Victory...

The JV football team upped their record to 5-1 with a victory on Saturday afternoon in a make-up game. Last Thursday the remnants of TS Nicole put a whoopin' on the field, so they postponed the contest to Saturday at 11:00 a.m.

We won. Big. It was a shut-out until the last two minutes of the game, when the coach subbed heavily, drawing from his abundant supply of seventh graders. One little guy is actually shorter than Zack. The opponent scored two quick TD's, each followed by a two-point conversion, and the final score looked a lot better for the losing team than the game did.

Here's the cool thing. Our coach didn't want the opposing team to have a long, humiliated ride home. He could have kept his first string guys in there, and they could have posted more points and boasted a slaughter. But they didn't.

And this picture... it's the best my little Droid could do recording the result... tells the end of the story. Our 45-player team gathered with their 16-player team in the center of the field as one body of believers in prayer.

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
There is one body and one Spirit
—just as you were called to one hope when you were called—
one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all.

Ephesians 4:3-6

Seniority...

As the school year winds down there's the giddiness of summer, for sure. And then there's the bittersweet goodbye that comes with graduation.

My foray back into teaching has been amazing. That there were ups and downs is almost an understatement. After many trips down to the administrative suite at the beginning of the year to make sure we were all "on the same page" about the role of the student publication, I almost quit. I wanted to teach ground-breaking journalism from a Christian worldview and I felt like we were publishing a mini-version of the yearbook.

Then two things happened. First, one of my students, JT, wrote a story on Jon Foreman (Switchfoot). It'd be a LONG story to tell all the details, but the short version is that JT wrestled through the process and brought forth a piece that left me speechless. "This is why I teach," was all I could say for quite a while after reading it.

Second, I was down in the administrative wing yet again at the beginning of the second semester, this time trying to determine whether we were allowed to publish "Best of 2008" movie review of The Dark Knight. The answer was no. The surface reason was that the school doesn't condone PG-13 movies. The real reason... administration didn't want to offend families that feel like they must walk a very narrow road in order to remain in God's will for their lives. It reminded me of Romans 14 and 15, and for the first time, instead of wanting to quit, I "got it" that there are many modern day equivalents to eating meats sacrificed to idols. And for the sake of the weaker brother, I'd rather not eat meat again. MB was the student writer for The Dark Knight. He didn't like sacrificing a piece he'd worked on so hard, but he (and I) submitted to those in authority. No regrets. (On a happy-ending note... MB loves film making and he took his passion for movies and entered a film festival where he won three awards.)

After The Dark Knight incident, I was cool, and instead of pining away for the end of the school year (Read: my contract to be fulfilled so I could get out), I couldn't wait to go to work each day.

I am so proud of our kids. They did an awesome job. And the seniors... wow... I'm going to miss those guys so much. I can't wait to see how the Lord is going to use them as they go to college and get on with life outside the walls of our little school.

Our Editors:

JG: Editor-in-Chief

KW: Assistant Editor

MW: Copy Editor

JM: Design Editor

JM will serve as our Editor-in-Chief next year. Yay!

MW and KW are headed for the same college at the beach.

JG is going to my alma mater and planning to major in journalism, though he is the quintessential English professor in the making. He'll figure it out, though. :)

These are the seniors. All of them are in Europe this week. Join me in praying for their safety and that they'll have an amazing time.

JG, KW, MW, MB, CD, KA, JT, AE, JM, AC

And creeping in the background is KO. She's just a sophomore, but she's not returning to our school next year. I'm going to miss her too!

What an amazing time of life... full of possibilities, packed with dreams. I pray the Lord will guide them and protect them as they travel the next steps of their journey.

I am blessed to have taught them all.

The broke-down Suburban that caught on fire...

Smellin' Coffee?

Why do you call your blog "smellin' coffee"? Isn't that, you know, a little weird...(?!)

It is my absolute favorite song of all time. It's all about grace. It's all about Jesus. It's all about His sacrifice to pay for my sins. It's all about Him. And how/why He lets me come along for the ride, I do not know. What I do know is that I am forever grateful that He chose me to know Him!!!

What a JOY it is to wake up every morning to His mercy streaming in with the morning light! So... I'm smellin' coffee...
and it's a good morning, Lord!

Smellin' Coffee (Chris Rice)

Last thing I remember sayin’ bye to yesterday
Glad to see it over, pullin’ covers over my head
But what were You doin’ while I dreamt the night away‘
Cause I can tell that somethin’s different and
My eyes ain’t even open yet

I’m smellin’ coffee, birds are singin’ just outside
Here comes Your mercy streamin’ in with the morning light
My heart is racin’, wakin’ up to You’re smile
It’s a good mornin’, good mornin’

I remember readin’ You’re the God who never sleeps
And while I’ve been dreamin’
You’ve been singin’ over me, yeah
Singin’ about my freedom,
wakin’ me up to hear Your song
Now I can’t dance hard enough
‘Cause yesterday is gone, gone, gone!

I’m smellin’ coffee, birds are singin’ just outside
Here comes Your mercy streamin’ in with the morning light
My heart is racin’, wakin’ up to You’re smile
It’s a good mornin’, good mornin’

Every little breath, every heartbeat
Is a gift of love that You give to me
You keep givin’ even when I’m asleep
‘Cause I know You never stop watchin’ over me
I wake up, my past is gone
‘Cause Your mercy’s new with the mornin’ sun
I’m forgiven, I’m free, it’s a brand new day
‘Cause Your faithfulness is the greatest, hey!

I’m smellin’ coffee, birds are singin’ just outside
Here comes Your mercy streamin’ in with the morning light
My heart is racin’, wakin’ up to Your smile
It’s a good mornin’, good mornin’