I'm a Proud Dad

Yesterday morning was cold and rainy - like most Saturdays lately.  I have decided that perhaps God hates soccer.  

Dats (age 10) had a 9:30 game and a storm had just blown over, so the game went on as scheduled.  About 25 minutes into the game, Dats was in position at the opponents' net and managed to kick the ball past the goalie and score a point for his team.  His first goal of the season!  His first goal of the last couple of years, in fact. 

You should have seen the look on his face as he came running down the field after that goal.  Priceless.

It was a proud morning for me.  But not because he scored a goal.  Honestly, I was born lacking the "sports gene".  Anything sports related holds zero interest for me.  I couldn't possibly care any less about who the Indianapolis Colts recently signed as their new quarterback, for instance.  You would not want me as a partner in a sports trivia game.  If I had the time most other guys spend watching games on TV, I would much rather spend it reading or taking a nap. 

So it struck me when Dats made a goal that I was happy for him, but lacking that familiar paternal pride:  "Did you see that?  That was my boy!"  Because, really, how much pride is appropriate for Dats kicking a  ball past some other kid?  I know I am blaspheming a sacred part of American culture, but I just don't get it.  It's a game.  Big deal.

But here's what DID make me proud: We got in the van and Dats was still beaming.  He said, "I felt like I was going to make a goal today even before the game started."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yup.  Before every game I pray that God will let me make a goal, and today I felt like He was saying that it was my day to make one."

My kid prays, perseveres even when God doesn't seem to answer immediately, and listens closely for God's response.  THAT was when I felt the paternal pride.

Later, Dats brought in a school project that had been hanging on a bulletin board for a few months.  It was a bit of writing that had been laminated.  Here is what he wrote:

"New Year Resolutions"

"I have a few New Year resolutions.  One of my bigger, better ones would be to read three books out of the Bible.  One of my targets is Galations.  I also want to read at the least fifteen minutes out of the Bible every week.

"My New Year resolution is to destroy bad habits and start new better ones.  A long term resolution would be to get outstanding grades and get a nice job.

"An other long term goal would be to meet others needs.  I also want to help others in Haiti."

On the back, his teacher had written a note to him:

"Dats,
You are a bright young man.  God has a great plan for your life.  Continue through and read his word and he will guide you."  

Amen to that!

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
                            2 Corinthians 4:18

Research Papers

I had another article printed in The Republic today.  This one was written on the fly - about how much English teachers enjoy the research paper assignment.  I know firsthand because in two days, my students hand in their final drafts ... and I get to start grading them.  I saw more plagiarism than ever before on the rough drafts, so I am anticipating having to give out at least a couple of zeroes when it is all said and done.  That's the worst part.  That and the hours upon hours of sorting through all those papers.  My rubric is fairly complex, so it takes 20 to 40 minutes per paper for the grading.  It gives me a headache just to think about it....

But here is the article:

                Thirty years ago this coming December, I presented a five page research paper to my 9^th grade English teacher, Miss Shell.  I was particularly proud of my title: “Extinction – A Grave Danger”.  Miss Shell did not smile. 

She never smiled.

Our papers were due just before Christmas break.  That day, after the starting bell rang, Miss Shell briskly swept across the rows of desks in her militaristic manner, snatching up the papers with which we were only too happy to part.  One young man was still frantically shuffling papers into a pocket binder when Miss Shell reached his desk.  She glared at Tim from on high.

Tim’s face and neck glowed red as if ignited by her wrath and, without looking her directly in the eyes (an act which risked turning you to stone), he meekly stammered, “I thought we had until the end of the period.”

“You didn’t,” she replied icily.  She hovered a few more seconds (which seemed to us all an eternity) and, when it became clear his paper was not close to being ready, she announced loudly, “Your paper is late; your grade will suffer,” and marched on towards the next desk.  The rest of us were all glad we weren’t Tim.

Not coincidentally, I believe it was early second semester when certain students (not me) began spitting on the handle of Miss Shell’s classroom door before she would arrive in the morning to unlock.  I didn’t directly participate in the spitting, but I didn’t intervene either.

Nowadays, I would be a bit more sympathetic to poor Miss Shell.  Not only was she a generally unhappy person, but that particular day was the unhappiest day of the year for any English teacher: the day when stacks of papers are presented for grading.  After spending weeks pushing and pulling us through the research process, she was now anticipating a Christmas break bent over piles of amateur research writing.

Here’s the thing most high school students don’t understand:  your English teacher hates the research paper even more than you do. 

You think it’s not possible, but it is. 

I speak from the trenches – my sophomores will be turning in their final drafts in just days. Believe me, spending multiple periods each day for a month instructing about plagiarism, parenthetical notations, and the Works Cited page holds little joy for the average teacher.  Plus, most of these topics are surrounded by a thick fog in the minds of so many students.  These days it’s incredibly hard to even get them to turn down the pirated music on their IPods long enough for you to make a convincing case as to why it’s improper to steal someone else’s ideas or words. 

Nevertheless, in front of my class I have tried to bottle up my own frustrations throughout these trying weeks and have done my best to practice patience with theirs.  After all, I don’t want to spend the rest of the school year checking the doorknob for spit.

Christian Authors

I just heard on the radio about the passing today of Chuck Colson, a man who built his first reputation on politics and his second (and more lasting) on the Gospel.  If the name doesn't ring a bell, Colson was one of President Richard Nixon's staff who did some jail time for the Watergate scandal.  While in prison, Colson was born again and went on eventually to found Prison Fellowship. 

Colson was an astute observer of culture and human nature.  When I was a young Christian, around college age, I was deeply influenced by many of the books Colson authored.  He was the one who introduced me to the concept of "worldview" - the way each individual sees the world, whether he can articulate it in words or not.  Colson taught me how much of my own worldview was shaped by American culture and he challenged me to allow Scripture to more fully mold my views. 

I am grateful for his impact on my life and faith.

When I read Colson's books, I always found myself nodding and saying "Yes!"  Well, last week at the pastors' conference I attended in Louisville, I found a new (to me!) author who has me excited and saying, "Yes!" all over again:  John Piper. 

Piper spoke at the conference.  He is a pastor and preacher at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He's written dozens of books and my friend Travis bought me one for my birthday called "Let the Nations be Glad!"  The subtitle is "The Supremacy of God in Missions." 

It's one of those books where I didn't even get through the Preface before I started underlining various sentences.  For now, I just want to record here some of the passages I have underlined:

When Jesus said, "Sell your possessions, and give to the needy" (Luke 12:33), he seemed to imply not that the disciples were wealthy and could give from their overflow.  It seems they had so few liquid assets that they had to sell something in order to have something to give. (Page 23)

God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.  This is perhaps the most important sentence in my theology. (Page 50)

"The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45).  Missions is not a recruitment project for God's labor force.  It is a liberation project from the heavy burdens and hard yokes of other gods (Matt. 11:28-30). (Page 55)

We cannot know what prayer is for until we know that life is war.  Life is war.  That's not all it is.  But it is always that.  Our weakness in prayer is owing largely to our neglect of this truth.  Prayer is primarily a wartime walkie-talkie for the mission of the church as it advances against the powers of darkness and unbelief.  It is not surprising that prayer malfunctions when we try to make it a domestic intercom to call upstairs for more comforts in the den."  (Page 65)



THAT is a powerful analogy: prayer as a walkie-talkie, not a domestic intercom!  That gave me something to chew on for several days.  Could that really be why we find prayer (if we are honest) so often ineffective?  I think Piper has a point here.

The Blessing of a Head Cold

I worked the day job only two mornings this past week.  We had Monday off as an unused snow day, I worked Tuesday morning, left to attend a pastor's conference in Louisville, returned late Thursday night, worked Friday morning and then left school for a funeral.

Travis, a dear brother in Christ, had recommended this conference to me a few weeks ago.  My concern was missing school time: I had just one last personal day I could take.  On the other hand, I still had something like 16 sick days built up!  I asked around school and folks told me that it was no big deal to take sick days as personal days - it happens all the time.  Still, my conscience kept asking, "How can you LIE in order to attend a Christian event??"  I hesitated until the last moment that I could register and then felt that - even with the conscience issue - it was something I was meant to be a part of.  I just trusted that something would work out in a way that wouldn't compromise integrity.

As a side note, I am not one of those teachers who just asks a sub to plug in a random video to pass the time.  It actually took many hours of work on my part to leave meaningful lesson plans for the sub and my students accomplished important work throughout the week even without me there.

Even so, it didn't seem RIGHT to claim a conference as sick days.  So praise God for the head cold I got last weekend!  I can honestly say that I could have -in good conscience - gladly taken every day off this past week from school to sleep in and recover.  While at the conference, I had the chance to sleep in a bit and to grab a nap in the afternoons (when I would have normally been in class).  And even though I was feeling pretty miserable physically, spiritually I was alert and being fed.  I can't wait to share some of the things the Lord taught me through those three days.

The cold actually continued through Thursday and then dissipated.  That meant that I could still claim Friday afternoon as a half personal day in order to go to the funeral of a young man from our former church in Indy.  (It was the most memorable funeral I have ever attended.  It was a real paradox:  sad, hilarious, inspiring, embarrassing, and motivating.)

So what do you think?  Am I on target in my interpretation of the week's events and the head cold?   There was a time when I might have read the head cold as God's punishment towards me, but now it seems like Grace.  He knows I NEEDED it. 

In all honesty, the other great thing about following through with attending the conference is that I came back inspired in my current role as teacher and seeing my students in a different (and far better) light.  Instead of counting my absence as sick days, maybe I could charge the cost of the conference to the school as "professional development"!  And get reimbursement for mileage and hotel costs!  ;-)

By the way, the conference organizers promised to put videos from the keynote speakers on their website and they have.  The conference was called "Together for the Gospel" and the website is right here.  Some of the most inspired preaching I've heard in a long time. (No offense meant, Pastor Chuck!!)

Le Martians

Although it's becoming "old news" at this point, I still want to post some pictures of our Iowa trip - specifically, pictures of some of the fantastic people who made it such a wonderful week for us.

I think Elaine and Daryl were the first people I met in Le Mars when I arrived in March of 1991 - they housed me during my interview.  Sweet, kind, generous folks!  Daryl is not in this picture because he was laid flat with a back injury during our visit.  Praying he is feeling much better now.

Did I mention that Bill has a bus tour business?  He also has a limo and one afternoon he gave our family a ride around Le Mars in style.  We stopped and picked up Jodee for a couple of laps around the block.

Jo and Lisa bought us all some ice cream at the parlor downtown.  We reminisced about various VBS programs we did together and I got updates on various family members.

Here's Jodee with a couple of her brats - Jason with his wife Mindi and little sister Jonalee.

The kids LOVED playing card games with Bill and Jodee.  So fun to have my whole family gathered around this same table where I have enjoyed so many good conversations and laughs over the years.

Bill and The Princess helped each other out. 

Jean Ann is the matriarch of another one of my favorite Le Martian families.  She now works at the ice cream parlor and she provided "The Goliath" for our kids one afternoon.

Connie has apparently discovered the fountain of youth since I left Le Mars.  She doesn't look a day older!

What can I say about Amy?  She definitely made my rookie years of youth ministry interesting.  Now she's all grown up and has a family of her own.  Congrats to her on the birth of Aidan about a week after this picture was taken!

John and Julie, Barb and Dean met with us the last evening we were in Le Mars.  Great couples!  John is the current pastor of the United Methodist Church where I served as youth pastor so many years ago.  Good to see the church is in capable, Godly hands!

Cookout in Bill and Jodee's back yard.

Melissa and I with Bill and Jodee's middle child, Jennica, and her husband Aaron.

Calvin and Dixie got back from an extended roadtrip to California just in time to meet up for breakfast at McDonalds before we headed out to Grundy Center, Iowa.  Another great couple.  During my stint in Le Mars, Calvin was my part-time boss ... in the bridge demolition and construction business.  It was like working for your favorite uncle!

It's frustrating to wrap up this post without sharing some specific stories about any or all of these people.  They are all so special to me that it about kills me to be as brief as I need to be here.  Thankfully, we are convinced that Le Mars will be a regular stop for us in the future, so we will have a chance to develop further stories - and to catch up with many others that we missed this time.

God bless you, Le Martians!  I am privileged to have known you!

One last picture.  This creepy thing was sprawled on a chair in Bill and Jodee's basement - an old art project that Jonalee had posed for.  Dats confessed early in the week that "That thing freaks me out", so, of course, I brought it upstairs where he could see it more often.  It got moved all over the house ... and even spooked Jonalee a few times.

Iowa Images

Melissa and I are still trying to catch up on our sleep after our whirlwind tour of Iowa.  But I don't want too much time to pass before I post some pictures of the trip and give God some glory for all the ways He blessed us over the course of last week.

The kids were excited to swim at the hotel in Galesburg, Illinois, before we headed on to Le Mars, Iowa.

We stayed with Bill and Jodee all week.  Here Jodee joins us for some ice cream at the parlor.

And here Bill clowns around with The Princess - who absolutely LOVED him.

When I lived in Le Mars twenty years ago, this church was known as Calvary.  Now it is the Le Mars UMC.  The current pastor, John, graciously introduced us before the service and I got to talk to some old friends after the service ended.

Ida up a tree.  Thankfully, our kids don't need amusement parks to keep them entertained.  (Le Mars is kinda short on amusement parks...)

The first few days, Melissa kept asking, "Is Iowa ALWAYS this windy?"

Bill let The Princess check out his crazy hat collection...

Monkey boy.

Bill has a charter bus business and showed us around the garage one day and then...

took us for a ride in the limo!

Melissa said I looked "creepy" in this hat.  Whatever.