Rick Nier...Woo!

I have a fool proof system which tells me when I am being annoying. It’s my teenage daughter. Level one annoyances might merit a smirk from her. Level two gets the eye roll. But when I am full on annoying I get the eye roll plus a loud “Oh my goo-ood-ness." The goodness is exaggerated and elongated to include more syllables than the word actually contains, so there is no confusion on my part.  As her dad, I understand there is a balance of being a parent that cares what she thinks and being a parent that knows she'l thank me later. But there is also another continuum, where as an inquisitive mind, I stir the pot and see how much I can push her before I start to get eye rolls from her mom. I've had plenty of time to learn the non-verbal communication system from the wife. "Oh my goodness" doesn’t just come out when I’m an annoyance. It comes out whenever the teenage daughter is annoyed by anything, which could be dumb drivers who chose to leave their house 5 mi...

Oftentimes it’s the right thing at the right moment that sets us forward on the right path. I’ve detailed for you the many emotions, struggles, and answered prayers as my wife and I stepped out in faith this past year. I have watched God work in personal ways that defy logic, leaving me sharing stories that, admittedly, sound ridiculous . When I ask God, on those long days, how I have come to find myself substitute teaching, it doesn’t take long to recall the moments where I have definitively seen God directing our footsteps. Sometimes the right thing is a right book. Recently I read Whisper: How to Hear the Voice of God , by Mark Batterson. When I read books, I mark up the pages with quotes I want to be able to find again. Then I turn the corner of the page for easy access. I have turned the corner of so many pages in Whisper that I probably should have stopped. Batterson gives us 7 love languages that God uses to speak to us; God's Word, Desires, Doors, Dreams, ...

I've been substitute teaching for a few weeks. I have made myself available to sub for all ages, K-12. Here a few things I've learned; Velcro should be mandatory for first graders. Middle schoolers will change their perspective when you tell them gym is better than math. Good point, teacher! High schoolers want a sub that is chill. I believe the working definition of chill is, someone who will let me text my friends instead of working on the assignment left by the teacher. Seriously, Velcro. Younger kids are ready to run, even before they know the rules. 4th graders can't seem to have enough detail, no matter how simple the game.  Me: Let's play tag. Them: What if an alien comes down while I am tagging a person, and the alien abducts that person, are they still it? A raised hand, in elementary school, doesn't mean they have a question. It probably means they want to answer the next question. Or it means they want to inform me how their regula...

Listen, there's no getting around this. There's no hoping this is just a phase. There's no going back. This is the new normal. Teens are being raised in a technologically advanced world, one where we may one day be subservient to the machines we are creating. But, forgetting the scary dystopian future you may be imagining, the reality is that all of us are a part of a mobile world. One which loves their social media. The statistics tell us we are using our mobile devices a crazy 9 hours every single day. Every. Single. Day. This is where Jonathan McKee comes in. Here is a man who spends his time doing the research, shining a light on the realities that are present for parents raising teenagers. Oh, but he does waaay more than that. He breaks down the numbers and gives us hope that not all is lost. Because it isn't. Jonathan continues to provide resources which help us to pause, take a deep breath, and figure out how we want to utilize this technology in our ow...

These days I am a substitute teacher. Given that I am wanting to work as much as possible I have made myself available for every elementary, middle and high school in our area. Some people, forgetting that I have loved being a youth pastor for half my life, cringe at the idea of subbing for middle and high school.  But I know teens to be awesome people. I digress. Let me tell you what I enjoy about being a substitute teacher. Variety. In one week I taught middle school p.e., a first grade class and a fourth grade class. If a sub doesn’t like first graders, just hold on for a day. It’ll change tomorrow. Variety means meeting lots of people and getting to touch the lives of many children. Maybe they struggle with their regular teacher and you can be a breath of grace filled air. On the other hand, I have no idea what to expect each day as I get up. Will the class be full of basically good kids or a room filled with untamed mutants? Will I find myself dealing with little child...