I have to preface this post saying that this is not meant to offend anyone. I truly, honestly am not thinking of anyone personally and the intentions of this are not to belittle the efforts of music directors in the area. It is merely to create pondering and discussion.

A good majority of music teachers are full of crap. Fantastic way to open a perhaps very generalized post from a 22 year old who can barely make his way through college without a music ed degree, huh? But this has been something I've been thinking about an incredible amount the past few months. I think it's part of the reason why the Nebraska area struggles to keep up with the rest of the country in terms of music education.

Music is special. You and I have both heard it umpteen times from friends, teachers, parents and the like. It expresses feelings that words can't, blah blah blah, etc. Even while hastily poking fun at such cliches, I myself think music is very different than normal occupations. However, this is why schools often come up short. They place music on this unreachable pedestal that can only be obtained by being blessed by God with insane gifts of musicianship. While again, I myself still think that certain people are naturally talented when it comes to music, it becomes an issue when it's time to teach students.

Natural talent is not required to be successful in music. Just as an accountant doesn't necessarily need natural talent in accounting. However, most music educators believe that you do need a certain amount of natural talent in order to be considered successful. We will never EVER say it, but the actions and attitudes of ours reflect otherwise. What's a shame about thoughts like this is that it leads to an apathetic attitude when it comes to educating certain students. "Oh, well Billy isn't going to do anything in music so I shouldn't have to try as hard to help him achieve things musically." Again, none of us will ever say it, but we have those thoughts going on the back of our head.

How do I know that? I used to have those same thoughts. I use to think I was different and special compared to my high school peers. There was absolutely no reason for it. I wasn't practicing a significant amount more; I wasn't being told how amazing I was. But I remember thinking and it really came apparent to me when I began teaching that I often wrote off students of mine because I didn't think they could do as well as me. I was on an level unattainable to most. Which obviously is an utterly ridiculous thought.

The danger of that is you sell students short of their education and ultimately their potential as a musician and as a person. Believing that you're special, that you're different and gifted leads to entitlement. Since you're so good you deserve this, and this, and that. When the reality is, you don't.

Thankfully, I've been able to turn around my thinking. Instead of being apathetic, I believe my students can do great things. "Can't" is not allowed in my rehearsals. Whenever I talk and ask them what they want to do with their lives, even when I get very high and lofty goals I never tell them they can't do it or discourage them from doing so. Who am I, some average snare drummer from small town Nebraska, to tell them otherwise?

Work trumps talent. It breaks my heart to see kids being told, whether directly or indirectly, that they cannot do something. That they are not good enough. One of the best life lessons I failed to learn in high school was to go for things. If you want something, go get it. If you want to be an incredible clarinetist, DO IT. Sure, it'll take an unfathomed amount of time and energy to do so, but there's zero reason why you can't do that.

I know I've got PLENTY of stuff to work on as a teacher and I'll be the first to admit it. But I know that the day I begin thinking my students aren't good enough to achieve on the highest level is the day I need to stop trying to form young minds.

Let's cut the shit and start teaching students to be great.

Pay-for-Play Puzzle

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.

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?

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...

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

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!

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 &"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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...

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

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...

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.