Bonsai Update

It has been too long since I have done anything with my Ficus.  I had to disinfect earlier in the year due to a random caterpillar infestation, but other than that it has just grown in the original pot from Wal-mart.  Now I finally get to start shaping and training it into a true bonsai with the tools I got for Christmas.

They are really great tools that serve different purposes.  The one on the left and the one on the right are for trimming the plant.  They have big enough holes to allow more fingers in so you can use more strength.  The one on the middle left is used for big cuts, I used it to chop off a lot of extra trunks that I didn't want.  The one on the middle right is used to remove branches from the tree.  It is great because it leaves a slight hole in the trunk.  This helps the bark to grow over it and leave it smooth instead of leaving an ugly scar.

Here is what it looks like in action.

Here is what it leaves behind.  I may have to back and smooth out the cut so the bark grows smoothly over it.

I removed about 10 trunks because there were just too many and it made the tree look too crowded.  I'll remove the stumps when I move the tree into its new pot, which I am getting this weekend hopefully!

The carnage was pretty intense.

In the end I was left with a healthy tree that is ready for training.  I look forward to getting my pot and soil.  Once I have that I will also buy wire and start training my Ficus into the shape I want it to have.  Hopefully it turns out looking great because right now it is still very much a work in progress!

Weather

We love to talk about the weather.  In times when small talk is necessary the weather is always a handy tool in your back pocket.  It is one thing all of us have in common.  The sun shines on everyone, the rain falls everyone, and the temperature affects everyone, but being from the Midwest (and never really leaving it for long periods of time) I wonder if other people talk about the weather.

What do they talk about in southern California?  "Oh, it's another sunny, 75 degree day isn't it Carl?"
Or what about Siberia? "Can you believe it's cold again?" Yep, just like the last 365 days."
Or Alaska? "Look at how dark that sky is."  "That's nothing, it was dark yesterday too, and last week, and the week before that."

Only in the Midwest does the weather provide such a rich topic of discussion.  Anyone from out of town knows that, it's all they talk about!  Only here can you wear shorts in the morning and a hoodie by late afternoon.  Only here can you have rain, snow, sleet, and hail all in the same 24-hour period.  Only here do we have seasons that go from "HOT HOT HOT" to "COLD COLD COLD" with about 2 weeks of "Oh, it's another sunny, 75 degree day isn't it Carl?".  Some people may love their consistent weather, but not me.   Food is not as good if you're already full, and spring is not as enjoyable without a terrible winter.

Having Something You Can Finish

I found this blog post to be really encouraging.  It is about a class taught by Dr. Gregg Allison at Re:Train, a part of Resurgence.  He talked about having something in your life as a pastor that you can finish because a pastor's work is never done.  In ministry, in working with people, there is always something to do.  He recommends having an outlet that allows something to be finished whether it be finishing a basement, writing a book, or something else.

This really spoke to me because as you might have noticed I have many hobbies.  I enjoy doing many different things.  I struggle sometimes, thinking that these interests are taking the place of ministry in my life.  Right now I am not a pastor, I am a seminary student.  My ministry is living an authentic life in front of my co-workers at my non-ministerial job.  Still, I have often struggled with some of my interests being a good thing.  I have wondered if bonsai, beekeeping, video games, and other things are an unwise use of my time.  This encouraged me that they are a good thing, that they are healthy.  Of course there is a balance and I have to make sure that the hobbies don't replace other things.

The Great TLA (TGL)

Today in class Ed Stetzer used TLA as a term in his lecture!  TLA is finally starting to catch on!  I have been trying to bring it into our vernacular since high school (which I graduated from in 2004).  We see them everywhere.  They affect music, education, government, and churches, basically everything.  FIF, TIU, NIU, UIC, MPG, all of these things are TLA's.  Life becomes easier when we understand and utilize the TLA.

Every good marketing strategy needs a TLA.  It is almost impossible to remember anything without it (almost hyperbole).  Even psychological disorders utilize TLA's.  Where would we be without terms like OCD, DID, and GAD, all psychological disorders?  What about the educational side?  NIU, TIU, MBA, PBJ, and the list continues.  Can I pull a TEDS move (I know, not a TLA, but it is under the TLA umbrella of TIU, so it's okay) and say that since smart people seem to use TLA's more often that they are a great idea?  In my Persuasion class in undergrad I learned that people are persuaded by referral to authority and/or experts among other things so the logic seems to fit.  I could go on with more day-to-day uses such as MPG, ETA, CTA, LOL, GTG, and BRB.  Without these nifty TLA's instant messaging and texting could take three to four times as long.  How could we convey our laughter across the internet without TLA's?

If you are not sure what a TLA is at this point, friend, this is for you.  It is a three letter acronym for Three Letter Acronym.  What could be more efficient?  What could be more exciting?  Doesn't just saying it bring a smile to your face?

Those were rhetorical questions but these are not.  Do you think this term is helpful?  What TLA do you use on a regular basis?

I'm not a Coffee Drinker

But that doesn't stop me from loving my new french press! It is incredible. The french press was recommended to me by the pastor who officiated mine and Cassie's wedding, Thom. He is a missionary.  He started a coffee shop as a place to meet people and reach out to them. He said the best coffee is made in a french press. I kept that in the back of my mind until a about a month ago when Cassie and I were at a thrift store. We found a french press for $1.50! We had to pick it up. We didn't find out until we got home that it was made by Bodum exclusively for Starbucks! It was cool to see that it was probably a quality product.

As I said before, I am not a coffee drinker. I try to only drink coffee 1-3 times a week, and I don't really love it like other people. But this french pressed coffee is so good! It tastes richer and feels fuller than drip coffee. Granted, it does take more work to make, and the clean up is a little more involved, but it is so worth it.

If you are a coffee drinker I recommend you check out a french press if you haven't. If you know me personally then I will gladly make you a cup sometime if you are on the fence!

Corn Festival!

Corn Festival has come and gone.  I was there September 25 and 26.  As always it never fails to deliver.  The petting zoo was great.  What could be better than being 23, married, hanging out in the petting zoo with old friends?

 

 Check out these animals!  We have a punk rock chicken in the upper left, a 'fro-wearing duck, a rabbit, and the coolest cow ever.

Now that I live on the North Shore of Chicago it's hard to remember my roots.  Growing up in a town where you have to learn about SMV's in driver's ed is a completely different experience from the North Shore.  For those of you less informed, SMV's are Slow-Moving Vehicles, things like this awesome tractor to the right and combines.  Hanging with me on the tractor are two of my great friends and groomsmen, Jason and Mike.

Take some time and ponder the beauty that is Morris, Illinois.  Sorry I don't have more pictures for you.  Maybe next year I'll have more.  I'll get some of the corn fields along the country roads.  Nothing feels more like home than driving between huge rows of corn on the country road.

Corn Fest!

Welcome to a magical place called Morris.
Where the corn grows tall and the grass is green.
Welcome to a festival that brings old friends back together.
Back to their roots.
Back to the ground they tilled.
The air they breathed.
The grain they grew.

Am I Going Green?

I never was one for "going green." Not because I hate the environment (we are called by God to be good stewards of the land). No, mostly it's because going green is expensive. Free roaming chickens cost more, organic milk is like twice the price, and it just doesn't fit my budget. There are some things about going green that I do like though. Hybrid cars, or even fuel cell cars, heck any cars that are going to save me gas money. The thing is, once again, those are expensive too.

Now that I am married I am looking forward to the day of buying a house. Fortunately for me there is a green house option that is actually cheaper than a regular house. It is called the cob house.

For those of you who know a thing or two about cob houses you might be thinking that I have fallen right into the hippy, granola-eating, give up on society pit. This would not be true (though they are such interesting people). Cob houses are made from mud, basically. It is a combination of clay, sand, and straw. The movement is big in Oregon, and my best friend Mike told me all about it. Cob houses are beautiful and can be made for under $5,000.

There are some pros and cons to this whole endeavor though.

Pros

-cheap

-good for the environment (I am partly green)

-easy to heat
-beautiful
-different
-get to build (and design) yourself
Cons
-building codes
-small usually only about 200 sq ft (not easy to build large)
-have to build yourself (which could take a long time)

So who knows, it might become my next house. I'll have to wait for Mike to go to Oregon in the summer for a workshop. After he comes back and builds his cob oven we'll see where we are. Let's just say I am mildly optimistic!

But Seriously #1 Serving and Free Time

Taking a page from What Christians Like (what is the correct formatting for blog titles anyways?) I decided to include a serious segment every now and then called "But Seriously." My original goal of this blog was to be more serious, but I get enough of that in school right now. I have decided to write about whatever I am currently interested in instead. Still, it is good to be serious every now and then; to look a little more in-depth at life as a follower of Jesus Christ.

This last spring semester at Trinity was probably my hardest semester in school ever. I started the semester working 20 hours a week but had to drop it to 17 hours in order to study. I was taking Beginning Hebrew II, Greek Exegesis I, Church History, Apologetics, and Preaching. It was a heavy load. Everyday I learned to trust God more. I learned that being the A student I was all my life wasn't the most important. It was a struggle for me. God showed me that I actually got more of my identity from being smart and getting A's without trying too hard than I realized. Consistently getting C's, D's, and F's on quizzes was incredibly disheartening for me. On top of that, Cassie and I had to plan a wedding.

I also had to do a Field Education for my MDiv degree. A Field Ed is basically involuntary volunteer work. I hated the idea of it, yet loved doing it. I needed all the free time I could get to study and relax, yet every Thursday night from 6-10pm Cassie and I went to Rogers Park in Chicago to visit with a refugee family from Nepal.

They were incredible. Kul (pronounced "cool"), Bhala ("bahla"), and Bhuja ("boo-dga") are all in their mid-20's. They are the same age as me and have lived 17 years in a refugee camp in Nepal. Kul came to Chicago in December, and his brother Bhala and Bhala's wife, Bhuja, came in mid-January. We met them when they had only been in the country for a week or so. They came from the hot, humid jungles of Nepal to the frozen tundra of a Chicago winter. It was tough coming up with things to talk about when we had nothing in common. We didn't grow up anywhere near the same cultures, but it was great. We watched Indian movies and they gave us Indian tea and amazing soup. Since this summer our relationship with them has blossomed. We are now visiting friends, not just refugees for school credit.

I write about this because God is amazing. I have never volunteered much in my life. I always thought I was too busy or that there were other things to do. But God, in His crazy wisdom, decided to make me volunteer during the busiest time of my life. It was super inconvenient, and on the Thursdays that Cassie and I didn't go we felt like we had all the time in the world. But it so worth it. God got me through the semester. I passed all my classes. I ended up with a C in Church History but who cares what Augustine's mom's name is anyways? (Not to disregard the subject, I think understanding church history is important to making wise decisions in the church now.) God gives us the strength to do what He wants us to do. He stretches us and we hate it. I hate it. But man are the end results great!

Cassie and I are hopefully going to see our friends from Nepal soon and I can't wait.

My New Bonsai

I went for it. I bought a ficus benjamina as my first bonsai. I got to take this nursery stock from Wal-Mart for $11. It looks nothing like a bonsai and was not advertised as one. As you can see from the picture, the left side is a bit more leafy than the right side. This is going to be difficult as I have never really taken care of a plant on my own. I've read that it is one of the more forgiving types of trees to turn into an indoor bonsai though.

Right now it is obnoxiously huge with no real direction. There are like 9 trunks and it is about 3 or so feet tall. I was hoping to have just one trunk, but we'll see what happens. There's a chance that each trunk has its own root system, but I doubt it.

The leaves on the ficus are great! They are a bright green and can be trained to grow smaller. I've read that if you cut them back during the growing season that they will grow back smaller. Also, the ficus benjamina is supposed to be completely defoliated once a year or so. I don't think I am going to do either of these techniques until spring because it will cause a lot of stress for the plant.

These trunks are intimidating! What will I do with all of these? I can tie them all together until they fuse into one trunk in 2-3 years or maybe I can cut some off and create a clump style that shares a common canopy of leaves. The problem with this option is the fact that the trunk stumps might be unsightly.




As our friend, Charles, has shown us. A nursery stock can be pruned and wired into a beautiful bonsai. I'm excited!

I'll keep you posted.

Aquariums

It is becoming more and more clear to me that I am a man of varied interests. This post is about my love for tropical aquarium fish.
Three-and-a-half years ago while I was living on campus as an undergrad Cassie and I decided to make a late night trip to Wal-mart. We wanted fish. We had a great time. Wal-mart had all of the fish that I remember having as a child: tetras, plecos, angel fish, and more.
We each decided to get a one-gallon tank and some fish for them. I got a pleco, 2 goldfish, a mollie, 2 neon tetras, and a frog. Cassie got a guppy, goldfish, and some other fish. As it turns out, fish need more space than that one-gallon tank allowed. All of ours ended up dying, though my mollie lasted the longest. It was a great learning experience. At one point I had a large vase, and 2 one-gallon tanks in my dorm room at the same time (Cassie hated seeing the fish die, it grossed her out), and I was doing major water changes about every day.

Though our first foray into fish was less-than perfect we decided to get larger tanks that summer. I got a 20-gallon and she got a 10-gallon. It has been a blast having my 20-gallon tank, but Trinity doesn't allow tanks larger than 10 gallons so I had to retire it for now. Here is a progression of my 20-gallon tank over the past 3 or so years.

This is my tank not long after I bought it.

Here it is not long after that. There are 2 mollies and 2 neon tetras in this shot. I experimented with rock formations that I got from the construction around my parent's house.
I was so excited the first time my mollies had babies. I learned that some fish are livebearers. This is a sweet shot of the babies along with the neon tetras. You can even see the shrimp in the foreground.
Cassie and I really liked the idea of having plants in our tank. At first we were pretty awful at it though. That bubbler in the background was basically killing the plants by taking away their CO2.
This is my tank after a year or so. I did some different things with the rocks, and the plants are still alive! The little grey fish are long-finned danios. They never stop moving!
Finally Cassie, Nate, and I got fed up with the fact that our plants would survive but never grow. Cassie and I invested in new aquarium plant lights and Nate made us CO2 dispensers. We all chipped in to buy plants online and this is my tank after putting in the new plants. The driftwood is actually from a lake in Wisconsin. I boiled it first to make sure I killed any harmful things that could have been on it.

As you can see, I finally had success with growing plants. Almost too much success! I had to trim plants and throw them away! If you look in the center of the front of the tank you can see one of the aquatic frogs I had at that time. They liked to hide in the moss in the back right corner.

This last year Cassie and I have been struggling to keep her 10-gallon going. With graduate school and work at the same time we haven't really felt up to doing much with the tank. Hopefully that will change this year. We both want to get back into it, so you will be getting periodic updates on how the fish tank is looking.

We plan on getting 20 or so neon tetras (if we can prove to ourselves that we can maintain the tank with school and work). I plan on using the wisteria (a light-green plant with longer branches) as ground cover. It usually grows very tall with the leaves being closer to the top. I want to use some of my bonsai knowledge to see if cutting the wisteria down will cause the branches to grow lower. The java fern (a darker plant) will provide a contrast to the light green of the wisteria.
I'm not sure if this will work or not, but I'm excited to see what happens. If you have any questions on maintaining fish and/or aquatic plants feel free to ask. Cassie and I have made enough mistakes and have learned much from our fish guru friend, Nate.

Oh Honey Honey

I love honey. When I was growing up I wasn't allowed to eat between meals. In order to survive as a 6 foot 135 lb 14-year-old I would sneak honey from the pantry. I would squeeze a large glob onto my hand and eat it. Mmm, the golden liquid tasted so good as it went down my throat.
I hear there is nothing more delicious than honey straight from the honeycomb. Conveniently I have recently become very interested in beekeeping. Apparently you can keep 60,000 bees in a wooden box in your backyard. These bees can make anywhere from 30-100lbs of surplus honey per hive. No more sneaking honey from the pantry for me!
Of course it's a little more complicated than just having 60,000 bees in a box. That box has to be a hive. Most are Langstroth hives to be more exact. These are boxes with 10 wooden frames in them with a 1/4" to 5/8" of space between them. This is called "bee space." Anymore space between the frames and the bees will build comb across the frames instead of just in the frames.
Starting a hive isn't actually that difficult. Surprisingly you can order a 3-pound box of bees along with a queen that will be delivered through the mail. That box will have approximately 10,000 bees in it! Below is a video showing how to install that package of bees into your new hive. It's quite fascinating. Hopefully someday I will have a hive and I can post video and pictures showing my progress.

Unfortunately the same thing inhibiting my new-found interest in bonsai is inhibiting this venture. I don't have any land. Also, the initial set-up can cost between $300-$500. As a graduate student I'm not exactly made of money so that is a bit steep. Although you can sell the honey you get and start making a profit within 2 years.




This picture was just too perfect to pass up. He is rollerblading while bees are all over his body. Intensity hand-chop anyone?

Bonsai again

Through my traversing on the world wide web I came across a site called youtube. This guy named Charles has a great video there on how to start a bonsai from a Juniper bought at the garden center.

It was great because it made me feel like it would be possible to start my own bonsai. I would rather not start from a pre-made bonsai. It would be more enjoyable for me if I got to create it myself. I can't start from a seed though or I'll spend the next 3-5 years just growing the thing to a reasonable size to do anything with it. But a garden center Juniper probably only costs about $20, which ain't too bad. By the looks of this guy's video (which is in 3 parts) I could probably take one of those and get it ready for bonsai training in an afternoon.
Now of course if you read this guy's profile you learn pretty quickly that he has been doing this for 20 years, so he has an idea of what he is doing. I do not. Also, I can't use a Juniper. As mentioned before, my wife and I live in an apartment on campus. I can't grow outside bonsai. But still the thought that I can start a bonsai with a $20 plant from the garden center is very exciting for me.
Hopefully I can find a nice Ficus benjamina for $20 that I can start training right away.

Bonsai!

So lately I've gotten into a couple, unique hobbies. The two that top the list are growing bonsai and beekeeping. Now I can't really do either of these well right now since I live in an apartment, but I can read a lot about them in the meantime. This post is going to focus on bonsai and what I have learned so far. Beekeeping isn't something I am going to be able to do until I have a yard, but some bonsai can be grown inside.
Apparently growing bonsai is an outdoor activity. There is no such thing as a bonsai tree per se. Any tree can be a bonsai tree. They are nothing more than a regular tree grown in a little pot that is made to look like a full grown tree. There are a few trees that work well indoors as bonsai.Ficus benjamina
This is probably my first choice for trying indoors. Its often grown as a regular indoor plant already. It looks nice, and it seems like it is the most forgiving with watering and sunlight.

Boxwood
These trees are pretty cool. They have smaller leaves, and I saw a really sweet forest arrangement of this tree at the Chicago Botanic Gardens. I have read that this one can be done indoors but I think it will be a little hard especially for my first attempt. With graduate school, a part-time job and my first year being married, I don't know if I want to take on a major bonsai project.Jade Tree
This tree is a succulent, which means it needs little water and little sunlight. Perfect for an indoor plant. I'm not such a huge fan though because it didn't look like it would be as easy to keep as the ficus. I'm pretty sure I won't use this one though.

So growing bonsai is more of an outdoor activity. Who knew? I'll probably try it anyways. Right now I have to pay for books so maybe it will make a nice birthday present. Still, it's fun to dream about doing it, and probably a lot easier too.

A Different Direction for Churches

The big talk among many churches today is how to reach young people. 20-somethings aren't going to church and we wonder why. Being 22 myself I find this very exciting as new, biblically-sound churches pop up reaching out to my generation(sorry emerging church, this might count some of you out). Sadly, there are still many churches that have no real ministry to 20-somethings. A great example is Monmouth , IL, where I went to undergrad. There were at least 3 Baptist churches in this town of 10,000 plus many other denominations and yet few of them reached out to the small, liberal arts campus in the middle of town. The few that did I wouldn't recommend

What if churches looked to reach retirees? I have heard that centennials, one of my new favorite words meaning hundred-year-olds, are the fastest growing age group. I don't hear of any cool, trendy way that churches are trying to reach this age group. Maybe that is partly because there seem to be so many churches filled with older people who have no vision for the young.

Maybe it is time we combined these missions.

In the Bible it says to have old men teach the young men and old women teach the young women(though I can't seem to find the reference so don't quote me on that). It is a great encouragement to meet older people who have fought the good fight for so long and by God's grace are still winning. I believe that young people, especially 20-somethings, come to find a new respect for their grandparents and other older people. They see the world before them and wonder how the older generation managed.
I wonder if we as a church could reach the older generation and encourage them to reach the younger generation.

There is something to be said for being relevant to an age of kids who are living through the technological revolution and are coming face to face with pluralism and relativistic visions of truth. I believe mankind has always been sinful and that this generation isn't any worse than the generation before it. It is time for someone to mobilize the retirees. I could venture to say that the two age groups with the most free time are college students and retirees. Retirees aren't working, their kids have been out of the house for awhile, and their income is (mostly) stable. They need to be encouraged to love and reach this younger generation.

The great question is always, how? How can we reach the older generation that hasn't been reached by the older churches? How can we encourage the older generations to reach the younger generations? That is where the conversation goes from here.

Shameless Plug

I'm sorry to do this to all of you. But I saw this chance to get both a free copy of Mark Driscoll's new book and even Logos. If you have a blog or facebook, it might be worth for you to do this too!

Bible Study Magazine and Mars Hill are giving away 20 copies of Mark Driscoll’s new book, Vintage Church. Not only that, but they are also giving away five subscriptions to Bible Study Magazine and a copy of their Bible Study Library software! Enter to win on the Bible Study Magazine Mark Driscoll page, then take a look at all the cool tools they have to take your Bible study to the next level!

Evangelism

Evangelism is something that we as Christians know we are supposed to do. Many of us came to Christ because someone was courageous enough to share their faith. Many of us have heard the Great Commission again and again. We know the importance of it, and yet many are probably like me and do not engage in much active evangelism.

But what should evangelism look like? Tracts? Preaching/bringing people to church? by example? through friendship? In undergrad I was frustrated with stories of Christians shoving tracts under the public bathroom stalls, or who said they evangelized by the way they lived. C.S. Lewis said in Mere Christianity that on the outside there is no difference between a moral man and a Christian man. We need to share why we live the way we do. But God pointed out to me that while I was judging the methods of other Christians I was not sharing Christ with people. At least they were trying.

In one book I read, evangelism was related to the unsaved being in a burning car. Wouldn't you want to do whatever you could to get them out of that car? Or the Christian punk band, Calibretto 13, showed a common difficulty of evangelism, which is knowing that our friends would love to hear the Gospel, but we would rather share it tomorrow.

We are guilted into evangelism again and again. How many of us who call ourselves Christians share the saving grace of Christ that we could not live without? I think we all know the importance of reaching the lost (a common Campus Crusade for Christ saying). And yet we don't do it, I don't do it. And I can't seem to motivate myself to do it. For me, I don't want to be vulnerable. I don't want to look like the fool who believes in Christ. I will gladly live as a believer of Christ, but to talk about that with unbelievers? That is hard, that is scary. It will change them, it will change my relationship with them. But that is what makes it so important. Now I am guilting you into it.

I will admit that to a certain degree I am hard on myself. I talk about Christ pretty often with other people, especially my friends who are not believers, but there are so many opportunities that I see and skip over. For example, I lived with a roommate all of freshman year of undergrad without ever talking to him about Christ. I do think that one good way to do evangelism is to live life the way Christ wants us to. This leads to so many conversations because every action we take is affected by our relationship with God. People will ask or we can just share with them why we do what we do. It becomes a natural part of our conversation and our lives.

This post on theresurgence.com provided an interesting take on evangelism for me.