28 August 2015

Drink a Beer

I'd like to think I have a lot of good things to say. Teaching will be the true test, I suppose. It's been a real interesting couple of weeks, to say the least! But, now it's the weekend. I'm trying to find my bearings.

I'm happy, I guess. There are some things I would love to work on in my life. There's always something to work on. I want to improve on my writing skills for one. This blog is my practice. Like now. I want to write about whatever comes to mind.

In my class, I start the class of with a journal. I think writing skills are important, and I want to teach that to them. I will read an article and I expect my class to respond to the article I read. Sometimes it's difficult for a 7th or 8th grader to get started on responding, so I'll ask a question about the article and I'll write it on the chalk board. Even after the question, some of my students will have a hard time getting started. At this point, I'll go and ask more questions, then they'll verbalize an opinion. Then, I'll encourage them to write down the thoughts they just spoke to me on their paper.

I want to practice what I preach. This blog can be where I do that...practice my writing.

I don't have a news article. I do have today, though.

Today, I listened to the Bad Christian Podcast interview with Mike Herrera. Well, I've listened to most of it. I still have a bit to listen to. So far, it's been really cool. Cool is too vague of a word. Maybe insightful. Profound. Soul-seeking. Eye-opening. (I'm trying to broaden my vocabulary, as well. Because, you know, practice what you preach). So, it's Mike Herrera. MxPx. Pretty much the band that shaped who I am today. I'm not sure who I'd be if I didn't start listening to MxPx my sophomore year in high school. Punk rock resonated with me... And I happened to be a Christian, so it was a match made in heaven. Christian punk was my thing, and Mike Herrera was my hero. Fast forward to 3 or 4 years ago (??) I caught wind of Mike Herrera dumping his faith. I guess I didn't think too much of it at first. It's his journey, and he lost his faith. ...

It made me feel a bit abandoned. Which is crazy. I don't even know this man. I mean, I know his music, so I guess I have a bond with him even though he has no clue who I am. When he left Christianity, I felt like our team lost a star member. This is so insane! Why did I feel that way? Mike Herrera is no longer professing to be a Christian. Does that make my Christianity less valid. Strangely, it kinda felt like it. But, Mike Herrera isn't Jesus. I admire the man because of his music and the impact his music had and still has on me.

The interview was great, though. I love the Bad Christian Podcast. The dudes are all Southern and have a sense of humor that I can relate to. They laugh, they joke around, they love Jesus, and they question their faith. I like it. I don't want to be a blind-faith Christian, and these guys talk about all the things I wonder about. I think I relate to Matt the most, but the things that Toby says make me laugh out loud, like LOL, literally.

But back to the point. Mike on their podcast. They asked the question I wanted to ask. "Why did you leave Christianity?" His response surprised me. I got the idea that he really didn't leave, but that he's still on his spiritual journey. That struck a chord with me...a guy who is just following the believe that was given to me by my parents. I want to think for myself, but I want to be objective. I want my belief to be real, to be genuine. I don't want to just have a team that I root for. Mike's not on my team. The Bad Christian Podcast is not on my team. We're all on our spiritual journeys...

It's been a long week. I'm going to stop writing and I'm going to drink a beer.

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