Up from the dead they arose

The men's group that I sing with is being resurrected from the dead today...well partially resurrected. We were invited to a choral festival held at Kidron Mennonite Church, Ohio...we haven't sang together in ages...we're scattered all over God's creation...we're missing all our tenors...but hey, why not? Who knows how it will go? We've picked up a few new guys and we're going to give it a wing.

We've always sang from the hip (or the heart), so we've had a real mixture of musical moments. Sometimes we accidentally fall on a good one, but we have also face planted ourselves into some real laughable musical moments. Luckily we can laugh at ourselves trying to sing SATB and other absurdities:)

Now we're asking ourselves if we still have that same youthful, musical energy. Last night, I tried a jump serve while playing volleyball...it was a horrid failure. I told one of the guys that I just needed a few practice shots to get it going. You know...I'm slowly finding this old boy just doesn't have the Wheaties he had a few years ago...its a pretty hard thing to admit. A number of years ago when I was playing on a team I lived and died by my jump serve. It just feels like there's bricks in my pants, and the floor gets harder every day....I can barely touch the rim these days.

I'm realizing that some things just pass us by. If its not athletic ability its just something else. Sometimes I wonder if musical energy is passing me by. Hopefully a good old Choral Festival can rekindle the flame.... 

First Day of Rifle Season 2012

I finally got a video uploaded to this site...I have no idea how I did it and I certainly would not be able to describe how I would go about doing another one. I am definitely NOT a tech guru. I took the video camera with me hunting on the first day, both to mock the professional hunting videos and to make a serous attempt at documenting my last words if one of the 1 million orange cloaked PA lunatics hit me with a stray bullet.

These are the two deer that Erikson and I rolled. I left Erikson hunt in one of my archery spots, but he paid me back by helping me drag my buck almost two miles out of a swamp:)

Slow Down You Knucklepucks!

Did you know that people in our super-speedy world sometimes need news that is late....its so much about the newest, fastest, hottest gossip on the block these days, that speed and interconnectedness have now passed the minor prophets.

I flipped the radio on as I hopped in my car on thanksgiving day...."The fiiiirrrrrst noooooeeeel the aaaaaangels did...."

SLOW DOWN YOU KNUCKLEPUCKS!!! I'M NOT DONE WITH THANKSGIVING YET...I HAVEN'T EVEN HAD TIME TO BE THANKFUL!!!! So I'm STILL on Thanksgiving a whopping two days after the fact, and have some LATE thanks-giving to God.

You know...I have some great brothers and Dad, and I've been realizing how much better it is when we share our work.

1. On Thanksgiving day all of us helped Shannon finish his barn and helped ship his family off to Poland for 6 months.

2. I was more than happy to do this because my brothers helped me replace all the windows in my cabin one day...not to mention Dad, Ryan, and Shannon have allowed me use a lot of their tools to remodel.

3. Two of my good friends (Javan and Rosina Lapp) came and helped me paint for a weekend.(Thems be two good painters)

4. Dad and Erikson helped me dig a 50 ft ditch in the blitzin cold today, even though we were mucking around in freezing, knee-deep mud.

5. My brothers and I helped each other shoot our guns in on Thursday, and we'll certainly help each other tell bigger hunting stories at the cabin this weekend.

So much more gets done when we work together, AND its a lot more fun. Now to be fair, I feel like a blatant recipient of "community" at the moment, but I have a lot of energy to be the giver in the next moment. A blessed Thanks-giving to everyone!



You're looking at a deer's biggest fear in North Western Pennsylvania right here...these guys can pick flees off a calf's rump...

 The wise old eye of "Black Feather" carefully guides the education of "She Who Gathers Berries"

 
I found these antler 30 yards from my tree-stand this spring. I'm hoping its a good omen for Monday...

Good times to you other 1million PA hunters that will be out there on Monday. Above all, be safe, have fun...and shoot a deer on the side if you happen to get a chance....

Ankle Fail...

Ok...so I sprained my ankle on Thursday night playing basketball. Here is what you should definitely NOT do if you ever sprain YOUR ankle. I went to school the next day and walked around on it even though it hurt. Sure its a little gross, but by the end of the day that ol' boy had swollen up to a ginormous size.

Meanwhile...back at the ranch...

I believe this is the same bear that lazily took a short cut through our yard several days ago.

These guys sure do have a nack for running the batteries low on my camera...

And...as I always tell other hunters...nothing but flat heads where I hunt:)

In Defense of the "Thunder Sticks"

Its an interesting feeling to begin writing a post that you know some will most certainly react to. The feeling gets even more interesting when you realize you know basically nothing about the subject at hand...parenting.

I would like to share a few thoughts on parenting from a very different perspective that I don't think is often heard by parents.

I was recently thinking about what it must be like to choose a wife. Now if you're a girl that knows me and is grossed out...just go ahead and quit being grossed out because you can be sure I wasn't thinking of you...I was thinking in VERY general, theological, and unromantic terms. If you still have a problem with this, you might consider taking a good piece of 80 grit sandpaper to the protective covering of your eye balls so you can't read the rest of this post.

 A gift that our Mennonite traditions gives to us suddenly became clear to me recently. Young men and women in my tradition can basically choose a partner with a fair level of confidence that their partner has experienced some good ol' "tough parenting" along the line somewhere. Most of us have had a number of good "hide tannings" in our past that taught us something about sharing, selfishness, pride, deceit, sacrifice, our own anger, and all the other things that end up having a lot to do with marriage relationships.

In recent days there has been a reaction to "tough parenting," but I find a lot of comfort and freedom in knowing that most of my friends have experienced some of it. Young parents...listen to this! As afraid as I may be of marriage, I would be significantly more afraid of it if I had no confidence that the young women in our communities experienced some good old fashion tough parenting in their childhood (and our young women should be equally afraid of such young men). Can you imagine trying to make a decision about a life partner with no confidence in their childhood experience? What if they never learned to say they were sorry? What if their parents always just "hugged" and "talked" them through life? What if their parents always just gave them what they wanted? You've seen those children that have never learned what "No" means. The risk factor suddenly begins to register incredibly high. If you can imagine this, you're simply seeing Western culture as it really is...with all its poor marriages.

In my Mennonite tradition I feel like young men and women, interested in getting married, still have a good level of confidence in this area. Nine out of ten young people still know what "tough parenting" feels like, but because of over-reaction we might be starting to slip here...who knows.

In our day, the "thunder sticks" may not be the woodshed because of legal reasons. Even if the woodshed becomes obsolete, I am suggesting that we should not throw the "thunder sticks" out. The great thing about the "thunder sticks" is that they are living...they can take on new form and new shape...they can creatively be adapted to our day.

Good luck as you seek divine help in knowing how to use the "thunder sticks" wisely!

When the dadgum earphones break....

Dangerous Business

"Prayer is a very dangerous business. For all the benefits it offers of growing closer to God, it carries with it one great element of risk: the possibility of change.

In prayer we open ourselves to the chance that God will do something with us that we had not intended. We yield to possibilities of intense perception, of seeing through human masks and the density of 'things' to the very center of reality. This possibility excites us, but at the same time there is a fluttering in the stomach that goes with any dangerous adventure.

Don't we know for a fact that people who begin by 'just praying'--with no particular aim in mind--wind up trudging off to missionary lands, entering monasteries, taking part in demonstrations, dedicating themselves to the poor and sick? To avoid this, sometimes we excuse ourselves from prayer by doing good works on a carefully controlled schedule."

Source: Clinging: The Experience of Prayer

When the goin' gets tough, the tough get goin'

Hold me back...I'm running the risk of losing all my readers...writing time is hard to come by these days! Its been teachers seminars, camping trips, work, and just down right worrying myself sick over this "Chick fil A" controversy. I count sheep every night these days...

Actually I don't give a "dingle berry" about Chick fil A...it all seems like an absolutely brilliant marketing strategy to me.
 
There IS something I did think about before I fell asleep the other night (It must have been before I counted sheep). Actually this "thinkingbeforeyoufallasleep" thing has been my nemesis. I've come to the conclusion that I just might be able to stop it by pulling a tight plastic bag down over my head for 20 minutes. Since I'm not interested in doing that, "thinkingbeforeyoufallasleep" is still running rampant.

I was thinking about the things that frustrate me as a teacher. Admittedly, one of the most frustrating things is when students drop out of school. It makes me feel like quitting. That's when I asked myself, "Who is leading who?"

Now, those of you not in the Mennonite tradition may not be familiar with "teacher turnover," but believe me, its in every Mennonite dictionary...our board chairmen have an intimate relationship with it.

I've heard many a teacher preach the little "don't drop out of school" sermon. Interestingly enough, many of these same teachers become little drop outs themselves within a year or two. The next time you launch into your little "don't drop out of school" sermon for your sixth graders, just remember that unless you're planning to teach for 6 years, they have every right to just turn your channel off.

This doesn't mean that what you're preaching isn't true. It just means you should get someone else to preach that sermon for you if you plan to drop out of teaching in the next year. Christian educators simply need to get off this hobby horse until we get our own act together...there's a reason our students aren't believing us(actions speak louder than words).

On of the biggest things our schools are thirsty for these days are gritty people that can run like camels, kick up their heels like mules, and never give up.

In opportune moments my dad used to tell my brothers and I, "When the goin' gets tough, the tough get goin"

Log Homes and other Baloney

You know...as much as I enjoy cutting my dad's grass with our new mower...there's something in a guy that hopes for some of his own grass to cut sometime, even if he has to do it with a pair of rusty scissors. Hence, knucklepuck or not, I purchased a log home.

My favorite room...

To be fair...this ole baby needs some work. The next month and a half smells like a lot of evening remodeling work. Right now I'm trying to convince the local wild game community that this place IS meant for humans. Just today, a sizable coon crawled up on the deck and promptly gave up the ghost.

But the real reason I'm even blogging about this is because I need your help. By this fall (mid sept) I would like to start renting this place out on weekends etc.. I really, really, REALLY want you, your friends, AND your enemies to come stay here. When you come into your kingdom don't forget me...just send me an e-mail.

If it makes any difference, this cabin has three bathrooms and will initially sleep 6-8. I hope to increase the sleeping capacity to about 12. There is also a stream behind the cabin and 40 acres of forrest.

On another note, here is another "project" we have going right now. Fortunately we get paid for this baloney....:)

He's a young thing and cannot leave his mother

I never realized how helpless I must look...apparently I have that incompetent, 25 year old, single guy look that screams, "I need to be mothered!"

My brothers and I are building a lake house for a doctor right now. The other day three of my brothers and I decided to hook Ryan's boat up and go fishing before work. Any real fisherman/fisherwoman knows that all early morning fishing needs to be kick started with coffee, so we made a quick Sheetz stop just before putting into the lake.

I was groggily making a cup of coffee and preparing to buy it when one of the ladies that works at Sheetz came up to me and asked if I would be offended if she did something for me. She said she had been watching me and my collar was bothering her, so she kindly fixed my collar and stuck my sweat shirt tag back down inside where it belongs. She even offered to go get a pair of scissors and cut the tag off.

I'm telling you ladies and gentlemen, that's real service. I even have the Sheetz ladies looking out for me....

Seven Year Old Camel Manure

Happy birthday to you...Happy birthday to you...Happy birthday deeeeeeeeear YOUTUBE...

Shiver me timbers folks...youtube is 7 years old today!

We live in a unique era...I hear preachers say over and over that young people have never had so much opportunity. I finally figured out what they're talking about.  You can walk up to a group of skinnies these days and say, "Have you seen the one where the dog couldn't get his leg back down after..." They will laugh knowingly and be reminded of the one where a kid with pasty white skin fails to break a cement block with his head.

...and to think that our preachers are concerned about our young men talking too much sports after church...now my timbers are really shivering. Shoot...I'll even take the Dodge vs Ford conversation back.

Though we've been wounded, we've survived the Romantic Era, Age of Reason, and Bill Gothard:) Yes...we have a resilient track record, but I'm not sure we can survive an era characterized my meaningless camel manure. The ironic thing is...we might be worse off than a dog with a permanently raised hind leg....

With these thoughts in mind, I share with you a youtube video that a co-teacher recently shared with me. If you've already seen this...you just might have been eating camel manure for the last 7 years....

   

"Whodoyouthinkyouare" Types

 In preparation for teaching Sunday School....

"How (gasping for air)in tIhe %^@#@ (gasping for air) can you run marathons (gasping for air) in pants?" 
Thought: Its good you're wearing shorts because I'm going to die trying to beat the pants OFF of you"  

"Common'...these guys can't beat us"
Thought: "Gimme that ball"

"I doubt she really likes you"
Thought: "Well HANG her...I definitely don't NEED girls"  

"Good try...don't worry about it...maybe you're just not a...seamstress"
Thought: "Shut up...I'm not interested in reproducing good try's...I'm interested in actually pulling this off"

1:00 AM
Thought: "Who gives a rip...I'm staying awake at all costs till I'm ready for class tomorrow..."


Several years ago I was having a conversation with a fellow runner. She was asking me if I had entered the 5k race in a nearby city. I told her I hadn't because I hadn't trained enough and was embarrassed to not be one of the front runners. She got a sad look in her eyes and simply said, "awww....you must have soooo much fear in your life...." She went on to ask if I would run a race...purposefully finishing in the middle of the pack. This may be some of the wisest advice I have ever received, and it was the beginning of a grueling journey.

Somehow I believed at a young age that I was going to have to prove a lot of people wrong...I promptly spent a lot of time trying to do just that. I was always small for my age and I had big brothers. I grew up trying to beat all odds with people that were ALWAYS bigger, better, and stronger than myself. Everything I did was done with the underdog mentality. I didn't realize that in teenagers the underdog mentality can come across as over confidence and arrogance. I never realized that this approach could make people ask, "Who do you think you are?" I never knew these things because I was blinded by fear.

I ended up running the 5k, purposefully finishing in the middle of the pack...It was one of the hardest things I ever did. I suddenly realized how much I was afraid of the people I thought I controlled. The thought of the crowd thinking I was that slow...it was almost unbearable. That was the beginning of allowing Jesus to recover my soul. He still has a motherload of work to do, but some things have changed.

These days I like to relax, drink coffee and watch the sun go down, while some other guy is out there training to beat the pants off me in the next marathon. I like to go to bed when I'm tired, knowing that some other teacher is out there preparing a better class than mine. I like to play volleyball even when I'm rusty and can't pass or serve worth a hoot. It is incredibly freeing to know that Jesus loves you and me...and I don't even have to get all up in a wad trying to prove it.

The next time I want to label a person as "Whodoyouthinkyouare," I remember that they are probably very fearful and not as arrogant as I think. In fact they might think they aren't as good as me, and that is why they are fighting so hard. We are known as we know.

Photo Blog:Livin' Off the Land

Without getting into the philosophy/theology behind this statement, I believe the Christian is a person who undoubtedly takes special care of the earth and lives in a sustainable way from the gifts that the earth gives.(Hearken back to my Feb 19 post)

I will go so far as to say that I am loving those Saudi teenagers (that you don't give two hoots about) by living a life that demands less oil. If I understand things correctly the world (basically meaning china and the USA) demands 9,000,000 barrels of oil from Saudi Arabia every year. In a few years this demand is expected to be 15,000,000 barrels. That is what Saudi teenagers have to look forward to. Forget dreams of being a doctor...we will demand that they enter the oil industry.

So...of course, you could find inconsistancies in our lives, but we try. The grand thing is that we've been having a flumin lot of fun trying.


That be corn...need I say more.



I kept shooting deer with my bow this year...so we kept making bologna




Andrew and I's latest project has been maple syrup. We built this rig one Saturday, and we've been playing with it ever since.



We often find ourselves boiling at night since we teach during the day. There's lots of time to chitter with each other, sip coffee, and read when you boil.



I even got my students in on boiling one day.



The downside of making maple syrup...your looking at a pregnant 2 hours of work in this picture (I might be embellishing the truth just a tad). On the other hand, the stuff sales for close to $10 a pint.

The Experienced Teacher....

Who are the Needy?

Looking at the sophistication and technical skills that we may have attained, we have to ask, what sort of people are needed on Earth? Who are the self-sufficient, the independent? Who are skilled at growing and harvesting the food that keeps us all alive? Who knows how to build a roof over their heads rather than just buying one? Who knows how to make clothing rather than simply shopping for it?

Who are really the needed, and who are really the needy?

Source: To Be of Use

Q & R

Q:
In one fairly recent post, you wrote:
"Maybe we should spend more time helping our children to love the right things. One of the most unfortunate things in our world is the fact that there are a lot of people that believe in God, yet love ungodly things."

This is something I think about a lot, in fact I feel very gripped by it--how can we, in the day to day nitty gritty of life, help or actually inspire our children to love the right things? Obviously our example is one major thing, but how else can we combat both the attractiveness of 'the world' and the attractiveness of complacency? How can we (especially when we are so far ourselves from where we really ought to be/want to be) help our children see the breathtaking reality of God and His Kingdom, and help them want Him more than anything else?

R:

This is a very astute question that I received from a reader recently. First of all...this is a very good question that I don't have the answer to...I only have some theories and uninformed ideas.

Administrative/Root Change
I really hope that the older and wiser men of our communities band together and begin to grapple with this question at a deeper level(what do our young people love?). These answers should be birthed in a community conversation, not individual dynamism or inspiration. The older men of our communities should really be directing the loves of our young people.

I really don't think this can happen until the older men in our communities are as free to critique our young people's loves as they have been to critique our young people's beliefs/doctrine. (what we love and what we believe are at times a universe apart) Can you imagine a community where the old call the young to love certain and very specific things? For years our elders have been expelling from the church those who have honestly struggled with inerrancy of scripture and happily communing with those who love money more than God!

In short...just being a good example isn't good enough...there are administrative roots in our communities that need examined....

Music/Worship
I also think that the music of our communities is very powerful in the formation of what we love. While I am not a globe trotter, I have traveled enough to pick up on a very disconcerting pattern. Mennonite communities where Dad doesn't sing, are Mennonite communities where the young people love the world...Mennonite communities that don't love the beautiful music of the Lord are Mennonite communities that struggle with their young people. I don't know why this is...it just seems to hold true. We MUST be communities that love to sing to the Lord....TEACH YOURSELF TO SING THEN.... TEACH YOUR CHILDREN TO SING!!!!!

Give Children FLESH and BLOOD
Thirdly I think we need to give our communities PEOPLE to love. I didn't know that I really wanted to be a teacher until I had my own students that I loved. I decided that I wanted to teach when i was 18. I spent several years in school training for this vision, but the vision never lived until I loved real flesh and blood. After my first year of teaching I almost gave up. I told God that something had to change. God promptly brought several students into my life that I really came to care about.

When I was growing up I heard that I should love the Bible. Love for highly compressed wood fibers and ink wears out in a hurry...its just plumb unsustainable. I also heard that I should love God...but that basically meant loving nitrogen, oxygen, and other things I couldn't see. Our young people need flesh and blood put to their loving. When we say love the poor....give them a chance to love a real poor person with a real name and a real chance of suffering. Its harder to love yourself when you actually know these people...when their not just a word on a page...when they are a real face.

GET CREATIVE
There is more, but this post is already too long. We all need to get creative in a day when machines tell us they can be creative for us. If you have creative ways to create a culture of love for God please share them....our communities may fail lest we address a faltering love for the Kingdom. People WILL love...the question is, "WHO is informing our children's loves?"

The Modern Church Controversy

Where two or three are gathered in my name....there is usually a fight going on.....

I apologize for my cynicism...I thought I would direct you to the fight. If your looking for the fight...its down the hall and to the left, in the boiler room. Just follow these two videos in order, and you'll find yourself on the scene of the modern church controversy....

Love is a Practice

Love is a practice, not a belief and certainly not just a feeling. Love is a set of habits learned over a lifetime.

I'm reminded of the story of two rabbis in conversation over drinks. The one says, "Do you love me?"

The other answers, "Yes, of course."

"Do you know what hurts me?"

"No, how could I know that?"

And his friend responds, "You can't love me if you don't know what hurts me."

When I heard that story it occurred to me that this is how it is when we love God and love neighbor. God says to us, "How can you love me if you don't know what hurts me?"

What hurts God? A polluted creation, hungry children, broken families and lost people, wandering fearful and without hope. When we connect our lives with the things that hurt God, we actually grow in our love for God. It's this essential connection that we desire in our common life together.

This is stewardship with love at the center. To borrow a phrase, all you need is love. Love God, love neighbor. Love yourself.

Source: Sermon (The Stewardship of Love) Oct. 23 2011 at Saint Mark Presbyterian Church in Rockville MD