I've Got a Confession

Alright, fellow Bucketeers. I've got a confession to make.

But it isn't happening here!

Caleb Wilde, over at Confessions of a Funeral Director, has so kindly allowed me to use his web space carry out my ultimate plan to takeover the internet to share a post with him and his crowd.

Rumor has it that there will also be a ridiculous picture of me (and my beard) posted as well.

So come on over and read what I've written, leave your thoughts in the form of a comment, and share it with your friends!
 
Thanks!

Click the image to check out my guest post!

On Being (C)overt

Something came up yesterday that really struck me in a way I didn't like.

I tried to shake it. I tried to ignore it. I tried to set it on fire and throw it out the window. It just. wouldn't. go. away.

The worst part was that it was about myself.

If you've been around Life Before the Bucket for any amount of time, you might have noticed that my writing covers a pretty broad range of topics. I enjoy talking about my wife, my marriage, school, God, Christianity, living with chronic illness, adoption, my pet peeves (like captchas and typos), any many, many other things.

Frankly, I love writing about life.

Yesterday, though, I realized something about my writing that I'm not so sure about.

I make no bones about the fact that I'm a Christian. I strive to follow Jesus in his example of love for God and for others, and that belief informs everything I do. My writing is no exception. My beliefs can and do bleed into my words.

Here's the thing, though. When I write, I'm always thinking in some way or another about Scripture. So, for the most part, my writing is inspired by words I've read in the Bible during my short life as a follower of Jesus. However, I'm not writing a blog specifically about the Bible (except to say that I suck at reading it), so I rarely mention in an overt fashion.

What I do want to make clear, though, is that I believe, like one of our professors says, that "All truth is God's truth." So when I write, I hope that my words communicate that truth clearly without beating you over your proverbial (or literal) head with Bible verses.

Is this okay? I'm not sure.

Would you prefer a more overt approach to Scripture from me? Or do you enjoy this more subtle style that I've chosen to employ thus far in my writing journey?

I think I know where I stand with this, but I wanted to hear from you, whoever you are, to gauge your thoughts.

What you think about this is important and means a lot to me. If you could take a moment to leave a comment with your thoughts, I would be greatly appreciative.

If you enjoy what you've read, I'd also appreciate you subscribing to Life Before the Bucket and sharing this post with your friends. Thanks a million for reading!

It Really Doesn't Matter

I wrote this post at the beginning of last semester. Since I just began my last semester of undergraduate study, I thought it would be fitting to repost it as a reminder to myself of what truly matters as I study. Enjoy!


One of the most interesting aspects of my life is something I rarely blog about: attending a Christian college.

Our school is very, very small - it averages about 330 students each year, which is less than my graduating class in high school. Having been in public school my entire life, it's a different environment for me. Everyone around here is either from some farm-town in Western Kansas, was home-schooled, or lives in areas of their hometown that I can't even afford to think about.

It's a weird dynamic to experience for four years.

I've been reluctant to write about MCC (Manhattan Christian College) for many reasons.

First of all, it really just isn't that interesting to me. There's a lot more to life than school. And although I'm pretty "good" at school, it doesn't top out my priority list.

Mostly, though, I haven't written about my school because I'm scared to hear from people who are hyper-apologists of sorts for our micro-community. Truth be told, there are people that don't want a negative word to leak concerning the school, for fear of losing something (though I'm not really sure what).

I'm still not really here to write about the negatives of my school, either. Maybe later. Much later. As in when I'm in graduate school later. But for now, I just want to share something interesting with you that I discovered last night:

All that I've learned at this Christian college is that I don't care about most of the stuff we have to learn about to get our Bible degree.

Now granted, that's a pretty sweeping statement, so allow me to narrow it down for you with a story.

Last night, we had a friend over who stops by on occasion - we love having her over. After dinner was done sinking to the bottom of our stomachs, she started talking with my wife about the Bible and about not knowing a lot of stuff about it.

My wife, being the genius that she is, told her that Bible college is good to help with that, and gave her the example of different views of Creation. She rattled off the basics of Young-Earth Creationism, Old-Earth Creationism, and the Literary Framework viewpoint. I was impressed with how well Kalyn articulated each view, but then our friend asked us where we stood on the issue.

After thousands of dollars, a dozen Bible classes, and three years of college, this is our shared view on that specific matter. You might want to get your pencils out to take notes, because it's a doozy. Here it is:

It really doesn't matter.

Say whaaaaaaaaaat?!

Okay, okay, back up. Hold up. Pause. Stop, collaborate, and listen (okay, maybe that's a little too far).

In three years of debates, struggles, studies, and "building relationships" (because that's what MCC is "all about"), that is our conclusion about most things that people bring up about Christianity and the Bible.

It really doesn't matter.

I'm just going to go on record as saying that we paid entirely too much money for such a simple answer.

I mean, maybe we've failed as Christian college students, but something tells me we haven't. You see, there's a lot of reasoning behind our conclusion. I won't bore you with the details (unless you e-mail me and ask, in which case, I'd be glad to!), but suffice it to say, there's one main reason that brings me to the conclusion I'm at with this stuff:

If it does not help me to love people more, it really does not matter.

The end. Period. That's my bottom-line. I came to MCC for a number of reasons, but I'm leaving with only one: love. Not knowledge. Not because of my degree. Not to use the skills I've learned. I'm leaving in a year because I want to love people that I don't know. I want to love people that I don't understand. I want to love people that disagree with me.

And I don't just mean a "I have to love them, not like them" sort of attitude. I really want to love people. God's equipped me especially for that, and it's what I want to do.

Arguing about Creationism? Well, unless you're pretty creative, there are very few ways that you can love someone through that.

So for now, I let the arguments rest. Chances are, when we're all dead and gone and chatting up God, we'll find out we were completely wrong about almost everything, anyway. And at that point, I don't think I'll care, so why should I now?

... ... ...

Question: What is something that you struggle with that keeps you from loving others?


If you enjoy what you've read, I'd appreciate you subscribing to Life Before the Bucket and sharing this post with your friends. Thanks a million for reading!

Doin' the Funk-Face

Lately, I've been feeling a little off. A little funky, if you will.

And no, not the Village People kind of funky, though I have those moods as well. 

No, this kind of funky looks like this hypothetical conversation that I had with my wife:

Me: *funk-face*

Wife: What's up?

Me: Nothing.

Wife: Okay... What's wrong?

Me: *emphasizing the funk-face* Nothing.

Wife: Are you sure? 

Me: Well, no.

Wife: I know what you need. You need to do some dishes. It's therapeutic, you know.

Me: Yeah... right. *extra funky funk-face*

Now, like I said, this actual conversation never happened, but it might as well have. I've just been in a mood these last few days. You know the kind.

I don't want to do anything, but I want to do something.

I'm bored, but if there's something to do, I don't want to do it.

I feel like eating, but I don't want any food.

And the face is undeniable:

So maybe I overemphasized the fish-lips. But you get the point.

When I'm in a funk, I'm restless like a 13 year old who's tasted Mountain Dew for the first time.

Somehow, though, I managed to snap out of the funk today. Which is lucky for you, because this post wouldn't exist, otherwise. I'm not sure what did it, though. It could have been...

Getting a new lens and taking pictures around the house.

My wife's concern over the funk-face.

Getting to see the in-laws and celebrate my birthday a little early.

Really, though, I think it was probably a combination of the three, mixed in with some good, old-fashioned rest. Again, I'm thankful for Jen Hatmaker's book, 7, which is teaching me more about pausing and resting every day, and especially during the Sabbath. But more on that later.

For now, I'm looking to you. 

First of all, what does your Funk-Face look like?

Secondly, how do you manage to snap out of a funk if you're in one?

I'm legitimately asking, because I'm pretty clueless as to how I can snap myself out of these funks when they happen. Of course, maybe listening to a little Village People would do the trick...

Or maybe not.

... ... ...

If you enjoy what you've read, I'd appreciate you subscribing to Life Before the Bucket and sharing this post with your friends. Thanks a million for reading!

Win of the Week

You made it through another week!

Guess what?

It's Friday.

You made it.

Breathe a sweet sigh of relief and enjoy it while you can.

I think I want to start a new "tradition" around here. I'm definitely borrowing it from one of my favorite sports blogs, so hopefully they don't sue the pants off me (because it's cold and I really need my pants to stay warm).

Here's what we're gonna do. Every Friday, I want to keep it simple. I want to share our "wins" of the week with one another. Even if it's something like "I made it through the week without killing too many people" (not that I condone killing, but hey, a win's a win). I wanna hear it!

So here's my win of the week: I had band practice at church last night and was actually able to play guitar while standing, so I'm pretty stoked about that. I've had to sit while playing for most of the last year, so it's a pretty big deal to me.

So there you have it. No matter how big or small your win was this week, let's hear it:


What was your win of the week?