Guest Feature: Design is Life

By Matt Moore

I love conversation. By nature, I’m an outgoing person, and I love to talk to people. But I have to admit, I often cringe when someone asks me, “So, what do you do for a living?”

It’s not that I don’t love being a graphic designer. It’s just that at this point in the conversation, I often find myself trying to fudge my way out of designing a sign, brochure, or flyer for the individual I’m speaking with in order to keep free-time for my family.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m flattered by the fact that my title gives you the instant confidence that whatever I would produce for you would be a stunning visual advertisement for your various endeavor. And generally speaking, I like to help those around me as much as possible. I’m from the school of thought, however, that says “Give a man a fish and he eats for a day; show him HOW to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime!”

At some point, you may be asked to produce a print piece to advertise your business, church or activity. If you utilize a few simple tricks, you can make any design a winner.

I like to think of design as being like life. For starters, life is better — and so is design — if you keep it simple. Use lots of pictures (especially on the cover if designing a brochure) rather than lots of text.

Ever read the owners manual for your blu-ray or smart phone? Me either. No pictures! You bought it in the first place because it LOOKED cool, right? It’s the same thing with a brochure or poster. Good photos will produce better results over long, boring descriptions. If you want to talk about your vacation, isn’t it easier with good pictures? And you can get photos anywhere. Use your own or pull some from a Flickr gallery of a friend — with their permission, of course. Just don’t sell ‘em, OK!?

Another key in design is limiting fonts (rule of thumb: no more than three fonts per piece). There are some good free font sites like 1001freefonts.com and fontfreak.com that are “no strings attached’ sites with fonts that can really punch up a layout. Use a “fun” font to draw attention to the title of your project; use a plain font like Arial, Franklin or Times for body copy.

When it comes to the amount of copy, put yourself in the audience. Ask yourself, “Do I really want to read all of this text?” Again, design mimicks life, and it’s always better to LISTEN than to ramble. Besides, the project is ultimately for the audience and not you.

If you want your piece to be readable, limit the amount of text you put over your pictures. Nothing makes a brochure look more amateurish than hard to read text over a photo. Compare it to having a phone conversation with a loud TV in the background.

And be sure to maintain consistent borders throughout. My kids need consistent boundaries to make it look like I’m a decent parent. Your artwork needs consident boundaries to make it look like it knows what it's talking about.

Lastly, get help. (I’m always happy to share my opinion!) Just like we have a Heavenly Father we can go to for help, there are unlimited resources all around us for ideas. Of course, I’m in NO way comparing the Trinity to billboards, print ads and the Internet, but a simple Google search will reap great rewards in aiding any design project. Just like a simple prayer before a meal or a five-minute devotional before bed can reap great rewards in life.

We tend to make things a little more difficult than they have to be. Design can be pretty easy. Life is a little harder. There are always ways to make both simpler. Look for them and it might surprise you what you can do with each.

Matt Moore is an ONU graduate, a graphic designer within Olivet’s Office of Marketing Communications and an all-around nice guy.

Guest Feature: Lessons learned, memories made

By Amy Duerrwaechter

As I sit and reflect of my time at Olivet Nazarene University, on the verge of graduation, many memories flood my mind.

I look back on all of my first things I did on campus: move in and unpack, eat everything in the cafeteria (only to realize that I would be eating this every day for the next few years), and going around to all of the buildings to find my classes for the next day. I remember discovering that to “fit in,” I needed to take two cups at the cafeteria and that I shouldn’t carry a purse.

I also remember meeting so many people my freshman year. Back then, I never would have thought that they would still be the people I turn to at the end of my senior year. These were the friends that truly became my family.

And Olivet Nazarene University became a home away from home. I have grown and learned — in more than just academics.

As a freshman, you are encouraged to get involved, but I didn’t think that the activities I joined would have any serious impact on my life. I joined Omega drama ministries simply figuring that this traveling team would be something fun to do that would get me involved. My first team consisted of seven people. These seven people have made the most impact on my life. They have morphed into roommates, fellow co-workers, team leaders and best friends.

The following year, my involvement with Omega changed from just being a team member to a team leader, and currently I serve as director of this ministry. This ministry has changed the way I view everything I do. It has given me leadership experience, and every year I have grown in ways I could never have dreamed possible. God has led me to meet some of the most amazing people, and each team has become a family of people to trust and experience the year with. I can honestly say that if I did not get involved in this one activity, my entire experience at Olivet would have been different.

When people say, “Get involved,” they mean it. My advice to new students? Get involved in something, anything. It’s worth it.

When I visited Olivet, and had the tour of the campus, I was told that the professors here truly care about the students. Coming from a small private high school that was important, but I was skeptical if it would actually be played out and true. But let me tell you: the professors here are some of the best people in the world.

There was a Saturday afternoon I was working on a project and was having problems. So I called my professor, and he came onto campus — on his day off — to help me.

So many times, I would run to my professors for advice on something outside of the classroom, and they were always willing to lend a listening ear. When professors say that they are here to help us, they mean academically — but also in everyday life situations. If you are a current or future student, take advantage of the wonderful people around you. They have so much experience and knowledge to share.

So often, friends and academics are what most people think of when they think of college experiences, but there is one more aspect that I cannot leave out. Throughout my time at Olivet, I have been able to grow spiritually.

God has blessed me in so many ways. I look at how He works situations out, and I am amazed at His provision. God has been with me through everything. If there is one thing that He has taught me the most in these last few years, it is to surrender everything to Him. This is a very hard thing to do, since I tend to want to be in control of everything, but He has always been faithful in providing for me, when there seems to be no other way.

As graduation nears, I am looking at my empty apartment, and all of the books scattered on the floor, and boxes being taped up. It just makes me think how thankful I am for my time here at Olivet.

It is because of the friends who have become family, the education I have received, and the God that provides for me that I know I will be successful in whatever tasks that come my way in the years to come.

Amy Duerrwaechter will graduate tomorrow from Olivet Nazarene University with her bachelor’s degree in photography. Following graduation, she will work as a graduate assistant for Olivet’s Office of Annual Giving as she pursues her MBA through ONU’s School of Graduate and Continuing Studies.

Guest feature: Gardening 101

By Becky Williams

Spring has officially sprung, and signs of new life are popping up everywhere.

Perhaps you’ve determined this will be the year when you finally take part in the horticultural world for the very first time. Or maybe you’ve tried, unsuccessfully, to garden in the past and now you wonder if there’s any hope for your not-quite-so-green thumbs. Either way, my hope is that this article will provide you a few, simple tips that will put you well on your way to a successful planting experience.

Gardening, to me, is therapeutic. It amazes me how God can take a little seed or plant, and it will grow into this luscious vegetable or fruit. It’s fun to get outside in the garden and “get dirty” — then a few weeks later, bite into a juicy, delicious, red tomato that I (and God) grew!

Let’s start with the basics

All plants can be divided into two categories: perennials and annuals.

Perennials do not die after one season; they come back on their own from year to year. Perennials are great for landscaping, and require less maintenance. A couple common examples of perennials are hostas and tulips.

Annuals, on the other hand, must be re-planted each year. Most garden vegetables, beans and seed flowers fall into this category. While they are a bit more work then perennials, annuals offer you variety and additions to your color palate each year.

It’s all about the timing

In order to have a successful garden, you must sow in the proper season, which varies from plant to plant.

Right now, the gardening rule in our Midwest climate is to not set out any plants that will be affected by cold nights. My advice is to hold off until after Mother’s Day, when frost is far less likely. The hardest thing about this, I know, is seeing all the nurseries with the bedding flowers and all their colors. It makes you want to buy them and plant — but be patient and WAIT! If you do decide you must buy them now, put them inside the garage or under an awning at night so they are protected until you plant them.

Conversely, there are a few plants that should already be in the ground by now, such as root plants (i.e. potatoes, carrots and early peas). Some people use the rule: Plant your potatoes Palm Sunday weekend or Easter weekend. But those dates change every year —so it’s not a terrific guideline. Basically, they can be planted earlier than most plants since they are covered with soil.


There’s hope for you!

Maybe you’re thinking, “That’s all well and good, but I can’t grow a garden because [fill in the blank].”

But as the old saying goes, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

What if you live in an apartment with no yard? Try container gardening, also known as patio plants (the more in vogue name). You can get pretty large containers and even grow two to three things in one pot.

What if you have heavy shade throughout your yard? Definitely check with a florist or nursery worker to find out what plants will do well in your local climate or even in your particular yard. There are a lot of beautiful perennials that do well in the shade — so don’t give up and think that nothing will work.

What if the squirrels, rabbits, bugs, etc., are enjoying the “fruits of your labor?” Well, the rabbits have been having caucuses in my backyard already, so chicken wire around my vegetable garden is the ONLY thing I’ve been able to use to keep them out. Some plants will get bugs on their leaves, etc., and you will have to buy a liquid or powder spray, sold at garden centers. You might even bring a leaf in to the garden center so they can see what specific disease or spots you are dealing with on the plants.

What of if you don’t have a lot of time to keep up with gardening? Start with a small space or container gardening first. Once you get the weeds under control and the plants mature, you might be surprised how little time the maintenance really takes.

What if you have a “seedy” history of killing every plant within your care? Try a cactus. (Just kidding) Outside plants are quick to tell you if they need a drink of water (leaves wilt, turn brown, flowers droop, etc.) So, if we go through a drought season, keep them watered, but don’t drown them. If we’ve had plenty of rain and you “talk to them” on occasion, they will thrive!

Off you go!

The best advice for a novice gardener? Just dig in! Literally. The joy of gardening is its simplicity, and you’re sure to pick up a few tricks of your own along the way. You CAN do this.

Finally, if all else fails — if gardening really intimidates you or time is really an issue — support your local farmers market. These are wonderful, and the best of whatever is in season will be right at your finger tips!

Becky Williams works in Olivet Nazarene University’s Office of Development and fields gardening questions daily from co-workers who aspire to grow bountiful gardens.

Guest feature: Marketing yourself to get a professional job!

By Mary Anderson

Considering a young man at my church was recently quite surprised to see a person "my age" texting, it's a wonder that I was invited to write for the Olivet BLOG. But here I am!

I've worked in Career Services a long time, but some things never change: Marketing starts with the first impression. Unfortunately sometimes it ends there too!

One school superintendent told a true story at a recent conference. His office windows face the school’s parking lot. He observed a teacher candidate smoking a cigarette in his car on school premises before coming in for the interview. Needless to say, the interview “ended” before the candidate ever even entered the school!

Here’s my 7-point sermon on first impressions:

1. Think before you place a phone call. Plan what you are going to say, keep it very professional. If you must leave a message keep it succinct; state the reason for your call, say your name and telephone number very clearly. Employers are interested in hiring young professionals, not transitioning college students!

2. Think about how your voice mail message sounds. If you are not around when an employer calls you back, what will their impression be? Make it professional; employers detest “goofy” answering machine messages.

3. Present your résumé on good quality paper. If sending it electronically, send a PDF, not a Word doc. They don’t always look the same on the receiver’s computer or printer. PDF stands for Portable Document Format but let’s say “professional document format!”

4. Shake hands firmly and confidently to communicate your professional image!

5. Press your interview attire! Wrinkles are not professional.

6. Your professional attitude is contagious. Don’t be a carrier of a bad attitude — it's simply not professional!

7. Cell phones do not go to interviews. Turn it off, put it away! It is not professional. When you are in an interview, the interview is your only priority! When you are waiting for the interview, you should be preparing for the interview, NOT texting your friends or mother (and I am one).

Now if first-impressions-only could land you a job, you would be set, but there is much more to it than that.

You must do your homework: research companies, find out all you can about them before the interview, generate questions to ask based on your research. Showing up for the interview unprepared is like showing up for the final exam without ever going to class!

You need to network, network, and then network some more! Talk to people you know: professors, employers, family members, and anyone and everyone you know in your chosen profession. How did they get their jobs? People in your network know people you don’t know – that is the key!

First, clean up your Facebook; employers look there too! Create a professional profile on LinkedIn.com. Join groups and maintain connections —both in person and online! It will pay off in the end.

Mary D. Anderson is the director of career services at Olivet Nazarene University, where she has served since 1979. She has her bachelor of music from Millikin University and her master of arts in education from ONU. Find Mary on LinkedIn.

Guest Feature: Bare Feet Heartbeat

By Houston Thompson

I thought it was a new fashion statement – students not wearing shoes.

I hadn’t noticed this lack of attire before on our campus. Of all days, it was cool, and for some, just plain cold. I thought, “Why would students begin a new trend on a day when the temperature was so low?” No doubt, the sidewalks had to feel cold, and I wondered how that made the rest of the body feel.

For me, it started about 8 a.m., when I visited a class and the professor made the comment, “I see you are all wearing shoes.” I thought to myself, “What an odd statement.”

Later in the day, I noticed students crossing the campus, entering buildings, going to lunch, going to class, barefooted. That professor knew something I didn’t know, but he wasn’t around for me to follow up. In an effort to satisfy my curiosity, I asked another faculty member, “What is this new phenomenon of students not wearing shoes?” Like me, she didn’t know. I have to admit I felt a little better since I wasn’t the only one who didn’t know what was happening.

As I headed to my office following a meeting, I met a guest on campus. The guest asked me, “How come some of the students are not wearing shoes?” I gave her an honest answer and said, “I don’t know.” I couldn’t explain why anyone would go barefoot on such a cool day and in a setting like our campus. After all, the University Life Handbook surely has guidelines about this.

Just then, a student, Stacey, was walking by barefooted. This was the moment I could inquire and hopefully gain understanding into what was happening around the campus. So, I asked, “Why are so many students not wearing shoes?” Stacey proceeded to tell me, and the campus guest, that this was a day of social action. To experience what it is like for people who do not have shoes, students were going barefooted. It was a way to experience need and make a statement about the cause.

I thought to myself, “This is cool” (no pun intended.)

Somehow, in the midst of going to classes, doing homework, pre-registration for next semester, and more, students were thinking about others who are less privileged. I was struck with the thought that down deep in the hearts of many of our students is a passion to identify with, reach out to, and help others who are less fortunate. I was moved by the overwhelming sense of compassion that many of our students were demonstrating. I was challenged with the idea that students were willing to embrace the cold to make a statement about a need with which others wrestled.

There is something different in the attitude of many of the students on our campus. Beyond all of the things that are required and expected, beyond all the opportunities available, there is the spirit of compassion that flows from the heart. There is an intense desire to make a difference.

I often say to students, “Let me hear your heartbeat.” The other day, I saw their heartbeat — bare feet strolling along cold sidewalks. It truly was a glimpse into the heart. It really isn’t a new phenomenon, as it is the heartbeat of the Christ-like. It is the expression of Christ’s love in a way that says we care and we are willing to show it.

I heard their heartbeat when I saw their bare feet.

Houston Thompson is chair of Olivet's Department of Social Work and Criminal Justice, directs the Social Work Program and teaches social work. He is also the dissertation coordinator for the Doctor of Education in Ethical Leadership at ONU.

Guest feature: Enjoy the journey

By Bill Greiner

I’ve realized something over the years; the destination in life isn’t the goal! It’s in the day-to-day journey.

If we live stressed, uptight, we won’t take the time for the people around us. James 4:14 says, “You do not know about tomorrow. What is your life? For you are a puff of smoke that appears for a short time and then vanishes.”

We need to let people know how much they mean to us. Co-workers, family and our parents are the people who have sown seeds into our lives and have made us who we are today. There will always be work left to do. At the end of my life, my “in” box will be full. Family and friends are everything, enjoy them every chance you can.

Two years ago our youngest daughter graduated from Olivet Nazarene University and was getting married in December of the same year. The six months from graduation to her getting married were stressful, but it went by fast as we made memories while she was still at home. It was a time to reflect, savoring the moments of her time at home before she began the next chapter in her life. The wedding was beautiful, but the memories are still vivid of the times we went to pick out invitations, the time I first saw her in the wedding dress and realized she was a woman. I can still remember the phone call from her fiance, wanting to talk about her hand in marriage. The simple, yet profound moments are the best in life. I try to enjoy my journey more and more.

I have been losing weight due to high blood pressure. At first, all I thought about was the end goal, that illusive, magical number that would signal I was no longer overweight. Over time, I learned to enjoy the journey, not the end goal weight I needed to attain. There are things I never knew about myself. I wasn’t sure I could run again as I had when I was younger and more fit. Today, I run three miles. I now lift weights and eat a balanced diet. The high blood pressure is gone and I’m off the meds. It’s been an interesting journey of patience and waiting. The end goal is no longer the focus; it is about the everyday exercise, a new lifestyle and enjoying my new-found energy. It is about enjoying my life and getting the most of each day.

The last eight weeks began with stress as I started editing my textbook I co-wrote more than five years ago. It is time for the third edition and I wanted to really change the majority of the text for a new direction in the book. At first it was frustrating and I had to really work hard just to get into the enormous amount of work ahead me. As the weeks went by and slowly each chapter was rewritten, I began to enjoy the process and I looked forward to the rewrites. Some days I accomplished a lot and other days, barely a page. I had a deadline and therefore I started early to avoid last-minute rushing around and stressing over the details. I needed to slow down and take each day one at a time. The process has been enjoyable and now it is nearly finished. I have made good memories with this journey and while it was a huge amount of work, it was fun almost every day!

If you have good friends, health and a loving family you are a rich person and life is very rewarding. I don’t want to miss out on the miracles each day brings. I try to tell people I know how important they are to me. These are the good old days for me! I try to make the most of every day and enjoy those folk who come into my life during a typical work day. I don’t get caught up in the goals anymore, but look for the memories and moments caught in life that make my days richer and fuller. It is my hope that you begin to enjoy the journey as well and stop focusing on the goals.

Guest Feature: Nuisance in the Church

By Stephanie (Quimby) Kumor ’04

I was a little nervous for her question as we sat talking on the phone that late afternoon. I knew it was about Christianity, and I was hoping it wasn’t going to be something that would prove too difficult to defend.

A new Christian, Jen had been reading her Bible and was trying to reconcile what she read with what she had observed in church on Sunday.

She got straight to her point. “From everything I have read in the Bible, it seems that children were very important to Jesus. Why is it, then, that in church, they are so looked down upon and kept separate?”

That sounded absurd to me. “What gave you that impression?”

Jen then explained the reactions she continued to receive every time she brought her infant into a church service. Anytime her baby would make a noise at all, she was met with disapproving looks. One person — a complete stranger to Jen — even approached her and stated, “We have a great nursery, you know.”

As I listened to Jen’s concerns, I couldn’t help but feel heartbroken. After praying for Jen for two years and trying to share Christ with her, it was completely disappointing that someone in the church had made her feel uncomfortable about being there.

I did my best to write it off as an isolated incident. I tried to tell her that of course children were of important and valued.

But the next Sunday, when I had my son in service with me, I decided to be more watchful and aware. It was only then that I started to notice a little bit of the hostility people had toward having children in “God’s sanctuary.”

Since I have grown up in the Church and know all of the people, I just hadn’t paid attention before. Quite honestly, I felt comfortable and didn’t really care when 10 people looked back at the slightest noise. My friend, however, who didn’t know anyone and is absolutely new to the Christian church, felt embarrassed and hurt.

Naturally, the story in Matthew 19 of “The little children and Jesus” comes to mind.

I have always thought that the story in Matthew talked about children “running to Jesus” and then the disciples stopped the little kids. However, if you look more carefully, it says that the children were “brought to Jesus” and the disciples “rebuked those who brought them.”

I think that is an important distinction.

How many times have I rolled my eyes or thought “get that child out of here” when the pastor is preaching and I hear a child cry or babble? Isn’t that exactly what Jesus rebuked the disciples for doing?

I guess I haven’t felt guilty about my response in the past, because I figured I wasn’t placing blame on the child; it’s those darn parents’ fault. In reality, though, rebuking parents for wanting to experience church alongside their children is just as ludicrous.

We discourage parents from bringing children to services when we should be encouraging them to make the choice that is right for their family’s needs, whatever their reasons — and even if we don’t understand why. For example, I happen to know my friend has very valid grounds for keeping her baby with her. And so if she were forced to attend services without her baby, she simply would not be in the services.

All of this said, this week is Easter, and our congregations will be flooded by visitors, many of whom are checking out what this whole church thing is all about. Some churches will have “family services” where families are formally invited to keep their children with them for worship. Others will have young ones in the service in spite children’s programming that may be available.

As you encounter these “little ones,” I only urge you to act as Christ would have you act. Be welcoming to these visitors — and their families — and let them bring their children to Jesus. You never know the effect your “looks” can have.

If you must look back at a noise, make sure it is done with a smile. And if the children bother you more than you can possibly stand, just move to the front row where there will surely be no one around to bother you.


Stephanie (Quimby) Kumor is a 2004 graduate of Olivet Nazarene University, where she double majored in psychology and social work. She and her husband, Ben ’04 reside in Omaha, Neb., with their two sons, Caleb and Nathaniel. Stephanie currently oversees Sunday and Wednesday children’s programming for her local church — but promises she won’t be offended if you decide to take your kids with you to service instead.

Jesus Loves Tom Petty (For the Bible Tells Me So)

Guest feature by Seth “tower” Hurd

One of the common misconceptions about my chosen career is that I got into Christian media in order to give Christians an alternative, or perhaps a shelter from, the “scary outside world.”

I currently work full-time for 89.7 Shine.FM, as well as host The Merge Out Loud a music interview show airing on Direct TV.

The joy of this career is not giving Christians a place to hide from mainstream pop music, but in taking the Gospel out through music and artists that I believe in with my whole heart.

Fifteen years ago, groundbreaking author and church leader Bob Briner published Roaring Lambs, a call to Christians to start changing Hollywood, the music industry and publishing from the inside out — to get into the trenches and help create the media.

But even as Christians have embraced the work of Christians in mainstream media, the Church still holds on to strong tendencies of distrusting media in general.

We’ve seen the purchasing power (and therefore, influence) of Christians at the box office — pushing The Passion of the Christ over the $300 million mark, and propelling films like Fireproof and To Save a Life to “hit” status.

However, other books, films and albums which contain both affirming and true spiritual messages are completely ignored by the Church.

A great example of this is The Book of Eli, released in February of this year. The story, which contains no sexual situations and virtually no profanity (though there are two James-Bond style shoot-em-up scenes), follows leading man Denzel Washington across a post-nuclear landscape. In his backpack, he carries the final copy of the Bible (the Book was outlawed in a war, and all copies, save one, were burned). Each day, he walks westward, following what he believes is a call from God to bring the Holy Scriptures to a place where hope can finally be preached to a hopeless world.

A brilliant, beautiful, true story. And the Church ignored it. I believe that is because The Book of Eli, unlike the aforementioned movies, didn’t have any “Christian star power” attached to it.

Not what, but where, is truth?

The Book of Eli is just one example of how Christians easily miss truth in mainstream society.

Scripture tells us that since God is Creator, all truth is His truth. God is the author of love. And if we were to first hear of sacrificial love in a play by Shakespeare, that doesn’t make Shakespeare the author or love — only the person who communicated a truth.

Consider the following lyrics, and judge for yourself which is directly more spiritual:

“I won’t back down. No, I won’t back down/You can stand me up at the gates of hell/but I won’t back down.”

Contrasted with…

“Draw me close to you/Never let me go/I lay it all down again/to hear me say that I’m your friend.”

The first song clearly deals with spiritual conflict and courage. The second could very well be penned by a junior high girl, addressing a crush on a classmate.

The first song is by American rock icon Tom Petty, the second is a modern worship song. I wouldn’t disagree that many have genuinely worshiped God through the song Draw Me Close. However, I believe it’s the Tom Petty song that more clearly communicates a spiritual truth, while the lyrics of the worship song only describe a vague affection.

In my life, I’ve often discovered beautiful descriptions about God, and truth about life, outside of Christian music. In fact, there are some “mainstream” albums that I believe every Christian should hear.

The Apostle Paul echoes this sentiment in the book of Titus, when he quotes a local pagan prophet and then follows with the words “what he said is true.” (Titus 1:12-13) In this reference we see that Paul wasn’t afraid to read pagan poetry (as we also read in Romans), and he wouldn’t shy away from God’s truth, even if a pagan prophet had said the same thing.

Not a license to sin

Clearly, there are some things that Christians should never watch, listen to or consume.

Media certainly has an effect on the soul, and often preaches a worldview that stands in opposition to the Gospel. This blog is not an endorsement for you to allow the teens at your church to blast explicit rap music and watch the Saw horror movies at church.

But aren’t there more categories than just “officially Christian” and “evil”?

If we operate on those two categories alone, where does Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue album fit? It’s considered the standalone greatest jazz album of the 20th century, but certainly can’t be categorized as “Christian,” since there are no lyrics whatsoever.

To me, Miles Davis records fall into the same category as sunsets and steak dinners — just one more way to enjoy the life and freedom we’ve been given through the blood of Christ.

An opening to share faith

In addition to bringing beauty into our lives, there’s another reason to be current on quality mainstream media: witnessing.

In my life, when I’ve had the opportunity to share my faith, it’s often not through a single conversation, but through a series of conversations that play out over several weeks or months. Those conversations have often been brought on because of mainstream books and music.

For example, I’ve had faith conversations over the music of punk band The Gaslight Anthem (both of the band’s albums deal heavily with searching for redemption) and The Life of Pi (an acclaimed novel about a boy who’s stuck in a lifeboat with a Bengal Tiger).

In both of these situations, I couldn’t sit around waiting for the non-Christian person to read Christian author Francis Chan’s Crazy Love or listen to CCM artist BarlowGirl. I had to go to where they were to share my faith in Christ.

An opportunity to elevate art

Finally, Christians need mainstream media to see how “our” media is often lacking.

While the Church made the explicitly preachy Fireproof a hit movie at the box office (it debuted at #6 its opening weekend), it’s simply a horrendous movie. Any second-year film student could point out a plethora of flaws, from acting to significant issues in the storytelling.

Sure, the film had a great theme, but we don’t buy albums if the singer can’t carry a tune just because his heart is in the right place. Imagine if the Church had hired a second-rate painter to complete the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, spending money to support “Christian art” rather than the best quality art. Imagine just how many people (in an illiterate society) might have missed out on the power of the Creation Story, because the images of God and Adam had been sloppily applied.

In the end, this world is God’s creation, not our idea. He is the point, the center, of the whole story of creation and human history.

When film, music and books point to the truth of Christ and the good things Scripture commands us to fix our minds upon, then it’s to our detriment if we overlook them because of the lack of an explicit “Christian” label.

Seth "tower" Hurd can be heard on 89.7 Shine.FM, and seen hosting The Merge Out Loud, a music interview show, airing Friday nights at 8:30pm on Direct TV. He's written about music for multiple national publications, including Relevant Magazine.

Guest feature: Let the madness begin

By Matt Smith

This weekend is my favorite weekend of the year, but it won't be because spring will have finally arrived. It's the arrival of the three best weeks of college basketball, the NCAA Men's College Basketball Tournament.

And I, like many of you, am asking that most important question: How does my bracket look? Well, if you're struggling with that question, here is some advice to help you win your bracket challenge.

1. Seeding is not as important as you think. If your team has made "The Big Dance," don't be upset if they are a 4 seed instead of a 3. Or if your team's a 10 and you think they should be an 8, don't worry. It's about the match up. If your team matches up well against their opponent, your team has a chance. It was only four years ago that 12 seed George Mason University made it to the Final Four, so fear not (unless you're a 16 seed ... then you've got no shot).

2. Loyalty is overrated. When the Indiana Hoosiers (my team) were perennial dancers, I used to pick them to win at least three games every year. Was that a huge mistake, or what? Being loyal to your team often distorts reality. In 2009, IU had freshman sensation Eric Gordon. I was sure he could lead them to the Elite Eight. They lost in the first round, and my bracket was toast.

After spending four years in Lansing, Mich., I also root for Michigan State. But I have them out in the second round this year. Make sure you can step back and see your team for who they really are.

3. It's a "two-game tournament." Yes, I know it takes six wins to cut down the nets in Indianapolis, but remember that all your team has to do is win two games in three days, three times. If a team is a high seed, you must have confidence that they will not overlook lesser teams. If a team is entering the tournament with a mid-level seed, like 6 seed Notre Dame, do you believe that the momentum of an opening round win can vault them to a win over 3 seed Baylor and advance to the Sweet Sixteen?

When I fill out my bracket, I try to pick each region separately. If I pick all first round games, then second, and so forth, I lose sight of what game is next for each team. Winning six games in a row is a tough feat, but don't put the cart before the horse. You must focus on getting out of this weekend with at least 14 of 16 correct.

4. Love your enemies. Being an Indiana Hoosier fan has allowed me to enjoy some great success in this tournament, even if those successes are now distant memories. If there are two things a Hoosier fan doesn't care for, it's the Purdue Boilermakers and the Kentucky Wildcats. I used to find ways to knock out Purdue or UK in my brackets. In the past, if Kentucky were a 2 seed, I'd convince myself that the 15 seed could beat them. Not a smart strategy. Even if you despise a certain team, don't knock them out because you don't like them. Chances are they're better than your team anyway.

5. If all else fails, pick according to the team colors and mascots. If you've read through all of this and you're thinking to yourself, "This is just way too much work," keep it simple. The Demon Deacons might be evil, but are no match for a Longhorn. And Big Red is not going to let an Owl get in his way. And Georgia Tech against Oklahoma State is a tough one, but I think OSU's orange is much stronger than Tech's yellow.

There you have it, my tried and true way of picking a spotless bracket. I've yet to fill mine out, but I can tell you that my pick for the 2010 NCAA National Champion is ... the Kentucky Wildcats. If you want to see how good (or bad) the rest of my picks are, I'm posting my bracket at intramurals.olivet.edu. Let the madness begin!

Matt Smith is the director of campus recreation at Olivet.

The Purpose of Christian Higher Education: Are We Making Consumers or Producers?

Guest feature by Gary Thomas

The other day a student, I’ll call him “Frank,” came to my class late for the umpteenth time.

“I am sorry,” Frank said, “I just can’t get past the bad habit of not getting up in time.”

“What will you do when you get a job?” I asked.

“Oh, I’m never going to do that at my job,” he replied.

Higher education has become a means to an end. It has lost its primary function and meaning. If you ask most students why they are in college, they will very quickly tell you that it is to get a good job; to live the American dream. And with that, college education has become a hurdle students must get over in order to get to the real business of “making a living” so that they can become successful consumers.

I feel that higher education, especially Christian higher education, has a higher purpose than that. It is not simply a means to an end but is an appropriate end in itself. The goal of education is education.

Perhaps I’m idealistic.

I recently read in Proverbs that “to get knowledge is better than gold” (Prov. 16:16). I think most students are getting it backwards. If you ask most of them they will say the gold (money, car, house, stuff, etc.) is more important than education. For many of them the acquiring of knowledge is just a necessary evil that one must endure in order to obtain the gold. And the world reinforces this, sending a strong message that everyone ought to pursue stuff; that we should get more knowledge so we can have money to purchase more stuff.

Jesus said it clearly: “Don’t worry about your stuff,” (my paraphrase, of course), “the pagans run after such things.” (See Matthew 6:31-33.)

So are we raising a bunch of pagans?

We in Christian higher education ought to be teaching our students that knowledge is good for its own sake. Teach students to seek first the Kingdom of God (where true wisdom and understanding come from), and the other things will be added to them as a bonus. In other words, I would like to see us teach them to reverse the order that the world gives them. Wisdom is primary; all the other stuff is secondary.

In some ways, I believe this higher education’s fault. I mean the acquisition of a good career is, for students and parents, a great marketing plan to get students into college. But aren’t we in Christian higher education joining in on the world system when we treat education like just another consumer product, and students and parents like consumers?

The Kingdom of God is made up of those who produce disciples, not simply consumers of the latest products. When knowledge, understanding and wisdom are pursued for their own sake, perhaps our students can become powerful producers instead of consumers.

Gary Thomas, associate professor of art, has been teaching at the university level for ten years, including the past three years at Olivet Nazarene University. He loves teaching AND making art, and is also a writer, sometimes preacher and a wannabe farmer. Gary loves riding his bicycle everywhere he possibly can and is looking forward to spring so he can plant my garden.

Curling: It isn’t only about your hair!

Guest feature by Lisa Drury

I hope many of you were able to watch the always-exciting Winter Olympics held recently in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

My family and I watched the games daily, keeping track of the exhilarating downhill skiing with USA’s Lindsay Vonn, and Julia Mancuso. We never missed a race with the lightening speed and the laid-back demeanor of speed skating superstar, Apolo Anton Ohno. Of course, I cannot go on without a mention of our very own Illinoisans, women’s speed skater, Katherine Reutters of down-state Champaign and men’s figure skater, Evan Lysacek of Naperville. Way to go, Katherine and Evan!! Both of these very talented athletes medaled in their prospective sports and made our country proud! What an accomplishment!

We are a family of winter sports, as my husband plays hockey, a sport he has played for 30+ years. At 47, he comes home moaning and groaning of those sore, achy muscles, mumbling that he may be getting to old for this! My 8-year-old son was bitten by the hockey bug a couple of years ago and is a goalie for a local youth hockey team.

Speed skating is particularly close to my heart, as I speed skated competitively in my younger days.

For several years, beginning early in my teens, I competed in races around in the Midwest region. My coach, a gentleman from Germany, taught me a great deal about the sport. Still vivid in my mind is a bad spill I took in the Mayor Daley Silver Skates Derby in 1976, fracturing my wrist. But, with great determination, suffering through the pain, I caught a glimpse of my ever-so-supportive mother in the crowd shaking her fist at me while yelling at me to get up; with all the energy I could muster, I made it back to my skates and finished in third place.

I hung up my speed skates many years ago and recently took up the game of curling.

You’re probably thinking, “Are you kidding me? Curling?? What is up with that weird game anyway?"

Curling is an ancient sport and remains a big mystery to many people. Let’s talk about some curling basics, and perhaps this will help take the mystery out of the game.

The “stone,” or “rock” as it is commonly referred to, is made of granite, weighing between 38 and 44 pounds, with a handle attached to the top. The handle allows the stone to be gripped and rotated upon release; on properly prepared ice, the stone's path will bend (curl) in the direction the front edge of the stone is turning, especially as the stone slows. The only part of the stone in contact with the ice is the running surface, a narrow, flat, ring on the bottom of the stone. The sides of the stone bulge convex down to the ring, and the inside of the ring is hollowed concave to clear the ice.

The “sheet” (the ice surface) has to be created in specific conditions in order to obtain the correct playing surface. The surface must start off with a level field and then have water droplets sprayed on it so that it creates a “pebbled” surfaced. This surface helps to create the curl (or spin) of the stone after it is released.

A game of curling consists of ten “ends,” which are similar to sets in tennis or innings in baseball. In each end, each team member throws two stones. If there is a tie after the ten ends, game play continues until the tie is broken.

In curling, teams slide the stone over the sheet which has a pattern near the end of it that looks very similar to a target with a bull’s eye. The entire target area is called the “house” with the bull’s eye portion called “the button.” The goal is to place your team’s stones closest to the “button.”

To assist the stone in reaching its mark, teammates sweep the ice with special brooms to guide the stone. The friction from the sweeping creates thin water tracks that the stone can follow.

The game requires a lot of skill, strategy, and finesse. Because of this it is often called “chess on ice.” The “skip” (essentially a team captain) decides where they want each stone to be placed to ensure that their team’s stones end up closest to “the button.” Once they strategize they’ll stand near the target and place the broom at the point of the field that they want the person sliding the stone to aim for.

The slider will begin at the “hack” (a starting block, much like those used in track and field events, located at the back edge of the sheet). The slider will draw the stone back, sometimes lifting the stone off the ice and sometimes not, and they push off from the hack to propel themselves forward with the stone. The slider must release the stone before he or she crosses the first line, known as the “hog line.” The “skip” then directs the other two teammates how to use their brooms to guide the stone. Sweeping allows the stone to travel farther, but not necessarily faster.

As you can tell, there is specialized equipment that is specific to curling. You need a curling stone, brooms and a special kind of shoes. Professionals, or the more serious curler, will wear shoes to allow for sliding, as well as for traction when needed. A “slider” made of Teflon is worn on one foot, while a “gripper” is worn on the other foot for traction. Also available are “step-on” sliders and pull-on grippers that are used by most novice curlers.

Interested in trying it out? It’s certainly a challenging game, and it’s also a great way to make new friends, share some laughs with other novice curlers and — believe it or not — get some great exercise.

If you are local to the Kankakee area, you might be surprised to know that there ARE curling opportunities nearby. Contact Debbie Buchanon at the OAK Sports Arena on River Road, at 815-939-1946 for further information. Spring League will soon get underway and Fall leagues and a Learn to Curl Program is also available. Curling equipment is available for FREE at the OAK Sports Arena, if you’d like to try it out!

Lisa Drury is the assistant to Dr. Sue Rattin, director of assessment & learning support services. She has been curling for two years and is a former competitive speed skater. Lisa and husband, Jeff, live in Bourbonnais with their two children, ages 10 and 8, while Lisa’s oldest son is a junior at Florida State University majoring in sports management.

Guest Feature: “Giving up” or GAINING at Lent?

By Johnathon Eltrevoog


“What are you giving up for Lent?”

Most people that I know will answer that question this way:

“Nothing. I’m not Catholic.”

Now I don’t necessarily believe that a Christian person must give up something for Lent or anything like that, but that answer seems to indicate that there is some lack of understanding of what Lent is all about.

It is not simply a meaningless ritual (well, maybe it is for some), but the intention is:

• Coming to the end of yourself
• Opening ourselves to the world God longs to bring into being
• Starting a new beginning with God
• Planting God’s compassion deep within us
• Challenging our assumptions, anger, and prejudices

I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t really just sound like just a “Catholic” thing to me.

I decided to do something special for Lent this year. I’ll be following the Lenten Experience Calendar.

Don’t worry; it’s not some quasi-spiritual/neo-Pentecostal thing It’s just a bunch of things to do in your regular day-to-day life in order to experience the Lord for yourself in your daily actions over the 40-day Lenten season.

Interestingly, the only one I balked at was day #1: Ash Wednesday. It reads, “Have an ash cross put on your forehead.”

Okay. That’s where I said: “Uh…but I’m not Catholic.” And…I think the writer of that calendar (who isn’t Catholic either) would say, “Uh…so?”

Don’t worry, the rest of the 40 days is filled up with cool stuff like:

• Don’t text today—just call
• Fast from coffee, soda, or alcohol
• Buy someone’s coffee or lunch anonymously

So, if you saw me on last Wednesday, you probably saw ashes on my forehead.

Check that calendar out for Lent (It’s not too late!) and see what you think!

This article was originally posted on Johnathon’s personal blog, and is re-posted with his permission.

Johnathon Eltrevoog is a 2005 graduate of Olivet and one of the members of Shine.FM’s Rise and Shine Morning Show. He has worked at Olivet Nazarene University’s 89.7 Shine.FM since 2002 and also serves as the station’s program director. Shine.FM broadcasts throughout the South Chicagoland/Northwest Indiana area, and online. Johnathon has been married to Natalie since 2004.


You can connect with Johnathon on Twitter and Facebook.

Guest feature: Letting go of balloons

By Casey Manes

Maybe it was reaching my 30th birthday, or maybe it has been becoming a parent for the first time, but either way, I have become aware of becoming old.

It’s not just about finding a second gray hair or finding myself saying mom-ish, old lady things like: my back hurts from sleeping on a new bed or feeling carsick after looking at a map for two seconds. It is more like I am turning old at heart by becoming way too much of a rule follower.

You know the ones: following rules with a legalistic bent, forgetting to laugh, fixating on how people perceive you or how to look or please certain people.

So I am on a quest to unlearn some rules in order to make sure I am becoming truly, entirely, messily, wonderfully the person God intended, while staying young at heart.

Anne Lamott, a writer I revere, said, “The real issue is how do we gently stop being who we aren’t? How do we relieve ourselves of the false fronts of people-pleasing and affectation, the obsessive need for power and security, the backpack of old pain and rules?”

Here’s how I stop being what I am not: failure, admitting my fears, silence, dancing, listening to loud music, lots of Jane Austen, heartbreak, hours of reading, laughing hysterically, being a bit dorky, loss, risk, staring off into space and out windows, and long, deep talks with old, trusted women friends.

When I was a kid, I loved playing dress up. Sometimes, so much that I would convince my mom to let me stay in costume for outings to public places. So I would traipse along in a dress that had me resembling Laura Ingalls from Little House on the Prairie, with 10 crooked barrettes askew all over my hair, complete with tennis shoes and loose laces slapping loudly as I walked.

In those moments, I wasn’t trying to become someone I wasn’t; I believed I was donning an outfit that made me more of who I already was. Which, at the time, was apparently a souped-up version of a pioneer girl. But you get the point. I wasn’t afraid of what others thought, I felt good as myself.

For me, returning to this sort of innocent, fierce desire to stop being who I think others want me to be and to embrace my authenticity takes a full, dead stop. To do this, I began to consciously break the rules I began learning through growing up.

Here is what I am not doing.

I am not trying to achieve more, faster, harder. I am not trying to grasp and hold more. I am not looking at what anyone else is doing and trying to emanate them. These are formulas I have followed for way too long. I am not reading any books on how do more, better.

Here is what I am doing.

I am daydreaming more, moving slowly, wasting time, and eating more chocolate. I am saying “no,” and I am making things with my own two hands and getting lost in the project. I am removing my watch and letting go of the things I hold onto too tightly sometimes. Oh, and when I am in the midst of being with someone, I am trying to actually listen, instead of thinking of what I want to say next.

Lamott also said, “The only problem is that there is also so much other stuff, typically fixations with how people perceive us, and how to get more of the things that we think will make us happy. You have to make mistakes to find out who you aren't. You take the action, and the insight follows: You don't think your way into becoming yourself. Obviously, it is in many people's best interest for you not to find yourself, but it is better for you, for the whole world, to proceed.”

Recently, while at the grocery store with my one-year-old, an employee was handing out free balloons. Glossy, pink, blue and green balloons bobbed from shiny ribbon, just begging someone to give that helium a chance to fly. My daughter had never held her own balloon before, and her eyes grew wide with excitement as I tied the ribbon to her wrist. With several kids dotting the store that packed afternoon, inevitably, several balloons were already stuck to the ceiling.

Honestly though?

All I wanted to do was let that balloon fly high, too. Only kids-who-don’t-know-any-better do that, right? But I get it. It’s a feeling of carefree fun letting it go and watching it dance into the heights of the sky, or, um, in this case, grocery store ceiling.

I resisted that day, for my daughter’s sake, but it’s a lesson I’m taking with me on this thirty-something quest to keep my heart malleable and open, not tired and dried up. Maybe being thirty and being a mom don’t have to make me feel old, after all.

I plan on being a letter-goer of balloons, so to speak, while trusting God with the journey back to the person He made me to be.

Casey Manes is a writer in Olivet’s Office of Marketing Communications.

Guest Feature: iPad ... iCarumba!!

By Jeff Rice

iLife, iWork, iTubes, iPod, iPhone, iBooks, … iCarumba!

Regardless of your fascination or your distain for Apple products, there can be no argument that Apple has brought forth fantastic devices, whose hallowed existence was once reserved for the paradisiacal pages of science fiction and the humble halls of geekdom. They have, in fact, brought them into fashionable society.

Phenomenal, revolutionary, incredible, wonderful, awesome, and magical; these are not just the words that describe my wife, but is the language that Steve Jobs and the Apple marketing mechanism use to describe their newest product: the iPad. Combining the features of an iPod Touch, a netbook, and a tablet PC with Apple's signature style and sleek user interface, Apple proudly announced their newest "i" product this past January.

Reminiscent of devices seen only on Star Trek, the iPad is a small, lightweight portable computer that more resembles a clipboard than a laptop. Weighing about a pound-and-a-half and measuring at a fraction of an inch thick, the iPad is sure to attract both the pocket-protected techies and the fashionably elite. But, let's talk turkey.

WARNING: Geek Speak Alert!!!

This section is for we, technological enthusiasts, who have surpassed the common nerd, who live in the glorious land of the geek and who speak its native tongue. A translation will be provided in the following section.

The iPad has screen real-estate to boast. It sports a 9.7 inch IPS, full capacitive multi-touch display with a max resolution of 1064x768. While it has a built in sensor for ambient light, its accelerometer sensor is most impressive. It allows the content of the screen to be viewed no matter how it is rotated or flipped.

The silicon is a custom job by Apple, designated the A4. This single chip, which Apple touts as the "most advanced chip we've ever done" also contains the GMCH (graphics memory controller hub), I/O controller and a 1GHz processor. Unfortunately, it’s rumored lack of multitasking support seems poorly thought-out.

Most impressive (although Dell has a netbook with it already) is the solid state drive (SSD). No moving parts in this baby. You'll have the options of 16, 32, or 64GB, which will be enough for your music and maybe a few ISOs. Inherent with SSD technology is the battery life. According to the specs (although no indication of load is given) the iPad will run up to 10 hours, which will be long enough for a few movies. Your movies, however, will have to be in MP4 or MOV files as there is no support for flash.

The lack support is evident in Steve Jobs' keynote introduction of the iPad. While showing the New York Times on the iPad the symbolic "no flash installed" lego icon is clearly visible where a flash video should have been.

The iPad will have Wi-Fi natively and upgrade options for 3G are available, and yes, to most of our consternation, it will first be released on AT&T. If however, you are a proponent of AT&T, you will be eager to learn that Apple has negotiated a delightful deal with them to provide subscribers with a 250MB/month data plan for $14.99 and an unlimited data plan at $29.99. There are no contracts to sign with either option! However with the immanent end of the AT&T/iPhone contract in a few months, there may yet be hope it could be offered on other networks.

In addition to the lack of flash and multitasking, there is no on-board camera. It had been rumored that the iPad would make video calling commonplace. The lack of a camera spells the end to that myth, and I believe, is a major mistake. Also, be cautious that the operating system is not OSX.

The Non-Geek Translation

The iPhone changed the way phones were made and change the way people used them. While, no argument that the iPhone was a technological wonder, it's small screen size hampered its usability. Not so with the iPad. Apple has made it with an extraordinary large screen that can be seen clearly from multiple angles. It also supports a multi-touch technology, where users can interact on the screen using more the one finger simultaneously.

In addition the screen will detect how you're holding it and automatically adjust to your best viewing angle. You can and turn it left, right, all around, or even upside down. This makes it perfect for watching movies, playing games, or using it as an e-book reader.

To accomplish this technological marvel, Apple had to develop its own processor, known as the A4. The iPad also uses a technology called solid state drives. A normal computer uses a mechanical drive. The motor in these drives consume a significant amount of power. Solid state drives have no motor and thus use less energy. This, in turn, increases battery, which on the iPad will last up to 10 hours.

The iPad will work on standard wireless and only on AT&T's network. Apple has negotiated a great deal for its users. For a meek $14.99 every month, you can download up to 250MB of data, which should be enough for a majority of the owners. If you are a heavy user, you can purchase an unlimited data plan for $29.99 a month.

While iPad definitely has the "cool factor," its internal components may have more to be desired. It has no support for flash, a video component used on hundreds of thousands of Web sites. It also has no ability to run more than one program at a time. Furthermore, it lacks a built-in camera.

Denouement

The iPad is a fantastic device. It has the potential to change the way people use mobile computers. Apple has intentionally confronted the netbook and e-reader market with an easy-to-use and stylish device, though competition is quick upon their heels. HP recently announced the Slate, its riposte to Apple.

Will the iPad's fashion factor seal it success? Undoubtedly style will play an ample role. However I think the iPad will leave its owners asking, "Where's the beef?"

Jeffrey Rice was born at a very young age. Shortly afterwards, he graduated from Olivet with a BA in Biology and later with a Masters in Business Administration. Jeff's mirthful constitution is enduringly tolerated by his beautiful wife Sheila and their peppy pup, Lady. Jeff currently serves as a Network and Telecommunications Analyst for the University.

Super Feasts: Making healthy choices during the big game

Guest feature by Heather Gibbs

It’s Super Bowl time again, which means whether interested in professional football or not, many people will be getting together with friends to watch the game (and commercials!) and chat. As in many social gatherings of American culture, food will play a major role.

In walks me, your friendly, registered dietitian.

Only, contrary to what you might think, I’m not really one to give a list of “eat this” and “don’t eat this.” In fact, when I teach nutrition to college students, I begin with the basic principles of balance and moderation, supporting the idea that all foods can fit into a healthy diet and lifestyle. In other words, balance your intake of all nutrients, and don’t eat an excessive amount of anything.

I should point out, however, that distracted eating is associated with overweight and obesity, and television seems to be a major distracter. Ouch! It appears we struggle to pay attention to internal body hunger and fullness cues when we are watching television, so we often end up overeating.

The logical answer here is either : 1) don’t watch TV when you are eating; or 2) place a small portion of food onto your plate or bowl to limit the amount you consume in a setting.

And don’t just sit there, move!! Before the game! During half-time! Whenever!

The NFL, in partnership with a number of organizations has launched a campaign, “Fuel Up to Play 60,” to target childhood obesity. The goal of this campaign is to “improve nutrient-rich food choices and achieve 60 minutes of physical activity each day among children.” It will take collective efforts, such as this one, to develop in our children healthy habits to achieve healthy lifestyles.

Of course, your habits (if you’re a parent, caregiver, teacher, coach, etc.) speak volumes to children, and physical activity is naturally fun to a child. Why not make physical activity a part of our social gatherings as well?

So, enjoy the game, and make healthy choices as you do!

Heather Gibbs is an assistant professor in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, where she primarily teaches nutrition. She is a registered and licensed dietitian, and received her B.S. from ONU, M.S. from the University of Kansas, and is a PhD Candidate at the University of Illinois. She and her husband, Andy, reside with their two girls in Kankakee, Ill.

Guest feature: Facilitating faithful fatherhood

By Bethany Mills, Psy.D

In our current culture, dads are getting short-changed.

Most of the fathers in sitcoms are portrayed as self-absorbed, lacking common sense and the most basic of parenting skills.

Fortunately a large body of evidence supports the role of fathers and the masculinity implied therein needed for the healthy psychosocial development of children.

So how do we empower and equip fathers for their God-given roles?

There are seven important areas important to a child's development: child’s characteristics and development, father’s personality & developmental history, father’s work, marital relationship, and social network.

I feel the religious/spiritual perspective needs to be the foundation of a model of the determinants of parenting.

By adding this component, this model, when tailored specifically for fathers, may encompass a comprehensive approach to facilitating faith-filled fatherhood.

Child’s Characteristics & Developmental History

A child’s temperament and the parent’s response style play roles in the development of interactions between parents and children.

A child with a difficult temperament may be less predictable or more difficult to soothe, thus affecting the way a parent responds.

A child with this temperament paired with a depressed father will likely have more negative interactions than a child with an easy temperament and a father who does not struggle with depression.

While a difficult child temperament and paternal depression are not insurmountable, we must teach our fathers about these potential pitfalls to equip them for more informed, understanding parenting.

Father’s Personality & Developmental History

Much of the research regarding fathers and personality examine whether the father’s parenting skills affect the child’s personality.

There does not appear to be much research on personality styles or healthy personality traits of the parent as a determinant of parenting.

However, the research does highlight the negative effects of a parent’s mental illness on parenting.

There are scores of studies examining how a parent responds to a child when the parent is depressed or manic.

The example of the depressed father used earlier can also be used to explain this phenomenon to our clients.

If fathers are struggling with mental illness, optimal parenting may be sacrificed to simply get through the day.

When taking into account a father’s developmental history, how many times have we heard, “My father raised me this way and it didn’t kill me and I turned out okay?”

Research demonstrates that parents often use the same type of parenting approach as that with which they were raised.

For example, if a parent used harsh discipline with a child, that child often believed that sort of discipline was the norm and was more accepting of using that same discipline with his children5&6.

Today, we know so much more about the optimal environment for child development (two-parent homes, involved fathers and mothers, new discipline techniques, etc;) that to encourage parents to solely use their parents’ framework may be setting them up for a rough road.

We need to encourage better parenting than we received.

Marriage of Parents

It’s no surprise to Christians in this field that issues in the parent’s marriage bleed over into the relationships with the kids.

We’ve seen spouses disrespecting one another in front of the children and then turn to us for help when the children are disrespectful.

We need to let fathers know that the marital relationship, whether the father is married, separated, or divorced, sets the foundation for all other familial relationships.

Fathers looking to strengthen their relationships with their children need to be prepared to also do some work on their marriages.

Parents and therapists alike tell adolescents that who they hang around with will rub off on them.

If it’s true for adolescents, isn’t it also true for adults?

While adults have more life experience and better judgment, often when in the middle of situations and events, our vision is clouded.

Scripture tells us to surround ourselves with people that will encourage and sustain us, those who will be a support and positive influence.

Fathers need to examine their friendships and relationships and determine which ones help them become better parents and people.

Fathers can also be so involved in their social networks that there is little time to spend with their children.

Not long ago I heard the overused phrase, “I may not give my child quantity time, but what time I do spend with them is quality time.”

Children need both.

Dr. Bethany Mills is a licensed clinical psychologist and director of Counseling Services at Olivet Nazarene University.

Guest Feature: Tragedy and geology in the recent Haiti earthquake

By Charles Carrigan

By now we've all seen the news: last Tuesday, January 12, at 4:53:10 p.m. local Haiti time, a massive earthquake of magnitude 7.0 devastated thousands in Haiti.

Just 7.5 minutes later, the first aftershock struck, itself a sizeable earthquake with a magnitude of 5.9.

As of Sunday, January 17, 49 aftershocks greater than magnitude 4.0 have occurred, two-thirds of which occurred in the first 10 hours following the initial earthquake.

It is a distressing tragedy as we witness the intolerable suffering that was caused by the event. Unfortunately, it is an event the world has seen before, and one the world will likely see again at some time in the future.

Some may remember similar events in recent years, such the magnitude 7.9 magnitude earthquake that struck Eastern Sichuan, China, on May 12, 2008, and left over 87,000 people dead. Or the 7.6 magnitude earthquake in Pakistan on October 8, 2005, which killed over 80,000. The list goes on: 31,000 killed in a 6.6 magnitude earthquake in southeastern Iran in 2003; 20,000 killed in India by a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in 2001; and over 17,000 killed in Turkey by a 7.6 magnitude earthquake in 1999. And I don't mean to minimize the suffering of these just listed, but the number of deaths in each of those pale in comparison to the more than 227,000 lives lost in Indonesia the day after Christmas 2004 in a whopping 9.1 magnitude earthquake.

The earthquake that struck Haiti just a few days ago occurred on a strike-slip fault, the kind of fault where the two blocks of crust slide side-by-side. The San Andreas Fault of California is a similar kind of fault, as is the Anatolia Fault in Turkey that was associated with the 1999 earthquake there. Given the number of active faults in the Caribbean, the earthquake in Haiti was not terribly surprising to geologists. It occurred in an active tectonic area, like the vast majority of earthquakes, especially very large ones, do. This area, in fact, was predicted by seismologists to be one where a large earthquake was likely to happen. Unfortunately, simply knowing which areas are at increased risk of large earthquakes is not sufficient to spare thousands from the devastation they can cause.

Since the late 1960s, geologists have recognized that the Earth's surface is broken up into tectonic plates, rigid blocks of crust and underlying mantle separated by faults and moving laterally across the Earth's surface. There are seven major plates, such as the North and South American plates, and eight minor ones. Haiti lies on the northern edge of the Caribbean Plate, one of Earth's minor tectonic plates (Fig. 1, below). Roughly rectangular in shape, it sits sandwiched between the North and South American plates. The Caribbean Plate includes most of the nations of Central America (e.g., Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, etc.) as well as the islands of Jamaica, Hispaniola (shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic), Puerto Rico, and the many smaller islands of the Lesser Antilles (e.g., the Virgin Islands, Antigua, Guadeloupe, Martinique, St. Vincent, Grenada, etc.).

The North and South American plates are moving to the west relative to the Caribbean plate, meaning that the northern and southern plate boundaries of the Caribbean plate are strike-slip faults. The northern boundary runs to the north of Hispaniola and continues west to the south of Cuba. On the eastern side of the plate, the ocean crust in the Atlantic (part of the North American plate) is subducting underneath the Caribbean plate, a process that has produced the volcanic islands of the Lesser Antilles. On the western side of the Caribbean plate lies another subduction zone, where the Cocos plate in the Pacific Ocean is moving to the east and diving back into the mantle under the Caribbean plate. As such, the Caribbean Plate does not include a mid-ocean ridge spreading center, nor is any part of the Caribbean Plate subducting back into the mantle under another plate. This set of conditions makes the Caribbean plate a unique plate on Earth's surface, in that it is neither growing nor shrinking in size.

The main boundary fault on the northern side of the Caribbean Plate is about one hundred miles to the north of Port Au Prince, but a second fault of similar nature passes along the southern border of Haiti, going right past the capital city. This fault extends east into the Dominican Republic and also west to Kingston, Jamaica. The epicenter for the recent earth quake was along this second, more southerly fault, only about 12 miles from Port Au Prince and at a relatively shallow depth of about 8 miles (Fig. 2, below). The large size of the earthquake, its shallow depth, and close proximity to a large population center are all reasons that it caused so much destruction.

Large magnitude earthquakes like this one have also occurred in the U.S. In the last decade, 63 earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 or higher have occurred in the U.S., six of which were above magnitude 7.0. These powerful events, however, have not resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands, or even thousands. Some of them did not occur near large population centers, but nonetheless only two deaths in central California in 2003 were attributed to earthquakes in the U.S. over the past 10 years.

The key difference is building codes; buildings in the U.S. and other more developed nations are built to withstand earthquakes, and in many poorer countries of the world, they are not. It is by and large not the earthquake itself that kills people, but rather the falling buildings, built in ways that were not capable of handling the intense shaking. Although these earthquakes are unpredictable, they are not unforeseen; large earthquakes like this one will eventually occur near cities such as Los Angeles or San Francisco, but the damage is not expected to be at the scale seen in Haiti primarily due to building codes.

There are some things about the Earth that we cannot change. There will always be earthquakes in seismically active zones, and some of them will be very large. Geology can tell us where they are likely to occur, but of course cannot predict them perfectly. We can only make ourselves aware of the risks that nature at times presents to us, and work to protect ourselves and our neighbors accordingly.

Unfortunately, many of our neighbors in lesser developed nations do not have this information, and may not have the means to do what is necessary to protect themselves even if they did. Beyond earthquakes, many other natural disasters represent risk to ever-increasing human populations, and many also lack access to basic necessities such as clean water and other natural resources. There remains incredible opportunity for professionals in geology and related scientific fields to use their skills to impact the world for the betterment of all people.

Fig. 1

Fig. 1: Tectonics of the Caribbean Region. Arrows indicate directions of plate motions.

Fig. 2

Fig. 2: Location of the main Earthquake (white target symbol) and aftershocks (orange symbols) in Haiti.

Dr. Charles Carrigan is an Associate Professor of Geology at ONU. He received his B.S. from ONU in 1996, his M.S. from Vanderbilt in 2000, and his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 2005. He and his wife Dana and their two girls reside in Bourbonnais, Ill.

All earthquake data from USGS Web site

Earthquake image from The Church of the Nazarene

Figure images from Google Earth.

BILLIONS & BILLIONS: Some People would say that is real money!!

Guest Feature by Don Daake and Edward Piatt

Question: A million dollars at one time was a lot of money for a government to spend, and then it became billions and now trillions. It is just hard to understand the scope of these numbers. Do they really make any difference to me, my family and my business?

Anyone over thirty years of age will remember astronomer Carl Sagan’s famous line “billions and billions,” that only his deep baritone voice could project so effectively. Even if you did not really know what a billion galaxies were, he convinced you it was something really big.

For those a little older, you’ll remember Illinois Senator Everett Dirksen’s stunning line “A billion here and a billion there and pretty soon you are talking about real money!” While it was attributed to him, no one seems to be able to track down an exact reference. Nevertheless the point is so appropriate today.

The astounding numbers we hear out of Washington and Springfield represent exponential spending growth. Whether you support big or small government, almost everyone agrees that things have gotten out of control. It has gone way beyond partisan politics!

That being said, we have been hearing for years that if large deficit spending continues, our financial house will come crashing down. We have billions of dollars of trade deficits, budget deficits, and a growing federal debt now approaching $12.1 trillion. Yet somehow we seem to be able fend off the Chicken Littles of the world. Sure we have had our ups and downs, but everything has ultimately turned out okay in the past.

It will be okay because it always has been, right? Maybe not this time. Most serious economists and policy makers that we know of are really concerned.

Here-in lies a fundamental problem. Like the boy who cried wolf too many times, we have been desensitized. Desensitization is an important psychological principle that is used to help people overcome fears about flying, bugs, public speaking and even meeting new people. By gradually exposing people to what they fear, eventually they lose that fear.

Desensitization of the wrong type can also happen to us by being exposed to a message over and over again. We have heard about the evils of multi-billion dollar deficits so often it doesn’t sink in anymore. If we are ever going to take serious the massive spending problems we need to re-sensitize ourselves to the sheer size and scope of these large numbers.

Putting these large numbers into the proper context can start us towards economic rehabilitation.

How it stacks up.

A million dollars of $100 bills stacked in a pile would be about 45-50 inches tall. Only 50 inches you might ask? Well those 50 inches could buy a lot of cheeseburgers or 15-20 nicely equipped Cadillacs.

What about a billion dollars of $100 bills stacked up? The pile would be about 358 feet tall, equivalent to a 35 story building-or approximately five times higher than the Executive Center in downtown Kankakee.

While that might be interesting trivia, let’s put this in a more real world context for us. Consider the following three examples that will drive home just how much money is being spent by our federal government each year.

Building Sears Tower over and over and over again.

Even though Sears Tower is now known as Willis Tower, to most of us it will always be known as Sears Tower. If we were to ask you how many days of federal spending it would take to build a complete Sears Towers, we suspect most of you might guess 20-30 days.

With federal spending this year of $3.61 trillion, we are actually spending of $9.8 billion per DAY. The Sears (Willis) Tower today is valued at approximately $840 million. We are not talking 20-30 days of spending to build a new Tower. More than eleven Sears Towers could be built per DAY, 365 days a year or one about every two hours.

Walmart’s profits.

Chances are you have heard of little Arkansas chain store started by a fellow named Walton. Modest at first, it has become the largest retailer in the world and the largest private employer in the United Sates. Walmart is often held out as either the savior or villain of corporate America. Like many large businesses, they have their pros and cons. But detractors will bash them for their large and excessive profits. True they are the “800 Pound Gorilla” in the retail world with 2008 sales of about $379 billion dollars.

What shocks most people, though, is their profit margin on sales in a little less than 3.4 percent, not 30 to 40 or even 50 percent that many people imagine. Of even greater surprise, though, is the fact that every cent of their profits for an entire year would be consumed in less than 31 hours of federal spending!

So when you hear politicians of either party rail against excessive profits of corporate America, perhaps you ought to ask if they have ever had a course in Economics 001 — remedial economics. Our point here is not a defense of Walmart or politician bashing per se, but rather to get all of us to understand these massive numbers.

You’re in Debt! You’re in really deep.

Congress is seeking authority to raise the national debt ceiling to 12.1 trillion. If you want to see the debt growth in real time right in front of your eyes try this Web site. Really appalling!

Even if we never pay off the debt (which we won’t unless the Chinese and others say “PAY UP”), interest payments MUST always be made. Here’s the bottom-line: each of us 308 million Americans owe $39,300. If you have a family of four, you owe a cool $157,200.

For many people that is as much as their house is worth. Since the median income in Illinois for a family of four is about $81,000 you’d have to work almost a full two years to pay your family’s share. But it is really is worse than that, since your take home pay might be only 75 to 80 percent of your gross income. You’d have to work full-time for two-and-a-half years to pay your share. No food, no housing, no movies, no nothing — just working for the man, Uncle Sam.

So what’s the point of all of this? It is not to depress us, but rather to motivate us. We want to re-sensitize you!

Just like your family has to analyze its earning and spending realities, we must demand the same of our government at all levels. Remember when it’s FREE or someone else is paying (the government), it is really expensive. We must be involved in returning financial common sense to our government at all levels.

A trillion here and a trillion there — and we talking about real money!

Don Daake is a professor of business for Olivet Nazarene University. He holds a B.S. from Kansas State University, an MBA from the University of Iowa and Ph.D. from the Florida State University in Strategic Management.

Edward Piatt is a manager with over 25 years experience and is among the first students in Olivet’s first-ever doctoral program, the Doctorate of Education in ethical leadership. He holds a B.S. from Purdue University and an MBA from Governor’s State University.

This article originally appeared in The Daily Journal, Kankakee, Ill.