I saw this on another blog and I couldn’t resist. You’ll have to see if you can pass 8th grade math. I was a complete math nerd all through high school and college. I was one class away from getting a math minor in college but I couldn’t fit it in my schedule. Check it out.
| You Passed 8th Grade Math |
Congratulations, you got 10/10 correct! |
What are the defining events of each generation? That is a question that I have thought about since the Tech Tragedy. For me, two things stand out. One is the assassination attempt on President Reagan(1981). The second event that stands out in my childhood is the Space Shuttle Challenger Explosion(1986). I was home because of a snow day and watched the shuttle take off on live tv. I still remember the sense of helplessness I had when I realized something had gone terribly wrong. But for our current students, the defining events of their generation are much different. Columbine, 9/11, and now Virginia Tech.
There is a striking difference to me. I remember national tragedies that touched us all but they were distant. They didn’t apply to my everyday life. Students today remember events that could happen anywhere at anytime. Are we surprised that we have an entire generation that is living in fear.
The Bible has a lot to say about fear. Over and over again we are told to not be afraid, to not be terrified, to not be disturbed, but to trust God because He is with us. I wish I had all the answers to make everyone feel safe. But part of becoming an adult is realizing that you’re not always safe. We must trust God even when we don’t understand. Matthew had a good comment during our youth meeting tonight. He said as a child you think that bad only happens as a consequence of doing something wrong, but as teenagers you start to realize that sometimes there is no explanation for why evil things happen.
The realization is that evil happens because of Satan. We must realize that and not be fearful. 1 John 4:4 tells us that God inside us is all we need. We must be strong and courageous. There is no need to live in fear when God is with us.
Congrats to Decemberadio for taking home the Rock Album of the Year at the Dove Awards. I love their music and I can’t wait to their sophomore follow-up album in the near future. I have been able to meet and work with these southwest Virginia guys and I can tell you first hand that they have a heart for God and a heart for what they do. I definitely believe God will continue to open some doors of opportunity for the guys.
Our kids got to experience flying in an airplane for the first time. On the trip down to Florida, Drew, who is almost 3, did great until we started getting close. With about 30 minutes left in the flight, he started getting restless. He wanted to get out of his seat and you could see the concern in his eyes. He was sitting beside me and I reached out my hand and he looked at me and finally grabbed my hand. That was all it took, the touch of a father’s hand. As soon as he grabbed my hand, he started calming down. Within minutes he was asleep.
Isn’t that how we are in life. When we start getting concerned, when we start getting restless, we need to look for the Father’s hand. He is always extending His hand, and we must realize that He wants us to be calm and just trust Him. In light of last week’s tragedy this means even more. I have been restless, I have been worried, I have felt helpless. We have so many youth that I have taught that were affected by the tragedy at Tech.
Lorianne was in church Sunday. She was friends with 3 of the victims of the shooting. She and Sarah were just a few doors down the hall in the dorm where the first shooting took place. Phil was roommates with one of the victims and Lori was friends with him. And all the students were affected beyond anything I could imagine. Tech is a huge campus, but yet it is a close tight-knit community and it seems like everyone has some type of connection to the victims.
Jenni and I are going down to Blacksburg one night this week to meet up with as many of our former students as we can. I ask for your prayers as we minister to those who are hurting. I do think that God is extending His hand and just asking us to trust him. He wants us to be calm and not be restless, He wants us to sleep safely in His arms.
We had an incredible time at Disney with the kids. I couldn’t believe how smoothly the trip went. Jenni’s planning helped us make the most of each day. Emma was young enough to be thrilled by the princesses and fairy tales, but old enough to ride space mountain, the tower of terror, and the rock and roller coaster. Luke did a great job conquering some of his fears and enjoyed riding Pirates of the Caribbean and Drew had a great time in the Buzz Lightyear ride. I’m really proud of them for handling all the walking and bus riding.
We also got to experience the Disney customer service first hand. I couldn’t help but ask myself the question, do we as churches take care of our visitors and guests the same way?
If their cast members have great enthusiasm about helping everyone in the park, then why do we have so many people in churches that are miserable and unwilling to serve or help?
If they are excited about working for a mouse, then why can’t we be excited about working for the KING OF KINGS! I’m not suggesting that we cater to every whim and desire of everyone who walks in the door, I’m just saying that we need to be concerned about our attitude and we need to recognize who we are serving and why we are serving. That realization changes everything.
First our family is at Disney and having a great time. The flight down was smooth and uneventful and the kids are absolutely loving it. That really helps Jennifer and me enjoy it even more. We have tried to take it easy and not get too carried away trying to do everything. One cool thing we are doing is to video the kids each night and interview them, asking them all sorts of questions to tell us about their day. I had hoped to post some updates and pics, but that will have to wait until we get home. There’s just too much to do.
Second, the Tech tragedy has really bothered me all week. It just doesn’t seem possible that something like that could happen so close to home. I have really been torn because we are down here enjoying our vacation while so much tragedy is going on at home. I just saw the article in the Gazette online about one of the victims was roomates and friends with a group of kids from Galax. Kids that were in my youth group. That just tears me up inside with such a feeling of helplessness. I have been busy trying to look up emails to send to the people I know at Tech, including Phil and Lori, but it’s been hard trying to find all the right emails.
In kayaking, I have read that there are times when you are spinning and you lose all sense of direction. You can’t tell which way is up. They teach to just relax and you will orient yourself back to the surface. But you must calm down first. That seems like the time we are going through now. In times when the world is spinning crazy and out of control, we must first calm down enough to orient ourselves back to God. Only God truly comfort us and heal our pain.
I have been watching the news unfold at Virginia Tech all morning. My heart has been breaking thinking of this huge tragedy. I know so many students there, both former youth from my current church and my previous church. I went to Tech myself and am very familiar with the buildings where the shootings took place. It’s really beyond belief watching what’s going on. Blacksburg is such a peaceful town. It’s in the middle of nowhere and the town is literally built around the college. There are more college students than residents in Blacksburg. I can’t understand why in the past year there have been two shooting incidents there. I really love the town and surrounding New River Valley.
What this does impress on me is the importance and urgency in sharing Christ. Jenni shared with me her feeling of helplessness in watching the news. I think the only thing we can do in a situation like this is first pray, and then do everything we can to spread the message of life in Christ in a dark world.
I finished up the He Came, He Died, He Conquered series at church this weekend. I think it has been a good series for us. I really wanted to emphasis two thing Why He Came, Died, and Conquered, and What that means for us in everyday life. Doing 3 weeks in a row is tough, so I am really looking forward to getting away for the week. The vacation will be great, but I do have a ton of things to do around the house and in the yard when I get back. Everything has stacked up the last few weeks.
Youth was crazy last night. We had a youth praise band practice at 5pm and right when everyone started getting here, it started snowing. HARD. By 6pm, we had over 2 inches of snow and it was still coming down HARD. Crazy weather, but we had a blast. The lesson was about our summer plans. Nothing like talking about sun and fun when it’s snowing outside. They had some good snowball fights too. We have had a really abnormal winter, usually we get quite a few big snows, but this was the first significant snow we have had all winter, in APRIL. Weird. Since I have bought my Subaru Outback, we haven’t had any really bad snows for me to get out and play. I want to do some 4 wheeling in the snow. Now that’s fun!
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