The Drummer Diaries

Pay-for-Play Puzzle

2011-07-20T10:58:00.001-07:00

I recently had a question of mine get through on the Big Ten Blog at espn.com. Looking back, it was the result of being a little tired and overly annoyed with the constant "pay-for-play" debate going on in college sports. Basically, they have been talks of giving student athletes a stipend ON TOP of what they've already earned for scholarships. The response Adam Rittenberg gave me was not what I was hoping for, but I've gotten used to that. It was actually pretty civil compared to the "band nerd" pokes I received in the comment section from a 35 year old man...

First off, band nerd? I mean, really!? I heard that in middle school and even a little bit in high school, but come on.

Anyways, I'm used to music taking the backseat to sports. It's happened countless times, so it should be no surprise that once again they are talking about giving them more benefits. I guess the free tuition, housing, food, books, clothing, bowl game gift bags (last year included iPads for the entire football team) just isn't enough for our oh-so-fragile athletes.

Don't get me wrong, I love Nebraska football as much as the next guy. I grew up with it and have been a die hard fan my entire life. I've been used to the fact that they rule the school and state. But if we start paying them stipends for "the cost of living" (which I think can be argued that they really don't need) then pretty soon we're gonna start saying "Oh, well they all need cars to get around town. Here's a car." The NCAA has a rule that says athletes can't get certain jobs, which is absolutely ridiculous and should be removed immediately. At least give them work study or something.

My point is college is hard for everyone. The student athletes label has STUDENTS first because they are primarily STUDENTS. Yes, they bring in tons of money for the school, but this isn't the NFL. If they want extra spending money, take out a loan and pay it off once you make it in the big leagues.

I LOVE the NCAA, so let's keep it the same; not change it to the minor leagues.

2011-06-25T20:34:00.000-07:00

My roommate of the past 9 months was so gracious in allowing me to be a groomsmen at his wedding today. I knew one of the other groomsmen very well. Two of them I met but very short and vaguely. The other two I had not met at all. The fun that we had was unprecedented.

It always amazes me how much fun I have when I hang out with solid, Christian guys. No pressure to drink, no pressure to smoke, and no stories about the last time we "got some."

Thursday night was the bachelor party, and listen to this. The seven of us guys, half of us or so being "of age," went out to eat, where the best man actually had the groom drink an irish car bomb. We then proceeded to go bowling. That was it. One of the guys even spoke up at dinner when most of us (including me) were talking about a crass subject, and props to him for that. We played 2 games of cosmic bowling and that was basically it, but man, it was fun.

After the wedding rehearsal last night we all went out to where the reception was being held and had dinner. It was a local church camp and the bridesmaids and groomsmen all spent the night out there in the cabins, by ourselves. Dinner was destroyed and all of us groomsmen just ran around doing the most random stuff. We grabbed weapons, which consisted of wooden planks, a chair, a kickball, and a dartboard. We ran from the bridesmaids and all hid behind the dartboard to shield ourselves. No one even thought of bringing alcohol. It was pure fun.

Of course, we did end up hanging out and talking with the bridesmaids, but there was no talk between us of "so-and-so blah blah guy talk about hott girls blah blah." It was clean fun.

And today was so great. The bride and groom provided us with gifts of 5 hour energy, aviators, sweat bands and rock star (for the dance at the reception). The groomsmen formed a worship band to begin the wedding ceremony and I LOVED playing with all those guys. We took ridiculous pictures. We watched close friends of ours give their lives to each other and Jesus. We ripped up the dance floor to Backstreet Boys.

I'm rambling. I needed the gratuitous amounts of pure clean fun I had this weekend. I feel so spiritually rejuvenated and we honestly didn't even have a bunch of deep talks about our faith. We did talk about some things here and there, but for the most part we just did stupid stuff. So if you were involved in the wedding, and you're reading this, thank you SO much for such an incredibly awesome time. We groomsmen should definitely see more of each other!

Acts 2:44

Cohabitation Conundrum?

2011-06-25T20:10:00.000-07:00

I've talked a lot about this with friends of mine recently, and quite a few friends at that. Specifically about 2 close friends of mine that JUST got married. I mean that very literally, as I was ripping up the dance floor at the reception about 2 to 3 hours ago.

These friends are a Christian couple. Looking to serve the LORD and have Jesus at the center of their lives and the basis for their relationship. When talking to other close friends of mine about it (I lived with the groom for the past 9 months), I had many question the fact that they were not living together. I got plenty of "well, they don't want to try it out and see if it works?" or "wait, they haven't slept together yet and they're getting married?!" etc. As we all know, sex before marriage is not okay with God. I would expect nothing less of my newly wed friends and they handled the situation perfectly.

Even so, I thought it'd be a good idea to spill some facts about this subject, considering most arguments against Christian views are "there are no facts." Here's some SECULAR facts:

"65 percent of altar-bound men and women live together before getting married."
--Bride's Magazine

"Research indicates that people who live together prior to getting married are more likely to have marriages that end in divorce."
--The Boston Herald

"A recent study on cohabitation concluded that after five to seven years, only 21 percent of unmarried couples were still living together."
--The Boston Herald

Now, those stats speak for themselves and I'm honestly not trying to get on a soapbox and jam my beliefs down your throat. But there IS something to the Christian view on this topic, and sure, there are probably a few special cases, but not living together before you're married is the best route to go. I'm just tired of it being questioned. I guess it's not normal for this day and age, but it's certainly not stupid by any means.

Hebrews 13:4

Semester of...who knows...

2011-01-11T23:23:00.000-08:00

Well, tomorrow marks the begin of second semester after being delayed a couple days by snow. It is going to be the busiest and financially difficult time of my life. However, I am so incredibly psyched for everything I have going on. Here's what my weekly schedule looks like:

Monday- Class 9:30am to 3:20pm/Drive to Beatrice, Lessons 4:30pm to 6:00pm, Rehearsal 6:00pm to 9:00pm.

Tuesday- Class 9:30am to 11:50am/Donate Plasma/Drive to Omaha, Dojo sectional 5:00pm to 8:00pm.

Wednesday- Class 9:30am to 3:20pm/Work 4:00pm to 11:00pm.

Thursday- Class 9:30am to 11:50am/Drive to Beatrice, Lessons 4:30pm to 6:00pm, Rehearsal 6:00pm to 9:00pm.

Friday- Class 11:30am to 3:20pm/Drive to Omaha, Dojo rehearsal 6:00pm to 11:00pm.

Saturday/Sunday- Dojo rehearsal.

I figured that I'll be driving nearly 500 miles a week. Keep in mind, I also have homework and drumming to do in between times not listed AND need to come up with money for rent and the remaining $375 for Dojo. Insane, but awesome. In March, Dojo heads to Nashville to compete in WGI and in mid April, we head out to the World Championships in Dayton, OH.

Pray that I get through this semester and am still able to "maintain the faith." This past semester was a bit rough on me, but if I thought that was bad, I'm in for something completely different.

Goals:
Become more solid in EVERYTHING.

Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”

-Isaiah 44:8

FREQUENT SINNER

2010-10-21T16:34:00.000-07:00

What's your initial reaction to seeing this? I received this other day walking around on campus. An older man handed it to me and said "Have a nice day," and smiled. Being a christian, even I was almost tempted to toss it in the trash can a few feet away as he continued past me.

To make matters worse, I opened this little booklet. The very first thing you read is:

Dear Frequent Sinner

Each sin you commit earns you an Eternal Debt of punishment payable in full upon your death to the One you owe it to. God. Even one small sin earns a wage of eternal death. (Romans 6:23)

Being a college student, and knowing how most of them operate, how is this going to get through to them? Sure, it's useful information that should be known, but the first thing mentioned is how bad of a person you are? In fact, this entire card doesn't say "There is good news, though!" until the other side. By that time, you can expect most college kids to have checked out, quit reading and have thrown it in the trash.

This type of evangelism will not work with students. I know this because I've seen it fail over and over. And sure, you could make the argument that they aren't be "tolerant" or whatever, but that doesn't matter. The best way I've found to bring others to Christ is by building relationships. Yeah, some might take a little longer to come around, but they will at least give you some time to do as we're commanded by God.

BOOM!

PODCAST!

2010-04-30T16:01:00.001-07:00

I don't have anything to ramble on lately, but I figured I would at least inform you all (all meaning the 7 followers I have) that I have just finished creating a podcast and will be posting audio files of the current music I am working on every so often. I hope it brings you some form of enjoyment. The link is below.

http://keyganb.podbean.com/

"1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &"

2010-03-13T10:18:00.001-08:00

Obviously, I love to drum. Playing at UNL has been so awesome, and brought up new opportunities for me. In October, I was hired by my old high school to instruct the drumline there. I was stoked. I took the gig and found out that instructing is tons of fun. One tool that's used constantly (or at least should be used constantly) is the metronome.

A metronome's primary function is to keep time. Humans don't do a very good job of it, so we play with the metronome to give us that constant steady, and even ruthless beat that will not change. As we improve, we become better at holding tempo, but still need to continually be referring back to the met. Drumming especially relies on this, more than any other section. It helps the whole line play as a line. The ultimate goal is to sound so tight, that it's only one guy playing.

Unfortunately, there are instructors out there that decidedly don't use a metronome (there is a point to this, I promise). Mainly, because "they won't have it out on the field during a show." Which is true, but how do you expect students keep consistent tempo if they can't in the first place?

Whenever I talk about why we use the metronome, the two words "reference point," always come up. The metronome is the thing that we fall back on when we suck. We all need to refer back to it at some point or another in order to further our striving towards good drumming. It's a lot like our spiritual lives.

The Metronome/Dr. Beat (God/His Word)
Always right. No matter what. If you're struggling, you got to get right with God. Everything must fit exactly with Him. Extremely hard to do, that's why so much practice is needed to be put into it in order to be successful.

Instructors (Pastors/Ministers/etc.)
A fairly good amount are great at what they do and have had success, however, there are some out there who aren't the best. The main idea for them is to help other christians become more solid in their faith. They encourage very much and only want the best from their people. Also, they were in the same position themselves at one point. They recognize the difficulties and challenges presented. But, there are those who don't exactly know what's up. They may have stopped practicing themselves, yet still expect the same results from their students.

Drummers/Drumline (Everyone Else/The Church)
Constantly practicing to get closer and closer to God. So much hard work is put in to being a good christian young man or woman. There are plenty of loving people around, always wanting to further their relationship somehow, but there are also a good amount that just get by with what's "necessary," and aren't fully committed to Him, or they just want to chill and have fun. And they may do so, but won't produce anything of quality, a waste of time. Bearing fruit will not take place.

I haven't been practicing with a metronome a whole lot lately. My tempo fluctuates and everything is somewhat choppy. It's lacking something...

*deek deek deek deek*

Perfection

2010-01-09T13:17:00.000-08:00

Lately, I've been having conversations with friends of mine about faith. Generally, they're good, but I've found out that we don't quite see eye to eye on things. One of those things, is Jesus.

They've said Jesus wasn't perfect. A good majority of people actually belive this, but the thing is if He wasn't perfect, than none of us would be able to go to Heaven. Salvation does not exist. No one would be able to be saved. Do you really want to believe that?

The whole reason God sent His Son was to offer Him as a sacrifice to forgive every single one of us, and to allow us to one day be with Him. The perfect, sinless, unblemished Son of God is the only One that would do. If Jesus had sinned once, only once, we would all be doomed to Hell.

Now, Jesus was born to a virgin. Many people will argue that she wasn't, because otherwise it wouldn't be possible. The thing about God is...He can do what He wants. So, if He wanted His Son to be born to a virgin, so be it. That's the way it happened. I don't know how He did it and it really shouldn't matter. God can do anything.

The thing that amazes me the most is how Jesus remained perfect throughout childhood. Things were probably pretty easy on Mary and Joseph. This made it evident that Jesus was indeed God's Son, and sure, the Bible doesn't really give us much into Jesus' childhood, but one of the first times it does is often seen as a sin on Jesus' part.

Luke says that "when Jesus was 12 years old, His parents and He traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover Feast. After they were done eating they packed up to head back home, but Jesus stayed and his parents were unaware of it. [. . .] When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him."
~Luke 2:41-45

If anything, this was Mary and Joseph's fault as they forgot their son. I don't think anyone would say that a boy left in a grocery store is his own fault. That is the parents' responsibility. And look what Jesus was doing. He wasn't worried: crying or running around crazy like any other kid would do. He was in the temple sitting and listening to the teachers AND asking questions. He wasn't worried at all. His parents had been gone for 2 days and he was absolutely fine. If your parents forgot you as a child and were gone for 2 days, how would you feel? I know I wouldn't be as nearly cool and composed as Jesus was.

The other instance people argue that Jesus sinned was when He went to the temple. He got angry, which is where many people believe the infraction occurred. It's amazing what simple and easy research in the Bible can do. Usually, it seems that this is taken out of context, and there is complete disregard for what others were doing around Jesus. They were using the temple as a marketplace. Selling and bargaining was going on in the Lord's house. You can imagine why Jesus was not happy.

Anger is not a sin. I mean, think about it, God has gotten angry numerous times. How can He go against His own law? But, you can sin IN your anger. This could be, swearing, being unkind to someone, etc. Jesus got angry because these people were misusing His Father's house and seeking to earn benefits of their own. They were not using it properly. That's why Jesus got upset and did what He did, had to do. Just like God would have done.

It just kind of blows my mind that some people don't realize that believing Jesus sinned, indirectly says that none of us are going to Heaven. Jesus was absolutely perfect in every single way, and because of that, we get to spend eternity with our awesome God.

Luke 23:13-15

Acquiring the Confidence

2009-12-14T21:17:00.000-08:00

It occurred to me the other day that the semester is nearly over and I haven't posted a new blog in freaking FOREVER! So I hope this helps all of you who I know had withdrawal of this over the past few months.

Not gonna lie, it has been a pretty rough first semester here at UNL. The only thing I seemingly haven't struggled with is my composition lessons. Which is great considering that's my major, however, I need to get my stuff together next semester.

In case you don't know, I really am a shy and quiet kid at heart. When I was younger, I didn't talk a lot and still have my moments now when I won't because I feel uncomfortable somehow. Now, once I get to know you and become pretty good friends I will REALLY open up, as some of you know. But one thing I've definitely been learning is to be confident in everything you do. To have the courage to be firm and just do things, and do them well. This first came up with drumline, but I've noticed how important it is just to be successful in general. I'm learning to quit being so wishy-washy and just get in there and do it.

Also, my relationship with Christ has been somewhat lacking, just with me being so stressed. No excuse, I know, but it's just been tough. I still managed to open my Bible every couple days, but I could still give more of an effort.

So next semester, I'm hoping to hit the ground running in all aspects. I won't have marching band, so that'll help somewhat, but I'll miss it. There's your update of me. Hope it was what you wanted.

1 Corinthians 16:13

Status Stupidity

2009-10-05T08:32:00.000-07:00

So, I'm on facebook quite often. Much more than needed, but I'm usually have Finale up working on something or other and just have it up if someone wants to chat. However, some statuses have really started to annoy me lately. So much in fact, that I've hidden certain people from my news feed and even more have removed some as friends. With that said, here's a list.

Things No One Wants to See on Your Status Update

Homework Assignments: Chances are someone else has more than you and will comment about it so you know.
Things That Don't Make Any Sense: Seriously, if you're going to put something with your name on it, at least make it somewhat sensible to someone out there.
What Day of the Week It Is: Everyone knows.
Inspirational Quotes That Suck/Were Written by You: As much as I appreciate you flaunting yourself around like Socrates and showing everyone how "deep" you really are, stop it.
Feelings Towards Your Significant Other: I don't mind the occasional "my gf/bf is awesome," but once you start posting "LOVES HIM/HER SOOOO MUCH," or "wouldn't know where he'd/she'd be without you babe," it gets really old, really fast. We get that you like each other. Please stop screaming it at us.
Status Hijackings Concerning Victim's Sexuality: Ok, changing your friend's status to "...is so gay (among various other homosexual things)," makes it absolutely completely obvious that someone messed with it. What is actually comical is when you can change it to something that makes friends laugh at the victim, but still makes them think they posted it.

I hope this was at least somewhat informational concerning my feelings on these topics. Just know that if you do post something within these criterion, you will be subject to being hidden and/or possibly even removal all together. Have a good week.

Transfer Tension

2009-09-16T14:08:00.000-07:00

I'm in the middle of week 4 at UNL. I wish I could say the transfer went amazingly, but it didn't. The past couple weeks I've been feeling stressed. Everything is a lot more intense, which is great, but has so far been a bit overwhelming. I feel like I'm forgetting something every other day. For instance, yesterday I missed our first composition departmental meeting. Not something you want to miss as I was informed of today at my lesson. I think I'm finally kicking things into high gear though and getting used to the pace.

I've also noticed how much I compare myself to others. Other guys on the drumline, in the percussion studio, in my classes, and music majors. I am terrified of not measuring up, not being legit, and turning into a fold. Terrified. This is a new experience for me, and thankfully I seem to be adjusting. And really, I shouldn't be concerned about that at all. As long as I'm doing what is asked of me by God, which I believe I am 100 percent.

I can't help but notice now, that over the past few weeks, I haven't been where I should have been with God. Devotions are quite rare and church is iffy. Finally today, I made the time to sit down, read my Bible and listen to some Casting Crowns. I said a short prayer before that God would show me what He wants of me. I clicked on my iTunes and opened up my Bible. I opened up to where my bookmark was. The first thing I read was:

"Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed."
-Proverbs 16:3

It's nice to know that the only One I'm seeking approval of isn't concerned of how good of a snare drummer I am, or how fast I can play my scales on a marimba. As long as I am doing everything for Him; I will be fine. God is so amazing.

If you'd pray for me, that I'd stay on the track I've gotten back on with everything, that'd be great. That I'd stay on top of my classes, lessons, assignments, practicing, and most importantly with God.

Drummin' for the Huskers

2009-09-06T20:46:00.000-07:00

It has been far too long since I posted anything on here, so hopefully this somewhat satisfies you.

Well, as of August 15th, I made the snare line at UNL, and it has been awesome. It's hardcore and I love it. Our center snare marched Phantom over the summer, so naturally he wants things very clean and intense. This is easier said than done, but I feel we keep getting better as the season goes on.

Yesterday, we had our first game, and it was incredible. I've been a die hard Husker football fan since I can remember, and actually being there on the field doing what I love to do was such an amazing feeling. Being surrounded by The Sea of Red was so sweet, and I get to do it at least 7 more times!

If you're ever bored in Lincoln on game day, you should come check out the line. We usually warm up and hour and a half before kickoff outside of Arch Hall. It's a good time.

Trusting Him to Provide

2009-07-06T11:35:00.000-07:00

We've all heard the phrase that goes something like, "Trust in God and He will provide for you." I've taken this for granted, yet today, I realized how much He really does take care of me.

Friday, a few friends and I went and got fireworks, the 4th of July on Saturday, and we decided to hang out and light some fireworks, have some fun. When we got the stand we had a tough time deciding what we wanted. So we had the idea that everyone had to get one (within reason) that began with the same letter of their name. For example, I got "Killer Bees."

I looked at my friend Troy and asked if he was paying and he said yeah, but I wanted to pitch in. I had a 20 dollar bill so I told him I would pay then he could give me a few bucks, whatever. The total turned out to be 9 dollars, or something like that. Troy gave me a 5 and the lady working the register only handed me a dollar. I didn't notice until later that night. We were gonna go out to eat and instead of having the 16 dollars I thought I had, I had 10 less.

Now, really, it wasn't that big of a deal. The lady shorted me 10 bucks, not a lot to some, but for me, thats a meal and a half. I brushed it off, moved on and wasn't gonna let it ruin the time I had with my friends, but it was one of those things where you go "Ugh, if I only still had those 10 dollars." But I got my mind off of it and didn't worry about it.

Sunday was an amazing day of worship for me. From singing, to having great conversation, to serving food, it was great. I really did truly believe that God was there for me and was going to provide for me.

And then last night, when I got home I was talking to my parents and sister about the Esprit concert among other things. Finally, my parents asked us what we had planned for the week. We mow a lawn of some friends of ours. I usually don't, I let my younger siblings do it because they want to, it's a paying gig, but then my mom turned to me and said, "Keygan, will you do it?" I said yes, not because I knew God was doing what He promised, but just because I didn't have anything else to do.

This morning, mowing, it hit me. He provided for me something that wasn't even that big of a deal. A measely 10 dollars, He changed into 15 and gave to me. Thanks God.

Manhunt: Strength

2009-06-03T11:34:00.000-07:00

13Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. 14Do everything in love.
-1 Corinthians 16:13, 14

I had remembered reading around this area with one of Pastor Jack's sermons and decided to look into it more and I found this verse. This is the first of two letters that Paul writes to the church of Corinth, and this verse is found towards the end.

Now, about half of what Paul says here goes with the world's view of a "man," and the last two words of the first verse are fairly universal when talking about men. It's simply put, "be strong."

The typical worldview of a man is physically strong. Ask virtually anyone what their definition of a man is, and most would answer with strong, but there's mental, emotional, and of course physical forms of strength. Physical seems to be the most apparent in men, and the world presses this one the most. Along with that, emotions are seen as a weakness, and even being mentally strong is viewed as a weakness. With God, this is not the case, thankfully.

Physically, I'm not as strong as a good amount of people. However, Solomon says in the book of Proverbs that "A wise man has great power, and a man of knowledge increases strength." This is a good reassurance that men don't necessarily HAVE to be able to bench tons of weight, but it also shows that God looks at more than the physical side.

And I don't know about you, but I've seen plenty of very physically strong guys, but haven't seen many that are also mentally and especially emotionally strong. I'm tired of seeing guys break up with a girlfriend and their whole world falls apart. I can understand why they're upset, but when something like that happens it's obvious to see who they were really living for, and it wasn't who it should have been.

The last part of the verse from 1 Corinthians is convicting for me: "Do everything in love." I'm sure I'm not the only one who struggles with this. Think about it, doing EVERYTHING in love. Not just when you remember to do so. Absolutely 100% of what you do should be done in love. I'm not the best at making sure what I do is out of love. I like to think I'm good at it, but I'm really not.

1) A man of God is strong and does everything in love.

Manhunt: Intro

2009-06-02T23:58:00.000-07:00

My next few series of posts are going to be a way of keeping myself accountable in reading and studying my Bible, but also to educate myself in something that I believe has been distorted. I'm going to be studying what God's definition of a "man" is.

The world's view seems so messed up to me and at times, I'm not sure what a righteous man of God actually is. This will help me stay level headed and be the man that God wants me to be.

Farewell to UNK

2009-05-12T10:37:00.001-07:00

Lately, since I've been back people have asked me why I didn't like it UNK very much, and why I'm transferring. I'll try to be somewhat nice but this is basically why it wasn't that great of an experience for me.

The students. Plain and simple. And I'm not saying every single one, they were a handful that I miss from there, of guys that I did actually enjoy spending time with, and I'm fairly sure they know who they are.

First of all, I'm sure you've heard the old quote "You can't spell drunk without UNK." Sadly, I found this to be true, and if you know me, you know that I definitely am not into that stuff. And yes, most college campuses have quite a bit of alcohol, but nevertheless, this was bad.

Secondly, I really did like the faculty, they knew what they were doing and I held them in very high regard. However, most of the students didn't respect them very much. Kids who don't even have Bachelor's or even Associate's degrees would openly make fun of professors, with doctorates. Which is absolutely ridiculous...

Thirdly, a lot of students assume that since they're music majors in a good Division II school, they're very good at what they do. You can always practice something, you are NEVER going to reach a day when you have nothing to practice because you're just that good. There's always something new to work on. Given, a few kids are extremely good at what they do, I could give you a few examples.
*On a small side note, I'd like to tell everyone how annoying I find when someone is irritated by a scale being played up to the 7th degree. "It has to resolve!" No, it doesn't. Get over it.

Lastly (this one may be a bit nasty), the student leadership was terrible. Coming in knowing that the drumline wasn't particularly good, I knew I'd be on snare. I'm not trying to be arrogant here, but only a couple other guys on the line could hang with me, and they were freshmen too. Instead of the "instructor" encouraging us, he dumbed us down, and praised the kids that weren't very good. I have no idea what his problem was. He tried to bring down the best players on the line and make the worst feel like they were carrying the group. This was incredibly frustrating to me as I, and these other 2 freshmen, practice the most out of anyone else on the line past, present, and future. I didn't want to be praised, but definitely didn't want to be made fun of because of the skills I've learned by practicing and working hard because I want to be very good at what I do, and to see the leader tell someone, who wasn't putting nearly enough time in as I was, that they were really good made me extremely angry.

In a drumline, especially as the instructor, you cannot afford to cause conflict, much less enjoy to do it. Sure, the guy that was doing this won't be there next semester, but I can sadly see signs of the upcoming section leader acting and doing the same things.

Wow, pretty sure I'm done with that, like completely. I have UNL drumline minicamp at the end of the month and I've been practicing at least a few hours a day. I'm ecstatic to play with some guys way better than me. Wish me luck.

If God is Love, then...

2009-03-29T13:33:00.001-07:00

Last night, Zac and I got into kind of a deep conversation. We had been out at the Shanno's just hanging out and our way back stopped at McDonald's for some cheeseburgers. My roommate was asleep 'cause he had a track meet today so we just chilled in Zac's room. I don't think we were looking to have a deep conversation; it just kind of happened. At different points, we both were teary-eyed.

We had been talking about girls and love and such. I'm sure what I'm about to say, if read by many, is going to cause TONS of controversy. We had been talking about friends of ours that were in relationships in where God wasn't number one. For the past few months, I have been a bit disturbed by non christian couples that say they love each other, and I really had no idea why, but realized it last night.

If God is Love, then how on earth can you say you love someone if you don't know God? I don't think you can truly understand love if you don't know God and are not pursuing a positive relationship with Him. Non believers have never truly felt the emotion and feeling of love.

Like I said, controversial. I'm sure I'm being "intolerant" and "close-minded" to many people, but I'd rather be on good terms with God than anyone else. I really believe what I just said. If you don't know God, you don't know love, no matter how much you say you do. Some of the most genuine couples I've seen are my parents. They really do love each other, because they both know God and have positive relationships with Him. I've also noticed this with their friends that are the same. One specific couple sticks out in my mind. They're a lot like my parents. They have 4 kids and it's obvious that they do just genuinely love each other because they know God.

There it is. Take what you will.

The Funny One

2009-03-09T10:17:00.000-07:00

So this a quick little post. I've been failing a bit with my devotions and quiet times and finally got back to it today and was VERY glad that I did.

If you talked to me at all in the past few months I may have told you about this girl I have known. We've been getting know each other better and such, but a couple weeks ago realized we weren't hearing God the same, however I told her I appreciated her honesty in the matter. Today, I was reading in Proverbs and read kind of a funny verse.

"An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips."
-Proverbs 24:26

I laughed. Who says God isn't funny!?

Because God told me so...

2009-03-05T10:22:00.000-08:00

Have you ever had someone tell you, "because God told me?" This is usually said among christians about a various number of things. For example, where there are going to college, or why they're dating a certain person, or when they're going to give their testimony, or many other things.

But have you ever thought how easy it is to use, "because God told me" as an excuse!? Especially among your christian friends who will accept the idea. I came to this realization the other night, laying awake in bed. I had recently been told this, in different form, but the same concept nonetheless. However, I really did believe my friend in that what they were saying was what they received from God. But just think for a second how easy that would be to use to justify decisions. It could be a phrase simply used to get someone off of your back.

There have not been very many things I can say that I've felt God tell me to do. The only thing I am certain about is God's wanting me to be involved with music and worship. Whether that be writing songs or just playing, I need to worship Him with the gift He has given me. I feel He definitely has revealed where He wants me to be. Which is Lincoln. It has a more challenging music system, it's closer to home, it has many christian friends of mine, and the real clincher I discovered this weekend was the staff at UNL informed me of a new program they are starting which is music composition and education put together. It is exactly what I want to do. Write music and teach it.

I noticed then when I came to see what He had for me, I was doing well with my walk with Him. In John 8:47 it says, "He who is of God hears God's words." It checks out.

The friend I mentioned earlier had a different take on the situation than I. Looking back I can say that I wasn't right where I should have been with God, so I don't think I was hearing Him correctly. Now, before I even try to hear what God has for me; I make sure that I am right with Him and am completely humbled before our Lord.

Just a suggestion and something to think about.

Get Rich Quick

2009-01-21T21:36:00.000-08:00

I saw something a bit disheartening the other night. A friend of mine asked me if I'd be interested in earning some extra money by doing some social networking stuff. Since I am in the need of some currency I decided well...I can at least check it out, so I did.

The meeting was at Ramada Inn and I wore jeans. I was a bit under dressed, but she said it was okay. We went into the meeting room where the guest speaker introduced himself and began to explain the whole thing. First impression was: "This is scam. No way anyone can make as much money as he's saying he did." It cost $175 to get going and you had to attend a conference about it in Nashville or Minneapolis, and they don't pay for those, but the business will in a couple months, sure. However, as he continued talking some of it did actually did make sense.

He first talked about how we have been "brain washed" in that we need to go to school to get a good job and do that for the rest of our lives when we can actually survive using this networking thing and earn a lot more extra cash by doing it. He worked at IBM for 20 years and apparently hated every minute of it. Since he got into this business he quit his job, doesn't wake up until 11, and takes vacations every 2 weeks.

He could tell I wasn't impressed by what he was doing with his money and as he was going through all the "glorious" things you can do with money, stopped by me and said "Or you could even give your pastor or church $20,000. Wouldn't he love that?!" I nodded, just to get him away from me because he had a creepy smile.

Basically this guy said, "Quit school or your job, do this, you'll make tons of money and barely have to do anything for it." Sounds easy right? Too easy, I'd feel so lazy if I did that. Imagine getting up at 11:00 AM every day and taking vacations every 2 weeks; what could you possibly get done? He also told he gets done every day around 3:00 PM.

I'm not trying to bash on the people that are interested in this and have gotten started with it. I can't say that everyone that has gone through that has not used their money very wisely, but I can say that I don't think I'd really want all that money. I'd have no idea what to do with it. I'd march drum corps and buy some gaming systems. That'd probably be the extent of it.

I left the meeting with a CD to give me more info about it. I threw it away. I got a call from someone about getting everything set up. I told him I wasn't interested, at all. Easy as that. I'd rather spend my hard earned money something worthwhile, not snowmobiles and fancy resorts.

Be Still

2009-01-18T12:23:00.000-08:00

Everyone loves music, but some appreciate more than others. I, being a music major, would say that I do and I truly realized it this past weekend. My mom's birthday was this weekend so I decided I should probably go home. College and home is a pretty good distance away, about 2 and a half hours, so I listened to a bunch of music on the way home and I took another 45 minute trip to see a certain someone. I went there and back so all together I had 6 and a half hours of intense music listening. It was good time.

Anyways, I've noticed that certain songs extract different emotions. This sounds really cheesy, I know. But for instance, All the Memories by The Classic Crime makes me a bit sad because it reminds me of my high school show choir and how much I loved it. A couple songs by Tool also do the same but with drumline, it reminds me of the winter shows in the past.

However, the most emotional ones I have found are songs I sang with Esprit de Corps. Every time I listen to Make Some Noyz I get chills, because I can remember exactly what it felt like to just praise with everyone together. It was one of the most awesome feelings I've ever had. But the best one out of that group was Still by Hillsong. It's easily one of my favorite songs of all time. I had heard it a few times before Esprit but never realized how awesome of a song it truly is.

We sang it at youth group tonight and I just listened to it again. I almost cried. There are so many things going on in my life right now that I lose sleep over. I don't have a job and need one badly. I know what's right, but don't necessarily do it all the time. My classes are stressing me out already. I'm worried about a developing relationship for no real reason. I'm scared that transferring won't go smoothly. I'm even worried about not getting into the School of Music at UNL. Everything just seems to be chipping away at me.

Yet, in spite of that, this song reminds me not to worry, to relax, to be still, and know that God is God. He is King over the flood. I know His power in quietness and trust. I will find rest in Christ alone. My favorite lyrics of the song: "I will soar with You above the storm."

*sigh* thanks God.

New Year's Resolutions

2008-12-31T22:46:00.000-08:00

Well, it has been 2009 for a couple hours now. I have made a few resolutions, just like everyone else. I intend to keep them as well.

1) EXERCISE

I never really exercised a whole lot on my own after gym class. I've decided I'm going to work out/run at least two or three times a week. Nothing wrong with being healthy, and you gotta have some kind of cheesy cliche on the top of your resolution list.

2) BIBLE READING

I do read my Bible, but not quite as often as I should. I plan to read every day at least once if not twice. I got some big decisions headed my way. If I want to make the right choices, reading the Bible is a great place to look. I also have some friends that occasionally will ask me for advice. How am I supposed to help them if I don't have at least a small amount of wisdom?

3) QUIET DOWN

I know my roommate will love this one. I've been known for being a bit loud. I admit, sometimes it is a bit over the top. I actually read about it today, in my Bible. I have a good start on my 2nd resolution already. I was reading in 1 Thessalonians, in chapter 4 verse 11 it says, "Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life..." I figure it should be something I need to look into doing.

So there are my resolutions for 2009. Basically, I'm going to stay healthy physically and spiritually, and by being healthy and fit in both I will be healthy emotionally as well. Kind of confusing, but it's not, trust me. Here's an equation:

{{Healthy Physically + Healthy Spiritually = Healthy Emotionally}}

Happy 2009!

Patience

2008-12-19T22:51:00.000-08:00

I am in a weird mood. I'm happy, yet I'm not, and I know why. Unfortunately, I don't want to share it at this point. Let's just say that, God brought something awesome into my life, and is putting it on hold it seems. It's for the better, but I want it now. There a few things in my life right now that aren't what they should be. I believe that God is wanting me to take care of those things before he "gives" me what I want.

I don't necessarily see myself as a patient person, I guess tolerant would be a better word for it. I can stand a lot of things. I may not like it, but I can tolerate it. For instance, on our missions trip to Mississippi the kids would hang all over you. Not particularly my favorite, but I could tolerate it and it was good for them. I never got angry, but patience is something I think God will be teaching me these next 8 or 9 months. Which is good, usually if I want it, I'll rush into it and BAM! It doesn't always turn out the way I'd like. If you have any idea what I'm talking about, or if you think you have an idea, this may confirm it:

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does no envy, it does not boast, it is not proud."
-1 Corinthians 13:4

Interim Deity

2008-12-03T23:07:00.001-08:00

Life's hardships happen to come along,
Like losing a job or a family member.
All of sudden we know where to go,
We randomly remember.

As soon as He helps us out
We push Him back out the door.
Why wouldn't we do just that?
He is not a need anymore.

Humans know how to run our lives.
It's only the best if it's run by us.
We don't need Him any longer;
It's simply not a must.

We feel mighty proud of ourselves,
Kicking Him out on a whim.
We're the powerful ones here
And we don't need Him!

Mark 7:6

Sticker Satisfaction

2008-11-23T17:15:00.001-08:00

Something got me to thinking today. I've been in Lincoln the past few days for the NMEA all state convention. A couple friends of mine and I stayed at my grandma's house. She lives in Lincoln and free lodging. It rocked. We slept in today and my aunt and uncle and baby cousins came for lunch. It was nice to see them.

Before we left, I was packing my stuff and my 3 year old cousin came in. He looked at Grandma's desk and found stickers. His face lit up as he looked at me and asked if he could have some. I told him to go ask Grandma. He sprinted out of the room searching for her. What's so intriguing about stickers, I thought. I remember I used to freak out when I was littler about them. I wanted one, but now, it doesn't appeal to me as much. Why?

It reminded of a lot of christians today. When we are younger, around the beginning adolescent stages someone introduces us to Jesus and the amazing thing He did for us. Being overjoyed and probably not completely understanding the idea we freak out and want to follow Him, yet as we get older, God fades out. We aren't attracted to it as much anymore. He's just kind of there. We don't want Him as much as we used to want Him.

However, adults still do ocassionally get stickers. After voting you get a sticker and walk around with it proudly. This can be compared to Christmas or Easter for christians. It's a religious holiday so we all need to be religious. Sometimes you get stickers for giving blood. When something absolutely horrible happens to you, like a death in the family or getting fired from your job, you turn to God for a little while. Only until He gets you back on your feet so you can take back over.

I've seen it happen to which sucks more than you'd believe. Zac and I have had a friend of ours, a good friend of ours, turn away from God. Zac feels more convicted about it than I do but I still feel bad about it. Zac says he thinks it was partially his and our fault that they stopped trusting in Jesus the way they did, but we'll never really know.

In middle school this person was on fire for God, or so it seemed. We went to all the youth group stuff together, all of the church stuff together and were viewed as growing young adults of Christ, until high school happened. Things changed so fast. I will admit, when I first began high school I was not as close to God as I should have been. I never really was satisfied with my relationship with Him until the end of my junior year even, but I came back. Zac pretty much stayed the same with his relationship with God from what I could see, but our friend did not.

They started hanging out with the wrong crowd and by doing that got to going to parties and it progressed on and on. I watched as I knew them so well during middle school to not even knowing them at all when we were seniors, and it went so fast.

At the time, the christian thing seemed really cool. They wanted a sticker. As time drew on they got tired of it and it got dirty and was covered up. They didn't want it. They were done with it. All that can help them now is prayer, and lots of it.

I have to put on a new sticker every so often. I screw up and ask for forgiveness from God. He takes off the old sticker and gives me a brand new one. He forgets about what I have done. The old sticker is gone with a new clean one on me. He lets me start over.

Pray for our friend, and that they would get a new sticker.

Arraying Aphorisms

2008-11-07T23:00:00.000-08:00

Politics. Racism. Abortion. Gay Marriage.

All of the above ideas have been brought up to me in the past week. Mainly because of the election, but in a non hostile environment I'm going to express my views, which I believe are right. They are based on the Bible.

Politics/Racism:
Barack Obama is the new president of the United States. I did not vote for him. I did not vote for anyone. I was not in support of Obama because he was pro choice. I've actually had someone tell me I was racist for not voting for him. A friend of mine sent a bumper sticker on facebook today that said "Voting for him BECAUSE he's black is racist, too." I'm very picky on who I would like as a leader, and Obama wasn't exactly what I would have liked. I was a bit disappointed with the results, but for whatever reason it happened. All I can do now is pray for him.

Abortion:
It is wrong, no matter how you look at it. It doesn't matter if a teenage girl has unwanted pregnancy or a married wife is raped. It's a baby. You keep it. It's a life. It's the first and only time you will probably be able to get away with murder.

Gay Marriage:
This is a touchy subject. I've recently gotten into an argument about it. I've been told "they can't help it" and "it's not their decision." However, I find that very hard to believe when God says that it is wrong. Why would a loving God make someone sinful!? He doesn't do that. Why would he distance Himself from them!? It doesn't make sense. I really don't know if they can't help it or not and it really shouldn't even matter. My God says it is wrong, therefore it is. Plain and simple. I do not hate them. God doesn't hate them.

There it is. Take it as you will.

College Salutations

2008-10-22T09:44:00.000-07:00

We just had fall break. Monday and Tuesday were ours to do with whatever we wanted. It was nice; I hung out with the family and some "old" friends. Zac and I traveled back to UNK last night. We left kind of late, and usually you don't find parking spots after 9ish.

Somehow, I caught a spot fairly close. Quickly, Zac snagged it. It was cold and a bit rainy. We got all of our crap together. For me, it was my backpack, duffle bag, and laundry. I had my hands pretty much full. Zac had about the same, but minus the laundry and had another duffle bag. As we walked up to CTW there were people outside smoking. Not a big surprise.

Ignoring them, we were shoving through without touching anyone. Somehow, we were looked at weird for trying to get inside. I managed to open the door, God only knows how, and I hear a voice behind me, "Yeah, it's nice to see you Keygan." Not wanting to be rude, I turned around and backed into the door holding it open as Zac walks in. It was someone who is in the FAB quite often that I occasionally talk to. I smiled, "Oh hi how was your break?" They stared at me for a bit and said, "No f--- you, I don't care." Confused, I shook it off and backed into the building. Zac was laughing as I caught up with him. He heard.

That didn't bother me all that much. Whatever, I thought. Why should I care what they think of me? There's only One that I care what they think about me, and He is much more important and powerful than anyone else.

However, I have an 8 o'clock class on MWF. This morning when I woke up it was cold and rainy. I got back from my morning classes about half an hour ago. I'm not as wet as I was, but still pretty damp...

Slapped with Solace

2008-10-13T22:45:00.000-07:00

Zac and I had a short but sweet conversation tonight about finances, because let's be honest, us college kids aren't the richest on the planet. However, he said he likes it more when he has nothing. He enjoys being broke. This confused me, a lot. If I don't have much money I worry about it and freak out because I don't know what will happen. I told Zac this and he relied with, "exactly."

I gave him a puzzled look; he explained. "Now that I don't have any money I have to rely on God because there's nothing else I can do. I don't or rather can't worry about what will happen because I can't do anything about it. It's up to God. I have to let Him decide." That makes sense.

I then explained to him about my financial concerns. I don't have a job right now and my graduation money/savings bonds are dwindling down, and I really want to march drum corps this summer. My parents aren't going to pay for it all, I know that. I'm trying out for Troopers and expect myself to get in, as well as paying for at least half of it myself. Right now, if I wouldn't be possibly doing that this summer, wouldn't be as worried about finances as I am now.

God kind of slapped me in this face and calmed me down. As if to say, "I got it. Don't worry about it. If I want you to march with Troopers this summer, you will. I know how badly you want to."

It was the most comforting slap I've ever received.

Bigot Ball

2008-10-12T11:16:00.000-07:00

He kicked another one from the right side. It was a far distance and his right side was his weak side as well. It bounced off the left goal post. Frustrated, he jogged after it. It was 11:30 on a Saturday morning and Brett had been up since 7:00 practicing. His team had managed to make the state tournament and being one of the senior leaders, he wanted to give his team the best chance possible to get as far as they could. Maybe even win it all.

Brett put the ball in the same place and tried again. He knew he had to pull it back to his right a bit. He did so, but too far. The ball hit the side of the goal. He got it and put it in the same spot again. This time he knew how to get it in. He vaulted it with his foot and the ball met face to face with the back of the net. He did it twice more to make sure he could do it and it wasn't a fluke.

Pretty soon, his friend Alex showed up. He was going to go grab some food together. Alex was on the JV team; he wasn't the greatest player. Partially because he didn't practice, but he also wasn't as passionate about it as Brett. Alex walked onto the field. "You ready to go?" he asked Brett. "Almost, I just have take a couple more shots." Brett launched the ball towards the goal, it went in. "Nice," said Alex. "Thanks." Brett moved on. He took another shot from almost midfield. It hit the top crossbar of the goal and bounced back towards him. "Do you always do that when you take a shot?" Alex asked.

"Do what?"
"Right before you kick it, your arm comes out."
"I do it for balance. Don't want to fall over you know."
"Oh, well, I guess not."

Brett set up the ball to try the shot again. "It just seems kind of unnecessary," added Alex. Brett ignored the comment and kicked it. This time, it went in with ease. "Alright, I'm done."

As they walked back to the cars, Alex wasn't satisfied. "It's just, when I practice, I don't do that." Brett looked at him, "You practice?" "Of course I do," said Alex. Brett gave him a suspicious look. "It doesn't seem like it." "Just because I'm on JV doesn't mean I don't practice at all Brett. Give me a little bit of credit." He backed off, but Alex didn't. "You think that because you're starting varsity, you practice a lot more than I do?" Brett remained quiet. "I work just as hard as you do. I practice every day." Finally, Brett piped in.

"But I can't see it."
"See what?"
"The practice; I don't ever see you practicing and I also don't see it when you play."
"You think you're better than me."

Brett bit his tongue, hard. Alex stared at him. "Well, I am starting..." Brett said. Alex peeled away. He's the expert on soccer now Brett thought. He doesn't know the hours I put in. He doesn't know the things I've sacrificed. He left a ball on the field. He ran at it with frustration and kicked it. It veered right. Brett slowly begin jogging to get the ball and try again.

Relative Revivification

2008-09-29T20:51:00.000-07:00

Last week I felt down. I hadn't been home in a month and I was missing everyone back home so much. It just seemed like I went to class, practiced, and facebooked into the wee hours of the night, that was it. Don't get me wrong, I can live with that and can find joy in it, but you get bored and homesick after a while. If it wasn't for Zac, I would be borderline psych ward. The fact that my Bible was at home didn't help either.

I went home. I played in a parade and field show with the marching band and left around 11 o'clock with Zac. We stopped in Lincoln to see my grandparents at Bryan LGH and that was refreshing. My parents were coming but Zac and I beat them there. After passing by my grandpa's hospital room and realized how dumb we were I knocked on the door to see both of grandparents snoozing. My grandma had a somewhat delayed reaction. "Oh well hi Key...KEYGAN!" Hi Grandma. I came in and gave her a hug as my grandpa saw me. I shook his hand. I hadn't seen them in a month so it was nice to see their familiar faces and to see Grandpa up and alert like I've known him. He was watching college football.

We talked a while about school and college life in general. Soon after, my family showed up. Always nice to see them too. I gave everyone a hug and sat back down. We talked in the hospital room for about an hour. Wouldn't you know it 2 of my cousins and aunt walked in. Delighted, I jumped up and into Ben's arms. We're weird, we know. We hugged and went way overboard telling each other how much we had missed the other as he swung me around. Hi Carey. Hi Alyssa.

We left after a little while longer as Zac had his father turning 40 something. I had forgotten he had a family too. So we left and I took him to his grandparents. That night I was planning on going to the Norris high school musical "Beauty and the Beast." I met up with some old friends and hate dinner and we went. It was amazing! Not only the performance, but it was so incredibly nice and cooling to see all of them.

The next day I went to church, more familiar faces. I spent the day with some guys from the drumline and it was great. I feel so much better now. I also got my Bible back! I thank God every day for my awesome family and friends.

Delayed Gratification? We'll see...

2008-09-15T09:55:00.000-07:00

In the past couple years there's been one thing it seems God has been keeping back from me. Something that I assumed was my fault, something I was doing wrong. I knew what it was and felt like as a consequence of something I was doing, He was holding it from me. A conversation with my youth pastor and his wife about it one night made it all clear though. It wasn't me, it's all in God's timing. For some reason, He hasn't revealed what he wants for me. They said to hang in there, when the time is right, He'll let you know.

Recently, it seems He may be doing just that. Some of you know what I'm talking about because I have told you. If you don't know feel free to ask. I don't want to get too ahead of myself but it just seems like God has been pointing a certain way; nudging me closer. Even so, I'm being cautious. Last time I rushed into it and it didn't turn out all that well. So some prayer on my part and yours would be awesome. I really hope God says yes on this.

Man vs. Wild (or something like that)

2008-09-09T17:09:00.000-07:00

"Do people possess some inherent qualities that might make their lives have greater moral significance than the lives of other animals?"

My English professor wrote this on the board today in class. It was over some of the reading we were supposed to do but me being without a book to read it from, didn't complete the assignment. We were instructed to journal about it, once again, no book so no homework was done. The professor wanted us to break down the question to something simpler; to her it was too wordy. People interjected thoughts and she crossed stuff off and we eventually came to this question:

"Do people possess qualities that give them greater moral significance than animals?"

I sat and thought about and had wondered why I was thinking about it because the answer was so simple. "We're God's children; animals are not." After this the professor broke us into groups. In my group were 3 guys and me. I enjoyed the group. They were pretty cool guys. One of them had shot an arrow through his arm (yes through, he said he had to pull it out on his own) so we had talked about that for a little bit. Then we got down to what we actually were supposed to be doing.

Everyone in the group agreed that there is no way animals and humans are on the same scale. We said that their world and our world are 2 totally different things. Animals have no technology, no set of rules, and no morals. As humans we have everything they don't. However, if we were forced to live in their world; we wouldn't last very long. Our species has made the most adaptations out of any other because we have the intelligence to do so. We KNOW what is right and wrong.

Getting a little off subject, one of the guys said something about Adam and Eve. We talked about how we're all related somehow. Everyone in the world has descended from them. One guy said he thought we came from fish and was shot down abruptly. Another guy started talking, "See thats one thing I don't get," he looked up and lowered his voice, "where did black people come from?" A good question. One I can't answer.

Back to the animals against people discussion, something was said about death. Humans know what death is, animals don't. We know. They don't have the emotional feelings we do. If their parents die how do they react? Oh well. If our parents die we're upset, we're sad, well most of us, and much more emotional than animals are.

Also, sex was brought up. Animals just do it to reproduce. This is true for humans as well. However, sex is much more intimate for the married human couple. Well, should be married couple. Animals do not get married; cannot get married. They lack the understanding that we don't.

Overall good discussion. I enjoyed it and led me to think about things and dig a little deeper to things I just take for granted. Now all I need is a book...

Alleviating the Ictus

2008-08-27T20:58:00.000-07:00

I saw God's power yet again this past week. The space He lets Satan have to get into our lives and try to sabotage it is insane. Sometimes God gives him a lot or sometimes its just a little wiggle room but either way, he's there. It has seemed very apparent this past week. My classes started and auditions for select groups began. Along with a few other unexpected happenings.

Monday's classes were good. Boring, but still good. I can handle them easily. Tuesday is a little different. I have sight singing and ear training which isn't my favorite. I have Diction for singers which is difficult. It doesn't sound that hard, but it is going to challenge me. I also have a Expository writing that seems like it'll be somewhat overwhelming.

Piling onto that I had jazz band and Choraleers auditions. My jazz band audition could have gone better. I can play jazz and rock beats easily and pretty well, but the samba...something I haven't really practiced and am not skilled in that area. It kind of took me by surprise. My Choraleers audition actually went great, but I didn't get in for one reason or another. What's weird is that the guy that gave me the scholarship to come sing was the same guy who did my audition, and he didn't put me in. I was confused and frustrated.

On top of that my dad called me. My grandpa was working on the roof of my aunt and uncle's and he fell. He fractured 6 of his vertebrae, broke 3 ribs and punctured a lung. They said he'll be okay but it'll be a long, long recovery. So, if you could pray for him, that would be awesome. Thanks.

Oh, and I got a parking ticket because I didn't have a permit which I'd been waiting for the past 2 weeks in my mail. I found it in my desk the next day...

So last night I was feeling a bit down. Zac wasn't feeling good and my classes began to stress me out. I didn't make the groups I had expected myself to make. My grandpa was in the hospital and not doing the greatest. Time for some music I decided, so I brought up my iTunes and clicked on party shuffle. First song that came up was "Trust in You" by Jeremy Camp. It was a nice little reminder. God is so cool.

The next song that played was "Pressing On" by Relient K.

The Tipsy Times have been Triggered

2008-08-23T22:55:00.000-07:00

I had my first drunk encounter the other night. About 9:30ish my roommate and I and some people from our floor went to Jim John's. It was nice, some good food and fun conversation. We decided we wanted to go back to the dorms and watch Tommy Boy. So we began to watch it. One of the girls that was in the room wasn't there she was out partying. She came in about half way through with 2 guys, both drunk. You could smell it as they walked in.

"Oh what are we watching," said one of them.
"Tommy Boy, shut up."

They then managed to trip over me and barely get up to the beds they were going to lay down on. Eventually they got up on the lofts. Laughing and talking, someone finally told them to shut up again. They apologized and said they just wanted to be everyone's friend, again the response from the sobriety group was shut up. For about 5 minutes I forgot they were there, until a metal tray landed right on my shoulder. "I didn...didn't t-touch that."

Eventually they left, but some girls showed up talking about how the cops had busted a party and they had just ran back here. They smelled weird. Apparently alcohol and perfume don't mix all that well together.

Because of this I was not able to go to bed until around 2:30 and my roommate was out talking with one of the girls that ran back from the party. I fell asleep before he got back and I talked to him in the morning and he had said he got back around 3:00 but couldn't get to sleep right away. We woke up at 10:30 again. I felt great the next morning, but my shoulder was little sore.

Proverbs 20:1

Kicked Out of the Bird's Nest

2008-08-21T06:56:00.000-07:00

Last night I realized the true power of God. I was sitting in my dorm and Zac and I were playing some PS2 and I was talking on facebook chat to some friends back home, and some that were leaving for college. Most of the kids I was talking to were from my church family back home. Zac and I were raised in an awesome community, and now it's gone. It happened in a few hours. I moved in and that was it. I'm on my own. It's like God is throwing me out on my own with only a few tools and seeing if I'll survive or not. All the friends, the awesome influences in the church community, and the regular attendance to services from my parents have disappeared.

Now it's up to me to fend for myself. I had always known that college would be different and a lot harder than high school, but not like this. I currently hang out with 3 guys I know for sure that don't drink. Three. As compared to my 30 to 40 back home. However I haven't been able to attend a church service in Kearney yet. Hopefully I can find some awesome kids here.

Another thing I have noticed here is how "desperate" some of the guys here are, and they're looking for one thing. It's not a relationship. For example, across the hall from me are 2 attractive girls and in the last hour there have been probably about 5 guys walk down the hall this way looking for them. Most of them don't say they're looking for them, but you can tell. Two guys came by at one point and were looking at their door and I said hey to them. They said, "oh well hi we're just walking around." I'm sure. By the way, our rooms are in the corners of our floor; one of the farthest spots from the floor lounge and elevators. My bed and desk are right by the door so I've been saying, "Yeah, they aren't here," too many times and am starting to get annoyed.

The last guy that came down here I said, "Yeah hey those girls aren't here they went out." He said, "oh well I wasn't looking for them what are you guys up to?" "Yeah okay, oh hey they aren't here." He left.

Right now I'm just praying that I find a group of non partying people, that know how to have fun. Real fun. The kind of fun that makes you smile because of the sole fact that there is a God. Getting hammered and waking up somewhere new every morning isn't fun. This is the "healthy lifestyle living" floor but so far it doesn't seem that much healthy living is taking place.

Pray for Zac and I please. We'll need it. Hopefully this is just back to school hype with the partying and drinking and everything. Then again...I'm not so sure.

1 Peter 5:10

The Genesis of College Life

2008-08-16T19:54:00.001-07:00

Well it has been QUITE a while since my last post. I've been busy with college. I moved into my dorm at UNK on the 14th. Drumline camp started 8:30 the next day. We had auditions. Turned out to be 6 snares, 3 tenors, 5 basses, and 2 cymbals. I managed to make it on the snare line.

But I wasn't very worried about this audition. It turned out the way I thought it would. However, the one audition I'm getting more and more freakin' excited for is Troopers. In less than 4 months I will be in Casper, auditioning for the Troopers drum and bugle corps snare line and I am pumped.

I tried for Colts last January but unfortunately wasn't able to make the line there. However I was able to make it into the top 15 snares out of 40 and lately everything just seems to be clicking. Its awesome! I can play through the Colts opener easily now! This year in DCI the Colts drumline placed 15th overall. The instructor there told me to keep practicing hard and by next year they'd have a spot for me. However, Troopers seems to be more my style. Titled drums, the use of arm, etc. I feel like if were to go audition at Colts now I'd be on the borderline of making it, and I've still got a few months left to practice. Oh also, Troopers drumline placed 16th this year in DCI.

Now to go off on a complete tangent, when we were still on Esprit tour, I made a comment the last night at the hotel. I said that the song "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus" was hard for me to believe because I have all these awesome people around me that are walking with me. Carey told me that I'd better start believing it because I'm headed off to college soon and she was right.

I went from about 50 awesome christian kids from Esprit to FOOT and now I'm down to maybe 2 or 3. I keep thanking God that he let Zac come to UNK because it has helped me out a lot. To know that I'm not completely alone in my faith is very reassuring, and the other girl I probably just creep out. Hopefully when the rest of the students move in I'll find a group of really good kids.

Sunday I did not go to church, due to sleep deprivation and an unknown location of Kearney Berean, but I do plan on going next week, with Zac.

2 Corinthians 6:14

2008-07-19T21:33:00.000-07:00

Recently I travelled to UNK for a drumline camp. It was for high school kids but Schnoor (UNK band director) said he’d like it if some incoming freshman came. Along with me there were 3 incoming and all were good. However the camp was boring. Tap and accents was all it really seemed to be, on top of that most of the kids weren’t very good. I’m sorry but they just couldn’t play, which was good that they were at the camp, but for how easy everything was I thought it should be very clean. There were 18 snares and of course nothing can be THAT clean but for the stuff we were playing it seemed like it should be.

I was so thankful that the other incoming freshman were good, and certainly capable of much more than the music at the camp. They had UNK drumline guys there and when one of them gave us a break to work on some music 2 of the freshman and I played through it and it was very refreshing to play something clean. I was thankful that out of the 18 person snare line that 2 were capable of playing well with each other and someone else.

It also made me thankful of the instructors I’ve had. Heath and Dan have been great. They gave me the tools to become good and now confindently trying out for drum and bugle corps. Most of the kids hadn’t had an instructor, ever. They just had there band director and unless he or she has been on a drumline, he or she doesn’t know much. The “clinician” there was Chad Scharf, he is the band director out at Lexington and is also a drummer. I had someone tell me once that, “No offense, but I don’t think that a drummer would be a very good band director because all he knows is percussion.” Not true, even at the drumline camp Chad would talk of some very musical ideas. Besides no matter what kind of music educator you want to be you take all the classes a woodwind or brass player would. I nearly tested out of Theory 1 at UNK, and I drum and sing.

And in case you haven’t seen Lexington’s band, they’re good. I saw them at Harvest of Harmony last year and they were among the best, not bad for a drummer, and its not just the drumline, of course I’m biased but the brass and woodwinds were quite exceptional. Hopefully I can become as talented as Chad Scharf has in instructing a high school drumline AND band.

Esprit de Corps! Kickin' it!

2008-07-02T12:31:00.000-07:00

This Friday I am leaving on tour with Esprit, an absolutely amazing singing/drama team based out of Berean Church in Lincoln, and I am sooooooooo excited.

We will be traveling around the middle part of Nebraska and then we drive down and perform in St. Louis for a couple days. I'm so eager to just spend time with all the AWESOME kids involved in this ministry and the time in devotions with God. I plan on growing in many, many ways.

All of the kids in Esprit are in high school or recently just graduated (like me), and you're normal high school kids may be stereotypical and judgemental. These kids are not, it's so nice to be with a group of people that are so accepting and understanding of you. The only thing wrong with it is I haven't done in the past few years. My aunt does all the music stuff, so it's not like I just didn't know. If I would have known that it would be a part of such a dedicated, motivated, and talented group I would have done it the past couple years.

I would have to say that singing wise, this is the best group I've ever been a part of. Sure, I've been in high school choir and we did have some pretty talented groups, but this is insane! Usually in your normal high school choirs you have certain kids who just cannot sing. That's not an issue in Esprit. EVERYONE can sing and are able to at a high level.

Now during the school year I sang bass in choir. When I came to try out for Esprit my aunt Carey agreed with me that I was more of a baritone. She said she did not care what I sang. First rehearsal came along and I tried my luck at tenor, I had sang tenor my first 2.5 years in high school and I forgot how cool it was. But there was something else I found interesting...

If anything I'm a low tenor, I've never been known for a high range and being able to wail way up there and tear it up as some tenors do, but as I've been singing tenor with Esprit I've learned that when I don't think about the notes and just worship, I can hit any note I want. It's not an issue at all. In our closer, Make Some Noyz, the opening statement starts high immediately. It's unison with the girls and is in the range of high C to high G and I have absolutely no problem if I just let it rip and worship the Lord. It feels so good!

So, that's it for a while. I'll be on tour, hanging out and praising for a whole week. I am so pumped! See you on the 12th!

The Pianist

2008-06-28T21:36:00.000-07:00

The man came in and asked to look at some pianos; he was a pianist and said he need to invest in a new instrument for himself. The employee took him over to wear they hung. There were 5 of them. The man smiled and began to look.

Now the employee stepped back and looked as the man picked out a piano, now the employee was also the piano teacher in the store. He watched the man run his hands over the keys. The man turned around, "Do you mind?"

The employee replied, "No go right ahead." The man began to play. Although the man was very good the teacher couldn't help but notice that his wrists were very high up from the piano and it seemed as though his fingers were straight, it wasn't drastic but it could be fixed.

"Excuse me, sir," said the teacher,"could I offer you some advice?"
"Oh well yeah sure I guess," the man looked a little confused.
"Well I teach piano and have played for about 20 years now and I can suggest maybe moving you wrists down closer to the piano and curving your fingers a bit more," said the teacher.
"Oh, ok well thanks."

He continued to play some more and the teacher was surprised how well he caught onto his instruction. The man stopped suddenly and said, "I'd like this one please." The teacher nodded and put a "SOLD" sticker over the price tag. He took the man up front to pay. He stepped behind the counter and said, "That'll be $7,355.09." The man nodded and took out his checkbook and wrote a check for the whole amount. The teacher was impressed, he was rich but still could practice. Talent doesn't come from money, he thought.

"Thank you, sir," he said as the man handed him the check. He left quickly. Confused, the teacher looked down at the check. He was curious as to who this man was, he hadn't seen him around. He could barely make out the signature. It was signed, "Duke Ellington."

Who wants to be popular!?

2008-06-26T14:11:00.000-07:00

Being popular. Something that came across to me as a good quality to have, when I was in middle school. As I finished high school I realized, ya know being popular isn't how I remember it and now not as desirable. Back then, my perception of being popular was knowing everyone, getting along with them well, and hanging out occasionally.

After 6th grade I noticed that all the popular boys had girlfriends, and I thought I wanted a girlfriend too. Coming into the 7th grade I decided I was going to be popular. I tried my best, despite the fact of how shy I really was. My first breakthrough came in math class.

I had always been good at math and the teacher explained everything pretty well and gave us time in class to work. Naturally I was among the first kids done. The girl in front of me (we'll refer to her as Jane, to protect her anonymity :P) finished early as well. Now Jane was very popular and recently broken up with a boyfriend of hers. How I knew, I don't know. Those things in middle school just fall into your lap whether you wanted to know or not. Anyways she turned around.

"You're done too?"
Dumbfounded, I managed to say, "Oh...uhm...yeah I guess so."
"Wanna play tic-tac-toe?"
"Uh yeah sure."

We played for the rest of the class which was about 10 minutes and this happened repeatedly every other day for a month or so. The whole time Jane was very nice and fun to play with; however she was popular and I was not. Eventually she got another boyfriend. Life went on, and I was still unpopular, but I was close. As I entered high school it was still on my mind. I wanted to be one of the "top dogs" of my class, along with the preps and jocks, but then I got involved in 2 things called drumline and youth group.

For the first time I saw kids that weren't popular not care about it. They loved band and church and didn't care if people thought it was stupid. They enjoyed themselves and the activity. The school year began and they became my best friends. I clung onto them because I had realized being popular doesn't mean anything! We weren't popular and we didn't care! We loved to drum, love the Lord and be with each other. Why do we need to be popular?

I'm glad I never wanted to be popular after that. It seems my definitions of the term have changed from 8th grade until now. It seems being popular in high school consists of how many beers you can drink before you pass out, how many cops you can outrun while you are intoxicated, how many times you have sex on the weekend, and if they are all different people. I thank the drumline and youth group for teaming up and kicking the popularity idea out of my head as a freshman. Who knows, I could be smoking pot trying to get over my hangover now, but it'd be worth it. I'd be popular, right?

I haven't talked to Jane in 6 months, she stayed popular and I stayed unpopular and really only talked that one time 6 months ago on the phone, in high school. I got involved with my music and she got involved with other things. My youth pastor once said to us, "Being a christian isn't popular." It's very true, and every time I feel the urge to be, for some strange reason, I always remember that and what a worldly word "popular" really is.

Recognition and Reward

2008-06-25T10:01:00.000-07:00

I began drumming in 5th grade. Along with me there were 9 others. At first I loved it and thought it was the coolest thing ever, as I began having to practice I began to enjoy it less, but I still planned on doing this throughout my whole life. My parents always bugged me about practicing so I could get a good grade. In 5th grade I was required to practice an hour a week which now is nothing I usually practice an hour a day. During the summer it's usually more. I think the problem was I really had no reason to practice because I was never rewarded for anything I had done. I wanted something in return for it. I wanted the recognition for my work I put into it. I remember the other kids bragging about how they just put down a number and there parents would sign it apathetically. If I did that my parents would use the guilt trip of, "did you really practice that much?" or "Are you sure about that?" I didn't have the luxury of having stupid parents.

However in the 8th grade my practicing seemed to pay off. At our last band concert our director pulled out a Dixieland piece. He was going to have a combo play up front consisting of 2 trumpets, a trombone, an alto saxophone, a tenor saxophone, a tuba, and drum set. I wanted it. Now in between 6th and 7th grade years a lot of people had quit or moved away, in fact there were only 4 of us left. Luckily for me I had been the only who had taken set lessons. However 2 of the 3 others could play, or at least said they could.

I auditioned first and did pretty decent; only 1 of the other drummers tried out. He went after me and could barely plunk it out. Our director asked him if he really wanted to do it. He replied, "No, not really." The director looked at me and said, "Keygan you'll play set." I was excited.

But the recognition didn't come until after the concert. Our combo brought the house down, well as far as 8th graders can bring it down. The parents were thrilled and I had a certain member of the high school drumline come up to me afterwards. Then and there was when I had really felt I was rewarded.

He said, "Hi, my name's Derek and I play snare on the drumline and I just wanna say great job up there on set tonight and I'm really lookin' forward to playing on the line with you next year." I smiled. "Awesome thanks." We shook hands.

My reward and recognition I had wanted finally came, but it took 3 long years. Now I'm not so concerned with all that stuff. Just playing is good enough for me. Instead of not wanting to practice, I look forward to my practice time now, and it has paid off let me tell you.

In January I auditioned for the Colts Drum and Bugle Corps snare line. I was murdered but I still was the first from our drumline to try out for a corps. Also I had been emailing the UNK centerstick about music and stuff for next year. I was trying to pry some useful information out of him about what exactly I had to do if I wanted to be on snare. He told me not to worry, I asked why and this is what he said.

"Keygan, everyone is excited you're coming out here next year, Schnoor (UNK's band director) especially. He told us that he regards you as having some of the best hands in the state. I don't think you'll have to worry about what drum you want to play. If you want snare, you'll get it."

That made me jump. Not even because it was a great compliment from someone high up, but because the last time Schnoor saw me play was the summer before my senior year, and since then I've gotten so much better. For example (I'm about to go into drumspeak I'm sorry), my diddles were fine but all of my flammed rudiments were terrible then. I have improved upon those immensely, now I find myself combining rudiments together. I'd expand upon that more but unless you play drums I will lose you. If you really want to know, email me.

Senior year is a time for recogntion and reward as I found out. However I have learned not to dwell among them because if that is allowed to happen you don't improve upon your ablities, and I for one want to be known for my ability but more importantly my hard work put into practice time. That makes everything worth it in the end.

Introduction

2008-06-24T12:56:00.000-07:00

For those of you that do not know me, my name is Keygan. A little unconventional name and spelling I know, but I love it. It's unique. I still have yet to meet someone with the same spelling. I'm 18 years old and graduated from Beatrice High School in May.

I'm big into music. I was centerstick of our drumline the last 2 years. In my 4 years on the line our winter group has managed to win 4 state championships. I have received a superior rating in District Music Contest 2 times. Once for a marimba piece my dad arranged and another for a marching snare piece arranged by yours truly. I was also a member for 3 years in the show choir "Limited Edition." Along with these 2 groups I was involved in concert band and concert choir.

My senior year was great. I was captain of the drumline and we won our 4th title in 4 years, and our show choir had its highest finish ever at GI show choir invitational. Coincedinately enough we were 4th runner up. At Distric Music Contest I received an excellent on my voice solo and a superior on my snare solo entitled IV.

Next fall I am attending University of Nebraska-Kearney. I will be majoring in music education and am very very excited for it. I like the professors and they seem to like me, so it's all good. I will be most definitely rockin' out on the drumline, hopefully on snare. Also next fall I plan to try out for the Troopers Drum and Bugle Corps snare line. That's one thing I forgot to mention. I am a huge fan of DCI, my favorite corps is Santa Clara Vanguard. I would LOVE to play on the drumline there someday, but right now it's not lookin' like it will necessarily happen. I am going to continue praying about it.

As a transition into this next paragraph the last sentence does indeed mean I am a christian. I invited Christ into my life at the young age of 3 years. My dad is the creative arts pastor at a local church at here in town. He's very talented at what he does and does it well and for the Lord. My mom blogs pretty insanely and has somewhat inspired me to start my own. She also is very active in bible studies and hosts one at our house every Wednesday. Like my dad she enjoys what she does and is fairly good at it.

Denomination? No, not for me. I am christian, period. I do my best to obey the Bible, that's it. I was never confirmed, was not baptized as a baby, and never participated in lent. None of those things are in the Bible, therefore are not required to enter Heaven. Wouldn't it make sense that if they were they'd be in the Bible?

Basically I've decided to start this because I always have too many thoughts flying around in my head. They stress me out and with college coming up...I feel this will help relieve some of the stress. So tune back in to read about my accomplishments, frustrations, happenings, and anxiety as I push on through life.