Dishes and Duty: Husbands of Thirtyone

Life of a Husband of @thirtyone : Cleaning the kitchen while the wife prepares for her events this weekend. #supportingherjourney

A post shared by Jason Allan Dunn (@dunn_funn) on Mar 17, 2017 at 7:11pm PDT

My wife and I are pretty entrepreneurially tilted. So, when one day she told me she was considering going into direct sales with Thirtyone, I was surprised, but not shocked.

Surprised, in that my wife is not a "get up and speak in front of a group of people" type of person. She prefers the behind the scenes type of responsibilities.

 Not shocked, because, and I know I'm biased, she can run things. She knows how to plan and set an agenda and be super organized.

To be in this type of business, those are the qualities that are needed. It is most definitely why she has had some success with this as well, currently as a Director with Thirtyone gifts, and this is also where I have become initiated into the fraternity of H.O.T. (Husbands of Thirtyone)

So while she plugs away at her business, I happily pick up the slack, because that's what it means to be a H.O.T. More specifically, a husband in general.
 
Just as she has let me chase down every whim in my career path, from childcare , to social work, to retail, to sales, to direct care, to grad school, to teaching....I feel privileged to be able to support her on her journey.

Tonight, this means doing the dishes. Other times its dropping a catalog off at the Post Office, or even making a product delivery. What ever it is, I'm a partner in this. I'm a H.O.T.

Part of Your World Cover with Bass

Trying out the new bass on some Pit Orchestra music for the Grove City High School's production of The Little Mermaid.  My son is on the vocals, BUT will not be playing Ariel in the musical.  (He's Grimsby)

SX100 B Series 2 Electric Bass Review

I've made the switch. 

I have been playing guitar for sixteen years, and last year, I took on a new challenge of playing guitar in a pit orchestra for our local high school musical.  That was one of the most stretching and rewarding experiences of my musical career.  Part of what made that so challenging was the technicality of the music for guitar.  This was not your basic D-E-G-Em,  types of chord progressions.  There were suspended fifths and lots of key changes and the sheet music was just general mayhem for a scrub player like myself. 

One of my coping mechanisms last year was to just plunk along with the bass line.  Guitar in the pit orchestra is mainly just fill, so it was easy to transpose a lot of the music and just play bass notes, or just focus on the roots and thirds of chords to make my life easy.  I'm guessing I did alright, because I was asked to play again this year.  Except that I was asked to play bass.

So, because I'm always up for a challenge, I said yes, thinking this is going to be a great excuse to buy a new guitar, particularly a bass guitar.

I am of the opinion that you should not spend a lot of money on something that you are just starting out with.  My first guitar was a pawn shop special.  Less than a hundred bucks for a Johnson Acoustic Six String.  The thing was horrible.  The action was really high and it was dinged up, and it just kept eating strings until I figured out that the bridge needed replaced.  It was glorious though.  Learning to play guitar and suffering through the mind numbing struggle of sweating through your first song.  It took a few months, but I eventually became pretty efficient and had a growing bag of songs that I could strum out.  Thanks to my brother in law, I was able to upgrade to an Ibanez Acoustic.  (An older version of this)

Even though my Ibanez is not the most expensive guitar, it is beautiful.  It sounds awesome, has great action, and wonderful pickups.  It is still holding strong even after 15 years.

All that to say, if you just starting off, go with something cheap, so this brings me to the SX100B Series II Electric Bass Guitar Black .

At $120.00, this thing is a value.  I honestly was surprised at the amount of bass guitars in the $100 range.  It was the price that was really the motivation behind this purchase.  I wanted a gig bag, a new strap, and an extra cable for under $200.  At this price point, I was able to accomplish all of these goals.

That price isn't to say that this thing feels cheap.  It is very solid and doesn't feel lower quality.  It's a tad on the heavy side, but it isn't uncomfortable sitting with it and also using a strap standing up.  My strap is pretty padded, but I can imagine that a cheap webbing strap could cut into your neck with the weight of this axe.

As far as playing is concerned, it feels alright.  The neck is very "girthy" and takes some time to acclimate to the thickness, but I've actually found that to be very comfortable.  For me, with the musical score that I've been learning, most things are on the first two strings, and I have had no problems finding my way around the neck board.

It comes with an allen wrench for adjusting.  I haven't done that yet, but there is a bit of a fret buzz on the lower two strings.  I know if I did a few fine adjustments those would be gone, but it hasn't been distracting yet.

The pickups are pretty solid.  There are two controls for the lower and higher register.  It's simple and easy to adjust.  I find that delightful as a beginning bass player.  I don't want to be distracted by a bunch of bells and whistles.

It comes with a decent, but short cable, with a 90 degree plug.  It's fine, nothing to write home about.  I'm sure that I will upgrade once I know what I'm doing with this bass guitar.  It's workable and for beginners, it will work well.

Tuning is nice.  Big pegs make the fine adjustments easy and in two weeks of playing, there hasn't been too much out of tune between sessions.  Again, might need to make some adjustments to the neck once it is broken in, but no problems so far.

So, the skinny is this thing is a solid, beginner guitar.  It's not the best, and I've played many worse instruments.  If you are looking to start off or just need something that you can kick around with and not worry about bumping it into a door jam.  This would be a good pick up for you.

I'll post a video later just to give you an idea of the sound and action.  Stay tuned for that!

 Find it on Amazon here and read what other players are saying!

ESPN Films: Brian and the Boz Review for Educators

               
               

For a few years, I have been using this documentary as a discussion piece and writing exercise with my students.  This documentary has sparked great conversation and has kept my emotional support students very engaged. 

 Maybe it's the mystique of such a gifted football player that  most of them have never heard of, or the bigger than life persona that The Boz brought to the public's eye.  Maybe it is the portrayal of Brian Bosworth and his son, contrasted with Brian's relationship with his own father and Coach Switzer.  Whatever it is The Boz resonates with the type of students that I work with on a daily basis.

Boz is the ultimate Anti-Hero and he played that up for the cameras in a time where college football was just making its mainstream, television debut.  But as flamboyant and outspoken as The Boz was, he definitely had the skill and talent to back that up on the football field.

This documentary seems a little forced at times.  Brian and his son Max are in the process of going through a storage locker filled with Bosworth's memorabilia and this is the vehicle that pushes the storyline forward.  Bosworth tries to deflect the awe and amazement that his son displays as he recounts his exploits.  Interspersed is footage of Brian's past and interviews with teammates and former coaches and Brian himself.

It's entertaining and well produced, and even though it seems forced, there is a sense that the older Bosworth is reticent about his younger self's behavior and attitude.  While the tears seem a little over the top, Bosworth shows some sincerity as he recounts the mistakes and the problems he created for himself.  He doesn't deflect the responsibilty and criticism and that is the true take away from this film.  Take responsibility and learn from your mistakes.  For my population of students, this lesson rings true and hits home in many ways.

Click here to see what others are saying about it or to purchase this short film.

Also, here are the questions in Word Format that I use to get students discussing and writing about this documentary.

Boz Questions #1                      Boz Questions #2           Boz Final Response

Hope for Renewal Winter Newsletter 2016

Why I Love Zombies

Tonight I was lurking around on Facebook and came across a friend's page and noticed something. Under his "Religious Views" he has put "I love Jesus but I drink a little"

I'm not a drinker and the last time I was even close to being inebreated was not even in this century, in fact it wasn't even in this country. But I guess that I could put something similiar under my "Religious Views."

I love Jesus, but I'm a fan of zombies.

When I was around ten, I watched my first zombie flick. It was the original zombie movie: Night of the Living Dead. I was exposed for the first time to hordes of the undead and have been hooked, shambling and moaning for more ever since.

I am a zombie purist though. George Romero has seen to that. Zombies need to be slow. They need to be dumb. They need to be only focused on one thing: BRAINS!

They also need not to be the focal point of the story. I believe that zombie fare-good zombie fare, is focused on the characters. It is that reason why I am so drawn to this genre.

The struggle in this type of fiction is not with the undead, but with the living. The reader, the viewer get to observe this struggle. In the face of a post apocoliptic world the true character of the participants shines through. We see their true prejudices, fears, and values unmasked by the horror around them. We see them forced to either abandon the moral constructs of our society or try to translate them into a world of the undead. Does pure survival win out or does humanity keep its composure?

In those Romero works the zombies become part of the background. They are ever constant, ever advancing, always right around the edges of the story. The undead are always threatening, just one bite away from ending the human race completely.

They are much like us as humans. Completely consuming everything around them, never being satisfied.

We also seem to never be satisfied. We consume all that is around us. This infection spreads as well. This ongoing consumption is something that is looked highly upon, something revered. We want more, more, and even more.

And much like a Romero masterpiece, in the face of all of this around us, do we lose our own morality? Do we let our own prejudices overtake us, do we abondon our beliefs and become part of the shambling swarm?

Our humanity is something that we should hold tightly.

As we continue heed the Greatest Commandment I hope we do not lose sight of who our neighbors truly are. Instead of "consuming" maybe we need to be "consumed" by the Grace that is given so freely.

That would be an infection that would truly be worth spreading.

Thought for the day: Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm. (Pubilius Syrus)

Filipino Food!!!

In an attempt to try and ensure that the Filipino dishes that I grew up with can be experienced by my children, and as part of an international food tasting at our local library, I learned how to cook Pansit---just the way mom did it! Here's the recipe for anyone who's interested!

Ingredients
1/4 cup cooking oil (your choice)
2-3 cloves of garlic
8oz of rice stick
soy sauce
1/2 a head of cabbage, shredded
carrots, shavings work best
precooked meat of your choosing (i used chicken this time, but someday soon I'm gonna throw some shrimp in this bad boy!)

Soak the rice stick in warm water for about ten minutes.

Pull the rice stick apart, shredding it fairly well. Drain water.

In a large skillet, heat the oil and saute the garlic, cabbage, carrots, and meat. For the garlic, I used a garlic press, or you can chop them. (I prefer the garlic press)



As you saute, add a quarter cup of water and shake on a good amount of soy sauce. Continue stirring and continue to saute for about five minutes.



Add the rice stick, and mix it all up. Add a little more soy sauce if you prefer.




Add some lemon juice to your liking and enjoy!



It is a great meal and if I can cook it, then you can too!

Them's Good Odds

“Belief is a wise wager. Granted that faith cannot be proved, what harm will come to you if you gamble on its truth and it proves false? If you gain, you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing. Wager, then, without hesitation, that He exists.”

This quote is from my favorite philosopher, Blaise Pascal.

Not only was Mr. Pascal a philosopher, he was a mathematician. He saw his faith as not only something that connected with him on a personal level, but also on a logical level. This "logical" explanation is summed up in the above quote, also known as "Pascal's Wager."

It's very logical. If we could boil down faith to a bet, then belief has the most benefit. If we believe and ultimately there is nothing to believe in, then we've lost nothing. If we don't believe, and we end up facing God, then we've lost it all.
Pascal (and I agree) believed that the benefits of living a life focused on Christ, regardless of His existence, greatly outweighed the consequences of not living such a life.

The logic is pretty indisputable.

So why is it so hard to win people over to Christ?

Honestly, I think that many of us aren't willing to take the risk to reach out. Fear, anxiety, acceptance...all these things contribute to us not sharing this logic with friends, family, and acquaintances. Ministry is a gamble and the stakes are pretty high.

As I look forward to this coming year, I see all the risks involved. But also with those risks are opportunities. Sure there is anxiety and nervousness, but pushing past that I'm filled with anticipation as to what God will do.

It is that thought that has always motivated me in youth ministry. Working with teenagers is risky business. It's easy to get discouraged. It's easy to begin thinking, "is this really worth it?"

The wager still makes sense though. It IS worth it, every day. In the past nine years God has shown me that on more than one occasion. And as Kelly and I look to this coming year and look at stepping down as Youth Directors, I know we can both look back and say that with much conviction.

How about you? Are you willing to roll the dice this coming year? Are you willing to go all in with your faith and allowing it to take you places you've never thought possible? As 2011 begins, I hope and pray that you are willing to take some risks. There are plenty of opportunities, and I'm not only talking about serving the students involved in our programs.

I challenge you to find that one place where you can put some risk into your life concerning your faith. It's a pretty sure bet that you'll be better for it.

Making the right choices

I'm entering into a new phase of my life.

For the longest time, I've had what I like to call "Career ADHD." My resume is voluminous to say the least. I have had a hard time really finding what it is I want to be when I grow up.

And now, here I am at 33 years old and I once again am making preparations to continue on my merry-go-round of experiences. I'm going back to school.

I've been feeling the pushing and prodding for some time now, and this past fall I finally made the decision to take the plunge and enter graduate school. I will be returning to my alma mater, Slippery Rock University, and will study special education.

The past few months have been an education all in itself for me as I have investigated all that I need to do to enter back into the student world. I've had to reteach myself about financial aid, teacher certification, and taking tests.

One of the requirements for acceptance into the Special Ed. program is taking the Miller Analogies Test.

I have not taken a standardized test since I took my SATs when I was junior in high school. I defintely felt ill prepared for this exam and began to hit the interwebs in search of sample tests and strategies.

Luckily, this test is a multiple choice test, but the questions are pretty hard. It all deals with analogies and being able to know your vocabulary and how things are related. The framers of this test are tricky too, they start off easy and as the test goes on, it gets progressively harder. Many times, answers are so close that you really have no clear choice.

This is when the strategies come into play.

The trick is to narrow down your choices. Each question has four multiple choice answers. Usually you can eliminate two choices right away. That leaves two possible answers and a 50% chance is better than a 25% chance.

The logic is undeniable, but sometimes it just doesn't feel right.

Teenagers live in this world everyday. They have choices to make. The have decisions and sometimes they need to determine the logic and differentiate that from the emotions. It's hard.

It requires us to make that connection between the logic and the emotion and to feel comfortable in that decision. We try to do that in youth ministry and sometimes we win and sometimes we lose.

How can we give these teenagers more success? We need to apply the strategy and give them better odds. We need to help them eliminate some of those choices that they could make, by giving them Jesus. We need to invest some energy and time into them, and show them how to make the connection between heart and mind.

Will they always make the right choice? No. But 50% is better than 25%...

But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom,
and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--
he will be blessed in what he does. James 1:25

Empty Threats and Broken Promises

I have some dreams in this life.

1. I want to own my own daycare.
It's just always something that I've wanted to do. I want the challenge of entrepeneurship. I want to create something amazing. I want to make a difference in our community.

2. I want to write a song.
Again, I'm motivated by the chance to create something. It will have to be an acoustic piece. I think I could do the lyrics, it's just the whole melody, chord progression, rhythm thing. I don't know...I'll figure it out.

3. I want to start a metal band and name it Nicodemus.
I've just always loved that name and metal is just straight up awesome.

4. I want to write a parenting book and title it Empty Threats and Broken Promises.


In dealing with children these many years and now being a parent for the past eleven, I think I have something to say about this subject and this title is the best.

It encapsulates a lot of how parenting is done.

Don't do this. Don't do that or...

...or what? So many parents lack the intestinal fortitude to follow through. They want the quick and easy way out.

Unfortunately, parenting is about making the hard choices. I'm not saying that I'm perfect at this either. I make my share of empty threats, but through the years, I've learned to say less and follow through with more.

Boundaries are important. Our ability to set limits and to stand firm by them dictate a lot of our discipline of our children. Working with juvenile delinquents has taught me that.

They youth that I work with test those limits on a daily basis. They want to know where the line is and when staff is consistent, the youth react positively. They feel secure and they feel safe in the environment and the structure allows them to succeed greatly.

I'm not saying that we become prison guards with our kids, but what I am saying is that by providing structure, by providing consistent boundaries of behavior we give our children the best opportunity to succeed and thrive.

Soften the boundaries and chaos could ensue.

So next time you draw a line in the sand, make sure that you are ready to defend it at all costs.

Rebellion at Sam's Club

Today, I was faced with a harsh and bitter truth.

It is something that I have known about myself for many years, but for some reason it became even more clear today.

I'm pretty rebellious.

I've always had problems with rules and norms. I like to push the envelope, to test limits. I'm always looking for other ways around the challenges that are presented to me.

My wife, Kelly can attest to that. I have a hard time following rules and procedure.

Today was a perfect example. Kelly and I got up early this morning and dropped the kids off at school and headed to Sam's Club, as well as other places. We stopped at Sam's first, knowing that they opened early, but when we got there, these early hours only apply to "plus members" and buisiness'.

Oh well, I thought. We have other things to do. We can wait until 10:00am to get in the door.

And we did until about 9:45.

We pulled into the parking lot and started to walk in the doors. Surely, they would let us in a few minutes early. It's Thursday morning for goodness sake. There's barely any cars in the parking lot.

We approach the "Sam's Club Greeter/Nazi" and show her our ID and she informs us that we will have to wait ten minutes before we can enter.

I kept my cool, but I was really upset on the inside. I kept asking "why can't I?"
What's ten minutes in a barely busy store? What about the slowly growing group of people behind me. What about customer service?

I guess we're all a little rebellious at heart. We want things our way, in our timing, and much like a spoiled child, when we don't get our way, we tend to get a little belligerent.

What a parallel to our lives as believers. God's much like the gatekeeper at Sam's Club. He's constantly telling us just wait. The time will be right soon. Have some peace as you wait for me to open the doors.

I survived. (She actually relented and started letting people in five minutes early!) In the end, we got what we needed and were happily on our way. Maybe I'll remember that next time "the rules" seem to be interfering in my life.

Putting the "Fun" in Fundamental

Yesterday was a very good day to be introspective. It was election day.

I, like many other United States citizens, enjoy the freedoms that we have been blessed with. I am free to worship how I would like to worship. I am free to make choices for me and my family. I am free to hold opinions of my own. I even have the freedom to express these opinions in a variety of ways.

For the most part, our form of government works. It might be messy at times, but at the end of the day, I love the whole process of the "Great Debate."

What's funny is how I've changed in the years that I have been actively involved in the process.

I used to be pretty fundamental. Things were black and white. Right and wrong. Smart and stupid. I was a Republican through and through, right down to the red tie I would wear in high school on election days.

I looked at Democrats in disgust. How could they believe what they believed? How can they support these certain issues? What a bunch of crazies.

I look back at that "Jason" and realize that he was a little more "mental" than "fun." Not to say that I am totally "blue," but I think I can understand opposing views a little more than I could in my younger years.

I've learned, many times the hard way, that this world is full of gray. That there is actually more than one way to approach problems and each approach has its pros and cons. I've learned that right and wrong can sometimes mean correct and more correct. I've also learned that at times, I'm forced to choose more against one canidate than really for another. I now identify myself as a conservative thinker, instead of a Republican. I find things from both side of the fence that I can agree upon.

As the years slip by, I find myself shifting more and more to the middle of the political spectrum. I've found that as I shed more of the "mental," I can actually have a little more "fun."

Is this what getting older does to people? Does it soften us? Does it give us the perspective to finally say that I don't have all answers? I can only say that for me it has, and it has energized me more than ever to be active.

I voted and will continue to do so as long as I am able and have that responsibility. Our system might have its flaws, but it's worth it.

I think Winston Churchill said it best: "It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried. "

NaNoWriMoBlog

I think every once in a while we all need to shake things up. We need to challenge ourselves and stretch ourselves to places that we haven't been before. This is me trying to stretch me.

For those of you who do not know this month is National Novel Writing Month. (If you're interested as to what that is all about check it out here: NaNoWriMo.

I'm going to attempt to challenge myself, not to write a 50,000 word novel, but to blog every day of November.

It should be a fun little experiment and I'm interested to see just where it will take me. My mind is definitely stream of consciousness sometimes so hold on and enjoy the ride...

For those of you who are in the know, I am closing out a chapter of my life this coming month-well at least taking the first steps in that process. It's scary and exciting all at the same time. (More on this change later this month) It has also begun to dominate my thoughts as of late.

The truth is that we all have seasons of our lives. For Kelly and I, we have gone through so many seasons together. We navigated the high school years together, journeyed through the college years, whisked through the baby years, and now find ourselves settling into the child-rearing years.

This autumn marks 17 years of us doing life together. Through it all I'm glad that I've had her to walk with me down this road. I look forward to the next "season" that God has in store for us. As scary and unknown the path ahead looks, I'm thankful that I can hold her hand as we walk.

As I begin this journey, this verse comes to mind:
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Hebrews 11: 1(NKJV)

Do you look at the future with hope? I truly think that Paul is saying this to us. Faith and Hope go hand in hand. When we step out in faith, we can be hopeful. I just need to keep reminding myself of that...

The Lightbright finally put to good use!

My daughter asked me the other evening who is my favorite band. After a little bit of deliberation I answered "David Crowder." (When I say a little bit, I really mean microseconds...)

I absolutely love David Crowder.

If I have the opportunity to see him live, I always take advantage of it. I could literally go to one of his concerts every day of the week and twice on Sundays. No question.

His music engages me like nothing else. Just wanted to share this with you because I am geek who is impressed with creative things and who loves David Crowder.

Patching Holes

Just this past weekend the teenagers that I minister to went to work patching some holes in the fellowship hall of our church. I have to be honest. I'm impressed with the result. It looks good and I was happy to see how they worked together and each and every one of them had a hand in it.

One of them measured, a few of them took turns cutting. Others climbed the ladders while someone else manned the screw gun to fasten the boards to the wall. Even one of them helped in the clean up.

In the middle of the project we stopped and ate and I led a quick devotion based on Micah 6:8----

8 He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

It's a great piece of scripture and has a lot to say about how we need to live our lives as believers. I hope that you can be encouraged as well by this passage.

It really provides a filter as to our responsibility in this world.

First, we need to act justly. I like to say that we need to "act in justice" or "provide justice." Now I'm not talking some crazy social justice agenda, but we need to be champions for those who are not as fortunate as we are. Justice is definied as "fairness."

In a world where often times fairness is lacking, we have the opportunity as Believers to provide it to the people and the situations that we encounter. What kind of impact could we have as Christ Followers if we can break the stereotype of the judgemental, right wing, fundamental Christian with our "fair" actions? I believe that we could do much more in the task of bringing people towards Christ instead of away from Him.

Secondly, we need to love mercy. Like always, extending Grace to all is central to everything we do. How can we not when Grace is poured out on us so freely. I don't deserve the blessings and even the life that I have. Mercy has been given to me, from God, through Christ. How can I deny my fellow man that gift.

Bottom line: I can't.

We all have a tremendous obligation to extend mercy and grace to a very hurt world. Like the holes in the wall, we need to be there to help make the world around us look a little better. It will take some work. It will take some time. We even might have to push the boundaries of our faith and get up on the ladder and do things that we haven't done before. I'm willing to get my hands a little dirty. Are you?

Lastly, walk humbly. We need to live this life serving others, but not boasting about it. If we boast at all, the credit needs to be focused on Christ.

I work with juvenile deliquents full time outside of ministry. Every day, each youth must show evidence of a "target area" that is assigned to them. My favorite is initiative. One particular youth with this target area decided to let it be known that he was going above and beyond the requirements of a specific task.

I gently criticized him and explained that "taking initiative" is doing what needs to be done AND not drawing attention to it.

I'm amazed at how many churches and organizations try to toot their own horns when it comes to serving people and doing good. If the motivation is to draw attention, aren't we really missing the point?

The Church is a great abuser of this mentality. We do things. We get involved in things just to make ourselves a name. Of course, we couch this in the idea of drawing people to the church so that we can present the Gospel.

Shouldn't we let the Holy Spirit convict hearts? Shouldn't we do good for the sake of doing good? We need to walk humbly and let God do the tooting.

Imagine what would be accomplished if we could all live our lives through that lens. The results would be incredible.

Afterwards, I was at the church alone, doing some last minute checks on the lights and such and I just stood in the gym and looked at where those holes used to be and the patches that are there now.

It kind of all came together in that one moment.

Here is a group of teenagers living that out. Yes, they made the holes, but here they were actively doing their part in the repair.

We as The Church have made some huge holes in the world. We've hurt people. We've made messes. We've broken things, but are we going back to repair the damage?

We all have a part to play in patching up the holes we've all made. The best way to do that: Act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly.

Made Perfectly Imperfect

Sometimes Youth Ministry is frustrating and sometimes it's amazing.

I think God really does has a sense of humor. He really does know when to push my buttons and also gives me some reprieve right when I need it. One night at our Youth Fellowship was one of those nights.

I've grown reminiscent lately. I'm working on close to ten years of part time youth ministry and I find myself looking back upon some of the more relevant events that have occurred in this past decade.

Looking back on that particular night I really didn't want to go to Youth Group and I wasn't particularly jazzed about my lesson, but like we all do I sucked it up and trudged on.

Things were going pretty good, I was on auto pilot and during the lesson I really went into auto pilot. We got talking about the Roman Road, specifically Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God." This is one of those "youth ministry talk" standards. One of those talks that you could give in your sleep.

Mentally, I was asleep, but God always has a great way to wake us up.

I remember going on about how we are in desperate need of Love from the Savior. How we are all sinners, we've all failed, and no matter how hard we try we will never be able to earn our Salvation. It was at this point that one of the kids said something that will always stay with me...

Youth: "So, Jason, you're saying that we are made to sin?"

Me: "Well, not exactly, but God did create us. He did give us the ability to have desires and we inherited "Sin" from Adam and Eve.

Youth: "Ok, so God could've just created us without the capacity to sin. He could have, like, turned that off, right?"

Me: "Well, yeah, He could have..." (I'm not too sure on how to respond here)

Youth: "So, God made us Perfectly Imperfect. He knew we would sin and that we would need His Grace. He gave us a desire for Him because He didn't take away our desire to sin..."

At this point, I have no Idea what to say. All the other kids are shaking their heads, understanding his point. God made us Perfectly Imperfect. We are created with a desire to know Him because of our Imperfectness....That's deep.

I know I need to keep thinking about that, and to this day it still jars me. At the same time it makes me thankful for the time I have to spend with these kids. Now I go to church in anticipation for another such moment.

I know it will come, right when I need it the most.

Growing Up Asian

I've lived in Grove City my entire life. Whenever I interview for a job I always have this cute line I give when I'm telling the interviewer about myself.

I love Grove City. It's a great place to raise kids. Good School. Good People. I was born in Grove City, grew up in Grove City, and will probably die in Grove City.

I'm also half Filipino. For those of you who are of the um....more homogeneous persuasion or maybe you're just more Caucasian than anything else...growing up Asian in small western Pennsylvanian town is definitely a very interesting experience.

For those of you who know me well, you know that I really have no qualms about being self depreciating about my ethnicity. I've never taken myself too seriously and most times I will beat people to the punch in poking fun at my "differentness." That's not too say that sometimes the stereotypes stung a little.

I remember one fellow classmate that continued to call me "Gook." I have a high tolerance for ignorance and just general stupidity, but that word has always sat very wrong with me. This teen decided to make it his high school hobby to taunt me with this moniker.

As providence would have it, he ended up in my gym class one blessed school year.

Now, I was by no means a star athlete in high school, but I was blessed with enough coordination to compete in most sports. My "racist foe" was not. (We'll dub him "RF" from this point on.)

It was glorious.

Every Wednesday and Friday, I could compete against the RF.

First it was "Marty Ruley's School of Self Defense." That year I had the opportunity to bring RF to the floor two times. He was even wearing his Asic's Wrestling Shoes.

Second, it was tag football and of course I lined up opposite to RF. I was on him like white on rice and was even able to get a few cheap shots in. Ruley didn't seem to really want to throw a flag. (It being yellow and all, I'm sure Ruley was just being sensitive to my ethnicity.)

There was basketball, where I fouled the crap out of him every game. Volleyball, where I was able to serve it right into his head and the hits just kept coming all year long. Amazingly things never escalated to fisticuffs, but words were definitely exchanged in the gym and in the locker room.

Ironically, much like the Vietnam War, this "Gook" had combated the enemy and broke his resolve. He gave up and the taunts and the racial epitaphs ended. Score for this Asian!

Though it was a personal victory, the Asian community in Grove City still suffers. Here's my personal top ten list of what it's like growing up Asian:

1. Everyone thinks you should be good at math and science.
2. The assumption is that your dad is a Doctor.
3. You will be Chinese, no matter what kind of Asian you really are.
4. In every group project you will be the "recorder."
5. You will know EVERY version of the "Chinese, Japanese, Dirty Knees" rhyme.
6. The only sport you should really be good at is Tennis. (Thank You Michael Chang)
7. The only instrument you should play in band is the trumpet.
8. You squint when you talk.
9. You should be related to Data or Short Round.
10. If your parents aren't doctors, then that is what you should be going to college for.

So, next time you see your favorite Asian, give him an extra pat on the back. He's had a rough time of it...

Girl Games

I love my wife. For really. I do.

She's a great woman. She's everything that I'm not. Organized. Aware. Focused. She's a hard working woman who has the really hard job of keeping her crazy, flighty, and ADHD husband in line and going.

We have been dating for half of our lives. Doing life together, growing up together, and having fun every step of the way.

It's been challenging at times. We've had our fair share of craziness, but I'm thankful for how our marriage has grown and improved through each tribulation. The good has extremely outweighed the bad and if I could do it all over again, I would.

BUT...

Being a husband is tough. God has made us extremely different from the opposite gender. We process things differently and communicate differently. Men most times operate in the "black and white" while women thrive in the "grays."

I like to call this particular quality "Girl Gaming."

Instead of asking us to rub your shoulders, you make comments about how much your shoulders hurt. Instead of asking us to help clean up after dinner, you talk about what kind of a crazy day that you have had. All the while, expecting us husbands to pick up on these subtle hints. Then you get upset when we don't meet those expectations.

Ladies. Guess what. Stop "Girl Gaming" us! Honestly, it has taken my wife and I almost 14 years to finally get to the point where I'm beginning to understand this. Let me emphasize, BEGINNING to understand. I am in no way a professional in this area at all, nor do I play one on TV.

It's such a delicate dance and it takes a delicate, listening ear and a lot of patience to get through these girl games. Sometimes I wish that women came with subtitle translations. It would make our lives so much easier.


In many ways though, that's exactly how God communicates with us sometimes. God works in the subtleties.

There is that great passage that I continue to go back to throughout my life. Elijah has just brought down fire from Heaven in his confrontation with the prophets of Baal. God shows His power greatly through Elijah. Afterwards, Elijah flees. Jezebel wants his head and he goes on the lam. The Lord comes to speak to Elijah and comes not in the great wind, not in the earthquake, and not in the fire. Instead, He comes in a gentle whisper.

Listening to the Lord speak in our lives takes a delicate, listening ear and a lot of patience. Like women, God doesn't come with subtitles, even though it would make things that much easier.

God is in the Gray. And like my marriage, it's taken me a long time to realize this. I have to be listening well when both my wife and God is talking to me. When we do this our, relationships are so much more rewarding.

Now if you'll excuse me, I think Kelly's subtitles just said that I need to come cuddle on the couch with her.

Thoughts inspired from a "weak throw from left"

For those of you who don't know, I am a huge Pirates fan.

I've loved the Buccos nearly all my life.

I think it all started when I was around six years old and I began collecting baseball cards. Every week I would try and earn enough allowance to buy a pack or two of baseball cards. I remember collecting them and sorting them into teams and picking out my favorites. I remember the Pirates deck of cards that I had with John Candelaria, Kent Tekulve, and Tony Pena just to name a few. I especially was fond of John Candelaria.

My mother is Filipino and we would take a monthly trip down to the Strip District in Pittsburgh and go shopping at a few Filipino markets. On one of these trips I remember walking down the aisle of Sanbok, which was one of the best Filipino shops on Penn Avenue and coming across the towering presence of John Candelaria. I recognized him immediately and froze and stared in wonder.

Luckily my mom was with me and she started speaking with John Candelaria's wife, who was Filipino. They struck up a conversation in rapid fire Tagalog (a major Filipino dialect) and the next thing I knew John Candelaria bent down and shook my hand.

He looked at my Pirates hat and smiled and said "Good choice in teams...Nice to meet you." Finally shaken out of my daze I told him it was nice to meet him as well and that I had his baseball card at home. He patted me on my seven year old head and said, "Well, keep rooting for us." My mom and his wife ended their conversation and we all said our goodbyes and I've been a Pirates fan every since.

Most of that time has been in frustration though, as they have managed to have a losing record in the each of the past 18 seasons. Once again, as this baseball season comes to a close, I'm haunted by the memory of a "weak throw from left."



I'm also thankful.

Seasons end and ultimately begin over again. Like Roger Hornsby, "I stare out the window and wait for spring to come." And it does. Last year becomes a memory and the slate is wiped clean again. Hope is restored.

Everyday I am amazed at how this idea resonates in ALL aspects of life. In our relationships. In our professions. In our Spiritual walks. Seasons of our lives end. Our past mistakes, missteps, and deeds are wiped clean. Hope is restored.

My hope in Christ: That Grace continues to flow abundantly.
My hope in the Pirates: More wins than losses...