How in the heck do you get your writing/blogging juices flowing again? I have been writing here for almost six years and I have stalled out big time. Its not even like I have not had anything to blog about. Lets see, there is my accident and subsequent recovery. I graduated from LeTourneau U, worked at a county museum, and now manage a restaurant. My life is chock full of amazing anecdotes and funky surprises. I can't seem to get the writing bug back. Any suggestions?

We Need a Road Trip

My wife Lisa and I desperately need a road trip. The last two years have been very hard for her and me. First, her mother had a massive stroke. Lisa has spent the last two years in emotional turmoil and on the road. Second, we went through the disaster of my motorcycle accident last spring break. I spent five months in a body brace, and she had to take care of me in ways no human being ever should. Lisa and I love traveling to new places. Therefore, the time has come to hit the road for fun.


We used to travel all the time. In fact, we were notorious for flipping a quarter on a map and taking off to whichever location the quarter landed on. Whether we had been there or not. In 1998, we hit the road to Vegas from Houston. Taking every back road we could think of. It was a nine day excursion that left us exhilerated and exhausted at the same time.


Lisa is the bestest travel companion ever. She is my super navigator-flight-attendent. When we go through a drive-through, she organizes my burger, fries, napkin, and ketchup so I can drive and eat at the same time. Her aptitude for finding music on the radio in the middle of no-where is unparallelled. She only has one flaw, she stinks with a fold out map.


She taught me how to relax on a trip. When we first met, I would drive all night to reach our destination. I would only stop for bathroom breaks and energy drinks. Her gradual insistance on stopping to spend the night somewhere led to the greater enjoyment of our trips. First, it kept us well rested. 
Second, it led to us enjoying the sunrise on the road. There is nothing more beautiful than watching the sun come up behind you while travelling west across the mojave desert. Third, breakfast eateries, greasy spoons, and flapjacks. Diners across America are amazing, and we never knew what variety of food we were going to get. In one place in Santa Fe, New Mexico, she had the best juevos rancheros ever, and I had blue pinion nut pancakes, deleicious. 


Every day we have been on the road, we never knew what was going to happen next. One morning, after a night spent in a hotel by the Grand Canyon, we saw a dog sleeping on the hood of the car next to us. On another trip, fog said good morning to us after a night in Gatlinburg Tennessee. The place where I did my first bunjee jump. 

Somewhere in the mountains of Colorado, a heart is carved in an aspen tree with "Larry and Lisa forever" whittled in the center of it. The Harpeth river near Nashvile Tennessee, has my favorite shirt and an expensive camera buried at the bottom of it. Lord only knows how many goofy little items we have left under the beds of our hotel and motel rooms. 

Sadly, in the last four years, we have not done much travelling for fun. The one trip I went on last Spring Break ended in disaster when I decided to fall off my motorcycle at 30 miles per hour and bounce into a guard rail. Now that I have graduated, the time has come to start hitting the road again, to begin to pass on our road trip heritage to our daughter, Alexis. I need to start planning where we are going next, or I could just toss a quarter. 

Restless

I have a bad habit. If I find a Texas Highways magazine, and it isn't nailed down, I sneakily abscond with it as quickly as I can. Texas Highways is the "official" travel magazine of Texas. Each issue takes the reader from one end of our state to another, highlighting eateries, honky-tonks, museums, parks, and anything of historical interest. Fortunately, I don't find them very often. This magazine triggers my insatiable wanderlust, the restlessness of my Scotch-Irish heritage. 

I can't help it. The open road beckons with nooks and crannies of old buildings, diners, rolling hills, and twisty curves. The desire to be somewhere I haven't been is overwhelming. Sadly, its what led me down to South Texas where I had my accident. There isn't a day I don't thank God that I can still wiggle my toes. I need to blog it but its hard to revisit, at least to write about. So, for now Doctors, lock up your Texas Highways if I have an appointment, and the road? I miss you and will be back soon.

Larry

Christmas Gratitude

Normally, New Year's Eve is the time for annual reflection but when the mood strikes the mood strikes. To say this year has been a struggle would be an understatement.

My mother-in-law, Aletha, has been on hospice care for the last year and her condition has been an emotional roller-coaster ride for my wife, her sisters, and all of us. 

Alexis, our fourteen year old has struggled emotionally as she evolves into a young woman. With all the ups and downs of teen-age hood. 

Finally, the disaster of my accident and five month recovery period.  

With God's blessings I have recovered almost totally and managed to graduate from LeTourneau. My wife, Lisa is as beautiful and warm spirited as ever. Lex is doing well, and Aletha seems to be ok for now. 

I am so grateful for all my family and friends without whom we could not have survived. We are so blessed. 

God is So Good!

Merry Christmas

Larry

New Beginnings

God is Good!
A huge chapter of my life has now closed. I graduated! 
These last four and a half years of my life have been one of the greatest experiences of my life and one of  biggest challenges.
It is bittersweet, I am so happy to be finished, but sad at the same time.


Now What?


Larry

Recovery Never Stops

Wow, how cool is this? I am blogging mobile. I have the Blogger app which allows me to write from my EVO  phone. awesome!

It has been a while since I have written and much has changed since I almost died in the accident. Now that I can blog by phone I can write about it, and I will.

I guess I will never really stop being in recovery in one way or another.

Ugh!

Larry

Leaving Anatomy

I have to share my "man" trip with you. 

Once upon a time, before school, I used to find ways to go off by myself for a day or so. Primarily, I would go off hiking, or check out some aspect of the area we were living's historical flavor. (ie, stuff that causes my wife's eyes to roll up in her head and fall asleep.) Since the new motorcycle entered my life, I have been earnestly seeking a chance to get away on some windy, twisty, roads and have me time. 

A member of our recovery group recently had to move to South Texas to find work. We had been trying to find a way to get together to work on his fifth step. The phone and Skype, didn't seem proper so bingo! an idea was formed in the recesses of my brain. I would take the scooter and meet him half way, awesome! However, my wife had other plans. 

My stepdaughter's fiance' needed help moving some things from Dallas to Houston. My wife, the lovely Lisa, suggested I take the bike to Dallas, load it on the moving truck, drive to Houston, meet my friend there for his step work, spend the night at my parents, and then take the long, scenic, way home. She is so amazing! So we plan it out. Due to work and school schedules I had to ride down early, like o-dark thirty from Longview to Arlington Sunday morning, before school started back on Tuesday. Plans are made, the fiance's dad rents the truck, and the newly betrothed gets a bus ticket to Dallas. 


Mother nature however, had other plans. A wicked rain along with snow was rolling in that Sunday morning. Like a retired farmer playing dominoes with the boys at the local feed store my tv had stayed on the weather channel full time. You tend to do that when you ride. I changed my plans and decided to leave late Saturday night after work to beat the storm.

I got off work about ten thirty, gassed up, and headed home to load my gear. I finally rolled off campus at 12:30. Notice how my handy dandy backpack is packed and strapped to the rear of the Ninja, it made for a terrific back rest.

Of course it was going to be cold, the forecast called for the high thirties and then dropping below freezing in Dallas. Houston would be in the forties, and then dropping to the mid thirties Monday, and of course as I drove north to go home Monday it would continue to drop back to freezing. I had spent the last few months gathering gear and preparing how I would survive a cold ride. Being "student poor" I would be relying on layers to keep myself warm. 

From the ground up, I had three pairs of heavy socks, boots, scooter shorts, long-johns, a pair of warm ups, jeans, and my windbreaker britches. From the waist up, a sport-dry undershirt, thermal pull-over, my thick nike sport shirt, a short sleeved t shirt, a zip up turtle neck pullover, my armored Joe Rocket ballistic jacket, and my leather jacket over that. Who know that eighties retread leather jacket would be of use again? From the neck up my balaclava head covering, a scarf around my neck and up to my nose, my warm beanie, and my helmet. 


As I hit highway 80 headed West towards Dallas I realized something strange. I had the whole road to myself. Except for the occasional car coming from the opposite direction, no one passed me, and no one was in front of me. It was incredible. My only concern was an animal running into my path. I rolled into Mineola and it was a ghost town.

Finally, about four am I rolled into Dallas and spent what was left of the night at a family friends house. I  had hardly closed my eyes when I awoke to the sound of rain banging on the roof and the sound of my alarm going off at 7:30 am. Quickly and quietly I got dressed, threw on all my gear and stepped outside. Great, my first ride on a big city freeway system and it was pouring down rain.

It took me an an hour and a half to get across town, I was soaked to to the bone, my clothes were drenched down to my socks. I was craving the heater of the Uhaul. Finally, wet and bedraggled, I met Ralph, the fiance', loaded the bike on the truck, and we were off to Houston.

Long story short, we made it into Houston and unloaded the truck. I met up with my friend and he bought me dinner at an awesome Mandarin Chinese place. We went to Starbucks and processed his fifth step.  

The best part of that day was riding the bike north on highway 59 through downtown Houston and out to my folks house in Humble. I grew up driving all through the city, and to do it on the bike was awesome. It was incredible. Its hard to describe unless you've experienced it. There was a sense of freedom while blasting by the George R Brown Convention Center, Minute Maid park, and zipping up Atascocita Road to my folks house. Finally, I arrived  gave big hugs, inspected the bike, washed my soaking clothes and went to bed.

I had a nice, but short visit with my folks, and took a great picture of me and my dad before I left Monday morning.

Got some gas at the local Chevron and took off home the long way around.











It was cold and grey outside as I headed north. I had chosen a route that took me inside two national forests, the Sam Houston, and the Crockett. I hit Cleveland, snuck around to Cold Springs, and up to Trinity, East to Crockett, Alto, Henderson, and finally home to Longview. It got colder and colder the further north I went. There were some great empty logging roads along the way. 


The temp stayed about 38 degrees until I crossed the Trinity River. It was here my arse was frozen off and left on the bridge. Once I left the shore and was on the bridge proper the temp dropped to about 25. Every bit of warmth on my body and captured by my layers was sucked into the atmosphere. I have never been colder. It was compounded by my mistake of not stopping for a break in Trinity. I pushed on through 32 more miles to Crockett. I was ten miles short of hypothermia when I pulled into a Pizza Hut for lunch and a warm up. I added two more layers to my gear and now I was looking like Ralphie's brother from a Christmas Story.

I turned onto Hwy 21 and pulled off at my only touristy stop. The historic marker of the Caddo Indian mounds just outside of Alto. I knew I would regret it if I did not stop and get a pic.

My final stop before home was Lovelady, a town just East of Henderson. It was a thirty minute layover where I drank some coffee and tried to coax some warmth back into my body. I was bitter cold and had had enough of the weather. I wanted to be home and in my bed. On the final push through Henderson it started sleeting and I had missed tucking my scarf into my jacket collar so I had a draft blowing into my neck and shoulder. I didn't care I just wanted to be home and have my arse back. 

Finally I rolled back onto campus. An amazing journey completed. It was miserable by all accounts but awesome at the same time. I had never been so cold or so happy in my life.

Larry

Shaking the Dust Off

Wow, has it been this long? Did I actually forget that I had a blog? It has been forever since I posted. School, family, and work has kept me out of the blogging loop. 




Hopefully, with the assistance of my government class, I will have time to blog more often. I am super psyched that this is my final semester of school. I get to graduate in the spring! Praise God! This four year journey is coming to a close.

There has also been a new addition to our family. Grace, the ninjette. She's amazing. We have been sharing some awesome adventures, and I look forward to sharing some of them and shaking the dust off the blog. 


Larry

Staying and Resting

How hard is it? To stay and Rest in God.

For me? the hardest of all.

I don't want to be alone with my own thoughts, much less with the God of the universe who pierces the darkness of my thoughts like a two edged sword.




I'm like a child who puts his hands over his eyes thinking he can't be seen.

How foolish, But He's got me none-the-less.

The Litter Box of Life

We used to have a cat. Her name was Fancy. I was begged into it by my then five year old Alexis, and my wife, Lisa. I thought of their happiness verses the inevietable duties that would follow. Cleaning the litter box. After careful consideration, (all it took was the desperate looks on their faces that would have melted the heart of the abomidable snowman) I relented, under one condition, they would be responsible for feeding her, and changing out the litterbox. A job that is disgusting, and as smelly as a porta-can at a five day Lollapalooza concert.

Eventually, it became a battle of wills as to who would clean out the litter box. It became, a competition to see who would give in first, my wife or me. Niether of us wanted anything to do with that box. In doing so it became an eyesore and the smell would knock a buzzard off an outhouse. The poor cat was doing all she could to cover up her mess. Eventually she would move outside her box and go on the carpet.

Before you cat-lovers start gasping in anger, I know some of you have been here before. Finally, one of us (usually me) would change it out.

With my background being recovery, it occurs to me that individually, our lives can be like a giant litterbox. We are all sinners, and I imagine that our sins are that foul smelling to God. We run through life filling up our litter box with sin and because of the stench we don't want to deal with it. So it continues to rise until it spills over into other peoples lives; spouses, sons and daughters, parents, and friends.

James 5:16, Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.

How smelly is your litterbox? What are you doing to clean it out? When life gets crazy and all bejiggidy are you taking a look at your part in it? Do you have someone you trust that you can confess your sins to?

Do you have a nice large hefty trash bag to drop your litter in that won't break, so you can get it to the big can in the garage with the snap tight lid? God has a dumpster big enough for the worst mess if you will let him have it.

As for Fancy, she turned out to be a long haired cat that began to wreak havok on my daughters asthma. We had to find her a new home.

Now the competition is over cleaning out the mini fish tank. Ooo, I sense another analogy here.

Nevermind, the last one was bad enough.

Larry

Hectic Hurley Burley

I have always wanted to use that title for a blog post. Now is as good a time as any. Thats what the last few weeks have been like. A crazy hurley burley mess. Or ginormous cluster, oh well you get the idea. However, as crazy as its been, much has been accomplished.

First, I am back in ministry. Celebrate Recovery to be exact. It has been exciting and scary at the same time. After all I have been away actively for three years. I started off with leadership training on a few Saturdays, and did my testimony on a Tuesday night.

Amazing, I had to rewrite it from my generic, pitch CR to the congregation testimony to keeping it real, and unfettered! It felt good, being honest about everything and leaving nothing sanitized. I processed four years of unvarnished hurts, habits, and hang-ups in one fell swoop, as well as much experience strength and hope. It was balanced, and impactful. God indeed, never wastes a hurt.

Other chapters in my life are coming to a close and I am happy for that as well.

I started back to school after Spring Break only to come down with a nasty case of bronchitis. Thank God it wasn't as bad as the last. I have recovered after three days.

So now I am trying to gear up to finish this semester at school strong. I am getting organized, focusing my time, and writing papers. Its going to be a tough busy push, but well worth it. Only one more year at school and I graduate!

Thank God he has brought me this far!

I wish all of you a blessed Easter weekend. Never forget what he has done for us!

He has risen indeed!

I Think I've Got it!

Finally! One of my goals this week was to get the blog re-tweeked and fix the disaster of the last template I tried. The pressure of mid-terms kept me from it.

I like the new look! If any of you have suggestions please leave a comment. Feel free to give me a thumbs up or thumbs down review.

A blog is nothing without content and I hope to return regularly. I say this with the best of intentions however, it is really hard for me to find time for a sneeze much less blog. I will do the best I can, and I totally appreciate the prayers and support.

Cool news, my hibernation from ministry is over. I have been commanded (after I whined like a little girl becuase I couldn't figure out how to find time to get back to doing what I'm supposed to be doing.) by my academic advisor, Dr. Mays, to explore intern possibilities with a CR group. So, on Tuesday nights I have been back to Celebrate Recovery! (it was never lost, it was just hard to go due to my work schedule!) Since school comes first, I now have Tuesdays off. Woohoo, God is Great!

They are struggling to find men who are able to be leaders, God put us together right on time. Next Tuesday I am giving my testimony at New Beginnings Baptist Church, here in Longview. I am a bit petrified. My testimony has so many additions since the last time I gave it, I have to rewrite it.

The people at this CR are amazing! I had visited a few times a year ago but never connected. (you have to go back to do that!) I am so super-psyched that this bunch seems to be as sick, if not sicker than I am! I totally mean that as a compliment too. I feel very at home there. If your around Longview next Tuesday come check it out.

Last but not least, I am going to re-make the blogroll. (Helen, your already in. :) I am also going to add some of my new Twitter friends. If you are interested in being added please post a comment, twitter, or facebook me.

The Piper on the Berm

Life has been pretty intense lately. Stress has been following me around like one of David Letterman's stalkers. The primary stressor has been Greek. Missing one day of work means losing a week. My schedule breaks down like this.

School, 15 hours a week, not counting homework time.

Work, 35 to 40 hours a week, all nights primarily.

Family, and life in general, Full time.

Like one of the Flying Wallendas, one little gust of wind can push me over the edge, and into the abyss. If crisis occurs it completely throws me off. Weekend before last I broke a rib. Down time? A day in a half. Therefore, I have been playing Greek catch up for a week. Three am has been my bed time.

Today, I finished catching up, and walked over to my Greek professor's office. On the way I discovered the piper playing on the berm. One could almost imagine the clans gathering for battle on the Scottish moor. I love bagpipes. In fact, when I die, my only last wish is to have them played at my funeral. (morbid I know) I want Amazing Grace piped when they lower me into the ground. Oops, I'm digressing.

I never have time to stop and just be. Today, when I heard the piper, I stopped, plopped down on the grass like a hippy at Woodstock, and was still. The sun warmed my face, the grass was semi-green, and in that moment, all was right with the world.

New Beginnings

I hope everybody likes the new settings of Hallelujahs. There will be more to come in this revamping of my blog. It has been too long since I have given it the attention it deserves.

I appreciate all of you guys who have stuck with me so long, and I am grateful for all of the new friends I have met since beginning in 2006. It has been a long wonderful road and I hope my bipolar rants on life, recovery, and my poor attempts at being political, have struck a chord somewhere.

Its funny, at one time I thought this would be a political blog, but I found I didn't  have the desire to add to the flotsam and jetsam already out there.

So, I will stick to what I know best, recovery, my crazy life, and the blessings God has given me in the good times and bad. I have recently added a direct feed to twitter, facebook, and rss. Yikes! this means I will have to start writing a lot more!. I hope to make new friends, find new blogs to enjoy, and continue to share my sick sense of humor.

Over the next few weeks I will be adjusting my blogroll and tweaking other things.

I could not be here today if it weren't for God placing all of you in my life.

Thanks!

Larry

Recovery and Pain

What are we supposed to do when pain rears its ugly head and we are in recovery? Like a starving man on a deserted island, do I want water or food first?

I'm not talking about a headache or a little booboo on our toe, but real agonizing pain. The kind that disolves sleep, and prevents you from breathing. In my years of struggling with back pain I have realized, sometimes narcotic pain pills are the the only things that work.

Before my back surgery the only way I could function was to be on meds full time. Nothing else would touch the pain. If I wanted to get out of bed and go to work; I had to do what I had to do. Eventually I knew there would be a price to pay, and I paid it. It was one of the most suckish experiences of my life. It actually took me longer to recover getting off the pain meds than it did to recover from the surgery itself.

A week or so ago, I managed to bruise a couple of ribs on my upper right side. When I was at work Saturday night they broke. AGONY!! Like two children screaming in my ear, I couldn't move, breathe, laugh, or even get the hiccups without hurting. I finished my shift and headed straight to the emergency room.

They gave me a shot, which put me in lala land and took xrays. They saw more than they wanted because they then sent me in for a catscan. This is all fuzzy to me. Diagnoses? Fractured rib. BTW? Don't facebook or twitter when you are in this state of mind. I should have had my wife not give me my phone. (what you say will make no sense).

I was sent home with pain medication and prescription strength ibuprofen. Yesterday I stayed medicated and in bed. Today? Pain or not I had to get moving back into a routine. Time waits for no one, and my time was marching up my ribcage, like the Marine Corps marching band headed towards the barracks.

I have not taken anything stronger than my ibuprofen today for my pain. Tonight I return to work and will problably take something stronger when I get home.

I thank God he has taught me the lessons in life to avoid going back.

Larry

Under Construction

Just a quick post. I have been playing around with a new format and have uploaded the current one. I think its pretty amazing. However, there are some glitches I have to attempt to fix. Please bear with me for the next day or so while I iron them out.

Thanks

Much Grace to You.


Larry

Reflection

This post is a reflection paper I wrote on Robert E. Coleman's The Master Plan of Evangelism. It was a three page assignment covering how we could apply Jesus' methods of evangelism. First published in 1963, the book is a classic because Coleman takes us through the Gospels step by step, and shows us how Jesus taught the Disciples to carry on his mission after He Ascended. This book is a must read for any Christian, but more so for Pastors and church leadership no matter what the denomination. It is truly sad that this book and Jesus' methods aren't utilized as they should be. If so, the Church, Christianity, and today's culture would look very different today.

He Stayed With Them.

Why are we so drawn to buddy movies? One of my favorite mini-series is Band of Brothers. It is about a company of paratroopers in World War II. They trained together, fought together and in some cases were wounded, and died together. However, the men who survived the experience developed a bond that was never broken even 50 years later.

During my Celebrate Recovery days, in Humble, I had a similar group, whom I called my band of brothers. We were with each other in recovery and we taught others how to live a Christ centered life in recovery. We rescued each other, learned from each other, and called each other on our stuff. We were a team that forged a bond that has not been broken. Now we are scattered, and are attempting to spread what we learned from Christ, the Bible, and our program.

Unwittingly we were following a model Jesus created. Just as Jesus selected the men who were his disciples, I believe He, through the Holy Spirit put us together. Jesus and his "Band of Brothers" ate together, prayed together and shared their triumphs and failures with one another. Throughout this time, He taught the raucous band of blue collar hillbillies, and a tax collector, what was needed to carry His message to the world. It couldn't have been easy, they were obdurate, and at times egotistical. However, after Christ's ascension, and the Holy Spirit's descent, they laid the foundations of Jesus' church that conquered the world!

If I am ever blessed to be in a position of authority in ministry again, I would cultivate such friendships. We would learn from each other, pray with each other and through us create other small groups of 'brothers' to ripple out like a stone in water. Ultimately the effects may carry revival through the church, community, and possibly the world.

He Showed Them How to Live

No one led by example better than Jesus. He was tempted but did not sin. He was the creator of heaven and earth, yet he humbled Himself to take on the trappings of our flesh. Jesus did not sit under a shade tree, drink wine, eat delicacies, and order his people about. He led from the front. He never asked the disciples to do anything he hadn't done first. Most important he didn't ask them to die for Him, until He had died for them. All of the disciples except for John died carrying His message.

This is the example we must follow as we move into leadership positions of a church. Yes, delegation is important, and Jesus delegated, but we cannot ask fellow ministers, employees, and parishioners to do things we ourselves aren't willing to do. Even if that means we clean toilets and help with janitorial duties. We cannot sit on the sidelines and bark orders. We must get out into life and get our hands dirty.

Pastors are always telling us, "bring people to church", "go witness". At no time in my experiences in church did I ever see a pastor in public doing this type of thing. The one time I did see a "mega-pastor" and spoke with him he was mega-condescending. Jesus showed us how to pray, and when he was with the disciples, he led by example. He went off to pray by himself. Why is it that after some years of church I have never seen a preacher show us how to pray, or to teach us how he prays?

Jesus never forgot even the smallest iota of information. We have the Gospels, but as John said in his, there aren't enough pages in the world to tell all of the things Jesus said and did. We must follow the Master's example and lead by it.

He Expected Them to Reproduce

Just as God told Adam and Eve to "Be fruitful and multiply", so Jesus gave us the Great Commission. He wanted His message, which he promised Abraham would be a light to the world, culminating in Jesus, to be spread. Indeed it was, within 500 years after Jesus rose to heaven the known world was conquered by His church. How did they do this, and how do we do it today?

The disciples took it to the culture! Paul went to the Gentiles, he was able to relate to them and their culture. He was able to take his scholarship of Judaism and the message of Christ and filter it to the Greeks in the language of their culture. His example enabled the churches he founded to continue spreading the Gospel until the Empire was overturned to Christ.

The new wine must be people! Not programs, events, or the hottest, pop culture, Christian writer conference of the day. One quote hit me as I was reading this book, "where are our men? What are they doing for the church?" Seriously, what are the thousands of people who sit in church pews everyday doing for the Kingdom of God?

In any given situation the ratio is ten percent. Ten percent of the people do a hundred percent of the work. How do we get the other 90 percent out there doing? We must 1, Lead by example. 2, create a Band of Brothers, stay with them, train them, and have them multiply outward. 3. People are the masters of our fragmented culture. People are the ones who can relate Christ to the unreached in their sub-group. (Bikers, gamers, recovery, accounting, hunting, artists etc.)

Jesus selected his followers and trained them in the way they should go. His method has lasted for two thousand years. There are times it is forgotten. Every so often, it is grasped again and hugged like an old friend not seen in years. This is one of those times. We must grasp His method and like our predecessors lay the ground work needed to conquer the world.

Schools Out, For Now

YaY! School is out, for now. I do not have to go back until January 11th. This has been a tough semester. I took fewer hours, however, there were many personal distractions. Plus, I have been working a lot of hours.

Praise God for getting me through.

My project for the next thirty days or so is to work on my Greek. By far it has been my toughest subject. I missed a few classes and it put me behind quite a bit. I never really caught up. As Dr. Hood told us last year, "missing one day is like missing a week." How True that is.

So, I am committing myself to working an hour a day translating the rest of First John. To hold myself accountable I am going to share what I learn each day with you.

We are also home schooling my rampantly ADD daughter. Since I have ADHD as well, it has been as challenging as a possum licking dirt out of a hair oil bottle (my fathers favorite metaphor, I have always wanted to use it).

Good Times!

Blessings!

Larry

VARKS and KOLBS

What is VARK, is it the sound of a hair-lipped dog? VARK, VARK!

V.A.R.K. is actually an acronym; each letter represents a learning style: visual, auditory, reading and kinesthetic. VARK is very straight forward. You are asked a series of questions and you tally up the score at the end. You do some handy dandy math and presto! Your learning styles are known!

The VARK system is one of two in which we learned in Ministry of Teaching class what our primary learning styles are.

The Kolb system is the other. The Kolb system was created by David Kolb in the early nineteen eighties. It is based on the premise that we all have four learning styles and experience a four stage learning cycle.

The testing for this is more difficult than VARK. One rates their preferences on a list of statements. Then the scores are tallied not unlike filling out the stats of a baseball program at a Ranger game. The scores are placed in a column, graphed and voila! The Kolb system allows one to rate their learning styles in these categories; Concrete Experience - (CE), Reflective Observation - (RO), Abstract Conceptualization - (AC), and Active Experimentation - (AE). For the sake of this reflection, I will only concentrate on my learning styles.

The VARK questionnaire was easier to fill out than cooking canned biscuits, and tallying the results was just as simple. The following is a brief description of each learning style.

1. Visual – you learn best visually
2. Aural – you learn beast by hearing information
3. Read/write – you learn best by reading or writing information
4. Kinesthetic – you learn best by doing

As Joe Friday used to say, “just the facts ma’am, just the facts”.

The following numbers were my total on the learning scale.

Kinesthetic 8, read/write 5, auditory 4, and visual 1.

These numbers were as accurate as Annie Oakley on the shooting range. I learn best by doing. Like driving to an appointment in a new part of town, the driver never forgets where he was going, but whoever is in the passenger seat will generally not remember how to get there.

The second place finisher (here second place really does count) was reading/writing. This is not only listening and taking notes in class. This is literally writing out what I am supposed to be learning. Knowing these statistics has allowed me to load my learning arsenal with the proper ammunition.

For example, in my Greek class it helps me to recite my vocabulary words out loud in order to memorize them. Since I learn best by “doing and writing” I should be writing the Greek words many times, and actively translating on a daily basis. Oh, for the discipline of Erasmus!

David Kolb on the other hand is another kettle of fish entirely. At first, cynically, I felt Mr. Kolb had way too much time on his hands when he created his learning theory. However once I saw the fruits of the results, and was able to apply them, I made many pies!

Like VARK there is a questionnaire to fill out. It is a little more complicated but once finished you place the results on a graph, and your learning styles are known. Mine turned out to be concrete Experience (feeling), and active experimentation (doing).

This placed me in a category specified by Kolb as accommodating.

“The Accommodating learning style is 'hands-on', and relies on intuition rather than logic. These people use other people's analysis, and prefer to take a practical, experiential approach. They are attracted to new challenges and experiences, and to carrying out plans. They commonly act on 'gut' instinct rather than logical analysis. People with an Accommodating learning style will tend to rely on others for information than carry out their own analysis. This learning style is prevalent and useful in roles requiring action and initiative. People with an Accommodating learning style prefer to work in teams to complete tasks. They set targets and actively work in the field trying different ways to achieve an objective.” (class notes).

Unlike hieroglyphics out of Egypt these are not set in stone. This is not 100% how I learn, there are variations. However, it is fascinating how close it comes to being dead on.

Learning these "learning styles" has helped me in the following ways.

In intermediate Greek it has shown me a strategy in learning the language. Before I was like a rudderless ship, and had no plan for steering myself through the shoals of verbs, moods, and tenses.

Now, I understand, I need to be teaching what I know, writing over and over what I don’t know, and actively translating my Greek New Testament on a daily basis.

I have learned the way others learn as well. To be an effective teacher, pastor, and parent I must learn these variations and adapt them to each teaching environment.

I must be as flexible as an old car antenna, on the one hand not only receiving the signal, but on the other bending in the direction in order to pick it up and process it in a way my students and daughter can best understand.

Larry

Inspiration

Just peeking in for a moment. I have been dreadfully busy at school, work, and family. Life has been hectic to say the least.

Things are looking up. Greek is getting better. One of my problems in posting lately is my inspiriation has not been so good. I sit down, I log in, and... and... and... I log out. Its hard to be inspired when your brain hurts....

Life however, is good. Just the typical ups and downs of family life on campus.

See you soon!

Larry