Standing at the station

Earlier today I was talking to a friend about having to go through changes and trains. It was certainly an interesting combination, but one that has been discussed before.

Almost 1 year ago, I wrote about being in a new place. My life had gone through some changes. Some by trains I chose to get off, trains I chose to get on, trains that threw me off, and some trains that passed me by. In reflecting on those changes, I was impressed that I some how ended up where I was.

It is now a year later and I continue to be impressed by where I am, considering my path. Some of those trains I have tried to run down and failed. New trains have come my way, so that I missed, some that I took. But I am in a new place because of the path I have taken. Here's to that path, as odd as it has been.

In the original post in October of 2008, I posted a song by Walt Wilkins and the Mytiqueros called Trains I Missed. I posted a copy of the song from youtube, however that video was shortly taken down. I found a new copy that seems to not be violating any copyrights. I think it is a great song.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Missing the Train

Walt Wilkins and the Mytiqueros have a song called Trains I Missed. Part of the song is:

It's a big old world but I've found my way
And the hell and the hurt lead me straight to it
Here's to the trains I missed

Here's to this place I've found
The love I've known
The earth and the sky
That I call home
Here's to the things I need
Bigger than me
And the moments I find myself right where I'm suppose to be

(You can click here to see the entire lyrics.)

The point of the song is that our lives our guided by our past. We have ended up where we are today because of the path of yesterday. Sometimes we see things in our lives that we desire or think is good for us, but in the end, we do not capture them. We miss them. In looking in our past, we see that missing those things was exactly what we needed and we ended up just where we were suppose to be.

Here's to the trains I've missed. The relationships that didn't work out. The opportunities that didn't occur. The times I didn't take a chance. The times I trusted my gut instead of my desire. The times things went completely wrong.

Here's to the place I've found. The relationships that did work out. The opportunities that did occur. The times I did take a chance. The times my mind was right. The times things went completely right.

I do not understand why somethings in my life do not work out. Perhaps in the future I will toast this moment. Perhaps I will not! One thing is for certain, the train is past and I am on another track.

It is a good thing we have eternity to get this right

Today in church, the message was on Mark 9:38-50. The pastor started out with talking about favorite verses in the Bible. He asked us to think of ours and mentioned a few of his. One of those was John 11:35. In 4th grade when he was assigned to memorize his favorite bible for Sunday school. Being a smart man, he quickly decided that John 11:35 was his favorite. He wrapped it up by saying that no one's favorite verse is Mark 9:44. I quickly glanced at my Bible to see what verse 44 was. Well, that is when I found that there was no verse 44, it goes straight from 43 to 45 to 47. The pastor then said that no one he has met has said that they liked the verse saying to cut off your hand if it causes you to sin. Turns out that that is verse 43, not 44. The footnotes of my Bible say that verse 44 and 46, which are the same as 48, are included in some ancient manuscripts, but not in modern translations. I tried explaining to the pastor after the service that verse 44 wasn't in the Bible, but he was just expecting a hand shake and a good morning and was confused by my comments.

So the pastor was right, no one's favorite verse is Mark 9:44, but not because it talks about cutting off your hand, but because it isn't in the Bible.

I'll add this to my favorite bloopers in church that I have witnessed, most of which were caused by me.

Other great bloopers include:
#1) Forgiving Jesus of his sins

In church, the congregational prayer was printed in the bulletin. The pastor was leading it and as a congregation, we said "Jesus, your sins are forgiven." I mentioned it to my grandma who didn't notice who mentioned it to the pastor who also hadn't noticed.

#2) I read the wrong scripture in church

In my church growing up, one Sunday a month, the youth read the scripture. Since I was the only youth who went to the early service, I was the one who read it once a month on behalf of the youth. Sometimes someone told me I was reading, usually I just showed up at church and saw my name in the bulletin. One Sunday I arrived at church, saw my name in the bulletin, and looked up the scripture. I do not remember what the Sunday was, but it was a specific Sunday that would have used specific scripture. I noticed that the scripture listed was not for the Sunday and was probably a chapter off. I told my grandma that I was going to ask the pastor if it was the next chapter that was too be read. She said that the pastor knew what he was preaching on and choose the specific verses for a reason. Very well, don't argue with grandma. I get up, read the scripture, then sit down. The pastor begins saying "Thanks for reading, however we had a typo in the bulletin and it should be the next chapter."

#3) I edit the morning Scripture

Another morning, I arrived, saw my name, grabbed the Bible, and headed up to read. Standing in front of the microphone, I begin, "He left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, "Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and," I looked at the next word. Joses. I mutter to myself "whoa that's a weird word," jerking my head back as I remembered there was a microphone in front of me. I glance at the pastor sitting next to me. Should I asked them for pronunciation help? I look back to the audience. Does it rhyme with Moses? Is the J silent in Hebrew? Lots of questions! I decided to just skip over that word and move on to an easy name, Simon. Luckily my hesitation was quick enough that no one noticed.

#4) False start on the Lord's Supper

One Sunday I was at a church I had been attending for a while. By chance, I hadn't taken communion before in the church. While I was walking in, I was asked if I would help distribute the elements. Sure, this can't be hard. When it came time, I succeeded in passing out the elements and placed the plate back on the cart at the back of the sanctuary, grabbed my bread and wine. Partook, then sat down. The pastor then said "As we join together in the bread, are we not united in Christ? Let us now take the bread together." Opps! My bad...

#5) Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.

When I first went to college, I decided that I should expand my vocabulary. To show off my collegiate vocabulary, I would use big words, even if they didn't fit into the situation. One night at Bible study, we were studying the Holy Spirit and I said "Jesus said he was going to send us the adversary." I got in my big word! Yes! The Bible study leader said "what?" I repeated eruditely, "Jesus said he was going to send us the adversary." "I think you might want to look that one up." Turns out the appropriate word was advocate, not adversary. Isn't blasphemy of the Holy Spirit the unpardonable sin? Ekk!

It is a good thing we have eternity to get this right!

This is a lot of fun!

I brought my guitar back with me this weekend. I spent the last two hours playing. I even relearned the first song I learned on the guitar, Merle Haggard's I Take a lot of Pride in What I Am. I was so proud of myself when I learned that! I learned the half steps in it and the words and everything. Then I forgot it...

Day at the Museum

Today I went to downtown Pensacola. One of the places I went to was the TT Wentworth Museum.



Museums are extremely important. They teach us things that our teachers refused to teach us in school. Take today, I learned about the curious case of Charlotte May Pierstorff. Pierstorff holds the distinction of being the only person to have been mailed via the US Postal Service.

In 1914, she wanted to visit her grandparents who lived 75 miles away on the otherside of some mountains in Idaho. Her parents couldn't afford a train ticket, so they instead bought some postage stamps. She was under the weight limit for parcel post, so the USPS mailed her. She rode the baggage car on the train to her grandparents' town. Upon arriving to the town, the mailman delivered her. Shortly after, the Postmaster General banned the mailing of humans.

Why did my teachers deprive me of such essential knowledge???

A Return to College

College was a great time. I learned a lot, both of academics and of life. I had some great friends, some of which have remained very close friends. I had some great adventures. Last weekend, I returned to college.

Texas A&M's soccer team was playing the University of North Carolina. We have played them several times the last several years, several times in the pre-conference season and in the NCAA tournament. We have only chalked up one win, but some of the games have been good.

I met up with some of my college friends in North Carolina and we explored the campuses of North Carolina State University, Duke University, and the University of North Carolina.

Our first stop was NC State.



A promenent feature of NC State is the Free Expression Tunnel.



It is a tunnel where you are free to express yourself however you wish to on the walls.



However, bring your own paint.



Next were the Wolf Ears.



There are two of these stone things facing each other, though quite a ways apart. We didn't know what they were until we sat inside it and the people in the other one started talking. You can talk to the other people at just a normal voice, despite the vast difference.



They would be great if you were dating a girl who was very conservative and wouldn't let you near her while dating. You could go on dates to the Wolf Ears and talk without having to be close.

We then ended up joining two groups who were on scavenger hunts. One group we just posed with at the Wolf Ears for their picture, the other group we joined for about 20 minutes.


Our Scavenger Hunt group

After taking a few pictures around the Wolf Ears, we headed to the Library for a picture from the 7th Floor.



After scouting out the floor, we found a good spot for the picture of the building.



After a few other pictures in the library, we departed from our group with the recommendation that we check out the statue of a professor near by. We complied.



After a visit to the tower, we departed from NC State, a campus with some very nice people.



The next day we went to Duke University. A very pretty campus.

The first stop was the Sarah P. Duke Gardens.






Afterwards, we headed to the famous chapel.







Upon entering the chapel, we were immediately removed in order for them to prepare for a wedding, giving to the poor picture of the inside.

What visit to Duke would be complete without a visit to Cameron Indoor Stadium? We got there just in time to watch some of the Duke - Loyola volleyball match. Here, Loyola sneaks the ball between the net and the Duke blockers upfront for a point.



We then explored the Sociology - Psychology building, taking the opportunity to get a quick lesson in when we found an unsecured classroom.



We departed from Duke and headed to Chapel Hill and the campus of the University of North Carolina.



We went to the soccer stadium, the site of the soccer match we came to see.





An unfortunate ending, but we did get our picture taken by the security guard.



Afterwards, we set off to explore the campus.


East Hall is the oldest building on a state campus in the country.


The Old Well is an old well on campus. According to one student, drinking from it will give you magic powers.


The Morehead Planetarium Sundial


This monument was for the board of regents. The bust looks a lot like Mel Gibson in The Patriot.

We spent some time in the Student Union, exploring the building and watching the football games.


A couple of the guys played a quick game of chess. I think Chris lost in 3 moves.

We also found the Great Hall. We provided some entertainment to the nearly empty room.



The best part of the student union though was the art.


We left North Carolina the next morning. My 36 hours back in college were great. Why did I ever leave?

How do you make a teacher?

Yesterday a guy in a class I am in said I looked like a teacher. Well, there is a good reason for that, I am a teacher. I have a teaching license and have experience in teaching. I know the struggles and joys of being a teacher, because I have been there. I know the theories and models of teaching and various situations in which they are appropriate because I have studied them and used them in a practical setting. When I am sitting in classes, I often wonder on how to make them better by changing the presentation or the curriculum. How the assessments designed or gauging the level of teacher-student interaction. What does it take the make a teacher?

A teacher must know their subject. You cannot teach if you do not know. But they must be more than just a subject matter expert. It is not enough for the teacher to just know the material for their job is not to know but to teach.

The teacher must also understand the student. They must know their life desires. What motivates them. What their life is like and how their situation affects their learning. What expectations they have. What they already know. What they have learned. You must know the student to teach him.

A teacher must understand how to teach. They have the information that the student needs, but they must find how to deliver the material to the student in a practical and successful manner. They must know when to push the student and when to pull the student. When to teach the student and when to let the student learn. When to encourage the student and when to walk away from the student.

The teacher must care about the student. They must have a desires to see the student succeed. They must want the student to learn. They are to be an example, a role model for the student. Someone to be respected and someone who respects. Someone who will defend the integrity of the student.

A teacher cannot be a book. A teacher is alive and interacts with the student. A teacher is more than just someone with a inflection in their voice. It is the most noblest of professions and must be approached as such.

I do my part, you do the rest

The other day in bible study, we were talking about sharing the gospel with others. Some people felt that the best they could do was to invite others to church and let the pastor do the rest. Sometimes this is a viable option, just bringing someone to church can be enough to get them started on the path to Christ or connected to a new church. However, we cannot expect the pastor to do all the work! Jesus said for us to go to the ends of the world and make disciples of Him, not to go and get other people to do the work. We do work together and there is certainly nothing wrong with bringing people to church, but are you prepared to do more if necessary? Peter tells us "Always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you for a reason regarding the hope that is in you, yet answer with gentleness and reverence." Are you ready to do more than just bring them to someone else?

All Just to get to You

I enjoy the music of Joe Ely. One of my favorite Joe Ely songs is All Just to get to You. I would do all this song says.