What Would the Colonel Do?

So I went out to eat tonight and let me tell you I am never going to this place again. Now I usually love KFC, especially the Big Crunch Combo however tonight I was not all that hungry due to the fact that the school had steaks for once and I had one of those.

Moving on, so I still was kinda hungry so I got their new deal thing..."The Snacker" for about 5 bucks. Now the pictures that I am about to show you are not altered in any way nor do they mis-represent what I was given for a meal.

So what do you think? Jipped or what? It was smaller then a credit card. Now I understand that it was called the snacker and everything but for the price that I paid for this I could have gotten a full size meal at McDonald's. I don't think that the Colonel would appreciate where his dream is going, he must be rolling over in his grave right now.

R.I.P. Mr Sanders.

God is Awesome!

Today God provided like he usually does! We had an Awards Ceremony today here at the ol' BBC, this is where they hand out scholarships. I enjoy Bethany for the simple reason that it is the only school I know where not all the scholarships are awarded based on grades but on character too!

It is this which made it possible for me to get a $200 scholarship today which I feel totally blessed to get. God provides in big and small doses and even though this may seem like a small one, this is really a big affirmation that He does provide. Praise the Lord.

If Only...

...Some of these made production...
(Click for larger image)

Snow?

Ok so my second post today, that's pretty impressive. However I need to complain about the snow. Yeah that is right it's snowing here...in the middle of April. What's the deal? The snow has been gone for almost two weeks and it's been so nice out but now it is back to a fridged wonder-land. Stupid!

But on a brighter note, I finished the last of my big term projects today at 3:30pm. Does it ever feel good! I mean I can relax for the last week of classes! What could be better then that? Oh ok, I guess going to Oregon this summer is definitely better then that! But still you gotta admit that it's pretty sweet!

So I guess in order to make this blog interesting, I have a question that deals with my paper that I wrote today. Is the church a sacred place or just a building that we use? I have heard many different arguments and personally I feel that it is just a building that we use. Opinions?

Question...

Why is it when you are on a stall in the bathroom, people that walk in are often tempted to peer in that little crack that is there when the door is closed? Do they feel that if they see an image of someone that they may recognize they might knock on the door to shake hands? Does this happen to girls?

Just a few things that crossed my mind during a visit to the restroom at my church this weekend. This is exactly what happened to me, minus the knocking on the door to shake hands, but add in a little kid who didn't peak through the crack but instead put his head in underneath the door. What did I do you ask? Said "hello", what else could I do?

On another note exam week is quickly approaching which is a good thing but it sucks non-the-less. Summer comes but what will the price be? Anyone care to make wagers on my GPA?

Presenting....

My Summer Team...ALIVE 2005!

Andy "I like to hit things" Henne on Drums and not to mention Josh "Everyone likes the bass player" Harris on the Ax

Diana "I didn't Jump High Enough " Davis rocking the Vocals and also featuring Lisa "I think I broke my leg" Forman keeping the world turning with Sound

Mike "I can be feminine too" Chapman on Electric Guitar & Pipes and keeping things fresh Jon "What Was I Thinking" Billings on Acoustic Guitar, Vocals

So there they are! Five of the coolest people I know. They are really awesome and guys I can't wait till we hit the road this summer!! You all rock!!!

Wow...I am SO EXCITED!!!

Ok so I know that my title makes me sound like a teenage girl who just got a date with the quarter-back of the football team. Well that's ok cause that's kinda how I feel.

Yesterday all the summer teams of the school had a meeting to get our schedules and to find out where in the great continent of North America we will be this summer. There had been rumor early on in the semester that there may be a team that would be going to Oregon. How sweet would that be? I mean West Coast, Pacific Ocean...California! Yeah that would be sweet! And just a few weeks the rumor was confirmed, one team would be going to Oregon.

Now they just added a fourth summer team to the roster this year, a servant team of four people, who will traveling via a rent-a-van. Everyone was pretty sure that they were going to be the ones that would be going out west for sure, simply because it would be more feasible for gas money and such. Another thing that we had going against us was that my team last year was picked to go to Colorado to a camp in the Rockies and logic said that it would be maybe another team.

Flash forward to the meeting when we receive our schedules...I am looking down at it and seeing the usual Michigan, Ontario camps along with one in South Dakota but there was no Oregon. I was a little upset but I had mentally prepared my self for that. So I looked on the other teams schedules to see the lucky team that would be going...but nothing. It wasn't on anyone's sheet. So I look at mine again and noticed that I had never heard of the third camp where we would be and asked Dave Klob, our summer team director, where it was.

I think I mentally wet myself at what I heard him say. "It's the one you wanted, it's Oregon."

Nuff said!! I am going to the West Coast this summer!! Driving through the Rockies twice and I get to see people I never thought that I would see again, like Josh Morton from IWU (Love ya buddy), and so much more!! I am so blessed.

Here is the official schedule for ALIVE 2005 for this summer!

June 13-17: Greater Ohio Teen Camp
June 17-25: North Michigan Teen Camp
June 27-July 1: Northwest District Teen Camp (Oregon baby!!)
July 9-17: West Michigan Family Camp
July 18-22: Dakota Middle School Camp
July 25-30: Dakota Sr. High Camp
August 7-13: Zion Hill Sr. High Camp
August 21-26: Zion Hill Jr. High Camp
August 26-September 2: Silver Lake Sr. Teen Camp

I'll keep you all posted on further developments!

Striving for Mediocrity...

...and doing an exceptional job at it, or so it seems.

Sitting in a church service at an undisclosed location on Sunday this thought struck me, "Is the church's plan to reach people by striving for mediocrity?" There were many things that brought this thought to my attention. First was the powerpoint presentation. Do you know how difficult it is to follow along to a song when the slide doesn't change for a whole verse? Even more so for those new to the church who may not know the faithful hymn that should be being displayed. Another powerpoint difficulty that I have seen at many churches are misspelled words in songs, ones that are very obvious.

Lack of practice by the worship band is another one that can be seen sometimes. Would it be too much to ask someone to put some more thought into what songs are played, the order and whether or not the band knows them? Maybe I am picky but I think to most people things like these look sloppy.

So why is the church this way? (Speaking in generalities here, I know that your church may not be like this...) Should we not care about what we do enough to want to do it well? Do we use the phrase, "we'll let the Spirit do a work" way too often? I think so.

It's Been Awhile Since...

Ok so maybe there aren't that may of you that are into Stained. So yes it has been a few long agonizing days I am sure, since I have last updated. So what to write about you ask? Well I could write about the Pope dying but everyone and his dog will be blogging about that for the next few days. I've already ranted about the NHL and MLB so that's a no go too. Oh maybe I will fill you in on some news that comes into effect today.

Last Tuesday we here at Bethany Bible College had a classic chapel service. Now it was just going to be another regular service until, believe it or not, Kirk Sabine gets up on stage. Now he said he had an important annoucment that he had to make.

What could be so important that he had to do it at the end of a chapel service? Did Prez get into a car accident? No. They're lowering tuition? No. It was something bigger. Something so huge no one saw it coming.

They ditched the suit on Sunday rule! I mean this is crazy!! Never in my, nor any other past or present attendee of Bethany ever think that would happen!! Craziness! I think the world may have reversed just for a second.

Now really this is something pretty big. It means that the school is moving forward. It means the church is moving forward. But is it too little too late? Should the church (and our school) adopt changes that help us adapt to society or ones that make us stick out like a sore thumb? Are we behind the times? And if so, why isn't anything being done about it?

Random Conciseness

I was at McDonald's tonight...man that stuff is bad for you...and I ordered the McDeal which was the two cheeseburger meal... Anyway I am sitting down and went to put my straw in my drink when I realized that they didn't give me a straw. They were really busy so I didn't think anything of it and went and asked for one.

As I was enjoying my meal I overheard a man next to me and he asked where his straws were. Then the guy with him said, and I quote, "You probably have to ask for those too. Napkins, ketchup, salt...if you want something round here I guess you have to ask for it."

What the crap is his problem? What the crap is our problem? Heaven forbid that if we want something that we have to ask for it. I didn't complain today but I bet if it were a different day I may have and I know I have done so before in similar situations. Where do we get off expecting so much? Is there something wrong in our head?

Well there is with this guy...

For some reason Karim Diab trained for two years to be able to withstand below freezing temperature water for an hour. And he didn't move around to keep warm...nope he stood still and he beat the previous record by 15 minutes. Hats off to you my Russian friend, now that communism is gone you can do whatever you want...and you chose standing in water for an hour. Way to go.

Well It's Official...

Ok, I think the apocalypse may be coming.

First the NHL and the dumb lockout. A bunch of greedy owners versus a bunch of greedy players who couldn't figure out a way to share millions of dollars, what a sorry bunch. Now Major League Baseball and the whole steroid thing. Now these guys are making money too, lots of it. However they are cheating for that money, taking it from people who work hard all their lives to play baseball for a living.

I grew up playing and watching baseball and out of all the sports I love it the most. I once had a childhood dream to play pro. Obviously that didn't happen or the name of this blog would be something like The Slugger Speaks or something dumb. Now baseball is a sport that requires many different skills: speed, accuracy, hand-eye co-ordination, concentration and so on. When I was growing up and playing I wanted to do all those things to the best of my ability and there are guys playing AAA and AA that are doing the same, wanting a chance to play with the best. But steroids is taking the best away from the game.

Sure home-runs are exciting to see simply because of the awe of how big of a feat it actually is. I mean hitting a ball over 500 feet ain't easy by any stretch of the imagination. And to be able to do it all natural is astounding. Same with being able to push a car up a hill by yourself. But if you knew that I was doing it with a Mack truck it wouldn't be as cool would it?

There should be strict steroid testing in every sport. If there isn't there will always be the question looming over every athlete, "I wonder if he's on the juice..." Sports is something that is fun to watch because people can do amazing things, make amazing plays, but if they use steroids to do it doesn't that mean that anyone can do it?

Growing up...Do We Take It Too Seriously?

This is something that I have been pondering over for a while now, the subject of growing up. Some things that I have observed over the last couple of months in my own life and the life of others has prompted me to ask this question.

Do people really "grow up", or do they just take themselves too seriously?

Now I know that we do mature and that is something that is definitely needed, but to what extent? There are things that we need to take more seriously such as financial matters, family, etc, but does that mean that you have to totally revamp the person that you are? Or is that just something that we think that we have to do in order to be successful in life?

Do you know any friends that you had in high school or college that are totally different now then you once knew them? I know I do and sometimes I get the feeling that they kind of look down on me a little bit because I am not as "mature" as they are now and it frustrates me.

What brings this on? Well marriage is a big one and the most common that I have seen. I know people that think they automatically grew-up because they got married. What's the deal? No more guys nights, no more dumb jokes, and the list goes on.

So I'd like to know what other people think about this cause it's something that I think is a big issue. Thanks,

Sorry We Didn't Mean To...

So is that one little phrase, "We're sorry, we made a mistake" be all that the US has to say to Italy after all that transpired this weekend? "Sorry we didn't mean to shoot one of your secret service cars...or Sorry we didn't mean to kill one of your agents and injure the journalist that was rescued by him from her captors.

Well it's been a couple of weeks/posts since I have written anything controversial or anything that is conversation worthy in a while. However as I was sitting home and watching CNN this story came on and I immediately thought BLOG.

So incase you don't know what I am talking about, an Italian journalist that was being held hostage was rescued from her captors by Italian secret service agents. And as they were making there way to an airport they came to an American check point when the soldiers manning that check point opened fire on the car injuring the journalist and killing the agent that had rescued her.

Now the facts of the event in question seem to differ between the two nations. The Italian journalist and secret service say that they were driving toward the check point and then were fired upon by American troops. The US maintains that the car was speeding towards the check point and ignored waving hands and warning shots, leaving them no choice but to fire upon the car.

So who are we to believe here? A journalist that just escaped from being held hostage, or the US army? Well the majority of people are probably going to go with the army. And you know what, I don't nessacarilly think that they were in the wrong completely. There are hostile conditions that they are working in and for all they knew it could have been a car bomb. However was the check point that they were manning a permanent one or one that had been made hastily that would give the appearance that it may give the impression that the journalists captors were trying to stop her?

Yes there are many things that both parties could have done to potentially prevent the incident. I guess what gets me is the failure on the US's part, so far, to admit any kind of responsibility for the occurrence. All they have said is that they were sorry. Is that enough? Should that help the Italian people and their government knowing that the US sends their condolences?

Should the US maintain their side of the story? Or maybe work in co-operation with one of their strongest allies in Europe (Italy) and maybe own up to some stuff? Or do they have to maintain their position that whatever happens in Iraq is the "right" thing?

God is Awesome!!

Well it's officially posted. I can now talked about the fact that I will once again be traveling for Bethany Bible College this summer!! And I have to say that I am super excited to be doing so! I am actually, to be more specific, the team leader of ALIVE and I have a really great team. I have to say that it was hard to keep all this in since I have known about this stuff for a month or so.

For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, I am part of a worship band that my school sends out each summer to different summer camps. There are three other teams apart from mine. One other worship band, a drama team and the brand new servant team.

You know that excited feeling that you get in your tummy before something big happens? Well I have that constantly all the time now! It's great! I love traveling, but more then that I love the camps that we go to and the kids that I get to meet. The best part about doing it a second time is that I may have the opportunity to re-connect with some kids that I met last summer. And as a youth pastor in training I know how crucial it is to have constant relationships with teens and so I am expecting God to do great things this summer! Praise God from whom all blessings flow!!

PS - I would really appreciate any prayers that you guys can give between now and the end of August for this subject. All of our teams have a great chance to impact teens lives for the kingdom, so just ask that hearts would be being prepared already. Thanks.

The Times They Are A Changin'...but We Ain't!

I got to go home this past weekend which was a real blessing. I got to see my family which of whom I really missed, I got to eat great food (BBQ) and I got to spend some quality time with my girlfriend Kate, and that is always a good thing.

However something else happened when I went home, I got a haircut. Now I am not just talking a trim here, which is what my full intentions of getting were, but a full fledged cut. No more hair in the eyes, no more wings out the side of my hat and no more almost mullet. This was a big deal for me and I don't know why. I guess maybe I don't like change? But what does that say about my personality and character? How will I be able to cope with huge changes when I let such a little one have an effect on me?

Now I am kind of exaggerating here but I think you get the point. We live in a world that doesn't like change but contrary to that fact is changing constantly. We have become so accustomed to this continuous change that those who hear the Gospel for the first time are taken aback by the fact that it is the same Gospel it was 2000 years ago. How do we effectively show people that it hasn't changed and that it won't be changing anytime soon either?

Mid-Terms...That Don't Make No Sense!

Well it is once again the best time of the semester...Mid-terms!! Actually this is the part of the year that makes absolutely no sense to me. I mean these test are worth pretty much the same amount as our final exams, for which we have the whole week without classes, but in the case of mid-terms everything is exactly the same. So that fact combined with the over-whelming feeling that I haven't learned diddly so far this semester can be kind of stressful.

However I have come to teach myself not to be stressed over tests and exams anymore because it doesn't do me any good when I am. Is it apathy? I don't think so, it's more of a realization that it's not the be-all-end-all of life like some people think it is. I guess another thing that should be taken into account is that I am not of the academic type and so I sometimes fail to see the point of this stuff.

Since we are talking about school and things, let's recap some things that happened over the weekend that reminded me of my high school days. Remember the short-bus? Yeah you know what I am talking about! Well I am thoroughly convinced that both the NHL & the NHLPA rode that bus to school each day. Cancel the season...not exactly the smartest thing for any professional sport and baseball is a prime example of that. Yes I know that MLB never cancelled a full season but the strike definitely hurt the fan base. And I would just like to state that both sides are morons and I want hockey back!!

In case you didn't know the Chinese New Year was rung in the past weekend and guess what one of the number one way of wishing people a Happy New Year was? Text messaging from cell phones! It is estimated that nearly 11 Billion, yes that is with a B like in Botox, were sent over the weekend in China. These messages brought in nearly $133 Million in charges. "I used to think that $133 Million could be used for something noble like finding a cure for cancer, but this has taught me it's not always the case." - Jon Stewart

And finally I thought that I would share some of my artistic venture with you. I am still fairly new to the whole Photoshop thing but I have been playing around with it the last little bit. This is definitely on of my favorite things that I have done with it so far. This is just a picture that I took in my hallway here at school at sunset. The sun always cast such a great shadow on the wall as it's going down everyday and the filters that I used in Photoshop really made it look cool.

Very Responsive Reading

Today at chapel we had one of the most different but yet cool services we have ever had since I have been here at school. Today there was no message and most of the music were hymns. We had what is called a Wesleyan Covenant Service and it was amazing.

At the beginning of the service we all received a booklet, and I am not talking about two pages but four or five of them, that was filled with basically the whole order of service. It contained responsive readings as well scripture and towards the end of the service we had Communion. Taken from John Wesley this service seemed to catch some people off-guard and I can imagine that there were some people who didn't like it.

I don't know why people wouldn't have liked it. It had a deeper meaning then most of our services I found. It was simple and maybe it was that simplicity that people didn't like. We are always so busy on our quest for the "new thing" that will help the church grow deeper in their faith, maybe we need to look back instead of forward.

Wow, what a shocker...not.

So here's some news for anyone who doesn't follow any kind of reporting. North Korea is claiming that they have nukes and that they are going to "bolster" their supply of them too. Any American troops wanna go to Korea? Ha I bet they are as thrilled to hear that as they are the possibility of a war in Iran.

Most people probably think that something needs to happen in North Korea because they are a "threat" to them. You know what maybe they are, but have you ever thought they are a threat to you because you have threatened them? I mean obviously they are getting the feeling that the US doesn't like them very much. But where did that feeling come from? Maybe because they started a war over "weapons of mass destruction" but when questioned on it later, denied that was one of the reasons...maybe cause they didn't find any. So they said because of terrorism. Did Iraq attack? Oh wait no it was Osama and his friends.

Maybe President Bush should step back and review his reasons for this war. If he can come up with some solid evidence then go to it. But that evidence should be made public and should be confirmed instead of these statements of "we've heard reports" blah, blah, blah. And did anyone stop to think that maybe places like North Korea and Iraq view the US as terrorists? Just because it's right from the US's point of view doesn't make it right in theirs. Hmmm...maybe the US is the bully...I know I would be on the defensive too if I heard these words,

"If you're not with us, you're with the terrorists." - President Bush

30 Seconds

How much is 30 seconds worth to you? Well if you know anything about football, it means a lot to advertisers. That's right, here are the Superbowl ads from 2005! I have to say since I didn't watch the Superbowl that I was glad to find a place on the internet that has them all. I think my favorite is the FedEx one with Burt Reynolds, cause it's better, better then your regular commercials. (SNL reference) So enjoy!!

Cookies & Cash

Story taken from here.

We've all been there. It's late at night, you're watching TV or blogging as I am right now and you're hungry. You think to yourself, "Man wouldn't it be great to have some cookies!" The thought that you wish someone else may even make you some might run through your mind as it does mine...but let me throw this idea out to you. Freshly baked cookies, made by someone else, delivered to your door and you get them to pay you $9oo. Sounds pretty sweet huh?

Well believe it or not, our world has sunk to a new low, a 49 year old lady from Colorado got just that. Apparently some girls were being nice and baking cookies for their neighbors instead of going to a dance where there may have been drinking and such. Sounds pretty good huh? But wait until you hear what these malicious attackers did next. They put the cookies on the doorsteps of their neighbors, rang the door bell and ran away. What a hideous act. It was so traumatizing that this one lady apparently had an anxiety attack.

So what else would you expect to happen the in country where they sue for anything? She took the girls to court! Ok so no case right? Oh how we have thought that so many times before. The judge found the girls guilty of...didn't really say what...and were forced to pay $900 dollars to the lady.

And I bet you she kept the cookies too!!