Schlitterbahn plans

The end of the summer party is finally upon us, and barring any tropical storms, we should be good to go for this Sunday. Here are the final details you need to know:

We will still meet at the church and leave by 9:15 AM. We can carpool as much as possible, and people can leave the park when they are ready, but it closes at 6:00. Please bring $30 cash per person, a sack lunch or cooler with food/drinks, towel if you need it, and sunscreen.

We will rent a locker there for everyone's keys and wallets and everything, and we will leave the food together so we can have a lunch and short devo at about 12:30 or so. If you were not able to sign up the past two Sundays or you did not get to talk to me, email me at ryankirksey@yahoo.com and let me know you are coming. If it should rain on Sunday at times throughout the day, I think we will survive. That will just mean it is not 118 degrees all day long.

We will not plan anything the next two Sundays to let people enjoy the rest of their summer and the Labor Day weekend, but be on the lookout for new Life Group plans for the fall starting in September.

Sunday, August 12 plans

Hey gang, quite a bit going on the next two Sundays, so I will get right to it. This Sunday night at 5:30 we are going to be at Terry Alsdorf's house again. On the menu are his fabulous burgers and shrimp. Look in class for directions and a phone number if you need it.

Also in class, besides an outstanding lesson from moi, we will still be signing up for the Schlitterbahn trip on August 19. Remember, we will carpool from the church at 9:15 AM and you can feel free to leave whenever you are ready. Be sure to bring a cooler with some drinks and a lunch and we will rent a locker for your wallets, keys, etc. David will lead us in a short devo that day as well.

It will be $30 to attend as long as we all show up together and we have at least 15 people. We do have a couple of volunteers to babysit if that is an issue, so let me know Sunday morning and we will sort it all out.

We won't schedule anything for August 26 as everyone recovers from the end of the summer and gets back into everything.

Sunday, July 29 plans

Hey everyone - Life Group this Sunday night will be at Jeremy and Mandy's house, which is located at 17107 Grey Mist in Heritage Park. We should meet sometime around 5:30 or so and dinner and discussion will be brought to you by the new married couple, Tim and Ashley Miller.

More details and directions will be available Sunday morning in class at 10:30.

Also, congratulations to Jared and Jana Benge. Ezekiel "Zeke" Franklin Benge was born at 6:47 AM on Wednesday, July 25. He weighed 9lbs 8oz and was 21.75 inches long. Jared and Jana hope to come home this weekend, but ask that we not visit them until they get back to their house so that Jana can recover.

Sunday, July 15 plans

Life Group this Sunday night will be at Steven and Natalie Gardner's house, probably sometime around 5:30 or so.

Steven and Natalie have a new house in Pearland, and their address is:
1826 High Falls Lane
Pearland, TX 77581

This link will take you to directions for their house.

Directions

A lot of people will not be in class this Sunday morning, so if you have any questions about group, call me or email Steven (Steven.Gardner@bakerhughes.com) this weekend.

See you then!

Sunday, July 8 plans

Life Groups are in for a special treat this Sunday night as we will be meeting at Terry Alsdorf's house for a special dinner and time to hang out.

We will be meeting at 5:30 and Terry will be making deep-fried turkey for everyone that night. We will have directions and phone number for you Sunday morning. I hope everyone can make it that night and we will fill you in with more details in class at 10:30 on Sunday morning.

Have a great weekend!

RK

Of Mentors and Men

There is an interesting philosophy that exists in different organizations such as businesses, churches, sports teams, etc., and that is of mentors. Mentors tend to serve different functions for different organizations: In business, they help their pupils learn the ins and outs of the company, help them understand proper practices, appropriate use of money, etc. In church, you would typically think of a mentor being someone who is older and takes someone younger under their wing and, by sharing their experience and wisdom, help take that person to a closer relationship with God. In sports, the veterans would be the mentors and they would take the rookies and show them the ropes, how to act on the road, how to handle the media, and other things.

Two separate things got me thinking about this idea of mentorship and how it relates to our relationship with Christ. One of which is the video/chapter of Velvet Elvis called Dust, by Rob Bell. The second was a chapter on discipleship and mentorship in a book called Metamorpha by Kyle Strobel (son of Lee Strobel of The Case For...fame).

These two writers/speakers both have very strong, opinionated stances on mentorship and discipleship. I will quickly and effectively try to summarize their viewpoints:

In Dust, Bell focuses on the relationship Jews in the first century were familiar with between Rabbis and students. A student would study with a Rabbi for years, learning the things they know, acting the way they act, literally trying to be this Rabbi. These students were the best of the best when it came to their studies and they were considered gifted, privileged to be able to become like these great Rabbis. Well while Jesus chose his own group to mentor and teach, they were not the best at anything. They were fishermen, tax collectors, poor people, outcasts. In short, they were just like you and me. They would spend more than two years learning to be like Jesus, following him, trying to understand His message; and then becoming his mouthpiece after his resurrection for the good news of the present kingdom.

In the chapter Discipleship: At the Foot of the Master, Strobel takes a more cautionary approach. While he agrees that the perfect model is to have Jesus be our mentor and Great Teacher, he warns that as imperfect humans, we too often look to be mentored by the next best thing, the most attractive and successful, or the most dynamic of speakers. The danger becomes that we often become students or pupils of only that person, rather than of Jesus. We fall in love with and emulate the mannerisms, ideals, and characteristics of our mentor, rather than those that are the embodiment of Jesus. Strobel uses the example of a great preacher he used to listen to. He was from out of town, so he would request all of the preachers lessons on CD. One day a friend encouraged Strobel to listen to a sermon, he did, and while the message was nothing exciting, he could tell it was the same preacher he had always listened to. His friend had to tell him it actually wasn't the same preacher, but a younger man the preacher was discipling. This younger man had picked up all of the same language, inflection, and tone of his mentor, but how had he really grown to be more like Jesus?

The perfect example of a mentor/student relationship here on earth, as pointed out by Strobel, is of Paul. He would say in his letters to do what I do, but only because I am trying to do as Christ would have done.

Strobel says that the danger comes when we sit at the feet of someone or some group and pour ourselves into them, heart and soul, giving them everything we have, and saving none for Jesus - the true mentor. And that is why he says, "we may learn from our fellow sisters and brothers who also sit at Jesus' feet, but we are never followers of them."

For me, I feel that the challenge comes down to what WE were challenged to do; and that is to make disciples and be mentors in this world:

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
-Matthew 28:18-20

So our mission seems to be two-fold, and it coincides with the two chapters pointed out in the first couple of paragraphs above.

While we are not anyone special to begin with, sitting at the feet of Jesus, the ultimate Rabbi, draws us into a relationship with him, and urges us to not just do things Jesus would want us to do, but to do them in the way Jesus would have done it. We could spend a lifetime learning from Jesus, trying to perfectly imitate him, striving to know what he knows. Following Jesus so closely that the dust he kicks up is all over our clothes is God's desire for us.

We are then called to bring others to Christ through mentorship and disciple-making. But our desires must not be to make people just like us, but rather like Christ; does our mentorship to others focus on the skills or programs they need to develop or rather the relationship that Christ desires with them? Not creating clones of ourselves, but rather clones of Christ is God's mission for us.

Therefore, Jesus becomes the ultimate desire, not only in what we try to know, but also in what we try to teach. It is never about ourselves, but always about God's kingdom here on earth.

Strobel sums it up quite well:

"The idea that we are Jesus's apprentices....puts the focus on us, even if we say we are learning to be like Jesus. The goal of an apprenticeship is to develop certain abilities so that we're able to function apart from our master; apprentices are meant to move on to independence at some point. The focus becomes our skill and ability to function and adapt. The most fundamental reason why creating disciples has proven to be so elusive for the North American church is that all of our....methods for discipleship put ourselves at the end rather than Jesus. The goal of discipleship should always be Jesus and never spiritual skill."

-RK

June 17 plans

Life Group this Sunday is scheduled to be at the Crain's house, probably around 5:30 PM. If you see anyone in our group this weekend or Sunday morning, please be sure to pass the word around that it is at their house this week.

Also, Jeremy will be trying to find some helpers for a project to assist Karis with VBS for Sunday afternoon. Find Jeremy on Sunday morning or call him at 832-428-3191 to find out more details. It is some decorating work up at the church and should not take very long at all.

Life Group on June 24 is tentatively scheduled to be at the Boudra's house. More details will come later to confirm that.

June 10 plans

UPDATE: I should have said Life Group will begin this Sunday at 5:30 PM. We will change the time, and no longer meet at 6.
_________________________

I forgot how difficult it would be in June to get the word out to everyone about plans for June with events and Life Groups, so I plan to post some information here as well as send out emails as we go through the month.

This Sunday, Dave and Karen will host our group for a brunch at their house beginning at about 10:20 or 10:30. Anyone is welcome to attend. Their address is 16923 Serenity Cove Circle in Friendswood. Also, for anyone who cannot make this week's brunch, there will be a second on Sunday, June 24 at the same house at the same time. Hope you can make one of them!

Life Group this Sunday night is at our house (Ryan and Allison Kirksey), and our address is 2402 Leading Edge Dr. in Friendswood. We will begin at 6:00 PM and food will be served.

If there is anything I left out, please let me know!

RK

Time to go back to boot camp?

Dusty said something yesterday that hit home with me. In his sermon to the seniors, he quoted Will Rogers and said, "Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there." That's a good enough quote as it is without any explanation or example, but it reminded me of something I read over the weekend.

In this article by the AP, you can read about a group of court judges from throughout the Southeastern United States who attended a crash course in modern science and scientific developments at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The conference was titled "The Southeast Regional Science and Technology Boot Camp," and covered such current scientific issues such as gene therapy, genetic discrimination, genetically modified foods, human cloning, and stem cell research.

You see, the judges attending this three-day session have noticed that issues and controversies are appearing in their courtrooms that deal with emerging technology and sciences that they are all too unfamiliar with. This makes it difficult for these judges to make proper, fair and impartial decisions when they are not familiar with all sides of an issue and when the two disputing sides fail to adequately explain them.

I was especially drawn to a quote by one judge, the Honorable Jose Rodriguez, a circuit court judge in Florida. When talking about the importance of developing a knowledge and understanding of different subjects, he said:

"...the greater our ability to understand different disciplines the better it makes us."

So that got me thinking, does that apply to me as well in my walk with Christ? And I think the answer is a resounding YES!

Am I continuing to learn, to grow, to question, and to doubt? Am I stuck, perhaps on the right track, but not moving anywhere, not searching for truth, for stability, and for answers to my questions?

I find it extremely dangerous if we as young adults attempt to sit in our comfortable church pews and classroom seats and claim that we know what we need to be truly righteous. Jesus speaks about this and about knowing truth when we proclaim to live by His name:

"But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." - John 3:21

What this says to me is that if we are actively and constantly searching for the truth and for knowledge in different arenas, people will know that our lives are a reflection of what we have searched for and what we believe, and not just what we were taught and accepted.

Like these judges, are we searching for truth in situations and in topics where we lack the knowledge necessary to understand the issues in 2007? Is it really okay for us as believers to hold on to every aspect of a faith that was established at an early age and expect it to last us through changing cultures, changing technologies, and changing economic landscapes?

I think it's okay to challenge yourself on something you think you believe, but really know nothing about. It's okay to change your convictions after knowing the facts instead of basing your beliefs on conjecture. Right now I am reading a book that discusses current scientific findings in the macro-evolution vs. intelligent design debate, because I could not contribute much to a conversation that came up at work on the topic. Sure, I learned when I was two that God created the world in six days, but does that mean I can't learn what the science tells us today?

This summer, whether in class or at Life Groups, there may be a couple of things that make you a little uncomfortable, some things that challenge you, and some things that make you think. I hope they do, because they are designed that way. But then again, God is designed that way too. His desire is for us to seek Him, to study Him, and to find Him.

So my challenge to you is this: Find one topic or one subject you are unfamiliar with, but are interested in. Read everything you can about it. Whether it is stem cell research, evolution, healthcare reform, genocide in Darfur, corporal punishment....whatever. Weigh all of the facts and seek for truth.

If these 60 men who have been charged to create and maintain the laws of our country can use a refresher course here and there, I am sure we could, too.

-Ryan

May 5 update

Just a reminder today of some of the things for this weekend and also things upcoming:

This Sunday, Senior Sunday, we will not have an official Life Group planned since a number of you will be at the church that evening. We will begin our Summer Life Group on May 13 at about 6:00.

There will also not be any basketball this Sunday as the gym will be taken over by the Youth Group for the day.

I will have with me Sunday morning the sign-up list that started going around so people who were not able to sign up to host or bring food the first go-around can do so now. We have plenty of houses these days so we should be able to fill up the list with very few people having to repeat. I will also remind everyone what the plans are Sunday morning for the night of the 13th so you have plenty of time to prepare.

Let me know if you have any questions, and have a great weekend!

If someone wanted to tell your story

Last week, a great literary hero of mine, David Halberstam, was killed in a car accident in the San Francisco area. He was being driven by a journalism student at the time and was on his way to deliver a speech to students. Undoubtedly in the car on the way over, he was already sharing wisdom, listening intently, and telling stories. Just things he was always famous for doing.

Halberstam, a Pulitzer Prize winner for his work covering Vietnam, also had a passion for sports and chose to write about them later in his career. He wrote books about football, basketball, and also three of the finest baseball books ever written. His book The Teammates: A Portrait of Friendship is one of my favorite books I have ever read, and I have had countless conversations about this book with friends, family, colleagues, and strangers. I stayed up until one in the morning one night watching a documentary about this book on ESPN Classic. I love discussing it's powerful story and the journey it takes the reader on and the humbleness with which it is written. Let me give you a brief and hopefully adequate explanation of the book.

It is October 2001, and, amidst everything that is going on in the country, old friends got in the car together to make a 1,300 mile trip to Florida to see their mutual friend who is slowly dying.

Dom Dimaggio, Bobby Doerr, Johnny Pesky, and Ted Williams were all teammates for 10 years on some great Boston Red Sox teams in the 1940's. In that time, they came to be the closest of friends, learning from each other and sharing with each other their thoughts on hitting, fishing, girls, the future, or anything else an old ballplayer talks about. Years down the road, Williams inevitably became very ill, and it was clear he would not make it much longer. So the other guys piled in the car to go see him for what, they knew, would be the last time.

Their short journey in the car became a metaphor for the journey they had taken the last 60 years of their lives. They had grown together, lived together, traveled together, won together, and lost together. But in all those times and over 60 years, their friendship never changed. And now they were losing one of their own.

For many people in the public eye, we have authors like Halberstam to record their stories, and they do it with eloquence and grace that few of us can match. But what about your life? What about my life? How would it read if someone were to write your story near the end of your life?

Would you be seen as a great friend? Someone who was compassionate? Someone who people desperately wanted to be around because of the comfort you gave to everyone: the accepted and the marginalized?

Truthfully, your story is being written every day of your life. In your conversations, in your actions, in your reactions to struggles, pages upon pages are being written on the hearts of everyone around you. They are learning about your past, witnessing your present, and predicting your future.

Does your story reflect a life you want them to have? Does your story portray the great freedom that we can offer people through Christ?

2 Corinthians 3:17-18 says:

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord.....

Our lives, unveiled and stripped down for all to see, just a like a great book would be, are on display for everyone. When we are living a story pleasing to God, we reflect Him and His freedom.

And, just like the four teammates were transformed over 60 years from rough-edged young ballplayers to loyal, honest men, so we too are being transformed with God and in God.

So, may the story you are writing be one of excitement, intrigue and happiness. But, more importantly, may it be a great novel that others study and investigate and wonder how so much meaning and fulfillment can fit in just a few short pages of life. God is co-authoring with you, and with you, he wants to write a masterpiece. A story that will reflect you, and one that will reflect Him.

Ryan

Summer plans

Last night, at the Gibson's house, we talked ever-so-briefly about some of our summer plans and how we want to have our groups look over the next three or four months.

Essentially, we are going to combine groups for the summer and involve as many people as possible in the planning and participation. Here are the details:

A sign-up sheet went around last night with blanks on each Sunday night beginning May 13. Each Sunday night thru August 12, we are asking two people to host the group (and facilitate the God time), and two different people to arrange the food. With the two groups combined, we have plenty of houses and apartments to go around, and plenty of people who will lead a discussion, a prayer time, singing, or whatever. Last night, we took care of the first five weeks of summer, but we will keep passing the list around until we fill up July and August.

If you are hosting the group one week, you won't be responsible for arranging food unless you absolutely want to; two other people will be in charge of that. All we ask is that you arrange for whatever we will be discussing/doing that evening that is substantive. Plenty of us are available to help, so just ask if you are unsure what to do.

The following weeks will not be at people's homes because of different conflicts or other events:
May 6 - Senior Sunday at Southeast
May 27 - Memorial Day Weekend
August 19 - End of summer party

So look for the list to be passed around in class and group the next couple of weeks and be thinking about when you might be able to host/provide food for everyone. Some people will have to go twice, but we will limit that as much as possible.

Now, on to another project we announced:

Last night, I mentioned an idea some of us have been thinking about since we had a Life Group about poverty not too long ago. We have a tremendous opportunity in this city to give of our time and resources to the thousands who don't have what we do. We obviously can't do it for everyone, but we can for some. That being said, the idea was proposed to adopt a little league team or youth baseball team in an underpriveleged area and provide the uniforms, the equipment, the coaching, the fans, the practice, and anything else they need for games. This would give kids a chance to play who never have been able to before, and give parents the opportunity to watch their children having so much fun, without worry about costs. I am doing some research on this this week and will then be asking for volunteers in the days to come. Unfortunately, the official Little League organization in America (the one out of Williamsport) started their season at the end of March, so we might have to get a but creative. But I will let you know....

Also, this Sunday night, April 29, we will have a game night at Ben and Rachel Crain's house for all that can attend. More information will come this week in class.

-Ryan

Wait a minute, I didn't park over here...

One of the things I have had the great fortune to be able to do in my life is experience wonderful church and worship services all over this country and the world. Last weekend in Chicago, I was able to attend a Saturday night Easter service at Willow Creek Community Church outside the city. The campus is a beautiful building with seats for thousands surrounded by fountains and greenery and water falling down rocks. Inside, there is a restaurant, bookstore, children's center, and coffee shop. The senior pastor is named Bill Hybels (or at Wiki) and he delivered a wonderful message about life transformation and the power of the resurrection. It was your typical Easter lesson that did not include much substance or controversey, but with the theater-style videos and the worship band, it was truly a great and inspirational service.

One of the things he mentioned stuck with me, and I think it was because it was something I had never thought of before. If you're like me, you have read the bible through on one of those yearly plans once or twice. Through a lot of the old testament, I would find myself reading just to finish and not appreciating the meaning behind the stories and the laws and the examples. Well, one of those was pointed out to me on Saturday night. Hybels briefly referenced Ezekiel 46:9. Here is what it says:

"When the people of the land come before the LORD at the appointed feasts, whoever enters by the north gate to worship is to go out the south gate; and whoever enters by the south gate is to go out the north gate. No one is to return through the gate by which he entered, but each is to go out the opposite gate."

Hybels asked why we thought God would set up this rule for His people? What difference does it make? Isn't it more inconvenient to do it that way?

Well, the previous eight verses discuss how God's people should enter the temple, what days it will be accessible, how the prince should act, what sacrifices to bring, etc. But in all of these things, God's chosen flock too often missed the point, and he begins to point it out to them in Isaiah 1:11 and elsewhere:

"The multitude of your sacrifices— what are they to me?" says the LORD. "I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats."

In all of their attempts to get it right and present their burnt offering for sin atonement, they completely missed the point. The point of this ritual, of the ceremony, is to be in the presence of God and be changed by His power. And that's the point of Ezekiel 46:9. It is a metaphor for them. God basically says, "When you are in my presence, I don't want you leaving the same way that you came in. I want you to be a changed person."

So he created an example for them to follow so they could literally not leave the same way that they came.

God tries to pass on a message to them and to us as well through this scripture. The way I read this, I can see how it directly applies to me today. Our church services and worship and bible studies have too often become ritualistic and structured and "by the book." Too much of the time, I find myself going through the motions, doing what God "wants," and then getting back to my real life. But Ezekiel 46 reminds me that whenever I enter into God's presence, whenever he is around, wherever he works in my life, I can't help but leave a changed person.

In your lifetime, people will come and go, but there are inevitably some that stick out in my mind as ones that have impacted my life to the point where I am a better person because of them. My wife and my parents, obviously; Daddy Jack, Bryan Mason, Adam Gray, David Gibson, Cliff Fridge, and on and on.

I am sure you have a list as well.

But imagine a person like that who was always with you, always encouraging you, always carrying you when you needed it. Could such a thing happen? It does happen. You can't help but be changed when God works, and when He empowers you.

One of the things Hybels kept mentioning Saturday night was, "why can't you leave tonight changed by God? Does it seem so hard to believe? Can you not imagine being a different person tonight?"

Admittedly, sometimes it is hard. Sometimes it does seem impossible. I'm beyond change.

But God's answer is always the same: "Bigger miracles have happened before. Why not come in the north gate and exit through the south. Let's just see what happens."

I don't know about you, but I am excited to see.

-Ryan

"I've toured around the world, from London to the Bay..."

Truthfully, I have always wanted to write something where I could incorporate lyrics from an M.C. Hammer song in the title, so that is all this post is about.

OK, not really.

Last week, I was really thinking about something and I thought I would put it on cyber-paper to let you guys read, and I would be happy to know if you feel the same or can share any similar stories.

On March 13, I returned home from a trip I took to Dubai (located in the United Arab Emirates). It was a trip that my job allowed me to take and I feel extremely fortunate to have been able to travel there (for essentially free) and see a part of the world I had never been to before.

It is a truly amazing, over-the-top place. I heard someone say over there that if you put Las Vegas at the nicest beach you could imagine and took away the gambling, that would be Dubai. That's a pretty good description if I do say so myself. Everything there caters to tourists from around the world, the resorts, the restaurants, the shopping....everything.

But despite how great all of the man-made structures and sites are, they pale in comparison to the natural beauty of the beaches and scenery and sunsets that I saw. As you can see, I took plenty of pictures so I could remember all of it.

All of this beauty got me thinking about something. In Don Miller's book Blue Like Jazz, he talks extensively about how one of the most powerful ways we can worship God is through awe and wonder for what He has done, what He has given us, and who He is.

I have had the amazing fortune to travel all over the world in my short 27-and-something years on earth, and one of my goals for the future is to be able to travel places I have never been before; see continents that I have not yet had the opportunity to see. In my travels, I have witnessed unbelievable man-made artistic masterpieces, colossal buildings, and magnificent monuments. But, just like in Dubai, none of them can hold a candle to the beauty God gave us with this earth and it's splendor.

Consider these words from Psalm 115:15-16.

"May you be blessed by the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to man."

I absolutely love the imagery that the earth is a gift that God has given us all. He created it, shaped it, delicately formed it, spent time adding details to it, and just went above and beyond making it a testament to His power and His love for man.

Do we need beautiful sunsets or mountains that go on for days or waterfalls? No, I really don't think so, but God freely gives them to us. He gives them to us not just to show He can create something beautiful, but to remind us of His glory, His power, and how awesome He is. To me, it's about being able to see just a little bit of what God has in store for us.

That is worth worshiping. That is what worship is all about. That deserves our praise.

But, if you're like me, too often you get caught thinking, "we have to go halfway around the world to see some of these things! Houston isn't really a place that shows off God's handiwork on this earth." To that I have to say, "au contraire, mon frere!"

You don't have to go to Dubai or other far-away lands to see some of the most beautiful things God has given us. Here's proof: The pictures you see throughout this post are actually not of Dubai or any other country for that matter. All of the sites in these pictures are less than a 3-hour drive from Houston along the Texas Coast.

So no matter where you are, God is still daily presenting you with the gift of his creation. And no matter where we are, God deserves all of the wonder and amazement and worship we can offer.

All of the beauty He has created is for us to have. It's His gift to us.

Where do you see God's beauty everyday?

-Ryan

New updates to this site

I am going to make a better attempt this year at keeping this site updated: more posts, more information, better features, etc.

I have added a few things in the past couple of days that might be interesting (or at least I hope they are).

First of all, I have added a guestbook link to the right. I would love it if anyone who visits this site could sign it and let me know where you are or how you came across this site or what you think of it, etc. It would really help me understand better what you want. If you have your own website you would like me to check out, there is a space for that as well.

Also to the right, I have added a photo album that I can keep up-to-date with all of the photos you guys have. If you have any digtal photos lying around and would like me to post them, I would be happy to do so. Please be sure they are your property, though. They can be of you, of our group, of something at church, anything really!

And third, for all of my fellow nerds out there, further down the page there is a "This day in history" box with some interesting facts. Really, it's just a shameless attempt to try and drive up web traffic, but who cares, right?

Also, for all of my boys out there and anyone else who is a baseball fan, I have started a different blog on a different site. Check out http://somebaseballnotes.com for a new site to discuss baseball in every sense possible: fantasy, hall of fame, stats, teams, etc. The first post is up today. Let me know your ideas and thoughts.

Any other suggestions for this site or for anything else is certainly appreciated. I would love to have the content here you all want to see, so just let me know.

Love you one and all.

Ryan

You can come and join our group; you're just like us...

Going to a school like Harding University (or better yet, HU), I tried to get involved with social clubs as best I could (a private school's answer to the Greek system). It's funny though, whenever I tell someone at work or an acquaintance from a state school what it was like to pledge and be a part of that group, I always feel like Baby Emile hearing it from Rick Latimer in The Principal.

"You're a wuss."

See, I never had to endure beatings or much verbal or emotional abuse. We never demeaned our fellow members or anyone that was pledging. And we certainly never did anything like what I heard about happening at a sorority at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. Read the NY Times article here.

Basically, the sorority chapter of Delta Zeta, who has their national recognition of their 100-year anniversary in 2009, decided to do a little bit of reorganization at DePauw. Apparently, DZ has a reputation for having some of the smarter girls in their fold, such as some of the math and science majors (and if you were in class Sunday morning, you all saw my smart/nerdy correlation graph). Well, in simple terms, the vast majority of the "overweight," those that were not "conventionally pretty women," and the minorities were asked to leave the sorority and move out of the house.

It was covered up by interviewing the women and informing them that they were asked to leave because they were not fully committed to the sorority. Only 12 were asked to stay. Predictably, they were the slender, pretty, blonde girls.

Honestly, I have to ask myself, "How the heck does something like this happen in two-thousand-freaking-seven?!" Are we as a culture and a society still so preoccupied with things like someone's weight, their ethnicity or their appearance that we sacrifice our own dignity and destroy another's sense of self-worth for something as ephemeral and preposterous as a sorority? This story is just beyond belief to me.

So I have something to say to those girls who were labeled and evicted: Come stay with us. You're just like us. Some of you are smart, some are not so smart. Some are in shape, some have work to do. Some are from this country, some are not. Some are outgoing, some like to keep it in. Again, you're just like us.

And let me speak to anyone who is reading this who may have had doubts about themselves or their appearance or how they are perceived and accepted.

First of all, it is hard. It's hard to ignore all of that stuff, isn't it? It's hard to not feel wanted or accepted or loved. It's tough to face people when you have been labeled that way, especially by your friends or your "sisters."

Second, you are NOT defined by what anyone you ever meet says about you. You are wonderfully and beautifully made (Psalm 139:13-15), you are made in God's own image (Genesis 1:26-28) and, if you finish the chapter, God decided immediately that what he made was very good.

Lastly, it is because of who you are and your uniqueness and your undeniably personal qualities that God loves you just the way you are. He doesn't ask you to be someone you're not. If you're shy, He is OK with that; He has other plans for you. If you can't stand your appearance, don't think about it - when He looks at you, God sees the most beautiful thing He has ever created.

If you were put in a situation like these young girls, I am so sorry that it happened. If people can not see what you are worth and instead base their opinions of you on peripheral, foolish things, I can not apologize enough.

So if you want a place where someone will love you and accept you, find us; come hang out with us. I hope we can make it our business to show you how incredible you are.


Ryan

The definition of irony is I promised this post would be done four weeks ago

I really love a lot of different kinds of music for a lot of different reasons. Before I wrote this, I went and looked at the eclectic and unusual mix of music I have at home. Within a few inches of each other, I have Buddy: The Buddy Holly Musical, Wolfmother, Neil Diamond's Greatest Hits, and Norah Jones.

But one of my favorite all-time bands is Third Day; just a good, old-fashioned, Christian, southern rock band who just happen to write incredible rock and worship songs. And one of my favorite songs from Third Day is Love Song. If you don't know it, the lyrics go like this:

I've heard it said that a man would climb a mountain
Just to be with the one he loves
How many times has he broken that promise
It has never been done.
I've never climbed the highest mountain
But I walked the hill of calvary

Just to be with you, I'd do anything
There's no price I would not pay
Just to be with you, I'd give anything
I would give my life away.

I've heard it said that a man would swim the ocean
Just to be with the one he loves
How may times has he broken that promise
It can never be done
I've never swam the deepest ocean
But I walked upon the raging sea
          
I know that you don't understand
the fullness of My love
How I died upon the cross for your sins
And I know that you don't realize
how much that I gave you
But I promise, I would do it all again.

Just to be with you, I've done everything
There's no price I did not pay
Just to be with you, I gave everything
Yes, I gave my life away.

To me, the lyrics in this song are so moving and true, I sometimes tear up when I listen to it. The message about sacrifice and what Jesus did and and will do for us is amazing, not just in the words, but to actually think about it, reflecting on the story, and how it affects me and you not just on a page or in a song, but personally.

But what I love most about this song is not the part proclaiming Jesus' sacrifice, but rather how He has never failed and never will fail in his promises; a striking dichotomy to how we as humans normally act. My all-time favorite Ryan-to-Allison promises that I break are:

5. I promise I will make the bed before I leave
4. I promise I will go see that scary movie with you
3. I promise I will do the laundry tonight before bed
2. I promise I will go to the gym with you when I get home
1. I promise I will stop looking at Fantasy Baseball in 5 minutes

We as humans, I believe, always have good intentions. We try desperately to put other people in front of ourselves whenever we can. But let's face facts: we're fallen, we're broken, and we have a hard time keeping the simplest of commitments.

For me, an expert on breaking even the simplest of promises, I have seen that one of the most devestating ways to hurt a person is to answer them with the word "no." This couldn't be more true when we pledge something to someone.

"Were you able to pick up some food like you said you would?"

No.

"Are we going to be able to go on that vacation you promised us?"

No.

"You said mommy would be alright, is she going to be alright?"

No.

We wish for the best and always promise the best, but sometimes life just doesn't let us deliver. Fortunately, the exact opposite is true with Jesus. Look at these words from 2 Corinthians:

"For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not 'Yes' and 'No,' but in him it has always been 'Yes.' For no matter how many promises God has made, they are 'Yes' in Christ. And so through him the 'Amen' is spoken by us to the glory of God. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ."

To know that for every promise God has made to me, through his son, the answer is "yes," it touches me immeasurably more than a Third Day song. All that he has offered, all that he has prepared, all the grace that I don't deserve; it is still possible through Jesus.

I hope the pledge and commitment God has made to us is not easily forgotten. But more importantly, I pray that we remember His answer will never fail to be yes. His promises will never go unbroken.

-Ryan


(Hopefully I can keep up with this thing better these days and, as always, I appreciate your feeback. Yes, even yours, Regan)