MBC Teen B.L.A.S.T.

Bye, Bye Blogger

2006-03-22T11:39:00.000-05:00

We are moving. Starting right now, you can access the Teen B.L.A.S.T. blog at www.teenblast.wordpress.com

Why do you say what you say?

2006-03-21T19:50:00.000-05:00

"Imagine what our lives would be like if all of our words were spoken out of perfect submission to God. How much less complicated our lives would be! Many of the problems we experience when talking with one another emerge from the fact that we have usurped the authority of God: We say what we want, when and how we want to say it. We speak as if we are in charge and as if we have the right to use words to advance our purpose, and to achieve what would make us happy. We speak as if we were God rather than his creatures, called to submit to his authority in every idle word we speak."

-Paul David Tripp, from War of Words, chapter 2

After Weekend #1

2006-03-20T11:10:00.001-05:00

For those that care, the top in the brackets are:

1 - Mike C (I made half of Mike's picks for him...so does that mean that I get half of his points to add to mine?)
2 - Schmitty (don't let it go to your head man)
3 - PJ (me)
4 - David C (now we know what he is really doing at college)
5 - Brian C
6 - Steven G
7 - Andrew C, Mrs. G, Philip B, Riley B, Stephanie S

After Day 1

2006-03-17T12:03:00.000-05:00

Here are the standings after the first day of Madness.

1 Brian C.-76
2 Pastor Joel-74
3 David Cochran-72
3 Mike C.-72
5 Mr. W-70
5 Pastor-70
7 Schmitty-62
8 Andrew C.-61
8 Georgina V.-61
8 Katie S.-61
8 Phillip B.-61
8 Riley B.-61
8 Stephanie S.-61
14 Marlana W.-56
15 Steven G.-55
15 Zachery Mortimer-55
17 Miss Heather-53
17 Mrs. W-53
19 James Shaffer-49
20 Mrs. G-48
21 Valerie S.-46
22 matthew gearhart-44

Brackets Online

2006-03-15T22:18:00.000-05:00

All the brackets I received are now online. You can find the standings of our bracket contest at cbs.sportsline here. Once you register, this is the site you need to go to:

http://mbcteens.mayhem.sportsline.com/brackets

You do have to do a free registration to gain access to the site. Please leave me a comment with your e-mail address if you are going to register, because you must be invited to be able to see the standings. Once you have left a comment I will invite you. If you do register, check out who Mr. Wipf is picking to go all the way. I think you can see it. If you can't, I'll spill the beans. Even he knows where it's at. He's picked Kentucky to lose in the 1st round and Kansas to win it all! He finally has seen the light.

For those who don't register, I will regularly post updates of the standings.

Bracket Contest

2006-03-13T00:10:00.000-05:00

Each year we have a contest to see who is the best (I mean luckiest) bracket filler-outer and it's that time of year again. If you want to be part of the competition, make sure to fill out a bracket and get it to me by the end of B.L.A.S.T. this Wednesday night. On Monday, April 3 we will find out who the winner is at the March Madness Party. Even if you know nothing about college basketball, fill a bracket out and join the fun.

What's is your assurance of salvation based on?

2006-03-11T12:14:00.000-05:00

I love reading or hearing a good quote, so from time to time I will share them with you. I read this a while back and found it very thought provoking.

“Our assurance of salvation must include a changed life. Confidence that we’ve truly been saved shouldn’t rest on an emotional experience or a prayer we prayed during an altar call years ago. ‘I don’t care how much you cry during singing or preaching.’ Mark Dever states. ‘If you do not live a life marked by love toward others, the Bible has no encouragement for you to think that you’re a Christian. None.’ ”

-Joshua Harris, from Stop Dating the Church, chapter 3

Another Congratulations!

2006-03-10T09:47:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I went to watch the MACS Bible Quizzing. At the end of the day the Junior High team from Faith took 2nd Place (Congrats Stephanie), the Senior High "B" team took 2nd Place (Congrats Katie and Maryanne) and the Senior High "A" team took 1st Place (Congrats Steven). I enjoy watching all of our teens when they compete in athletic and fine arts competitions, but how great is it to watch teens as they take part in a competition that focuses on memorizing the Word of God. The Word of God is powerful to change lives and I am so glad to see teens that are serious about memorizing His Word! Sorry, there are no excerpts of a letter from my dad with this congratulations...I was too dumb or lazy (I'll leave that up to you to decide) to ever compete in Bible Quizzing.

NOTE: For all those concerned about my speeling, I am now taking the time to employ spell check in Word and then copy and paste into Blogger. I do want to say thanks to my wife and David C. for being my "proofreaders" over the last several weeks.

From the "Wall of Stupid Stuff" (#9)

2006-03-05T12:16:00.000-05:00

I thought this would be appropriate as we "take off" on our college tirp this afternoon.

All too rarely, airline attendants make an effort to make the in-flight "safety lecture" and announcements a bit more entertaining. Here are some real examples that have been heard or reported on Southwest Airlines flights.

"Welcome aboard Southwest Flight 245 to Tampa. To operate your seat belt, insert the metal tab into the buckle, and pull tight. It works just like every other seat belt and if you don't know how to operate one, you probably shouldn't be out in public unsupervised."
"In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop creaming, grab the mask and pull it over your face. If you have a small child traveling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are traveling with more than one small child, pick you favorite."
"Weather at our destination is 50 degrees with some broken clouds, but we'll try to have them fixed before we arrive. Thank you, and remember, nobody loves you or you money more than Southwest Airlines."
And from the pilot during his welcome message: "We are please to have some of the best flight attendants in the industry. Unfortunately, none of them are on this flight!"

Congratulations!

2006-03-04T21:37:00.000-05:00

The guys basketball team from FCS played in the MACS State Championship Game today and won! I am very excited for Steven and Schmitty as they are part of that state championship team.

March 4, 1995

Welcome Home STATE CHAMP!

It's Late and our happy house is dark and quiet, just like the gym in Clarkston, just like the gym in Davison, just like our gym in Holt. But there are a lot of memories hiding in those dark, empty boxes for you and me (more for you, because your memory is so much better than mine). I gues that for me it will be a memory of sharing in your love for the game, or your heartbreaks and ectacy (like tonight!), of watching you grow into a man...I love you son. And until your son's a senior on the "hardwoods", you won't understand how proud I am of you! It's been a great four years!
Love,

Dad

I found this letter from my dad in my room when I got home after my high school basketball team won the MACS State Championship in 1995 and I wanted to share it with you. Above I said that I am very excited for Steven and Schmitty. I know it's not the same, you two aren't my sons, but for the last 3 years you have been a large part of my life as guys in our youth group. And tonight, even more than being excited, I am so proud of each of you. Schmitty, I am proud of how you stuck with it this year. To be honest, in the beginning I wasn't sure, but you hung in there, even without much playing time and that says a lot about you. Steven, I'm proud of how you have played, but more I am proud of how you have handled yourself on the court. Your example and leadership will be missed on the team and in our youth group.

Congratulations State Champs!

Tumaini Children's Home

2006-03-03T09:16:00.000-05:00

The Tumaini Children's Home in Tanzania is making progress towards being ready for business, or should I say ministry. You can read about it here. We need to pray that the approval process will not be met with any red tape so the home can open this Spring. All of those donated materials will soon be put to good use. We also should pray that God will use Tumaini to further the ministry the Howell's have in the Mwanza area.

First call for Spring

2006-03-02T10:30:00.000-05:00

"For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of the birds is come, and the voice of the turtle [dove] is heard in our land;"

These are the words that Ernie Harwell would speak as he welcomed Tigers fans back to 760 AM on the radio dial for another Spring Training. Other than my dad and grandfathers, Mr. Harwell was my childhood hero and a wonderful friend (though we only met several times in passing). I miss the soft sound of Mr. Harwell's voice, which for so many years to me signified the beginning of Spring. He is no longer calling Tigers games, but this is the day for the Tigers first real ST game. Spring is here, or at least coming. Soon will be the days of men and boys, fathers and sons playing ball together. What a great time of year. Camden better get his glove on, it's just about time to play catch with daddy.

Such a Dunderhead!

2006-03-01T09:53:00.000-05:00

The other day my wife commented that she had posted a comment about my spelling (I do know how "bird" is spelled...I just temporarily forgot). I asked her when she had posted the comment, because I had seen no comment. Well, I checked into it and I and such a dunderhead. When I first started this blog, there were several people (never knew who they were) that left not so nice comments that I had to delete, so I decided to change my settings so that I would moderate comments before they ever were posted. That way I could simply delete something inapropriate before anyone ever saw it. Good idea, right? Well, I forgot one thing. I never entered and e-mail address and Blogger never had any place to send the e-mails that were supposed to notify me when I had a comment to review. Once I did that, I got a number of notifications about comments waiting to be posted...all the way back to December. My wife, My sister-in-law Jen, Miss Heather, David C and Schmitty all have left comments that finally you are able to see. Of course, a number of the comments are pretty old, so you probably never see that now you can see them. I am such a dunderhead...but only sometimes.

What is your passion?

2006-02-26T15:20:00.000-05:00

We all know what it is like to be passionate about something. If you watched the local news a couple of weeks ago you probably saw loads of people that were passionate about the Steelers or about the Seahawks or about partying. This world is jam packed with people that have misplaced passions and because of that are living empty and unfulfilled lives. If your passion is football and you happen to be an avid fan of the team that lost (the Seahawks), then what is there? Disappointment, frusration (at the coach, at the players, at the refs), and "next year". What a great prospect that is.

My point is that when our passion is something so temperal (even if it's something other than football or sports) there will never be total fulfillment in our lives. What about having a passion for something like our God or His Church. You say, how boring is that and I say not at all. God created us to need fellowship with Him and with other believers. God created the Church to be the main place for that to happen.

What is your passion? What is it that drives you?

Sign Up Soon!

2006-02-25T12:34:00.000-05:00

Just a reminder...summer camp will be here before you know it. I'm sure that those who braved the cold and wind to play football this morning might disagree, but it will be here soon. You need to sign up by March 15 to get the "early bird" discount. I know we will have a great week at Camp CoBeAc with Evangelist Jerry Sivnksty. You can get a registration form in the Teen Room or at the Welcome Center.

A Reminder from Niagara Falls

2006-02-20T12:17:00.000-05:00

"I stood on a grassy sward, and at my feet a precipice broad...I looked but saw no bottom, only cloudy shapes...and unfathomable depths. Back I drew, dizzy at the depth. Then I saw forms of people moving single file along the grass. They were making for the edge. There was a women with a baby in her arms and another little child holding on to her dress. She was blind. She lifted her foot for the next step, it tred air. She was over, and the children over with her. Oh, the cry as they went over! Then I saw more streams of people flowing from all quarters. All were blind, stone blind, all made straight for the precipice edge. There were shrieks as they suddenly knew themselves falling and a tossing up of helpless arms, catching, clutching at empty air. But some went over quietly and fell without a sound...Then I saw that along the edge there were sentries set at intervals. But the intervals were too great; there were wide, unguardedgaps between. And over these gaps the poeple fell in their blindness, quite unwarned and the green grass seemed blood-red to me, and the gulf yawned like the mouth of Hell...Once a girl stood alone in her place, waiving people back but her mother...called and reminded her that her furlough was due. She must not break the rules. An being tired and needing a change, she had to go and rest for awhile but no one was sent to guard her gap and over and over the people fell, like a waterfall of souls."

Those words written by Amy Carmichael have been playing over and over in my head since we stopped at Niagara Falls a week ago on our way home from vacation (it was a beautiful sight, even in the winter). That is just an excerpt from "Thy Brother's Blood Crieth". You can read the whole thing (and I would encourage you to do that) by clicking here. I hope this reading will challenge your heart as it has mine. The world is lost, the need is great, the laborers are few.

SLEEP, SLEEP, SLEEP!

2006-02-18T07:46:00.000-05:00

After a "Red Eye Night" of Turkey Bowling, Spoons, Papa John's, Mountain Dew, Bowling (the real kind), Dodge Ball, Floor Hockey, PS2 and Sardines I am so read to get some sleep. See you all on Sunday. Have a great (and if you were here with me) sleepy day!

A "High"light of our vacation

2006-02-16T11:05:00.000-05:00

Well, our family has been on vaction for several days. We had an extra long trip to New Hampshire thanks to snowy New York. I was glad when we left New York and entered Massachusetts. I have been to many interesting places - the top of Pikes Peak in Colorado, Prince Edward Island, Wolf Creek Pass (The highest highway pass in Colorado, the Grand Canyon and other places). After we were in Mass. for a few minutes we drove past a sign that told us we had come upon another interesting place. We were driving over the highest point in the whole state of Massachusetts. Now, Wolf Creek Pass was over 10,000 feet and Pikes Peak stands 14,110 feet. Well, I had to chuckle when the sign read "Highest Point in Massachsetts - 1,724 ft". Now that's exciting, I have nothing left to accomplish in life now that I have been to that spot!

UPDATE: I was wrong about the highest point in Mass. The sign I saw was for the highest point on the Mass Turnpike - who cares! There is some "mountain" that rises 3,000 feet plus that is the highest point in the state. Now aren't you all glad you learned that today?

From the "Wall of Stupid Stuff" (#8)

2006-02-09T02:56:00.000-05:00

How dumb can you get?

A 19 year-old Northfield Village, Ohio man robbed a Dairy Mart convenience store by threatening the clerk with an 80inch butcher knife. Problem is, the clerk knew his identity, since he was employed at the Subway right next door. To make matters worse, the police station is directly across the street from the Dairy Mart. Police arrived in twelve seconds and made the arrest.

Am I surprised? No! After all, he is from Ohio.

Super Blitz - Days 2 & 3

2006-02-04T20:01:00.000-05:00

Lat night and twice today we went back downtown. The weather wasn't all that great (especially today with snow, rain and wind much of the time) but we had a great time. Most of the people were very friendly. This morning someone gave a tract to a vendor that came from Atlanta to sell merchandise. This vendor called the church and said that he was a Christian man and wondered if we had any tracts we could leave with him. He said he would put one in each of the customers bags as they rang their orders up. I found his shop and we left over 500 tracts with him. We had a number of folks from our church come out and also there were some that joined us from Faith in Warren. On the weekend we (with the vendor's help) handed out over 4,500 tracts. Thanks to all those who came out! We may never know of the impact that this ministry had on lives. God's Word is so powerful. We have done what we can to give out His Word and we know that He will give the increase. Please pray that in the coming weeks there will be lives changed because of the truth of God's Word that was shared with them.

Super Blitz - Day 1

2006-02-03T09:52:00.000-05:00

Last night we were in downtown D-town for the Super Blitz. We had a good night as 11 of us were about to pass our about 900 tracts and talk to some folks about Christ. We all did get wet, okay so we all got soaked. It rained much of the time that we were down there and the forcast doesn't look much better for tonight, but that's okay, were still going. We did meet some interesting people. Next time you talk to Mr. Borrmann you should ask him about his new friend "Rock". I'll give you three guesses as to what his last name is, or what he said it is (hint - his middle name is "n"). The wonderful thing is that even people like "Rock" (who seem to not be "all there" anymore due to a life of booze and other things) are able to accept Christ, so pray that as the Gospel was give out that it would be powerful and that the truth of God's Word would do a work in the hearts of needy lives.

PS - Join us tonight or tomorrow as we go out three more time!

Are you willing to be "expendable"?

2006-02-02T11:04:00.000-05:00

"During the last war (World War II) we were taught to recognize that, in order to obtain our objective, we had to be willing to be expendable . . . This very afternoon thousands of soilders are known by their serial numbers as men who are expendable . . . We know there is only one answer to our country's demand that we share in the price of freedom. Yet, when the Lord Jesus asks us to pay the price for world evangelization, we often answer without a word. We cannot go. We say it costs too much. God Himself laid down the law when He built the universe. He knew when He made it what the price was going to be. God didn't hold back His only Son, but gave Him up to pay the price for our failure and sin."

-taken from a sermon preached by Missionary Nate Saint

Sticks and stone may break my bones, but...

2006-01-30T13:13:00.000-05:00

You all know how that silly phrase ends. I'm sure you've already finished it, at least in your mind. Those words are so far from reality. Inspite of how the little ditty ends, words do hurt us. Communication through speach is a significant part of our lives, after all that is one of the things that sets us apart from the animal kingdom, we have the ablity to communicate with each other through the spoken word. Another phrase that I have heard many times and even said is "Talk is cheap. You have to show and do." Half of that statement is true. Our actions are very important, but talk is not cheap. The world that we live in was created by the words of God. The first words ever uttered were for the purpose of bringing God glory through the creation of the world. What we say does matter and either glorifies our God or brings shame to His name.

From the "Wall of Stupid Stuff" (#7)

2006-01-28T11:07:00.000-05:00

Stade Olympique I'Emyrne of Madagascar, a soccer team that won their league competition the previous year and had gone several rounds into the African Champions League, felt slighted by the referee in their game against AS Adema. After getting scored on, they played the ball back and kicked it into their own goal! They did this a couple of times...until the score was 149-0 for the opposition!

I'm sure that was a great game to watch. Usually high scoring games are fun to watch, but that's a little crazy!

Are you going to join us?

2006-01-27T11:05:00.000-05:00

Recently we took our two sons to the mall. At this mall there happens to be a Jeepers! and we went in and let Camden play in the free play area. They had one of those things (for lack of a beeter word) that kids can climb in, on, around and through, you know, the ones like at McDonald's with the tube tunnels and slides and all. Well, Camden wanted to play on it, but he didn't want to climb at all, he was afraid. Not climbing makes a thing like that pretty unenjoyable, because the whole reason it is there is for climbing. Anyway, I ended up going throught the thing with him, because he wouldn't go alone (and no I didn't break it!). It was a tight squeze, but we both made it to the top and then done the slide. He was afraid, but he had no reason to be, because his daddy was right there with him the whole way to protect him on that adventure.

Maybe you are afraid of coming with us for Super Blitz (February 2nd-4th), afraid of talking to people, afraid of rejection. You have no need of being afraid for your Heavenly Father is there with you and will protect you, will give you the words to say, will give you the courage and strength. Don't pass up this opportunity to share Christ because you are afraid, or scared, or nervous. After all, "God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

Just for clarification, if any really is neaded - that is not my son in the above picture. That is CC in a McDonald's Playplace somewhere in Kentucky on the way to the Wilds this past summer. All the 7th graders seemed to rather injoy that part of the trip.

Prepare the cabins for take off

2006-01-25T14:14:00.000-05:00

Well, I think we finally have arrived on the dates of the mission trip this summer. Our itinerary has us leaving Detroit on June 21st and returning home from Dresden on July 2nd. It is a few days longer than was the original plan. We will be flying into and from the beautiful city of Prague, and will be able to see some of the sights there. Several people have told me that Prague is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and I here that many in Dresden claim their city to be more beautiful than Prague. I think we are in for a treat of what we will get to see. I also think we are in for a treat of the ministry and missionaries that we will be with. I look with great anticipation to this trip. If you are not going with us, please pray for us as we prepare and go.

Let's Hit the Road

2006-01-23T12:14:00.000-05:00

I know that Schmitty has been hounding me about when our college trip will be. Well, here you go man. March 5th-8th we will be heading to Wisconsin to visit Northland BBC and Maranatha BBC. We will leave after the Sunday morning service on March 5th and return by 9:00pm on Wednesday the 8th. The cost of the trip will be $25, plus money for 4 fast food meals as we travel. If you are in high school, please consider coming with us as we visit this two good Christian colleges. If you have any questions, you can talk to my wife or me.

He is no fool...

2006-01-21T10:43:00.000-05:00

"And to Him who made them what they were, we repeat the words which our husbands sang a few days before they died:
We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender, Thine is the battle, Thine shall be the praise When passing through the gates of pearly splendor Victors, we rest with Thee through endless days.

Elisabeth Elliot
Quito, Ecuador
February, 1957"

That is the end of the preface of "Through Gates of Splendor". There is a movie out (The End of the Spear) that is about the 5 missionaries that were killed by the Acua indians in South America in the 1950's. There are several problems I have with this movie, but that is not my point in writing here. Nate Saint, Jim Elliot, Ed McCully, Pete Flemming and Roger Youderian were men that gave their lives for the cause of Christ. It was Jim that said, "He is no fool that gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot loose." This men lived the truth of that statement. After their deaths, there was a great influx of young people who gave their lives to the cause of missions. There lives should still be a challange to us today. What an example for us to follow. They were fully committed to the cause fo Christ. Are you?

Is Church Important?

2006-01-20T15:21:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday night during the Hot Seat, there was a question that had to do with church attendance. Mr. Wipf and I made several comments and I wanted to say a little more. The church matters! This is a quote from a book that I currently reading. "God has not only saved us; He has invited us to participate in His master plan of redeeming a people for His glory. Through the local church we take part in His eternal plan..." The author goes on to state that not only is the church the place for us to have a part in God's plan, but it is also "the best possible place to allow God to do His work in us." Again, church matters! It is one of the key instruments that God uses to conform us into His image. It matters to God, after all the Church is pictured as His bride. We ought to love it, be there, be involved, and come ready to worship, grow & serve. See you in church on Sunday!

From the "Wall of Stupid Stuff" (#6)

2006-01-19T12:02:00.000-05:00

A lady at work was seen putting a credit card into her floppy drive and pulling it out very quickly. When a co-worker inquired as to what she was doing, she said she was shopping on the internet and they kept asking for a credit card number, so she was using the "ATM thingy".

Uruguay Update

2006-01-18T09:54:00.000-05:00

Here is an update on how things are going with our missionary Scott Borrmann as he is in Uruguay.

"Thank you for praying for Scott as he has been in Uruguay, everything is going quite well. A lot has been accomplished in the way of making plans for our move there. Danny Hankins, another BWM missionary in Uruguay, was influential in helping Scott to find a language school, get prices on the various items needed to set up house, getting information on paperwork translation, and even finding someone to help us know the import laws and taxes. We are thankful for all the time Danny has put in to helping Scott. Scott was able to be in Colonia for a couple of days to attend the anniversary Sunday services there. He is back in the capitol city area to preach in camp this week. This BWM camp serves all the churches in Uruguay. Please be in prayer that the messages Scott preaches will be used of the Lord to reach the hearts of the young people and they will make lasting decisions for Christ."

Continue to pray for Mr. Borrmann as he is in South America. I believe he will be travelling back to the States on the 21st.

Julie Scroggins Accident

2006-01-16T10:24:00.000-05:00

Please pray for Julie Scroggins. She is a married student at Maranatha. She and Dave (I was a groomsman in my cousins wedding this past summer and Dave was the best man) were married 5 months ago. Last Wednesday Julie was in an accident and was critically injured. If you what to see how she is doing and see some more pictures of the car, you can visit www.carepages.com. You'll need to create a login name and password to view Julie's carepage. The name of the carepage is JuliePScroggins. That must be entered exactly as written here (without the period...just her name.) It only took me about 2 minutes to get a login and password and then get access. It is amazing how God protects us!

No Rules, Just Right?????

2006-01-13T14:40:00.000-05:00

That's the Outback Steakhouse slogan that I'm sure you've heard and seen a number of times. Does that make any sense? How can something be determined to be "right" if there are no objective standards, no laws, no rules by witch that something is judged? From a Christian perspective it is easy to say that because "right" is not determined by what you think or what you feel or what you want, but by what is true and what is objective fact. As believers it is easy to get sucked into living our lives by the Outback slogan. We are to live by the rules of God's Word as obedient children. Loving God means keeping His commandments. Don't give in to the lie of the world! There are rules and they are right because they come from God Almighty!

"For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments" I John 5:3

Super Blitz

2006-01-12T09:20:00.000-05:00

Over 100,000 football fans are expected to descend upon the city of Detroit the first week of February, all coming to town for the Super Bowl. As a church, we want to take advantage of this and do what we can to share Christ with our visitors. Thursday through Saturday (Feb. 2-4) we will be going downtown to distribute tracts and engage in coverstational evangelism with people here for the big game. Don't miss out on this great opportunity to share Christ with others!

Finally Home

2006-01-11T10:36:00.001-05:00

Well, the container of donations for the Tumaini children's home has finally made it to Mwanza, Tanzania. You can read about it here and look at pictures of it here.

Trip to Uruguay

2006-01-10T10:07:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Scott Borrmann (Our missionary on deputation to Uruguay) left for Uruguay and will be there until January 21st. Remember to pray for him as he travels and is in South America. He will be the camp speaker for much of their summer camp (yes, the seasons are opposite ours) and speak 2-3 times each day for the week. He will also be in Colonia for the anniversary Sunday of the first church the Perez family planted in El General Colonia. Also pray for him as he will be trying to make the arrangements for language school in Montevideo and better plan for their needs for their "outfit & passage" when the whole clain heads down there.

Just because they wear the stripes?!

2006-01-09T09:04:00.000-05:00

Recently I was at a high school basketball game where the officiating was down right terrible, but what was so much worse was the response of the fans to the bad officiating. Just because some guy puts on the stripes does that mean that he is fair game to criticize, and mock, and belittle, and holler at, even if he is bad? Just because he puts on the stripes does that means we no longer should act like Christians (followers and imitator of Christs)? For believers, who are to be filled with "the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:19), is there any situation in which it is o.k. to be filled with the fullness of the flesh, as displayed through our actions. The answer is obviously NO! Just because some game in intense, we (as fans, players, coaches - I speak having been all three) have no justification for responding the same way as the unsaved do, even when the official blows a call, no matter how big that call is. After all, when we do so we are marring the glory of God, which as believers we are to reflect through our lives.

Stay At Home Moms

2006-01-08T09:14:00.000-05:00

Katie O'Beirne, of National Review Online, has written a book titled Women Who Make the World Worse. In it she exposes some feminists that claim that mothers who decide to stay at home with their children are "either timid or damaged or even 'slightly mentally ill'." You can read more here. Every time I hear things like this, it reminds me of how thankful I should be for my stay-at-home mom and for the stay-at-home mom of my children (my beautiful wife). I am not saying that it is wrong for a women to work, but there is nothing better and more fulfilling that a mom can do for a career than raise their children, especially for a Christian mother.

Newsflash: neither my wife or my mother are timid, damaged or mentally ill and I love them both!

I first read this on http://www.timellsworth.com/

Christmas Eve Service in Germany

2006-01-07T10:42:00.000-05:00

This is an excerpt from an e-mail from the Sandahl family in Dresden, Germany.

"On Christmas Eve we had a special service. Twenty-one people came. The LORD laid a message on my heart about Bethlehem and Golgotha before we had any idea who may attend. Verena is a teenage girl, who got saved while she was in the States as a foreign exchange student. She has attened our church since last June. Her family has not been very supportive of her "religion". Verena invited her family to the Christmas Eve service and they came! But it wasn't just her mom, dad & brother! Both of her grandmothers were there too! Verena grew up in an atheistic home, but God brought them all to that service so they could hear that Christmas is no about a little baby! It is about God's love for them! Bethlehem would just be another little village on earth if it weren't for Calvary!"

Update on Edd Horn

2006-01-06T23:01:00.000-05:00

There is good news to share. This is from a post two days ago off the website where Edd's wife Kelley is giving daily updates.

Ed's primary oncologist told us today that no cancer seems to be appearing in Ed's body right now. PRAISE OUR AMAZING GOD!

There is still a long way to go - future bones marrow transplants and chemo treatments, but that is great news. Keep praying!

Meeting, Committment and Reading

2006-01-05T11:11:00.000-05:00

On Sunday, January 15th @ 5:00pm we will have our next mission trip meeting in the Teen Room. By the 15th, anyone wanting to go must turn in their application and committment card. Also, the first book reading and report is due soon, so don't forget to work on that.

What a shocker!

2006-01-04T12:39:00.000-05:00

Last night I did something rather foolish. I stayed up to see the end of the Penn St/Florida St game at the FedEx Orange Bowl. Some 4 1/2 hours into the game, after three missed potential game winning field goals, my wife said, "This is a battle to see who can lose first!" and that is sure what it looked like. I got to bed at about 1:20 a.m. after Penn State actually made a field goal to win the marathon of a game. At the end of the game they did the post-game interview with the winning coach like they normally do, but then the strangest thing happened. After the normal meeting of the coaches to shake hands, Bobby Bowden (whose team just lost) stayed and ,with his hand on the shoulder of Joe Paterno, took part in the interview as well. I have heard that both these men profess to be believers, but have not heard the testimony of either man. Whether they are believers or not, last night (or should I say this morning) at the end of the game they showed class and sportsmanship that is not very often displayed in the world of sports any more. It was very refreshing to see. As believers we should never use sports as an excuse to act like a jerk, even when we lose, or the ref makes a bad call or the ball bounces back off the upright.

There's a snake in my house

2006-01-02T09:44:00.000-05:00

How many of you have heard someone say, "I told God I would go anywhere to be a missionary, anywhere but Africa and God sent me to Africa. I didn't want to go there because of the wild animals, etc..." Well, here is a little story from Africa, Tanzania to be exact, about one of those wild animals. It's a good thing Rob was wearing glasses. FYI - From time to time I will be posting missionary stuff (for lack of a better word), because missions does matter.

Keep Praying!

2005-12-30T14:13:00.000-05:00

Several weeks ago I ask that you pray for Edd Horn. Well, keep praying. God has done great things. He has made many improvements, and his body is battling to defeat the cancer. He still has a long road ahead of him. It has been neat to read his wife's posts that she has made during this difficult time. What a testimony the two of them are of the Lord's goodness and grace. Please keep Edd and Kelley in your prayers! The picture here was taken on Christmas Eve. Click here to read more.

Unbelievable!

2005-12-29T09:18:00.000-05:00

Well, in spite of 5 sacks and 2 interceptions, the Michigan defense found a way to give up an 11 point lead last night in the Alamo Bowl. Well, it wasn't just the defense, I guess that the 2 fourth quarter fumbles didn't help all that much. Hopefully Schmitty is not still sitting on his couch crying. If you are really weird and you want to read more about the pathetic fourth quarter performance, you can do so here. I had to include this picture. Thought the mid-air mouth piece was cool.

Nastiness

2005-12-28T14:28:00.000-05:00

One of the joys of being a parent is potty training. Yesterday we had an experience that I will not share except to say that it was straight up nasty. Helping our son learn to grow out of his need for diapers is an interesting, time-consuming, smelly, tough and yet a worthwhile task. I love the sons that God has us, and enjoy the relationship we have been allowed to have with them. They are relationships we enjoy on earth that should help point us to our God, as His children. I am so thankful that I am a child of God and that He is there to help me grow, even through the tough times in life.

The Light

2005-12-24T16:28:00.000-05:00

Tonight after our Christmas Eve Service we are going to take Camden and Josiah on a drive to look at Christmas lights. Camden is fascinated with the lights and Josiah is mesmerized by them. It is so cool to watch Camden's little face light up with joy when he sees "pretty Christmas lights." We are going to take a drive down into the Grosse Pointes and see what "pretty Christmas lights" we can find.

There are many dazzling light displays that people spend hours putting together, and while they may be enjoyable for us to watch, let's not forget about the true Light during this Christmas season.

"The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined." Isaiah 9:2
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1
"That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world." John 1:9
"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." John 1:14

Have a very merry Christmas!

I'll be home for Christmas

2005-12-23T11:55:00.000-05:00

Some time ago I wrote about saying goodbye to the only house I've ever known as grandma & grandpa's home. Well, yesterday was the Gearhart family Christmas at my grandma's new condo - the first time I ever remember not having the family Christmas at 4850 Stewart Road, Hadley, MI. I must say that it was weird going to grandma's house and it not being grandma's house. I wasn't sure what it would be like having Christmas someplace other than where it has always been, some place different than the home of all my memories of Christmas past. Even with the changes, we had a wonderful time. I am so thankful (I know, wrong holiday) for the family God has given me. I've got a great wife, two wonderful little boys and a family that loves us and is serving the Lord. No matter where Christmas is, it is a wonderful time spent with family. I hope that y'all have a wonderful Christmas together with your families, wherever you may gather.

You've Got To Be Kidding Me! (#2)

2005-12-21T10:04:00.000-05:00

Some mega churches have decided to close for Christmas, but this was an even bigger shocker. Willow Creek Church is closing for the summer, yes you read that right...they are closing for the summer. You can read more about it here. The pastor Bill Hybels said, "For years we've been trying to justify the expense of operating throughout the summer when schools are closed and people are on vacation. We just couldn't do it any more. If people are going to put their spiritual growth on hold until September anyway, why should the church fight it?" Yeah, that sounds great, if people don't care about their spiritual condition why should we, as ministers of the Gospel, care about their spiritual condition.

Another pastor there had this to say, "No more bloated air conditioning bills for a room that's only half full. All that money being saved for God's kingdom and not being wasted on a scant congregation that would rather be on vacation anyway. It's a beautiful thing." I can't say that I see it as such a beautiful thing and whenever summer does come, I look forward to seeing y'all there.

HT: Rachael Wipf

An analytical look at Santa

2005-12-19T03:54:00.000-05:00

I saw this some time ago and just recently saw it again.

"No known species of reindeer can fly. BUT there are 300,000 species of living organisms yet to be classified, and while most of these are insects and germs, this does not COMPLETELY rule out flying reindeer which only Santa has ever seen.

There are 2 billion children (persons under 18) in the world. BUT since Santa doesn't (appear) to handle the Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Buddhist children, that reduces the workload to 15% of the total - 378 million according to Population Reference Bureau. At an average (census) rate of 3.5 children per household, that's 91.8 million homes. One presumes there's at least one good child in each.

Santa has 31 hours of Christmas to work with, thanks to the different time zones and the rotation of the earth, assuming he travels east to west (which seems logical). This works out to 822.6 visits per second. This is to say that for each Christian household with good children, Santa has 1/1000th of a second to park, hop out of the sleigh, jump down the chimney, fill the stockings, distribute the remaining presents under the tree, eat whatever snacks have been left, get back up the chimney, get back into the sleigh and move on to the next house.

Assuming that each of these 91.8 million stops are evenly distributed around the earth (which, of course, we know to be false but for the purposes of our calculations we will accept), we are now talking about 0.78 miles per household, a total trip of 71.604 million miles, not counting stops to do what most of us must do at least once every 31 hours, plus feeding etc.

This means that Santa's sleigh is moving at 650 miles per second, 3,000 times the speed of sound. For purposes of comparison, the fastest man-made vehicle on earth, the Ulysses space probe, moves at a poky 27.4 miles per second - a conventional reindeer can run, tops, 15 miles per hour.

The payload on the sleigh adds another interesting element. Assuming that each child gets nothing more than a medium-sized Lego set (2 pounds), the sleigh is carrying 321,300 tons, not counting Santa, who is invariably described as overweight. On land, conventional reindeer can pull no more than 300 pounds. Even granting that "flying reindeer" (see point #1) could pull TEN TIMES the normal amount, we cannot do the job with eight, or even nine. We need 214,200 reindeer. This increases the payload - not even counting the weight of the sleigh - to 353,430 tons. Again, for comparison - this is four times the weight of the Queen Elizabeth.

353,000 tons traveling at 650 miles per second creates enormous air resistance - this will heat the reindeer up in the same fashion as spacecraft's re-entering the earth's atmosphere. The lead pair of reindeer will absorb 14.3 QUINTILLION joules of energy per second each. In short, they will burst into flame almost instantaneously, exposing the reindeer behind them, and create deafening sonic booms in their wake. The entire reindeer team will be vaporized within 4.26 thousandths of a second. Santa, meanwhile, will be subjected to centrifugal forces 17,500.06 times greater than gravity. A 250-pound Santa (which seems ludicrously slim) would be pinned to the back of his sleigh by 4,315,015 pounds of force.

In conclusion -

If Santa ever DID deliver presents on Christmas Eve, he's been vaporized by now."

Sorry to ruin it for all of those of you that still believe.

Dont' Forget

2005-12-17T08:53:00.000-05:00

Just a reminder. There were a number of you that bought (although many have not paid me yet) the book Don't Waste Your Life. We are using it during our Wednesday night B.L.A.S.T. groups. I know that groups meet once a month, so it is easy to forget about the book between meetings. Don't! It is a great book that will encourage you in your spiritual life. Keep up the reading, it's worth it!

It Costs How Much?

2005-12-15T11:27:00.000-05:00

I thought that this was an appropriate post for a snowy day like today. The snow sure is coming down!

Last week I heard about the snow blower to top all smow blowers. I am not mechanically inclined, but this sound pretty cool to me. This snow blower is a V8 and 454. Talk about power. The blower is 4-wheel drive. Don't you think that would make a great Christmas present?

Oh, how much would one of these bad boys cost. I almost forgot to mention that. A basic blower would be in the neighborhood of $25,000. Yes, that's right $25,000 just to have the most manly snow blower in town and to look really cool when you are removing snow from your drive. I think i'll stick to my shovel for now!

Arrested for praying?!

2005-12-14T10:02:00.000-05:00

Often if you would read that title, you would think "That's just terrible. People in the US are being arrested for praying in public. What's next?" That's what I though when I first heard about this story...but there is more to the story. You can read the story here. Two Macomb County women were arrested for disorderly conduct after falling to the ground to pray in the doorway of a public building. After being released on $1,000 bond the two women left the courthouse only to immediately fall on the ground right in front of the courthouse doors. They did this they say because God told them to lay there and pray.

You say, "But Daniel disobeyed the the law of the land to pray to God and it was just fine for him to do that. What's the difference?" We are to obey God rather than men and therefore if there is a law that goes contrary to what God has commanded we are to obey God's law and not man's. That is what Daniel did. That is not what these two women did. It was not illegal in man's eyes from them to publicly pray where they did, however it is illegal to block public builing enterances while doing so.

Oh, and just one more thing. I love that defense. "God told us to do what we did!" News Flash: God's revelation to us was complete and finished when the Bible was completed. Sorry, but God doesn't work in some "Joan of Archish" kind of way. He make it very clear to us in His Word what we are to do and He will never lead us to do something that goes against the law's of man as long as the laws of man are not unbiblical. And last I checked, the law that says you cannot block the enterance to a public building is not unbiblical. It really is sad to here stories like this, because it makes Chriatians look like idiots and it mares the name of the One that these ladies claim to serve.

Pray for Ed

2005-12-13T18:29:00.000-05:00

On Sunday I asked the church to pray for Ed Horn. He is a graduate of Maranatha and now lives in Westland, MI. On October 6th he was diagnosed with anaplastic large cell lymphoma with small cell variant CNS disease in leukemic phase. He is in the hospital on a ventilator and over the last several days has made some improvements. Please continue to pray for Ed, his wife Kelley and their two kids Aidan and Kya. Here is a web page that the family is using to post regular updates.

Germany and the World Cup

2005-12-10T10:43:00.000-05:00

Last night was the draw for the '06 World Cup. I can't wait to see how the US will do this time around. They have drawn one of the two toughest groups, so we'll see. I am excited about being in Germany while the World Cup is going on. It would be awesome to be able to go to a game...but that's not going to happen. Tickets are way too much money! Only 6 months until we head to Germany for the mission trip. BTW, if you haven't turned in your application for the trip, make sure you do that soon!

From the "Wall of Stupid Stuff" (#5)

2005-12-09T09:38:00.000-05:00

I was soooo glad to see this since I have struggled with spelling all of my life. If I only could have learned about this while I was still in elementary school!!

Spelling Doesn't Matter After All

"I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdgnieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid. Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas thought slpeling was ipmorantt!"

"Chronicles of a Classic"

2005-12-08T09:08:00.000-05:00

On December 9th, the movie The Chronicles of Narnia will be released and because of the movie, there has been much more interest in the author of the Narnia books. Several days ago there was an article about C.S. Lewis in the Detroit News. I have enjoyed SOME of the writings of C.S. Lewis. His Mere Christianity is a book that has been a challange to me. Personally, I have enjoyed the Narnia series (my dad read them to my siblings and me when we where kids). I know that among believers there are some who do not at all appreciate the Narnia series and some that enjoy the series very much. That issue is not why I am writting today.

As I read the article mentioned above, something got my attention and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since. Here is a quote from the article. See if it catches your attention too.

In 1931, the devoutly Roman Catholic Tolkien and another Christian scholar spent a long evening with "Jack" Lewis arguing religion. Lewis wrote a friend that they had convinced him "the story of Christ is simply a true myth: a myth working on us in the same was as the others but with the tremendous difference than it really happened."

Earlier, in 1929, Lewis had come to belief in God, though not Christ. As his autobiography recounts, "I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England."

Conversion unleashed creative powers that made Lewis a celebrated champion of orthodox Christian belief.

Did you get it? My question is, can you truely be converted by admitting that God is God and accept that Christ is "simply a true myth"? It seems that the author of the article accepts that this is conversion and I take issue with that. Lewis died before I was born, so obviously I never knew the man or heard his testimony (other than what is recorded in his autobiography). I will not stand in judgement of him and his eternal destiny. However, the conversion that the author of the article refers to seems in no way Biblical, for true conversion is more than just mental assent to truth. It (true conversion) is faith and belief in the true Christ and His resurrection, trust in Him to forgive you and save you from your sinful state and repentance of your sin against a Holy God.

Hot Seat (#8)

2005-12-07T09:13:00.000-05:00

"What advice would you give to a high schooler to benifit their school experience?"

John 13
1) Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them to the end. 4) He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. 5) After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.

Luke 13
30) And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.

My advice? What can you do to best benifit from your high school years? Take up the towel and serve others. You do that and it will not only be a benifit to the high school "experience", but it will aslo be a benifit in the eternal "experience".

Will any college do? (#4)

2005-12-06T09:44:00.000-05:00

Is college neutral? This article answers that question. You may say, "Yes, college is neutral. After all, colleges simply teach academics. After all, math is math, history is history, English is English, right?! " It is so much more than simple academics that they teach and the author does a good job of bringing that to light?

If your answer to the question above was "yes", I hope that after you read the article that you will consider a different answer.

Are you connected?

2005-12-05T12:23:00.001-05:00

I saw a cartoon in yesterday's paper and the teenager got a call from a friend on his cell phone. Then his mom handed him the home phone with another friend on the line and so he put friend #1 on hold. After beginning his conversation with friend #2, he got a second call on his cell phone and put friend #2 (on the house phone) on hold. The next box shows friend #1 showing up at the front door wanting to know when he is going to be taken off hold.

We live in a world where we are all so connected. We call each other on our cell phones. We e-mail each other. We IM each other. We text message each other. We even play computer and video games together over the internet. These are great ways to help grow our relationships with others. In our world it is easy to connect with our friends and always be in contact. My question is, are we connected to our God in such a way that we are communicating with and growing in our relationship with Him?

From the "Wall of Stupid Stuff" (#4)

2005-12-03T09:56:00.000-05:00

I love Christmas time, however...there are some people that drive me crazy during this time of year. Mostly it's the wacko people that want to get rid of nativities, Christmas trees and basically any reference to Christ. This comic, complete with Santa and reindeer, just about sums it up.
Comic is from www.caglecartoons.com

Hot Seat (#7) These are a few of my favorite things...

2005-12-02T10:12:00.000-05:00

I won't sing the song for you. I'll leave that for Mr. Wipf, since I know that The Sound of Music is one of his favorite things.

Some of the questions I get when we have The Hot Seat are "Do you like..." and "What is your favorite...", so I am going to take a minute to answer several of those questions.

1) What is your favorite color? Red, without a doubt
2) What was you favorite subject in school and why? History, because I have always enjoyed learning about the past. There are so many events and people from the past that fascinate me.
3) How do you like your eggs? Over easy, very easy
4) Do you like bacon? Oh yeaaaaah!
5) What is your favorite type of cheese? Sharp Cheddar
6) What do you like watching on TV? Sports; It's a good thing we don't have cable b/c I could very easily be a Sports Center junkie

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2005-12-01T10:09:00.000-05:00

Well, maybe it is only beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. It is often hard to think Christmas when you see grass that is still green, especially when living in the great state of Michigan.

Well, today is the first day of a Christmas tradition for our family. My wife spent several years of her childhood in Germany (dad was in the Army) and there it is common to have an Advent Calendar, 'ya know, those cool things that have little doors that open up and have candy in them. Well, there are 25 days in the calendar. Each day you open one door (and eat one piece of candy) as you count down until Christmas Day. Advent means "The coming or arrival, especially of something extremely important". I don't know the history of the Advent Calendar, but I think it's a pretty neat thing that helps us look forward to the coming of the day that we celebrate the Advent of Christ, literally the first Noel.

Why wait until Christmas Day to focus on the incarnation of God the Son?

Will any college do? (#3)

2005-11-30T10:20:00.000-05:00

I will admit to you that I never even gave a second thought to the possiblity of attending a non-Christian college. That was mostly due to the fact that my parents made it very clear that I was going to Christian college, there was no choice for me in the matter. On top of that, they even narrowed down my choice of what college to go to from the very broad community of "Christian" colleges out there to several fundamental Bible colleges. And to this day, I am so thankful that my parents were so strict in this area.

As you think about where you should go to college, please think about these facts. Sorry, I can't tell you where all the statistics came from because I have lost some documentation.

An estimated 85% of college students use alcohol (www.siu.edu)
97% of all Christian high school grads will attend a secular university
It is estimated that 600,00 college students are assulted each year by another student who has been drinking (www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov)
More then 50% of believers will reject their Christian faith before they graduate from their secular university
One survey reported that 67% of college students had been sexually active within the last year and 51% had been within the last 3 months (http://publications.naspa.org)

After hearing that, do you really think that you should attend a secular university?

I know, I know. Bad things do happen at Christian colleges. I'm not that naive. I had a roommate that was "kicked out" for drinking. But, at good Christian college campuses that behavior is the exception and not the rule. The choice seems pretty clear to me.

You've Got To Be Kidding Me!

2005-11-28T15:50:00.000-05:00

This last Tuesday, the XBox 360 went on sale and man did they fly off the shelves. All across the country there were lines of people waiting for hours and hours with hopes of getting this new system. Just for fun, I checked out EBay and it blew my mind how much money people are willing to pay for a game. The highest price I saw (that at least 5 bids had been placed on) was $1,800. This bundle did include all 17 games, but still $1,800 and the bidding still had several days to go. Of those items that would be done in the next hour, the bids ranged from $430 to $932. Unbelievable!!

It might be a really good game system (I still like Playstation personally and think the PS3 will blow this thing out of the water), but what a waste of money. We are called to be stewards of what God has given us. I ask you, is it really good stewardship to spend such money on a game system, as cool as it may be?

Always Thankful

2005-11-25T10:34:00.000-05:00

I heard a story several days ago that was a challenge to my heart. It went something like this:

In the 1800's there was a professor at Princeton by the name of Charles Hodge. One day as Dr. Hodge was in his study, a student came into the room and shared how he had just escaped death. He explained that he was driving his horse and buggy down a section of road that had a severe drop-off at one point. Right at this point in the road, his horse was spooked and took of wildly. The buggy was heading for the cliff and just in time this student had jumped from the buggy, escaping most certain death. He just wanted to tell Dr. Hodge how thankful he was for the protecting hand of God. Dr. Hodge's immediate responce was somthing like this: "Son, I have travelled that same road every day for many, many years and not once have I ever come close to being in danger, and for that I am daily thankful."

The point is that it is easy to be thankful in the "big" things, but what about in the every day provisions of our God? It's easy to have an attitude of thankfulness on Thanksgiving Day, but what about the other 364 days of the year?

From the "Wall of Stupid Stuff" (#3)

2005-11-23T09:04:00.000-05:00

Are Ya Havin' A Bad Day???
The average cost of rehabilitating a seal after the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska was $80,000. At a special ceremony, two of the most expensively saved animals were being released back into the wild amid cheers and applause from onlookers. A minute later, in full view, a killer whale ate them both.

Still Think You Are Having A Bad Day???
A women came home to find her husband shaking frantically, almost in a dancing frenzy, with some kind of wire running from his waist towards the electric kettle. Intending to jolt him away from the deadly current, she wacked him with a handy plank of wood, breaking his arm in two places. Up to that moment, he had be happily listening to his Walkman.

STILL Think You're Having A Bad Day???
Two animal rights defenders were protesting the cruelty of sending pigs to a slaughterhouse in Bonn, Germany. Suddenly, all 2,000 pigs broke loose and escaped througha broken fence, stampeding madly. The two helpless protesters we trampled to death.

What?? STILL Having A Bad Day???
Iraqi terrorist Khay Rahnajet didn't pay enough postage on a letter bomb. It came back with "Return to Sender" stamped on it. Forgetting that it was the bomb, he opened it and was blown to bits.

Aren't you thankful that you are not having a day like any of those above? Have a great day and be thankful for it!

Will any college do? (#2)

2005-11-22T18:38:00.000-05:00

Here is another link to an article titled "Why attend a Christian college?". In this article the author states that "Christian education teaches truth from God's perspective, which is the only true perspective. Every Christian young person stands obligated by the salvation and lordship of Christ to use every scriptural means to be 'renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him' (Col. 3:10)." As believers, we are to be becoming more like Christ and that occurs through the Truth of God's Word. Why place yourself in a learning environment that does not include and often combats the Truths of God's Word?

I'm glad it doesn't matter

2005-11-21T10:51:00.000-05:00

I have been a University of Michigan fan all of my life and therefore an anti-OSU fan. As much as I wanted Michigan to beat Ohio St. this last Saturday (which they didn't - you can read about it here if you really want to), I am so glad that it doesn't matter after all. After the game was done, I still had my family, my faith, my friends and for the most part, my sanity. Sure, I was bummed that they lost, but it's just a game. In our sports-crazed society we get so attached to "our team" and our life is lived with the ups and downs of their wins and losses. I know that because I speak from experience, ask my wife. What a crazy way to live. Always being affected by the outcome of a game that we have no part in. What is that!? Sadly that is the way that mant people live their lives. Why is this so. I think that what we see manifested in the lives of sports-crazed people is just an indicater of how we all tend to live our lives. It is so easy to find momentary happines and excitement in things that this world offers, but it will be nothing more than a flash in the pan - here one moment and gone the next. However, the Word instructs us that we are to live differently if we are in Christ. Paul teaches very clearly that our circumstances are not what will bring lasting contentment. Only Christ can bring that in our lives. Paul is a great example of that as he said that he was content in whatever state he was in. He said that in Phillipians 4:11. The theme of the book of Phillipians is the lasting joy that we can find in Christ. Paul could be content, no matter what, because his contentment and joy was found in Christ.

Another Congratulations

2005-11-21T10:31:00.000-05:00

This Saturday, Faith Christian School hosted their Bible Quizing Invitational. There we teams from Michigan, Illinios, Wisconsin, California, Virginia, New York, South Carolina and New Jersey. After the round robin, the team from Faith was in 5th place. After several exciting rounds, Faith came out victorous, winning the tournament and Steven G is part of that team. Congrats man!

Each time that I go and watch a quiz meet, I am amazed at how they can memorize so much of the Word and then be able to recall it in just a split second. I am also so excited to see teens filling their minds with the Word, because it is through the Word that we become more like Christ.

Listening to The Word

2005-11-19T08:12:00.000-05:00

I just finished listening to a message that was preached at a conference I went to last month. Wow, was it good! I have benifited much from taking the time to listen to it. I've started listening to sermons on the way to church each day, during that often wasted time called travel. It's a much better investment of my time than listening to sports radio or something like that. That's not to say that I never listen to things like that. I just want to try and use that time as best as possible.

Oh yeah, by the way, all of the cd's from the sessions from camp this summer and many from past summers are available for your listening pleasure. You just have to "check them out" from the game room. What a great thing to do with some of your free time - listen to the proclamation of God's Word! After all "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God."

From the "Wall of Stupid Stuff" (#2)

2005-11-18T09:15:00.000-05:00

I just have to post this, since baseball just approved much stronger penalties for those using the 'roids. Yeah right Barry, you really think that we're buying your story?!

Will any college do? (#1)

2005-11-17T01:26:00.000-05:00

That's a good question. I'm glad you asked.

I could just give a yes or no answer, but what's the fun in that? I plan to write several posts on this subject, but I will not be the one speaking. I will share highlights from articles other men and women have written on the subject.

The first is an article by Dr. James Dobson, which you can read here. Although I do not agree with all of this man's ministry and positions, he shares many excellent reasons for attending Christian college.

As he says the real question to be asked is, "Why would you want to attend any other kind of college?" Where else will you be in an invornment surrounded by godly professors. But even more importantly, you will be able to surround yourself with godly friends and classmates. Dobson states that it is those friends and classmates you have will be "the single greatest influence on you during your college years" and where else can you be placed in a situation where those around you are at least professing believers.

I encourage you to read the article and carefully consider what the author has to say.

Garbage In, Garbage Out

2005-11-14T10:36:00.000-05:00

That's the old phrase I heard often back in the "dark ages" when personal computers were just beginning to grow in their popularity. However, I think that phrase also applies today in our world filled with TV, TiVo and the countless other digital recorders for TV. It would be a tragedy if you had to miss that show, you now, your favorite show about those made-up people, living in their made-up town, having made-up problems with their made-up friends and made-up enemies. We, myself included, get way to caught up in this world of makebelieve that TV producers provide for us. A major media research company came out with a report that indicates that TV watching is at an all-time high. Over the last year the average person in America watched 4 hours and 32 minutes of TV each day. That is nearly 18.75 percent of each day given to the watching of make-believe! Also, 40 percent of homes in America have three or more TV sets, many of which are in the bedrooms of children and teens.

We are told in the Word that "as he thinketh in his heart, so is he." (Prov. 23:7) What we fill our minds with is what we are, what we become. In this day of TV, what are you filling your mind with? Is it the trash of the world or the truth of the Word?

Science & The Bible (#3)

2005-11-09T14:45:00.000-05:00

The Catholic church is now saying that the theory of evolution is compatable with God's Word!? I guess that I should not be suprised, since the majority of what they teach is heresy. It still shocked me though. You can read the story here. They claim that the two are "perfectly compatible" if the Bible is read correctly. They are dead wrong. God's Word is without error and is inspired and I don't know how anyone can understand "In the beginning God..." in a way to ever mesh with the religious theory of evolution.

Missionary Testimony

2005-11-05T12:25:00.000-05:00

I have been thinking a lot about missions lately,because I've been trying to start to get things in order for our trip to Germany this next summer. Most of you know the Borrmann family from our church. They are going to Uruguay, South America as missionaries. Even though many of you know them, I thought it would be good if you heard their testimonies. You can click here to listen to the testimonies.

Congratulations State Champs!

2005-11-03T10:28:00.000-05:00

This last Saturday my wife and I took the boys to watch Steven G. and Chris S. play in the Michigan Association of Christian Schools Division I state championship game. My voice is just now beginning to feel normal again. Who knows how many times I chanted "FCS". Camden even joined in with me in cheering. The only problem was that he started by wanting the red team to win. The only people in red on the field were the officials, so I tried to convince him to cheer for the blue team. Have you ever tried to reason with a 2-year old? Then he decided to cheer for the black team and finally after much reasoning, he settled on cheering for the blue team. Well, enough about Camden. We started the 2nd half down 2-0 and came out to play a great second half, scoring in the first minute of the half. Steven scored the game winner with minutes left in the game. What an exciting game it was. Congratulations guys!

A Day of Bad Theology and Bad Preaching

2005-11-02T20:56:00.000-05:00

I hate to rain on the parade, but it's been driving me crazy all day long. Today was the funeral for Rosa Parks and I in no way want to criticize the good that she did during her life, but her funeral was nearly unbearable to listen to. I did not listen/watch the whole thing, after all it was hours long. In what I did hear though, there was a masive amount of bad theology and bad preaching. I heard many verses quoted, but I don't think I heard one of them applied correctly. I say this next, not as a judge of Mrs. Parks spiritual condition, but as a judge many of the "reasons" that where given for her spending eternity in heaven. I'm sorry, but no one will go to heaven because they stood for justice. I'm sorry, but no one will go to heaven because they were the iconic leader of a movement. I'm sorry, but no one will go to heaven because they did so many good things for a certain race of people. I'm sorry, but no one will go to heaven because she "denied herself, took up her cross, and sat on that bus." I hope that Mrs. Parks is in the presence the Lord, but by the testimony of so many today who knows! Newsflash - Salvation only comes as God draws us to Himself and we receive His free gift of an eternal relationship with Him through the shed blood of His Son Jesus Christ. I heard nothing of the sort today.

From the "Wall of Stupid Stuff" (#1)

2005-11-01T09:20:00.000-05:00

From time to time I will post oen of the better things from "The Wall of Stupid Stuff", so here is the first. Not sure where I got this but it's funny:

My Kind of Lawyer!!

A new Orleans lawyer sought an FHA loan for a client. He was told the loan would be granted if he could prove satisfactory title to a parcel of property being offered as collateral. The title to the property dated back to 1803, which took the lawyer three months to track down. After sending the information to the FHA, receivede the following reply.

"Upon review of you letter adjoining your client's loan application, we note that the request is supported by an Abstract of Title. While we compliment the able manner in which you have prepared and presented the application, we must point out that you have only cleared the title to the proposed collateral property back to 1803. Before final approval can be accorded, it will be necessary to clear the title back to its origin."

Annoyed, the lawyer responded as follows: "Your letter regarding title Case No 189156 has been received. I not that you wish to have title extended further than the 194 years covered by the present application. I was unaware that any educated person in this coutry, particularly those working in the property area, would not know that Louisiana was purchased, by the U.S., from France in 1803, the year of origin identified in our application. For the edification of uninformed FHA bureaucrats, the title to the land prior to U.S. ownership was obtained from France, which had acuired it by Right of Conquest from Spain. The land came into the possession of Spain by Right of Discovery made in the year 1492 by a sea captain named Christopher Columbus, who had been granted the priviledge of seeking a new route to India by the Spanish monarch, Isabella.

The good queen, Isabella, being a pious women and almost as careful about titles as the FHA, took the precaution of securing the blessing of the pope before she sold her jewels to finance Columbus' expedition. Now the pope is a servant of God, and it is commonly accepted that He, God, created the world. Therefore, I believe it is safe to presume that God also made that part of the world called Louisiana.

God, therefore, would be the owner of origin and His orgins date back, to before the beginning of time, the world as we know it and the FHA. I hope you find God's orginal claim to be satisfactory. Now, may we have our loan?"

The loan was approved.

This weekend

2005-10-31T17:10:00.000-05:00

This weekend I spent several great days at a preaching conference. I came away having learned a lot and one thing I came away with was the importance of having a good grasp of why we do what we do. My chanllenge to you ar young people is that you begin to come to a Biblical undestanding of why you do what you do when it comes to church and spiritual things. I hope and pray that none of you will leave the youth group at MBC not truely knowing why you believe what you do.

The Giving Tree

2005-10-26T09:58:00.000-05:00

"Once there was a tree...and she loved a little boy." That is how my favorite book from my childhood begins. In The Giving Tree, the tree gives and gives to the little boy. As the tree is personified, giving brings her joy. Through all the seasons of the boy's life the tree gives and gives. As the boy returns as an old man, the tree has been cut down and has apparently nothing to give. The tree does still give, because she provides a place of rest for the old man. Through the season's of their friendship, the tree gives and is brought joy. What a needed reminder. In today's age where everything seems to be focused on self, we could all do well to take a lesson from the giving tree. Life is not about what we get for ourselves but what we give.

It's that time of year

2005-10-21T12:49:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday night during Teen B.L.A.S.T. we took the opportunity to minister to some folks by raking their lawns, well more specifically the leafs in their lawns. I want to thank each of you that was there and had a part in it. I hope you had fun, after all serving the Lord and others is enjoyable. Sorry, I know it's a blurry pic, but it's the least blurry of the bunch.

Assult with a deadly chicken wing!?

2005-10-20T06:18:00.000-05:00

Police in Smyrna, Georgia charged a women with assault. This was after she used her dinner as a weapon. The lady, Beverly Campbell was drving the wrong way down a one-way street when an officier ordered her to stop. The grandmother had just left a party at the community center and threw her plate of chicken wings at the cop, hit him in the neck with a two-liter bottle and then got several punches in on his face. She also unsuccessfully tried to get onlookers to join in in her assult. She was arrested and charged with battery and assault on a police officer and a misdemeanor charge of inciting a riot. You can read the full story here.

Don't you wish you had a grandma like that?

Tumaini Children's Home Update

2005-10-19T09:08:00.000-05:00

It seems so long ago that we first heard about Tumaini, the orphanage that the Howell's are starting in Tanzania. Our church collected a lot of stuff for the project and you teens were involved in it in many ways. I just wanted to share updates about the whole project. The container of donated goods is finally on its way to Africa and the construction at the site is coming along. Things are progressing and I can't wait the hear of the lives that will be impacted for eternity as a result of this new ministry in Mwanza, Tanzania.

So Long Old Friend

2005-10-17T01:44:00.000-05:00

This weekend was a time of goodbyes for my family. The house that my great grandpa built for my Grandpa and Grandma Gearhart now sits empty, awaiting its new owners. Until this weekend it has only know one family as it's owner. Ken and Fran Gearhart lived in and loved that place for many, many years. As we helped grandma move, I was flooded with so many emotions and memories. So many Christmas Eve nights spent there, so many hours spent on the old tree swing, so many times together with family on the 4th of July, so many mornings waking up to the aroma of Grandpa's breakfast. That house and land are very near to my heart. I could go on for some time with memories from 4850 Stewart Road, Hadley, MI. This weekend I said goodbye to an old friend. I'll miss that little blue house. It wasn't big or extravagent or all that up to date in many ways, but as my mom said as she said her goodbyes, "It was an unlikely place of wealth." A little house nestled in the country. For some 50 years that has been a home filled with joy. Today I am saddened that I must say goodbye, saddened that my children will never remember the old house except for in a photo album, saddened that there will never again be a Gearhart family Christmas there. But I am also filled with joy and a thankful heart. I am so blessed to have so many memories from the old house. The Lord has given me so much, so much that I don't deserve, and I am so thankful!

Looking Back

2005-10-13T10:02:00.000-05:00

This summer my high school class had its 10th reunion. You all are thinking right now, boy PJ, that makes you really old. No! You wan't to see old...go find Mr. Wipf. Anyway, back to the point.

There were 17 in my Christian high school. As my wife and I met my classmates for a picnic it was a fun time seeing almost everyone again. Some, I hadn't seen since we graduated, others I have kept in touch with and see occasionally. There was a lot of catching up on jobs, college stuff, # of kids, etc. As we talked, I was excited to see those from our small Christian school that today are serving the Lord and living their lives for Him. At the same time, it broke my heart to see the ones that are not living for the Lord.

As I have thought about the renunion and the classmates that I saw, something struck me. No, it wasn't a bolt of lightning or anything like that. To a man, those from my class that are living for the Lord are those that had that desire in high school and to a man, those that are not living for the Lord are those that had no desire to do so in high school.

What a challange. What we are doing today is what we become tomorrow. Now, I am not saying that the Lord can't change a heart, but your actions today will become your habits tomorrow and will affect the way that you live in the future. My encouragement is that today is when you begin to shape who you will be for the rest of your life.

What are you becoming?

Germany it is!

2005-10-12T09:46:00.000-05:00

Well, it is finally settled. Our mission trip this next summer will be to Germany with the Sandahls. For those of you not here for Sunday School this past week, they are currently ministering in Dresden, which is in former East Germany and in 2006 will be celebrating 800 years as a city. This will be a great opportunity and I am already excited about some of the things in the works for this trip. If you are planning on going or considering going, now is the time to begin praying about the opporunities we will have. We will be meeting very soon to discuss the cost and other initial details of this trip.

Pop, without a doubt...

2005-10-11T09:42:00.000-05:00

Well, at least in Michigan. If you are a true Michigander, then it must be pop!

I know that there is an ongoing debate in youth group about pop, soda and coke (or some other crazy name for that stuff). This is a pretty cool map that shows the different word usage by county and I'm glad to see that in every county in Michigan pop is the word of choice. And doesn't it appear that there is more blue on the map than any other color? If it were an electoral map I think I could call it and give the victory to good old pop!

"Breaking News"

2005-10-08T08:54:00.000-05:00

This just in:

"APPLETON, WI (AP) - A seven-year-old boy was at the center of an Appleto, Wis., courtroom drama yesterday when he challenged a court ruling over who should have custody of him. The boy has a history of being beaten by his parents and the judge initially awarded custody to his aunt, in keeping with child custody law and regulations requiring that family unity be maintained to the degree possible.

The boy surprised the court when he proclaimed that his aunt beat him more than his parents and he adamantly refused to live with her. When the judge then suggested that he live with his grandparents, the boy cried out that they also beat him.

After considering the remainder of the immediate family and learning that domestic violence was apparently a way of life among them, the judge took the unprecedented step of allowing the boy to propose who should have custody of him.

After two recesses to check legal references and confer with child welfare officials, the judge granted temporary custody tot he Green Bay Packers, whom the boy firmly believes are not capable of beating anyone."

I know that he is now away at college, but I saw this and could not help but think of "Bin" S. Don't forget to encourage and pray for and tease (if they are Green Bay Packer or ND fans) those from our youth group who are now away at college.

Note: To give credit to whom credit is due, this joke was taken from the website of a Christian sports writer, Tim Ellsworth.

Hot Seat (#6) (God's Will?-Part II)

2005-10-07T09:17:00.000-05:00

A little while ago I began to answer a Hot Seat Question about God's will. Here is a link to the first post on the subject.

After you address the known will of God and you are following it, then what do you do?

Maybe you should take you Bible and let it fall on it's binding and open to whatever page it will and then blindly take you finger and point to verse, thus determining God's will for your life. Maybe you should find God's will by looking at the circumstances and then deciding if it looks like to should do it. Or how about deciding if it's God's will, only if there is an "open door" to go a certain direction. If not that, then maybe you should wait until you have complete peace about something before you come to the conclusion that it is God's will for your life. Or maybe you should lay out a fleece like Gideon did.

Many of these thoughts I have just mentioned are commonly used ways that people attempt to use to "discover" God's will for their life. None of these ways should ever be the exclusive way that you come to understand the will of God for your life. In the next post we will talk about what we should do to determine God's will.

Oh Well!

2005-10-05T09:12:00.000-05:00

Several days ago I just had one of theose days. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong with any piece of computer or electronic equipment that my hands touched. (Maybe I should get a hand transplant? Do they do those?) I was getting more and more frustrated by it all. I can't even count how many times I thought or said the phrase, "You've got to be kidding me!". It seemed like such an unproductive day and that was making me even more frustrated. After much frustration, I remembered a phrase that I had heard at camp several summers ago. That phraseis "Oh Well!". What a difference in attitudethat phrase brings. Does my frustarion help anything? Are my technology troubles really that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things?

"Oh Well!" makes all the difference.

Hot Seat (#5)

2005-10-04T09:17:00.000-05:00

Another question that was asked was about how we were saved. I asked Mrs. W. to answer this one and here is her salvation testimony.

I was born into a Christian family, and between the Bible training at home and church, I was well aware of my sinfulness even as a child. My desire was to go to heaven and I knew the only way to do that was to accept Christ as my Savior. One night during family devotions, it was my turn to pray, and as a three-year-old, I prayed and asked Jesus to come into my heart and save me. I was SO excited. I told as many people as I could. I still remember the joy it gave me. However, when I was around 7 years old, I told a traveling evangelist my testimony. But as soon as I mentioned my age, he told me that I was too young to be saved. He caused me to doubt my salvation. I made reassurance of my salvation at age 7, but I truly believe I was saved at 3. Salvation has nothing to do with age (young or old); it is the heart desire and the unwavering faith in the only perfect, sinless One who died to take the penalty for my sin on the cross of Calvary. Praise God I know I am saved!

In _______ I Trust

2005-10-03T13:25:00.000-05:00

I wrote this post as I was in the hospital waiting for our second child to be born.

As I sit here in Rm. 2916 at St. Joseph's Hospital, I am amazed at all the gadgets and gizmos that modern science has produced. At my count, there are about 7-8 different "thingies" that are going their jog to make mommy as comfortablt and safe as possible during this delivery. We depend on these modern scientific advances so very much. I am so thankful that our sovereign God has created man as beings in His image. Often we come to depend so much on the advances that man has made and not on the God in Whose image we are made. We can't forget that God is in control of all and itis in Him that we must depend and not in the creations of man!

What a Surprise!

2005-10-03T12:46:00.000-05:00

On Friday night, September 30th, we were blessed with the birth of our second child. We knew it was a girl. After all, that is what the ultrasound tech told us, so it must be so. Well, at 6:05 p.m. little (7 lbs 9 oz & 21 inches) Josiah Kenneth surprised us as he entered the world. What a shocker! It is so great to know that even if we are surprised, we have a God who rules over all and He was not surprised. And by the way, isn't he such a cute little dude?

I Couldn't Resist

2005-09-29T09:48:00.003-05:00

It turns out that grandma (and grandpa) did get run over by a reindeer! Here's the story if you want to read about it.

Hot Seat (#4) (God's Will?-Part I)

2005-09-29T08:55:00.000-05:00

It's time for another question from the Hot Seat.

"How do we know what's God's will for us?"

That is a good question that many times gets a bad answer. God's will is not a mystery that we must spend all our lives searching for. He hasn't written a map for each of us and then hidden it on us thinking that if we want it enough we will find the map and use it to know God's will.

The first question to ask yourself is, "Am I obeying God's known will for my life?" Maybe then you ask, "What is God's known will?" Good question. It is what the Bible clearly teaches that we are to be doing as believers. We are to be controlled by the Spirit (Ephesians 5:17-18), to be becoming more like Christ (Romans 12:1-2), to be under submission of our God-given authorities (I Peter 2:13-18. This is not an exhaustive list. There are more commands that we are to obey, but that list is a good start. To know God's will for your life, the direction that you are to take, it starts with today obeying what we know we are to do as believers.

I will say more about this in the coming days.

A Good Reminder

2005-09-28T09:14:00.000-05:00

I am a quote guy. Whenever I hear a good one I try to write it down. As I collected more and more I finally decided to file them toget so that I'd have them some place all together. Just the other day I was looking for something and pulled my "Quotations" file folder from the cabinet. The first quote I read really had an impact on me. I rememeber it from the past but haven't seen it in a long time.

The quote: "Nobody is beyond the reach of prayer."

The speaker: My former pastor who fell into sin and is no longer in fulltime ministry

I have not prayed for him in a very long time. What a challange and rebuke to me. He is not beyond the reach of the power of prayer either. Is there someone that you have given up praying for? Maybe they need to accept Christ, maybe they are running from the Lord, maybe you are unsure of their true spiritual condition. Whatever the case, we should not give up on them as we pray to our all-powerful God.

Hot Seat (#3)

2005-09-27T10:14:00.000-05:00

The question was asked, "What are you going to name your baby?" The answer is - wouldn't you like to know. As soon as she comes I'll break the news, but not until then. Sorry.

You think you know what it is going to be? Well, take a guess. Leave it in the comments and we'll see if anyone gets it right. If you need some help coming up with a name, you can use this site and look at the most popular names in the US for 2004 and even search for more. Happy guessing!

Hay Mow Swing Champs

2005-09-26T09:01:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday there was a little to much hugging going on...but it helped the girls win the "Hay Mow Swing Championship" at Harvest Fest, so I guess it was okay. After at least one failed attempt, they managed to get 12 girls to swing to and stay on the little platform. I know that all of your lives you have worked hard so that some day you could say that you were "Hay Mow Swing Champs", so congrats!

Hot Seat (#2) (Pink!?)

2005-09-24T05:52:00.000-05:00

On the lighter side of the Hot Seat:

The question was asked, "Do you like Pink?"
The answer in short is yes, but there's more...

This is a quote from a man named Josh Larson and it sums up my "theology of pink".

"Actually, I am convinced that pink is blessed by Scripture. Genesis 49:12 says, "His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk." Jacob is blessing Judah (a man) here, and he intentionally uses two colors which, when mixed, produce pink. I stand firmly on this verse and state that not only is pink permissible for men to wear, it is a sign of a life devoted to and blessed by the God of Jacob."

Now, before you go nuts, Josh and I are both kidding. I do proudly wear pink, but I think it just might be a stretch to say that for those that do wear pink it is a sign of blessing from God.

However, it does take a real man to wear the blessed color!