Just two days of classes left at the UofA. It is always hard to believe it when the end of the school year arrives. Here are some random things that have come across my "desk" over the past few weeks ...

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Weather played havoc with the pole vault at the Drake Relays last weekend, which is often the case. It seems that the way the stadium is built produces a lot of swirling winds and cross winds on the vault runways, which all run north and south. The pole vault is dangerous enough in good conditions (running as fast as you can with a 16' pole, bending it, and letting it fling you almost 20' in the air), let alone with 20 mph winds blowing in your face or pushing you one way or another. So the heights for the college men and women and elite women weren't too good. For the elite men, however, we tried something different. Jeff Hartwig (American record holder) had a "plant box" in his truck from the mall vault earlier in the week. (The "plant box" is the medal container buried in the ground that the vaulters put the end of the pole in when they take off.) So we put it in the sand of one of the long jump pits, which allowed us to have a runway that ran west to east with a predominant tailwind. That made for a better vaulting situation! It was the first time I had ever seen that done.

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Here is an article from a recent issue of Christianity Today. The author makes the point that we don't live in "Jerusalem" (a culture comfortable and familiar with Christianity) and we don't live in "Babylon" (a culture far removed for Christianity and which doesn't much care what you believe as long as you keep the peace - see Daniel), but we live in "Samaria." The people of people of Samaria knew a lot about Jerusalem's religion (though some of their information was distorted and wrong) and held a grudge against it.

"So I sometimes find life in America. The problem is not that my religion is strange. The problem is that my religion is familiar. Like Samaritans and Jews, Christians and non-Christians have a partly shared worldview (our Western traditions, which include the Bible), a shared point of origin (Christendom), and well-defined points of contention (the exclusivity of Christ). We are familiar with what each other believes. We're suspicious of one another. So we start off with a grudge."

Read the rest of the article and let me know what you think.

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A recent study cited in USA Today reports that 1 in 4 teenage girls have a Sexually Transmitted Disease. I don't even know what to say to that. That is incredibly frightening and sad.

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Finally, if Dale Armstrong reads this would he please email me. Before I responded to your last email you switched jobs and now the email address I have for you doesn't work!

Some pictures from last night's mall vault (from the Des Moines Register) ...

I've probably officiated 200-300 track meets over the years, but tonight was a first for me. I'm in Des Moines to work the Drake Relays and tonight they held their first ever (and probably America's first ever) Mall Vault. They set up a pole vault pit and runway in the atrium area of the Jordan Creek Mall and six elite vaulters spent a couple of hours in a very spirited and very good competition. An estimated 2,000 spectators lined the runway, the pit, and the rail along the balcony to watch, clap, and cheer the vaulters. And the vaulters responded. Derek Miles and Mark Hollis both vaulted 18' 8.75" (Miles won on fewer misses, but the was an eight inch personal record for Hollis). Considering the balcony rail was 20 feet off the ground, that gave the fans up there a great view! Also competing were Jacob Pauli, Jeremy Scott (a former Razorback and "world's tallest vaulter" at 6'9"), Derek Niedermeyer, and Jeff Hartwig (American record holder and one of those who put the event - and the runway and pit - together). Everyone was excited about the event - vaulters and spectators and organizers - so it could very well be a regular fixture in Des Moines.

I was my intention to post a couple of pictures of the Mall Vault, but for some reason Blogger is not cooperating.

The big news around Arkansas yesterday - at least for a day - was the retirement of John McDonnell, the University of Arkansas' head cross country and track and field coach. Over his 36 years at the UofA, Coach McDonnell became the winningest coach in the history of the NCAA - regardless of the sport. Here are some of the "numbers" from his career:


42 NCAA team championships in cross country, indoor, and outdoor track.

83 conferences championships in the Southwest Conference and Southeastern Conference.

140 national, regional, and conference Coach-of-the-Year honors.

105 individual NCAA champions.

His teams won 90% of the SEC championships since entering the conference. The SEC is the nation's best track and field conference.

His teams won 61% of the national championships competed since 1984.

34 consecutive conference cross country championships.

12 consecutive NCAA indoor championships (1984-1995)

23 Olympians coached, including gold, silver, and bronze medal winners.

5 NCAA "triple crowns" where his teams won all three of the championships in an academic year. In fact, over one three year period his teams won nine straight championships, meaning no other school won one.

I have been volunteering with the Razorback track program for almost 20 years, which has given me the privilege of getting to know Coach McDonnell pretty well. I have often dropped by the track office and sat down to talk about track, politics, the economy, motorcycle safety, his farm, his family, and a dozen other things. Though he has been the most successful coach in NCAA history, he is also a very humble, down-to-earth, and personable man.

He had the ability to take a sport that is often seen as an individual one and make it a team sport at Arkansas, where each athlete - regardless of their ability - saw themselves as a part of a greater whole. He had the ability to help each athlete develop to their fullest potential, even beyond what they thought they could do. He knew how to motivate and prepare his athletes to be at their best at the most critical times.

As a coach, I think his greatest asset has been his ability to help athletes maximize their abilities. He took those athletes without the greatest credentials and made them into champions.

I read these comments today by Curtis Frye, head coach at the University of South Carolina. Coach Frye has developed his own Olympic champions and is a "rival coach" in the same conference. But his words about Coach McDonnell ring so true.

No one will ever accomplish the things that Coach McDonnell has accomplished. The university and the sport will miss him. He will continue to coach the Razorbacks through this season and his professional athletes at least through the Olympics. But mostly he will spend time with his family, seeing the country, and raising cattle.

Now we will see what happens with the Razorback track program. Who will be the new coach? Will the athletic administration see it as a priority or begin to cut the funding? How will the new Athletic Director view it? Lots of questions to be answered...

Here are some things that I have read recently that will you give something to think about as you ponder the world you live in and the room people make for God in their lives.

A week or so ago I posted a link to a video produced by some Kansas State students that demonstrated how college students live and work today - and how different it is than when I was in college. (Of course, you need to realize that where I was an undergrad was a little different than many schools - no hair on your ears, no phone or TV in your dorm room, in the dorm by 8:30 and lights out by 11:00 on week nights, etc.) You can find that link in one of the posts below.

Here are three articles that talk about spirituality and religious life among today's college students.

The first is from the Pew Forum and is an interview with a professor from UCLA. They did a six year study that tracked the religious and political views of college students. The study demonstrates how those who participated changed in their perspectives from their freshmen to their junior years of college. The main points are that students tend to see the world in more relative and less absolute terms as they move through college (which makes sense since those on a most campuses that aren't Christian affiliated are immersed in a relative culture) and that they tend to become more stressed as juniors than they were as freshmen. That can be due to the increased academic and social pressures on them, or to the drift from their spiritual moorings, or from the fact that many freshmen are pretty clueless and too naive to be too stressed! It is an interesting article.

The second is a piece from USA Today that asserts that religious and spiritual dialogue is still alive and welcome on the university campus, but that the nature of that dialogue has changed. Christians need to speak (and not just speak, but act) to the areas that have interest to this generation of students at large. The good news is that many of the areas of interest for today's young adults are very Biblical issues - concern for the poor and oppressed, justice issues, etc. These are things that much of the Church has neglected for too long but are issues that are close to the heart of God. We need to find ways to work with others - even those who are outside the realm of Christianity - to address issues such as these. In doing so, we can better demonstrate the true nature and values of God and build bridges for dialogue with others. Along this line, I am working with one of our former students to find ways to bring attention to the problem of human trafficking in the world. According the the US Department of Justice (2004):

• 600,000-800,000 people are trafficked across international borders each year. Of this number, 70% are women and 50% are children. The majority are forced into the commercial sex trade.
• Every years 15,000-18,000 foreign nationals are trafficked into the US. The number of US citizens caught in this is even higher, with an estimated 200,000 children in the US at risk of being trafficked into the sex industry.

"The righteous care about injustice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern." Proverbs 29:7

The third article is from the New York Times Magazine and talks about the rise of "abstinence clubs" on university campuses. These clubs are not necessarily religious in nature, but committed to sexual abstinence.

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Another cultural insight - read this column by Albert Mohler on the move of some "upscale" hotels to remove the Gideon Bibles from their rooms and replace it with a "intimacy kits".

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One last thing. I like gadgets and my latest purchase was a Palm Centro. I have used Palm devices for several years now and when my last one began malfunctioning, it was a good excuse for me to get a new one that also is a phone. Now I can just carry one thing and not two. I've been very happy with the Centro because I have almost everything (and I do mean almost everything - names, addresses, phone numbers, four Bible versions, prayer lists, music, books, New York Times, Washington Post, and USA Today, digital camera, email, internet access, Sudoku, and more) all on one little device. But I was also able to figure out over the weekend how to post to this blog from my phone. That means that I should be able to post more regularly since I won't need a computer to do so. Sweet! In fact, the short post just before this one came from my phone. Now some you may prefer posts from my phone since they will probably be shorter ...

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This weekend was the McDonnell Invitational - the UofA's main annual outdoor meet each year. Saturday was beautiful, as you can see. That was good, since I spent about 29 hours at the track on Friday and Saturday!

Not long ago, several of us from Christ on Campus spent part of a Saturday cleaning Dorit's house. Dorit is a 75-year-old lady with whom we became connected several years ago through Faith In Action - an organization that meets the needs of the elderly here in Fayetteville. Dorit's house caught on fire a few weeks ago. And though it wasn't destroyed, there was some fire and water damage. So we spent a few hours cleaning and preparing it for repairs and for her return.

Dorit is an interesting individual with probably more idiosyncrasies than the average person. She is a pretty good artist and is always learning about something - to which the college classes she occasionally takes and the two microscopes she owns attest. Any time spent or conversation with her is always interesting.

But this post isn't really about Dorit or cleaning her house. It is about two men - Jake Tolbert and Austin Brown. Through the years, many from ConC have served Dorit - giving her rides to the store or the doctor, picking up her mail, chopping firewood, etc. But it has been Jake (who was my associate for several years) and Austin (who is my associate now) who have carried the majority of the load. From the very beginning, Dorit began to rely on Jake for so many things. When Jake moved back to Illinois almost two years ago and Austin moved to Fayetteville, he picked up where Jake left off. You can count on at least one call from Dorit every day. Both of these men made themselves available to serve her and care for her and have done it with an impressive example of character, patience, and love. I am not, by nature, a patient or compassionate man. Maybe that is why I am so impressed by those who are. So this post is mostly a tribute to Jake and Austin, men with whom I have had the privilege to work and men who reflect the character of Christ - who came "not to be served, but to serve" - in very clear and practical ways.

God always seems to bring the "least of these" into our lives and into our churches and Christian groups, those who are on the fringe of society and who can't really contribute. The Dorits and the Patricks and the Timothys and the guy who stopped in last Tuesday night needing money. And I believe that one of the great tests of Christian character and maturity - for both an individual and a church or Christian body - is how we treat the "least of these." Not only does it provide evidence of what God has done in our lives, but it can also be a powerful witness to those who watch us.

I'm thankful for men of character and compassion - like Jake and Austin - who model to me what I need to be.

Rock Chalk, Jayhawk, KU!

I know that I have worked on the University of Arkansas campus for almost 26 years, but at heart I am still a Kansas Jayhawk basketball fan. So Monday night's game was wonderful. In reality, Memphis lost the game more than Kansas won it. All Memphis needed to do was make some free throws down the stretch - just foul someone in the last few seconds - and they would have probably won the game in regulation. But they didn't and Kansas made the plays and shots they needed to make to pull it out. So we rejoice as national champions for the first time in 20 years!

Now I need a new KU shirt ...

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Baseball season is now in full swing and this is a week of "opening days" for me. On Tuesday I got to go to Opening Day in Kansas City and watch the Royals beat the Yankee (with the added bonus that A-Rod struck out four times). Thanks to one of my best friends from high school - Allen Povenmire - I was able to attend Opening Day for the first time. The original plan was for four of us who were best friends in high school to meet for tailgating and the ballgame. Unfortunately, Craig's dad passed away and so we weren't able to pull it all together this year. But we will next year ....

On Thursday night Gina and I are supposed to go to the first home game of the Northwest Arkansas Naturals - the Royals' AA minor league team. They have just moved here from Wichita and their brand new stadium is just three quarter of a mile from our house. Their mascot is a Sasquatch. I'm not sure about that.

One of the names suggested was Thunder Chickens. Now that's a great minor league name! I think it would have been much better than the Naturals.

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One more note from Kansas. Check out this video made by some students at Kansas State. It will give you an idea about life on today's college campus and how different it is than when I was in school. Very informative.

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Lastly, one of my "guilty pleasures" is that I have been a fan of Saturday Night Live since it first aired on NBC in 1975 and I still watch it quite often. This past weekend Christopher Walken was the guest host. One of the great sketches in SNL history is Walken's classic "I want more cowbell" sketch. In honor of Mr. Walken, enjoy this video.

Do you have a favorite SNL cast member, character, or sketch?

I've about recovered from our annual Spring Break trip to Panama City Beach, FL - which ended a week ago! At my age, the hours we work on that trip wear me out for a few days. The typical days run from about 9:00am - 3:00am, with maybe a short nap in the afternoon (though I didn't take one at all last week). But the hours are worth it and there is no better "lab" experience for Christian students in sharing their faith and prayer. The week is spent serving a free pancakes and giving van rides to the 50,000 or so college students who go to Panama City Beach, FL for Spring Break. As we serve, we also look for opportunities to engage them in conversation and help them take a step closer to Christ. The week helps all of us be better prepared to articulate our faith and the reasons behind it and to be more proactive in bringing spiritual issues to the forefront.

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Though Major League Baseball seems to be doing its best to disguise it by sending the Red Sox and A's to Japan last week for two games and playing one game tomorrow, the real opening day
of the baseball season is Monday. I appreciated WTBS' effort this week to get us in the mood by showing baseball movies all week. The first four were all good choices: The Rookie, A League of Their Own, Bull Durham, and Field of Dreams. But then they stuck in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Just because they go to a Cub's game doesn't make it a baseball movie! There are so many better choices: The Natural, The Sandlot, Major League, etc.

So the question is: What is your favorite baseball movie?

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This week I entered the world of microfinance. If you aren't familiar with that term, you need to be. It is (in simple terms) loaning money to individuals in developing countries to help them start their own businesses. The goal is to help them develop economic independence. This week I loaned $25 to a man in Togo to start a bookbinding business. He needed $750 and I loaned him the last $25. I did it through Kiva. It is a pretty sweet deal and a great way to make a difference in another part of the world. You can loan as little as $25. For more info, check out Kiva's website.

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Lastly, I wanted to share this video clip with you that I first saw on my friend Mark Nelson's blog. I've never heard a sermon quite like it, nor one over the text he uses. Hopefully there aren't too many preachers around like this.

First, an update on life here in Arkansas ...

The family is well. Gina is doing great (as always) - teaching her kids, tutoring a former student, and doing quite a bit of reading. For a woman who never read much at all, over the past few years she has developed a real taste for mysteries and Nicholas Sparks books. (FYI - Sparks ran track at Notre Dame and sponsors a youth track club out of North Carolina. I had the chance to meet him at a meet last year). Right now she is reading quite a bit of James Patterson since we started watching the new TV series, "The Women's Murder Club," which is based on some of his books. Of course, John Grisham has a new book coming out next week. (So I have my Valentine's Day gift covered!) We are both reading through the Bible this year and hope to pick up the ballroom dancing class next month.

Stacy is in the second half of her junior year at the UofA - still making great grades and working several hours a week for a dermatologist in Springdale. She has her own apartment in Fayetteville. We keep telling her that she is welcome to move back home, but she doesn't seem interested.

Erin is enjoying her job in Omaha, but not so much the weather. The winter in Omaha has been pretty brutal - cold, snowy, and windy. It is so bad that she has bought her dog a sweater, coat, and boots just to get her to go outside to the bathroom. But when she complains, we just remind her that it was her choice to move there. And it's warmer in Arkansas.

I'm also doing well and keeping busy. Ministry-wise, the big news is that our women's minister has left to take a position with a church in Florida. She had only been here for about six months, which makes it a little frustrating. But God always has those things in control. Over the weekend, we had a guys' retreat out at Devil's Den State Park. It was just a one night event, but it was a good time of bonding, sharing testimonies, and setting some direction for the future.

Track season has also started up. We have ten home meets this season, so I won't do any traveling for track until at least the end of April. We have a meet this weekend with 25 college teams coming in. I also found out last month that I was selected to serve as the head high jump official for the 2008 US Olympic Trials. I'm looking forward to that opportunity.

That's the quick rundown. I'll try to post on a more regular basis (one of my resolutions for 2008). In the meantime, here are some things I've picked up online over the past few weeks. Enjoy!

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Check out one man's list of the 50 Greatest Olympic Track and Field athletes of all time. Let me know what you think of it.

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How would you do on these questions from the US Naturalization Exam for new citizens?

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Are you right-brained or left-brained?

The following two items came through my inbox courtesy of the Ivy Jungle Network. They will give you a sense of today's university campus culture ...

Unchrisitan: A new study by the Barna group confirms what many have felt to be true - many young adults today are more skeptical resistant to Christianity than they were 10 years ago. The results are chronicled in the book, Unchristian, by Dave Kinneman of the Barna Group and Gabe Lyons of the Fermi Project.** The research concludes that Americans ages 16-29 are becoming increasingly disillusioned with Christianity. In fact, only 16% said they have a "favorable impression" of Christianity. Only 3% have a favorable view toward "evangelicals." The most common terms to describe Christians are judgmental (87%), hypocritical (85%), old fashioned (78%), and too involved in politics (75%). When asked about the positive attributes of Chrisitianity, the best impression was "Christianity teaches the same basic ideas as other religions (82%). Good values (76%) and friendly (71%) were two other positive descriptors. Only 55% said Christianity is a faith they respect. The most common perception about Christianity is that it is "anti-homosexual," a belief held by 91% of respondents. (Barna.org September 24, 2007)

Overburdened Counselors: As more students go to college and more arrive on campus with mental health problems, many of the nations on campus counseling centers are stretched thin. Some use off campus therapists and others have three week waiting lists to deal with the demand. Despite the attention of mental disorders brought on by the Virginia Tech shootings, some centers have continued to see their funding diminish. 92% of counseling directors say that the number or students with severe mental health issues has increased in recent years.. 63% say they are concerned over the increased demand for services by students, but without an increase in funding from schools. 37% of college students say they felt "so depressed it was difficult to function" in the past year. Clinical depression has increased dramatically on campus since 1990. Kansas State University says that 60% of students who seek mental health counseling are clinically depressed. (AP September 19, 2007)

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Al Oerter, one of America's greatest track and field athletes of all time, passed away on Oct. 1. Oerter was the first athlete to win the same event in four consecutive Olympics, winning the discus in 1956, 1960, 1964, and 1968. Some "interesting" notes: he never won the US Olympic Trials, he never entered the Olympic games as the favorite or world's best thrower, and he set a new Olympic record with each gold medal. Oerter attended the University of Kansas and I can remember watching him throw when my family would go to the KU Relays. He was one of America's greatest competitors and greatest champions. In his later years, he founded "Art of the Olympians" which gave him and other Olympians a chance to demonstrate their artistic abilities.

Track trivia question: What other athlete later won the same event (not the discus) in four consecutive Olympic Games?

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I posted the Human Tetris video from Youtube. I had a couple of guesses on how I used it in a sermon. Here is the rest of the story ...

This semester I'm preaching on The Greatest Commandment - Mark 12:28034. I used the video in the first sermon of the series. Often times we have the idea that, as a follower of Jesus, we have to fit in to some mold that others have made for us. We contort ourselves to meet expectations, obey rules, etc. But following Jesus basically comes down to this: Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. Love God, Love Others. That is the grid by which we can direct our lives. Do our actions, our choices, our words, our values reflect these two values? Not just one, but both. In fact, all of Scripture are the details on how to do those two things: Love God, Love Others.

A week or so ago, Gina and I made a quick trip to Omaha to check out Erin's new home. Since she chose about the worst possible time to move to Omaha - a day before I left for Italy and during Gina's first few days of school - we hadn't had a chance to see where she was living and working. So we drove up after Gina got out of school on a Thursday (a six and a half hour drive), spent Friday with her, and came back early Saturday morning.

Now, you may be asking why my daughter would leave the wonderful world of NW Arkansas to move to Nebraska. That's a good question! One reason is that after living in NW Arkansas for 24 years, she wanted to try someplace else. The reason that place was Omaha can be summed up in two words: a boy.

Erin's got a nice apartment (meaning in good condition, roomy, and secure). Both she and Daisy (her dog) seemed glad to see us. I think that Daisy misses Arkansas more than Erin does. She spent the day showing us the hospital where she is working (she is an RN at the Nebraska Med Center), taking us shopping, and showing us the places she frequents - her church, the vet and groomer, the hair salon, the massage place, about a dozen coffee shops, etc. It was a good day and it was easy to see that she was excited about what she is doing. That night, Rick took us out for good Omaha steaks and then his parents and aunt came to the apartment for dessert.

It was a good visit. I'm proud of Erin and what she is doing and the woman she is. I just wish she was about six hours closer.

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This link will take you to a video on Youtube that I used with a sermon a few weeks ago. I think it is great. But can you figure out what it has to do with following Christ and why I would use it in a sermon?

For those of you waiting for more on my Italy trip, there will be more coming. But I wanted to hit on a couple of other things first.

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A few days ago, I traveled up to my home town - Ft. Scott, KS - to take part in the 30 year reunion of my high school graduating class. The great class of 1977! Thirty years. That sounds like a long time ago.

It was a great weekend. There was a good turnout for the reunion. Fifty-six of us were there - over a third of our class. And we enjoyed the usual activities: the annual Homecoming Chili Feed, watching the Tigers win their homecoming game on the very last play, visiting with friends after the game at a local restaurant, and lunch the next day at Chicken Annie's. (No trip home is complete without a stop at Chicken Annie's.) It was great to visit with people who have been friends all of my life - from kindergarten and before. Some of them I keep up with on a pretty regular basis, but others I haven't seen in 30 years. Steve Wulz (who beat me out for Senior Class President in 1976) was one of those. We actually got back in touch with one another a few months ago through a former student of mine who now works with Steve in Dallas. Steve did a great job of tracking people down, contacting them, and putting the weekend together. Thanks, Steve!

Here are a few basic observations:

We're old! Or, at least, some of them are! We are all getting close to 50 and there was a lot of gray hair (and some no hair). There were thicker glasses and thicker "middles" on most of us. And as many of us are grandparents as aren't.

Though most of us have fond memories of our high school years, that isn't true of everyone. For some, high school was a hard and painful time. One of our classmates refused to come to any reunion activities because it was a painful time for her and she had no interest in spending time with some of the people who made it that way. I'm sure I'm one of those who didn't always make high school pleasant for some.

None of us probably ended up where we imagined we would be when we graduated in 1977. But that is the way life does us. Most of life is "Plan B" - those things that happen to you when "Plan A" doesn't. Contentment often comes in learning how to let go of "Plan A" and make the most of "Plan B." A corollary of this is that, "Plan A" is often our plan - the one that we think we can control and make happen. "Plan B" is often the one that God uses to make us trust him more.

Most of the "rougher edges" of our teen years have worn off. We seem to be a kinder, gentler, and more accepting bunch. There was a lot of visiting among old friends who ran around together in high school, but there was also a lot of visiting among people who weren't particularly close during those years. The old barriers and cliques didn't matter. I didn't sense anyone trying to impress the others. And I like the people with whom I graduated. My one regret from the weekend is that there wasn't more time to visit and talk with people I haven't seen in years.

None of us have made it through life unscathed. We have experienced financial hardships and failed marriages. We have lost children and parents and spouses to death. We have been hurt and we have hurt others. That is probably one thing that leveled the field and that broke down the walls. There was a sense of not only our common history as classmates but of our common experiences of life. There wasn't a need to pretend that we were something we weren't.

Steve gave me the chance to say a few words at Chicken Annie's. (Actually he asked me to pray for our class, but I snuck a few comments in.) I reminded the class that Ft. Scott was still home and that, even 30 years later, we were still a part of each others' lives. We all carry a piece of those years - and the people with whom we spent them - around with us all the time. Our classmates are a part of the tapestry of our lives.

I mentioned in the last post that I was one of 14 US officials chosen to work the World Masters' Championships in Riccione, Italy. There were also about 12 officials from Great Britain, 3 from New Zealand, 2 from Puerto Rico, and 1 from Brazil. I didn't know before I arrived in Italy what I would be doing at the meet. Most of my officiating experience is in the vertical jumps and combined events, so I was anticipating working there. However, I discovered that I would be working in the "call room" or clerking area for this meet. (I'm sure that Tommy Free and his crew will get a kick out of that!) I have done a little bit of that, when forced to, at our home meets. But never at a meet with 9,000 athletes and in languages that I don't speak.

The Call Room is the place where each athlete comes before his or her event - whether track or field. We check credentials, bib numbers, spikes, put them in their heats, give them their hip numbers, and take them to the track or their venue at the appropriate time. It can be crazy at times and, with athletes from around the world speaking different languages and used to different systems (some of who are old enough to get easily confused), it was chaos most of the time. We got through it, though not without some stress and tension. Let's just say that Italian officials don't do things the same ways that officials from the US or Great Britain do them. Add the language barrier to that and some tension arose. Eventually things got better, but the Italians weren't quite as worried about rules or procedures:

1) Throws were measured from a variety of places through the meet - from the front of the mark, the back of the mark, the tail of the javelin, or even when the javelin stopped sliding.

2) Nary a clock could be found during the meet, so no timing was done.

3) Foreign officials were mostly used to retrieve implements or turn the numbers of the performance board, even though most were highly experienced and, among them, had officiated several Olympic Games, Olympic Trials, etc.

4) Officials didn't help with warm-ups in any event, including the throws. Usually, if there was an American or Brit on the crew, they would. Otherwise, the athletes had to retrieve their own implements, etc.

But for all the frustrations, it has been a good experience. I have learned a lot (including many things not to do) and had the chance to develop some good friendships.

Some of the highlights were athletes I met. In the next post, I'll tell you about a few of them. Above is a picture of our Call Room in action.

After a hiatus of a few months, I'm back on the blog again. This is the second year in a row that I have taken a break from writing over the summer. During the school year, I usually preach twice a week, and often teach another time or two, and I guess I just get tired of "talking" so much. But now I'm back.

I'm writing this post from a track in Riccione, Italy. For those of you who don't know, I am one of 14 track and field officials from the US invited to work the World Master's Championships. This is the largest of the world championships, with almost 9,000 athletes from 96 countries ranging in age from 35-97. They compete in 5 year age divisions and 430 are from the US. The meet is actually held at three different stadiums in this area, with Riccione being the major one. The others are at Misano and San Giuvanne. This is my second international meet (the first actually outside the US) and it is a great honor to be here. The meet actually started on Sept. 4, but I have had trouble finding internet connections! But I'll write a little at a time so, if you're interested, you can read a little at a time.

Some of the athletes here have been very accomplished. There are many former Olympians who are still competing. In fact, Willie Banks, a former world record holder, is here. And there are others who were never stars but who love to complete. Since there aren't any entrance standards, whoever wants to enter (and pay their way to Italy) can compete!

The trip here was a long one - about 32 hours of travel on three flights, six trains, a taxi, and about 14 hours in terminals. Which was about two trains and four hours more than I anticipated. Lesson one: not all train stations are open all the time. I discovered that as my train zipped through where I wanted to get off at 1:15 am! The train finally stopped 45 minutes later. It took a while to find my way back.

The hotel we're at is nothing fancy, but the food is great. A big continental breakfast in the mornings and a huge buffet of pasta, seafood, beef, pork, etc. every night - with a half liter of wine per person for the wine drinkers. It sets a pretty high standard for our Arkansas meets!

I'll quit for now, but will try to post more later.

Follow-up on the CNN broadcast mentioned in the last post:

The Anderson Cooper 360 show on CNN is doing a three-part story this week on "What is a Christian?" It will be broadcast on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights at 9:00 pm central. A segment about Beachreach will be in the series, but I don't exactly when or on what night.

That's all I've got for you!

Happy Holiday!

What holiday, you might ask?

It's Opening Day! The first day of the 2007 Major League Baseball season! (Alright, there was one game last night, but I think of it as a kind of "Christmas Eve.")

I know this isn't really a holiday - but it should be. Schools should be closed. Businesses shut down. Everybody gets the day off to go to the ballpark or watch baseball on TV or listen to it on the radio. I got myself in the mood by watching "The Rookie" on Saturday night. Today, I'll listen to baseball games on the "radio" - one of the great and simple pleasures of life. It is relaxing and so "Rockwellian" - with a modern, technological twist. I subscribe to a MLB service where, for $15 a year, I can listen to any major league game, anywhere in the country, over the internet - and choose which team's broadcast I want to hear. I know that may sound a little over-the-top to some of you - but I think it's pretty cool. So the big choice today will be which games to listen to. I know that I will listen to at least part of the games in which I have pitchers starting (yes, I have two fantasy baseball teams), as well as the Royals broadcast.

Last night it dawned on me that I should have taken off work today and gone to KC for the Royals home-opener with the Red Sox. Allen, Michael, or Craig - if any of you read this - you are responsible to remind me of this next year!

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Our Spring Break trips went well again this year. I went for the third year in a row to Panama City Beach, FL to do a week of outreach to college students who were there to party. It is a tiring week with a lot of late hours, but it is a great experience for our students and for me. It is a wonderful, hands-on "lab" in prayer and evangelism. Our students and staff were able to speak spiritual truth into the lives of students from all over the country and to see God use them to make a difference.

CNN will be airing a special report soon on college students and sex. As a part of it, there will be a segment on Spring Break in Panama City Beach. As they filmed that, they also spent time with those doing the same ministry we were and there is supposed to be a 5-6 minute segment on that. If I discover exactly when it will be on, I'll let you know.

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A few weeks ago, Brittany Spears was making a "name" for herself by checking out of rehab, getting her head shaved, hitting bars, etc. During that period, she was the butt of jokes for every talk show host and comedian. Except one.

Craig Ferguson is the host of the Late, Late Show on CBS - on right after Letterman. One night a few weeks ago - in the midst of the Brittany mania - I caught his opening monologue and was really moved by it. Rather than using her as a source of humor, he chose to show her grace and mercy. He talked about his own struggles with alcoholism. It was funny and sad and moving. I emailed him, thanking him for it.

The monologue is now on YouTube. If you want to see it, here is the link.

A few random thoughts after a few weeks away from the blog ...

Gina and I were blessed to be given a trip to NYC last week. It was Gina's first trip there and I had only spent one day in NYC (and that was almost 30 years ago). We flew out on Thursday morning (the hardest part of the trip was the drive to the airport through the snow and ice but the non-stop flight to LaGuardia was great) and flew home on Saturday morning in time for a Christ on Campus Board meeting. (We got to LaGuardia about 30 minutes before the security gates opened.) But during our few hours in NYC we had a great time:

We ate lunch on Thursday with Rupert at the Hello Deli (of Letterman fame) and then took a stroll through the south end of Central Park.

Thursday night we attended a "Black-tie Optional" gala celebrating the 100th Millrose Games - America's oldest and most prestigious indoor track meet. It was a $1000 a plate affair in the Rainbow Room on the 65th floor of the Rockefeller Center. (The pictures are of the room and the view from there.) There were about 300 people - a "who's who" of track and field history, Olympic champions and world record holders. The Rainbow Room was the site of various fund-raising functions for such as John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan and you can eat there for about $250 a person.

Friday we went to Ground Zero and then to Times Square - where we did see The Naked Cowboy. I tried to get Gina to go give him a hug, but she wouldn't go for it. That night we attended the Millrose Games - the first track meet I have just watched as a spectator in almost 20 years. It was great to be in Madison Square Garden - as historic an arena as there is in the US - and the competition was good.

It was a great trip and we were greatly blessed by those who made it possible - especially Art Huff. We just needed more time. There was enough to do and see within six blocks of our hotel to keep us busy for a week of more: Times Square, Central Park, Broadway, Museum of Modern Art, etc.

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I enjoyed the Super Bowl and was pleased the Colts won. I like Peyton Manning and Tony Dungy and was glad to see them win. I especially appreciated Dungy's words after the game - that even more significant to him than being one of the first two African-American coaches in the Super Bowl was to be one of two Christian coaches who were successful "doing it the Lord's way."

Here is another statement from Coach Dungy. This comes from Rubel Shelley:

"That there is 'life outside of football' may be a necessary reminder for some sports fans and couch potatoes now that Super Bowl XLI is over. Now that the Indianapolis Colts have the Lombardi Trophy in hand, some of them may be wondering what they will do until next season begins.

But the line is actually from Tony Dungy, the Colts' head coach. It wasn't spoken after last Sunday's water-logged victory over the Chicago Bears but just after his son James committed suicide 13 months ago.

In a speech he made shortly after that tragedy, Dungy talked about all three of his sons. He spoke first of his middle son, Eric, and said his competitive nature is so focused on athletics that 'it's almost a problem.' Then he turned to his youngest son, Jordan, whose rare congenital condition makes him insensitive to pain.

'That sounds like it's good at the beginning, but I promise you it's not,' said Coach Dungy. 'We've learned some hurts are really necessary for kids. Pain is necessary for kids to find out the difference between what's good and what's harmful.'

'Cookies are good,' the coach explained, 'but - in Jordan's mind - if they're good out on the plate, they're even better in the oven. He will go right in the oven when my wife's not looking, reach in, take the rack out, take the pan out, burn his hands - then eat the cookies and burn his tongue and never feel it.'

'Pain sometimes lets us know we have a condition that needs to be healed,' Dungy said. 'Pain inside sometimes lets us know that spiritually we're not quite right, and we need to be healed. And that God will send that healing agent right to the spot. Sometimes pain is the only way that will turn us kids back to the Father.'

Only then did Coach Dungy speak of his oldest son, James, who took his life three days before Christmas 2005. He spoke of his family's pain. He talked about lessons they were learning from it. He and his wife have since joined an organization dedicated to preventing teen suicide."

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Regarding the commercials, I did like the Kevin Federline commercial and the "beard comb-over."

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A couple of months ago I suggested the Banana Guard as a potential Christmas gift. Though I didn't get one for Christmas, I did purchase a couple. Pretty cool!

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Here's an article about a "caffeinated-donut." I guess it would kill two birds with one stone and save time!

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Some of you may want to check out Death Row Speaks - an anti-death penalty website that features poems, art, and other items from inmates on Death Row.

The death penalty is an area where my view has changed over the years. Though I do believe that government - as it operates within the purpose for which God designed it - may have the right to exercise capital punishment, I don't believe that it necessarily a good or wise practice for several reasons.

Christmas this year has left me reminiscing "nostalgically" about the different ways the season has changed in my life over the years.

When I was young (pre-college and pre-marriage), Christmas was an "extended-family" affair. As I remember it (and I admit that it has been quite a few years ago now), Christmas morning was at our house. But there were a lot of family gatherings: at my great-grandparents on the Armstrong side (with the sticky popcorn balls and the scary pictures of dead ancestors on the second floor) and at grandparents on both sides of the family. The Armstrong side was smaller (just ten of us, with the occasional visit from the Palmers or Aunt Sharon's family) and more sedate. The Huber side was larger, with more cousins who were a little more rambunctious.

When Gina and I were first married, Christmas really got out of hand for a while. We had at least seven Christmas celebrations (not counting our own). And since all of our family lived within 30 miles of each other, we were expected to try and hit all of them. It was rough on the babies (and, hence, on us) some years.

Over the past several years, Christmas has fallen in to a more comfortable flow. Typically, we attend the Christmas Eve candlelight service at our home church in Ft. Scott, KS. Christmas morning is at Gina's folks - a big breakfast with eggs, bacon, biscuits, and gravy - with her sisters and their families. Then presents and lunch. Most often we will then head in to my Mom's for Christmas with her and my brother and his family and my grandmother. Our traditional Christmas dinner is deep-fried shrimp (and chicken strips for those crazy people who don't like shrimp). Then presents. For many years, it also included the "grandkids" trying to figure out a way to catch Santa delivering the Christmas stockings. They never succeeded, though Stacy claims to have seen him in 1993. That was our last Christmas with my Dad. It's hard to believe that it has been 13 years.

But this Christmas was different. For the first time in 50 years, Gina wasn't with her parents on Christmas. For the first time in 48 years, I wasn't with my mom. Because of Stacy's recent surgery, we decided to stay in Springdale. We missed being with brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews. We missed being with our parents.

But, in my mind, it was also a special Christmas. For the first time, it was just our family. We had the big, traditional Christmas breakfast - eggs, bacon, biscuits, and gravy. We opened presents. We took naps. We watched movies. We played dominoes. And it was good.

Who knows when it will happen again. Things are in transition. We don't know for sure where Erin will be next year or what her work schedule will be like. Stacy will be graduating from college in a couple of years. Changes are coming.

And though it took Stacy's surgery to make it happen, and though we missed being with our extended family, God did bless us with, for the first time, a very special Christmas at our house.

It has been a couple of weeks since I've posted. They have been a busy couple of weeks with several things to mention, but tonight is a night to say good-bye to a couple of men who touched the lives of many people - including mine.

On Dec. 1, Josh Lantz died doing something he loved to do - canoeing. If you would have asked me which of the 18,000 students at the UofA would be out in a canoe on a rain-swelled river on a 20 degree day, I would have said Josh Lantz. He loved to be outside: mountain biking, ultimate, running, hiking, on the river. On that day, his love for those things out-weighed his good sense. When his canoe tipped, Josh was unable to get out of the water. When they found his body about three hours later, it had a peaceful smile.

In almost 25 years of working with college students, I don't know that I have ever know anyone quite like Josh. He definitely walked to a different drummer, but you didn't have to be around him very long before you realized that drummer was Jesus. Josh was passionate about Christ - he loved to worship, he loved to pray, he loved to study God's Word. You could see it as he played guitar and mandolin (most often barefoot) in our worship band. Josh was passionate about people. When you talked with Josh, you had his total attention. He wanted to know all about you. He had a way of making everyone who met him think that they were one of his best friends. There was no pretense - just complete sincerity. He was full of hugs and always ready to pray with you. And because of Josh's passion for God and for people, he was passionate about making a difference in people's lives - especially those who were in need. The last trip he took with Christ on Campus was to Indianapolis for the National Missionary Convention because that was where he was heading. His plan was to use his civil engineering degree to build water wells for impoverished people.

As I sat in Josh's memorial service last Wednesday, a passage of Scripture came to my mind. As I was thinking about it, Josh's pastor began to speak about the very things I was thinking. The passage is John 13, where John says that Jesus knew where he came from, who he was, and where he was going. Because of that, he was free from any need to prove his superiority or fight for position - he was free to demonstrate his love by washing his disciples' feet. I don't know that I have ever been around anyone who was more comfortable with who he was and more sure about the direction of his life than Josh Lantz. Because of that, he didn't feel a need to impress. He was able to squeeze the most out of everything that he did. He was just free to be passionate about the things that were important to him - God and people and serving both.

A week before Josh died, we had talked about him being one of our "young guns" - one of the freshmen and sophomore men who were going to lead ConC over the next few years. He was excited about that. I'm going to miss that chance to serve with him, to walk with him as he walked to the beat of Jesus. Josh was 19.

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On Monday, Seth Wilson went to be with our Lord. Seth was 92. Seth's legacy is too long to go into here. Let it suffice for now to say that he was Ozark Christian College for most all of its existence, serving as a professor, academic dean, and guiding force for decades. He was also the professor that I took more hours from than any other. His influence on my life - and the lives of hundreds of others - was huge. His love for God and his Word looked different than Josh's did, but was just as passionate and life-consuming.

I went to college with many who were too intimidated to take classes with Seth. Seth was a demanding teacher. Role call was taken each day and the expected response was not "here" but the number of hours that you had spent preparing for that class session. The expected response was two hours. I took most of my Life of Christ courses from Seth. Each day (Tuesday-Friday) we would take a different section of the Gospels. As class began, he would call on a student who was expected to stand and recite the passage from memory. And when finals came around, it was even worse. Seth's finals were essay finals and we were given a four-hour time slot to take each final. With Seth, you expected to be in that final for all four hours. If you finished the test he had prepared, he would have another for you to do! On the other hand, if you wrote all four hours on the first question, that was OK. He just figured you knew that much about the other questions. His classes could be intimidating and rigorous and life-changing.

From Seth I learned a passion for God's Word and the necessity of spending time with it, meditating on it, and seeking the Truth that was there. I learned that when it comes to the things of God, he deserves the best we have to offer.