Regularly Scheduled Maintenance

Around my house we are big fans of summer and all that goes with it - baseball, softball, swimming, evenings outside and plenty of warm weather!  Of course, it's also that time of year when you break out the mower and weed eater and do your part to keep the town looking nice.

This year I was more than a little annoyed to find out my weed eater was not ready to immediately jump into action.  Instead I had to go into troubleshooting mode and figure out why it kept dying on me.  Why can't things just work like they're supposed to?

Well, they generally do - provided that you keep them in proper working order.  And that's the part that gets tricky.  Regular maintenance is something that is extremely important but not at all urgent.  At least not until it's too late and requires a major fix.

Life is a lot like that, too.  Take your relationships for example.  I think most people would agree that it's important to spend quality time with your spouse, children, other family and friends.  But all the hectic busyness of life - rushing from ball games to school plays to emergency trips to Wal-Mart - wears us out and puts that quality time on the back burner.

How about your personal health?  We've all heard the experts tell us how important daily exercise is - even just 20 minutes a day.  But who's got the time for that?  And then there's healthy eating!  Of course it's better to cook your own food, but that takes more time as well.  And that seems to be the one thing that's in shortest supply.

While these things may seem ideal but impossible, the question we should be asking ourselves is, "Do we have time NOT to do them?"  They're easy to bypass in the moment, but over time the results are a lot worse than neglecting to take care of your weed eater.  Nobody wants to wake up one day to find a mess of broken relationships or bad health.

I admit it's been more difficult than it should, but I'm trying to take my own advice.  First off is getting back in shape.  That 45 minute workout of general cardio and running is rarely something I look forward to, but I know it's better than a bad back or being unable to play sports with my kids.

Speaking of the kids, quality time with them is getting harder and harder to find as well.  As they get older, their schedules are becoming busier than mine!  So a few years ago I took a suggestion from my older brother and began taking a different one of my three kids to Sonic each Friday after school.  We get ice cream and talk about what's going on in their world.  (In the process I've tried nearly all of Sonic's new shakes, even the peanut butter and bacon!)

Spiritually I know I have a tendency to drift if I'm left all alone.  That's why I cherish my church and BSU fellowship.  They keep me grounded in the God's Word and encourage me when I need it.  I definitely don't want to see my life when that is neglected!

Whatever you consider to be those important things in your life, I encourage you to make time for them.  I know how easy they are to skip over when more urgent things come along.  And I guarantee you that those urgent things are going to come!  So make the decision now that these things are even more urgent.  Get them on your calendar.  Get rid of some of those time wasters in your life.  Tell someone else who can help keep you accountable.  Do whatever it takes!

Life requires regularly scheduled maintenance.  Sometimes it's difficult and inconvenient, but it's worth it.  You don't want to discover the consequences when it's neglected.

For Beginners: How Hero Academy is Like Racquetball

One of the sports I enjoy playing is racquetball.  While there are some die hard players here on campus, I'd really like to play with my friends.  The dilemma that presents is that most of my friends have never played much - or ever!  And who can blame them?  Few kids grew up with a racquetball court in the driveway!

I didn't start playing until I got to college, and I've played off and on for the past 15+ years.*  The result is that I'm not necessarily an incredible player, but I am better than any of my beginner friends.  And I've discovered that if I go all out when I play them, they're probably never coming back.  So instead I make sure only to use easy serves or avoid going for kill shots.

* I decided to put a plus there because there's a great temptation to feel old when I think about how long ago college was.  Luckily working with college students helps keep me young!

The same principle applies to Hero Academy.  I've been playing this game for several months and would love for some of my friends to pick it up.  One of those friends that has started playing is my wife.  She doesn't want me to stomp her every game (pun intended) but she also doesn't want me to take it too easy on her.

It's important that I still play the game semi-seriously or she won't learn some of the more strategic nuances of the game.  And let's face it - the only way you really learn how to play is by playing.  Sure, I can try and explain every little detail I can think of, but we run into two problems there.  First off, I will inevitably forget something.  (And I mean forget, not "forget.")  Second, she's probably not going to remember all the information I blitzed her with anyway.  So instead, she can watch me spawn a Wraith on her freshly defeated character and ask me, "How did you do that?!"*

* One time I defeated a friend's unit with my Shoalin poisoner and then stomped the corpse with bamboo.  I'll never forget his incredulously response: "She can turn people into bamboo?!"

So, the question becomes how do you want to handicap yourself?  Personally, I've taken to only using sword upgrades on my healers.  That allows me to still demonstrate one of the best uses of a fireball (stomping units)* while still having to work hard to deal major damage.  This type of limitation definitely makes it harder to win with the Dark Elves!  I've even learned some new tactics in the process.

One of these priestesses has staff envy.  Her sword upgrade is on the way!

Don't let the pretty blonde hair fool you - this cleric means business!

The ways you could choose to limit yourself are practically endless.  Perhaps you only get to use 4 AP instead of 5.  Maybe you can stomp no more than one enemy unit per turn.  I'd love to hear some other ideas - especially if you've given them a try yourself!  Hero Academy is a great game and more people ought to be playing it.  With the right use of personal handicaps, I think you would be able to get some new friends hooked on this great strategic game!

Maximizing the Ninja Ambulance

My goal is to write some quick tips that might help new players out with the game Hero Academy. I'd also like to help some of my friends improve at the game, so I'm including this for them.

One little nuance I've noticed is the use of the Ninja Ambulance. New players may not realize that, along with being a sneak attacker, the Ninja can also be used to teleport teammates to safety and get them some medical assistance if needed.

In these two screen captures, there is one small setup difference that can really help out your team. Positioning the Ninja within healing range of a Cleric is always a good idea.  The Ninja can use the first action point (AP) to swap places with an injured teammate and use a later AP to return them back to their original position.  That leaves up to three AP for healing that damaged unit. However, if the Cleric is on your sword square, the healing will be more powerful and can be accomplished in fewer AP.

The Ninja on the sword square isn't doing me much good here.

With the Cleric on the sword square, everyone benefits!

The reason this works is because every faction's healer derives their healing ability from their attack power and standing on a sword square increases attack power.  Any healer on a sword tile will dish out more medicine, but this is particularly useful with the Cleric because of the Council's team bonus - Strong Alchemy.  This means she gets to heal her teammates for 300% of her attack rather than the usual 200% that every other faction gets.

A standard Cleric with no upgrades has 200 attack power and therefore can normally heal a teammate 600 health per shot.  Standing on the sword square boosts that up to a whopping 900 health!  Other than your Knight, that's a guaranteed full heal for your team members.  And chances are one shot of 900 health will be enough to get your Knight full -- or very close to it -- leaving him ready to swap spots with the Ninja again and take more of a beating.

All of this means that with just a little planning ahead, your Ninja Ambulance can be more effective, leaving you more AP to attack, fortify or reposition your troops.  And hopefully win the game!

The Task of Every Spiritual Leader

You can't get very far in reading Paul's epistles before it becomes extremely evident that he was a man of prayer. But his prayers weren't simply for himself, he was constantly lifting up the churches he had planted, the people that were being discipled there, as well as their ongoing ministry.

This isn't a new concept for spiritual leaders, as Abraham and Moses had done centuries before. However, there's a statement that Samuel makes about prayer that should jar any of us that strives to lead others, whether in our church or home. 1 Samuel 12:23 says, "As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you." This puts the responsibility and necessity of prayer in a whole new light.

I think it's especially important to remember the context here as well. Samuel is nearing the end of his days, and he has just rebuked the people for their request of a king. Part of this, of course, included their rejection of his own sons as leaders. I think God's response to Samuel in 8:7 implies that Samuel was deeply hurt by this.

So, in spite of all their sin, rebellion, and rejection, Samuel still had a responsibility to pray for them. It didn't matter what they had done or how he felt about it. It would be sin not to. That truth has not changed. Prayer is still the task of every spiritual leader.

Behind the Scenes of Effective Ministry

Last summer our BSU Bible study was over 2 Corinthians, and I remember reading a commentary that said it was the letter Paul was reluctant to write. That's because Paul has to spend so much time defending himself and his ministry, when he would rather talk to them about the gospel and its implications.

That brings me to my reading this morning, 2 Corinthians 11. There were some people at the church in Corinth that insulted Paul's abilities, questioned his apostleship, doubted his motives, and were jealous of the results of his ministry. They wanted to be seen as somebody even greater than Paul.

So Paul takes a moment to lay out what it really costs to have an effective ministry. In verses 23-33 his experience can almost be summed up in a single word: danger. He faced trials at every single turn. Those who were jealous of the "glamor" of Paul's ministry had no idea what it actually cost. I doubt any of them would strive for those kinds of experiences.

Paul's path was especially wrought with trials (Acts 9:16), but it's still the reality of ministry. It will be challenging and you will not be up to the task apart from the power of Jesus (2 Corinthians 11:30, 12:9-10). However, it's in those trials that we most depend on Him and take no glory or credit for ourselves. For those desiring to have a great ministry, let your expectation match reality - being deeply used by Jesus will not come cheaply.

Focalism

Part of my reading this morning was in 1 Samuel 8. It's a rather startling story for a few different reasons. One thing that really interests me is the matter of Samuel's sons. Why were they so different from him? Surely he prayed for them and instructed them in the ways of the Lord, after all he was one of the greatest spiritual leaders Israel would ever have. Furthermore, there's no way he could forget what happened to Eli's sons... I don't have any answers for that.

Today, though, I really want to focus in on the Israelites' request for a king. Of course their big mistake was wanting to be like the nations around them, rather than being different and introducing God to their neighboring countries. But what struck me this morning was their insistence on having a king, even after Samuel told them what a bad deal it would be for them. Their minds were completely made up and no amount of wisdom or reason could change them.

All of this brings me back to a word that I heard Andy Stanley talk about at Catalyst: Focalism. He was preaching out of the story of Jacob and Esau and the selling of Esau's birthright for a bowl of stew. The point is clearly made in this passage as well. Sometimes we get so locked in on what we think we want at that very moment, everything else becomes a blur. In the process we make terrible decisions, trade away our future, compromise our values, and eventually live to regret it.

How can you tell if you're starting to fall victim to focalism? I think that's part of the problem - we often can't! That's why we need to humbly allow others to be involved in our lives. Is there anyone in your life you can be real with? Someone who asks you the tough questions and will be honest with you, even when it hurts? And even more to the point, will you listen to them?

I know some people who are still looking for this relationship but haven't found it. Whether or not you have someone like that, you can always go to the Lord. There's no replacement for a daily time with Him, allowing His Word to bring teaching, rebuking and correcting in your life. It's far better than falling victim to focalism.

Generosity

In my quiet time this morning, part of my reading was 2 Corinthians 9. Paul is writing to the church at Corinth and is encouraging them to follow through on their prior commitments to give. In the process, he tells us some incredible things about generosity:

• If you only have a little, you can still give generously, even if it's not a lot (8:12)
  
• Giving should be done voluntarily and cheerfully (v7)
  
• God loves a cheerful giver (v7)
  
• God blesses us so we can give generously to others in need, not simply for our own benefit (v11)
  
• Being generous with our money opens the door for God to bless us in non-monetary ways (v8,10,12)
  
• Our generosity will result in God's glory (v11,12,13)
  
• Our giving should be our natural response to our experience of God's grace (v14)

When I read this, it's easy for me to think, "I need to be more generous! I'll get right on that." But that's not really the point. I think instead any lack of generosity on our part should lead us to examine our experience and understanding of God's grace given to us in Jesus Christ. While generosity can be a disciplined action, I think the ideal is that it's a natural byproduct of our relationship with God. He has lavished His grace upon us - given generously above and beyond anything we could deserve. Paul calls it His "indescribable gift!"

Have you experienced His grace and mercy in your own life? One simple evidence of that will be an outpouring of generosity to others.

Two Months = Broken Windows and Graffiti

Hmm... so apparently if you leave your blog alone long enough, spambots will appear and start posting useless comments. I've deleted those comments, but I did manage to catch a photo of the perpetrator:

Everything That Hinders?

As I once again redefine my morning devotional time, I've settled into reading whole books at a time. Last week I knocked out several shorter epistles, and today I read through Hebrews. I really do encourage you to try reading an entire book at a time - sometimes we miss the big picture because we're only taking in a few verses at a time.

Today I just wanted to comment on one verse - Hebrews 12:1. It says: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

I love this verse and the visual it creates. I've reflected on this before, how runners wear no more clothing than is necessary in order to run their very best. Swimmers take it a step further and shave all the hair off their bodies!

It's easy to look at this verse and understand the "sin that so easily entangles" part. Without question, sin trips us up and causes us to be slow in the race and unfruitful in our Christian lives. But there are two dangers listed here: the sin just mentioned, and other things that "hinder" us, but perhaps are not sinful in themselves.

In my own life I see lots of things that could probably be considered morally neutral but do not contribute to my running the race well.* On the contrary, they tend to hinder me - weights that simply slow me down or distract me from what I should otherwise be focused on.

* Some of those are randomly, aimlessly browsing the internet, playing video games by myself, and not having a plan on how to be productive with my "free" time. And I just realized my perfectionism is often a hindrance as well.

Without a doubt our world is overflowing with these: tv programs, video games and really all manner of gadgets and gizmos. But we add to them with procrastination and poor time management, saying yes to too many things, sleeping in or taking naps or adding fruitless hobbies to our lives.

I'm not saying having any of those things in your life is bad - just that they can easily become hindrances in running hard after Christ. Have you taken stock lately of your own life and what it's filled with? Are you not only seeking to rid yourself of the sin that so easily entangles, but are you also genuinely considering those more subtle time wasters that hinder your obedience to the Lord?

Bubble Knee

Later we're going to have a post commemorating our ten years of Mystery Dinner Theater and some of the unusual moments we've encountered along the way. Right now I want to start it off by sharing the most recent: apparently between constantly going to one knee and also having an unfortunate dive while playing racquetball, I've discovered a sudden build up of fluid on my left knee cap.

It's either a bursitis or a ruptured bursa sac. It hasn't really grown any bigger than when I first discovered it. It's not painful and is mostly just a strange, creepy thing. But how long should I wait before getting it checked out? Will the fluid go away on its own? Will icing really help? Hmmm...

Yeah, There's a Great Idea

What do you do when you're a fledgling blogger who struggles with too many topics and wavers between a flurry of posts and extended periods of inactivity? Why, you start more blogs, of course!

I'm going to attempt to reorganize my thoughts into a few different blogs and see if that doesn't help me be more consistent in my posts. I've had trouble at times with this particular blog because the topics that I want to address don't have much to do with each other.

Therefore, I'm starting a new blog on the Chiefs (Chief Impressions) as well as one on campus ministry (College Ministry OJT). I think we're also going to start one that is more themed around the activities of our family and try Karin out as a contributing author there.

In the meantime, I'm hoping to make it work so this site imports directly from those other sites. That means this one will look just as jumbled as it ever did, but anyone interested in just one of those topics can steer clear of all the other stuff they don't like!

Anyway, that's the plan, and is what I'm currently working on.

Week 4 Thoughts: Red Alert!

Several Chiefs defenders react to a horrible personal foul call against Jarrad Page

Ok, so going in all of us who were realistic knew there was little chance the Chiefs would win this one. Let's not forget that just two seasons ago the Giants won the Super Bowl with roughly the same team. No, the outcome was not in doubt, especially not after the Giants were given a gift on the game's opening play. The bigger problem that emerged yesterday is that after four preseason games and four regular season games, the Chiefs have absolutely no identity on offense. Since I've been openly critical of Jason Whitlock here, I will point out that he nailed it today in his column.

I did something new yesterday as I watched the game. I sat with a notebook and journaled every play, which was both effective and enlightening. Here are my thoughts on the game:

• Third Down Breakdown: Last week we were 0/11 on third down, which led me to want to dig deeper and see how many of those were third and long situations. Yesterday we faced the following distances on third down: 8, 5, 10, 10, 9, 8, 13, 18, 7, 12, 11, 7, Goal (from the 11), Goal (from the 2), 27. That means we faced a third and short ONE TIME! 14/15 third downs were long - most of them very long. If my math is correct, these numbers mean that on the series when we got to third down, our average gain between first and second down was -1 yard! You could do better by intentionally spiking the ball on first and second down!!
  
  For the game we were 2/15 on third down. The two we converted were on third and 8 (an 18 yard pass to Engram) and third and 7 (a 12 yard scramble by Cassel). Third down isn't really the problem - first and second down are. When your average third down play needs 11 yards, you're not going to be very successful.
  
  
• Second down break down: these were our yards to go on second down: 2, 5, 10, 10, 6, 8, 13, 14, 7, 12, 11, Goal (from 1), 7, 15, Goal (from 6), Goal (from 11), Goal (from 1), 8, 15. Our average distance to go on 2nd down was 8.5 yards!
  
  
• So what's happening on 1st down? Not much! Here are our first down gains for the game (R=run, P=pass): 2R, 8R, 5R, 0R, 0P, 4R, 16R!, 2R, 2R, -4P (sacked), 3R, 3R, 19R!, -2R, -2P, 7R, 1P (TD), 3P, -5R, 0P, 0P, 7R (QB scramble), -5R. So to summarize: of the 23 plays listed here (I didn't include the last play of the game) we chose to run (here I'm not counting the scramble) 15 times. We had two big gains (16 and 19), lost yardage three times, and gained less than four yards seven more times. Our average gain running on first down was 2.93 yards. Whew.
  
  But that's actually BETTER than what we did when we tried to throw on first down! Only three times did we even complete a pass on first down: -2 yards on a screen pass, a 1 yard TD to Sean Ryan and a 3 yard dump pass to LJ. That's 3 of our 8 first down passes. The other five were: incomplete deep to Bradley (who was open), -4 sack (empty backfield), incomplete to Pope from the 1, incomplete at LJ's feet from the 1 and Cassel scrambling for 7 yards. It's bad no matter how you summarize: Our first down completions averaged .67 yards (COVER YOUR EYES!) and if you factor in Cassel's scrambles and yards lost on sacks, our attempts at passing on first down netted us 5 yards (an average of .625 yards per play).
  
  
• As of now, I am anti-Matt Cassel. There's no other conclusion to make from the stats above. Someone will surely comment that he doesn't have time to throw. Sometimes that was true, but the thing that gets me is that he isn't even TRYING! I'm tired of looking at stats and adding up numbers or I would continue to build my case. But the guy just doesn't look down the field. It wasn't until the fourth quarter that he made a "long" pass completion (20 yards in the air) which turned into a 43 yard gain for TE Sean Ryan. How about that?! Our longest play of the season! When we actually T R I E D. Ug.
  
  What's even worse here is I don't think Todd Haley believes in Cassel either, because far too often he's calling run plays and screen passes and never tries to take the big shot down the field. The guy can't hit the deep ball and is too worried about his protection to look down field and try to complete a decent pass. It's just dump pass after dump pass. Last week he was 14/18 for 90 stinking yards. Until Matt Cassel does something to prove me wrong, I am officially in the "we wasted a lot of money signing this guy" camp.
  
  
• What was with the play calling? While we're at it, let's question what in the world Haley was doing calling the plays that he did. Starting out in the Wildcat was bizarre and ineffective. Going empty backfield meant the Giants could just pin their ears back and go after Cassel, which they did with ease. What I really don't understand is why we never let the run set up play action. LJ broke off some good gains in there. Why not follow one of those up with a play fake and try to go deep? The Giants said before the game that they still respected LJ (which could have been blowing smoke) but they definitely had to pay attention to him all day. But alas, I know why we didn't try to go deep: because Cassel can't do it. Fans who followed the Patriots last year have already pointed out that even with Randy Moss he couldn't hit the deep ball - why would it be any different now? I sure hope to be proven wrong, but I have a bad feeling about this.
  
  
• Other negatives: It looked like Ryan Succop had an outside chance of recovering the onside kick, but he went alligator arms and didn't sell out for the recovery. Bummer. Why go anti-pass all day and then refuse to run when you're close to the goal line? It would sure be nice to see Bowe and Wade hang on to the ball more often. (And for the record, those were still short gainers that they dropped.) What's with the announcers gushing over Matt Cassel? I'm tired of it. Even on his TD pass to Wade he actually overthrew Battle and got lucky Wade was there in the back of the end zone. Last one: even the refs hate us. Late in the game the Giants got a 15 yard facemask on an attempted sack of Cassel. Unfortunately the officials only gave us ten yards for it.
  

Enough doom and gloom, I guess... on to some positives:

• Carr is a player! As I went back through my notes, I was pleased to see how often I had written about Carr making a good defensive play. He and Flowers are very solid and give us something to be happy about.
  
• It's a good thing we have Colquitt. He consistently boomed long, high punts all day, temporarily helping out the team. I wonder if he can throw deep...
  

And unfortunately, that's all the positives I have. I did enjoy taking detailed notes of the game and might turn that into a regular habit. Hopefully I'll continue to develop a better system that will allow me to dig deeper into the game. I let the defense off the hook yesterday, but I might try and break down some of that as well. I'm also interested in specific formations that we ran on offense and what the situations and successes were of those.

The surprisingly 4-0 Broncos held off the Cowboys yesterday, so I expect Dallas to come right out and punch the Chiefs in the mouth. My prediction: it still won't be pretty... 30-10? I want to see the Chiefs throw more on 1st down (but not from an empty backfield) and actually throw it down the field. I'd also like to see them develop some play action passes when the run works, not just (what looks to me like) calling it randomly.

Week 3 Thoughts: Red All Over

Due to being out of town last weekend, I didn't get to sit down and watch the Chiefs/Eagles game all at one time. I had to bite it off a piece at a time, which was about all one could handle in that game anyway.

I had originally hoped to go deeper on one key stat in the game: the Chiefs were 0/11 on 3rd down. The deeper was to see how often they were in third and long. I didn't have time to go back and count specifically, but I know it happened the majority of the time. So that tells me that what has been happening to the Chiefs on 3rd down is really the byproduct of what has not been happening on first and second down.

Another problem that's mounting is making more and more mistakes. Penalties hurt us big time last week, and as I've said before we're not talented enough at this point to overcome very many mistakes.

Today they play the Giants, another gift of their brutal opening schedule. Outside of the Chiefs' locker room I'm sure no one is giving them a chance to win. For the record, I am not. But last week's game proved what is beginning to become a regular problem for the Chiefs: dealing with that guy who throws the ball. We can't protect our quarterback and we can't get to theirs.

If the Chiefs are to have any hope of winning today, they have to do a few things. First off, they have to gain more than one or two yards on first down. Ideally it would be great to see them throwing more on first down rather than being so predictable with the run. I expect the Giants to do like the Eagles did and pack their defense close to the line of scrimmage. It sure would be nice to see us take some shots down the field early to exploit that. No, we don't have the greatest receiving weapons in the league, but can we at least try?

Second, our defense has got to create some turnovers and give the offense a short field to work with. Our return game is not good and our offense will very rarely be able to go 80 yards for a TD. Unfortunately we're not good at the thing that often leads to turnovers: putting pressure on the QB. Perhaps today will be the day that we get something figured out there. Playing at home may help a bit.

Third, we've got to continue to be strong against the run. This has been one bright spot so far this season and was something that really surprised me against the Raiders. We're doing a good job overall here but haven't been able to get off the field enough on 3rd down. While the QB pressure needs to increase, we can't afford to get soft against the run.

So in the end I guess I'm saying the same thing all over again: we've got to protect our QB and get to theirs. There's not a real convincing reason why that will happen today, so try and have some realistic expectations as you watch the game and don't let a frustrating loss ruin the rest of your day!

I wanted to get this out quick before the game today so I can come back with some postgame thoughts later this evening.

Conjugating 'Verbs: In God We Trust?

* Another disclaimer on this series of posts. Just like the Proverbs themselves, they won't be exhaustive statements about a particular topic. They're more like quick hitting devotional thoughts. You probably already knew that, but I feel better getting it off my chest. Sometimes it bothers me knowing there's a lot more that could've been said but wasn't.

I had a video conference this morning during my regularly scheduled time in the word, and so I'm a bit behind in that department today. I'll try and get caught up during my lunch break. You may be wondering why I'm not getting caught up now, and you may be on to something there... but anyway, I wanted to share another thought from Proverbs that hit me last Friday.

This is something that's been floating around in the back of my mind for a while, but finally came to the forefront last week. The Lord really smacked me between the eyes when I came across this verse:

Proverbs 18:11 says, "The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it an unscalable wall." On the surface this may not sound incredibly profound or even all that applicable to most of us. I don't know many people who are rich, even if nearly all of us ARE rich when compared to the majority of the rest of the world. No, it's the idea that's behind this truth. The rich are trusting in their wealth, rather than in God. I think the majority of us wrestle with this from time to time, and some rarely ever truly trust in God at all.

What hit me this past week was what I was choosing to trust in. I know some trust in money or their wisdom or the power of democracy or having a great military. The list goes on and on. But what was hitting me was in the realm of ministry: it's very easy for me to trust in people, in the student leaders we have, in the structure we've put in place, in the systems and plans that we've laid in order to reach our goals.

I do believe we have great student leaders, and I do think much of the success of this ministry is in their hands. But it's all too easy for that feeling of contentment/security/trust to allow me to become complacent and comfortable. To unconsciously rely less on God than if times were tough and we were really struggling. One of the greatest challenges to the people of God throughout time has been prosperity, or even just the false feeling of it. (We can certainly overestimate how well we're doing and feel good about it, even when we really shouldn't.)

I've also been reading through Isaiah, and there I see a people that has prospered to the point that they no longer "need" God or rely on Him. I appreciate the wake up call from the Lord, that nothing I have planned or laid is really an unscalable wall. Whether you are in vocational ministry, have a leadership position in one, or are "simply" a follower of Christ, I want to encourage you to trust in Him and Him alone. It's far too easy to subtly slip into trusting in man, trusting in our own wisdom and strength, trusting in our own plans.

How do I know whether or not I'm really trusting in Him? A ten second evaluation of my prayer life is probably all that it really takes. Am I really crying out to Him to move? Am I interceding for the lost? For my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ? Am I burdened by the things that burden the heart of God?

Proverbs goes on to say in 21:31, "The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests in the Lord." Continue to do your best to prepare, to plan and to carry out the vision God has given you, but make sure you do it on your knees - constantly driven by the reality that Jesus meant it when He said, "Apart from me you can do nothing."

Week 2 Thoughts: Seeing Red

Matt Cassel fired up the crowd early with his enthusiasm after scrambling for a first down.

Well, the outcome was as I expected, but for all the wrong reasons. I figured we would struggle to run and the Raiders would tear us up with their three-headed running back monster. Last year McFadden, Bush and Fargas combined for 297 yards rushing and I figured we'd have a tough time stopping them today. Fargas didn't get any carries, and McFadden and Bush combined for just 70 yards in 21 carries. When you consider that JaMarcus Russell was a pitiful 7/24 for 109 yards, you'd think the Chiefs would come out on top. Unfortunately that was not the case, as we fell 13-10. Here's my take on the game:

• The Raiders aren't very smart. What was the deal coming out and throwing all over the place? I'm guessing they saw what the Ravens did to us last week and figured they could do more of the same. First of all, we didn't have Brandon Flowers last week - that makes a HUGE difference. Secondly, um, you're not the Ravens. You don't have a good quarterback and you don't have very good receivers. But more importantly, you don't even have an okay quarterback. Considering the Raiders ran all over us last year, I was really surprised they put the ball in Russell's hands so often early.
  
  
• JaMarcus Russell is bad. I'm so glad the Raiders drafted this guy first overall in 2007. That means they'll continue to play him, hoping he lives up to his "potential." That also means several more years that the Raiders will suffer for it. Yeah, throw it in my face that Russell beat the Chiefs today, but it's not because he's good. It had more to do with the two best players on their team (see next two items). As for Russell, he simply cannot throw accurately enough to be a good NFL quarterback. He definitely has the arm strength to go deep, and I would argue that his accuracy goes up the deeper he throws. But he consistently whiffed on short passes, and you simply can't miss those in the NFL.
  
  
• Shane Lechler is my least favorite Raider. First of all, I am not a fan of this guy because he'll consistently keep Dustin Colquitt out of the Pro Bowl. But even worse is the fact that he bombed ridiculously long, high punts all day. The main reason we lost this game is because we never got a short field to work with.
  
  
• Sebastian Janikowski is my second least favorite Raider. Yeah, he's automatic from around 50 yards and in, but his kickoffs drive me insane! It's probably for the best since we don't have a good kick returner anyway, but we hardly ever got a chance to return a kickoff. Nope, just start at the 20. Every. Single. Time. We don't have the firepower to go 80 yards very often, and the two kickers for the Raiders kept us from winning the game.
  
  
• Clock management killed us in the first half. This one is obvious and everyone will be talking about it, but we gave up three points at the end of the half because we wasted two time outs earlier in the game. One of those time outs was key, though, because it allowed us to convert on fourth and two. Failing to get the field goal at the end of the first half still could've been avoided if Cassel had thrown to the end zone instead of tossing it out in the flat. I think that's a pretty straightforward issue: don't throw short of the goal line if you've got no time outs and less than 20 seconds on the clock. Huge mistake.
  
  
• Let's go easy on Brandon Flowers. Yes, he missed the pick six. Yes, we really could've used those points. But the guy is a second year player and was in his first game of the season. I think he's an outstanding cornerback and he and Brandon Carr are two guys that Herm did great in drafting. (Incidentally, they also play the same position Herm played. Coincidence? Hmmm.) It's too tempting to not pull out the cliche: "That's why he plays defense, not offense." He still had a great game but will likely be thinking about that one for a while to come.
  
  
• Throw it down field! I know Matt Cassel isn't the best at throwing the deep ball, but come on! At some point you've got to take some shots! He missed the one that was beautifully intercepted, but came back and hit Bowe with a 29 yard strike near the end of the fourth quarter. When you're trying to go 80 yards at a time, you've got to pick up some chunks of yardage somewhere.
  
  
• Was that us running the ball? We had 173 yards rushing, which is a huge improvement from last week's embarrassing 29 yards. Larry Johnson looked really good and may have a much better year than I expected. Dantrell Savage also had some great plays as a change-of-pace back. Those guys playing well will go a long way in helping Cassel succeed.
  
  
• Bobby Wade: the good and the bad. So he made some great catches, dropped some passes and fumbled a punt return (which we recovered). He finished with 6 catches for 72 yards and was Cassel's favorite target. I'm not sure if Bowe was just getting owned by Asomugha, but Cassel rarely even bothered to look in his direction. I do think it's telling that one week after twice coming up just short for a first down, Mark Bradley didn't even step on the field today. Very funny, since I saw a fantasy site earlier this week that said he should get plenty of looks this week with Bowe having a tough matchup. Oops.
  
  
• Todd Haley will do whatever it takes. I really like Haley and his no nonsense style. I was a fan of Herm, but I see now that his style wasn't going to get this team going. I'm surprised that Derrick Johnson is still not starting, but I think Haley knows what he's doing. He's certainly setting a culture of "play-my-way-or-else" and it seems the players are responding. Hopefully that turns into some wins soon... It was nice to see him go for it on some key fourth downs.
  
  
• Too bad we couldn't get the stop we needed. I really didn't think the Raiders would drive down for the winning TD. I still think we got seriously hosed on the late hit against Russell on that final drive. The guy fell down but hadn't been touched! He can get up and keep running! And he's a 260 pound quarterback! One of our guys jumping on top of him should not have been a penalty and definitely hurt us at the end. Penalties definitely hurt us this week. Like I said after the last game, we're just not good enough to make mistakes and win. (Cassel was also picked twice, which didn't help either.)
  

I still enjoyed the game and am glad I can walk away watching the Raiders come from behind and not have it ruin the rest of my Sunday. I'm sure Karin is happy about that too =) I imagine many Chiefs fans are pretty ticked off right now and are definitely Seeing Red. There may not be any moral victories - certainly not when you allow a game-winning drive - but at least our defense looked a lot better than they did a week before.

I know Haley and company want to win, but I'm very much viewing this as a building season and am more concerned that we improve week-to-week. But this was our best chance for a win, and we might not see one for a while... I'll be on the road next weekend, so I'll set the DVR and hope to have an exciting win to sit down and watch! Either way, I'll be back for more.

Conjugating 'Verbs: Speak the Truth

* This might turn out to be a regular series on my blog. I picked the name mainly just because it sounds cool, not because it ties directly into conjugation. The 'Verbs refers to the book of Proverbs in the Bible, which I return to often and love to meditate and reflect on. One definition of conjugation - in various disciplines - means to join together. I can easily justify that definition by the fact that these entries will join the Proverbs together with real life applications.

As one who regularly gets to speak and preach to others, I constantly face the temptation to worry about what others think and how well I do in presenting the information. This may have been further heightened by the fact that I'm beginning to try and develop speaking/preaching abilities in some of the guys at BSU. In doing that, I've been working through a list of questions to use when evaluating someone as they deliver a message. While I think that's important and will continue to work on developing both my and their skills in presenting a message, thinking too much about the delivery was once again leading me to forget what is most important for us in this arena.

While I've begun to read through Isaiah in the mornings, I'm continuing my habit of one chapter of Proverbs a day. This morning the Lord spoke very specifically to me about this issue. It's interesting how I got there, though, because I started out in chapter 20 - since today is September 20. Somehow when I turned the page to go from verse 3 to 4, I actually turned two pages and continued right along in Proverbs 23:4, so I didn't even notice. It wasn't until I was recapping the encounter with Karin that I realized I was in the wrong chapter. But it was where God wanted me to be.

Proverbs 23:15-16 says, "My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad; my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right."

That verse just hit me right between the eyes. Simply put, the most important thing for those speaking/preaching is whether or not they clearly proclaimed the word of God. That's what I'm focusing on this morning as I am about to head out the door and preach at First Baptist in Maryville. That's what I want to continue to focus on as I preach at the BSU and what I want to instill in the guys as they have opportunities to preach as well.

I still think it's important to do your best, to not present in such a way that you're actually a distraction to what God is trying to say. But hopefully I will be able to remember what's really important: that God's word is proclaimed and that He can speak through it regardless of how great of a presenter one is. I hope those of you that have the opportunity to teach God's word to others will remember that as well.

Clear the Road!

As of yesterday, I've begun giving driving lessons to an international student that has almost zero experience. I've also agreed to help an American student log some time behind the wheel. He already has a good handle on how to drive and just needs some practice. Both students have their permits.

I myself went through driver's ed in high school and never went the "informal" training route. My dad taught both of my older brothers to drive, I guess they made him not want to go through that again =) I do have some information I've found online that's given me a general idea of how to proceed, but I wanted to see if anyone out there had any suggestions, comments, advice or warnings? Anybody taken this journey or been down this road before? (Both puns intended.)

Week 1 Thoughts: Red Herring

* Before I get going, I just want to say that I really really enjoy having DVR. I didn't start watching the Chiefs game until 1:45 or 2:00, and yet I finished just a little after 3pm. There were several sweet plays that weren't shown a second time, so it was a wonderful bonus to go back and watch them as many times as I wanted. DVR FTW!

Saying I am going to try and blog more is probably pointless, as I've said it before and it didn't necessarily work out that way... but a guy can hope. One of those will be sharing my brilliant, insightful, thought-provoking opinions about my favorite football team. I picked the title Red Herring this week because I think a few key plays distracted us from what was really going on. Here are random thoughts:

• We sure missed Brandon Flowers. Wow, who knew the Ravens would come out all pass-happy like they did? Not the Chiefs. Mike Vrabel admitted, "I would say we had planned for a running game." The person most affected in this aerial assault was Maurice Leggett. It seemed like the Ravens either A) didn't want to throw Brandon Carr's way or B) Didn't need to even THINK about it. Flowers may not have made enough of a difference, as Todd Heap was also torching our linebackers, but he sure would've helped. I like Leggett as a third corner, and in his defense at least he improved as the game went on. But boy was he giving their receivers a big cushion.
  
  
• Our 3rd down defense was rough. Wow. I don't know much about the Ravens, but I think the commentators talked about them having a very good o-line. I hope so, because our pass rush was non-existent. Even when we blitzed we had a hard time getting through.
  
  
• He's not as irrelevant as some thought. Ryan Succop is gaining fans by the boatload. His 53 yard FG was fantastic and might have gone in from 60. But even better than that in my book was his kickoffs. One of them landed nine yards deep in the end zone! Yay for not dropping the kickoff just inside the ten!
  
  
• Special teams were half special. The coverage units were great, the return units were awful. Leggett muffed a punt and the kick returners didn't look much better. I sure do miss the Dante Hall days.
  
  
• Great job limiting mistakes. We had very few penalties (just 3 for 15 yards) and no turnovers. That's how you stay in the game when playing on the road against a team like the Ravens. We have to do this week in and week out, we're not talented enough on offense to overcome very many mistakes.
  
  
• Mark Bradley needs to move the chains! On third down, he twice ran a route across the middle, made the catch, and ended up about a foot short of the first down. Why do players do this? I realize I don't have any experience as a receiver, but it just seems like a simple thing to fix. I hope he gets it right next week. In his favor, his 50 yard reception was pretty impressive, since he was getting completely mugged by the d-back but didn't get the call.
  
  
• Sigh. Our o-line just isn't very good. I know the Ravens have a great defense, but I'm afraid things aren't going to get much better. It will probably just be a tough season with the line, at least on the right side. 29 yards rushing for the game is abysmal, Ray Rice nearly had that much in one play. In a related note, I also think it's going to be another tough year for Larry Johnson.
  
  
• The offense managed to make some adjustments. The first half was terrible for the offense, not getting their first first down until late in the first half. I'm not sure what changes were made exactly, but Haley was able to get Brodie Croyle going a little bit and put some points on the board. The offense even had an 80 yard TD drive in the second half. Good work, even if it wasn't enough in the end. On a QB-related note, I think the Chiefs would love to trade Tyler Thigpen.
  
  
• The bottom line: I think a few key plays (blocked punt for TD, INT + long return by Derrick Johnson) are the red herring. Without those plays the Chiefs absolutely get crushed in this one. Sure it was tied 24-24 late in the game, but that was really a fluke. If they played this one 4 more times, I expect the Ravens would win each of those in a blowout. Our offense isn't very good, which is going to consistently leave our defense on the field far too long. Time of possession was 2:1 in favor of Baltimore, which is nuts. The defense didn't help themselves by giving up third down conversions, but they're going to be facing this same challenge all year. It could be another long season, but at least they played with fire and intensity and were fun to watch. I'll definitely tune in again next week.
  
  

Don't Forget

Last spring (2008) we did some major home remodeling, which included an overhaul of the kitchen and bathroom as well as ripping out the giant picture window in our living room and replacing it with an entertainment center. After the entertainment center was finished, it sat empty for quite a while as I tried to decide what I wanted in the shelves. I recently got it all finished and wanted to share, especially about one shelf in particular.

On the bottom left we have our Wii and PS2. Above that is a meager Chiefs shelf, and up from there is my tribute to Attacktix. The top left is just a collection of hats of my various sports teams. On the bottom right side we've got our DVR system and DVD/VCR. Above that is a pretty sweet Royals shelf, with the required (for me, anyway) Star Wars shelf on the top right.



The shelf that has the place of honor, center top, is the best shelf of all. The idea for this hit me quite a while back while in a Bible study at church. We were talking about how quickly we forget what God has done in our lives and how important it is for us to put up reminders to help prevent that from happening.

In Joshua 4, God commands the Israelites to set up 12 stones as a reminder of what He has done. He specifically mentions their children, that they'll see the stones and ask, "What do these stones mean?" This shelf serves both of those purposes: that we might not forget what God has done and that other folks might ask why in the world I have a bag of wheat on the shelf!



Everything on the shelf has some significance (except the clock, I suppose, that's mainly just there to tell time...), but I decided to just share three of them here - marked A, B and C in the image.

A) This is a piece of drywall from our ceiling that collapsed. That story is worthy of a blog post all by itself, and hopefully I'll have one soon. I'll simply say here that God's hand was evident as He protected all of us during the crazy ceiling-falling-fiasco.

B) This is the infamous bag of wheat. The story here involves Karin's health. Honestly, I'm a little embarrassed by this one, but what can you do... Anyway, for a long time (since we've been married, really) Karin has had various stomach problems. Doctors had tried to isolate different things, but it never seemed like we figured out what the real problem was. Well, last fall (yes, over ten years into our marriage) I began to pray and ask God what the deal was with Karin's health. Within three days it became completely clear to me that she had Celiac's Disease, which is a gluten allergy. Since she's cut gluten out of her diet she's had zero problems. Praise God!!!

C) This is a t-shirt from Mission Arlington. I have already chronicled how we ended up going there for spring break this past March, but it's always good to go back and read it again!

There are many other items on the shelf and I'm confident many more will be joining them. It really only takes one bad day for me to get in a funk and forget all the great things God has done in my life, revealing His love, power and wisdom. Having these items front and center helps me to regain perspective and reflect on some of the things He's done in the life of our family. You may not have a shelf set aside in your home, but I hope you have some way to remember what God has done and glorify Him as you share the story with others!

Futbol Players

* Apparently I have a blog. Probably shouldn't go a month without updating it.

This school year has turned out to be an interesting list of firsts for us. First time we've had a kid in middle school and the first time our youngest has been in kindergarten. That also means it's the first time since we've had kids that they've all been in school for the full day. (This is leading to some wonderful ministry possibilities for us!) Well, another first came this morning: all three of the kids were playing soccer. Allison had her very first game and, while a little reluctant at first, she really got into it and had a great time. Meghan is the oldest on her team (and scored their only goal) while Caleb is the youngest on his (which he loves, his attitude is "Bring it on!")

Anyway, here's a shot of the three of them in their uniforms: