HARMLESS THOUGHTS

TO: All of my Faith Students... I hope that all of you enjoyed one last telling of the Captain Alfred Saga. It was a pleasure to participate one last time. -- Mr. Harmless the great and powerful...

Blogger Idol is back, and better than ever! You could begin participating in week 2 right now! Originally hosted by the living room , there is now a blog completely dedicated to this blogging concept. If you have never been a Blogger Idol participant, or if you have never even heard of Blogger Idol, then I would like to suggest that you take a spin on over there right now. Especially since this week's topic was suggested by such an influential blogger ... You can read all about Blogger Idol here . And if you still aren't sure if you want to participate in such an event, then at least check out some of my better entries from the first round. Week 16 - Home - The Tree Week 14 - Spirituality Week 13 - Blog Tips Birds of a Feather Week 8 - "I confess..." Week 7 - Play... What's that? Week 6 - Movies Week 4 -Oops

"GOD, teach me lessons for living so I can stay the course . Give me insight so I can do what you tell me-- my whole life one long, obedient response . Guide me down the road of your commandments; I love traveling this freeway! Give me a bent for your words of wisdom, and not for piling up loot. Divert my eyes from toys and trinkets , invigorate me on the pilgrim way. Affirm your promises to me-- promises made to all who fear you. Deflect the harsh words of my critics-- but what you say is always so good. See how hungry I am for your counsel; preserve my life through your righteous ways!" --Psalm 119:33-40 This is a great Psalm to start the day with. Notice that David doesn't just ask God to miraculously cause him to stay the course, instead he asks God to teach him the "life lessons" to stay the course. Then he asks for insight so that his life could be characterized by obedience . Too many times today, Christians just want G...

OK, I changed my mind... This one is my favorite! (by the way, that is the caffeine molecule)

My brother-in-law introduced me to this site the other day. There are several geeky things on the site, especially t-shirts that are designed for only the geekiest people to get. And as much as I hate to admit it, I found several of them quite funny. Here is a picture of my personal favorite. And here is a picture of the one that my wife picked out. (I like this one almost as much as I like the one that I picked.) You will have to check out the rest of the t-shirts and evaluate your own geekiness. Here is a checklist you could use to determine whether or not you are a true geek. if you find more than five of the t-shirts funny... if you scrunch your shoulders up and laugh through your nose... if you share them with all of your cubicle buddies... ...then you might be a geek. The sure-fire way to tell if you are a geek is if you already knew about the think-geek site, or if you use the word combination -- "sure-fire."

A special thanks to truegrit for letting me know that my site wasn't lookin' so good. I didn't realize it, but my blog didn't look quite right in Mozilla Firefox, and since there are a lot of people out there who use this instead of Internet Explorer, she thought that she would let me know. I told her that I felt like the guy that had his fly down, that somebody finally had the nerve to tell him. She went the next step and also took the time to figure out what needed fixed to make things look better. Much thanks, and hopefully this looks better.

I know that lately there have been some who have done some coffee bashing. They have not understood the importance of this amazing beverage, and have likened it... no... have belittled it by comparing it to hot chocolate. Now, I have tasted the before mentioned hot chocolate, and I will freely admit, that it was pretty good. But it was missing something. Something wonderful. Something amazing. Something that I just couldn't live without. I couldn't put my finger on it at first, what was the missing ingredient? Oh yeah, Coffee. I would also like to direct you to this . I definitely don't think that they could say the same thing about hot chocolate. No Sir! And besides, you could never get a good hot chocolate at any store, unless it was a coffee! Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Thankyou Columbia for providing us with a good drug!

Use the diagram to the right to answer the following questions. Are these triangles congruent? What postulate or theorem proves that they are congruent? If they are congruent, what is the proper congruence statement for these triangle? Oh wait, this is the blog, not the geometry test I stayed up at the school until 9:30 typing. When it gets this late, the distinctions get a little fuzzy. I am constantly telling my students, that to properly serve the God who created them, they should do their absolute best. That is what the Bible says to do. And with things that we enjoy, it is easy to follow through on that request. Sometimes doing our best will result in some temporal reward which will also make it easy to "do all things heartily, as unto the Lord, and not unto men." But when it really counts is when the task is something that you don't enjoy, or don't particularly understand the reason or purpose. Or if there is no immediate reward on the horizon. Those a...

God's glory is on tour in the skies, God--craft on exhibit across the horizon. Madame Day holds classes every morning, Professor Night lectures each evening. Their words aren't heard, their voices aren't recorded, But their silence fills the earth: unspoken truth is spoken everywhere. God makes a huge dome for the sun--a superdome! The morning sun's a new husband leaping from his honeymoon bed, The daybreaking sun an athlete racing to the tape. That's how God's Word vaults across the skies from sunrise to sunset, Melting ice, scorching deserts, warming hearts to faith. The revelation of GOD is whole and pulls our lives together. The signposts of GOD are clear and point out the right road. The life--maps of GOD are right, showing the way to joy. The directions of GOD are plain and easy on the eyes. GOD's reputation is twenty-four-carat gold, with a lifetime guarantee. The decisions of GOD are accurate down to the n...

I believe that credit should go to whom credit it due. 4th period, every other day, I teach a computer class. The computer class is composed of 4 seniors. Most days they work pretty hard on their project, but every so often they just don't want to do anything. In fact, one of them never wants to do anything. Some days she even talks me into letting her play computer games for a significant portion of the class time. Most of these kids go to the same website to find all of their games. It is called addictinggames.com , and it is packed with several, well... addicting games. There is one game in particular that she really enjoys called Text Twist . At first I thought that it seemed a little boring, but now I am... you guessed it... addicted. As an addict, I couldn't stop there, with just me and my computer class being addicted. I had to get others involved. So I started with the one closest to me: my wife. She was only slightly interested at first, like I was, but ...

I have been told that I am crunk . I am guessing at the spelling, and I am not for sure if it is actually a good thing or a bad thing, but I'm crunk... I guess. In fact, just yesterday I was informed that my ride has been labelled the crunk-mobile by a few of my geometry students. Now, even though I didn't know what bling-bling was until a few months ago, which caused much laughter and mocking on the part of several of my students, I still consider myself wit-it , if you know what I am saying. I am down with all of that bidness . Let's hear it for all of those other crunkish middle-aged Christian school teachers!

This morning I woke up with a splitting headache. I opened my eyes and for a moment I thought this week-long headache that I have been entertaining was gone, but as soon as I started to raise my head off of my pillow the pounding began. It is one of those headaches that has set up its residence in the middle of the forehead and right behind the eyes, with some tendrils of pain that stretch over to the temples. Every light you look at sends a searing burn scorching through your retinas and into your brain. Every noise shakes at the foundations of your conscious thought. And you find yourself almost hoping that your head would just explode so you could be done with it. It is one of those headaches. Now, some people would succumb to the ever-enticing "sick day!" They would call-in. Then they would drug themselves into an unconscious stupor, and relax on the couch while they watched Dr. Phil. But not me. I am not saying this to brag, but since I have started teaching ...

It is almost Christmas. There is no snow in the air, and I haven't heard andy jingle bells, but I have checked my calendar and it is just around the corner. There are only 7 regular days of class left. Then there is Exam Week... all half-days! (Although I won't be going home at 11:30, I will be grading exams every day.) Then it is Christmas.

I have always wondered where James Cameron received his inspiration for that scene in Titantic. You know the one I am talking about, the "flying" scene. "Oh Jack! I'm flying!" I always knew that I would find the inspiration for that scene one day. And tonight I did, while I was reading books to my boys. Nothing like reading curious George James.

God, the one and only-- I'll wait as long as he says, Everything I need comes from him, so why not? He's solid rock under my feet, breathing room for my soul, An impregnable castle: I'm set for life. How long will you gang up on me? How long will you run with the bullies? There's nothing to you, any of you-- rotten floorboards, worm-eaten rafters, Anthills plotting to bring down mountains, far gone in make-believe. You talk a good line, but every "blessing" breathes a curse. God, the one and only-- I'll wait as long as he says. Everything I hope for comes from him, so why not? He's solid rock under my feet, breathing room for my soul, An impregnable castle: I'm set for life. My help and glory are in God-granite-strength and safe-harbor-God. So trust him absolutely, people; lay your lives on the line for him. God is a safe place to be. Man as such is smoke, woman as such, a mirage. Put them together, they...

It is Thanksgiving Morning, and I am already contemplating the Thanksgiving spread. I am beginning to envision this table spread out with the turkey, the stuffing, the mashed potatoes, the sweet potato casserole, mom's homemade noodles, and the endless number of pies. I can see it spread out before me. It is one of the best meals that I will eat all year. And I am planning on savoring every bite of it. But as I contemplate this meal, I start thinking about those without. I am not talking about those without a thanksgiving meal. Though that is a great cause, and one that is much needed, that is not what I am thinking about right now. I am thinking about those who have decided that their own way is better than God's. I have been there before. I have been down that path. And it only leads to despair, destruction and a fleeting happiness. God knows this. And when people go down this path he beckons us back. "He is wooing you from the jaws of distress to a spacious...

I am going to take some time off. If you are at all interested in when I start up again, just enter your e-mail address into my notify list and I will let you know when I get er goin'.

A new friend of mine just posted a great story. I heard him tell this story in person, so I was happy to see him actually post it on his blog. It is a worthwhile read, and drives home an excellent point. Read it here .

pet peeve n. Informal Something about which one frequently complains; a particular personal vexation. I can't tell you how many times I have gone to the grocery store with my wife, and we decided that it would be best if I just dropped her off at the door so she could just run in and get the stuff. We don't always do this, but when there are only a few items to get and the kids are in the van with us, it is just quicker to wait in the van for her. When I do this, I will usually circle the parking lot for awhile, then I will pull up along the curb and wait. But just really bugs me when I see people come to the store by themselves and just park their car on the curb and walk inside. It is one thing when there is someone in the car to keep it running, and to move it if it is in the way, but it is a totally different story when you just park there... in a no-parking zone! Who are these people? I know what they are thinking. "I am in a real hurry, and I ...

In case you were wondering, I think that the chapel service went well. It seemed like all of the students were paying attention. There was laughter when there was supposed to be laughter, and there was silence when there was supposed to be silence. I couldn't have asked for much more.

pet peeve n. Informal Something about which one frequently complains; a particular personal vexation. You know what I hate? You know how some parking lots have the one-way lanes? It is usually pretty easy to tell the lane is one-way because of the giant white arrow painted on the ground ! The normal person will usually decide to go the same direction as the arrow. But every so often there will be this one driver, who obviously doesn't understand the giant white arrow painted on the ground , that will go the wrong direction down the one-way lane. And to top it off, they will look at you with disgust, like you were doing something wrong, when in fact it is them! I really hate that.

Well, I get to talk in my very first Shannon Forest Christian School Chapel tomorrow. I have always enjoyed talking in a "preaching" type of situation. My first experience preaching was at Edgewood Baptist Church in Danville, IL. I can still remember what I preached about. I can also remember which people dozed through my main points, and which people remained focused to the end. In fact, my attention on the audience has always been one of my weaknesses. I really, really want the people that I am talking to, to be interested in what I am saying, and if they aren't, I either want to stop talking, or do something drastic to wake them up. I feed off of the audience. I call it a weakness because it shouldn't be my primary focus, but sometimes I think that it is a strength. I have listened to too many preachers that were so boring, that I could hardly take it. And for the longest time, I have felt completely guilty for my own lack of attention. But is this...

When I was about 6 or 7 years old, I was attending children's church at Edgewood Baptist Church, and I told my teacher that I wanted to be saved. I don't really remember this moment all that well, but I do remember that it happened. I remember going into a separate room, and praying "the prayer" with the teacher. I remember saying that I was a sinner and that I believed that Jesus died on the cross to save me. But I wasn't saved. I can also remember growing up and always having that moment to look back on. For the longest time it was my assurance, even though it was only that moment. Through my junior high and highschool years I wasn't that bad of a kid. Oh sure, I was a trouble maker from time to time, but I wasn't all that bad. And when I felt that there was something wrong, that maybe I wasn't right with God, I thought that maybe I just needed to pray again. That maybe I hadn't really, really meant it the first time, that maybe...

It is official. I have posted over 200 times, but have I really said anything? I'm not sure.

"Sing to the Lord, you saints of his;     praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment,    but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night,    but rejoicing comes in the morning." --David (the psalmist) I have been reading through the Psalms again, and I love it when I find a verse that I have marked in my Bible. I usually float back to my past and wonder why I paused there; why I underlined that, or why I made that little star next to that phrase. Sometimes I remember, sometimes I don't. I can't remember the exact reason why I marked this verse in my Bible. I can remember when I marked it. So I can imagine its significance at that time, but I will say to you now that it is so good to know that God's anger is momentary. If it wasn't, then there would be no hope. Praise God that his mercies are new every morning.

Some might read that title and start imagining complex systems of equations and such, but that is not what I am going to talk about. There is a little speech that I have prepared, and I give it to my students every chance I get. I know that some of them get sick of it, but I give it anyway. It is a lesson that I truly believe has great value if they can grasp ahold of what I am saying. And I know that it is my cue to begin my speech when I hear something like this, "... oh man, when are we ever gonna use this?!?" And my response to this age-old question is, "You might never use this again." I know, I know. Newton, Gauss, Euclid, Pythagoras, and several other historic mathematicians just rolled over in their graves. But I don't stop there. What I am teaching goes beyond the math. The reality is that I am doing my best to help them be spiritual people. Let me explain... It is easy to say with your mouth that you are a Christian. Anyone can do tha...

That's right. I would like to say that I cast my ballot today, but there was no ballot to cast. So instead I will say that I touched my touch screen. It is great to see technology increasing and making things easier. I am just happy that they are still handing out the little stickers.

I know that today is election day, and I should probably pitch in my two cents somewhere, but I just haven't been able to think of anything to say. Besides, there are plenty of other blogs out there that can cover the election and the issues in a much more knowledgeable way than I can. In fact, as I was surfing to find some good election coverage, I noticed that there are several major websites that have added blogging to their array of coverage. I knew that blogging was getting big, but now everyone is getting into the act! CNN even has some insight into the election blogosphere , and is running two election day blogs of their own. Crazy stuff. Here is my only rant about the election: I have been totally surprised at how many "christian" blogs have supported Kerry. Call me naive, call me silly, but it doesn't change the fact that I am shocked by this. I know that not every christian is a conservative, that is not what I am saying. But it seems like t...

I know that I haven't posted in a week. It isn't that I don't have anything to say... trust me! But to find the time to say it is the difficulty. As a teacher, every once in a while, you will just have one of those weeks. As a blogger, I know that it is risky to take a week off, because you run the risk of losing any of those readers that are just barely loyal to your blog. They haven't really dedicated themselves to you yet, they might have you in their favorites, but to actually put you on their blog, just hasn't happened. To all of those semi-loyal harmless thoughts readers -- don't give up yet. I got some stuff a-brewin'. And I will get to it eventually.

...or blobbee? Well, I made it into the "blob video" from the Windy Gap trip . I am the first "blobbee" in the video. Check it out!

They are a force to be reckoned with. That's right --- my wife, my sister, and my brother-in-law. They are the Friday night couch dwellers. They are young, hip, and a totally outrageous group to hang out with... And I think that they are looking at old yearbooks and coupons. Plus, I think that it is getting a little late, and that chili gave me indigestion... so I think that I am going to stop typing and go to bed.

I have come to really enjoy writing. Not that I am any good at it. But I enjoy it. Therefore, I have become motivated by this: Blogging Your Novel (Part 1) I don't know if I will be successful or not, but I am pretty sure that I am going to give it the old harmless effort . Doesn't hurt to try , does it?

Notify you? yes. I know that I haven't posted almost all week, and you might be getting frustrated when you check my blog and there isn't anything there, so I decided to try a notify list. If it works, then you will be notified everytime I post something on this blog. If it doesn't, then I guess... you... won't be notified... Try it out for me and see if it works. Especially if you are constantly hanging on the edge waiting for the next harmless thought!

On the previous post, I misspelled intelligent. I wrote: "intellegent design" as the title of the post... humorous, ironic, and a little sad.

"Earth's crammed with heaven, And every bush afire with God; But only he who sees takes off his shoes; The rest sit around it and pluck blackberries." ~~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning

"The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; Their voice is not heard." Psalm 19:1-3 All creation shouts, "There is a God!" Without a doubt, there is design. We live in a world of irreducible complexity. And if you study this world with an open mind, following true scientific principles, you will see it. And there are those who have seen it. Even Darwin, after contemplating the eye, admitted, "To suppose that the eye, with all its inimitable contrivances for adjusting the focus to different distances, for admitting different amounts of light, and for the correction of spherical and chromatic aberration, could have come about by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree." --Charles R. Darwin, The Origin of Species..., first edition reprint (New York: Avenel Books, ...

Dang, that boy is cute! I mean, look at him! Where did he get those cute looks from? --------- Oh yeah. :)

Boys grow up to be men. And as a father, I am a builder of men. I am a sculptor, an artist. And even though I know that it is God who is truly doing the work, I also know that I play a part. So much of what my boys will think of when they think of a man, will be pictured... fleshed out by me. So here I am with my men-in-the-making, finding myself being challenged to be a good father, to be a good husband, and to be a good man. I see them watching me, following my every move, my every action. They long for my attention to be focused on them. They love that. And right now, even though I am their daddy , I am also their best bud dy. I love that. I have seen them mimick many of the things that I do on more than one occasion. Some of the good things, some of the not so good things. My actions teach. But what I find the most intriguing is when I see myself in them. It is especially easy when there is a distinct family resemblance, but I think that we all see things a little deepe...

I like to read blogs. I admit it, I really do. Most of the blogs that I read are somewhat "Christian" in nature. They discuss Christian topics and talk about issues from a Christian perspective. And for the most part I enjoy reading these blogs. Sometimes I find myself taken back by some of the perspectives on certain issues. Issues that I didn't think needed another perspective. Issues that I believed were black and white issues -- right and wrong -- good and bad. Now, most people that know me really well, know that I like to question things. Especially things that belong to the category of tradition . You know what I am talking about... those issues that the typical conservative Christian has has held dear for many years. I have almost enjoyed dismantling certain arguments from the ground up. Issues like clothes, music, facial hair (on men of course), and other trivial topics. I have also liked the occasional tackle of the more complex topic (and more...

I am currently attending North Hills Community Church . It is a rare church. What I love about it is that, even though they are laid back and fairly casual, they have not strayed away from the truth of the Word of God. That is rare. Most churches that tend to be on the more casual side, laying aside so many of the non-biblical traditions that had been imposed on them from a more legalistic church or school, also tend to start laying aside other things as well. And the next thing you know there are these churches popping up all over the place that have taken the pendulum for a ride and have ended up at the total opposite end of the spectrum. I have even seen (and heard of) churches that would not even hold that Jesus is the only way to God. Church for these people has become an option... what is "best" for them. But that is why I think that North Hills is so Rare. When I first visited I thought that it was going to be like so many other churches, because of their m...

Sam is a character. He loves to make people laugh. (I wonder where he got that?!?) One of his talents, as with most little boys, is to make faces. So I have decided to include some pictures of him on my blog. Interesting face #1. Getting those mouth muscles warme up for the face making. Interesting face #2. His Best Jack Nicholson look. Notice the raised eyebrows and the smile. I know that some of my students will recognize this look, because I know that I have given it from time to time. Interesting face #3. Sometimes you just have to look at yourself on the computer screen while daddy is using the web cam. Interesting face #4. They say the ability to curl the tongue is genetic. I guess he got it. Interesting face #5. Goofy? Yup! Interesting face #6. Nice close-up. Interesting face #7. Next to the Jack Nicholson, this is my favorite. Here is Sam with his good school buddy Noah. I get to hear alot of things about Noah. Mos...

Today was Grandparent's Day (or special friend's day) at school. For Sam, this meant that a special friend had the honor of visiting him while he was at school. And that special friend that visited him was his Aunt Amanda, who was also accompanied by a little special friend, Sam's cousin Evelyn. From what I hear, there was a little singing program with the kids from the kindergarten, followed by some snacks. Which, I heard that little Evelyn was a little piggie with the cookies. For me, Grandparent's day took on a different meaning. There was no special friends visiting me at school. In fact, most of the people left the school because it was a half-day. This was in-and-of-itself quite special. It also provided me with a much needed opportunity to finish entering all of my grades. After the half day of school was over, I ran and picked up Sam so I could take him home, thinking that I was going to have to feed him. But just as I was getting ready to get ...

In an attempt to clean up my blog, I am going to be eliminating some things off of my sidebar. To help with that, I have decided to create seperate pages for all of my extra links. I just finished my first page, the poetry archives page. I also found a fairly nice free web-hosting service until I decide to purchase my own domain name... (and considering that I am about as poor as dirt, that won't be happening anytime soon)

Thank you Columbus! You may have been completely lost and had no idea which continent you were on... You may have inadvertantly caused the deaths of thousands of Native Americans... But thanks to you I have a day out of school!

I won't be blogging for a couple of days because I am going with my school to Windy Gap. From the sounds of it, it is a really fun time, with a spiritual emphasis. All of the students have been talking about it since the beginning of the year, so I am really looking forward to it. I will let you know what it was like when I return. In the mean time, read some of my archives located on the sidebar.

I have noticed that there are literally thousands upon thousands of blogs out there. And surfing through them can be both fun and dangerous. Almost like a Blog Safari! Now, I have been on a few blog hunts myself from time to time, and have found some interesting blogs, blogs that I would like to share with other people. Blogs that I feel are a unique find . But I never had a way to share those blogs with other bloggers... Until Now! (First, go to this page to see what to do. ) This week it is a theme Safari . The Theme is OLD FAITHFUL . Share with us your favorite Blog. And tell us why you visit it on a regular basis.

"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord!' if you do not do what I say?" -- Luke 6:46 Did you know that there are some people out there that believe that you can claim Jesus as your Saviour, but not claim Him as your Lord? Everyone likes the verse that says, "...whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord will be saved..." You see, this verse makes them feel good. They can remember a time that they had an "experience" when they called upon the name of the Lord. It may have even been associated with very strong emotions including sorrow and fear . It is quite possible that this "experience" was even followed by a time of good feelings. Feelings of safety and assurance because they had done it. They had gotten saved ! But then there will come at time. A time of testing. A time of trial. A time to see if Jesus is really their Lord. The choice will be an obvious one. Do things my way or God's way ? Did they mean what they s...

I have been thinking about hosting an on-line Bible/Book Study for quite awhile, and I think that I have decided to do it. I have decided to use the book Twelve Ordinary Men by John MacArthur, as the guide. If you are interested in participating in this On-Line study, I would like to urge you to pick up the book, and if you want, the workbook. & I have not decided exactly how I am going to work this. I will probably start next Monday with some instructions. I would be happy to accept any suggestions between now and Monday, October 11th. e-mail me at: mattharmless@hotmail.com or just leave a comment under this post. Thanks!

"When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place; what is man that you are mindful of him..." (an excerpt from Psalm 8) I read this passage this morning and was reminded once again of that question... Why would you be mindful of me? I have often wondered why looking at the night sky stimulates so many of us to thoughts of God. Some might say its the sky's sheer beauty. Others might say that it is the inumerable stars, the same ones that Abraham looked at so many years ago. But I think that it might be different. When you look at the stars, you know that you are looking at something amazingly far away, that is for sure. But have you ever really considered what that means? Think about it. If the earth was created 10,000 years ago, and a considerable number of those stars are more than 10,000 lightyears away: the light you see could be an original creation. Light that started the day God spoke it into existence, and...

Sometimes it seems that my life is run by the "to-do" list. I have forced myself to get into the habit of typing everything that I need to do into my to-do list. Everytime I think of something that I am going to need to get done, I type it in. I then find that I can get so much stuff done if I just choose to stop thinking about all of the tasks that are awaiting me, and just get busy working on each thing as it appears on the list. But sometimes I end up feeling like my life is controlled by this list that I have created. And the list is a cruel task-master. There are no "take a break" tasks or "write a blog entry" tasks. Oh no. It is nothing but work from the all-powerful to-do list. So sometimes I just choose to ignore the list. I could have a hundred things on there and I just think, "forget it! I'm not doing anything productive!" Unfortunately I think this way most of the time. Well, it is the beginning of the weekend, s...

Here is a picture of the back of my shirt that I wore today. I just thought that I would share this with you all. As if I didn't have the number 27 showing up and haunting me enough, people thought that it would be fun to give me a shirt with a giant 27 on the back. Oh well, I guess it is just my fate. p.s. - The # 27 lottery ticket box at the gas station had the # 27 ticket up to be sold next.

When you are a teacher, you can't help but build relationships with your students and with your peers. But I would say that in Christian Education there is a deeper layer of fellowship that can be reached. In the Bible, when you see the word fellowship , it means, "to be in common." It carries with it the idea of heading the same direction or going down the same path . Sometimes that word is translated partnership . You see, in order for you to have true fellowship, you need to be headed the same direction. There needs to be a common goal, a common destiny. Paul tells the Philippians that he is thankful for their fellowship (or partnership) in the gospel. They are partnered in the good news of God. And there is no better partnership to be in! "...if we walk in the light as He (Christ) is in the light, we have fellowship with one another..." --I John 1:7 In my short time as a Christian School Teacher, I have seen this sort of fellowship. But I...

Since nobody else has done this yet, I have decided to take a Blog Safari! (spoken in your best echo-voice) If you are not for sure what to do, this can also be an example post for you to refer to when you decide to go on your own safari. It has several elements... (the link to blog safari) (the blog find) (the blog drawing) (The Blog find) My Blog Safari (...safari ...safari ...safari ) led me to j smith . I don't know if I could tell you exactly how I found his site, but I know that I clicked several different links... and there he is! (The Blog Drawing) One thing that draws me to a blog is when the writer sounds intelligent. That is very important. And Mr. Smith sounded intelligent when I first read his blog. I have read a few of his entries and he has some good stuff to say. I will probably visit his site again. (The Link to Blog Safari) Read other Blog Safaris at Blog Safari !

I had a doughnut and some coffee for breakfast today. And then I had the same thing for lunch. Is this healthy? I am thinking that it isn't all that healthy, but it sure brightened my day! It was like manna from heaven!

Here are some FAQ 's (Frequently Asked Questions) about Blog Safari . Actually I have never had any questions asked about Blog Safari, but I have always wanted to have a FAQ post! What is Blog Safari? Start by reading this . I started Blog Safari to help in displaying blogs that I run across from time to time. There are alot of really good ones out there, and it is fun to share them with others. Blog Safari also serves in expanding readership of all of the blogs that are involved. Where did you get the idea for Blog Safari? Awhile ago Darren from Living Room ran something called Blogger Idol . I thought that it was alot of fun and I always wanted to do something like it. I have to give him the credit for the idea. I had also been bumping the idea around for awhile because of the blogger "next blog" button. I thought that was a great idea. How do I go on a Blog Safari? One possibility is to click on the Blogger "next blog" button. The proble...

I have noticed that there are literally thousands upon thousands of blogs out there. And surfing through them can be both fun and dangerous. Almost like a Blog Safari! Now, I have been on a few blog hunts myself from time to time, and have found some interesting blogs, blogs that I would like to share with other people. Blogs that I feel are a unique find . But I never had a way to share those blogs with other bloggers... Until Now! If you would like to join in on the Blog Safari, Here is what you need to do: Go on a blog hunt. Write a post on your blog telling us about your exceptional blog find! (You might want to explain to your readers what you are doing and include a link to this page .) Include a link to your blog in the blogger input section of this post, by clicking blogger input at the bottom of this post. Even if you are not a " blogger " member, you can still leave a comment there. Make sure you leave (1)your name, (2)the link to your page, and (3)...

When I came into my room this morning I noticed that on my white board one of my students wrote: We luv U Mr. Harmless *In a none gross way* What does "none gross" mean? That is what I want to know!

Even though I am a Christian School Teacher, I don't think that I have ever blogged about Christian Education. But yesterday, as I was waiting for my microwave meal to be nuked in the teacher's lounge, I picked up one of those teacher magazines. I don't remember which one it was, but there was the title of an article that really jumped off the page and grabbed my attention. It was, Why do Christian School students resent Christian Education? It is an excellent question. It is a question that I have thought of myself. I went to a Christian School myself, and now, as many of my classmates have reached the age where their children are going to school, a majority of them speak so resentfully of their own Education. And refuse to send their kids to a Christian School. It baffles me, it really does. In most of the cases, it wasn't because the school was all that bad, it was because they were bad! I know because so was I! We were rebellion incarnate. It wouldn...

as I was growing up, I always thought that I would be the best dad. I don't know why I thought this, I just did. I loved kids, and usually chose to play with them at family outings and such. I also had two younger sisters, and for the most part I enjoyed playing with them. I was almost 15 when my youngest sister was born, so I was very familiar with the whole thing... or so I thought. I had a sobering moment a couple of days ago. I looked at my children and thought, "all of the bad things they do, they learned from me." It was depressing, but oh-so-true! Now, sometimes, I look at my kids and I wonder if I am any good at this daddy thing at all. If they survive this earth it won't be because of me, that is for sure. It will be because of the grace of God.

This is definitely not a political blog. I think that if you have read this blog at any time in the past, you will notice that I have not at anytime tried to express my own political opinions. I have chosen to keep silent about it, but with the upcoming election, I think that I am going to take a poke at it. First of all, I am not a political person. I just isn't my cup-o-tea. I can't help it, I just don't find politics to be an overly interesting topic. Secondly, it doesn't matter that much to me. I enjoy my freedoms in this country and appreciate them, but that has no bearing on how I am going to live my life or make my decisions. If tomorrow I lost all of my freedoms, I would still be free in Christ, because "... if the Son has set you free, then you will be free indeed!" Thirdly, my citizenship is in heaven. And even though some would consider this to be figurative, I take it to be a reality. I am just passing through this country. So polit...

If you are feeling a little bored, I just thought that I would post something to fill the time. Bubble Wrap

There aren't many things that I look forward to more than Saturday Mornings. Ever since I was a kid I have enjoyed the Saturday morning cartoons, the sitting around, and the eating of unhealthy breakfast foods. And since my wife just bought some Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch, I think that tomorrow moring I will be all set! I usually get up a little earlier than Sam, make myself some Coffee and relax. Once Sam is awake we get some breakfast and plop down at the coffee table to watch some cartoons. I think that my current favorite is called Teen Titans . It is a little weird because it has Robin, from the Batman and Robin Duo. Well, I need to get to bed so I can be well rested for my saturday morning kid time.

I am not alone (with some really cool links) The 27 conspiracy (with some cool links) Properties of the number 27 The number 27 on the Bible Wheel On the number 27 Meditations on 27 (a poem) 27 rationales for war in Iraq 27 articles of T. E. Lawrence Title 27 - Intoxicating Liquors (even though I don't drink) 27 fundamental beliefs of the 7th day Adventist 27 lines on a cubic surface 27 star flag 27 countries had nuclear bombs deployed during the cold war La Generacion del 27 (a famous group of poets and artists called the generation of 27) 27 people involved in the abuse of prisoners 27 in numerology (it shows up and means something 27 in numerology (again) 27 in astrospeak (who knows...) and many more from Google Mathematicians who were born or died on the 27th of... January February March April May June July August (my birthday) September October November December I was born 8/ 27 / 72 , my wife was bo...

devotions ... I don't know if this word means the same thing to everybody, but in many Christian circles the word "devotions" is referring to the time that we set apart to "devote" to God. Ususally some reading of a passage of the Bible, and a little time in prayer will suffice for most of us. But is that really sufficient? I love being able to check items off of my Palm Pilot "to-do" list, but is that all devotions are? Some heavenly "to-do" item, that we are able to check off for the day? Is a simple reading of the Word of God adequate, or is there more that is expected? Or maybe that is the wrong question entirely. Maybe it isn't that we are doing the wrong thing, maybe we are just doing it the wrong way. Could it be that Godly devotion just isn't complete without a heart-felt delight . Consider this Psalm: How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit ...