(Too Many) Days of Summer

And with that, it's over.

One history exam later and I am officially done being a college freshman. It's been the best year of my life, and I can't believe it's over.

I don't know how I feel. On one hand, I feel free. Free from stress, free from homework, free from the dreaded papers that have been plaguing me all semester. I feel excited, energized by the knowledge that I'm going to get to see my family for the first time in months. Me and the bros are gonna play Minecraft, build Legos, eat every ounce of food in the fridge... it's gonna be epic.

And yet....

My family is here. Sierra, Kyle, Nick, Taylor, Mallory, Krajecki, Mikayla, Anneliese, Eric, they're all my family.Who else is going to curl up in the laundry room and watch Game of Thrones with me? Who's going to stay up until 3:00am with me to play Skyrim? Who's going to sit down with some popcorn for a Manly Movie Night with me? My life is here. My home is here.

But my family is home. And to be frank, so is the money. On Monday I start my new job at Sneller's Landscaping. It'll be quite a change from the air-conditioned chaos of Five Below. I'm excited and apprehensive. I've done plenty of yard work in my time, but I guarantee, I'm going to be the most inexperienced guy there. Regardless, it'll be an adventure.

I'm not ready to go. Literally, I haven't finished packing or cleaning. But in all seriousness, I don't want to go. I'm going to miss these people a lot. I love them a ton, and it's gonna hurt to see them go.

But hey. It's summer. I'd better enjoy it while it lasts! I'll see these people again, and when I do, it's gonna be totally awesome.

My song for today: Days of Summer from A Very Potter Sequel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cu-TSBWATVU

Trinity, I don't wanna see you go, but it's not forever. In the words of Michael Scott, "Catch you on the flippity flip!"

I Used To Be A Blogger Like You. Then I Took An Arrow To The Knee.

Hello, world! Guess who's back?

Your favorite blogger/ninja/dinosaur, that's who!

It's been a fairly long time since my last post, and I apologize for that. Life has picked up the pace this semester, and I just feel a little burned out when it comes to writing. Nevertheless, I once again take up my keyboard and mouse and give you the latest update from deep within troll country.

Hi. It's been awhile. Where to begin?

Ah, yes! Trollway to Love! Me and my lovely girlfriend Sierra were selected to participate in Trinity's version of the newlywed game (despite our lack of holy matrimony), in which we competed against three other couples: Zach Flipse and his fiance, an unknown couple, and Pastor Bill and his wife. Needless to say, we were at an extreme disadvantage, considering the other couples had known each other longer and had seen the competition before. Nonetheless, we had a blast and got to make some fun intro videos with Curly!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XQPJ_PTWNs We also won some delicious chocolate, which we immediately devoured. So yeah. We had fun. Also, we're more adorable than you. Deal with it.

What else have I been up to? A fair question. One word: Skyrim. Sherlock finished building my computer, so I have a fully fledged gaming desktop in my dorm room. I've been playing nonstop for days. It's definitely become a candidate for my favorite game of all time. I have a house and a family, I've become the top assassin in the Dark Brotherhood, I'm Thane of Whiterun, I've joined the Stormcloak rebellion and liberated all of Skyrim from Imperial control, and completely forgotten the main quest. I think it had something to do with dragons. Meh. I eat dragons for breakfast.

I've also fallen in love with Lindsey Stirling. Turns out she has an entire album, which I've been listening to every chance I get. For those of you who don't know, Lindsey Stirling is a violinist who is known for dancing while she plays, usually in the middle of nowhere wearing a ridiculous costume. She's done covers of Game of Thrones, Halo, Legend of Zelda, Lord of the Rings, and more. Her album is more dubstep-esque, but heavily features her incredible violin talent.

Oh yeah! I got a job! I am now the guitarist at Peace CRC in South Holland. They're looking to make their service more attractive to younger generations, and they want my input on how to do so while keeping their worship centered on praising God. This is exactly what I've been learning with the other worship scholars here at Trinity. God is good.

Did I mention Manly Movie Night? What started as me and Tater chilling in my room watching the Grey one night has turned into a scheduled weekly South Hall event with a following of about a dozen guys. You don't miss MMN. You just don't.

If you could all pray for Sierra right now, I would really appreciate it. Her grandmother just passed away, and it's been really hard on her. Pray for peace.

So yeah. That's my life right now. I know you've all missed this. Admit it. You have. Yeah, even you. And you too. Don't give me that look. Search your feelings. You know it to be true.

Song for today: Phantom of the Opera Medley by Lindsey Stirling. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCL94-MsxYc You're welcome.

Well, that's all for today, folks! Share, comment, do whatever. This is America. But seriously. I'm shamelessly self-promoting in hopes of receiving feedback.

Laterzzzzzzzzzzz.

The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say.

Symposium: Why I'm Uncomfortable With Diversity

So let me state something right now. I love diversity. I hang out with a lot of very diverse people. The title will make sense later. Please don't write me off as a racist from the get-go.

This weekend I had the opportunity to attend Calvin College's Symposium on Worship with my ministry team. We took two vans up to my homeland of Grand Rapids, where we stayed for two days. We were welcomed in by our chaplain's daughter and son-in-law, who generously fed and sheltered us on our journey.

What to say about Symposium? I could say that the men of CMLT (Chapel Ministry Leadership Team) bonded over Batman and late-night starvation. I could say that my van got to know each other a little too well on the drive home. I could say that I got to see some of my old friends from school and church while back in my home state. I could even mention the guy who looked like, to use Jordan's words, "the love child of Mark Wahlberg and Matt Damon".

But those things would only scratch the surface of the experience. Imagine you're passionate about something, so much so that you travel for hours to be with people who share your passion. Now imagine that those people come from all over the world, from Kenya to Pakistan to China to Mexico. Now imagine that there's thousands of them.

Imagine the harmonious voices of a thousand different nations singing out in their native languages, bringing praise to God. Imagine opening a hymnal and finding songs from every generation, every tribe and nation. Imagine the unity of Christ's church across the globe, together for one purpose: to make a joyful noise unto the Lord.

There are countless lessons I learned from this experience, and many of them I will be able to implement in Trinity's worship community. I attended a variety of seminars that were intended to enhance my own perception of what worship is and how it should be done. But if I'm a tired college student, and to transfer all of those lessons from my head to a keyboard would take hours. So I'll focus on one I never thought would be relevant to me: diversity.

Trinity is a diverse school. We're close to one of the biggest cultural hubs in the US, so we bring in people of every color, language, and country. But one thing I've noticed is that these groups rarely interact. The white Dutch kids spend their time with white Dutch kids, the African American kids hang out with the other African American kids and so on. It's segregation, but chosen instead of forced. It's bothered me to see this, and to hear people say things like, "Were there any other black people there?" or "That's where all the Asians hang out." There's no hatred or racism to these comments; people here at Trinity love each other across cultural boundaries. But even though these people want to be a diverse group, they aren't comfortable being in groups with other types of people.

This is reflected in our worship. When we as leaders try to build up a repertoire of songs that reflect the diversity of the church across the globe, we scare people. Singing in other languages and styles freaks people out. They get uncomfortable, so new ideas are stifled for the sake of pleasing the crowd. Everyone, regardless of background and ethnicity, want the same thing: current, popular music that is recognizable to everyone and comfortable to sing.

At Symposium I listened to a speaker named Mark Charles who discussed diversity on a number of occasions. This man was certainly qualified to speak this subject: he is Dutch/Navajo, and has lived in both major cities as well as alone on a Native American reservation. What he said about our diversity problem was mind-blowing to me: diversity is not comfortable.

...Yeah, we knew that. So how do we fix it? The point is that we don't. From a worship standpoint, we are doing diversity right. Our chapels are a perfect blend of the known and unknown, the local and the universal. We represent the world in our worship, and it makes people uncomfortable. Mark Charles says this is what we want. Cultures must be separate, because our differences are what define us and make us beautifully unique. As soon as we try to change one culture or another to make it more comfortable, we dilute it, and eventually the beautiful melting pot becomes a flat grey. We lose the beauty that the Creator created us with.

The best example I have was the Pakistani man who led a portion of one of the worship services at Symposium. He told us about how the simple song we were going to sing held great significance to his people, and that he was excited to share it with us. When the congregation began to sing, it immediately fell apart. There were only a few Middle Eastern people in the crowd, and those of us from every other area of the planet found ourselves floundering to sing the piece properly. It was clear that everyone was uncomfortable, but at the same time I sensed that the man leading us was feeling a profound joy. This song had such a deep connection to him and his people and how they bring praise to God. Despite my discomfort I felt drawn in. I wanted to know this man's story. I wanted to know why this simple song was held so dearly by the church in Pakistan. I wanted to know the same passion these people had for their Lord, and express it with them.

It was a beautiful discomfort.

The point I'm trying to make is that we expect the solution to a problem to end happily. Sure, there will be pain and discomfort during the solution, but when it's all said and done, everyone will be happy. This is not the case with diversity. Good, healthy diversity should be edgy. It should be uncomfortable. And in that way, it should be beautiful.

Nor is anything with Christ intended to be comfortable. Faith in itself means being constantly on edge, having to believe in something we can't see and living one hundred and eighty degrees from the rest of society. In no way is that comfortable. If this is true, maybe in order to understand Christian unity we have to first try to understand each other.

So if diversity in worship is uncompromising and uncomfortable, perhaps that should be reflected in our community. Instead of sticking to your own people group or trying to assimilate people from other groups into one more like your own, we should step out in faith. Maybe God is calling us to be uncomfortable, to meet people we wouldn't normally, people who are different in ways we don't understand. Don't try to change them: be content to be uncomfortable and see how beautifully God has made them.

As quasi-segregated as Trinity's campus can be at times, it is beautiful when I see people who hold on tightly to their people's history living in harmony with others of a different history. Instead of joining the Grey American Melting Pot, they become a piece of beautiful stained glass in Christ's great mosaic. We don't have to find similarities to love each other. In fact, maybe we should actively seek out our differences.

So my point is two-fold. The first is that in order to be diverse, we must be uncomfortable. The second is that being uncomfortable isn't a bad thing. It is a beautiful thing.

Song for today: Use Somebody by Kings of Leon. Christ uses all of us, regardless of race, nationality, or language. Let's learn how we can appreciate that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQqFP658aHo

So as you go, remember to get uncomfortable. Only then will you know the unity that Christ brings.

The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say.

Lazy Days

I've forgotten how much I love weekends.

That's not to say I haven't enjoyed the last few weekends, because I have. I've had a great time!

But you can't appreciate order without first understanding chaos.

Friday was my first day of classes. Five classes in a row is not going to be easy. I'm only one day in and I already have a full homework load. Keeping track of all of my classes as well as the other responsibilities I have as a college student might just be the death of me.

But that's okay, because this kind of weekend brings me life.

Today I woke up feeling more rested than I have in weeks. I took my time getting up, listening to some music and checking in on my roommates. Then I gathered two books, a mug, and an assortment of teas and made the trek up to Sierra's room. We built a fort out of her bunk and some blankets, using a heated blanket for the floor and hanging Japanese lanterns on the ceiling. Once construction was complete, we curled up with some snacks and read for hours! It was a perfect afternoon.

After dinner, me and the guys went to Target to pick up some supplies. My best purchase: a giant pitcher of orange juice. Now that I have to get up at 8:00, I'm gonna try to get decent sleep and eat a bit healthier than I did this last semester.

Now we're all just hanging out, laughing and eating Swedish fish. It's a good night.

I'm excited for this new semester! Here's to new beginnings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tiPAvmy3eA

The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say.

Warning: This Post Is Entirely Pointless

*Note* Please play this song in the background while reading this latest post. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgkRqNBIqLQ

I was told by my Writing Workshop instructor that in order to grow as a writer, I have to write every day,

I thought about that for a time, then promptly dismissed the idea and thought about something else. 

So with that in mind, welcome to today's episode of Random Rambling Thursday! 

Today was the first day of the new semester. New classes, new professors, new experiences. Unless of course, you're me, and unlike the rest of the world you don't have classes on Thursday. If that is the case (which is unlikely unless you are in fact me and therefore exist in some parallel universe), you instead have tea, ramen, and Avatar: The Last Airbender to look forward to. 

Personally, I much prefer this option. 

Something I've made note of in the last twelve hours: if you're ever having trouble sleeping, open Minecraft to the main menu and crank the volume. It periodically plays relaxing piano music that will put you to sleep instantly.

My latest addiction is League of Legends. Thank you Jennifer VanderMolen and Ben Waalkes for introducing me to it. I have to say, though, lately I've been craving a decent adventure/platformer game. If anyone could suggest something in the spirit of Super Mario Sunshine or Ty the Tasmanian Tiger for PC, I would be greatly in their debt. I will also accept N64 games, as I've discovered a decent emulator for it. 

I've also been on a bit of a music kick in the last few days. I might even break out the old violin at some point. Sorry in advance, roommates. I"m a little rusty. 

Well, I'm officially bored out of my skull. Later, people. 

The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say.

Walls Fall Down

Class is now in session.

I'm in the back row, as usual. Everyone is here for this one final day. We've been writing for weeks, and now all that work comes to fruition.

But it's not the triumph we all expected. The excerpts we're sharing are just that: excerpts, pieces, fragments of stories and memories that will never do the voices in our minds justice. We do our best to get what's in our heads out on paper, but you can't share the adventure of a lifetime in five minutes. Two pages isn't enough to space build a universe. Hollow words on a white page can't express the depth and darkness of a memory.

Each piece we read today is one side, one facet, of the people we've been working with for the last two weeks. We've been together for hours, silently sitting side by side. Now the walls fall down. Now, for the first time, we see each other. We see the vast imagination and curiosity of the quiet boy in the back of class with me, bringing out the world he's brought to life. We see the beautifully cruel interplay of love and hate in the older woman in the corner by the instructor's desk, strong even in the face of pain. We see the dreams and desires of the girl up front, brimming with ambition and confidence.

And I wonder to myself: when I share my newly crafted world, what will people see in me?

Song for today: Glass House by Red. These guys get to the heart of the Christian experience, and I love how they can write songs that appeal to anyone, whether Christian or not. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlB592l8SZ4

The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say.

A World Of Possibilities

I'm sitting in the lab, curled up on a spinning office chair, laptop squeezed onto the desk in front of the dusty desktop computer provided for my writing. I love my laptop. My laptop has feelings, memories. The contraption on the desk is a monstrosity of unfamiliar keys and cords. I have a preference for the simplicity of a compact screen, a universe of wealth stored on a folding keyboard. 

All around me I hear the familiar, soothing sound of keyboards clacking. It's honestly one of the most relaxing sounds on earth. When the sound of keys drowns out the sounds of life I know that all around me life is being formed. Worlds are being designed, personalities created and recreated, universes discovered. The infinite majesty of fact and fiction, all converging in the mind of a single person, only to flow outward onto a blank page where it can live forever. 

When I write, I return to a world all my own. I know this world well. It's the world that constantly swirls through my mind, drawing on everything I've ever learned or known and spinning it into a silken web of inspiration. Each idea is connected in some way to the others, and a subtle change in one sends a tremor down the line to each other, slowly evolving each idea to perfection. Some days I can only see this world, soaring through the dark reaches of my mind like a meteor through space. Other days it comes hurtling down to Earth and I can reach out and touch it, harvesting its fruit. 

But that isn't enough. The fruit has to be refined, the pit removed and the seeds scattered to sow more ideas. Sometimes other fruits have to make their way into the mix. I have to learn to craft recipes from the fledgling ideas that make their way from the recesses of my brain to the forefront of my mind. Often days will go by and my fingers won't put forth a single fragment of speech. Like all great art, writing cannot be rushed.

So I sit here with others like me, a room full of master craftsmen of the written word. They are my greatest allies even though I don't know many of their names. We are conspirators, a network of those who have had a glimpse of another world and wish to bend it to our will. We trade secrets, pass along ideas, build each other up as well as tear each other down. Sometimes, when one of us thinks we've built up a perfect tower of words, another architect will pull out the cornerstone and tell us that it's lopsided. The tower falls down, but we are not discouraged. Instead we begin to rebuild, pressing on to greater glory and splendor. 

In this way we reflect the great Creator, the one who tears us down to build us up. We love to write because the Word is our strength. We hope to see our words take flesh, but none will ever do so as perfectly and as beautifully as the Word itself. That Word took what was a broken, collapsing tower and tore it apart, giving it a fresh start and a chance at even greater majesty. 

There's a sound from outside my mind's workshop. Instantly I feel the gravity of our world take hold and I ascend rapidly from the depths of my universe. The spell is broken for a moment. I glance around, my co-conspirators still lost in their creations. I have to return to my work. I breathe deeply, place my hands on the keyboard and take the plunge. 

My song for today: Babel by Mumford and Sons. We build our towers and our Creator tears them down, but in our desolation there is hope. His Word is good. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWza_On7ajs

The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say.