The Thoughts and Times

Been Awhile

2006-11-29T11:11:00.000-05:00

Man, its been a really long time since I've posted on here. What can I say, life has been busy in the past month and what not. Alot has gone on with me; school is crazy, I worked a lot, track has picked up and have a mentioned that school is crazy? I don't know really what to blog on today but I know I am in the midst of a huge low, both personally and educationally. With my lows has to come a time of surrender especially in personal matters. And its funny to think about how much we tend to remember what prayer and surrender can do when you are, or feel down and completely out. So, I guess I know what I have to rely on right now when it comes to my heartache(s). And maybe prayer, along with small times alone, and meditation will help me mend, and forget even though I've already forgiven. And when it comes to school I guess I gotta buckle down huh? haha... Well, atleast there is only a couple weeks left this semester.

3 Things

2006-10-19T00:14:00.000-04:00

3 Things ...

Three Things That Scare Me:

1) My brother being in Iraq (seriously)
2) Un-needed screams
3) Life without gummie bears

Three Things That Currently Make Me Laugh:

1) The save big bucks commercial
2) Mike Epps
3) Jeff "dirt" DeSelm

Three Things I Loathe:

1) Being pet
2) Professors that go over class time (Oh Im sorry... I only paid for 50 minutes of class!)
3) Wet socks

Three Things I did Today:

1) Finished or should I say crammed a 5 hour assignment into 2 hours right before the class started
2) Windsor Polotees (or however u spell that word) with the sprint team
3) Got my hair cut

Three Things I Want to do Before I Die:

1) Start a pee-wee football league
2) Visit New Zealand
3) Cross Country road trip

Three Things I Can Do:

1) Draw
2) Act goofy/silly
3) Run fast (hopefully), don't like it all the time but I can

Three Ways to Describe my Personality:

1) laid back
2) ADD
3) thoughtful

Three Things I Cannot Do:

1) Juggle a socer ball
2) Go to sleep at a regular time
3) Pop lock

Three Things I Think you Should Listen To:

1) "Sacrifice"- The Roots
2) "Change The World"- Eric Clapton
3) "What More Can I Say" - Jay-Z

Three Favorite Foods:

1) Corm Caserolle
2) My mom's spaghetti
3) Shrimp with Red lobster bisquits

Three Things I Loved as a Kid:

1) playing football
2) WWF
3) Ninja Turtle action figures

Three People I Tag:
Ill get back to this...

Check Em' Out...

2006-10-12T22:37:00.000-04:00

Since I mentioned him in my last blog Ill shout him out further. Check out poetic hip hop artist Talib Kweli (Ta-lib Kwa-lee). He's got a new CD droppin and I've got em' linked to your right. In the words of my housemates and aka frat bros, he is "nice out here"

qUESTIONS iN hIP hOP

2006-10-12T15:37:00.000-04:00

Unlike the majority of soon to be or current youth workers I believe a lot of thought, questions and insight can be found in secular music. Im a fan of rap and hip hop music along with pretty much every form of music (excluding a couple). I think within forms of music we can find things that directly relate to what youth are thinking and/or going through. Through that I think we can go right back to the word and come up with ways and strategies to reach them and help them if help is needed. But yeah down low I included a couple of my favorite hooks from secular artist (the latter of the two is also a real tight/thoughtful song from a believer) that could possibly relate to what a lost or seeking teen may be thinking or going through.

Fighting to Live

Hook

Why am I fighting to live?

When Im just living to fight

Why am I trying to see?

When there ain't nothin in sight

Why am I trying to give?

When no one gives me a try

Why am I fighting to live?

When Im just living to die

~Tupac Shakur~

Where Do We Go

Hook

Where do we go, What can say

What can we do

No where to turn, No where to run

And its nothin new

Where do we go for inspiration

Its like pain is our only inspiration

~Talib Kweli~

Its funny for me to think about how not just in these two songs but in other songs questions are being asked about life. Where do I go? What should I do? Why should I live a good life? As believers, we have the anwers to what the world ask, and to their confusion. But we're not equipped to share and if we are we are scared. We have the word, it was given for us to read, understand and then share with the world so they don't have to ask questions like this. We all, including myself, need to learn how to live a life that shines better, and stops compromising so we can reach the world for truth. I know I haven't done all that I can to reach people for truth through actions or words, but discipleship is a process that Im willing to work on and be moved in.

Bethel Basketball

2006-10-12T15:10:00.000-04:00

This is my shout out to my guys on the basketball team. Im good friends with a couple of the fellas and house mates with one of em' so I thought I would show them some luv. From a fans view I think the season should go pretty well, we can only improve from one of the first really down years we've had in school history. The team is young but the new talent we have is really good, and the senior leadership is good. So, yeah Im lookin forward to the season it should be fun to watch and hopefully we get the job done. Go BC! aight!

Our First "L"

2006-10-06T11:29:00.000-04:00

Last night we had our third flag football game, and it was real intense. We went up against a team that is as good as us, plus a couple of my housemates/best friends were on the team. it was a really good game that started out real, well, high strung. Its funny how crazy and pumped up men can get to have fun and to win a game of flag football. There was so much game planning up both sides, it was like a chess match for the whole first half. Its also funny how grown men can scream at other grown men, expect them not to yell or say anything back, and then put their hands up in the air like nothin happened. Haha, wow its funny how frustration or misunderstanding of situations can turn to anger. In the long run everything turned out fine and both teams gunned the ball all over the field (including yours truly busting a 60 yard catch and run TD) until the final play was stopped short at the 2 yard line , and we lost 13-12 so now we're 2-1. Yeah I know, its sad. I've harrrrrdly gotten over it mane.

But what I really learned last night happened after the game during devos. I learned that misunderstanding without consultation turns into frustration, and frustration eventually turns into anger when we let our human antics control our actions and thoughts. Yeah there were times both teams wanted to choke the ref and we let him know it, but that was our frustration leading to anger because of our unwillingness to realize (A) its just a game and (B) it can be resolved easier by talking and controling ourselves. Samething can be said about the minor confrontations that happened. But we're not perfect and we're dudes so we'll be bone headed during sports most of the time. I'd say its something that we all have to work on in our everyday lives and interactions.

A wise man controls his temper. He knows that anger causes mistakes. (TLB)
A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folley.
Proverbs 14:29

BC's 1st FCA

2006-10-04T12:57:00.000-04:00

Its been a lil while since I've blogged, but wow its a really busy and blah part of the year for a lot of students. The blah part has been the tropical rainforest that we are living in right now, seeing that it rains every freakin day with spurts of sun here and there. The busy part has been just been mid-semester stuff which we all know how that goes, added in with track workouts and requirements that I have to be at. But besides that things have been dandy.

NEways, this past monday was the first FCA of the year. I would say that it went pretty good from the outside looking in. Last year I had a chance to be one of the leaders of FCA but this year is too busy right now to help. But as I was saying it went pretty good. the coolest thing was not even the numbers, or the food it was the fellowship. Yes that may sound corney but its true. Being at a private Christian school doesn't mean you are peachy with every athlete or that you are some how spiritual or socially connected with them. So, this past monday was really cool because we had a lot of time to sit, chat, and listen in with other athletes (and people who just enjoy athletics) and get a little bit closer to some of the people you see almost everyday.
The girls basketball coach; Jody Martinez, was the speaker. He talked alot about what team we are playing on in our everyday lives. He did that by setting up teams that were called the Worldy team vs Godly team. He went through a series of traits and characteristics that shaped his hard life as a young man and that play a factor in our lives everyday; and put them up against the faith centered characteristics that God wants for us in our everyday life. He did a good job of breaking down the concept of taking the center off of what we want in our lives, and focusing it on what God wants and can do in our lives. He said when we do that, we can say good bye to emptiness and hello to eternity.

Planting with Function

2006-09-28T15:33:00.001-04:00

Yeah so I dunno how many other people besides myself, and jeff myers actually read my blog but I thought I would throw this out anyway. I've been talking to a number of people about the idea of church planting and what they would do if they had to plant a church. I know my heart is to maybe plant a church that would target youth and young adults only. The arts, and diversity of functions would be our main goals for going OUT and reaching people and seekers. Thats the reason I kind of named this blog Planitng with Function, because no matter if I find a job at a current ministry or plant my own I want it to be centered around what the function of being in ministry is all about. So, many times we lock ourselves into doing the forms of things, aka what our "church" ancestors have told us to do, that we forget why we are doing them, aka the functions. So, if I continue to be called to planting or alternative styles of ministry I want to get back to what our main purpose of being Christians is all about and that is reaching people for Christ. I don't want to clamped down by the ideas of forms that we as the church body are labled with today....NEwayz thats it cuz Im late for class mane. But, let me know what you think about God's calling for church or ministry plants

Flag Football

2006-09-26T01:12:00.000-04:00

So flag football started tonight and yes it was nice out here. We...well, we played okay prolly should have dominated out here but it was only a 8-0 W. But Ill take that Dub. Its funny how a calm, composed, and seemingly flawless game plan can go to dogs as soon as you start playing. Its like we all decided to do whatever ha. For awhile our offense was like 5th grade back yard ball with everyone running so far away from you (while screaming your name) that it became a science to get one pass completed. Oh well it was really fun though, we had a good time, and I got a chance to go out and play with some guys that i usualy don't hang out with on an everyday basis. Baby Blue Team 1-0

2006-09-25T01:56:00.000-04:00

A media wonder by the media specialist Jeff Myers. It looks good my son, very good.

75 Percent Story

2006-09-25T01:16:00.000-04:00

Yeah so I blog now. Its funny why I do though, or not. I was in a seminar class this Saturday and the guest speaker presented to us the idea of how we can effectively reach people when we are teaching, sharing a sermon, and/or lesson. He said that he conducted a survey, and asked people to share how they had come to know Christ. 75% of those people shared that moment of their life in the form of a story, while only 25% shared the principle behind that moment in their life.

He went on to show us that in Jesus ministry close to 80% of his ministry was done through parable aka story telling. He brought up the observation of how people's body language changes in church, classes, and other settings when a story is being told. Something about a story truly catches our human attention. So, he encouraged us to incorporate heavy story telling into our teachings; but how? That leads me to the whole blogging thing. He said each week we should be able to go somewhere and write down things that happened in our life, or in life situations around us. Then we should be encouraged to go back and see how those particular stories (funny, encourage, crazy, stupid, whatver...) can be connected with a story or teaching in the Bible. Through these stories he said principle can be found . So yeah now I blog, cuz it gives me a place to write down life's stories without using a pen and paper; that makes my hand tired.