Legacy

Tyler Went to the Prom

Last week Tyler Frost's dilemma made national attention when he was forbidden by his fundamentalist Christian school, Heritage Christian School in Findlay, Ohio, not to go to to his girlfriend's school prom.  The school in which Tyler attends has rules forbidding dancing, and told Tyler if he went to the prom he would not be able to finish his final tests on time or participate in the school's graduating ceremony with his classmates.

Despite knowing the consequences for his actions, Tyler decided to go the prom anyway, and it looks like the school is standing by it's decision.

This controversy has brought up so many questions, such as:
1. Are the school rules on dancing too strict?
2. Did Tyler break the school rules since he was dancing at another location and not during school hours?
3. Should Tyler had gone to the prom knowing the consequences would be so harsh?
4. The school has made it's decision.  Should the school stick by it's decision to keep Tyler out of the graduating ceremonies?

I have posted a new's story about the controversy below from Fox News Toledo:

Lessons from a Bald Chick

Mary Beth Hall, a local high school guidance counselor who has battled breast cancer, has recently written a book called “Lessons from a Bald Chick.”  This book takes a humorous look at a serious subject, Hall said, with chapters that include “Normalcy is Overrated,” “When in Doubt, Party,” and “Insurance, Anyone?”

The royalties from the book are being set aside as donations to individuals and organizations fighting cancer through Hall’s “Bald Chick Ministry.”

Two students in our youth ministry attend Grant County High School where Hall is a guidance counselor.  Jordan and Megan Smith (brother and sister) lead worship in our student ministry and also lead worship at a prayer service every Wednesday morning at Grant County High School before school begins.  Here is a link to Fox 19's website who did a new's story on Hall, her book and the prayer service at the high school: Fox 19.

To the Moms in My Life

To my Mother, who is in Montana today, I want to wish you a great Mother's Day!  Thank you for being the greatest mom in the world! 

To Mom Spencer, who is Evie's mom, thank you for modeling to Evie day in and day out what a great mom is like.  She took great notes!

To the mother of my babies, my lover and best friend, thanks for being an incredible mom and loving our kids unconditionally! 

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!!

If It's Too Good To Be True...

A few days ago on my blog, I posted a link where you could download coupons for a free grilled chicken meal at KFC.  The coupon was offered through Oprah Winfrey, and boy did people print out the coupons!  KFC has been so overwhelmed by the coupons at their restaurants they are running out of grilled chicken.  Because of this, KFC is not honoring the initial offer, but will send you a rain check for a new coupon at a later date. 

Here's what you have to do to get the new coupon:
If you printed out the original coupon(s), bring it into to KFC.  They will give you a form to fill out, and then KFC will mail you a new coupon for a free grilled chicken meal.  For good measure, KFC is throwing in a free Pepsi in the coupon as well. 

Here is what I don't know yet: If you printed off four coupons, I don't know if they will send you four new coupons like they originally promised.  I guess we will find out.

Lessons Learned:
1. If it's too good to be true...
2. Never underestimate the power of Oprah

Here is KFC's president, Roger Eaton, apologizing in an Australian accent:

Tough Play of the Week

Rick Ankiel of the St. Louis Cardinals made an incredible catch and then collided head first into the outfield wall on Monday, May 4th. Fortunately it looks like he is going to be okay with only a "whiplash" injury!

Flying Above the Fray

In the image to the right you see what a storm looks like from the view up above.  When viewing something from afar it is easier to see the big picture.  I'm sure the people in the middle of this storm on the ground can't see as clearly, and their mindset is a lot different. 

Last May, when I was in South Korea, I watched a lot of BBC Television.  Back in the the states we were smack dab in the middle of deciding who was going to be the Democrat and Republican candidates for president.  I noticed how differently the BBC covered the craziness in the U.S. as opposed to how Fox, CNBC and CNN handled it.  The BBC covered the elections much more objectively.  They weren't watching from the middle of the storm.

As we all have discovered, viewing life is much like viewing a storm.  Have you ever had a friend or loved one going through a crisis and making the dumbest decisions while going through the storm?  You just want to shake them into reality, but aside from them stepping away from the situation and getting help from someone else, they will make dumb decisions.  We all have made the same mistakes in our lives too.

What Can We Learn From This:

In Politics: 

99.9% of the time you will not change someone's mind about how they view politics.  Don't bring it up.   If they bring it up, talk about the weather.  We can't see clearly when our mind is on politics.  Our view will always become narrow focused, and we will quickly loose sight of the big picture of grace.  As author Garry Wills writes in What Jesus Meant, "Anyone claiming to practice a "Christian politics" other than the kind practiced by Jesus is a usurper. You can´t speak truth to power, as Jesus did, and be the power, because as Jesus showed us, how you change the world is not through government or politics but by raising up communities, bringing people to peace, eschewing power, speaking out against injustice, helping those in need, and loving those around you, even your enemies."

In Theology: 

Nothing has divided more Christians (outside of gossip) than arguing over theology.  When it comes down to it, we are all just guessing.  Educated people talking about theology is about the same as a group of 10 year old boys discussing sex - They have no idea what they are talking about.  Diversity in churches is great, but keep theological discussions healthy and wholesome. 

Senior Luau

Last night our student ministry honored our seniors with a luau.  It was neat to so many alumni show up for the event as well.  Lawrence Lowe, class of '06 and current SAGU student, gave an incredible message.  As we do every year, each graduate was given a laundry basket full of  items to prepare them for their future.  It's sort of a right of passage into the real world.  This group of seniors are a great bunch who have demonstrated tremendous leadership throughout their time in our youth ministry!  They will be missed!

Free Meal at KFC

I just got this tip from a  Facebook friend: KFC is offering a free Kentucky Grilled Chicken two piece meal.  This comes courtesy of, that's right, The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Here is how it works: Click HERE and print your coupon. The coupon is only available for printing until 9:59pm CDT TONIGHT, 5/6/09. The coupon is redeemable at participating KFC® locations in the U.S. from 5/5/09 to 5/19/09, excluding 5/10/09 (Mother's Day). 

Free offer is good for 2 pieces of Kentucky Grilled Chicken™ (manager’s choice) and two individual sides and a biscuit at participating KFC restaurants located in the U.S., while supplies last. Limit one offer per coupon, one coupon per person during offer period. It must be redeemed in person. No photocopied, mechanically reproduced or altered coupons will be accepted.

HERE IS THE COOL NEWS: You can print and use the coupon up to four times!

What We Can Learn from Spaghetti Sauce

Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink and The Tipping Point, gave a talk a couple years back about Dr. Howard Moskowitz and his contribution to spaghetti sauce.  Not only did Dr. Moskowitz change how spaghetti sauce was made and sold to consumers, but also how marketers find out what "makes people happy."  Dr. Moskowitz discovered that, "The mind knows not what the tongue wants." 

Spaghetti sauce used to be made very thin because, when asked, consumers said they wanted authentic Italian sauce.  But when consumers where introduced to various varieties of spaghetti sauce 1/3 preferred "chunky garden."  In fact, starting in the 70's, Prego took Dr. Moskowitz's research and sold 600 million jars of chunky garden spaghetti sauce over the next 10 years. 

Just as "the mind knows not what the tongue wants," I believe, in most people, the mind knows not what the soul wants.  As Christians, it is our responsibility to embrace diverse ways to introduce our culture to this invisible God who has transformed our lives.  As we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us, our generation will be able to see who God really is; not just who He is to us.

Ministry in Thailand

My sister-in-law, Melodie Leake, and my niece , Alissa just came back from a mission's trip to Thailand.  They traveled with the Mission SOS  team (the same group I went to Uganda with) and MCM Ministry School.  On Melodie's blog you can read about the amazing things that happened while they were there.