So here at Sky Ranch, I teach a class entitled "Expeditions." During this class, we take the kids on a hike to talk about the carbon cycle, walking them through how carbon can move from one organism to another. For the section where I talk about carbon moving around in the Animal Kingdom, mostly through animals eating each other, I get the kids to act out different animals that are going to eat or be eaten by another animal.
A few weeks ago, I got a kid and told him to be a raccoon. Not knowing what to do or what noise to make, he finally gave a feeble "rawr." (Think the sound you make when you pretend to be a monster)
I gave him an exaggerated confused look and simply said, "Um, raccoons don't rawr."
Cue enthusiastic laughter from my raccoon demonstrator, the other kids, the adults, and myself.
Good times....good times...
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Saturday, May 2, 2009
The Necklace
I recently re-found an old necklace that I had bought years ago; probably at a tourist spot in Colorado. The leather of my South African necklace is starting to fray, so I decided to take the elephant cross pendant off it. The necklace already had a pretty cool arrowhead pendant on it; so I added the elephant cross and a Sky Ranch Sky symbol to it. After doing all this, I realized that these three pieces tell about four things that make up a big part of who I am.
First, the elephant hair cross. The cross is a representation of my being a follower (to the best of my feeble ability) of Jesus Christ. I believe He lived a perfect life, and willingly died for my sins, rising again to sit at the right hand of the Father.
The cross is made of elephant hair which is a constant reminder of my time in South Africa. Those were two trips that changed my life completely. They were times when I can vividly remember God reaching down and speaking to my soul and spirit. They were incredible times of learning and being stretched.
The Sky symbol is representative of my time at Sky Ranch. The lessons in patience, tolerance, humility, confidence.
The arrowhead is representative of my Native American heritage. I believe I have Crow, Creek, Cherokee, and Apache blood in me. Sadly, I have no documentation (yet) to prove this conclusively.
That's just a short little bit about my necklace.
Two weeks ago I was sitting with a group of students when one of the boys said he knew something about me that I didn't tell them. Upon being asked, the boy said that I believed in God. I asked how he knew that, to which he replied, "You have a cross on your necklace." To my embarrassment looking back, I remember changing the subject by giving him a curt "Yep." Now I realize that that had the potential to be a great chance to talk to him about God. I didn't take it. I was embarrassed to talk about my Lord and Savior with a 5th grader.
This past week I was sitting with a different group of students (8th graders this time) and one of the girls asked me point blank if I was a Christian. At this point, I remembered my conversation with the 5th graders, and in an instant knew that I wouldn't repeat my previous mistake. So I engaged the conversation and actually talked it out with them.
It felt good to be able to have the chance to redeem myself like that. I don't know if that was God giving me an extra shot at it (though why couldn't He?). I took the chance and it was great to rise up the way I should have done in the first place.
First, the elephant hair cross. The cross is a representation of my being a follower (to the best of my feeble ability) of Jesus Christ. I believe He lived a perfect life, and willingly died for my sins, rising again to sit at the right hand of the Father.
The cross is made of elephant hair which is a constant reminder of my time in South Africa. Those were two trips that changed my life completely. They were times when I can vividly remember God reaching down and speaking to my soul and spirit. They were incredible times of learning and being stretched.
The Sky symbol is representative of my time at Sky Ranch. The lessons in patience, tolerance, humility, confidence.
The arrowhead is representative of my Native American heritage. I believe I have Crow, Creek, Cherokee, and Apache blood in me. Sadly, I have no documentation (yet) to prove this conclusively.
That's just a short little bit about my necklace.
Two weeks ago I was sitting with a group of students when one of the boys said he knew something about me that I didn't tell them. Upon being asked, the boy said that I believed in God. I asked how he knew that, to which he replied, "You have a cross on your necklace." To my embarrassment looking back, I remember changing the subject by giving him a curt "Yep." Now I realize that that had the potential to be a great chance to talk to him about God. I didn't take it. I was embarrassed to talk about my Lord and Savior with a 5th grader.
This past week I was sitting with a different group of students (8th graders this time) and one of the girls asked me point blank if I was a Christian. At this point, I remembered my conversation with the 5th graders, and in an instant knew that I wouldn't repeat my previous mistake. So I engaged the conversation and actually talked it out with them.
It felt good to be able to have the chance to redeem myself like that. I don't know if that was God giving me an extra shot at it (though why couldn't He?). I took the chance and it was great to rise up the way I should have done in the first place.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Hymns
I was driving the long, straight roads of central Oklahoma last Friday night on my way to see Katie. Usually on those long road trips, I'll set the iPod to play a sermon from Matt Chandler, Tommy Nelson, or Mark Driscoll. For whatever reason, during the last 45 minutes-ish of the trip, I decided to flip over the actual music stored on my iPod, finding release first in the words of Dan Haseltine and Jars of Clay in (one of the best songs ever, in my opinion) World's Apart:
I look before the empty cross
Forgetting what my life has cost
And wipe away the crimson stains
And dull the nails that still remain
More and more I need You now
I owe You more each passing hour....
...Take the selfish, take the weak
And all the things I cannot hide
Take the beauty, take my tears
The sin-soaked heart and make it Yours
I absolutely love that song, mostly because it's something that I wish that I could say every day. Moving on from there, Kevin Max filled the speakers with The Old Rugged Cross:
So I'll cherish the old rugged cross (old rugged cross)
Till my trophies at last I'll lay down
I will cling to the old rugged cross
And exchange it someday for a crown
It was at this point that I was vividly reminded of a gentleman in my church growing up named Don Buffington. Mr. Don used to stand proudly in the upper-right corner of the church choir for as many Sundays as I can remember. Mr. Don was the man who would always add that second small repeat at the end of the line of whatever hymn was being sung (represented in the above parenthesis). Always and without fail.
For some reason, I tend to remember his addition for this song as being a long drawn out almost mournful addition. He did it for just about any hymn we sang such as When We All Get to Heaven:
When we all get to heaven
What a day of rejoicing that will be (that will be)
When we all see Jesus
We'll sing and shout the victory (shout the victory)
Mr. Don went Home some years back, but for just a few, short minutes Friday night, I could hear him singing along with the old hymns. And it was a great feeling and remembering.
The last song that moved through the car was Delirious?'s version of My Glorious:
God is bigger than the air I breathe
The world we'll leave
God will save the day and all will say
My Glorious!
I don't know exactly what was going on in my heart, head, and spirit that night. Maybe it was the sermons and the memory of a family friend long gone. Probably it was just all God, moving in me. For whatever reason, by the song's end, I was in tears. Had been in tears for a minute or two.
It just felt good to worship my Savior...
I look before the empty cross
Forgetting what my life has cost
And wipe away the crimson stains
And dull the nails that still remain
More and more I need You now
I owe You more each passing hour....
...Take the selfish, take the weak
And all the things I cannot hide
Take the beauty, take my tears
The sin-soaked heart and make it Yours
I absolutely love that song, mostly because it's something that I wish that I could say every day. Moving on from there, Kevin Max filled the speakers with The Old Rugged Cross:
So I'll cherish the old rugged cross (old rugged cross)
Till my trophies at last I'll lay down
I will cling to the old rugged cross
And exchange it someday for a crown
It was at this point that I was vividly reminded of a gentleman in my church growing up named Don Buffington. Mr. Don used to stand proudly in the upper-right corner of the church choir for as many Sundays as I can remember. Mr. Don was the man who would always add that second small repeat at the end of the line of whatever hymn was being sung (represented in the above parenthesis). Always and without fail.
For some reason, I tend to remember his addition for this song as being a long drawn out almost mournful addition. He did it for just about any hymn we sang such as When We All Get to Heaven:
When we all get to heaven
What a day of rejoicing that will be (that will be)
When we all see Jesus
We'll sing and shout the victory (shout the victory)
Mr. Don went Home some years back, but for just a few, short minutes Friday night, I could hear him singing along with the old hymns. And it was a great feeling and remembering.
The last song that moved through the car was Delirious?'s version of My Glorious:
God is bigger than the air I breathe
The world we'll leave
God will save the day and all will say
My Glorious!
I don't know exactly what was going on in my heart, head, and spirit that night. Maybe it was the sermons and the memory of a family friend long gone. Probably it was just all God, moving in me. For whatever reason, by the song's end, I was in tears. Had been in tears for a minute or two.
It just felt good to worship my Savior...
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Feel This (Part 2)
Previously on Josh's Blog....
I don't want to lose that kid inside, and there are days where I have a hard time seeing his smile.
Because we all should know by now that the world is cruel. Heartless. Cold. Uncaring.
And I hate that.
And the beauty you have now is brighter than before...
Beauty. It's incredible how much beauty there is that we take for granted. How much warmth; how much integrity; how much faith. Beauty that is unsoiled by the perverted hands of the so-called "experts." Brighter than before... redemption.
Let go...let go and believe.
Believe. Redemption. Believe in redemption. Redemption of belief. I'll take either one. Just something to help me remember that there are people in this world who care. People who know that what they do matters, and aren't afraid to do something. People who don't charge anything for a smile. Who laugh because you do and cry because you need to.
Whatever happened to being free enough to cry and show that you're dying on the inside? To remove the mask and let people know who you really are. To not hide.
Where are those people?
Let go...
Let go...
Believe!
I don't want to lose that kid inside, and there are days where I have a hard time seeing his smile.
Because we all should know by now that the world is cruel. Heartless. Cold. Uncaring.
And I hate that.
And the beauty you have now is brighter than before...
Beauty. It's incredible how much beauty there is that we take for granted. How much warmth; how much integrity; how much faith. Beauty that is unsoiled by the perverted hands of the so-called "experts." Brighter than before... redemption.
Let go...let go and believe.
Believe. Redemption. Believe in redemption. Redemption of belief. I'll take either one. Just something to help me remember that there are people in this world who care. People who know that what they do matters, and aren't afraid to do something. People who don't charge anything for a smile. Who laugh because you do and cry because you need to.
Whatever happened to being free enough to cry and show that you're dying on the inside? To remove the mask and let people know who you really are. To not hide.
Where are those people?
Let go...
Let go...
Believe!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Feel This
Okay, I admit it. Katie and I have been watching the TV series One Tree Hill since Christmas. We're on the third season (possibly fourth by now, I'm not too sure). One of the songs in the series, entitled "Feel This" sort of grabbed my attention.
What if I told you, you're tears haven't been ignored...
Sometimes I remember some of the things that I've cried over and hope to God that that's true. Looking back, I know that a lot that was petty/silly/insignificant, but at the time I hoped it was true. My mom told me once when I was little that God caught every tear that I cried and stored them up in heaven. Somehow, remembering that helped....
....And everything that was taken, can be restored?
What if I told you, that innocence is yours
And the beauty you have now, is brighter than before?
Everything that was taken? Child-like innocence, faith, and hope? Sometimes it seems like those things are so far away from who I've become. Sometimes it feels the opposite and there's adult knowledge, skepticism, and despair. I don't want to lose that kid inside, and there are days where I have a hard time seeing his smile.
Oops..coffee shop's closing....
To be continued....
What if I told you, you're tears haven't been ignored...
Sometimes I remember some of the things that I've cried over and hope to God that that's true. Looking back, I know that a lot that was petty/silly/insignificant, but at the time I hoped it was true. My mom told me once when I was little that God caught every tear that I cried and stored them up in heaven. Somehow, remembering that helped....
....And everything that was taken, can be restored?
What if I told you, that innocence is yours
And the beauty you have now, is brighter than before?
Everything that was taken? Child-like innocence, faith, and hope? Sometimes it seems like those things are so far away from who I've become. Sometimes it feels the opposite and there's adult knowledge, skepticism, and despair. I don't want to lose that kid inside, and there are days where I have a hard time seeing his smile.
Oops..coffee shop's closing....
To be continued....
Friday, February 20, 2009
Nerd Moment
So I was watching The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King the other night, and I was once again reminded of my love for movies like that. It makes me wish, in some childish part of my brain, that I could be out on a battlefield in Middle-earth. Either riding with the Rohirrim, or standing on the walls of Minas Tirith would be cool. Probably the Rohirrim though, if I had a choice. Eomer, is one of the coolest but vastly underrated characters in the series. I mean, come on, the man has a helmet topped off with what looks like a horse’s tail. Just awesome. Oh, and Aragorn’s Elvish knife that was given to him in Lothlorien is pretty flippin’ sweet too. Just saying…
I know, I know, I just wrote in a major nerd moment. But c’mon, I just finished reading The Silmarrilion, which is basically Tolkien telling how Middle-earth began and was formed. It gives a lot of history for the later LOTR trilogy, which adds just another layer of depth to the already rich story. By the way, if you have no idea what or who I’m talking about, then go get the aforementioned books or movies, and read/watch them.
The night sky around here has been incredible. For the last two weeks, we’ve had pretty much clear skies at night, and the stars have been so bright. I’ve caught myself staring up into the vast darkness, staring up at Orion’s Belt, Ursa Major, and unknown other constellations hanging silently in the expanse.
I felt so tiny. So very tiny…
So insignificant…
So helpless…
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Little Wonders
Life has slowed down out here at the Ranch, and most of my co-workers are long since gone on Christmas vacation. The rest of us are still here, chugging along waiting for our turn to depart into Yuletide bliss. Nothing's really going on; just little things to take care of here and there. I've spent the week cleaning this giant fish-tank-holder thing we have. Between vacuuming out sand, scrubbing algae, and feeding the dead former residents to the snake-neck turtle; my arms and back are a little sore from constant bending over and cleaning. But it also makes for a semi-monotonous time for the mind to wander a bit.
And as the mind detaches from the body and muscle memory takes over, a relaxing atmosphere is created for my mind to be free to wander and ponder the little things in life. (I hope that last sentence made sense. It does in my head.)
Springing readily to mind is the unadvertised perk of watching dead fish get eaten by turtles. It's really cool and I marvel every time I watch it.
And that's such a little thing, but it got me thinking about other little things, simple blessings, and tiny pleasures that I tend to take for granted such as.....
Laughing with friends...
Spiral macaroni...
Catching all green lights on the way home...
A good book...
Hot tea on a cold day...
Sleeping in...
Road trips...
Singing to loud music by yourself...
Writing...
Children who think you're cool just because you're there...
Wrapping presents (even though I'm horrible at it)...
Silence...
Just those little things that I tend to overlook. I think it's good to take time to remember these things, and to appreciate them as the little blessings in life that they are.
Just a thought...
P.S. For everyone who reads this...Hezekiah 31:1 isn't an actual Bible verse. Just fyi....
And as the mind detaches from the body and muscle memory takes over, a relaxing atmosphere is created for my mind to be free to wander and ponder the little things in life. (I hope that last sentence made sense. It does in my head.)
Springing readily to mind is the unadvertised perk of watching dead fish get eaten by turtles. It's really cool and I marvel every time I watch it.
And that's such a little thing, but it got me thinking about other little things, simple blessings, and tiny pleasures that I tend to take for granted such as.....
Laughing with friends...
Spiral macaroni...
Catching all green lights on the way home...
A good book...
Hot tea on a cold day...
Sleeping in...
Road trips...
Singing to loud music by yourself...
Writing...
Children who think you're cool just because you're there...
Wrapping presents (even though I'm horrible at it)...
Silence...
Just those little things that I tend to overlook. I think it's good to take time to remember these things, and to appreciate them as the little blessings in life that they are.
Just a thought...
P.S. For everyone who reads this...Hezekiah 31:1 isn't an actual Bible verse. Just fyi....
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