| The Strength of a Three-Fold Cord - Final Sophomore Musings |

"And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him - a threefold cord is not quickly broken." - Ecclesiastes 4:12, ESV.

I am constantly surprised by how quickly time flies.  Regardless of the time of year, it slips by faster than I would like it to.  And this past school year was no exception.  So, although this post may seem a bit late (being nearly a month since school ended), it just doesn't seem like it has been that long since school ended.  

This year needed some time to digest.

Side Note: I think summer is an integral part of college.  For some, summer is an escape, or a time to make money, or a time to just recover and relax.  I think summer can be all of the above and more.  Because time is so hard-hitting and fast during the school year, it is very easy to let many of the lessons that you learn outside of the classroom slip through the cracks.  School has a way of "trimming away the fat."  And this is where summer comes into play.  Summer should be the time to reflect and rebuild.  To look at the lessons that you might have forgotten about, or just brushed away during the rush of school, and do your best to analyze and apply them.  

As I was saying. . .

I could point to many things that I learned this past year, but that would require a much longer blog post and I think that would cause the few readers of my blog to become glassy eyed and stare off into the horizon. (I wouldn't blame them.) 

But what would I say is the lesson that I took away from this year?

Friendship.  That is what has been impressed upon me.

Friendships are where you apply your learning.  That is my practicum if you will.  I've realized that what we learn in the classroom is put into practice in our friendships.  

New Saint Andrews College has been a furnace where some of my greatest friendships have been forged.  It has been a phenomenal blessing in many ways, but this year - this last school year - has impressed upon my life many friends that I can count on and trust.  

Since having moved around a-lot with the military, I have discovered that that can accelerate friendships in a way that seems abnormal.  But looking back, I find that it is the shared experience that really drives those friendships.  It is the pressure of moving, having a father deployed, or being in a brand new place that brings you closer to someone else.

At New Saint Andrews, I have found a similar kind of pressure.  The friendships that I have grown in have been forged in the furnace of intensive learning.  It is a kind of learning that pushes and challenges you in a way that is far beyond mental.  You have to have the desire and determination to really understand it, and also the push to put into practice what you have been taught. 

I remember one Finals Week quite vividly.  I walked into Friendship Square to find a fellow student earnestly preparing for an oral final that he had in under half an hour. The look on his face reflected what I must have had on mine.  Stress.  Both of us were visibly concerned about our perspective finals, yet in that moment I had light a bulb go off.  This is exactly what we signed up for.  

To be challenged.  

And it is in these kinds of moments where friendships are tested.  It is in these kinds of moments that the strength of our three-fold cord is challenged.

It is by no means a cake walk.  

This past year, I have truly been able to witness and experience how iron sharpens iron.  And I cannot wait to see what next year has in store as we continue to grow and push one another in our faith, studies, and lives.  

This is the close of another chapter of my schooling, but it is the beginning of many things that I cannot begin to comprehend at the moment.

Further up and further in!

| 2017 in Review |

2017 was a crazy year.  Every year that goes by, it seems time just swings along even faster.  As always, I tend to look back on the past year and reflect on how much I have been taught.  It is easy, in the moment, to forget the big picture.  But when the New Year rolls into town, it is always good to stop and contemplate how far you've come and how much you've learned.  And so, in retrospect, I am going to highlight a few moments from this past year that stood out to me.


On to the Next One -

This year included the finish of my freshman year at college, and yet another move.  I have really enjoyed this years classes and roommates, but I won't forget last years!  We made some memories, fellas.

Yes, we did finish out the year in matching outfits.

Road Trips -

The drive between Moscow and Seattle is just over five hours.  At least that is what it should be.  But having done it as many times as I have, you're bound to run out of luck.  And it did.  There was one time a few of us were driving back and we got stuck on Snoqualmie pass.  Due to inclement weather, it took us nearly 16 hours to get back home.  That's pretty bad, right?  Well, in the summer, roadtripping back with one of my roommates, we blew a tire and sat on the side of the road for four hours waiting for road side assistance.  But because we were less than half way there and we had a donut on, we decided to spend the night.  So, overall, the road trip took 22 hours to complete.  Oh, I-5, you will forever hold wonderful memories for me.

What a day that was.

Pike Place -

Since living in Seattle, we have been able to visit some landmarks while on breaks.  Pike Place being the most popular one.  For me, it is a really interesting place, but it is always more enjoyable when we go with friends who haven't been.  And we have had the pleasure of going with quite a few of our different friends.

Some of the crew.

Sporting Events -

Despite being far from the Midwest which holds many of my favorite sports team, I still have managed to keep in touch with the sporting world by going to watch some of the Northwestern teams.  Including going to Seattle to watch the Mariners play host to the Royals. And also watching the Washington State Cougars at a couple of their home games.

Definitely not Phog Allen.

Three-on-Three Tournament -

I didn't know anything about Hoopfest before moving here, but apparently it is the biggest 3-on-3 basketball tournament in the world.  I was able to participate in that this past summer with a great group of guys.  (We placed 2nd in our bracket.  Not too bad.)

Home made jerseys and everything.

V-Day -

This year, Valentine's Day became something I actually looked forward to celebrating.  The guys in the class of 2020 threw a Valentine's Day dinner and dance for the women in our class.  By all accounts, it was a very enjoyable night.

This Happened -

This was one of the biggest highlights in my opinion.  My older sister got engaged.  And better yet, their wedding is two weeks from today.  Big tip of the cap.

What do the young bloods say these days?  Goals.

Wordsmithy . . . And a number of other conferences -

There is never a shortage of conferences in Moscow.  Grace Agenda, Wordsmithy, and Parenting Conference to name just a few.  But my favorite, and the one that impacted me the most was Wordsmithy.  That really left me reeling.  So many good writers and teachers.

Not included in the above list is the coffee talks, late night studying, tough nights at work, bellies full of laughter, and friendships that sharpen.  Everything that made up this year I am very grateful for.  

Bring on 2018.

Eat Lucky Charms /The Nostalgia Surrounding Christian Movies/

"They got a bunch of Christians to mistake promoting this movie as promoting their faith."

When it comes to Christian movies, books, and music, we tend to give them a pass.  Mostly because it falls under the genre of "Christian."   We overlook the quality and forget to keep a sharp mind, because it is "on our side."  One of the major flaws in the church today is: that it is so busy with pointing out the speck in unbelievers eyes, and trying to convert them, that we forget to look in the mirror and examine the log in our own.  

I found this Youtuber, who reviews Christian movies.  He holds them up to the standards of other movies.  Say Goodnight Kevin is himself a Christian, so he understands the pitfalls that we can stumble into.  Now it could very easily turn into a game of bash-the-Christian, but I believe he does a very good job of spotting the inconsistencies and errors in movies like God's Not Dead, Facing the Giants, Do You Believe? etc. without becoming spiteful.  Movies like these find a niche.  They like to exploit the victimization that many Christians often feel.

Movies like this make it seem that we have the power to persuade people to become Christians.  And although we are called to witness and bring the Gospel to the ends of the world, it is ultimately God who brings someone into His family.  To think that we can make someone believe is over stepping our bounds.  Not to mention impossible.

"I am the vine; you are the branches.  Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." - John 15:5

So by all means, text "Eat Lucky Charms."

*This review video is quite long, so if you skip to 33:30, it will take you to the meat of his breakdown.*

Review: Outlaws of Time /The Legend of Sam Miracle/

Books like Outlaws of Time gets my imagination pumping.  My brain starts racing at the different images and ideas chasing themselves around in my head. I honestly didn't know what to expect when  I first flipped open the cover to page one; but, as soon as I closed the back cover, I knew that I was hooked.  N. D. Wilson, author of the 100 Cupboards Trilogy and Ashtown Burials series, is one of my all-time favorite authors.

I won't spoil it for you, but Outlaws of Time is the classic story of good versus evil.  It is about a young man, Sam Miracle, and how he becomes a time-traveler and takes on the evil that is the "Vulture."  Anything more beyond that, I feel like I would be giving too much away.  But I would definitely recommend you add this to your summer reading list.

Just recently, Wilson did an interview on the World Over with Raymond Arroyo.  At one point, Arroyo questioned Wilson on why he had added some frightening themes in his book.  Wilson replied, "Two major things: one is just practical, do you want healthy children or not?.. If you bubble your child and keep them from anything frightening, into what world do you think you are raising them?"  

Here is the interview:

Peter Jackson, You Stretched Too Far

This afternoon, a few of my family members and I went to view the new movie that came out.  You might've heard of it.  The Hobbit  The Battle of the Five Armies.  I have been extremely excited to watch this last movie of the Hobbit series, and potentially the last in the Tolkien films.  But, I wouldn't put it past Peter Jackson to direct an 87-part series based on the book Silmarillion.  Just wait.

Now, I might have set my sights a little high.  I just recently purchased The Lord of the Rings and still love that series.  It's well done, very well done.  Then I rewatched The Hobbit  An Unexpected Journey just the other day with my family.  It was pretty decent.  Then, we all know about the Desolation of Smaug, that had no desolating whatsoever.  Very anticlimactic.

And now, The Hobbit The Battle of the Five Armies is up to bat, and when the pitch came, it swung about ten seconds too late.  Very simply, this last Hobbit installment was a letdown.  

Now, obviously, I can't just say this and not present a few of my reasons for why this movie was a letdown. Don't worry.  I'll explain myself.

I have been reminded by many of my friends, who have reasoned with me, that I need to forget the book and just focus on the movie.  That's heresy.  One cannot simply forget the masterpiece of Tolkien...  But, I did indeed strive to put aside that fantastic read and watch the movie.  It didn't help one bit.  First off, Peter Jackson shouldn't have tried to make a novel into a trilogy.  One could already see that he was going to have to add a side story.

Thus, you find a love story between a dwarf and an elf.  Sounds logical.

I shall not linger on this odd filler.  The last thing that I will say about it, is that it was extremely cheesy.  And also, Tauriel seemed to wear the pants in that relationship.  She definitely saved Fili's butt more than a few times.

And onto one of my biggest pet peeves about this movie.  The plot conveniences.  It just got ridiculous.  I'm used to the occasional extraordinary escapes of the main character(s), but this movie had a plethora of them. Some were just too over the top.  This scene from the Desolation of Smaug should have been a foreshadowing of things to come.  

But I was proud of Director Jackson when Legolas actually ran out of arrows.  I clapped appreciatively.

When can the main character just die?  It sounds morbid, but it is very true.  It's nigh impossible for the main character to die.  So, I was actually surprised that Thorin died.  And I even cheered when Fili died.  (The love story ruined him.)  

As I mentioned earlier, Jackson made a novel into a trilogy, and I believe that he stretched himself on this one.  This movie, in general, was not well made.  It felt like the next scene would try to one up the scene before it in how dramatic it was.  And, with all the beheading that happened in the battle, there was no blood spatter.  That was so very realistic.  

That, is all I have for now.  I may come up with more later, but these were the major flaws that I found in the movie.  Director Peter Jackson stretched it on this one.