public schools, but put God back in our personal lives.  Public education should probably be unbiased in any way, no matter what we think.  There are private schools for our Christianity to be taught, if that is so desired.  That isn't what the public school system was made for.  Once Christianity is taught in the public schools, then every other religion needs to be taught as well. 

But these people that state that the reason for the shooting was God not being allowed in school are off-base.  Now, I am going to proceed with a short discussion on free-will and what I believe it is.  I have seen many posts from those against the Christian faith who find this a very weak statement about why we believe that God "allowed" this to happen.  Well, if this is our faith, then how is that weak?  That is the way that it is, that is how God created us.  It is something that we do not understand fully and debate about within Christianity and we (should) understand how these debates make those outside of Christianity think it is a fallacy.  But this is what I believe, and I believe strongly in it.  There isn't anything weak about it.  But I digress incoherently.
So, this free will thing.  My belief is as follows.  I guess the best way to describe this is to use the word "destiny." In this sense it is sort of predestination, but it differs.  I believe that God has a "destiny" that he has for each of us, yet it is up to us to decide whether we want to fulfill that "destiny" fully, partly, not at all, or fight that "destiny." In the case of atrocities such as this, it would be fighting.

Now back to the original thoughts.  Just one more.  I saw a quote that "Morgan Freeman" said, (I use quotations because I don't know if he really said it) he said that we shouldn't remember the shooter because that is what can encourage people to want to commit these atrocities in the future, for the recognition.  He said, rather, that we should remember at least one name of the victims.  Honour those victims, the families deserve that.  Vicki Soto is the name that rings in my head, namely because of her selfless act.  Another is Jack Pinto.  It doesn't matter who you remember, just remember the victims.

That's about all I have.  I really just wanted to write these down to organize them better.  Feedback is appreciated.  I expressed my opinions here, and that is that.




*Disclaimer: This link contains strong language*  Chris Rock on gun control.  Not my exact thoughts, I just laughed.  Because Chris Rock.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

La Dispute - "Nine" Live Violitionist Session

La Dispute - "Nine" Live Violitionist session

Video of song. ^  Right der.


"I recall once on the church steps,
When I moved to kiss your chest,
How we paid such close attention
To each sweet and stuttered breath,
I should've stopped to paint our picture,
Captured honest pure affection,
Just to document the difference
between attraction and connection.

I can see all of my friends and
I break into empty buildings,
When the coast was clear,
With backpacks full of beer,
We'd throw our bottles from the rooftops
At this city-it looked endless.
Guess I still don't see the difference
between real purpose and that urgent adolescence.

And I remember in a basement sharing sweat
With all these stranger boys and girls,
“We'll change the world!” We sang,
“We'll change the world!” But,
Nothing seems to change and
They say none of them will listen,
But I still see much more power in that basement
than in worthless politicians.

And if we get beaten by this winter,
If we get strangled by regret, just
Let our love of life and tension
Gasp in sweet and stuttered breaths, and
Have them throw us in a basement,
Smash some bottles on the ground, and
Say we never knew the difference
between the feeling and the sound.

Remember not our faulty pieces,
Remember not our rusted parts,
It's not the petty imperfections that define us but
The way we hold our hearts,
And the way we hold our heads,
I hope they write your name beside mine
on my gravestone when I'm dead.
And when we are dead let our voices carry on
To find a better song.
To find a better song and sing along."

There are many parts of this song I would like to write about.
Each stanza has something powerful in it, which is a reason I like this band a lot.

In the first stanza, he talks about the difference between attraction and connection and how he wants to paint a picture of it.  Don't we all?  When we are in that moment where we feel truly connected to someone and not just physically attracted to them, we just want to capture it.  Because nothing can or has captured it. 

Second stanza he says he doesn't see the difference between real purpose and urgent adolescence.  I love this line, because when is purpose better defined than when in your youth?  Your dreams are endless, just like the city he is looking down on.  You feel like you can accomplish anything, and whatever God has put you here to do, you feel as though you will accomplish it.  But when you get older and get your "real purpose" it is often so much different and less fulfilling.  But your true purpose you found in adolescence.  Youth have the power to change the world.

Third stanza he talks about the powerful energy of a group of strangers that come together (this sounds like he is at a sweet concert or something) and have a huge desire to change the world and he sees more potential in them to change the world than in "worthless" politicians.  Hah, that's awesome.  Because dang it, it it's true.  I see so much more change happening through those who see an injustice and bring it to light and do something about it than I see our government doing.  The only way they seem to be able to handle problems is with the army, and our political system is corrupted by these democrats and republicans who are more loyal to their parties than to the interests of the nation in general or their ethics.  Gah.

Fourth stanza he says love of life and tension and the feeling and sound of shattered bottles.  There needs to be tension in our life because we should be fighting for what we believe.  This will bring on pain, verbally (the sound of bottles) and sometimes physically (the feeling of bottles) and emotionally (both).  I guess.  This one makes sense in my mind, but not quite written out...

Last stanza "It's not the petty imperfections that define us but the way we hold our hearts and the way we hold our heads."  Don't remember my mistakes, my rusty parts, but remember how I fought through those mistakes and how I fought through my imperfections to achieve that which I one day achieve.  And for you, if you have these imperfections and faults and rusty pieces, don't let them define you.  Become more than that, hold your head and heart up high, fight through it, and do what God has you here to do.  Like the second stanza.
Word.
Great song, even though a little different, still great.

I other news, my cast is off and I now have a brace, but here is my arm!
Also, I have been saving these gifs up for a new blog, but I haven't blogged in awhile so here they are all at once.
Ibrohimovic is a beast.

Gazelle gets owned.

Yup

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Simplicity?




Why are we so content with our lives?  Why do Christians just sit where they are and, even though they are promoting good and “fighting” for a change in the world, we are so content with what we have and we don’t want to give up the luxuries that we have and go to help those who need it?  There are some who do, and we celebrate those who do, but it is so hard for us to do it ourselves.  Yet that is what Christ commands us to do.  “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”  We know this, yet we don’t do it.  Churches don’t even preach on simplicity anymore because people would hate to listen to that message and, chances are, the very pastor who would be preaching that sermon does not practice it.  I wonder what would happen if a pastor in an affluent church would preach a sermon on simplicity and how important it is to forego our worldly possessions and work to spread the love of Christ.  What would happen? Would people be mad, would they say the pastor is twisting the words of the Bible?  Or would it start a change?
On another note, what is the definition of simplicity in today’s culture?  Jesus told the rich young man to sell everything he had so that he could be called a son of God, that was what simplicity meant to Jesus.  Yet today our simplicity consists of not having the newest HD TV, or the newest Ipad, or the biggest house, or a nice car.  But Jesus taught to sell everything.  That is a little different from the simple life that we Christians live in today’s society.
I am not saying that I have this down, not at all.  I am currently typing on a Macbook Pro, I have three guitars and three guitar amps, I have tee-shirts up the wazoo, I have a 32” flat screen TV, I have more shoes than I know what to do with.  That is not simplicity.  It isn’t what Jesus preaches.  And because of this I am stretched for money.  But how can I give these things up?  Well, I could give up the shoes and the shirts pretty easy, I definitely don’t need those, but everything else?  I am attached to them, I paid for them, they are mine.  I don’t want to give them up.  But maybe I can give up part of my things, I don’t know.
If we look at the Amish, or the Quakers, there is some simplicity in this culture.  But is God calling us to have so much simplicity that we separate ourselves from the culture and, therefore, forgo most of the witness that may have with those in our society that have a lot of possessions.  I don't believe it. Yet, at the same time, are we so eager to not offend anybody with the Gospel that we tell them that they can have anything and everything they want as long as they believe.  I don't think that is what the Bible teaches.
What I want to do in life is not something that is going to make me rich, it isn't something that will give me an affluent status in life, and that is what I want.  Does that mean simplicity?  Does simplicity mean stretching to make ends meet our entire lives?  Or does it mean something different? What does it mean?
Feel free to help me out with this.

Proverbs 20:5  "The purposes of a man's heart are deep waters, 
but a man of understanding draws them out."

I Google imaged "simplicity" to find a picture to go along with this, and I found the one at the top, but I also found this one.
Is this what simplicity means?
Do less, have less, for yourself?
Or is it to do less, have less, for others?
There is a difference between what this world sees as simplicity and what Christians are supposed to see.
"Live simple so others may simply live" is one way I have heard it put.
 

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Life, love, liberty, and conflict minerals.

So, what is life?
What is love?
What is liberty?
And what are conflict minerals?

Well, I will get back to the first three, but conflict minerals are minerals from Africa (in this case, the Congo) that are being mined and sold and the revenue is being used to fund the armies (rebel and government) that are around the area fighting for control.  Well, the revenue isn't exactly, well, it partly is, but mostly it is the high taxes that the armies impose on the people that live and work in the mines. 
So these minerals are then used to make our phones, or computers, or etc. etc.  You know, stuff that us first world countries have and, literally, cannot make a decent living without anymore.
Why does this pertain to you and I?  Because we are the consumers of these products that are being made to finance wars, basically.  And to support slavery, because that is what happens in these mines.  Slavery. 
So yeah, this is a little scrambled, but here is my main point.
Pressuring these big corporations (like Nokia) to use conflict-free resources is a good thing, and and important thing, and I think that it needs to be done.  But realistically, that will just be an endless cycle.  I don't know for sure, I haven't done research on it, but I feel like there aren't enough conflict-free resources around for companies to not use conflict-minerals without prices going extremely high and everybody complaining.  Yeah, the companies may stop buying from suppliers that they know use conflict-minerals, but once they start using another supplier and this huge demand comes onto this supplier and the new supplier realizes that it needs to reach out somewhere else to fulfill this demand, where will it look?  Well, inevitably it will most likely look back to conflict-resources, because they are most readily available and they produce a lot.  So yes, stopping the use of conflict-resources by means of pressuring companies is a good thing, but isn't a long-term solution in the eyes of myself ("myself" being junior in college who hasn't done any first-hand research but goes off of what I hear other people (seemingly reputable sources) saying and intuition).
So where do I find the means to end this horrible thing?
Education.
Not just education for us, or education to be abundant in our country or other first world countries, but in third world countries.  And not done solely by us, but teaching those in third world countries how to become teachers, so that they can provide more jobs other than working in the mines.  More jobs need to be available in the country (I have no solution for that myself, except by providing teaching jobs) and people need to be educated to know that working in the mines is funding the very wars that they are trying to escape.  Of course, this leads to needing more job opportunities in the countries, which again, I have no solution for.  But people need an alternative to doing the jobs that are funding the wars which are killing their people.
So yeah, this was a very conjumbled blogpost thinger.  I apologize.  It was hastily contrived after viewing the film "Blood in the Mobile" and learning about this topic and before going to sleep.
I will leave you with one last thought on this subject, think about it.  Think about what can be done about it.  Whether this means pressuring the corporations or doing the dirty work going into the countries and educating people, or something else, what is it that you see needs to be done about it?  Just think about it.  If you want to go further than thinking to doing, then great, if not, oh well.  But at least think about humankind.


I cooked today.  Like, a ferreal dish of food.  For the first time, by myself, in this suite.  It was very good, but my beans were squeaky.  Here is picture.


Or two.  I guess I didn't mean to put two there, but it happened.  It is Barbequed Green Beans.  Yumm!