Why fear death?

Today in church our pastor declared it to be "Sanctity of Life Sunday". I guess this is nationally celebrated, but I was unaware. I'm very prolife and regard life and protecting it second behind faith in Jesus Christ. Yet, his sermon was depressing and focused on death, the fear of it, and lamenting the sinful aspects of this life. Not inspiring or uplifting as life should be...so I had some thoughts...

Why fear death? Is it really an enemy? Or rather a catalyst for a refocus everyday? We know our time here is short...why defeat this and lament it?
Embrace it and see it as a coming hope--this eventual death allows us to see LIFE as a GIFT. Death is the beginning of our perfect life. So, in this life, everyday should be lived, praised, and rejoiced in, because He doesn't Give us long to enjoy it. So be thankful to Him for every second of it.

Rejoice!! today is the day the Lord has made and has GIVEN YOU LIFE!!

Uh...Hello McFly!?!?!

There must be something in middle school where the hormones, body, and other things are going so crazy that their perception goes haywire as well...that is my theory...because I've experienced it firsthand.
Many times middle schoolers effectively utilize the backround noise of a classroom to get away with whispers while the teacher is explaining something. Yet, a new and fearless (and idiotic attempt was made yesterday)...as I was teaching my guitar class to 3 students and explaining a technique while playing it, the two boys started whispering and one was playing something totally different on his guitar. I stopped and said, "Excuse me- did you have something to share?" They stopped and looked like nothing had happened...HELLO MCFLY?!?! Turn your brain on and wake up...I'M ONLY 2 FEET AWAY FROM YOU!!! I think the combination of Mt.Dew, Doritos, PS2, hormones, and Ashlee Simpson have detached their brains from the rest of their bodies...and we pay for it.

My greatest achievement (...and the title of this blog)

It all started the fall of my fifth year at Concordia University in St. Paul, MN. I had always played by the rules (mostly) and I brought the idea of a prank one night to my friend Nate Saving. Nate (being an upperclassman as well) felt that the need to pull something off of supreme grandeur was necessary...so we began our brainstorming. We had a few groundrules: 1-Nothing would be damaged/destroyed 2-No one's responsibilities on campus would be compromised 3-None of our friends on staff (i.e. security/janitors) with keys would be involved or know about it so that they could plead innocence later on 4-We would use as small a number of trustworthy people possible so that we can keep it completely secret.
We had many ideas, but one seemed to rise above the rest. We would completely switch all the wooden chairs in the chapel for the old metal/plastic ones in the dining hall (I believe at this writing the chairs there have changed). So, we began our prep work. 1-the day...none other than the night before Homecoming Chapel when all of the Alumni and Board of Regents would be there 2-Who would be involved? 10 guys and 3 girls (we had RAs, pre-sem, senate members, executive board members, athletes, musicians (a quite varied group). 3- How many chairs are there? Around 500 altogether. 4- How long will it take to walk from the dining hall to chapel and how many chairs can you lift? About 38sec and 2 chapel chairs and 4-5 dining hall chairs. 5- How will we get in and where to meet that night...this brings us to our story...

Our first task was to get into these two places. One of our members was an organist and had keys to the chapel, which made that quite easy. (no key cards there yet) The dining hall would be hard...security doesn't even have keys to it, because Sodexho is in charge there. So, we decided that Ryan Hatch would hide behind the piano one evening as supper was nearing its end. We covered him and he slipped back there unnoticed with his cell phone. He decided to take a nap and Marcus called to wake him up a couple hours later when the workers had gone. He taped the door lock open and came back to Centennial Hall. Our rendezvous point was my room in Centennial at 2 AM. All the members showed up in black and we made our plans. The 3 girls would have cells phones and be placed along the tunnel, outside old switchboard, and in the daycare playground. They would alert us of any activity. We got started and were moving quickly when we realized we needed some of the ladies' assistance and Alicia helped put the "new" chapel chairs in perfect order with hymnals underneath. The others were in the dining hall doing the same. It seemed we were a little loud and a janitor caught us. We all ran and left everything all over the grounds. I decided to run back and have a chat with him. Ryan came and I talked to him and explained it was a Homecoming prank to liven the spirits of the school body. He ran with it and we were underway again. (he said he would plead innocence later...what a great guy!) We finished the whole job without anything being damaged chairs (of a different make in perfect position)...in 55 minutes!! It was truly amazing.

The next morning brought another story. Christus Chorus was planned to sing for chapel and Andy I planned to witness our success firsthand. Yet, when we walked in...it had been switched back!! We were dumbfounded and a little upset, but we had to act like nothing was wrong, so that we didn't give it away. Everyone from the classes before chapel had been recruited to put it back by Prof. Steve who ran around yelling "The chapel's been vandalized!!" Needless to say, we played dumb and listened to all the theories about it for the next couple weeks and months.

About 2 weeks later I received an email requesting a meeting with me by the head of security. I wrote an email to all the players involved, notified them of this and reminded them i would take the fall and they were to say nothing. He threatened harsh punishment if I didn't give up names, I refused, and finally told him what he wanted to know. (I didn't know at this time how the rest of the professors/president were taking it) We were all questioned and sentenced to 6 hours of community service walking around with a security guard and checking on things that they could do better. We had become a security risk and we entered places without consent.

Therefore...I have a confidential file with Concordia University and at the bottom of the sheet which explained my disobedient behavior I signed on the line next to the words...
SIGNATURE OF THE ACCUSED.

Ahh...first graders

Kids bring such delight to my day...and stress...but this one really made me laugh...
I use stuffed animals and beanie babies to entice my young music classes to listen and participate. Sometimes I even talk to them..."Oh yeah Teddy, you don't say! You've been listening to the first graders?? You want to go sit with Lucas?? Okay, well, I guess that's okay with me." At this point, they are so overcome with excitement to have Teddy sit with them, they are putty in my hands (for a few minutes at least). The day Lucas had Teddy sitting with him the unexplainable happened. Now, Teddy is an old Beanie Babie and has seen his share of trials, but he still gets the job done. Once the song was over, Lucas' hand shot up in the air and a "it's the end of the world" look on his face accompanied the waving hand. I called on him and he exclaimed..."MR. GEHRKE!! TEDDY'S BALLS ARE FALLIN' OUT!!!!" The kids were shocked that Teddy could be falling apart, but I reacted somewhat differently...I died laughing and said "What??!?!" Not because I didn't hear him, but I wanted to hear it again. It was outstanding to say the least and still brings a smile to my face.

Shameless self-promotion...

I just want you all to know that Jerry Babcock and I have professionally recorded and had printed an album of original music. Here's some short, catchy snippets to whet your appetite...

http://www.thouexcerpts.com (more info and online CD ordering)

Enjoy!

Track # and some succinct thoughts about each song
1- "On My Knees"...Confession and Absolution...God's Grace
2- "To Write a Love Song"...Wise words for a young man with love questions
3- "Round and Again"...We wrestle with God like Jacob and end up trusting Him
4- "Sweet 75"...A song of hope when everything seems to be changing.
5- "Why"...Some questions we all have.
6- "Found My Love Again"...Not about a girl...just finding the love inside and for yourself.
7- "Wish I Could"...An honest admission with a promise.
8- "Lullaby"...What it says...a lullaby.
9- "Ice Cold Sarsaparilla on a July Evening"...A spontaneous, rockin' jam to send you away smiling.

Google: My love and my bane

What is it about this monstrous power called Google that has us all so enraptured? Is it the fact that as I write this editorial, the search engine we all know as Google is searching approximately eight billion websites with the click of a button? Consequently, it then leads me to answers that, only a decade ago, I had to locate with a phone book, a library, or concede that I’d never know. Along with the image, group, advanced and possible future library searches—will this machine be able to handle all that may be demanded of it? It seems very likely. At this moment most people trust Google to lead them to the correct facts, and eventually aid them in making the most accurate decisions possible. I feel as though the enormous burden of ignorance and inadequacy has been lifted from my shoulders as I begin to peruse the seemingly unending list of answers to my search. What could be more satisfying to an inquisitive mind? I have to admit: I am a Google user and have benefited from its ability on numerous occasions. I would have to say my life has changed since the conception of Google. Although, on the other hand, it seems our culture is being lulled slowly into the delusion that Google can answer all of our questions. Yet, Google doesn’t have the answers, it only supplies us the possibilities it has gathered to prepare us in our effort to battle a lack of knowledge. I hesitate to propose a mind-altering question…suppose Google supplied me with inaccurate information or—forgive me—no information on my subject at all! As someone who enjoyed 14 years of life without the internet I am happy to say that I learned how to use the Dewey Decimal System and card catalog at the library. I was taught to use an index, table of contents, bold words, headings, and thesis sentences in order to facilitate my research. Since then I have added to my credentials a very extensive working relationship with the internet and its search engines. I have middle school students now under my tutelage, and I have found that even the brightest students, when assigned a project or simple paper, instantly turn to Google for their information. I am pleased to see my students using the same giant of technology to which I turn, but I am deeply troubled when they come to me later and say they can’t find anything about the subject. How can they not find anything when half the information is in their textbooks, and I have three entire sections dedicated to it in another book behind my desk? This was puzzling to me until I found out that their only form of information was Google. They didn’t even consider another source! Even movies and television are spurring on the Google reliance. In the recent movie Hitch, actress Eva Mendes’ character says that she wants to “Google” her friend’s possible date in order to find out more about him. Not only students, but society as a whole, need to be knowledgeable about how to find information. You shouldn’t automatically trust a website found by Google to be accurate, especially when it contains the musings of a teenager who happens to have opinions about your topic of interest. Again, I must come clean that I am and always will be a Google user…but please, for the sake of our children, there is nothing more rewarding than working diligently to find an answer that is undeniably accurate.

I guess it's about time...

I have seen the invention and shameless taste of Zubaz and had to slide myself into the wondrous world of Zebra-striped sweatpants. I had a tape player and never thought this crazy CD thing would take off...and yet I bought one. I was amazed and enchanted the first time I saw a colored computer monitor...and one day the "INSTA-NET" (thanks to Al Gore...God bless him) came to life in front of me. I embraced it fully and have been swept away in its miraculous wonders. Yet, I have kept my distance from this rage of blogging nonsense...and here I sit...writing my first post wondering where I went wrong. Well, here goes nothin...