Public Education is Great for Stupid People

Before you go and complain about the title of this post, stop and think. Do you hate school? If you answered "YES" then you're probably still attending it. If you answered "NO", then you've probably been free from it's grasp for quite some time now.

*DISCLAIMER* I could be wrong about most of the things I talk about in the upcoming paragraphs, but they're certainly true for my school.*

Learning is supposed to be fun, right? Atleast, that's what gets beat into your head in Elementary and Kindergarten. So, why is it that we have so many teenagers and kids that hate going to school?

The truth is, learning IS fun. I LOVE to learn about Music, it's history, and the people that play it.

Generally kids drop out of school because they aren't interested in it. So, what would happen if they were interested in it? What would happen if they got to learn about the things they love and use their imaginations every day?

Ladies and gentleman, they call that a revolution. A revolution of truly educated, creative kids.

Maybe people are afraid that if they let their children choose what they want to learn, and what they want to be, there won't be anyone to take the less desirable jobs...

Let me tell you a secret:

I used to want to be a garbage man.

So, tell me your thoughts on this subject.
Also, what did you want to be when you were little?

Your Thoughts?

I haven't posted much here, not that a lot hasn't happened, but just that I haven't really felt like it.

Here's a question for you: What makes music "Worship Music"? What is Worship Music?

WWJD? Pt. 1

That's a good question. What would Jesus do? Well, from the gospels, Mark, Matthew, etc. we know some of the things he DID do.

Cody Bonnette said once in an interview, "Jesus didn’t run around saying, “I am Christian, this is Christian, this is Christian, this is not Christian.” He just went around and he was Jesus. And later on we were like, “Okay, well this is Jesus, and he only does these things.” And we don’t know that. No one knows that. Know one knows “what would Jesus do?” because he always did things differently."

In order to be Christ-like, we need to look at things from a different perspective. A loving perspective. Something that always helps me is putting myself in another persons shoes for a minute, to think what it would be like to be them.

For a long time I would see somebody, and if they looked different, or wore weird clothes or something, I would just make fun of them. I would do it just to keep others thinking, "Yeah, that guys cool." What is cool? What does that even mean?

What, in your opinion, is cool?

I don't mean what do others think it takes to be cool. I mean: What do you like to see people doing that gives you respect for them?

Christmas is here! (Almost)

So, here I sit, cozy and warm, in my house. Friday is Christmas, and I'm sure almost everyone is anxious to see what they got from the family and pals, right? Well, I'm sure you think you know where I'm going with this. You think I'm going to say, "Christmas isn't about presents and giving! It's about Jesus!!" Well, I hate to disappoint, but I'm going to switch it up a bit.

Christmas isn't even really about giving, it's about receiving!

*Cricket chirping*

Well, yes. God gave His son to all of us. We that chose to receive Him are blessed, are we not? The miracle of Christmas is what we received. The only part of the Christmas story that specifically mentions giving gifts are the wise men. We don't even know how many of them there were, or where they came from! There is nothing that even comes close to the centerpiece of it all. The Baby born of a virgin.

The Christ, Jesus Cristo, King of all.
There is no greater gift to receive than the gift of Salvation.

Be happy and love one another. Thank God for His Gift to you.

Merry Christmas

Early in the morning...

Well, at least it was when I went to bed last night. I didn't really plan on posting today, but recent events have inspired me to do so. Normally I have a decent idea of what I'm going to say in these, but today I don't. I plan to keep it very short and simple, though.

Everyone struggles.

It seems that if people don't get the "necessary" attention for what they're going through, they feel betrayed. I'm sorry, but I'd have to say that's sinful. I'm very guilty of this as well. It seems we get caught up in our own daily life and forget to think about others. In elementary school they teach kids to "only worry about you!" Well, maybe that's good in disciplinary environments where you have to keep kids from staring while the kid down the row eats his own boogers, but oh, how it is different in real life!

I aim to keep my focus on that kid eating his boogers! Isn't he the one who needs help? Maybe he needs somebody to eat boogers with him, so he doesn't feel so alone! Isn't that what we're here for?

That's all I have this morning/afternoon. I hope it inspires you in some way.

-Sam

Letting Go Pt. 2

Okay, so, maybe getting my hair cut wasn't that bad, but the biggest thing was that I looked in the mirror and saw someone I hadn't seen for a very long time. All the weight my hair had carried, all the sorrow it had seen, every tear it had soaked up, was now gone. I was new.

I had grown more attached to my past than I had even realized, and the only way I could let it go was by force. I didn't even realize I was so attached to it. Tethered to everything I had grown tired of. More than just my hair.

Romans 12:1 tells us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, acceptable and holy, to God. I'm not saying I had to cut my hair to make my body acceptable to God, but my mind was in no state to present myself to God.

I don't believe that this body is acceptable to God, that's why we leave it at death and receive our glorified, heavenly bodies. He created my body, and I shamed it. I only wish to hide this body, so that all the scars, physical and non-physical, will not be shown. That is why I sacrifice my body to God, so that He may dispose of it, and I can live, and walk with Him in Heaven. I offer my body to God so He can do what He wills with it.

So, I present a challenge to you. Cut off whatever ties you have with sin. Instead of praying for what you want, pray for God to use you how He wants. God will provide for you everything you need, and bless you with some things as well.

I remember my prayer of salvation, I asked God to make His presence known in my life, and to speak to me. God responded by basically saying, "My presence has been obvious in your life! I have been speaking to you! You haven't listened until now! I've tried to use you, but instead you turn away!"

I think God must get tired of "Christmas list" prayers. "Tonight, God, I want this, and this, and this, and this!" What happened to God's will for us? He's God, not a magical fairy. He doesn't just make all our wishes come true, it's all about His will for us!

Let go of what you want and embrace what He wants for you.

-Sam

P.S. I might post a before and after picture of my hair.

Letting Go Pt. 1

Hello, everybody. I meant to write sooner, but this past week has been a little busy.
Let me start off by telling you a story:

I was very excited to get my hair cut last Tuesday. It was pretty long after 9 months of free growth and wasn't looking the best, so I decided it was time to trim! I left school to make the journey about 50 miles northeast to a city by the name of Midland.

>Something you will soon learn is that I really do love my hair, maybe too much.<

See, the reason I travel an hour to simply get my hair cut, is because I really trust the lady that does it there, and she's never given me a bad cut. I arrive with, my dearest mommy, about 5 minutes before my scheduled appointment, everything's going great! Until...

*suspense*

My regular hair-cutting virtuoso is out sick! The secretary says we should have received a call so we could reschedule, but we never got one. She offers politely to have someone else cut my hair, and I think time stopped for a moment. Everything inside me twisted up in horror! I couldn't talk! I looked at my mom for some sort of comfort, but all she did was say, "C'mon she wouldn't hire anybody that sucks at cutting hair!"

So, I gave in.

Not even the regular lady that washes my hair was there, every comfort I had found there, everything that I knew, and was familiar with, was gone! I felt like I was making my final march to my execution, as the soccer moms and beauty queens all watched in silent horror and mourning.

Suddenly, the over-played, chart-topping hits that were being blasted over the radio, were replaced by a lone trumpet player, off in the distance, quietly confirming the end with his slow, sad, hymn.

If you're still reading this, I'll cut to the chase. The lady cut off too much, I asked for a little trim, about 1 1/2 inches taken off, and she decided to almost cut to my hairline in the back. The sides used to be below my chin, and now fall just below my earlobe! Oh no!!

For the rest of the night I was nothing less than devastated. My mom apologized for egging me on, and I knew I couldn't hold it against her, but come on, that was 9 months of hair! I remember the last thing the lady said to me was, "Look at all that hair!", pointing to the floor at what she had just cut off.

Yes, look at all that hair. Look at what's been a part of me for the past nine months. It was more than just a part of me physically, but mentally, also. That hair had been with me through the absolute toughest part of my life, and to see it laying on the floor, soon to be thrown away like trash, made me want to scream. It held so much more "weight" than what could be seen.

---I've already written quite a bit, so I'm going to split this post into 2 parts.
Part 2 will tie all of this in spiritually. How am I going to relate a haircut to our daily spiritual struggles? Well, I guess you'll have to wait and read Part 2 and find out!---

-Sam