I've Moved...

In case you were wondering...I've stopped using this blog so that I can focus on...LIFE...but I have a new blog specifically for my students to view the devotionals we share together every week.

Check it out at http://www.coachharsh.blogspot.com/

Christmas '09

What an incredible day! We celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus every Sunday morning (through our communion service) at my church but on this day each year we celebrate his birth. What a birthday party we'd plan if he were still living in bodily form here on this earth. At least I'd hope that we would.

Our way of celebrating his birth is very different than most birthday parties :-) We don't usually sing "Happy Birthday" to him or give Him presents but we instead give each other presents, which I think is fantastic but does this make any sense or are we just falling into the consumerism of our culture?

I know as a family we spent way too much this Christmas on our 3 kids. It was an incredible morning filled with lots of laughs, and smiles, and "thank you's" but are we teaching our kids any important lessons by giving them so much? Or are we doing the opposite?

When my kids get everything they want and more for Christmas does that make a good parent or a bad one?

Enough pondering, it's my turn now to get on the balance board of our new Wii to play Penguin Slide!

Merry Christmas!

Crowder

I haven't been this excited about a new album in some time. I've actually purchased all four, count 'em four, singles off this album in anticipation for the LP to come out. What am I speaking of you ask? David Crowder's Church Music. It comes out on Tuesday...less than 48 hours away! And I am pumped! All four singles [How He Loves, Alleluia Sing, We Are Loved, and Shadows] are quality which is what I've come to expect from Crowder and his band mates from Waco. They also have had a good time promoting this album by putting up funny clips on YouTube every couple weeks. If there is one band I went to see in concert this year it would be the David Crowder Band [coming to Atlanta November 21st].

Sketches of Spain

Growing up in my father's house I had to endure a lot of classical, jazz, a cappella, and blues records. At the time I thought my dad was torturing us because we had been misbehaving. I mean anytime we were in the car if we could get him to switch the radio station over to Oldies we thought we had done something great because at least it was popular music, even if it was from the 60's.
One of those artists we had to endure was Miles Davis. Well you probably guessed it but at this very moment I am ENJOYING listening to Miles with his Sketches of Spain album. I'm sure that I have become my father in many ways and one of these ways includes my music selection even though I tried to resist this transformation for years. I still rock it out and let my kids enjoy popular music, just last night we watched The Hannah Montana Movie and our three kids were just dancin' and having a ball as the movie winded down in the final scenes. I enjoy that because it brought joy to their little faces and hearts but I also enjoy me a little Miles.

New Year of BSF

I had the great opportunity last year to participate in Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) and study the Life of Moses. I really enjoyed the study but wished I had put more time and energy into the study. It really takes a lot of time which is relative to the time I have put into studying my Bible on my own but I know it's worth it.
This year I have promised myself that I will spend more time and give this study more priority. We are studying the Book of John this year. I know the study will really help me if and only if I spend the time on it.

Kings of Leon

I resisted it for a year with a minor exception of downloading Use Somebody but I finally bit the bullet and bought the rest of the album, Only By The Night, (partly because it went on sale for $7.99) and you know what? I love it. I still have issues about the band itself and their behavior though. I don't know what you've heard about the Followill's but I got to read two very interesting articles this summer about the band, one in Rollingstone and the other in Relevant Magazine. I'm not a big fan of WHO they are but man can they make some great music.

ESPN - Sports Montage

Relevant Magazine - First Word

The only thing better than receiving my Relevant Magazine in the mail is getting cash/checks/gift cards/etc. I love my Relevant and when I flipped through the first couple pages of the new Sept./Oct. issue today I found another jewel in Cameron Strang's editor's page (what he calls First Word). I've linked the title to this blog entry to an online version of the article on Relevant's site.

Here's what I took away...take some time away from technology. I love spending time on Facebook, Hulu, Pandora, iTunes, Relevant Magazine online, etc. and I love to play with my iTouch and iPod, and I enjoy blogging (when I have time) but these things can and do take away from LIVING LIFE! I found myself doing things when I first started Facebook just so I could get on Facebook and tell people what I did. Now I just enjoy seeing what my old and new friends are up to. I was up last night at 2 am because of one of my children and got on for a few minutes just playing around. You will find that I hardly ever "update my status" and instead just enjoy "people watching."

Anyways, what I got from all this is to UNPLUG and live life. I have a wonderful wife. Three great kids. A good job. A fun team to coach and coaches to work with. A nice town to live in. Good church. Good neighborhood. Anyways, I can still enjoy being online and playing with these gadgets but I need to intentionally turn them off and live my life.

Peace.

Outsiders

After getting hooked on Needtobreathe from their previous LP "The Heat" I was anticipating their new album "The Outsiders." I got their single "Lay 'Em Down" early and counted the days until I downloaded the full album. I was not disappointed. My favorite tracks thus far include the title track, Lay 'Em Down, Hurricane, Let Us Love and These Hard Times. I highly recommend this album for those that like Christian music as well as Alternative (which is the genre iTunes has listed this one as). Also check out their web site for lots of fun material and this review by Jesus Freak Hideout.

The Summer of a Teacher

Week 1: Loving the school year being over - so much planned for the summer!
1) read 5 books that I bought last year and was too busy to read
2) work on organizing my garage, filing papers, purging the attic of junk, etc.
3) start running again in the morning before kids wake up OR work out more (because I have the time now)
4) really have a good quiet time everyday since I have more time now
5) tweak my teaching style OR work on math curriculum OR something school related that I don't have time to do in the school year

Week 2: started reading a book but it's going slow so far - Quiet Strength by Tony Dungy
Hanging out at local high school with my wrestling team for a camp
Having fun playing with my own kids

Week 3: having a good time at wrestling camp - a lot of summer left
Realize goal #1 is too lofty (make it 3 books)

Week 4: working everyday for a couple hours at our own wrestling camp and then hitting the neighborhood pool in the afternoon

Week 5: man the summer has slowed down and I really haven't done much with all those plans I made
Acknowledge goal #3 is not happening everyday - change it to 2-3 times a week

Week 6: most of the summer thus far has been a "stay-cation" since we aren't going anywhere until the end of the summer
Bought a trampoline at the beginning of the summer and we're having fun on that - at least in the evening when it's not burning hot

Week 7: uh-oh the summer is wrapping up fast - work in my classroom a little
Goal #2 can wait until next week

Week 8: sweet - vacation time - maybe I'll read some more while we're away from home

Week 9: last chance to get all those items on my summer to-do list done
Goal #5 needs to happen now!

Week 10: I don't wanna go back - do I have to?
Goal #4 is going to start as soon as school starts and I'm on a tighter schedule

Evil Urges

I've heard My Morning Jacket is Kentucky's answer to Wilco...well never being a fan of Wilco, and believe me I've tried to become a fan and actually have 2 Wilco albums (Summerteeth and Being There) I wasn't all that excited but I thought I'd give them a chance since NPR reviewed their newest album so well. So I finally went out on a limb (a year after this album arrived) and bought the entire album and man, I love this band. My favorite tracks are Highly Suspicious, Sec Walkin, Librarian, and Look at You. Check them out. Also, check out this review from Rollingstone.

Teacher Stuff

So the new school year is coming up and I've been thinking this summer...yes I do work some in the summer...and I think I've come up with a genius idea...well maybe not genius but I think it will help me stay on task and keep my kids happier.

1) Upon entering the classroom students will drop off their assignment from the previous night (yes I still give homework nearly every night).

2) Students will start the beginning of class activity immediately and have until 5 minutes after the bell to complete the activity. Activities are as follows:
a) Problem of the Day - some sort of puzzler or word problem - sometimes work in pairs and other times work all on their own - on the screen
b) Journaling - yes writing about math is a good thing but it's new for me so I have to use this sparcely right now (1 or 2 times every 2 weeks) - on the screen or board
c) Facts Practice/Drilling - something from my textbook series especially for my sixth graders - have to make copies made - paper
d) free time/chill out - not sure I will use this much

3) While students are completing one of these activities I will check their homework - for completion only and give it back for them to keep - works for regular assignments as well as worksheets or test review sheets

4) This will keep me and my student aides from spending an exhorbitant amount of time keeping track of homework - I'm usually just checking e-mail or playing around anyways with those first few minutes

5) The time can be less than 5 minutes or more depending on me and the beginning of class activity

Still formulating this so I'll be revising this as I go and see how this works the first 3-4 weeks of school.

Your Love is Strong

How true...thanks Jon Foreman (which coincidentally is also my cousin's name) for this song and cheap video.

Magnificent

New video, although not what I was hoping for it's still a new classic song from U2.

Magnificent

Say

So I was listening to John Mayer's "Say" in my car on the way to Home Depot (on my iPod) and when I walked in to Home Depot guess what song was playing...c'mon its too easy...Say by John Mayer! What?!

This is beginning to happen to me more and more. It's kind of creeping me out.

So what is the song all about you ask...cause maybe there's a reason I heard it in both places and it's not just coincidence?

Well it comes from a movie I haven't seen but they show clips in the music video...The Bucket List with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. Honestly I was kinda getting tired of John saying "say what you need to say" over and over and over but it works with the music video. Check it out here:

New Favorite

Manchester Orchestra is possibly my favorite new band in the past year. I took a chance on them after hearing only one song (I've Got Friends)...actually I saw the creepy video and still loved them. I bought their album after just that one song and have been just enjoying them to pieces. I don't know what they're saying but it's great. And they're not even an orchestra! Here's what I know...they're from Atlanta, they were featured in an article in Relevant Magazine and they have weird music videos...

Manchester Orchestra- Shake It Out

random thoughts while mowing my lawn

One of Erin and me’s favorite TV shows right now is My Boys on TBS. The last episode I saw was all about social networking, especially Facebook. It got me thinking about how I interact with my friends both in town and from my past. It was a good critique of social networking in general but one of the biggest reasons I signed up for an account from Facebook was to reconnect with some friends from HS and college. I don’t really want to get back into any serious friendships with any of those folks but it’s nice to see what they’re up to. I like to check out their families and what they are up to. I just thought it was funny that I’m watching a show about mid-20s singles hanging out in a bar and playing poker at home now that I’m in my mid-30s with a wife and 3 kids. Back in the day, HS and college I watched, like most everyone else, Friends which was all about a group of friends in their 20s-30s hanging out in a coffee shop. I have never spent much time in a coffee shop either.

I was listening to a Genius playlist put together by my iTunes account. You pick a song and iTunes puts together the songs that best go with it. I set this playlist to 50 songs with The Who song Baba O’Riley. Here’s what I got to listen to while mowing the lawn:

1) Baba O’Riley – The Who
classic tune – that’s why I chose this for my playlist
not a big fan of The Who in general but they’ve got some hits

2) Roundabout – Yes
out of this world – literally
I couldn’t tell you 5 other Yes songs to save my life!

3) White Room – Cream
I’ve read Clapton wrote this song after watching Hendrix perform (for the first time?) - never mind - that was Sunshine of Your Love

4) Money – Pink Floyd
all I can think is The Italian Job or Ocean’s Eleven
from one of my favorite albums of all time – Dark Side of the Moon

5) All Along the Watchtower – Jimi Hendrix
I believe this is a Bob Dylan song but I like this version the best, although U2’s version from Rattle & Hum is pretty good too

6) Renegade – Styx
our marching band at my school had a Styx theme one year (of course Mr. Roboto was a huge hit)

7) Tom Sawyer – Rush
I had a friend from HS, can’t remember his name right now, that just loved Rush. He was a drummer and he went on and on about this guy – makes me think of my friend Dex from college that went on and on about the drummers of Dream Theater and also Dave Matthews Band. Anyways this song is just awesome and it has an incredible drum solo.

8) Kashmir – Led Zeppelin
The greatest rock band ever (period). This is 8 ½ minutes of pure genius.

9) Killer Queen – Queen
actually skipped this song ~ Sorry Queen. I like some of your stuff but there was better in the playlist and I knew it.

10) Wheel in the Sky – Journey
I don’t know why but I just love Journey’s Greatest Hits…I don’t know much of their other stuff and I don’t really care to but their good stuff is sick.

iPod Shuffle

The first 10 songs (out of 4903) when I shuffle:

1) that lonesome road - james taylor live
2) when the sun goes down - kenny chesney
3) land of my sojourn - rich mullins
4) fire - jimi hendrix
5) the middle - jimmy eat world
6) rhymin & stealin - beastie boys
7) what do you see? - the cross movement
8) ballad of san francisco - caedmon's call
9) he touched me - the isaacs
10) st. louis blues - louis armstrong

No, I'm not making this up.

directions

My wife commented to me this weekend, "Did you read the directions?"

"Of course" was my response.

Now we're into Monday and the trampoline we bought on Saturday morning is still not 100% put together. I literally put the 96 springs on 3 times before all was said and done. Why, why, why!

Next time, read the directions completely before putting together a trampoline.

Sho Baraka

I like share what I find out there in Christian music land with my students and this week I was on tangle and found this video from Sho Baraka "Higher Love." I was most impressed with the lyrics which you can link to here. Reach Records consists of 4 Christian hip-hop artists that are all in the 116 clique (one-one-six click). I was so impressed with their stuff I made my own Pandora station of 116 clique. My students favorite comment/question when they hear it playing is, "that's Christian music?" I love to freak them out and listen to hip-hop. Me. 32 year-old white boy from the hills of PA.

worship

Some of you are not around junior high and high school kids at church very often but I'm sure you can imagine that there are times when these adolescents have a difficult time during worship. What I mean by that is they have a difficult time participating fully in the whole worship experience. What I mean by worship experience is not the sermon time (which is probably another terribly difficult time for these young people) but I'm speaking about singing.
I'm probably as clear as mud right now so let me try to clear it up. At my school, which is a K-12 Christian school, not everyone has the same spiritual focus. Not every student comes from a family that holds up the ideals of living a Christian life. A number of our student population are not believers at all (and by that I mean believers in Jesus as the son of God). A number of our students have faith in other gods (Buddha, Muhammad, Krishna, etc.).
So our dilemma, which I don't really have any say so in, is getting our students to worship our Creator, Savior, Sustainer of Life, Author and Perfecter of our Faith (in an honest way).
Today in our combined (we only combine chapels 5 or 6 times a year) chapel for JH/HS the band Unhindered (Worship) came and performed/lead worship for us. I'm telling you...it was awesome! They brought that place alive with the Spirit of God. It was 9 am but it didn't feel like it once they got us up and moving and shaking our neighbor. By the end of it the JH kids were yelling "encore!" and guess what, we had one. They got the teachers up on stage (well maybe 1/4 of us) and we jumped around like crazy (well not really that crazy but it was fun to see some of the old timers having fun) singing Crowder's "Undignified." I was totally blown away to the fact that our kids would get that "in" to the worship. I hope we can repeat this experience for our kids again.

God is good.

Goodness of God

I heard an analogy of God's goodness compaired to my goodness and I wanted to repeat it as best I could cause it's powerful.

My 3 year old is incredible. She is so smart. She can sing her ABC's. She can count to 10. She is also super strong. She can jump off of anything. She can ride her bike. She's just fantastic...until I walk in the room. Once I walk in the room she ceases to be smart. Her knowledge is nothing compared to mine. She is not strong. She is weak. On her own she is smart and strong. But once I walk in she is not even comparable to me.

We compare ourselves to each other every day. I'm way better than that guy. I'm pretty good. I didn't mess up as much as him. We get complacent because of our standard.

When God walks in the room we are wicked, evil and sin-filled! We are not good. Not at all.

The scriptures say in Luke 18:19, "'Why do you call me good?' Jesus answered. 'No one is good—except God alone.'" God's definition of the word "good" is no where near mine. So no, I am not good. I am sinful, wicked and ashamed of my actions/behavior.

I didn't really do this justice but I tried hard.

Dave Ramsey - Town Hall for Hope

The wife and I got to attend a viewing of the Town Hall of Hope with Dave Ramsey last night at our church and quite honestly I was impressed. We have one of his books and we have talked about going through Financial Peace together.

I am hopeful and I am putting the responsibility on my shoulders, not my government's shoulders. I hope everyone else got to witness the Town Hall as well but if you didn't I'm sure it will be online soon.

i am second

Former guitarist for the hard rock/nu-metal band Korn Brian "Head" Welch made a HUGE choice four years ago to walk away from the rock star lifestyle (alcohol, crystal meth, sex, parties, etc.) to re-dedicate his life to Christ. He walked away from the hugely popular Korn in 2005 after helping found the group in 1992. Korn has sold over 30 million records worldwide. I'm sure if you're into the Christian music scene you've heard his story but I wanted to share it with my students today. The video is from Tangle uploaded from the iamsecond.com web site.

"I am second", of course, is a statement of the hierarchy in our lives.
God first, me second. God's will first. God's vision first. God's glory first.
God comes first and I come in second. Sometimes we place ourselves even further back in the order of importance but that's rare. We might say God first and my family second but how many of us are more selfish than that?
Do you put your wife/husband before yourself? How 'bout your kids?
Yeah, that's what I thought.
Me too.

The Elevation Church

A friend suggested I download The Elevation Church's podcasts. Wow. That's all I can say. You need to listen for yourself. Steven Furtick rocks. He is unashamed and he will hit you in your gut on anything. I got to hear him speak at the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta last October. He's a visionary.

Check out his podcasts online. I would listen to The Essential James series first. Outstanding stuff Steven!

Eddie Kirkland @ GAC

Eddie Kirkland performed/lead worhsip for our JH and SH yesterday in chapel and just did an amazing job. I am just taken aback by the talent by guys coming out of his church (North Point Community Church) here in Atlanta. Andy Stanley. Louie Giglio. Steve Fee. Good, good stuff.

Anyways, you've got to check out Eddie. You can listen to 5 songs on his audio player on his web site.

The Crucifixion

I sat down this weekend and watched Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ which I've done for several years on Easter weekend. I can't say I've enjoyed viewing the movie but I believe its good for me to remember what my Lord suffered through on my behalf. I know it's only one man's interpretation of the events surrounding and leading up to the crucifixion of Christ at Calvary but I think witnessing the cruelty to Jesus by the Roman soldiers, the Jewish leaders, and others changes my perspective. When I read the Gospel accounts I don't really get the same imagery as I do watching The Passion. It's very gruesome and I have to avert my eyes from time to time (especially during the flogging scene at the hands of the Roman soldiers).
As I watched it this time, one of the things I thought about was the characters in the film. I asked myself which of these characters could I portray (if I were an actor).
These are the ones I think I could portray:
Simon from Cyrene - carried the cross with/for Christ
Simon Peter - he denied Christ but in the end he played a large role in the formation of the newly formed church (The Way)
John - friend of Jesus and the only bad thing he did was run away like everyone else when they seized Jesus

These are characters I couldn't play:
Roman Soldiers - these guys were terrible - they just kept on mocking/abusing
Judas - wow - who could play this guy?
High Priest
Jesus - what a daunting task to play the Savior of the world as he went through the terrible events leading up to his death - Jim Caviezel did an amazing job
Pontius or Herod - no way

VOTA

The devotional for this week actually got put in the back seat of my mind because of what happened today at my school (good story coming :-)

Check VOTA out at their page Votaband.com or you can watch their first single Hard to Believe on Tangle. Either way...this is a good song from a solid band. I downloaded my free copy of the song from iTunes (along with 184,000+ others) a few weeks ago and have continued to enjoy this song.

I came back and had to attach this video...so cool.

The Motions

Question: How often do I sit in worship and just go thru the motions?
Answer: All the time!

Man, this is a great wake-up call for Christians to get into the game. I shared this video with my students this week in class. I got a great response. I had them write on a note card what they would like to make a change in...a resolution of sorts. I was inspired by Matthew West's web site where folks are sharing what they want to NOT go thru the motions on/in. Check it out HERE.

Passion City Church

Wow...that about sums it up. I am in awe of God's power and glory and fame. I was floored tonight by Matt Redman, Chris Tomlin and Louie Giglio. They were God's mighty tools bringing the message and leading our worship to the Almighty. I can't say anything but THANK YOU LORD for bringing me that message tonight. I know it's late so I'll spend some time later sharing what impacted me most about Passion City Church. For now you'll just have to wait.

Magnificent by U2

After all the buzz about the latest effort from one of my favorite rock bands, U2, I am quite impressed with it. I wasn't sure whether all the hype would result in a let down or not but I have to say I love this album...not like I love listening to the classic U2 but it's a good album.

I played this song for my kids in class this week and I really think they enjoyed it...although I have to say that almost none of my 100+ kids knew that they were listening to U2 (I didn't tell them before hand and I only played the song off my iPod and had a PPT slide show with the lyrics on it). Nonetheless, I really think they enjoyed the song.

One of my favorite things about the internet is that you can see what others around the country/world are thinking about this song! Here are just a few comments from several web sites that I found about this song Magnificent.

From a YOUTUBE uploader: "When Bono Says "Magnificent" he is refering to Jesus. Most Excellent! Most U2 fans don't even realize that U2 is a Christian Rock Band."

From freechristianresources.org: "Magnificent, by U2 live on the Letterman Show singinging some very Christian lyrics!"

From chrisburke.ca/?tag=magnificent: "For many years U2 fans and anti-fans have asked the same question: “is U2 Christian?” It’s a very common question, one that I know I have wondered many times. 2 years ago, my worship team started performing some of U2’s songs during services. We’ve always gotten questions like “why do you guys do that secular music” or, we just get blank stares when we break into songs like “Sunday Bloody Sunday” or “Vertigo”… typically its the blank stares.. few people are often bold enough to question us…
Well, for those who do ask the why, I always show them the lyrics to the songs, and share the theological message behind a song like vertigo, which usually comes as a shock to people, but once they see it, they totally dig it.
Well, it appears as though I’m not the only one who has seen the christian undertones (who would have thought) in the music of U2.."

From christianpost.com: "No Line On The Horizon, the latest album from Irish rock band U2, has finally hit music stores in North America after its worldwide debut Friday in Ireland. And according to a theologian in Alabama, it’s “the most thoroughly Christian thing they’ve done yet.”
“Like the last two albums, No Line is much more overt in its Christian rendering of the world, what with lyrics like ‘Justified until we die/You and I will magnify/Oh, the Magnificent’ from the album's second track,” commented Steven R. Harmon, an associate professor of divinity at Samford University's Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Ala.'" read more of this article HERE.

And then there is this page http://u2sermons.blogspot.com/ which is of course just like it is labeled...sermons/spiritual entries from U2 lyrics...

Without further ado...here are the lyrics to Magnificent...you can decide for yourself who Bono is really singing about.

Magnificent
Oh, magnificent



I was born
I was born to be with you 

In this space and time

After that and ever after
I haven't had a clue


Only to break rhyme
This foolishness can leave a heart
Black and blue



Only love
Only love can leave such a mark

But only love
Only love can heal such a scar


I was born
I was born to sing for you 

I didn’t have a choice
But to lift you up
And sing whatever song you wanted me to
I give you back my voice
From the womb my first cry
It was a joyful noise
Oh, oh

Only love
Only love can leave such a mark

But only love
Only love can heal such a scar


Justified till we die
You and I will magnify

Oh, the magnificent

Magnificent

Only love
Only love can leave such a mark

But only love
Only love unites our hearts



Justified till we die
You and I will magnify
Oh, the magnificent

Magnificent

Magnificent

Favorite Dan Gable Quote

"GOLD MEDALS AREN'T REALLY MADE OF GOLD. THEY'RE MADE OF SWEAT, DETERMINATION, AND A HARD-TO-FIND ALLOY CALLED GUTS." - LEGENDARY WRESTLER AND COACH DAN GABLE

Compassion Art

I'm still looking into this project by Martin Smith (Delirious?) but I think it's a really good thing. Any time you help those in need (real need - like poverty need) then I think it's a real good thing. I've bought the album via iTunes and watched the 15 minute video on that about the project. I'm planning on having a devotional this week (tomorrow/Thursday) with my kids at school here. I gotta figure out which one.

St. Jude

It's that time of year again...
Math-a-thon!

Every spring the junior high students at GACS raise money by completing math "funbooks" or workbooks for money. They ask neighbors, relatives, friends, etc. to donate to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for the math problems they complete. We're raised just under $90,000 in the 15 years or so that we've held the Math-a-thon. For more info you can check out the Math-a-thon web site.

To make it more personal or to connect the kids with who they're actually helping I'm showing an episode of Jon & Kate Plus 8. I watched it with two of my 6 classes yesterday and over the next few days do the same with my other 4 classes. If you'd like to check out the episode click HERE.

For the kids sake, I hope we raise a lot of money this year.

Paul Harvey

"The Rest of the Story" was often heard on our radio at home or on the road as a kid. Paul Harvey, who passed away this weekend at the age of 90, had a very distinct voice that I will forever remember. I read this story and discovered he had been telling us the rest of the story since 1951! I also learned a lot more about this great American news man. In 1976, Harvey began broadcasting his anecdotal descriptions of the lives of famous people. "The Rest of the Story" started chronologically, with the person's identity revealed at the end. The stories were an attempt to capture "the heartbeats behind the headlines." Paul Harvey will be greatly missed.

Set Me Free by Casting Crowns

State Tournament 2009

From my wrestling news web page

Thursday, February 19, 2009
After the first night of wrestling one of our three wrestlers is through to the Quarterfinals and the other two dropped down to the Consolations. In the first match of the night, Locke Hoover quickly gained control of his match against Adairsville and after two periods led 7-4. The Adairsville kid caught back up in the third period and pushed the match to overtime. In the overtime period (sudden death) the Adairsville wrestler took Locke down in the first 30 seconds to win the match. In the second match, Travis Elrod wrestled the #2 wrestler from the West Sectional and put one on him, 9-0. He moves in to the Quarterfinals to meet a Cook County wrestler. In the third match, Jared Hemmings was wrestling the #1 wrestler from the West Sectional from Chattooga and got pinned in the second period. Tomorrow begins another day of wrestling with the first round of Consolations at 9 am and the Quarterfinals at 11:15 am. Come on out if you get a chance to see your Spartans wrestling!

Saturday, February 21, 2009
What a great end to the 2008-09 wrestling season! We had three of our wrestlers make it all the way to the state tournament after placing in the top four in our Area and top eight in our Sectional. Sophomore Jared Hemmings (152 lbs) was a first time State Qualifier this year and hopes to return next season and take home a medal. Senior Co-Captain Locke Hoover (119) finished a great wrestling career at the state tournament for the third time. Locke finished 3rd at state in 2007 (as a sophomore). Locke finishes his career with 155 wins and 67 pins. He broke the school record for number of career wins formerly held by his older brother Brett by 25 wins this year. Senior Co-Captain Travis Elrod (130) was the man of the hour this time finishing his wrestling career with a 4th place medal at state. Travis was a 4x State Qualifier and two time State Placer (4th this season and 2nd last season at 119 lbs). Travis also broke the career wins record and finishes his career with 158 wins and 58 pins. Travis now holds the all-time career wins record at GACS. Congratulations to Jared, Locke and Travis!

What We Listen To

I played this video today in my classes not so much for the content of the video or the message of the lyrics but for the band, for the genre. There is a lot of music out there that is just junk. I want my kids (my own kids and my school kids) to make good choices and one of the choices they have to make is who and what they listen to. I was so in to music as a kid and I spent a lot of energy and time and money on it. In my day there really weren't a lot of choices for me in regards to Christian music: Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, DC Talk, Steven Curtis Chapman, etc. I did not listen to those guys (well maybe DC Talk). I thought the music was poorly produced and lacked a certain amount of...talent. Now-a-days though there are a ton of bands out there that have a positive message and are in the Christian market. Anberlin is just one of the many great bands that I want to introduce my kids to (both my own kids and my school kids).

Give Me Your Eyes

This was my devotional this week. What a great sounding song and what a great message. Take a look and listen closely. You might just live your life differently after it's all over.


Brandon Heath - Give Me Your Eyes from Brandon Heath on Vimeo.

I'm Good Commercial

Coke Zero Commercial

What a great re-make of the Mean Joe Green Coke commercial from the 70s.

The Terrible Towel

So I've waved my Terrible Towel for decades now...well maybe only a decade...I can't remember when I bought my first one (I think in college)...and I have never really known the origin of the towel. It is one of the most recognizable items in professional sports but I never knew how it came about. My entire life I remember watching games at Three Rivers with fans waving their Terrible Towels.

I googled Terrible Towel and came up with a Wikipedia entry about the origin of Myron Cope's gimmick.

Two weeks prior to the Steelers' first playoff game of the 1975 season, the team's flagship radio station WTAE's Vice President and General Manager, Ted J. Atkins, and President of Sales, Larry Garrett, explained that they needed Cope's assistance in inventing a "gimmick" in order to attract sponsors to his daily commentaries and talk show. Initially, Cope did not want to participate, saying "I am not a gimmick guy, never have been a gimmick guy." However, after Garrett's suggestion that a successful gimmick would be good leverage for a raise in Cope's upcoming contract renewal, Cope replied, "I'm a gimmick guy."

The three men, along with other radio station advertising personnel, began brainstorming ideas. One idea, a black mask including Coach Chuck Noll's motto "Whatever it takes", was deemed too expensive. Cope said the gimmick should be something "lightweight and portable and already owned by just about every fan." Garrett suggested using towels. Cope agreed, suggesting the words "The Terrible Towel" be printed on the front. It was agreed that the towels would be gold or yellow, with the writing in black—the colors of the Steelers. Franklin C. Snyder, who was head of WTAE's radio and television stations, held the final approval of the idea. He approved the idea on the stipulation that black towels would also be allowed, in order to avoid accusations of racism from the FCC; Cope and Garrett agreed.

In the weeks leading up to the game, Cope advertised the idea of the towel to fans on the radio and evening television news, using the phrase "The Terrible Towel is poised to strike!" However, Atkins grew nervous that fans would think the towel was a jinx if the Steelers lost the game. Cope agreed to poll players on their view of the towel. Linebacker Jack Ham told Cope, "I think your idea stinks"; Ernie "Fats" Holmes was also against the idea. Also against the idea of the Towel was Andy Russell, who mirrored Cope's original thoughts, "We're not a gimmick team. We've never been a gimmick team." Cope simply replied, "Russell, you're sick." Growing nervous about the negative feedback, Cope, who had already advertised the towel on the news multiple times, polled the rest of the players with a "banana-republic vote".

I found Terry Bradshaw seated on a stool at his locker, reading the farm reports. "How do you feel about the Terrible Towel?" I asked him.
He looked up and said, "Huh?"
I check him off as a yes...I reported back to Ted Atkins that the Steelers overwhelmingly approved of the Towel.
—Myron Cope, Double Yoi!

The Towel made its debut on December 27, 1975 in a playoff game against the Baltimore Colts. Prior to the game, Cope watched the gathering fans through his binoculars from the broadcast booth. Cope, whose idea had been mocked by the local Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, saw fewer than a dozen towels while players were going through pre-game warm-ups. Cope recalls the event, "Nearing kickoff, the Steelers gathered in their tunnel for introductions, whereupon the crowd exploded—and suddenly, by my estimation, 30,000 Terrible Towels twirled from the fists of fans around the stadium!" The Steelers went on to defeat the Colts 28–10. In the following weeks, the team defeated the Oakland Raiders and Dallas Cowboys, to capture the franchise's second consecutive Super Bowl victory. Even while the Steelers struggled through the 1980s, the Towel remained a large part of the franchise.

During the Towel's debut game Andy Russell, who had opposed the idea of the Towel, returned a fumble 93 yards for a touchdown. The play inspired local fan Lisa Benz to write about the Towel, which she later sent to Cope. In part, her poem read:

He ran ninety-three
like a bat out of hell,
And no one could see
How he rambled so well.
"It was easy," said Andy
And he flashed a crooked smile,
"I was snapped on the fanny
By the Terrible Towel!"

Coach Karen Blackman

MEMORIAL SERVICE TODAY AT 4:00PM IN LONG FORUM;
GAC COMMUNITY GRIEVES THE DEATH OF SWIM COACH KAREN BLACKMAN

Karen Blackman, beloved swim coach dies;
Coach was recovering from back surgery
By Will Hammock, Sports Editor
Feb. 3 Gwinnett Daily Post

Stationed at the end of Greater Atlanta Christian's football stadium is the Freeman Aquatic Center.

The posh facility, dedicated in 2007, means plenty to the school's swimmers, but it also serves as a reminder of what longtime coach Karen Blackman built at the Norcross private school.



Blackman, who passed away suddenly Monday morning after complications from back surgery, put years of work into building the Spartans' swimming program to such a high level that the school responded with the new aquatic center to train its athletes.

"I don't know if anybody else could have done what she did, starting our swimming program from scratch, just because of how much she loved it," GAC Athletic Director Tim Vick said. "For years she would have practices wherever she could at whatever time she could get, sometimes 5 or 5:30 in the morning or late at night. It showed a lot that she would go off campus to try to build a tradition in that sport.

"She's brought the team from nothing to now, where they compete as one of the top (Class) AA schools in the state."

Blackman, who was diabetic, underwent back surgery last June and then had six subsequent back surgeries while fighting an infection. Family friends said she had worked her way into a wheelchair and seemed to be on the road to a recovery until Monday, when she passed away at about 5:45 a.m. They also said paramedics worked on her for nearly 30 minutes on Monday, but she died from what appears to be an embolism.

A 1976 GAC grad, Blackman lived with her mother Jane, also a longtime GAC faculty member. Neighbor and GAC academic support center employee Brenda Walker said the 53-year-old died in her mother's arms.

The two women shared a Lilburn home with Blackman's older sister Debbie, who died this past December. Jane Blackman's husband had died years ago.

Walker saw firsthand the impact of GAC's swim coach, but in another way. Blackman was one of the academic support center's most beloved tutors.

"It's remarkable how much she's left with her students," Walker said. "When she gets into your life, into your heart, you can't get rid of her. She sticks. She's wonderful and you just never want her to leave."

GAC plans a memorial service at the school's Long Forum at 4:00pm Wednesday. Friends and family visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. today.

Blackman was a standout basketball and softball player at GAC before attending Harding University (Ark.). She also was a renowned singer who was in the school chorus in both college and high school.

"She was one of those people who was good at everything," Walker said.

Following college, Blackman worked in Louisiana as a teacher and then left to work in private business. She returned to GAC as a tutor, mentoring countless students over the years.

A large group of her students gathered Monday to remember her, sharing some of their favorite memories.

"She was so incredible that I wrote a college essay about her," GAC student Ellen Begley said. "She was the strongest person I've ever known. She kept all of us in check. She called us her kids and she was my second mother."

In 1995, Blackman was charged with another quest at GAC - start a swimming program. She was a community coach until 1998, then was the head coach until her back surgery.

Since 1998, 10 of Blackman's teams has finished second or higher in AA at the state swim meet. Her 2002 boys and girls, her 2003 girls and her 2006 boys placed first among AA schools at state.

Even as her back began bothering her more, Blackman kept swimming with her students. When she became hospitalized, she missed the smell of the pool so her team members bottled up chlorinated pool water for her.

It was that love of swimming, Vick said, that made her so successful in building up GAC's program. But she cared even more about the students she coached and taught in the classroom.



"It's hard to find somebody like Karen, who had such a passion for her sport," Vick said. "She loved the kids and the feeling was mutual. They loved her."

GAC principals Scott Harsh and Misty Overman and vice president Bill Burton joined counselors Monday in meetings with grieving students who had just received the sad news.

"To say our hearts are broken is a vast understatement," GAC president David Fincher said in a school release. "And if ours are hurting, so will Karen's many students from swim and academic support. Please be in prayer for her mother, Jane, and support devastated children today. There will be pain, but there is joy in God's morning."

Happy Groundhog Day!!!

 

Well, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning dooming us to 6 more weeks of winter.

Phil's official forecast as read February 2nd, 2009 at sunrise at Gobbler's Knob:

Hear Ye Hear Ye

On Gobbler's Knob this glorious Groundhog Day, February 2nd, 2009

Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Prognosticator of all Prognosticators

Awoke to the call of President Bill Cooper

And greeted his handlers, Ben Hughes and John Griffiths

After casting a joyful eye towards thousands of his faithful followers,

Phil proclaimed that his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers were World Champions one more time

And a bright sky above me

Showed my shadow beside me.

So 6 more weeks of winter it will be.

 

Mark Richt

So, we had our ceremony to open our new building (The Forum) at my school we had Georgia Head Football Coach Mark Richt come speak. It was a big deal and we had tons of alumni back and we packed out the place with 3000+ folks (many of them current students).

I'm sorry to write this but I just have to. Mark Richt's speech could have been the worst speech I've ever sat through in my life. Even worse than some of those I had to sit through in ninth grade speech class!

Here's my response to Coach Richt:

Did you even KNOW you were going to speak today at the ceremony?
if so...Did you even WRITE a speech?
if so...Where did you LEAVE the speech?
and for future reference...You might want someone to PROOF READ your speech before you give another one...EVER!

I love to watch Georgia football...since I've migrated to GA in '99 and I love that Coach Richt has morals and seems to have good Christian character but he was not on his A game the other day.

Better luck next time Coach.

Coach Baker

Tim Baker is one of my good friends and he's is currently training before his deployment this spring. He is a fellow teacher at GACS and a volleyball coach. Here is a recent article in a local paper about Coach Baker.

Sergeant Tim Baker


Tim Baker: Duty calls for GAC volleyball assistant coach
By Will Hammock, Sports Editor
Jan. 15 Gwinnett Daily Post

Greater Atlanta Christian's volleyball players had the typical postseason banquet, not unlike the countless others that sports teams at various area high schools throw.

But the players and coaches received one special gift that meant the most, a black hat with the initials "CB," for Coach Baker.

Tim Baker, a GAC volleyball assistant for the past five years, told a black hat story to the players last season that became a team battle cry as the Spartans won their first area championship.

The story involved an Army training exercise where Baker had to wear a black hat and break down his fellow soldiers with screaming and other discipline. It was out of character, but it was his duty. It was the attitude he wanted his players to have on the volleyball court.

"Once he put that black hat on, he knew what he had to do," GAC head volleyball coach Kristy Shelton said. "Every now and then someone during the season would say, 'OK, it's time to put the black hats on.'"

The players donned their black hats recently for a different reason, a school assembly to bid farewell to their beloved coach. Baker, a 19-year Army veteran who has been in the Georgia National Guard (where his rank is sergeant first class) since 1995, will begin a yearlong deployment to Afghanistan in a few months.

He and his fellow soldiers - after training the next few months at Fort McClellan (Ala.) and at Fort Polk (La.) - are expected to plan, observe and support missions of the Afghan National Army.

A veteran in the military, he knew this day could come. Not that it made leaving his wife Natalia and his 2-year-old daughter Katya any easier.

"That's absolutely the toughest (thing about deploying)," Baker said. "She's a 2-year-old and that's such a fun age. That's going to be hard to leave and then coming back and having to re-enter her life."

A bunch of kids at GAC also will miss Baker, a well-liked sculpture and graphic design teacher who also leads mission trips each year to Austria and Russia. He regrets that he won't see the current seniors graduate in May and that he will miss the 2009 volleyball season in the fall.

His duty isn't without sacrifices, but he should be commended for what he's doing for his country. And he said his GAC students understand his job.

"I just told (the GAC students) it's something I had to do," Baker said. "I tried to use an analogy they could understand. I've practiced this for 19 years and now I'm being called into the game. I believe in my country. I believe in what I do. I want to serve my country.

"The freedom we have in this country for my wife and for my daughter, I'm willing for fight for it."

To complete my devotional thought this week with my kids here at GACS I played this new video from MercyMe entitled "Finally Home." What a great thought to finally be in His presence and finally be home.

LOST

What a disappointment. I'm sorry but I was totally bored last night. I don't know if it was because I was too tired or what but I was expecting more. I watch every week but my memory fails me quite a bit and I don't remember a lot of the story lines or characters from the past. It's probably just me and everyone else loved it but I was working in the kitchen after a while just passing the time because I started to dose off watching.

Inauguration 2009

I'm not that much of a political person (although I know that I need to be involved and in the very least vote) and I'm a devoted Republican (although I really devoured Garrison Keillor's Homegrown Democrat) but I really enjoyed what President Obama had to say in his address to the nation on Tuesday. I thought it was well prepared and well delivered. I see why so many folks have jumped on the bandwagon and given their support to Mr. Obama. My prayer is that God will use Mr. Obama to change we live and help Americans to live within our means and support a cause larger than ourselves. I don't agree with all of his policies but I believe that with the right people around him our country will be just fine.

iPod Shuffle

So I have 4468 songs currently on my iPod with many albums in my collection still awaiting me to load them up. But here was the first 10 songs from my last shuffle experience. Isn't it fun to hear old songs again. Sometimes I forget what I have. They just sound so fresh when they've been waiting to jump into your ears for so long. I'm not doctoring this at all!

Curtain - Matthew West from self titled
The Little House I Used to Live In - George Winston from Montana: A Love Story
Oye Como Va - Santana from Carlos Santana's Greatest Hits
Be Merciful to Me - Caedmon's Call from In the Company of Angels II
Beloved One - Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals - from Live from Mars
Runaway Train - Soul Asylum from downloaded
I'll Carry On - Rich Mullins from A Liturgy, A Legacy & A Ragamuffin Band
Take Hold - Shawn McDonald from Ripen
Who's Crying Now - Journey from Greatest Hits
The Star Spangled Banner (Live) - Jimi Hendrix from The Ultimate Experience