The Bears Win! Not pretty, but it never is really...

It is definitely interesting catching up on the blogs. Unlike some other men who can shoot their own food, I find that most of my talents have very little practical value in true survival situations. While I don't really have any desire to learn how to hunt, I must admit that it really frustrates me that I really know nothing about guns, cars, and other things. For example, Amanda and I were told that our break pads are getting worn out and need to be replaced for a nice chunk of change. Since I have no clue as to whether they are truly worn or not, I almost have to side with the 'play it safe' philosophy and get them changed. On the other hand, I am full of useless knowledge, such as when I see a comerical for a movie titled "300" and see guys waving swords I immediately know what historical battle they are recreating. Now that's talent, right? At least I know how to cook thanks to a few years at Outback. So while Aaron, Ben, and the others go out to hunt, I can stay home and cook for the church family. It's kinda like they can be Esau, and I can be Jacob. I'm not sure that's a compliment for any of us though... And as a sidebar, was Esau's story kind of a Biblical redneck joke? I mean look at his name and what he does! It's almost like you're waiting for some guy to show up and tell him, "Here's your sign."

Alright, I should be lesson planning. Oh, and I'm not saying that Ben and Aaron are rednecks. They might be, but I'm not saying that, or at least I don't think I'm saying that.

Oh, we need to figure out how we can play more basketball in the church, that was really fun in KC, but we should do it more often!

Wow! So it has taken me a while to find time to get to the library to post. Amanda is in the process of shopping for computers, and we might have found a winner which would be awesome, although I am still hestitant to commit the money to it until we (1) pay off the credit cards and (2) have the money. But still that could all happen in the next few weeks.

I hope everyone has had a great break (if you had one!). I am looking forward to getting back with my students next week, and hopefully they won't be too crazy. Usually 3rd nine weeks is one of the best because they know you, your system, what to do, but have not yet caught spring fever. Either way I will keep beating them with work and my meter stick.

This last weekend Chuck asked me what I have been studying recently and I think I gave him some sort of answer that pertained to school or geography. But what about Bible Study? Well, these last few days I've been going through a paper written by someone in a different organization as he attacks what Living states are mission is as a church, in particular to how that pertains to the gospel. It has been an enlightening experience because I am amazed at the lack of sound logic and scripture this man puts forth. He basically accuses Living of being Protestant because we say that the gospel includes the story of the life, death, and ressurrection of Jesus Christ. According to him, the gospel is ONLY the good news of the coming Kingdom of God. Now while it is indisputable that the Kingdom is the focus of Christ's messsage and much of the New Testament, how can one separate that from Christ? To me it's like trying to separate the Holy Days. You can't fully understand Tabernacles (the KofG) without all the ones that came before it. In the same sense, Passover and Unleavened Bread (life and death of Christ) cannot be completely understood without the Kingdom. There's no point to de-leavening yourself if you aren't working towards something -- the Kingdom! And you won't make it into the Kingdom without accepting Christ's sacrifice. Mr. Armstrong taught that all kingdoms had four unifying traits: (1) a king, (2) territory, (3) subjects, and (4) laws. How can you talk about God's Kingdom without Christ?! You've suddenly taken away the King AND the subjects since none of us are getting there without him! Absolutely absurd!

Basicaly this man tries to accuse Living of being Protestant because we talk about Christ as being part of the gospel. As a man who was raised for the first 20 years of his life in a mainstream Protestant church, I will declare this: THE LIVING CHURCH OF GOD IS NOT PROSTESTANT! But just because the Protestants talk about Christ and what He did does not mean that suddenly those scriptures are any less inspired than the rest of the Bible.

Very frustrating and very stupid. I have just finished reading most of the OT histories, which I love since I'm a history nut/major/nerd. To put it in the language of some of my students, "Those books are my boys!" (correct pronuciation would be 'boizzzz') But now it is time to go back to the NT and review all these issues that have come up lately.

It was great seeing a lot of you last weekend, and hopefully the rest of us will run in to each other soon!

Mark