Reading through the Bible... take 2!

So Nate and I had the big plan to read through the Bible.

Nate made it (I'm pretty sure). I had a pretty good start. Then I got my teaching job (which sadly, didn't last), wrapped up tighter than a fly in a spiderweb in work, and didn't keep up with the readings which require an hour to 90 minutes of study. Excuse? Completely, utterly, totally lame. That said... I'm going for it again. Because I want to do it. Badly. I gained some perspective this summer while working with all my kids. I learned plenty about the Old Testament this past spring. But... I want to know more.

And I've gained more already. I remember reading about the sacrificial system that Moses wrote down from God in Exodus and into Leviticus (and beyond), but something really interesting that stuck out to me was how, beyond the idea that many people are familiar with (burnt, sin, guilt, grain, and peace), something that caught my attention was how there were daily offerings given at morning and evening JUST so the people could meet with and hear from God.

That's a LOT of sacrifices. A lot time, energy, and love invested in those animals given as offerings. It's expensive, and although it's most definitely worthy to give them as sacrifices to the Maker of Heaven and Earth, that had to be tough. It makes the 90 minutes I couldn't put in even more sad to think about it. But, it also makes me realize HOW much the gift Jesus gave us meant.

No more killing animals. No more purification rituals. We can have a relationship with God because He's saved us.

I like reading stuff in the Pentateuch a lot, actually. Slogging through the rituals is tough sometimes, but the introduction to Leviticus gave a good reminder why Christians should and NEED to read it - it gives a sense of perspective of WHY Jesus was needed. Why we don't do sacrifices anymore. What the big deal is. And though we might have developed the technology to make shirts of two fabrics (cotton/polyester blend is nice and it works now!), there are still plenty of relevant laws right now from the Pentateuch for Christians. Like loving God with all your heart, soul, and mind. And loving your neighbor as yourself. Jesus himself talked about that.

We've been tested. But not forgotten.

<sup>Psalm 66:8-10, 16-20

8</sup>Bless our God, O peoples;
let the sound of his praise be heard,
⁹who has kept our soul among the living
and has not let our feet slip.
¹⁰For you, O God, have tested us;
you have tried us as silver is tried.

¹⁶Come and hear, all you who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for my soul.
¹⁷I cried to him with my mouth,
and high praise was on my tongue.
¹⁸If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
¹⁹But truly God has listened;
he has attended to the voice of my prayer.

²⁰Blessed be God,
because he has not rejected my prayer
or removed his steadfast love from me!

I've felt tested. I've prayed. I've asked others to pray for my family and me too. Because I don't enjoy being tested. It's tough.

I don't think we're done. Not yet. But after today, I also look and believe that God is hearing our prayers. And He has not forgotten us.

And what else can I do, as any other time, but rejoice that God is God?

It hurts. BAD.

My senior year at Hope, Trygve once taught during The Gathering about Jeremiah, and how incredibly alone and miserable he felt amidst myriad pain and suffering. In short, the question he was asking was, "God, where ARE You? Where is God in the midst of all this?"

[18] My joy is gone; grief is upon me;
my heart is sick within me.
[19] Behold, the cry of the daughter of my people
from the length and breadth of the land:
“Is the LORD not in Zion?
Is her King not in her?”
“Why have they provoked me to anger with their carved images
and with their foreign idols?”
[20] “The harvest is past, the summer is ended,
and we are not saved.”
[21] For the wound of the daughter of my people is my heart wounded;
I mourn, and dismay has taken hold on me.
[22] Is there no balm in Gilead?
Is there no physician there?
Why then has the health of the daughter of my people
not been restored?
[9:1] Oh that my head were waters,
and my eyes a fountain of tears,
that I might weep day and night
for the slain of the daughter of my people!
Jeremiah 8:18-9:1 (ESV)

[42:1] As a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants my soul for you, O God.
[2] My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
[3] My tears have been my food
day and night,
while they say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?”
Psalm 42:1-3 (ESV)

It hurts. It hurts DEEP to watch my family hurting.

Trygve said this question of "God... where ARE YOU?!" keeps God at the center. THAT'S what I want, what I need, and what my family needs.

I need God.
We need Him. RIGHT NOW.
And I will pray.
I will pray AUDACIOUSLY!!!!
For just that.
For Emmanuel. God with us.
And His peace. Which passes all understanding.
And I will rejoice. Because He's already here.

It STARTS with Jesus.

At church the other evening, Dale showed a clip from a Mark Driscoll sermon. I don't listen to/watch his stuff a ton, probably because I guess I'm not the type to actively seek out sermons on my computer. Whatever exactly that means.

That said... it, as well as the discussion BEFORE I got hugged by my kids covered in a concoction of flour paste, oatmeal, shaving cream, and soggy dog food (yes, crud wars... BLEAGH) really got the wheels turning.

Our actions shouldn't define us. What we're doing shouldn't define us. What SHOULD define us should be found in Christ, and what He did for us. It comes from His sacrifice and the Resurrection.

Jesus --> Saved us --> We change --> Our lives are DIFFERENT (actions)

It STARTS with Jesus. Not us. Him.

By streams of Living Water

I feel like I'm still catching up on things of this summer. When you're mostly disconnected, that's probably not an entirely bad thing.

Post-camp, I mad a wild dash to the Grand Rapids-Holland-Muskegon zone for Ben and Lauren's wedding. It was a good time, though the beginning had a rather interesting start-I felt vaguely in a video game where I'm seeking the one elusive spot where you can park in Grand Haven (NO ONE remembered to warn me that my friend was getting married on the weekend of the Coast Guard Festival!), so I totally missed dinner. It did make for an interesting experience to meet up with my friends in Spring Lake.

But I digress. While hunting for presents/a card with Leah up in Muskegon, she and I both got really sick of all the saccharine, cookie-cutter wedding cards that we found at Hallmark at the mall. Wedding card shopping is tough, mostly because of what I described. There's nothing that sets any of them apart anymore, so to do that while staying appropriate takes a bit of patience and hunting, unless you have the time and planning to make your own card or send pictures to the store. I didn't, so I had to wing it. Thankfully, Leah and I *DID* find a card with a passage from Jeremiah (I think it was chapter 31) that stuck as something Ben & Lauren would like.

Oddly enough, Ben & Lauren picked a Scripture (Psalm 1:1-3) for their wedding that was unique, too. Rather than talking about two becoming one flesh or what love is, they took the idea in a completely different direction.

¹Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
²but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

³He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.

The minister who performed the ceremony mentioned how she was surprised at this selection, but mentioned how as she studied the passage over and over, how it really *IS* perfect for a wedding, and how it wasn't meant just for the new husband and wife. It was for everyone listening.

And I had to agree - as I sat there, pondering the words of the psalmist, thinking about how a blessed man gains life to the fullest is by the streams of living water and by truly delighting in the teachings from the Word, I thought to myself, "This is what it is. This is what we meant at camp. This is being a rebel. A revolution."

Thanks Ben & Lauren, for a good reminder. Your minister was right - it was for EVERYONE. It was a great wedding (and that was quite a reception arrival - on a SAILBOAT!).

Rebellious thoughts from camp.

Inadequacy. In some ways, I feel like that's the only way I can describe my summer.

"But Tyler, how on Earth can you feel that way? You've done this before. You've been to college. You went in just finishing a teaching job!"

But that's just it.

I loved my teaching job in Ludington. It was the best thing to happen and I was happy to have a positive experience at the secondary level, work with students that were actually MY kids, teach them about singing, and learn more about teaching (and the challenges I'm still facing). But the one problem that had to do with camp that was that I had to rush right off to Tustin. Don was perfectly okay with this, for which I was very grateful. But in some respects, I thought I was going in unprepared for the next phase of life, which took a lot of twists. Staff training went great and I got to meet the rest of the team and reunite with some old friends. And together, everyone made a pretty good team this year.

Week 1... Junior High Camp in Huron. Pastor Jim Lacy, speaker.
My summer started a LOT like summer 2009 - with junior high boys up at High Point. And it was a great beginning this year-I had an absolutely AMAZING tent of guys, and so did Cameron. We could take them just about anywhere, do just about anything with them because they were game for just about anything. I'm still sad we weren't able to pull off camping out on Sunshine Mountain with them because they totally would have loved it!. They were probably one of the most chill group of junior high guys I've had in a cabin/tent yet.

Cameron had a camper in his tent that totally got all geeked about the Bible studies and loved talking about stuff with me - we had quite a discussion about Revelation 21 before our campfire and God making His dwelling with His people. He got all excited just talking about that and the pure thought of living with God someday on the newly-recreated Earth. I really hope Sonny becomes an SMT-he's totally the kind of person that I could see doing it. I really wish I could have had a chance to talk with him some more, but I couldn't. But talking with my guys about stuff WAS awesome.

Week 2... Junior Camp in Pictured Rock. Pastor Ken Nichols, speaker.
For the first time, I didn't have a long move! But I had to switch tents up at High Point (from Huron to Pictured Rock). And it meant switching mental gears - week 2 was our week where camp was completely loaded with younger kids. Though I was technically working with junior campers, it felt at times like I was counseling Pre Camp for the first time in two years just because of the age of some of my kids (they couldn't be more than 8 or 9) and how needy they were, except all week.

Despite some of the bad stupid moments, it was actually a pretty good cabin (one of the better junior cabins I've had-and I've had some rough ones), I had some hilarious moments with them (the best quote of the summer came from one of my kids doing counselor impressions-"Why don't we just SKIP IT!!"), and one of my boys got saved this week at camp, which is the big reason why we do what we do at camp-starting and renewing relationships with Christ. Not a bad week at all.

Week 3... Junior/Junior High Ranch Camp in Buffalo. Pastor Dave Heyn, speaker.
I made the longest move ever (from High Point to Ranch!). As I made the transition, I was praying/hoping a bit before this week began for a number of reasons. Last year's drama with all the campers the week we had girls and guys at Ranch Camp, plus all the rain that made it tough to be outside (and the c-c-c-COLD!) made for a pretty miserable week. I really, REALLY didn't want a bad week for my kids this year. Thankfully, this week was much sunnier, warmer, and despite PLENTY of interaction between the campers (a lot of these kids are in middle school, and one of my once-junior campers is now taller than me, yikes!), the kids had a good week. And despite an age gap of around 5-6 years between my youngest and oldest campers and a good ten-twelve inches in height between them, all the guys got along very well. The guys were LOUD. The girls were LOUD. But it wasn't a bad kind of loud, as I was talking with Carissa, Michelle, and Ethan. It was just... crazy.

Counseling at Ranch Camp is always special just because we're out away from everything else so the kids tend to bond pretty quickly and I've gotten to know some of these kids over the past, well, now three years. Some of them I've gotten to watch literally grow up (and they're taller than I am now, which is a little scary!) I had some really good talks with my guys this year, I really enjoyed praying with them, and also had a reminder about sometimes service at camp is in the behind-the-scenes rather than the fun, obvious things that staffers do. Mandi reminded me of that in a friendly but very clear way.

(I also saw a lot of my former campers from years past on this week, including my dudes from the TC area from my very first week of counseling - they're junior high campers now too, they're getting tall, and it's reminding me how long I've been doing this.)

-Pause, partial staff exit to Mackinac Island for weekend of mayhem-

Week 4... Senior High Camp with Isaiah and Seth in Squirrel. Pastor Ryan Huebner, speaker.
I was really psyched about this for a number of reasons. First, high school camp was loads of fun last year, I learned a ton from the week, and... well, a little more simply,

1. I was back at MAIN CAMP. That means being near other people and stuff.
   
2. I was with Isaiah (with whom I hadn't counseled since his very first week ever as a CIT back in 2008!) and Seth.
3. A number of my high school campers from last year were back yet again!

But the week wasn't just all kicks and giggles - a nearly stress-free week the year before with high school guys the year before wasn't like that this year. I had one camper who had some additional needs (hence why Seth was also in the cabin) who ended up needing to leave early. I was honest with other staffers that while I was bummed that he couldn't stay, I was also a little relieved with regards to not having the extra stress, and Seth was able to stick around in our cabin and work with the other guys. Speaking of visiting staff, this was again the week for visitors-Austin, Rachel, & Patrick all came back as counselors again and Isaac came ALL the way up from Kansas to visit family and ended up stopping in to see everyone at camp!

The teaching was REALLY good-Pastor Ryan challenged the kids (and made me think about how to make all this stuff real in my own life) and so did my fellow colleagues during their talks to the guys about purity. The time of sharing around the campfire was especially powerful and I really enjoyed how real it was. That, I believe, is one of the positive facets being able to serve the older campers. Even though there's more drama and the issues can get more difficult, we can really attack what's going on in people's lives and say, "Hey. This is what this is. And yeah, it IS tough. The Bible says this. Take joy from that alone. And let's live it like this so we're not going home without some sort of idea of what to do."

-Pause, partial staff exit to Ludington during Family Camp for weekend of rest and mayhem-

Week 5... Junior High Camp in Petoskey. Pastor Scott Gardziella, speaker.
The transition from senior high campers (who really ARE exhausting!) was a bit easier this time around-I had junior high the following week! But to be honest, I was a little dismayed to be back at High Point because... it gets lonely way back where no one goes except us. However, I was with Dan again and Colby too, and since it was a trio of tents, we'd be doing stuff together. I also had some campers that I knew from either having had at camp before or from church, so that was exciting. However, this week was a bit taxing for a number of reasons.

I had some campers that just simply have stuff going on. Others didn't, so the tent dynamic was REALLY dichotomous. And this was where teaching really got intense. Again. I had on my mind a lot of the stuff from Senior High Camp and I wasn't entirely sure how it might play into this week, though I was certain I didn't want to just ignore it, since I knew

1. It's relevant to junior high guys.
2. Ignoring the topics we discussed with during senior high week would NOT be an option. They're part of that whole pie related to what life actually LOOKS LIKE for a Christian who wants to mean what he says about not just praying the prayer to be one and walking away.
   

But how? As it ended up happening, Bible study became the launching point and we took it from there. It ended up working just fine between Bible study, a prayer work that dovetailed into our campfire and a couple of discussions I had with some of the guys. I felt like I wasn't prepared to talk about such heavy, deep topics. I felt downright inadequate, like I was the wrong person. But if I didn't... then I wasn't sure if anyone would. And as I've thought about it, I wish I'D have heard about this kind of stuff at camp and church and youth group than school and health classes. So if we don't talk to these guys about the scary, heavy-hitting topics that we don't like... then who will?

I talked to a couple of core staff during the week, who knew I wasn't doing well-Becky gave me some good advice along the way and said, "Do a heart check, then." She highly recommended spending some time in prayer, in the Word and finding out where I am and getting my brain, my heart, and so on back where it should be-serving Christ, and my campers, right there and then rather than worrying about me. And it made a difference. Despite it being a tougher week, some of the best conversations I had with campers came from this week. And the kids appreciated it.

-Postlude, staff exuent to First Street Beach in Manistee for enough steak to slay an elephant and a night on the sand and the water (and fish throwing!)-

Appendix... with various staff.
Beach times were great. I ate way too much steak, tons of other snacky stuff, drank tons of pop and let out a couple belches that impressed Don and Sue (yes!), and played some pretty epic volleyball with Kristen, Tiki, Jamie, Candace, Mike, and other people I'm forgetting. Saying good-bye was hard as always because as I've personally experienced twice now, I never know when I'll see some of these good friends again. Sometimes it's not for around a year (or more!), as was the case when Isaiah woke me up from a near-sleep as promised when he arrived for staff training. It's tough-the people you serve with become your greatest friends and separation becomes tough, but I think back to what Trygve taught around graduation in 2008 at Hope: "It's not good-bye. It's until we meet again." How true it us, for those of us who are in Christ.

So I came home for the first week of what Center Lake calls "rental" camps, essentially where churches come, do a week-long retreat at camp on their own, and we provide whatever support they need to run camp. Depending on their needs, it might be a little or a lot. I stayed home the first week and... went camping with the visiting family from NJ. The cousins (and so did Uncle Wade!) asked a zillion things about camp, so I finally showed them two weeks of footage from junior high and senior high camps, including testimonials from campers (thanks Isaac, yours really helped sell it!). Allie and Luke asked Uncle Wade point blank, "We want to go to Center Lake next summer!" I'm praying already.

I returned to Center Lake after that week for Valley Family Church's (VFC) rental camp with its middle school & high school youth groups, as I have every year. It was good to see a number of my friends again and to do camp again. Though it's their camp (and their church staff is getting very good at scheduling and running things by now), they still have us help them out with the more intense areas. So it's fun to come back and help out-I like it and I've come to enjoy working with their staff. They're very appreciative and so are the kids. I got to go on possibly the largest boating outing we've ever taken on the Pine River with Don, Jesse, & Monika and I had the privilege of going in the double kayak (the Stalker). Even cooler, I jumped it over a rock, so I can literally say I jumped the Stalker! As an additional bonus, I got to work the guest High Ropes group from Son-Life Camp & Retreat Center down in Wayland on their Outpost trip - (cool aside: their extra-tall staffer got two solid kicks off the Sky Deck with some coaching from Duane on the Giant Swing and almost landed a third!) I figured after this week and one final service at Temple Hill, I'd be done and returning home, but... Duane asked me, "Tyler, what are you doing next week?"
"Um, nothing yet."
"Would you like to work at camp next week?"

And with that, I was set to come back for another week, this time with Woodside Bible Church network out of the Detroit metro area and its kids camp. It was definitely different than VFC but they were also appreciative and I liked working with them too. Lots of time spent in housekeeping (as with the previous week) and at the flying squirrel and climbing tower. And after Thursday's programming was up, I had myself already packed up and ready to go and had to say my good-byes to everyone who was still there. In a way, I was ready to say farewell for the summer but at the same time, it was hard. But then came the whirlwind weekend-Spring Lake, Muskegon, Coopersville, and Holland all in two days for Ben's bachelor party/prayer night, visiting Leah, visiting Ross (and seeing Matt!), and Ben's wedding! Quite a weekend.

So. What did I take away from one and a half weeks of staff training, five weeks of counseling, one week off, two weeks of retreat hosting/housekeeping, and a whirlwind weekend of visiting friends/watching one of my closest friends finally tie the knot with his wife?

1. I felt completely, utterly inadequate to teach my guys on some of the scariest topics that people face. I knew that I had to talk to them about this stuff, and I didn't want to touch any of it with a ten-foot pole. But somehow, despite all my failings (and the fact that God knew I really didn't want to do any of this), it still worked out. I'm not Moses. I'm not Elijah. Or Jeremiah. But my kids still got the point. And it made a difference.
2. I really, REALLY need to know my Bible better. I felt like the parts that I did get through earlier this spring in my attempt to read through in three months I know better than ever. But the rest is still cloudy. And make no mistake, this goal will be a lifelong goal. It's something I know everyone should strive for, but I believe especially as someone who wants to work with kids at youth group and camp that it's possibly even more important.

I don't want my whole summer (because it pretty much has except for a few weeks) to be a gigantic Jesus jolt, as my camper, Darin, rightfully describes it. Yes, I miss my friends and would love to see them all the time. I miss the place called Center Lake Bible Camp. I gladly admit that I miss people that I love. I love the memories.

But as summertime has ended: I take away a resolve to know my Bible better. I REBEL AGAINST IGNORANCE!!!!

They DID it! THEY DID it! THEY DID IT!!!!!

The feeling hasn't really worn off yet.

This must be what it's like to meet your students, work with them like crazy on something, wonder if it will come together when it's showtime, and then you wait to find out the judges' ruling, and BAM!

I seriously couldn't be more proud to have been a small part of it.

I got thrown into the Solo & Ensemble cycle rather late this year, as it seems a lot of things happened with my teaching work. But the experience was well-worth the effort. My co-teacher asked me to work with two of the students here at Ludington in prepping for State Solo & Ensemble, which meant not only did I not get to work with them at Districts, but I had less time to work with these students and my first experience as an instructor/accompanist at S&E is at the state level! So no pressure at all to deliver.

But funny how things work out.

Out of the seven Ludington HS planned to take to state, I ended up only working with one of them, which kept things fairly simple for learning music, even if scheduling got a little bit tricky. In the end, it worked out quite well and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to basically teach voice lessons for a spell with this student. What was really refreshing was he took it all in and WANTED to take something out of it-I didn't sense he was merely parroting what I was teaching/saying, but thinking it through and sharing his own thoughts and watching the final product take shape. (And, might I add, I discovered at the festival that he also wants to be a music teacher! THAT makes me happy!)

The result? When it came for performance, EVERYONE gave pretty much everything they had despite a normal amount of anxiety. And the best part?

EVERYONE also earned an overall Division I rating, including one of them earning a straight Division I. I couldn't be more excited or proud of what was accomplished!

That, right there, is part of why I love teaching. Working with singers that WANT to sing, that WANT to get better, and WANT to go farther. And celebrating the victory together is the sweetener on top.

New instrument

Teaching as your job has a very obvious benefit. I'm not rolling in it by any means, but I HAVE made some money. I promised myself that I wouldn't go crazy, but I did want to treat myself to ONE thing nice. To something I've always wanted, and if it could help me, then all the more reason to get it too.

And I made my decision. I've wanted to learn to play the acoustic guitar for quite a while now. I'm not sure how long it's been, exactly. I admired my friends back at Hope who knew how, though I was plenty satisfied (and still am) with the ability to play the piano, and it keeps me busy right now. Playing for two of my students for State Solo & Ensemble has me occupied.

The other weekend, while Jack was home, he, Bill, and I went down to "the toy store," as we love to call our local music store and checked out guitars. We looked at a few, tried them out, and although none were really bad, I wasn't pleased with any until I found it. My instrument. I was drawn to it by sight and wanted to know if its beauty was beyond skin-deep. So we asked to test it and Bill & Jack liked it too. After waffling for a little bit, I finally bit the bullet and went for it.

And now, I have one! And I'm seriously geeked to learn how to play it! My fingers are killing me but it's okay. I can't wait to play music.

A good laugh from teaching

One of the things I've learned from working as a teacher again up here in Ludington is that laughter is important.

The past couple of days have been taxing, although we HAVE gotten some good things done with my kids. I'm still feeling encouraged by how well they're singing and am SERIOUSLY looking forward to our spring concert and my first one teaching on my own! *Happy dance*

Today (well, "yesterday," technically), I spent a bit of time working alongside Ms. Sopha with the Concert Choir while they were doing sectional assignments. I remember doing those in high school and at Hope with Dr. Richmond, and they're absolutely fascinating. The nuances of the human voice make vocal blend tricky yet interesting. But when you hear it come together, it's unmistakable.

And apparently, these high school students knew that *I* knew too. When Ms. Sopha working with the bass section, I was sitting out with the rest of the choir listening as she kept having students move around until the lineup was almost right, and then I thought I heard them find their sweet spot, as it were. Two of the guys switched places, and apparently I did something. One of the guys said, "Don't do it! Racey doesn't like it!"

I absolutely love it when students make me laugh like that.

SPRING BREAK

It feels like a million years since the last time I've posted anything on this. Mostly because...

Several days after talking to Ben (refer to the previous post), I got a teaching job in the Ludington Area School district for the rest of the year. It's only one class at the middle school. But it's definitely a start, and if it dovetails into a teaching job either in Ludington or somewhere else, it'll be great. And I've had a chance to dip my feet into the water of working with students in middle school drama, middle school choir, and high school choir. It's been an absolute blast. Plus, I get to go with two of the high school singers who will be singing at State Solo & Ensemble in April. So I get a little bit of experience coaching/accompanying them like a voice instructor. My work really is a little bit of everything!

It's had its challenges, working mostly with middle school students, but I enjoy my job.

And on top of that, I had the wonderful surprise of working the final Quiz Bowl meet down in Newaygo. I was a little bummed that I didn't get to moderate, but in working Jordan's room, we made it like the WSCC tourney. Awesome. Plus a little extra cash is nice.

In other news, life in church music never fails to take its twists and turns. "Unfailing Love" with the Paynes was awesome. So was "All Because of Jesus" with Nate & Bob. I'll admit I was a bit frustrated with "Glory" and doing that with Lifted Voice, but it seemed to turn out well. I'm SERIOUSLY looking forward to the planning process/putting together "Desert Song" with the Paynes and everyone else involved. Hopefully it'll be fairly smooth, sound amazing, and most importantly, glorifying to God and minister to everyone who hears the song (yes, I'm geeked!)

And I might be headed to Center Lake for the weekend in April (maybe?!)

Life is good.

Oh how life changes in a week

I was talking to Ben just on Monday night. It was awesome because,

1. I miss my friend. College relationships are a blessing and a bummer. I love them, hate them, love to hate them, and thank Jesus for them so much.

2. We got a chance to ask each other how we could pray for one another. I mentioned stuff on my end about, amongst other things, teaching and finding a job.

Two days after that, I get a voicemail related to a part-time job at LUDINGTON. Two days after THAT, I actually HAVE said job. Two days from now, I start.

I couldn't be more thankful to, first of all, be WORKING, and second, in MUSIC EDUCATION, for the first time in about two years. It's such a great feeling to say, "HEY! I'm WORKING. I'm a TEACHER!" If this dovetails into a real, honest-to-goodness "big person" full-time job, it'd really be my dream come true.

But for now, I'll be thankful for what I do have. God answers prayer. (And I have to lesson plan REALLY FAST!)

Absalom, Absalom!

Being sick is no fun. So I attack it aggressively with sleep, hydration, lozenges, vitamins, blueberry-infused tea (with LOCAL HONEY!), and finishing up II Samuel.

Eric Whitacre joined me today, too. The end of the story of Absalom and King David mourning him (to the point of forgetting his job of being king) takes on a whole new dimension when you listen to "When David Heard." So does the song when you read it in the Bible while listening.

Now onward to lots of kings of Israel and Judah!

This reading through the Bible stuff is HARD. But SO COOL.

So I need to update so far on reading through the Bible in three months.

I'm a bit behind (today's date has me in about Nehemiah - I'm around the tail end of I Samuel). Getting there. And I still have a goal of being done by early May.

After talking to Ben tonight, who described reading through the Bible this fast as, "a blistering speed," I'm still musing at how much I've still gotten out of reading through the Bible at such a rapid pace.

1. The cool thing about reading through the Bible this fast, instead of a little study over three months, is exactly what it sounds like. I like to describe it like how Dr. Richmond sometimes describes things: "You get the whole pie." In this case, reading the Bible this has cast the taking of the Promised Land, the rebellion under the Judges/request for a king, and Israel as a nation pretty closely against the backdrop of creation, the Patriarchs, Exodus, and the Law. Reading the WHOLE Bible that fast gives you that, "JUST-READ for maximum freshness!" I'll be around the major prophets in a matter of weeks, the Gospels in April and the Mosaic Law was on the calendar about three weeks ago. Now THAT'S setting everything into context!

2. The Torah is FASCINATING. I loved it. I can't imagine being a boy "back in the good old days" of ancient Mesopotamia who would memorize the first five books of the Bible for his teachers by his bar mitzvah. Reading through them is lofty enough. That said, there's a lot of very interesting stuff in there. And the overarching themes I've noticed are,

• How people lived their lives and why actually MATTERED. It's so important.
  
• The Law gets repeated several times. I bet it matters.
  
• There's relevant content today, so this stuff is STILL worth knowing, even though we don't sacrifice cows, goats, sheep, and birds because of Jesus being the perfect sacrifice. It isn't wise to purposefully ignore this, and *I* think it's interesting.
  

3. Through some assistance from the notes in my study Bible, there were hints toward Jesus long before the major prophets, WAY at the beginning. It's left me speechless to read it again for myself (I haven't read some of this in TOO long). The prophets talked about Jesus coming too, but I love the little clues in the earliest books of the Bible.

One final note: after reading a few songs in the ESV, I'll confess: I'm SERIOUSLY getting geeked for Psalms. The composer in me might reawaken. :-)

Avalanche

More to come later, but a fun weekend of camp with good friends, goofing around at Buffalo Wild Wings, and then talking about theology, and then talking about it a little more with D-Wag is worth blogging. Plus church at Temple Hill was a hoot! I love my church home in Cadillac.

Catching up with Isaiah after too long was a blessing too. I don't know why I have some of the best friends I could ask for between my crew from Hope and everyone at camp, but I really do.

And speaking of Hope, I could be coming there sooner than I expected. More hopefully to follow on that.

RE-post: WHAT is your name?!

Back during Christmas 2008, the Center Lake staffers went crazy with a boomerang survey. I was a part of it, and it was one of the best early Christmas presents I had. One of those warm fuzzies type of things, for sure, but in my mind, it spoke to how working together all summer in the service of Christ deepens your friendships.

So a repost from Facebook that I felt like re-sharing because it's worth doing.

Originally on... Tuesday, December 9, 2008 at 12:25pm

Post your name and I will do each of the following:

1. I'll respond with something random about you.
2. I'll tell you which song or movie you remind me of.
3. I'll say something that only makes sense to you and me.
4. I'll tell you my first memory of you.
5. I'll tell you what animal you remind me of.
6. I'll ask you something I've always wondered about you.
7. I'll tell you my favorite thing about you.
8. If you play, you MUST want to post this on yours

Jessica Clouse: Oh, oh! Pick me, pick me!

~Jess

Tyler Racey: Jess

1. Those pictures of you from Homecoming 2007 with the crazy-go-nuts curly-whatsits are mesmerizing. The fact that your hair can do that is amazing.
2. "Big Trouble" becaaaaaause... you KNOW you liked it.
3. "What up, BISCUIT?!"
4. InterVarsity at Hope & encounters at the Kletz. I love those super flurries.
5. A duck. They're lovable and feisty. Love the ducks. And be afraid. Be VERY afraid.
6. Did you ever get the urge to go all King Koopa with the stuff in the Kletz on your last day, even if you knew it would get you in all kinds of trouble? Even for fun?
7. You love your students and love teaching them math. Don't stop that and give it some more time... you'll be a fantastic teacher. Just wait and see what God has in store for you.

Heidi Baker: Heidi B

Tyler Racey: Heidi

1. If you're a Trinity Troll, do you get your very own BRIDGE?! AHAHAHAHAHA. Sometimes I slay myself.
2. "If We Are the Body" - Casting Crowns
3. "No one came to camp from my institution, either."
4. AO training and I threw the giant white Fruit Loop to you. You didn't drown! Good times.
5. A real mother goose. She takes care of her babies (the SMTs) while also fully-prepared to put on her boots of buttkicking with them needed.
6. Have you ever had the overwhelming urge to tell the Heidi Baker with IRIS Ministries that she stole your name?
7. You are willing to reach out and love the unloved when others won't.

Isaiah Nichols: Lulz.
Isaiah Nichs

Joy Morin: JOY MORIN. :D

Heidi Baker: awe Tyler that was awsome, thanks! And sometimes I do want to tell the other Heidi Baker that she stole my name...but she had it first...she is a Heidi Baker Heidi Baker's around the world should strive to be like :)

Tyler Racey: Isaiah

1. I'm concerned about your spelling ability when it comes to names of members of the Spheniscidae family. What is a "pengin" anyway?
2. "Oh, Spaghetti" - Heywood Banks
3. "ISAIAH NICHOLS, I'm surprised at you! How could you do something that to our camper, taking his coffee away from him?!"
4. "Your name is Isaiah?" *Inner monologue: That's AWESOME!!!!*
5. A hummingbird. Before you threaten to go all Jet Li on me for a comparison to such a tiny bird... read the response to no. 7.
6. How far do you think we'll send the flip flop before you get it back?
7. A hummingbird spends most of its waking hours in search of food. If they don't, they will die. That's how I see you in your relationship with Christ. You're constantly searching, looking to grow in Him and seeking that which will nourish your spirit.

Isaiah Nichols: Just the other day I was pondering Kenny's coffee addiction... that kid was funny.

Tyler Racey: Joy

1. I'm still waiting to see you play both your horn AND the piano at the same time. Come on, go all Sarah Brown on us!
2. "Sunny and Seventy-Five" - Chelsea Stephenson
3. "Some... peo-ple like sunny and seventy-five!"
4. Well, the first was an encounter in Nykerk. I thought to myself, "So she's Joy Oosterbaan. Yay, I could be good friends with my accompanist!"
5. A cat-not easily taken by surprised and always ready.
6. What are you & Paul doing after graduation?
7. Of all my accompanists, you and I were easily the closest. Part of it was the willingness to work together right away and I think the common bond of being brother and sister in Christ.

Daniel Wagner Jr. d

w
a
g

junior

Isaiah Nichols: WHAT is your favorite color?

Tyler Racey: WHAT is your quest?

Jon Mundinger: WHAT is the air-speed velocity of a coconut laden swallow?

Nate Martin: SchNATE SchMARTIN

Tara Hartley: Tara...

Tyler Racey: Dan

1. What? You helped incite ANOTHER comment war on someone's picture?!
2. Above All - Michael W. Smith (version I own)
3. "I think Tyler's in there..." "REALLY?!" *Bone-crushing hug in mid-sentence*
4. We were talking either with Em and I think maybe Isaiah outside maybe Bear Cabin during Pre-Camp/Orchard Grove Rentals week. I finally asked you, "Yeah, and you are...?" Not at all awkward at all!
5. An OWL. Because I know you stay up LATE.
6. Why did you help let the POKeMON Facebook groups get so out of control? Seriously.
7. Your sense of caring for your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Despite the endless teasing that I saw between you and the other SMTs at camp and the guff everyone took... there's love.

Tyler Racey: Nate

1. The finger mustache.
2. Everlasting God - Lincoln Brewster
3. "Slow it down." "I thought I did." "More!" (We're in agreement :-) )
4. This digs DEEP; remember membership class in Pastor Carlson's office back at WABC? WAY back when Scott and I were in middle school? Yup.
5. A horse - think you can guess why?
6. Who taught you to play the drumset? I've always been a bit curious.
7. I've come to admire your insight since getting to know you at Center Lake this past summer. Your hunger for the Word and desire for others to know Christ is apparent. You'll be great as a counselor next summer, not just as the "fun" counselor but someone who will be great for the kids' spiritual growth as well. I can sense it.

Nate Martin: i think... Bait's number three... i remember that. was that at the church that one day?

and a horse? hmmm, it doesn't take too much thinkin' if i am thinking right...

i actually kinda sorta learned the start up of the whole kit and kaboodle on how the drum set works from my middle school band teacher... maybe seventh grade? my skillz have evolve since then. like from magikarp to gyrados.

Andrew Fleszar: andrew flesheater

Tyler Racey: Tara

1. So there was this one time at Foster School you were laughing your head off/slightly complaining because Mr. Kipp put WAAAY too much ketchup on your burger and you were kind of mad. But laughing too. I thought it was hilarious for some reason. :-)
2. The Locomotion - Grand Funk Railroad (came up on the music player's shuffle!!!!)
3. "The wassail tastes fine, Your Majesty..." *GAAAAAK!!!!*
4. It probably has to do with 2's and 3's at WABC. WAAAY back.
5. A luvvable teddy bear!
6. How did YOU get on the Badger when I failed so many times?!
7. You could make me laugh at the randomest things.

Tyler Racey: Andrew

1. Isaiah almost got his flip-flop home. But our combined efforts, mostly yours, have sent it on a truly amazing journey. A mighty joke thanks you.
2. Something by Eric Whitacre. Pick your favorite. "Lux Aurumque," perhaps?
3. "HI ANDREWWWWWW!"
4. You randomly appeared in Bear Cabin late one night on one of the last nights of staff training and started to talk to Casey Butler and I was like, "Who IS that?"
5. A raccoon. Remember Isaiah's honey jar, you bandit?
6. Do you know who was the first person to cook up the nickname "Flesheater?" Annnnd, if you do, please tell me.
7. You're such a serious thinker, Andrew! It's so refreshing that, despite all the accusations against younger generations, to know people like you that take the Bible seriously. There is still hope for TRUE Christianity with people like you who seek to learn and also listen and understand.

Samantha 曉詩 Tan: sam tan!

Andrew Fleszar: thanks tyler :D
and yeah ben folly first thought of it with wookie :)

Tyler Racey: Sam

1. I'll respond with something random about you.
2. Police Story 3 - Jackie Chan & Michelle Yeoh.
3. *Broadway songs in Habitat for Humanity Houses*
4. I think I got it right this time! Working on the Habitat for Humanity house in Cadillac AND the overnight camping trip. My thought: This counselor from Malaysia is HILARIOUS!
5. A jaguar. They can make some fierce noises and are fierce themselves. Like you.
6. Are you so free with being so feisty/yelling "SHUT UP!" at your friends? And by that, I mean do they just take it all to mean, "Oh that's just Sam being herself!" and nothing more?
7. Beneath that tough, feisty exterior that gladly matches the likes of Mike Johnson and Nate "Wookie" Woods wit-for-wit, even if you get pushed into Center Lake, you have a heart even bigger for serving others and so much love to give. The campers noticed that. Don't ever let that diminish, Sam. It'll carry you far.

Samantha 曉詩 Tan: 6. i really hope so, tyler. i don't really mean it!
7. thanks tyler (: that made my day.

Bethany Gerstung: Bethany! =]

Tyler Racey: Oops! Sorry Sam, forgot number 1! Ahem.

Mulan. I saw that on the freetime board and was lost till I realized that was a nickname. Silly me.

Tyler Racey: Bethany

1. I still call lifeguard tubes "macaroni noodles" because of you. :-)
2. "You Never Let Go" (OH NO!) - Matt & Beth Redman
3. "Why aren't you all crispy crunchy?!"
4. Hearing the TGS voices during staff training and realizing that you have the uncanny ability to sound just like them. I was in awe. And then, yeah... the fireside skit was side-splitting.
5. A cat. Your facial expressions remind me of a cat's.
6. Are you coming back next summer?! Please yes?!
7. You have the gift of laughter. It worked so marvelously well with the campers this past summer. A lesson we all can learn.

Bethany Gerstung: 6. - I'm really not sure.. =[
7. - Thank you very much... seriously made my day.

Jonathan Britton: ʇuǝɔıɟıuƃɐɯ ǝɥʇ ǝƃɐuʍd uıɐʇdɐɔ

Jonathan Britton: AKA JONATHANZ

Tyler Racey: Jonathan

1. You sometimes type upside down.
2. "Bob" - Weird Al Yankovic
3. "I've missed you Jon!" "I've missed you too, Tyler!" "Uh, Jon?" "I've missed you too, Tyler!" "Uh... Jon?" "I've missed you too, Tyler!"
4. You finally arrived, and I thought, "Wait, another SMT? Who is he?" Kinda inoccuous. If only I knew.
5. A seagull!
6. Why don't YOU peel the onions YOURSELF?!
7. Because... despite the fact that you have that strange gift of being a creeper and can scare the daylights out of me with a hug after not seeing you since August... I see a guy who has the gift of humor and a lot of love for both his friends and the campers. And I see you sharing them both readily and willingly.
8. Come on. You know you want to.

Goodnight stories!

I love telling stories. A LOT.

I discovered REALLY FAST in my first year of counseling at Center Lake there's a bit of a learning curve if I wanted to tell from the same collected works that a lot of the core staff dudes and veteran guy counselors used that I had a bit to learn. So I listened intently with my campers, laughed my head off with them, and then began the stories myself in a sort of Dr. Seuss-meets-Monty Python style that I guess is all my own. Or something like that.

ANYWAY. I was talking to my good bro Austin on Facebook about this and that and we both needed to sign off, and well... read on. I already saved it in a note, but felt this is worth saving here too.

Austin: bedtime story?

Tyler: oh, sure...

"so there i was..."

Austin: nope i found yo numba the camp directory

Tyler: "with naught but a bowie knife, and one batmobile in the australian outback"

Austin: eating lamb chops?

Tyler: of course! grilled to perfection with a side of taipan egg omelet (better to eat the snake eggs before they hatch and bite you, of course)

when all of the sudden, i heard the roar of a kraken!

Austin: THE kraken?

:o:o

Tyler: oh yes! THAT kraken!

Austin: timothy~

!

Tyler: krakens being my mortal enemy, and loving a good challenge, i pulled out my ocarina from the batmobile and began to play music... first zelda's lullaby to lull it into a false sense of security (to make it think i don't know what i'm doing and am just pushing random buttons)

then the song of storms to make it rain, and then that guy starts making the windmill spin too fast, which somehow makes the KRAKEN angry

Austin: (when in fact you are)

Tyler: true!

so there we are, ready to do battle

and then the announcer says, "round one... FIGHT!"

so we're off, doing battle!

Austin: japanese or eastern european announcer?

Tyler: this guy's more japanese-ish

i stick my knife in its little sheath and decide to go for amore direct attack

a few jabs and punches

Austin: and a flick behind the ear!

Tyler: the kraken, he wraps a tentacle laced with suction cups around me, squeezes a few times, and somehow that sends me flying until i hit the invisible wall, -KERSMACK!-

so i decide to throw a nice fireball at him, yelling -HADOKEN!- (cue fireball sound effect)

Austin: (for good measure)

Tyler: krakens obviously don't like chi-based fire

Austin: or chi-based currey

Tyler: (that too)

then the kraken goes for the direct move, smacking me a few times with his lobster claw-like thingses (this is one of those dual-type lobster/squid types)

so then i decide my knife needs some action and roll to see if i successfully can ride the kraken!

i roll a natural 001!

success!

Austin: naturally

Tyler: i land on top of the kraken and roll again for a skill test to see if i can slash at one of the biggest tentacles

success (it must be my day!) (i lost track of the number)

Austin: his nameis franky

Tyler: ah! that's right!

so i slash at his tentacle before just stabbing the knife into the tentacle

the kraken franky, he doesn't like that very much

so i jump off with a nice flip, roll the control pad and press punch and execute a nice dragon punch as he goes for another tentacle squeeze

we trade hits and each slam into the invisible walls

Austin: fighter's destiny!

Tyler: with our damage meters nearing empty, it comes down to one final move...

who will win? me, the australian adventurer? or franky the kraken?!

Austin: quick press up, down, up,up,up,up left kick spin punch

!!!

Tyler: funny... my combo meter was at level 3!!!!

Austin: gnarly...

Tyler: and i pushed that and flew across the screen and flew into the wildest hurricane kick that you ever SAW!!!!

and krakens HATE hurricanes

Austin: KATRINAD!!!

Tyler: the kraken spun around and got kicked over and over, spit flying, claws snapping, suction cups making sucking sounds, and teeth breaking

Austin: or DAVID'D!!!!

Tyler: and when the dust settled, all i could see was a little crayfish scuttling next to a puddle of saltwater

Austin: and a jelly bean!

Tyler: i set him in it, resheathed my bowie knife (which had somehow fallen in the sand), ate the jelly bean (which healed my wounds)

Austin: wounds of might!

Tyler: and drove off in my batmobile, which had been refueled, looking for another challenge

Austin: and the sun set as the crayfish died suddenly of massive hemorrhaging!

Tyler: oh yes, i always forget that part

Austin: lol....awesome thanks for the potential dream fuel bro good night!!

Tyler: no prob - have a good night bud

Not too many stories make me laugh when I re-read them, but this one does.

Looking back on the dryer

It took three (or was it four?) days, unclogging the original vent, a roll of aluminum tape, two pairs of scissors, three trips to the hardware store, two different vents, two clamps, a second set of nuts and bolts, string, a black Sharpie, tipping the dryer over, putting it back together, and this special cutting tool.

But I got the dryer back in working order. And I loathed most every moment. I hope I don't have to do it again for YEARS.

Fire & Ice

Camp is always leaves me feeling the same way.

I never go there to do the same things as most people. Shortly after Nate and I actually arrived at camp and had spent a little time hanging out with Kiel (I've MISSED him!) and Kris (I've missed her too, but it hasn't been since last May), we figured out housing and then started working.

Which is why STAFF come, right? We're there to help. To love on the campers (237 kids and youth staffers!), give them breakfast, keep the bathrooms from becoming a disaster, and so on.

Or, in some cases, hang out with them. I did that too. And those moments are some of the coolest.

In the sweltering heat of summer, the crisp cool of fall, or the icy cold of winter, I always come home from camp refreshed. I'm tired, as always. But so glad I went.

It was worth it. I hope the other campers and staff felt the same way.

Reading through the Bible REALLY fast!

I sometimes wonder, "What am I really doing with this thing?! I'm not THAT interesting of a person. Why anyone would want to read any of what I write personally is a mystery."

But I digress. I never know where it will take me because (like life), little surprises come up. Like the other day when Nate Storvik pitched the idea to me to read through the whole Bible. In about three months. The goal is to read through it completely before staff training begins at Center Lake.

In other instances, if I was still a full-time student at Hope, or busily teaching my own students, I'd feel afraid or turn down this endeavor. I'd doom myself to failure before I ever started. But this time, for whatever reason, I'm incredibly excited about this reading project. I wanted to do it as soon as Nate mentioned it. Because I want to grow from this. I want to be closer to God. I want to know Him more. I NEED know Him better.

The verse that hit me for some reason from today's reading (they're big-Genesis 1-11) was when God was talking with Cain after he had murdered Abel. I've read the story before but the verse hit home. In Genesis 4:6-7, God challenged Cain:

The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” (ESV)

Cain could do better. He could still do better to please God. With the help from the Lord of Heaven, not all would be lost, even for someone like Cain.

Being accepted by God with His help sounds pretty awesome to me.

New blog!

Moving blog entries yourself is a pain. It doesn't have me at all excited to move myself someday when I'm moving for real to a new place on my own when I'm teaching. It's going to be a whole bunch of not fun.

But this was worth it. As happy as I was with Xanga (and still trying to get used to this new formatting and such), I think it was time to move on, though I was glad to take them with me. And so here we go with a new blog.

Musings of a Mad Piano Man. Let it begin.

Tuesday, 22 December 2009

Love Your Neighbor, Hope College

I read an article recently that disappoints me. Even after being a Hope College graduate for a year and a half, and knowing less and less students at the institution every year, life and the overall pulse at the place hasn't changed a great deal.

The article basically was over the huge flap by this guy named Dustin Lance Black, who was the screenwriter for a film called Milk, a gay rights film. The man wanted to film a new movie in Holland and had even settled in the area and had scheduled to screen the film until administration stopped it in its tracks, setting off (big surprise) a extremely vocal reaction by students and in the community. It later screened and Black met with the dean at a local theater.

I'm not sure what to make of this. Neither side is right in this instance. Black should have gotten to know the Holland and Hope College areas better before he decided it was the right place. Knowing what a place looks like is a far cry from what it's actually like in terms of personality if you're attacking a topic such as homosexuality, as evidenced by what happened. It was a colossally stupid move to film in west Michigan and all its conservatism if you think no one is going to care if you make a movie about homosexual activism. And based on what the dean said, it's yet more bad publicity for the college.

But the more I think about it, the institution did it wrong, too (if that's indeed what happened). To agree to screen but then backpedal IS wrong. Either you say, "No thanks. We're not interested." or "Name the time and place." Realizing after you agree that you're going to offend the major lines of credit is wrong, even though that is often reality. Hope, especially as a private and Christian institution, has a free (and moral obligation) to maintain Biblical standards and must do so. And while I'm glad that they aren't backing down at least in defining what the institution's official stance is on homosexuality, so to speak, they're running into major problems with their execution. To exist in a culture of fear and even outright animosity is not the way to live. It's not what the Bible teaches and as Christians (a little Christ, a shadow of Him, I suppose), we're supposed to love our neighbors, not hate them (Matthew 22:37-40).

Come on, Hope College. Your stance is fine, but do a better job in love. Cut the "you people" accusations. And as for Mr. Black... PLEASE use your brain.

Wednesday, 25 November 2009

Jobs and Playing

As I sit here writing (and enjoying the fact that I'm blogging on a more regular basis again, regardless of who reads or doesn't read it), I have a number of thoughts bubbling in my head.

I'm eagerly anticipating sending off a REAL job application to an institution here in town. Like the kind doing what I want to do-teaching music to young bright minds. That sounds like so much fun to me that I can barely contain my excitement at just the thought of printing a résumé, cover letter, application, having references together, packing it up in an envelope, putting the postage on it, and sending it away and having someone even think about all that. It gets to be a drag after a short time (especially if you have to do it lots of times), but there's a certain sense of exhilaration the first time you're doing it for real. Especially now that I'm really starting to get that restless feeling of wanting to teach MY students. MY kids.

The second thought I had spinning around had to do with practice tonight. Bob had mentioned with a certain degree of irony I think on Sunday how strange or ironic that the youth are leading music on the very first Sunday of Advent and on Communion Sunday. I personally don't understand why there is a certain taboo with Advent, Communion, or why the youth would be "banned" from playing on any particular day if needed or the calendar was arranged so. If we played and sang to the Lord, with joy, as skillfully as we can (and don't sell the youth at our church short-it sounded great tonight), why isn't THAT really good enough? Isn't that what worship through music really is?

I really don't understand it myself.

Monday, 23 November 2009

DON'T PUNISH EDUCATION!

I want to be a teacher. And it's been a dream of mine for a long time.

Right now I'm working on becoming one again and hopefully that'll happen. But I've been reminded how current events rarely seem to be in favor of teachers. There's always plenty of demands placed on them, like lesson planning, grading, conferences, and all the needs of the students that aren't always so obvious, such as when parents aren't there and they rely on a teacher they trust for guidance. It seems like the work never ends.

And one of the most obvious points is how glaringly low pay has stayed for teachers. Despite costs of living continuing to increase, pay for teachers just isn't going up and with school districts everywhere having to make sacrifices, teachers are never paid well. The one potent counterweight is that teachers have great benefits.

But now Congress would love to tax the daylights out of them in order to raise money for the public health plan. How on Earth is this the right option in a recession, especially in states (like Michigan) where school districts are facing record-setting losses and trying to shield students from the losses year after year?

Monday, 23 November 2009

I come home. I go away. I return. I am thankful.

It seems I'm finally home for at least a bit of a longer stretch of time. For a while, I felt like all I ever was doing was spending my weeks doing my thing at home prepping for the weekend and weekends were spent going to camp. Or Holland. Or in one instance, both, which isn't that bad.

I really like seeing my friends and reconnecting with them. I believe that I have some of the greatest friends that I could ask for, and that has been reaffirmed in the past three weekends. I've developed a closer relationship with some of my camp friends as we've studied discipleship together in a Bible study and thought about the persecuted church during the month of November (and in the process, at least personally, developed a greater sense of perspective on thankfulness, especially when we celebrate being thankful for all the things we DO have with one of the biggest feast days of the year). I find a certain sense of irony in that, but I'll reserve my thoughts on that for another post, hopefully.

Staff Reunion was shorter this year, but I think Nate and I made the exact right move in going down to Grand Rapids afterward and then to Holland on Sunday morning. I'm always glad to be at Engedi for church because it's like another church family along with Cornerstone (and now Temple Hill), but this last experience at Engedi now a week ago was special. The service was a baptismal service and Nate and I witnessed something that I think very few people have ever seen. As usual, a number of people had planned on getting baptized, some with extremely powerful testimonies. But perhaps the most interesting was something that no one had necessarily intended, yet God knew all along would happen. It was an impromptu baptism. This gentleman that I didn't even know of came, said he was at home and had this realization that he knew a church was doing baptisms and that he needed to be baptized that morning. And so he went to Engedi and asked to be baptized. The part that brought me, well, joy was the fact that some of the men didn't turn him away because of church policies and Brian didn't either (though he did ask him in front of everyone the same questions about if he knew Jesus died for Him and if he was a Christian and if he wanted to make the public statement of being a new creation and living for Him). And just like with its own close members, the congregation erupted in celebration.

And then there was The Gathering. Shane Claiborne was brought in to speak at Hope College during The Gathering, which was the biggest reason Nate and I stopped in Holland instead of going straight home and meeting Leah and Jessica at Hope. And it was worth it. For all the controversy that supposedly surrounds this man, what he talked about a week ago didn't seem that wrong to me. Shane Claiborne talked about how he lives in a tough neighborhood in Philadelphia and reach out to the kids. How he gets sad when one of them gets hurt, or worse, dies. How he wanted to serve alongside Mother Theresa in Calcutta. And how he keeps a soldier's dogtags, a piece of detonated bomb casing, and bullet casing in his pocket to remember to pray for the suffering. If the American churches are upset because Shane Claiborne wants to pray for those that need help and are hurting or confused and want to know Jesus, then they're getting angry at the wrong person.

While I was at The Gathering on the 15th and this past weekend, I was also reminded of why I loved spending four years at Hope College so much. I jokingly tell high school kids that I know that Hope is one of the best colleges on the planet. But this is one reason why I loved it so much. While I was in Dimnent Chapel waiting with N-Sto and company, I saw Trygve Johnson & Josh Banner talking and I just wanted to talk and say hey mostly because it's hard to catch them and actually TALK. But then when they asked how I was doing, I was honest and said that job stuff is hard and a little discouraging. And instead of being simply sympathetic, Trygve pulled me in and said, "Tyler, let me pray for you. Right now." And we did for something like 5 minutes. That meant a lot. Instead of being one of several thousand alums he's sent off now in his time, it matters to Trygve how I'm REALLY doing even beyond my four years at Hope. To be known and then forgotten is absolutely heartbreaking, but not so at Hope. Not only have I felt like I was SOMEONE with a story rather than just a face, but to know that I have a Dean of the Chapel that would pray for me because I'm discouraged about wanting to teach and can't find the right job yet means so much.

And this past weekend playing for Nate & Caitlin's wedding meant two things. First, I had the pleasure once again of getting to play music for two more of my friends from school on the day when they celebrate the bond of marriage together. That's lots of fun in and of itself, although I always wonder a little if the music will come together and if the music I pick will be okay (thankfully Caitlin & Nate both liked it!). Better yet, it was a time to reunite with TONS of my closest friends from Hope, which is my other favorite part of weddings when they involve my friends from college. It's yet another excuse to hold gigantic parties with way too many people and act silly together. Who knew you could stuff 10 people in a photo booth?! And did I mention I saw BEN at the same iHOP where we did Bible Studs iHOP runs?!

Yes, I'm thankful to be home for a little while. But I'm thankful for four years spent at Hope College, even if it cost money, for the good influences it has had on me. God taught me a lot there through EVERYTHING. And I'm thankful for all the relationship I have there. Gosh, I miss them all so much. I just get to see them and enjoy them for awhile and then I say good-bye again. And I am thankful for music too.

Currently This Is Our God By Hillsong Desert Song see related

Wednesday, 11 November 2009

A much different retreat

So I went back to Center Lake again.

And it was so different this time. Ordinarily, it goes something like this:

-Roll in. Find people.
-HEYYYY!!!!
-Don gives us our instructions, hot chocolate, youth groups roll in, staff meeting, chapel, Taco Bell, and sleep
-Staff meeting, eat breakfast, chapel, hang out, eat lunch, Taco Bell/Caddy run, more hang out, eat dinner, chapel, sleep
-Eat breakfast, chapel, go home exhausted

Not this time. I got to go to Cadillac, sure. But not to hang out with other staffers or to Taco Bell. I didn't get any except as my lunch with N-Sto on our way out of Ludington. This time, the fall retreat was leadership/service-centric.

And I liked it. It was the smallest of Center Lake staff: Duane, Don, Jeff, Penny, D-Wag, Kris, N-Sto, Monika, and me, plus a rotation of staff in the kitchen. And instead of getting to hang out with Kris, N-Sto, and Monika (which I did to some degree), we worked. A lot more than I have on past retreats.

Friday was spent serving root beer floats after chapel. Saturday we were in the staff meeting, working serving breakfast and then getting lunch ready, followed by placements with the different youth groups (the kids from Mona Shores are a blast), and a short break before working in the kitchen again at dinner. And after chapel, N-Sto, Monika, and I were the staff on call for the evening, so... no Taco Bell run again. But it was okay. It was still fun to just hang out with the kids and goof around playing Apples to Apples or pretending to watch television. And Sunday, we helped once again with breakfast (and found our newly-finished screen printed retreat shirts!).

Was I a little surprised by how this retreat looked as a staffer? Oh yes. I had much less down time to play or do what I want, which is what I've been used to. Much more work/getting down and jumping to it, like camp in the summer.

But it's okay. The youth pastors and Pastor Ryan wanted this to be a leadership/service retreat, and I think it was for us all. And I enjoyed it just as much.

Currently Mighty to Save By Hillsong Live From the Inside Out see related

Comments(1)

Major General Music. I miss you. That is all.

Casey

Friday, 06 November 2009

Camp!

The high school fall retreat at camp is coming, and it will be awesome. I think I'd like out of here, for just a little while.

Friends. High school kids. Youth leaders. A pastor. The rock and roll-est worship band I've ever heard. And time with Jesus.

Sounds perfect to me for a fall weekend up north. Mmhmm.

Sunday, 01 November 2009

I Still Need Jesus RIGHT NOW

So the other night and in the morning, I had the unshakable feeling that I needed to pray for one of my campers from this past summer. I'm not sure why, exactly. I always wonder if it's the Holy Spirit telling me that I need to pray for someone. It was a great time in prayer for one of the guys, regardless.

I'm not sure what has been different about this past couple of weeks, but I think the biggest thing I've finally realized... again. I think deep, DEEP down I knew it but I had lost sight of it and just needed to remember.

At camp we tell our campers that they need Jesus. Because they're sinners. And that the only way to God is through Him. And that when we accept Him as Savior, we have a relationship with Jesus, the Holy Spirit is in us, and there is no longer separation from God.

And that's true.

But what I think I lost sight of, so to speak, is that even when we accept Him, we NEVER stop needing that relationship. Just like we never stop needing air as long as we're alive. It's so simple, but so crucial.

I needed Jesus the day I wanted to accept Him. And I need Him just as much NOW.

No, it's not technically new. But at the same time, it really is revolutionary.

Currently Clouds Are Forming The Glory of God see related

Friday, 30 October 2009

Camp, Friends, Circumstances, and Church Music (Not the new DC*B CD)

I've been thinking a bit recently about my friends from camp. Imagine that.

Mike said that we shouldn't overvalue the camp experience or the people. I tried to figure out what that meant while at the same time teach it to campers who have the exact same thing happen (one of my high school guys called it a "Jesus jolt," which I think REALLY accurately describes it-thanks Darin). This time around, I wasn't overwhelmed with this sense of sadness when I had to leave or goodbyes. Although I'm excited for both Fall Retreat and for Staff Reunion, it's different than in 2008. Maybe it's starting to sink in that it's not all in the community and that we have to take joy in whatever place or circumstance we are. That said, I will still be thrilled to see my friends again because I sure have missed them and cannot wait to see them again (even the Apostle Paul missed his friends!). And it's great to have some of them here in Ludington. Nate and Korey are a scream.

Life here is a bit different. Yeah, sometimes I wish I wasn't. After starting to pick up work again, I realize I want to be teaching music in my OWN classroom... or doing my own thing on a regular basis. I've talked to Nate a little bit about this, and maybe I need to be open to other possibilities. As busy as I've gotten with music at church while I'm on my time between college and trying to find a job, I've learned HOW to be a better musician among a worship team.

Because honestly, I STILL stunk at it. I had a terrible attitude. I had terrible musicianship. I just plain stunk at it. (So much for thinking I had everything figured out by the end of college...)

And I'm nothing spectacular by any means, but I think I'm starting to grasp how to do it a little better and it's starting to get more fun now that we're putting it into practice. I'm on a worship team mini-hiatus for three straight weeks, which feels strange after being at it for going on close to three solid months with a break every six weeks or so. But one of things Road 423 said was that if you're going to be part of a worship team, you have to be part of the congregation and able to worship there just as well. And that sounds nice. I DO love to play and to sing. But some rest and a chance to enjoy it in church (or up at camp) sounds awesome.

And did I mention I want to learn acoustic guitar?

Currently Strong Tower (Deluxe Edition) By Kutless Better Is One Day see related

Friday, 23 October 2009

I love you, Tsinge Tsinge

I just wanted to tell her I love her, and I got my wish.

But I still didn't feel ready when the time came.

I know we made the right decision in the end, because my cat's pain will never completely go away.

But it's still hard. And I'll miss my little furry friend a lot.

I love you, Tsinge Tsinge.

Friday, 23 October 2009

I hope I loved her enough

It's after 2 in the morning and I'm nowhere near ready to sleep. And I feel like I'm doing Tsinge Tsinge a terrible injustice by not having her here in our house, even though I know she'd be absolutely miserable here. But keeping her at the animal hospital in the kitty equivalent of a hospital bed seems sad.

I wish I could hug Tsinge Tsinge right now. Even just one more great big hug. And tell her how glad I am that she's been my friend and that we grew up together. It makes me realize that I should be thankful God gave her to us for 16 and a half years to love.

Through my years at Foster School. Through the madness of my two years at OJ DeJonge Jr. High School, when everyone was "stupid" and I was at my LOUDEST. Through four years of life at Ludington High School when I managed to run myself into the ground and away from my friends, and getting Daisy May. And even though I was away for a good part of this, four years at Hope College and getting Mavis too. Tsinge Tsinge and I have been through a lot together.

I hope I loved her enough. Because she's been my friend and I will miss her so much.

Tuesday, 20 October 2009

Blog Archives

So I was looking through this thing recently and it's so interesting to see how my blogging style has changed over time. Some entries make me smile and others, well, let's just say I'd rather not associate with them quite so much. I did find my old quote collections from my time in college and when you read those after 2 A.M., they're even funnier.

In other news of the unimportant, last night pretty much rocked. John Woo outdid himself when he made Red Cliff and all the heroism, manliness, and the like. 4:45 of awesomeness, and Jack, Jordan, and I could barely hold it in.

Friday, 16 October 2009

I'm STILL a Choir Conductor at Heart...

It's kind of discouraging to not be teaching right now. This time of year, I'd love to be working towards choir concerts and the like. Watching the Purdue Varsity Glee Club (it's so strange to hear that Purdue doesn't have ANY sort of school of music at all) brought back memories of Chapel Choir... tour... and singing. Oh gosh how I'd love to be in the midst of the fall rush with Chapel Choir and Collegium Musicum. It's Fall Break this weekend for a lot of universities and I'd be making a mad dash either for home or with friends. I still need to visit the crew in Grand Rapids. Time to make a road trip with N-Sto, I guess.

But I'm realizing that God, in His wisdom that is infinitely greater than mine, doesn't want me to be at university or teaching right now. I've dreamed of teaching choir for a while... and then strayed away from that for almost a year between other things, discouragement, and the like.

But I keep coming back. And back. And back again. I still can't get the image of myself as a choral conductor out of my head. As much as I have enjoyed the other things I do, at camp, at church with the youth group, at church with the worship team... I want to do something with choirs again. I miss it.

In the meantime, aagh. I press on. I've been doing a little teaching at the piano and I need to get some publicity up for teaching voice lessons HERE, though I'm still a little unsure how to do it on the cheap (NO, I'm not posting classifieds). I still need to meet with the folks at the Cartier Mansion - it sounds like such an awesome gig and now that I'm prepping for a wedding, I should have more music ready for evening entertainment soon.

Stuff with the worship team is going in an exciting direction recently, too. I love how it's progressed and I hope we continue doing so. Now that we're putting into practice some of the ideas that we learned at the workshop, I'm seeing some more obvious progress. It's great!

Monday, 12 October 2009

A Little Good News

So yesterday at church, the youth group served up a quite nice spaghetti lunch for the congregation right after the morning service. I was really impressed with the spread and we raised some cash to lower the cost for getting our kids to fall and winter retreats, which is a good thing. And as usual, the kitchen was chaotic with trying to get the stoves heated up with boiling water. If anyone has some extra money just laying around that they'd be willing to donate towards some new stoves in the kitchen at our church, that'd be great.

And cider presses are sehr tasty. We're loving the fresh cider here at home. And it's awesome coming from a real glass growler.

Oh, and I'm playing another wedding in November for two of my good friends. Congrats, Nate and Caitlin. I can't wait for you guys!

Sunday, 11 October 2009

Whoa, I never talked about CAMP from this summer? UNTHINKABLE!

So I never posted what I noticed at camp or gleaned from another summer at Center Lake. Life as a return staffer is so different, what with knowing life as a staffer. But it never fails to throw surprises at you. First, a brief synopsis. It's a bit like the one in my e-mail.

Week 1... Junior High Camp in Mackinaw. Pastor Ryan Huebner, speaker.
Week 1 was exciting and also a bit nerve-wracking for me as a counselor, as well as three other guys and two girls. None of us had ever counseled without a co-counselor or a CIT or up at High Point, and we were all assigned junior high campers that week up at High Point. But we went on the adventure knowing that God would guide us through it somehow and worked together to make it fun week. Even though I had a rougher tentful of guys in Mackinaw tent, and I was exhausted by the end of the week, one of my boys got saved, which was definitely a highlight of that week.

Week 2... Junior Camp with Nate in Beaver. Pastor Tom Bradley, speaker.
Week 2 was a long-distance move between cabins; after a visit from two great friends over the weekend, I moved way back into main camp to Beaver cabin and transitioned to counseling junior campers with Nate, another counselor (one of my friends from my home church in Ludington!). Even though the week was HOT and the boys felt overheated at times, they did great. A couple kids rededicated their lives to Christ during this week as well, which was exciting!

Week 3... Junior/Junior High Ranch Camp in Buffalo. Pastor Ken Nichols, speaker.
Week 3 meant another long-distance move for me, as well as counseling alone. After a week by myself at High Point, though, I was ready to work at Ranch camp! The biggest obstacle this week had was what week 2 WASN'T-cold and rainy, literally all week. The kids looked like a bunch of bananas in their yellow ponchos on the horses when they were in the riding arena. I only had 5 campers, which made finding them/keeping them together a lot simpler as a counselor. Looking back, even though the week had some ups and downs, I think my boys in Buffalo tent had a positive week at Ranch Camp and learned a lot of what it means to live for Jesus.

Week 4... Senior High Camp with Casey in Woodchuck. Pastor Stephen Cottle (and Doug Olson), speaker.
Week 4 was a completely new experience and yet another long-distance move. I packed up all my things from Ranch just as the rain stopped and the sun came out, finished counseling my smallest cabin ever, and moved way back into the rear of main camp into Woodchuck cabin and prepared for a completely full cabin of 14 high school guys (which is a tight squeeze when you're all pretty much adult size like we were), along with my friend Casey, with whom I had counseled my very first week of counseling ever back in 2008. This in particular, Casey and I were able to hold some deeper Bible studies with these guys and have some truly deep conversations with them about what THEY wanted to discuss, in the whole-cabin and smaller group settings, as well as individually. A lot of campers from this week either re-gave their lives to Christ or made first-time decisions to live for Him, which excited us all greatly.

Week 5... Junior Camp with Austin in Badger. Pastor Troy Gentz, speaker.
Week 5 meant switching gears completely. One of my high school campers was an SMT who became my CIT, but thankfully Austin and I made the switch pretty seamlessly. This cabin of 13 boys (later 12 after one left midway through the week) was a real challenge in terms of management and patience for the two of us. Every night after the kids had gone to bed, Austin and I would step outside the cabin to pray together for them and each other, as well as the rest of the camp and we constantly prayed for patience throughout the week. Neither of us lost patience with the cabin, although in praying for patience, God answered that prayer in a bit different way by TEACHING us about patience. I was completely spent from the week and running completely on the trust that the Holy Spirit would carry me through the end (because I had no strength left). What's even better, at least 3/4 of our cabin told Austin or me that they had either accepted Christ for the first time or rededicated their lives to Him.

I learned more this summer. First off, I think I know what age groups I WANT to teach in school, which is a good thing to know when I'm out there putting in job applications to get a *GASP real, grown-up job.

Second, after my time at camp, I realized that pride isn't a dead issue in my life. I talked about it my testimony to campers, but it's not all sewn up, and I still need help from the Holy Spirit to deal with it.

Thirdly, I wasn't fair with some campers. It's easy when you're either a brand new staffer or know nothing about your campers to give them the benefit of the doubt. However... when you have

1. That SAME camper from last year that made life a NIGHTMARE
2. That camper that isn't BAD but can drive you crazy and has THAT reputation, even if you don't really know him
3. That camper comes from THAT church?!
   

It's easy to cast judgment before even seeing the guys. I wasn't fair to some of them. Regardless if that same camper that DID make your life a nightmare does come back, what's not to say that God worked in his heart and changed him in the past year? I've tried to and still try to do that now. I needed to let others have that same chance, though it DOESN'T mean being naïve.

I also had a camper that commanded a certain reputation. One of the staffers saw one of my rosters one weeks and asked me, "Hey Tyler, how do you feel about having -name of camper- in your cabin?" and admittedly, I was apprehensive. Not only was my pre-conceived judgment way off-target, he ended up being probably one of my favorite campers I've had so far. Despite the bravado he exhibited most of the time, which I saw coming, I saw a different side to my camper that I should have been open to: a real, honest thirst for knowing God and a desire to grow closer to Him.

Finally, I had God teaching me again just a week later when I had a whole cabin populated by one church's children. I was incredibly nervous about this because I knew how some of the children from this church had behaved LAST year while I, dodging the bullet, got to hide out at Ranch Camp with slightly-less rambunctious children. Not so this time, and I took my turn. While Austin and I definitely did have some truly difficult cases, some of these boys were good kids. It just goes to show that every kid is different and you have to treat a person as an individual rather than lumping them into a collective. "You're from WHERE? Oh great." "You're from THAT family? There goes the neighborhood." "You go to WHAT school? Say no more!"

So that's what I've gleaned, in a nutshell. Among the staff, especially Mike to the SMTs, we talked about clinging being joyful in any circumstance and holding fast to what's taught at camp rather than the experience, and I tried to make that clear to my campers, too. One of them said he didn't want it to be a "Jesus jolt" and that's a good way to put it.

I miss camp.

I miss my friends there.

And I can't wait to see them again. But I'm okay. Because I am off the chain, and I am free.

Currently Speaking Louder Than Before (Special Edition) By Jeremy Camp Slow Down Time see related

Friday, 09 October 2009

American Idolatry

So WHY did the Alfred Nobel Foundation award the Prize for Peace to President Obama?

1. We're STILL at war on two major fronts.
2. We're STILL arguing about a healthcare plan that many people have serious doubts.
3. It's the same story it's always been in Israel.
4. No major education reform to undo the damage of NCLB.

* Awarding someone a Nobel prize in expectation of what someone WILL do, as Archbishop Tutu said about Obama, doesn't count in my estimation.

Sorry folks, I don't think he's worthy.