A trip to South Dakota.

A couple months ago, two of Chrystal's friends out at college, Bethany and Rachel, said that if I ever wanted to surprise Chrystal with a visit, they would help. I knew I wanted to get out there sometime and see some of the places and people she kept talking about (not to mention I kind of wanted to see her again =) so it was too good of an opportunity to pass up!

It wasn't easy keeping it a secret. I made sure not to tell anybody around here what was happening, and I knew Bethany and Rachel were keeping it quiet out there, but I kept thinking she was bound to find out somehow. She's usually pretty good at putting two and two together.

Anyway, we did manage to keep it a surprise, and it was definitely worth it! I had a great week out there and even managed to take some pictures. (I had to because Chrystal lost her camera on my second day out there =( Besides, Heather threatened to disown me if I went to Mt. Rushmore and didn't take pictures! That goes to show she knows me pretty well. I'm not exactly what you would call good at remembering to take pictures. But I did manage to this trip and here's a few of them . . .


Townsends – The Townsends. Chrystal spends a lot of weekends with them, helping out with the youth group. This week I got to go along. We also got to go four-wheeling through the famous Nebraska hills after church. Scenic and very fun!


Chrystal and Rachel studying hard. There was a lot of that out there because, while I was on spring break, they were in the middle of mid-terms.


The choir Chrystal will be touring with at the end of the semester. (I think Chrystal was coughing or yawning when I took this one). They also have a little skit that goes along with the bell choir that is highly amusing!


Chrystal and I at a park. After we got tired of playing on the swing set (hey, who says swings are just for little kids!) we walked up a steep, and very slippery, hill. We took this picture at the top.


A picture of the scenery on the way to Mt. Rushmore. It was beautiful. Those little dark spots are buffalo.


Chrystal and I in front of Mt. Rushmore. (I know, brilliant caption that!)


Rachel, Bethany, and Chrystal, the three musketeers. Aside from two of them feeling car sick on the way there, it was a great trip. How could it not be? – it included a snowball fight at the end!


Stephen let me wear his cowboy hat for one picture. Can't say I fit the nickname he dubbed me with, but oh well =)


When we got back from Mt. Rushmore, Jon Shively (a professor's son) challenged me to a push-up contest. I won't tell you who won, but let's just say he can do a ton of pushups and was grinning when it was over!


View out the window on the plane ride back. I have to say I liked the flight out better! However, it was a good trip and I have a lot of great memories. Very glad I went...

We are starting a new Sunday School study on Prayer. The book was written by a Paul Miller, and we watched an introduction video where he presents the book. He said something that was a new thought to me, but I liked it. Paraphrased, it was along these lines:

“Prayer is NOT a matter of discipline. We often hear or assume that it is because it is hard. Prayer involves discipline, but discipline is not the basis for a vibrant prayer. Helplessness is. When we are helpless, we will pray. When we realize how truly little control we have over things in the scheme of our lives, we will want to pray. Helplessness is the basis for prayer, not discipline.”

If God's real desire for prayer was for us to gain discipline, don't you think he would have made a real and vibrant prayer life something that we could accomplish through discipline? I know simple discipline isn't the key for me, because I've tried that. It only lasts as long as I can make my discipline last.

I'm better at needing help than I am at being disciplined, and I think God designed it that way. Look how many times He told his disciples to become like little children. It was three or four separate occasions. I think he was trying to tell us something...

Valentine's Day...

...Reminded me of the people I care about and the people who care about me.

(My family in PA -- who have provided a lot of fun memories and encouragement/advice for...well really since I've been alive! So yeah, a pretty long time. I definitely wouldn't be who I am without them -- so you can blame them if you like! lol)


(My Valentine in SD -- Who has been a good friend for many years, and an even better girlfriend for the past almost two years... especially through all the challenges of long-distance dating! =)

And be ready always to give an answer...

What should people do when they don't agree?

More to the point, what should Christians do when they don't agree with someone?

I've been asking myself those questions a lot recently. Asking them? Yes. Solving them? Well that's another matter altogether! In fact, I'm nowhere close.

Want to do something interesting sometime? Take a poll and ask people how they think people should deal with differences. I'm willing to bet the majority would fall into two categories:
1.Pluralism – This one is a real gem. It combines the best of two great buzzwords: Globalization and Relativism. These two words are huge right now, especially on college campuses. Ask anybody currently in college when was the last time they heard reference to either of these words, and I'm willing to be bet it would be less than a week. Pluralism. What could be better? Everybody knows the world is quickly becoming a more connected place, and everybody knows that people across the world don't always agree. When you have more and more interaction between people who all believe something different (and all sincerely think they are right) the result can be ugly. What better way to smooth out differences than to deny that they matter? We're all right. No one is. Either way, it solves the problem.
2.Confront and persuade – This one is also a gem. It combines absolute truth and reasoning. If everybody uses reason, they will come to the same conclusion (truth) and there will be no more of these disagreeable things called differences.

My sticking point is that I don't buy totally into either one of these. Relativism doesn't work because it ignores fact that everybody can't be right all the time. Our world doesn't work that way. People who believe contradictory things can't both be right.

However, option 2 isn't much better. Even if you believe in the concept of absolute truth (which I do) you've got to be blind to believe that everybody will agree on what it is.

At this point, it's really tempting to go off on a rabbit trail and prove the argument of absolute truth. I've heard it done many times (in church, in the creation vs evolution debates, even in some college classes) and it's very good. Using logic and evidence, it's not hard to prove. It shouldn't be. It's true.

Sadly, this is where a lot of Christians stop. We know there is a thing called truth and we can prove it.

So . . . relativism isn't real. Great. Now, for the REAL question: How will you deal with the 78% of society that mostly thinks it is?

How will you deal with the roughly 65% of Christians who believe it's true?

How will you deal with the 91% of Christian youth who believe it's true?

I've lived long enough to realize that nobody I've known agrees completely with anyone else I've known. Not ever. Bring up the right issue, and differences will quickly appear. Usually this is followed by an uncomfortable silence where both sides try to figure out what to do. What's the right thing to do when this happens?

Do I really expect to answer this question? No. To be honest, I don't think there is even a single answer. That's okay. Sometimes there isn't. I just think it's a question people should think about. And even after people thought about it, I'm sure they would all come up with different answers! lol

The only thing I would ask is this: If you're a Christian, how did the Bible and the example of Christ fit into your answer? (Opinions are fine, but as much as I hate to agree with the relativists, opinions really mean nothing outside of your own head.)

More on this later...

Answered prayers. . .

Woke up early this morning to go to work. After rolling over to turn off my alarm, it hit me that the fun-filled weekend was over and it was back to the real world. . . the real world where we were going to be setting big trusses all day out in the wind, after which I would come home to homework and a 9:00 deadline for which I needed my textbook which hadn't arrived yet.

Needless to say, neither of those things made me feel ready to start my day. I kind of wished I could go back to sleep for awhile. But I couldn't. I'd already told Larry I could help him on his big truss-setting day.

Rolling over one more time, I asked God to give safety while we were working up high and to help my textbook come in the mail. Why? Because if there's two things I wanted for that day, it was safety and my textbook . . . and if there's two things I don't control it's accidents and the U.S. postal service! =)

Later during devotions I was reading in Mark where Jesus reminds the disciples that if they pray believing, they will receive, even if it involves things like commanding a fig tree to die or moving mountains. I knew these requests weren't anywhere as dramatic or unusual as those, but did believe God had heard and as I went through the rest of the day I kept wondering how he was going to answer.
Long story short, the concrete walls we were working on were pretty high (it's for a gym after all) and it was pretty windy at first, but setting the trusses went faster than we thought and without any accidents. The wind slowed down for the second part of the day and we were able to get all the trusses up by just before dark – something we hoped we could do but really didn't think would work out.

During our short lunch break, I called home to find out if I needed to go pick up another textbook from Millersville so I could keep up with my classes in case my ordered book didn't come for another week (which it very easily could have) and found out that it had arrived, and only because the sender was nice enough to ship it expedited and very quickly after I ordered it – and all that without him even knowing that I needed it quickly because I had forgot to tell him when I bought it.

Anyway, I was encouraged to see how God answered two simple prayers. They weren't really out of the ordinary and could easily be explained by perfectly natural causes, but God used them to remind me that he does listen and act when we pray.

There was no reason we shouldn't have had a safe day at work since we were being careful on a tough job, but there are many people who didn't have a safe day at work today. There was no reason why my textbook shouldn't have come in the mail seeing as it was shipped on time, but not all sellers are nice enough to ship before they absolutely have to. I am thankful for both.

Field Journal

I recently completed four weeks of field experience. It's part of the teacher program and state law that prospective teachers spend at least 35 hours observing and participating (interacting, teaching, etc.) in a real life classroom before student teaching. The following is from one of my many field journals I completed and handed in to my professors at the end. . .

The culture at this High School appears very professional. They are considered a high achieving school and want to maintain that image. Because their reputation is good, their code of conduct is set pretty high, creating that professional atmosphere. The teachers do cooperate and the first day in the school I saw teachers cooperating to time their lessons to each other and create a common final assessment. At the same time, I could see that their reputation also puts some pressure on teachers to have their students perform well, creating some competition among teachers. It wasn't much, but there are politics that go on among the faculty and there was some whispering that went on between cooperating teachers.
Teachers here are expected to help a the tutoring center, do cafeteria duty, help with bus duty, and oversee study hall and home rooms. Teachers often have duty together and the conversations during these seems to be somewhat informal and pretty friendly. The faculty room doesn't get used much by teachers and most of them just eat in their classrooms by themselves. The one conversation I heard in the faculty room (I don't think it was even between two teachers) was about a celebrity scandal. Aside from being somewhat crude, it had nothing to do with school and I got the feeling that not much of anything happens in the faculty room.
I asked about support for first year teachers and was told that there is a program for them, but I gathered that it isn't always comprehensive or terribly relevant to the actual needs of new teachers. It meets about once a week at first and then gradually weans new teachers off. They meet and discuss theories of teaching and some procedures, but I was told the the best support comes from finding another teacher who will take you under their wing for a little and tell you about how the school works.
The classroom I was in is mostly project based so the structure was pretty loose. Kids had a lot of in-class work time and were given a lot of freedom about how and they wanted to complete their projects. A lot of the classes were AP classes and this structure seemed to work fairly well for them and some kids made the most of the freedom to go above and beyond. However, for students who weren't highly motivated, it gave them time to procrastinate and socialize. In these cases, the teacher would usually come over to the table to try to get them back on track. Intervention was informal and usually consisted of a quiet comment or simply waiting till the class was quiet enough to continue with the instructions.
The less formal environment led to a lot of interaction between students and the teacher, and I think most students found her to be down to earth. They were pretty comfortable talking with her and viewed her as someone who was enough like them to understand them. Some of the students really liked and respected her for the freedom she gave them, and some didn't. In each class, there were a few students who didn't like her because they wanted more direct instruction than she gave them and felt that she wasn't teaching them enough.
Special education wasn't a big part of the classroom. Four of the six classes were AP classes and there were some gifted students in them. The teacher told me that the biggest difficulty with gifted students was getting them to take risks instead of just worrying about the grade. Since the assessment was project based, the teacher told me she set it up specifically so gifted students could make their projects as complex and thorough as they wanted to.
There were a couple kids in class with IEP's and they had a special ed teacher who would come in during those classes. She would walk around the classroom, checking in on the tables where they were to make sure they were on task. Again, the project-based assessments were naturally scaffolded to allow students to achieve at the level they were comfortable. Other than that, I didn't see a whole lot of accommodations that were made to the classroom. Students with special needs were simply allowed to do projects that were simpler than other students.
The student I shadowed was definitely a case of a smart student who is underachieving. He excels in the classes he likes, but he is doing poorly in all the others. As I watched him, it became apparent to me that one of the biggest reasons for this is his social life. It's not that he was not against or disinterested in learning, but he was more concerned more interested in being cool. He would participate when “forced” to (and I was surprised at how good his answer was when he was specifically asked) but he wouldn't give the answer of his own accord because it is cooler to not participate. If I was going to teach him, I think I would sometimes “force” him to share with the rest of the class – as long as I had checked up on him and knew he had a good answer. It is a way to let him be involved without hurting his social status. Also, I think I would let him work in groups as a reward, but let him know that if he gets off track he will be switched to another group or have to work by himself for a little.
His favorite class was construction and he was anxious for me to see him in this class. As I watched him and the other boys in shop class, it became apparent to me that they all liked working with their hands better than with a pencil and paper. The same went for physics class, although there he was working with a group again and spent part of the time goofing off because it made the others laugh. However, overall he was naturally more excited and eager to learn when there was a hands-on project to do. I think if he was in my class, I would give the option of making something (maybe a monument for a particular event) for one of the assessments. I would also try to bring in tangible artifacts for him and the rest of the class to put their hands on and get them interested.
Unstructured time was not a good thing for this student. There were two classes where the students were expected to work on their own and weren't given specific instructions or in-class-deadlines. This was when he would zone out. It wasn't that he couldn't follow instructions because I observed him following perfectly when there was a teacher stepping the students through a process in Econ, but when the in clas work time was totally self-guided, he didn't seem to know where to start so he just didn't. I think if I was going to used a project based assessment for him and allow in-class work time, I would need to structure the class so they do the project in small steps and need to report to the rest of the class at least once or twice during the day. Being told where to start and just knowing that the teacher is going to call on several random groups to show what they have accomplished that day would do wonders for providing motivation. It would also help students who are falling behind because they can listen to what their classmates have done and imitate it if they are at a loss for ideas or direction.

Through different eyes

Kids see things through different eyes.

I was sitting in choir, listening to Mr. Hanson read the story of the prodigal son. Listening to him read, I was picturing the story unfolding in my mind as I listened to him read . . .

“And the father, seeing his son from afar off, ran to meet him and fell on his neck and kissed him--”
and suddenly from the audience there's a quiet “ew gross!”

I'd almost forgotten that the kids from children's church were in with us this Sunday! Didn't take me long to remember. lol. I tried not to laugh, but I'm pretty sure someone watching me would have known I wasn't thinking about the prodigal son anymore. That's what I love about kids . . . they remind me what a simpler view of life looks like, and how funny it can be at times!

Fortunately, the message on the parable was actually very good and I was able to take something from the sermon besides that one kid thought the reunion between father and the prodigal son was a little too sentimental and bordering on sloppy.

Pastor pointed out that many times we are so focused on the prodigal son that we forget that there was a second son who was just as alienated from the Father – and he was the one who was living in the same house with him! He really didn't love his father any more than his brother who ran away, but he conformed outwardly because there was something to be gained by it. However, when his brother came back, all the anger, dissatisfaction, and envy came out.

For most of us in church, it's pretty comfortable to hear about the younger son. After all, since we're in church, it's a pretty good sign this parable isn't aimed at us. Or is it? Jesus gave this parable primarily in response to the Pharisees, and it was no accident he included the older brother at the end. In the end, it was the younger brother, not the older brother who kept all the rules all his life, who had a better relationship with his Father and got more joy out of it. Why? Because the younger brother realized that he couldn't, and didn't need to, earn his father's love.

The Father came out to greet both his sons. He initiated, and re initiated the relationship and love to both of them, not the other way around. One of them accepted it and was grateful for it because he knew he didn't deserve it. The other couldn't accept it because he was more concerned with being good than being close to his Father.

The lesson I learned: The goal of life is not to be good. (It's not to be bad either, in case you were wondering!) The goal of life is to love God. If your being good is the result of you simply not wanting to be bad, you're missing the point. If your fellowship with God is not your true motivation for dressing the way you dress, saying the things you say, or doing the things you do, I don't care how good you look, you may very well be the older brother in this parable.

Not necessarily a fun message to hear, but one that I think is very necessary. . . especially for those of us who have been in church all our life.

Congrats, Buddy!

Josh got his first archery deer last Saturday. So here you go, little brother . . . your twelve minutes of fame on my blog. Hope there's many more for you =)

Upon request,(we won't say by whose) the poll of whose deer is bigger is being left up the replies of viewers like you =)

First day of Archery . . .

. . . was more successful than it usually is for me!



Contrary to what the picture looks like, it's really not Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer -- it's just his green-nosed cousin! j/k

It wasn't huge, but it was a fairly nice sized doe. It was beautiful weather to be in the woods the first day, and on top of thatI was thankful God let us put some meat in the freezer early this year.

Our (short) vacation to the shore

Sunrise at the beach. Somehow it always looks better at the ocean. Greg Josh and I went for a walk Monday morning. It was definitely worth it.


Doing one of our favorite things to do on vacation . . . eating! Okay, so we do more than that, but that's probably what my mom would say when she's packing the food. However, just to show that we do more than eat, I'd better include a few more pictures.


I think someone added too much Bubble Bath to this pool! What can I say . . . some days you just get washed up. I can't remember if I rode this wave or if it rode me! The waves were pretty aggressive that day, so we did quite a bit of both. It seriously feels like you're in a blender when you get caught under one. I should know, that's how I dislocated my shoulder 5 years ago. This vacation was definitely better than that one!


After riding waves (and after Greg got pretty badly brushburned by one), we decided to have a sculpting contest. We had one the day before which featured cars, but I don't want to talk about that. Thankfully there was not a camera there that day. Let's just say cars were not my strong point! This time we decided to try boats, which were much more to my liking. We were smarter this time and built them next to an inland pool instead of on the oceans edge. We lost a couple cars like that the day before to rogue waves, much to the amusement of people who were walking past and stopping to see what we were doing. I guess they aren't used to seeing three full-grown guys making sand sculptures. (Well okay, to full grown guys and one little boy . . . a little boy who will kill me if he ever reads this!) These are the three boats we came up with. You'll never guess which one is mine! =)








As you can see from the back of this boat, we all had some breakdowns. Some more than others. I think Josh held the record with about five restarts! We all thought it was hilarious when someone else's sand collapsed -- only to hear them laugh twice as hard as ours did the same a few seconds later!


Greg, hard at work. This was his second attempt. His first attempt was significantly bigger, but it kept sinking on him. He made up for the small size by accessorizing with masts and sails.


After sand sculpting, we went back for one more dip in the ocean. We actually weren't planning to get very wet, but Josh had other plans . . .


After running right up behind us and splashing us, he repented and apologized. Well okay, we helped him with the repentance part a little bit =)


Did I ever mention my brothers step all over me? Nothing I like more than Greg's wet, sandy foot climbing all over me! lol Actually, if you saw what happened right after this, you would say Josh and I had the better part of this process. Greg lost his balance backwards and did a rather amazing head plant in the sand. Fortunately he didn't land completely on his head and it didn't really hurt him.


I managed to get up without doing a head plant. I was feeling pretty proud of myself, but this didn't last long. As you can see, Greg had to go and top me . . .


Actually, Greg was the only one who could do this because Josh and I are the only two close enough in height to make a stable platform. I have to admit, it's a cool picture though.


Mom and dad didn't want to do the pyramid picture for some reason . . . so they got one of the few "normal" pictures of the weekend =)


Last picture of the Stauffer guys at the beach. Unfortunately, Heather and Lindsey couldn't clear their schedules to make it down for this trip. It would have been more fun if they had, but they were keeping pretty busy at home and had some exciting times of their own! =) Thankfully, no one got hurt.

Overall, it was a very nice vacation. It was very last minute and involved very little planning, but sometimes those vacations are the most fun. Thankfully, everything worked out, despite a van that started leaking transmission fluid halfway down. God answered prayers and with a cautious driving strategy that involved multiple checkups and not going over 55 mph on the way home, everything worked out and we made it back home safely.

From devotions this morning

I was reading in Duet. 6-9 last night and this morning. In this passage God is talking to the Israelites through Moses before they head into the promise land. In it, He TELLS them that they will forget him as soon as things start going well. We know from history that this is exactly what happened.

How could they? He warned them, right?

In Duet. God told the Israelites what they needed to do. He tells them that when they reach the promised land, they need to consciously take time to remember where they came from (Egypt), and who got them to the promised land (Himself). He told them to review the commands and meditate on their need of him every day. If not, He said they would soon think they had earned the blessings and forget how much they need God. He told them, but as always, knowing is easier than doing.

I was talking to another Christian named Blake after Bible study last night, and we both agreed that mediocrity is the biggest struggle for us. I hate how easy it is for me to be complacent with my own life and not reach out to others, especially at school. It is useless to try to reachout to others if I don't have a passion for God, but a passion for God is something that is nearly impossible for me to maintain on my own. I can do my part by reading and praying, but there is no way I can create a passion for God. Convicting and frustrating at the same time.

If I don't find a way to remember how much I need God, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I will mediocre life. Not too bad, not too good, just lukewarm, and that is exactly what God says he hates. Unfortunately this is the hardest time for me to remember that because life is going smoothly. I need that urgency/thirst I have for God when times are bad, but I don't know how to keep this mindset when times are good.

Frustrating and kind of scary to realize that your biggest battle right now is against something so slow but so natural. Complacency is so powerful that I don't think anyone is really up to the challenge on their own, but that is naturally how we approach it – on our own. Without the grace of God to show the urgency of the need, the result is slow, predictable. As slow and predictable as it is, it will kill you if you don't take an active role against it.

How many mature Christians do you know who know so much that they haven't been really convicted in a long time? How many mature Christians do you know who love God fervently on their own, but haven't had the courage to share this passion outside a “safe” setting (i.e. church or Christian circle) in years? I know of a lot more than I would like to. Reading through Duet., it scared me to realize how easy it is to become one of them.

Experiencing God's blessing is not a safe place to be . . . unless you can remember how much you need Him. That takes conscious effort and a lot of work. More than that, it requires the grace of God. Have you asked for it recently, or have you forgotten that you need it?

Some people seem to naturally realize how much they need God's grace and how unworthy they are. Consequently, they struggle with doubts about whether God's grace really can extend to them. I'm not one of them. I don't struggle with realizing God's grace can cover me -- I can accept that -- I struggle to remember how much I need it. Reading Duet. and talking to Blake made me realize that I may need it most right now. Not so much to save me from drastic sin, but to keep me from being lukewarm.

Enjoying the journey

I like people who have learned to enjoy the journey, not just the destination. It's an easy-going mindset that says you don't have to reach your destination before you can enjoy yourself. I'd much rather be with someone who can laugh when life throws a curve ball than someone who fidgets, fusses, and does their best to make sure everyone around them knows this was not what they had planned. Besides, what are they going to do when when do reach their goal? Hit the magic button that says “You have arrived! Push button to erase the stress you had getting here and start having fun!?” Sorry, I've never seen such a button. In my experience, people who are determined that life will follow their planner usually spend a good part of their life miserable.

Some of my fondest and funniest memories come from times when everything went wrong and I was with people who could laugh about it. On the other hand, some of my least fond memories are from times when things went wrong and I was with people who were bound to be tense until they got things back on track. The way I see it, when something unexpected happens, you might as well roll with the punch, smile, and get ready to take whatever comes next. You're about to start making memories . . .

Unexpected . . . but it shouldn't have been.

“Are you doing homework?” he asked, sitting down beside me on the park bench. “I'm Ben,” he continued, giving me his hand. I shook it, and a few minutes later I was hearing his life story.

Have you ever had a complete stranger walk up to you and start talking to you like you've known each other for years? Well, I don't know how you react in these situations, but it caught me off guard. However, that was okay because this guy was ready to talk without much prompting. He told me how he was quitting college, the drug deal his friend was messed up in, and how he'd had “an epiphany” that week and was flying high since he deiced to quit school and start a business. He talked a lot about the future and how he is going to be a big man in business someday and impact the world for good. I wasn't saying much (I didn't have much of a chance), but he seemed to think our meeting was, in his words, “meant to be” and he mentioned this several times.

Was it? Ordinarily I wouldn't feel like it. Aside from finding out he was raised Catholic, believed vaguely in God, and wasn't interested in coming to Bible study, I really didn't feel that our little chance “meeting” accomplished much. All the same, I don't believe things just happen without some sort of purpose, and God was made it pretty clear this time that he was responsible.

As a commuter at Millersville, it's hard to get to know people. I only go to school or Tuesday's and Thursdays, and between five classes, these are two very full days for me. However, as a Christian I don't feel right just coming and going from a campus where there is so little hope when I have been given so much. Not being the sort of conversationalist who can just walk up to stranger five minutes before class and start talking about the meaning of life, I started doing the only thing I could think of: Praying that God would give me opportunities. Elementary, I know, but it's surprising how often I fail to specifically ask for this. If we really believe that witnessing is more about God working than us, why don't we ask him to help more often?

Two weeks later, a complete stranger walks up while I'm sitting in the park typing a paper and wants to talk about life. Even though I didn't feel that it accomplished much to help him, God used it to get His message through to me loud and clear: “See what I can do when you ask.”

A teacher I agreed with yesterday, and one I didn't.

“Good teaching is like playing catch. You throw the ball to students, and you wait for them to throw it back. Once they throw it back, you add something more and send it back. If either side holds the ball for too long, the transfer process is not working.”

I agree with this. I have seen teachers who have a lot of good things to say, but they are so concerned with saying all that they have prepared that they hog the ball to themselves. They never check in with their students to see if they are following along, confused, or even interested. The point of education is not for teacher to teach, but for students to learn. That is why good teachers check every few minutes for feedback throughout their lesson, instead of waiting till the end to say “does it all make sense.” A head down on the table or a question that no one wants or attempts to answer is a good sign you are teaching but they are not learning. Unfortunately, that happens a lot in schools.

“When people go hungry, the system of government is to blame.”

This professor, who I think is vaguely socialist, said the problem with Americans is that we blame individuals for the wrongs of society when the system is to blame. Apparently the “western” concept of individual responsibility is outdated in his mind. I'd like to ask him what happened in Socialist China during the “Great Famine” when millions of people died due to a shortage of grain induced directly by the “system.” What about the thousands of people in Russia starved because the “system” fell apart?

Sorry professor, but the “system” never has been the answer to the world's problems. Like a mirror, systems reflect underlying problems, but they do little to solve them. Real improvement starts with individuals and works from the bottom up, not from the top down.

From this same professor: “'Christians [a very loose term I'm sure] compose 33% of the world population. Muslims, 19%. Statistically, Christians [lumped in with America and the “west”] can't afford to make Muslims mad. What happens when they do? Sept. 11.”

My question: Is can we afford to appease them? I agree that we gain nothing by intentionally making Muslim countries mad. Any action solely intended to make a large group of people mad is stupid and should be aborted. However, if the part that makes them mad is the fact that Christians and America exist, what are our options? Cease to exist? Honestly professor, that doesn't strike me as a very good option.

A geography lesson on South Dakota . . .

Why? Like any good student, I'm naturally interested in other places. Well okay, the fact that Chrystal is there and I've been hearing all about it doesn't hurt either! *grin* Here's what I've learned so far:

1.Buffalo are much more common out there than around here. I'm slightly jealous that my girlfriend gets stopped by buffalo crossings on her way to church. The only stops I make on the way to church involve annoying red lights and octagon signs – not fascinating animals.
2.Coveralls are still in style in the Midwest! I couldn't find a pair to save my life last year when I needed a pair for skits at camp. Mom eventually found one for me at a re-use it shop. Out there coveralls are sold brand new by the rack.
3.Long straight roads through small rolling hills are commonplace in SD. (Yeah dad, if you were there you could comment on how long and straight they are about ten or twelve times! lol Sorry, inside joke). Can't say I think they'd be as much fun to drive on as the twisting back roads around here, but it does make for some nice scenery.
4.Small communities are more common, and facial hair is in – well, at least for guys that is! (Eat your heart out Greg :) My sisters would say that's a sign that they are redneck or have very little sense of taste, but I can't totally agree with that. Facial hair can look good on some guys . . . unfortunately I've never met a redneck who was part of this group! lol
5.I have one more reason to like South Dakota than I did before ;) I know we are both where God wants us -- and I wouldn't change that – but I will be glad to see her again. Here's a picture for those of you who have never met her.

Classes start again.

(Wow, it's been a while since I've been on here! I'm starting to think life doesn't get slower as you get older. Oh well, I guess now is as good a time as any to post again)

I like a professor who can make me laugh. Better yet is when they can laugh themselves. It usually means they acknowledge that their students are human, not just fact finding machines who do assignments for the sheer joy of learning. Fortunately I have a few of this type of professors this year . . . I think. I've learned never to trust my first opinion of a class after just the first day. I've been wrong many times.

I also like professors with an accent. Immediately gets my attention if a professor has one. (Maybe I'll have to practice one for when I'm a teacher =) My one professor was orginally from Ireland and I love sitting in his class just to hear his accent. It's so laid back and relaxed . . . plus he loves to tell stories in his "accenty" way which keeps it interesting.

Something I'm learning at college: No human is ever right all the time. I've never yet met a professor that spouted nothing but lies (even at a secular college), but I've never met a professor who was exactly right all the time (and I think that would be true no matter what college you go to). The trick is not to figure out which professors are "bad" and ignore everything they say and which professors are "good" and blindly accept everything they say, but to be able to pick out the lies, truths, and most tricky half-truths. How? Only by the Bible and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. That's one of the jobs of the Holy Spirit: to remind/show me truth and error. It makes classes a little bit more challenging, but it's something I'm also glad I'm having to learn. There's only one person who is right all the time, God. Blindly accept what other people tell you about Him or this world just because you like them, they make sense most the time, they go to your church, or they are Christians, and you're headed for trouble.

Learned in one of my classes that "adolescent" now means "between the age of 11 and 22." They say the part of the brain that makes clear rational decisions isn't done forming until the age of 22 . . . even older for some guys. Maybe there's hope that I'll become a genius yet! My question is, if that's the "magic age" why do I know some teenagers who are capable of making much better decisions than some thirty-year-olds I know?

Random observations:

The difference between pleasant and funny is that the one is always appealing while the other is not. People try so hard to be funny, to say something that will be the center of attention and make people laugh . . . I wish I could tell them that they would have many more friends if they were just pleasant and were willing to listen laugh at someone else. I've noticed that people with a really good sense of humor are those who catch and laugh at the funny things other people say, not the ones who are always turning the clever phrase.

Aside from any moral convictions, I've found out what I don't like about extravagant body piercings, tattoos, and super trendy clothes: They betray an obsession with appearance. People who care too much about how they look usually strike me as trying to make up for a deficit in some other area. I believe in looking nice (and if you just laughed, I would find that deeply and personally insulting! lol) but when I see someone who spends too much time on their appearance, the subconscious assumption runs through my head that they must not have anything better to spend it on.

Thankful for Easter

“Who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross . . .” Heb. 12:2

This phrase answers a lot of questions for me. Every Easter when I hear about all the bad things that would happen to Jesus on his trip to the cross, I wonder why he carried through with it. Unlike us, Jesus knew exactly what was going to happen. He knew how painful crucifixion was going to be because he had created the human body. He knew the servants role he would have to take and the awful thanks he would get for his pains because he had long experience with humans and our sin nature. He knew all this, yet he did it anyway. Why? Was it duty?

I can't say I know the answer to this question, or that there is an answer we as humans can even understand, but this passage helps explain some of it. It says that there was a joy set before him, and that's what he was focused on. He didn't go to the cross because he enjoyed it – in fact he prayed for any other way to accomplish God's will. He went to the cross because he believed that God exists and that He rewards those who diligently seek him (Heb. 11:10).

So basic, but crucial to my outlook on life. More than anything, this Easter is reminding me not to look for rewards in the wrong place. Rewards from God are better than anything this world has to offer, but they often involve doing things that are hard and don't make sense. My decision to obey God or not ultimately comes down to whether or not I believe in a God who rewards those who seek Him. I'm thankful for the example of One who humbled himself, came down, devoted his life to this principle, and showed us that it really does work.

Heb. 12:3 “For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.”

Definitions according to Mike:

Boredom – having only one student visit the tutoring center all day. The fact that it happens to be a gorgeous day outside and I’m stuck inside with nothing to do doesn’t make it any better. Can’t wait for 4:00.

Surprise – being pulled off a stepladder by a horse. I knew he was getting a little nosy, but I figured it didn’t matter if he wanted to nuzzle my carpenter belt. That all changed when he stopped nuzzling, grabbed the handle of my hammer firmly between his teeth (my hammer was holstered to my belt at the time), and gave a sharp tug! Fortunately I was only up about two steps on the ladder so I managed to land on my feet and avoid what would have been a very soft landing.

Also fitting surprise – realizing during an after-dark-jog that you are unknowingly chasing a skunk down the road. I had no idea until I slowed down to a walk and heard the frantic scrabbling of claws on pavement and saw a dark form shuffling down the road in front of me – apparently unable to get out of my path because of the snow-banks lining the road. Fortunately I stopped jogging before he did.

Beautiful – a flock of Snow Geese taking flight off a glistening pond into a bright blue sky.

Humorous – hearing your brother wonder out loud who would ever use a language as complicated as English! It wouldn’t be so funny if he actually knew another language. lol. However, like me, I think most of his knowledge of foreign languages comes from Hogan’s Heroes and a handful of other movies.

Our Cabin

I love all this snow -- walking/swimming through huge snowdrifts, walking outside at night when the snow is swirling all around, and being snowed in for a few days is great, especially when some of them are school days! -- but I thought of our cabin recently and suddenly had a desire to be there. Found this short description I had to write for English class recently and it reminded me of what I love about our cabin. Kinda wish it was spring and we had an excuse to take a trip up there again. . .

The lime-green paint on our cabin matches the thousands of mildew spores which cling to it, but clashes badly with the dark green pine trees around it. Two small windows on either side of the chimney give the cabin a face-like appearance. When lights are on inside, the face smiles a welcome. Right now the blinds are pulled and the face sleeps somberly. The sagging porch creaks gently as we carry our sleeping bags and backpacks across it.

Walking through the front door, the inside of the cabin is completely dark at first. We turn the breaker off every time we leave to lesson the risk of fire. At first, the cabin smells somewhat musty; it hasn't been opened in several weeks. Flipping the breaker, the lights flick on and suddenly the cabin comes to life. The carpet under our feet nice and plush, even it if does have dirt stains. The single hanging lamp gives off a subdued, comfortable light, like a candle glow reflected softly in a dark cave.

“I'm hungry,” Greg says almost as soon as we walk in. We chuckle. That's usual for him.

“You two get a fire going and the rest of you unpack while I make something to eat,” mom says, shooing everybody out of the kitchen which is so small only two people can stand in there at a time. Before long the fire has driven the cold, musty air out of the cabin and the familiar smells of hot-dogs and Busch's Baked-Beans, and Mac-and-Cheese are floating from the kitchen. The fire crackles in the old pot-bellied stove as we sit down to eat and talk about the hikes, games, and food planned for the rest of the weekend.

Two days later, as we pack up to leave, the cabin begins to return to it's lonely hibernation. It's getting close to winter and we probably won't be back up until spring. Pulling all the sleeping bags off the beds, pushing the furniture back into the corners, we slowly put the cabin back to sleep it enjoyed before we disturbed it. With the cold “snap” of the breaker being switched, the cabin turns back into a dark room. We quietly shut the door and close the latch before walking back into the real world.