Hey Everyone, just thought I would drop a few beats today and wish everyone a Merry Christmas. I just finished opening presents at my house and I got some money and a the new Supertones CD. Well, that's it for today. Talk to you all later.
Merry Christmas

Hey, this is a sleepover! Not a play loud music all night over.
Hey Guys, how's it hanging? Everything is going pretty good here. Started my job last friday. It has been sort of boring because I am just getting to know and learn stuff by being told, and not much hands on experience. But today I got some more hands on experience. Hopefully next week, I will have my own drawer doing most everything by myself.

And now for our top story, The World in Crisis. But, first let's check on sports.

In Sports, Jason White deservably won the 69th Heisman Trophy. Hopefully, all the awards the OU players won, the loss against Kansas St., and a chance to win a National Championship will pump up the players in practice to play hard and with heart. They know they can play with anyone and win. I think LSU better look out, because the Sooners are pissed and they are coming after you.

In other news, Saddam Hussein was captured over the weekend.

Well, nothing much happening other than what I posted. Talk to you all later.

Stay tuned in the future posts for our top story; The World in Crisis
Zach's Top Ten Favorite Movies
Zach's Top Ten Suckiest, I wasted my time on this, Those are 2 hours I'll never get back Movies

Only You can make every new day seem so new.

God is awesome. As most of you know I have been without a job for the past month and a half. But the same day as my last post, one of my friends brother (who works at a bank) asked me if I needed a job, that his bank was needing someone really quick because they are short-handed. I went to the bank yesterday and got the job. God never ceases to amaze me. It has been a struggle to live off maybe $150 during that period with no income. But God showed me that I have been relying too much on money and I gave it too much value. Whether I spent it or not, I had some money in my wallet to make me feel secure so if some emergency came up, it could be taken care of. But, if I would have replaced money with God it sounds much better. "If I relied on God when an emergency came up in my life, it would be taken care of." Trust me, it has been a hard lesson to learn and I will still be learning to do this when I start my job tomorrow morning. The past month and a half have been a preperation time to show me I need to save money, spend wisely, and pay off my debts and realization time so that I will always lean upon God and nothing else or I will fall (Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. - Proverbs 3:5&6).

We turn to God for help when our foundations are shaking only to learn that it is God who is shaking them. - Charles West

Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, The Right Stuff

Well, I am going to give a small update (and when I say small update, I mean longer than Scott's last 4 blogs put together, 2945 words for me, 2495 for Scott) right now and will expand hopefully later tonight. I am trying to put a blogskin on my blog and it isn't working right now. My friend has a cable modem, so maybe I can fix my blog there. But for now, I have to go with a pre-made template.

On to the blogging. I had a great day of classes today. I slept in for my 8 am class, but made it to the next class. (Originally we were going to move our final to this thursday and not mess with it during finals week) Our prof came to class and said he had good news and bad news. We took the bad news first which was that he couldn't move the test becuase of school jargon. The good news was that we don't have to take the final if we don't want to. We could just keep the grade we have, but if we were borderline we could take the final. I had a 76 and I couldn't make a B, so I decided not to take it. The prof called me and left a message on my answering machine saying he needed to talk to me about my grade. Turns out that I had perfect attendance (we get 3 free misses) so with the bonus points it raised my average to a B. Man, was I glad to hear that. Now my other class is a whole different story that I will choose to stay away from right now.

OU is off to the Sugar Bowl to play LSU in their backyard. Yes, OU is 3rd in both human polls, but is #1 in the BCS Standings. All three teams (LSU, OU, and USC) have one loss and the reason OU is #1 in the BCS (the computers actually did something correct) is because the computers down figure in when a team loses, just the loss itself. I admit, OU got their butts kicked (you won't hear me saying that often, so take a picture) in the Big 12 Championship game because they played an uncharacteristic game, but OU's opponent was a tougher team (as opposed to LSU who lost to a 8-4 Florida team at home and a 7-6 California team who beat USC), OU and LSU play in a tougher conference (Big 12 and SEC), and the fact that they did play in a Conference Championship game. Therefore, you play in a sucky conference with no Conf. Championship, you won't be rewarded. I think it is funny that USC didn't get into the Sugar Bowl, and that none of the OU coaches are going to apologize for it. OU has played within the system all year long holding on to the #1 spot all season long. If OU had USC's schedule, they would be sitting pretty at the #1 spot undefeated and without playing a Conf. Championship. All conferences should play a Conf. Championship game, not just two because everyone else is sitting at home resting up while the Big 12 and the SEC are playing, and I think it is justice that a team from the Big 12 (OU) and the SEC (LSU) are in the National Championship Game. This is just my opinion, but I personally think (right now, there is still a month to go so I may change my mind) that OU will kill LSU in the Nat'l Champ. game, becuase they are upset from losing and OU will come back stronger than ever making a statement that they deserved to be in the Sugar Bowl (Now, don't go and "pull out your mat" and jump to conclusions because this is just a quick judgement. My mind may change as the next 3 weeks passes). But for now, Go Sooners and Wolverines!!!!

Everybody to the Limit
The future of blogging is here. I finally figured out how to put a blogskin on my blog, but I got it. In the changing skins of blogs lately, I thought I would follow the trend. Hopefully it looks like it is supposed to. It took me a while to fix it.

Oh crap, how do I move the blog down away from the advertisement. Oh great.

Ahhhhhhh, screw it. I give up, for now. I like the blogskin, but it may not work out. Let me know if you can help.
Go Sooners.

He's done R-U-N O-F-T

Just a quick update to let you know that my sister has finally updated her blog. Go check it out.

Also don't forget to watch College Gameday this Saturday from 9:30-11:00am. They will be announcing the first "College Gameday Awards" and OU's fans at the Bedlam game on Nov. 1 are among three finalists for "Crowd of the Year."
Peace Out.

Seriously!
Hello, welcome to my boring life. It has been a week since I have updated my blog, but wait no longer. Today is the day.

SPORTS
I will start off with College Basketball for a change, now that the season has begun. OU way-layed Arkansas Pine-Bluff last night 94-24. It was 48-9 at halftime and Sampson cleared the bench half way through the first half. Interviewers asked him about the score and here's what he had to say, "I just hope Mike Lupica doesn't see the score." (Let's hope not either. Though his Notre Dame Fighting Irish was leading by 30 points on Saturday and did a fake punt with 4 minutes in the game. Sounds like someone is biassed).
On to football news, the Associated Press named 11 OU players to the All-Big 12 Team. OU's coach, Bob Stoops, was named Big 12 Coach of the Year too. He received 17 of the 19 votes.
OU will wear their "white" away jerseys in the Big 12 Championship. They will be playing Kansas State in Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. Kickoff is set for 7pm.
Sadly, Mike Stoops has decided to take the head coaches job at the University of Arizona. We will miss him so and wish he would stay for the National Championship game, but he deserves a chance to be a head coach.

Well, in other news in my boring life (which is not much), I am really enjoying my new church. It is a blessing to make new friends and to see God moving in many areas of the church. The activity of the church is amazing. Everyone helps wherever they can on whatever project is going on. We are about to start many new minstries with helpers from different age groups, the college class is getting a new teacher, the college classroom is being totally redone to look like a coffee house, the childrens room looks like a boat, and many more opportunities to serve. We had the "Hanging of the Greens" last Sunday and that was a cool service to start off the Christmas season. I have never participated in the "Hanging of the Greens", and it was a interesting experience. Not much else going on. If I think of something else, I will update later.

Happy Turkey Day

Hey, just a reminder to read my post below and check out this site my friend found, www.christianpunks.com. Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

This dog may poo like a buffalo, but she dances like Britney Spears!

Hello everyone, I apologize that I haven't updated my blog in a while and I thank everyone for not harassing me about it. I have been pretty busy lately, with two papers due yesterday. So, I have been spending my time doing that junk. Most papers I have done are usually due after Thanksgiving break, so it threw me off a little bit. But, what is so awesome is that when I go back, I only have two weeks of class left and finals week. Woo Hoo.

Well, OU finished their season unscathed at a perfect 12-0. They have the week off (thanks to moving the Bedlam game back to the middle of the season) to rest and have more preperation for the Big 12 Championship game against Kansas St. in Kansas City.
Random Info.
A paper in Texas took a poll to see who would give OU the best game for the National Championship.
USC = 36%, LSU 20%, Texas 12%, Ohio State 4%, & The Dallas Cowboys 28%.

UCLA is the only team to play #1 OU and #2 USC and the Bruins are saying OU has the better chance at winning. Here is what some of the players have to say.
I think Oklahoma would win, I'm not saying that because I'm a UCLA guy. And I'm not putting (the Trojans) down, they're an awesome team that should be playing for a national championship. But we played Oklahoma, and they're a little different. They're like a junior NFL team. They're A-plus. While USC is like a solid A." - defensive end Dave Ball.
"USC's running game is better than Oklahoma, but as a whole, Oklahoma is a better team." - UCLA cornerback Matt Clark.
____________________________________________________________________ Also, 6 OU players were named to the FWAA (Football Writers Association of America) All-America Team. QB Jason White and WR Mark Clayton were offensive selections. DT Tommie Harris, LB Teddy Lehman, and CB Derrick Strait were defensive selections. Antonio Perkins was the selection as a kick returner.

I can't wait to sink my teeth into some turkey and dressing, home-made rolls, punch, and home-made rolls this weekend. MMM MMMM Good. This is my favorite time of the year because of Thanksgiving/Christmas/food/my birthday. I hope everyone travels safely and has a great holiday weekend.

I think I have found a new church home. I have been attending the First Baptist Church here in Meeker for the past few weeks. They have a growing college group, an alive and awake church, great pastor, and loving people. I may also have an opportunity to serve in a ministry position here too. But that is in the works right now. God has been showing me that I need to rely on Him always and go to Him for help on decisions in my life. I have in the past and still do sometimes in the future gone to my friends for advice and God was set on the back-burner and asked Him when I needed Him. But he has been showing me that He is the first one that matters when it comes to making decisions. God may use my friends for advice, but after I have taken it to God first. It has been difficult to do, but I am learning more everyday.

"It's kind of like the city taking water from you and charging you extra for it because they know you need it. It's water, ESPN and air, i think in a lot of peoples lives."


Save ESPN
from the money grubbing clutches of COX Cable. Go here and give your support to ESPN.

It melts in your mouth, not your pants.
Well, I'll get the Matrix discussion started. This is a review of Matrix: Revolutions written by a student for "The Bison", the OBU newspaper. It may be long, but trust me this article will be the catalyst of many intelligent and ingorant responses so you will want to read it.

Revolutions falls short of Matrix
One of the most highly anticipated releases of the year hit theaters two weeks ago today, and it's my joy and privilege to say that it is also one of the worst movies I have ever seen in my sheltered, lonely life. I am speaking, of course, about the "Matrix: Tardalutions", the 3rd movie in the sci-fi series that has broken box office records and disappointed moviegoers for quite some time now. "Revolutions" begins right where its prequel, "Reloaded" left off, but it doesn't really matter. Barely any of the intriguing questions and theories presented in the first two are touched on, and there are a slew of unanswered questions. Neo, played by Wyld Stallyns guitarist Keanu Reeves, continues to fight machines and agents in order to save the world, while his buddies attempt to save their habitat, Zion, from destruction by the army of machine sentinels. The action is pretty intense, and the SPFX have improved immensely from the dorky looking effects featured in "Reloaded." However, that's about all there is to this mess. The script is atrocious. I mean, really bad. I wrote a book in the 2nd grade called "Dinosaurs Attack America, Look Out!" and I honestly remember better dialogue in that story than in this Wachowski brother's film. The story lacks the intriguing elements that helped make the first "Matrix" a success. Don't ask me about all that philosophy mumbo-jumbo, because I don't buy into all of it. The Wachowski brothers are relatively new filmmakers, and the success of their "Matrix" film has gone to their heads. They believe they are the saviors of cinema, and that they are enlightening moviegoers everywhere, when in reality they just happened to write another cheesy action trilogy. The stay out of the spotlight, and refuse to do interviews, which is fin, but then when they do make public statements, or comment on the films, they come off as "holier-than-thou." The Matrix movies were inspired by (and kind of a rip-off) many film, literary, anime, and graphic novel influences, but the Wachowski's never give credit where it is due. Lastly, I would like to mention the religious implications featured in the not very good "Matrix" trilogy. Ever since the first movie hit theaters, everybody and their mom has been blabbing about Neo as the Christ figure, and how it's an interpretation of Jesus and the salvation story and what-not. The Wachowski brothers themselves have talked about how they want the trilogy to be an epic Judeo-Christian debate. Viewers are constantly bashed over the head with Christian/Buddhist/Jewish references, and they get tiresome and obvious. However, (and I realize most movie critics are not coming from a Christian standpoint) it seems too hypocritical and contradictory to claim to present a religious story when "Revolutions" contained more uses of the Lord's name in vain than any movie I have seen in a long time. The last two "Matrix" movies have been full of bloody violence, swearing, and sex/nudity. Give me a break. I like Keanu "the only difference between me and a plank of wood is that I talk sometimes, and I am a little paler" Reeves a lot better when he knew he sucked at acting, ala the "Bill and Ted" movies. Matrix Revolutions is a bad, but entertaining action movie, so with those expectations, go see it.
- Graham Johnson (Arts Writer)

Mr. Johnson, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone on this site is now dumber for having read it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

If you would like to express your views to Mr. Johnson, you can email him at "bison.editorial@okbu.edu.

The views expressed in this article does not express the views of Zach, his blog, OBU, or anything else.

Hey Treadmill, how do you like this incline?

Well, I took a test today and got out of class early so I have some time to update my blog now.
OU beat Baylor 41-3 on Saturday clinching the Big 12 South Title for the 3rd time in four years. They will play either Kansas St. or Missouri in the game. Kansas St. and Missouri play Saturday for a chance to get beaten by Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship game in Kansas City (hopefully Kansas St.)

Ohio St. did jump USC for some odd reason in the BCS standings. OU still leads everyone by 6 points. Ohio St. won't be there for long, because Michigan will take them out this weekend.

I went with Josh this past weekend up to Tulsa to see Matrix: Revolutions with Ben at the IMAX theater. Seeing the movie a second time changed my first impression of the movie. It is better than I thought it was, and we can start throwing theological parallels at each other because we have all seen it, finally.

I'm a brick.

First thing tomorrow, we are getting a Playstation 1

Well, I have made some more changes to my blog. Don't have time to update right now because I have a lot a stuff to do, but I will try to update later.

Headlines for next update:

"Second viewing of Matrix: Revolutions changes Zach's oppinion."

"OU clinches the Big 12 South Title"

"Ohio St. may take 2nd place away from USC in BCS"

"Weekend Update: From T-Town."

And I'll leave you with this tune from Ned Flanders. (To the tune, She'll Be Coming Around The Mountain.)
We’ll be safe inside our fortress when he comes
We’ll be safe from creeps and killers when they come.
Unless they have a blow torch, or poison gas injector
Then I don’t know what will happen when they come.

Check out the new banner at the bottom of my blog.

Yeah man, I tell ya what, man. That dang ol' Internet, man. You just go on there and point and click. Talk about W-W-dot-W-com. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. It's real easy, man.

Well, since I am being heckled to update my blog by some mysterious person (cough-Josh), I guess I will.

Well, just as I start trying to figure out what God wants me to do and where to go to church, God shows me a door. I have been asked to take over Ben's position at Faith Church. I am holding out for more money and will know more in the future. Just kidding. Haha. Hehe. (Yeah, that was funny. The first time I saw it, innnnn Goodfellas.) But seriously, I have been asked about being a part time music minister in one of the churches in town. It's an average size church, but there have been a lot of changes taking place lately (new projector system just arrived, new ministries beginning, new teachers taking over classes). It is a different opportunity for me and it would certainly fulfill my search for a church home and a job, but I am seeking God to take over and if that's where he wants me, I'll go. The part time position will help me financially, but it may not be enough to support me. But, being part time will give me time to pursue making videos for camps and stuff. So who knows what the future holds.

School has been going good too. I really enjoy interactive classes. They keep me awake and willing to learn, not just sitting in a class.

Well, I am going to get my second opinion of Matrix: Revolutions this weekend with Ben and Josh at the IMax theater in Tulsa. So start compiling views, points, and counterpoints, because beginning next week, we should be able to start discussing the Matrix: Revolutions.

This will be my first OU home game that I have missed in at least two years because I will be in Tulsa this weekend. But I am not missing much because we are playing the Baylor Bears. OU is a 53 point favorite. Holy Crap. 53 points. That means if OU shows up to the game, they win without even stepping on the field. OU should at least score 120 points, but since 49 points is considered running up the score by "morons". I bet they put up at least 60+. Maybe not. Whatever. They win. We move on to play Texas Tech next week. OU will clinch the Big 12 Title if they beat Baylor this week (If? ppppfffffttttt). OU remains #1 in the BCS. OU is getting some help from Texas (who is #5) in the quality win section. OU could lose a game and still (most likely because of the lead OU has in the BCS) be in the Sugar Bowl.

Since winter is upon us, I'll leave you with a poem my mom told me:

I saw a birdy fall into the snow,
It's wings were broken this I know,
I lured it to me with a piece of bread,
And then I smashed its little head.

Well, it's the Big Slow. And the millions (and millions) of The Rock's fans will say, "This guy sucks, I'm going to take a leak."

Well, this edition of my blog contains "What Zach did this weekend.", "OU's spanking of the Aggies two weeks in a row.", "News about Matrix: Revolutions.", and much more worthless stuff.

To start this off Friday, I went and saw Matrix: Revolutions. I can't really discussing much without giving away the movie and I can't do that, because Josh and Ben have not seen it yet (to my knowledge at least). But I will say that I was disappointed in the movie, especially compared to the previous two. To me, it didn't live up to the hype that was brought on Revolutions. There was the usual awesome special effects, but the overall movie was disappointing. We can discuss why when everyone goes a sees it, but until that happens I will move on to the next topic.

Saturday, I braved the 40 degree weather, the mist, and the 11:00 am kickoff to see the "Dominant" Oklahoma Sooners (maybe arguably the best Oklahoma Sooners team ever) spanked and dismantled the Texas A&M Aggies. It was an amazing display of great offense and defense. OU could have easily scored 100 points (they had the 77 points in the 3rd quarter), but Stoops (being the nice man he is, who drives the preschool carpool every morning in his Pontiac Minivan, as Rick Reilly would put it) called off the dogs late in the 3rd quarter ordering only run plays so the clock would continue running. He ordered Paul Thompson to take a knee at the 4 yard line and 3 straight running plays to keep OU from scoring 84 points (an OU record I might add. 82 points is the modern day record, but back in the day, 1917, OU beat Kingfisher College 179-0.). There is not much you can do in that situation, but Mike Lupica, from the New York Daily News, claims that Stoops ran up the score and will cheer for anyone, but Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl. But what the heck does he know, he's on the east coast in New York that didn't even get to see that game, just looked at the score. It still looks like OU and USC in the Sugar Bowl so far, but that doesn't mean it will happen with 3 of the top 6 teams losing this weekend (Miami, Virginia Tech, and Florida St., but USC and LSU didn't play). Well, here's something to think about; Texas A&M scored 73 points on Baylor, now OU scored 77 points on the Aggies, and OU plays Baylor this week, ouch. OU by a lot.

After church Sunday night, a bunch of us went and played basketball. It was fun, until we (they) decided to play full court. Yeah, they was fun (nnnnnoooooooootttttttttt). That sucked, I usually just walked up and down the court and then I was going for a loose ball, tripped, and did a belly flop on the court (I'm feeling the effects of that on today). That's about it. Still going to school, job searching, church searching, and girlfriend searching. Till next time, Trying is the first step towards failure, and People die all the time, just like that. Why you could wake up dead tomorrow.....Well, goodnight!

Les Miles is still writing, "I will not talk trash about OU" on every OSU chalkboard on campus.

Well, OU has seperated themselves in the BCS Standings by a margin of 4.78 points. The closest team is USC. Miami fell to 4th place after they got shellacked by Virginia Tech. I would have like to of played Miami, because of them complaining in 2000 they should have been in the Orange Bowl and not FSU. Personally, I think we should shut them up and we could do it if we were to play them, but the chances are not very good. But, there is one good thing about playing USC; they present the best matchup against OU and it would be a good title game. Even though I think OU would finish them off.

Renaldo Works will not play Saturday against Texas A&M because of hurt back he aquired in the Bedlam game. He has become the leading rusher for OU this year, but Jones and Hickson will pick up the slack on Saturday. I thought Texas A&M was going to be a fairly good team this year because they got a new coach, but have struggled throughout the year. OU should handle them pretty easy without works, and oh yeah the Aggies of the South knocked OU off of their #1 pedastal last year, so there is more riding on the game for OU to get revenge from last year and will not let up.

I took my World Religions test today and I only left 6 questions blank (That's pretty good for me). It covered Native American Religion, African American Religion, and Hinduism. Most of the questions I left blank were fill in the blank, well the last one was an essay question worth 15 points. Holy crap, the other essay questions were only 5 points. I wasn't too happy. Who gives a rip about the Ghost Dance?

Well, I am still looking for my $2000 check to come in the mail so I can buy an eMac and start doing some videos/DVD's. I haven't found a college that offers a class on eMac's, but I am still searching.

I'm also still searching for a job too. That's a job within its self. Hopefully I'll "catch me a marlin" soon. Yak at ya later.

PoP Culture

I need info about the new blog. Ben said he was going to email me. Now if he did, I am not sure. I didn't get anything yet. Maybe he hasn't or maybe he has and I gave him the wrong email address or something. Anyways, let me know @ updraft419@yahoo.com

PS - Don't forget to read my post below.

THE COWBOYS GOT PISTOL WHIPPED!!!

Well, I have a lot of ups and downs in this blog so I'll get the downs over with.

Last night was my last night as "youth minister" at my church. The kids planned a surprise party for me last night. It was cool and surprising, but I have mixed feelings about leaving. I am excited about leaving and finding new ministries, friends, and opportunities, but in a way I am also sad about leaving those kids. They have been such a huge part of my life these last 2 years (especially the last 4 months when it was just me leading them), it is going to be hard for me to not be there all the time. I loved hanging around with them, talking to them, and teaching them (even though they could be a pain in the buttocks during lessons), but I guess life goes on and change has to be a part of it. I was going to teach on change last night (but they planned the surprise party) and about how the changing times in our lives make our lives interesting, fun, and challenging. Without all the sad, fun, happy, letdown, frustrating, and exciting times in our lives, it would be boring. We would never "live" without them. I ask that you keep me and the youth at my church in your prayers that we will adapt to this change as quickly as possible so that we can continue serving God without any hindrances in our way.

Well, so more sad news that I received this morning is that my grandfather on my step-dad's side passed away this morning around 3 am. He had not been in good condition for the past few months and finally went to be with the Lord this morning. Not much to really say, but ask for your prayers for the family.

Well, speaking of death (as in the words of Homer Simpson), "You are what made watching NASCAR fun." Sorry, that may be out of place, but I am trying to lighten the mood which has been set.

If you watched College GameDay Saturday morning, you should have seen a sign that read "Zach" with an arrow pointing down. Yeah, that was me. I was standing next to the guy with the "Ben" sign. I only stayed 45 minutes though, because holding up signs is hard work (also standing there for 3 hours didn't help either). I saw some cool signs such as: "Pistol Patricia", Every Sheeps Personal Nightmare, Oklahoma Soviet Union, Oklahoma Stupid University, a flip timer that said "10:00 and OSU stills sucks" and would update the time, Halloween is over and so is OSU, Les than Stoops, Miles from greatness. It was a blast, except for the rain which seems to follow College GameDay wherever it goes.
Anyways, the Sooners showed Les Miles and the Oklahoma State Cowboys who the best team in the state and the nation is by kicking the Cowboys in the pills over and over and over and over and over again. Man, I am glad I was there to see that. It was awesome. OU could have scored 70+ points if OU's receivers wouldn't have dropped some of the passes and OSU's score could have been 3 or even 0. We felt sorry for them, and so Jason White let them have the ball twice inside the 20 and still could only muster 9 points and OSU's offense never saw the endzone. OSU was trying to be emancipated as the best team in the state, just as Bart was trying to be emancipated from his parents (What are you saying Bart, you don't like being a man?), but Stoops and his troops said not this time and held Woods to 4 catches for 25 yards, Fields to 62 yards, and Bell to 122 yards (40+ yards came in the last quarter against the 2nd teamers). OU continues to roll through the season. They finally have everyone's respect in the nation as everyone in both the AP and Coaches poll voted OU #1. BOOMER SOONER!!!

Got a joke for you. What is the difference between OSU and Cheerios?

Cheerios belong in a bowl.

Well, my time here is done. I must go now and study for my World Religions test. I hope I didn't bring everyone down. Because without change in our lives, we would never live.

Look Marge, Maggie lost her baby legs!

I have been studying for a World Religions test that is next Tuesday, and you may be asking why I am studying so early? Are you starting to forget your slacking and procrastination skills? No, I haven't forgot them, just putting them on hold, becuase I haven't been doing well in my WR class. Anyways, I am taking a break cause my eyes are starting to hurt.

It is Bedlam this week and I cannot wait for Saturday. I haven't heard as much trash talk this week as I have in the past. I am questioning the outcome, but I have come to the conclusion that OU will not get beat for a third year by OSU. The reason I think is because this has actually become a big game for OU and OU is always ready and pumped up for big games and I think our defense can keep OSU in check for most of the game (with the exception of a few plays that might get away from our defense which is bound to happen anyways; it is going to be hard to have a perfect game) and I don't think OSU's defense can keep up with our offense (OSU will have their stops, but I think OU gets up early in the game and never looks back). Now, I heard something that I have never heard today. A couple of OSU fans in my class said that OU should win the game. Now for the score, I really don't have a clue. Some say it will be like the OU/Texas game and others say it will be a nail-biter. I think OU will win (37-14 just popped in my head) by 14 points, oh lets say 34-20.
BOOMER SOONER

Well, I have no major plans for Satan's Day, except I am going to a college party. There are 24 "partners", 12 couples are going to show up as pairs (Wilma & Fred Flintstone, Captain Hook & Tinker Bell, & Lucy & Ricky) and I get to be a football player and my partner is none other than a cheerleader (wooo-hooo maybe I'll get some sugar; although Ben is turning over in his..........bed). Well, Happy Halloween to all you guys. I'll leave you with this quote from Krusty the Clown:Tonight, I am going to suck..............................................your blood.

P.S. - Yes, I just finished watching a Simpson's Halloween Special a few mintues ago.

Where the white women at?

Hey guys, I guess it is time for me to update my blog before I become the 5th sign of the Apocalypse. Well, Scott is 23 and I am trying to figure out if it is a good thing or a bad thing. First of all, I am wondering "What in the Wide, Wide, World of Sports" Scott needs a circular saw. He can barely use a sauter iron with out burning himself. I am worried that the next time I see Scott, he might only have 8 fingers or toes. Secondly, I know Scott graduated from High School and has many college hours and I am wondering where he learned to spell or if he has just been out of school so long that he forgot how to spell. And I quote, "i plan on reneting matrix reloded," and "3rd greade comming back to school." "Reneting" and "roloded" and "greade" and "comming" are not in my vocabulary that I know of. And, "recieved" everyone knows "I" goes before "E" except after "C". There is even a spell check on your blog, but I forgive him because, well it's Scott. Well, enough of messing with Scoot, I mean Scott.

Anyways, it is official, my church hired a new youth minister and will be starting in a couple of weeks. So starting in November, I will not be the head of the youth or at my old church again (at least consistently anyways). He seems like a cool guy. He is my age and seems business like and professional which in turn he will get along with the pastor. His wife is more loose and will keep him down to earth. The thing that stuck out to me is that he didn't know who Relient K was (Not that it is a big deal, but he needs to expand his music files because all these kids listen to is mostly christian rock music. He listens to K-Love and his favorite is Bebo Norman, ughhhh). Well, I visited another church Sunday morning and to me it was night and day from the church I am at now. But, I will be looking at other churches so I can find a home where I will be fed, will enjoy going, and plug myself into the programs and help out.

OU beat Missouri 34-13 last Saturday. With that, as Ben has posted, OU is leading the BCS standings. OU travels to Colorado this weekend for a night game (6:00pm on TBS). For some reason, ABC is putting OSU on regional TV again for the second straight week. They are going to think that they are a big time college or something and deserve to be on TV all the time. They need to put OSU back in their place at the bottom where no one cares about them, just like in the past.

P.S. - Well, Scotty Too Hotty, my B-Day is on December 21st.

"Ooooooh, they have the internet on computers now!"

What an amazing weekend for sports. The luck finally runs out on Ohio St. as the Wisconsin Badgers took them out Saturday night, 17-10. There are only 3 undefeated teams in the country right now (OU, Miami, and Virginia Tech) and Oklahoma has stepped up and proved themselves as the #1 team in the nation. The Red River Shootout became the Red River Romp as OU spanked Texas 65-13, breaking the record from the 2000 season for most points scored and largest margin of victory. I laughed and smiled everytime I saw that score. OU is recieving most of the #1 votes, as they should and with a win against Missouri this weekend should be #1 in the BCS which comes out at halftime of the Atlanta/St. Louis game on Monday Night Football.
Well, the Meeker Lady Bulldog Fastpitch team pulled off a 2-1 win against Newcastle on Saturday to repeat as State Champions. It was a very exciting game with Newcastle ahead until the bottom of the 4th inning when Meeker scored the game winning run to keep them in the lead. Pitcher, Kristina Fowler improved her record to 33-1 for the season with 338 strikeouts, 21 shutouts, 10 no-hitters, 7 1-hitters, 0.28 ERA, and bats 0.461 with 26 RBI's and 3 homeruns. Meeker outscored their opponents 184 - 28.
In NFL news, Kansas City pulled off an amazing 17 point comeback in the 4th quarter to tie Green Bay 34-34, and then scored on a 51 yard pass after a Ahman Green fumble to give them the win 40-34.

Well, Zach will be back in the job hunt soon. My church has found someone to take over the youth group and I couldn't be happier. It is a young couple that is about my age and is coming this Sunday to check out the church and for the people to talk to them and get to know them. I hope they do hire them, because the youth needs someone to have a home to open up to them and especially the girls so they will have someone to talk to. It will be a good time for me, so now I can sit back and take a break from the leader position. Not that I don't like it, but I need some rest and get fed myself. Pray for the youth group that they will give the new guy a chance and vice versa and that I can find a job to keep me afloat for now or even a full time job.
I guess I better get off and go do something worth while, instead of being on the internet. Yak at you all later.

The stars at night,
Are big and bright,
Deep in the Heart of Texas

Just thought I would add a few words before I head off to the 3A State Fastpitch Softball Championship game to watch Meeker play Newcastle in a rematch of the championship game last year, (Meeker won 1-0 in 8 innings).

Anyways, this is a great day just to sit back and watch football all day long, with great games like OU/Texas, Miami/FSU, Ohio St/Wisconsin, OSU/KSU playing and many more games. There is going to be a badgering hurricane slamming the country, so hold on to your cats because they will be gone sooner than you thought.

Boomer Sooner
Beat Texas

It's about time!!!
I am guessing that Scott found his blog. Yeahhh. Good, we can have more laughs reading each others blog. But the sad thing is that Josh will have to replace Scott's Blog, with Scott's Blog.

Today at Wal-Mart, I found a great "Old School" CD. 5 songs from MC Hammer and 5 songs from Vanilla Ice including "Ice, Ice Baby" and "U Can't Touch This". What a great compilation CD, and it only cost me $6. What a deal!!!

Oh, and I added some more links and a "Link of the Week too. So check that crazy stuff out.

You know what the problem is? It's a Ford. You know what Ford stands for? Fix It Again Tony.
Dale, that's a Fiat!

Hi, everybody. I apologize that I haven't updated my blog in a while, but I have been pretty busy lately with school, church, watching football games, going to softball games, and things like that. Updates on small town sports. The Meeker Softball team has made it to state again. They are #1 in 3A and are 30-1. They have had 19 shutouts and have outscored their opponents 177-26. They have probably one of the best pitchers in the state, Kristina Fowler (30-1). They begin state play this Thursday at the Softball Hall of Fame. Meeker Football team improved to 2-3 with a 19-12 overtime win against Perry.

Well, Before Everything and After has risen to a 9.0 out of 10. It is an amazing album. I can't stop listening to it. It gets better every time I play it. I hope that they start touring soon and plugging their new album, because it has been like 3 years since I have seen them in concert and I am going nuts. Speaking of concerts, don't forget that Five Iron Frenzy will be in Oklahoma City on the 19th, and in Tulsa on the 20th. Also Relient K is coming to the Diamond Ballroom on November 9th and then up to Tulsa on the 11th. I am going to do my best to make it to both of those concerts (now whether I make it to the concerts in OKC or Tulsa is a whole different ballgame.)

OU opened up their conference season with a 53-7 win at Iowa St. It is the first time OU has scored 50+ points in three consecutive games since the 1956 season (OU 52, Fresno St. 28; OU 59, UCLA 24; OU 53, Iowa St. 7). It was a good game especially with over 600 yds total offense, Jason White improving his stats for the Heisman, and a 100 yd kickoff return for a TD, but it wasn't Perkins, it was Mark Bradley doing the honors. But the big story is that the Red River Shootout is this weekend, where the 35,000 OU fans and 35,000 Texas fans fill the Cotton Bowl half in half and play one of the most greatest rivalry games in the nation. If you have not been to an OU/Texas game, I would advise going at least once, because it is an awesome experience like non other. I would go, but I am about $500 short of a pair of tickets that cost $600. Anyways, Texas came off of a close victory with Kansas St. Kansas St. almost put it away, but fumbled the ball and Texas scored a few minutes later to take the lead for good. OU is pumped up and their offense and defense are ready to put Texas away for the fourth straight year. OU 31, Texas 17

I have a prayer request for whoever reads my blog. I have a girl in the youth group who is going through the time in many peoples lives where she feels like everything is caving in on her, she has become stagnant in her walk with Christ, and life just basically sucks (as she put it). Please keep her in your prayers, because I told her as Christians we, many times, struggle with the realization that God loves us no matter what we have done and is always there beside us, especially when we have to walk through the valley and that is when we need Him most. That is why we walk through the valley so we can learn to lean on Jesus and go to Him for every need we have. We can't do this by ourselves. Jesus will guide us to the mountain top. Thanks.

Comments anyone.

Thank you Haloscan for providing comments to my blogspot. So, feel free to add any comments to the posts I make each week and even old posts too.

Well, it has been an interesting week for me. We had a Muslim from the Oklahoma City Mosque to come and speak to us about Islam in our World Religions class. It was funny, because he didn't show up on time and he called the teacher like 3 or 4 times telling him he was only 5 minutes away. The teacher was a little frustrated, but he showed up and he finally started speaking 30 minutes late. It was interesting, but most of what we heard we had already learned in the past week. Our teacher told our guest he needed to wrap it up, and he said "Ok" and began to tell us about the 5 Pillars of Islam. He finally let us go 10 minutes late, but luckily my next class was downstairs. I had a test on Tuesday in my Counseling class and it was one of those tests where I either did really well or I bombed it. I was supposed to get our tests today, but it turns out the teacher was sick, so we had no class.

My sister finally recieved her belongings in Alaska. It has been three weeks since she left and she has been missing her computer, TV, and other stuff. (If you are wondering why, it is because she could take 2 bags with her on the plane, mostly clothes, and the rest of her bigger stuff had to be shipped seperately.) Her car will get there in early October. But she is doing fine though. She is working in the delivery room mainly. She has been riding with a guy from California to work, because she doesn't have her car yet and one morning they got in his car and there was frost on the windshield. He was freaking out, asking her what was on his windshield. So she told him and he asked her how to get it off, and she's like "just use your windshield wipers." It was funny. I guess it would be funnier hearing it in person like I did.

Well, OU is off this weekend and will play at Iowa St. next week and then head to Dallas to play the Texas Longhorns. If you missed the OU/UCLA game last week, you missed one of the best OU games ever. It was one of the most exciting games I have ever attended. It was a game that you never sat down. Antonio Perkins two NCAA records (3 punt returns for touchdowns and 277 punt return yards) was amazing and overshadowed the record setting performance of Rashaun Woods 7 catches for TD's against some high school in Texas as they continue through their creampuff schedule. Don't get me started on this, so I'll just switch to a different topic.

I have been reading the book "Waking the Dead" and last night I read something really interesting. He said, "Jesus can, and wants to, heal your heart." Personally, I don't feel like I have a broken heart, but there are some things in my past that when my heart was broken, I just pushed it aside and hid it in the deepest, darkest part of my heart never going to Jesus and asking Him to heal me. He hasn't revealed anything to me, but I hope that when He does I will go willingly with Him to go back to where my heart has been broken and give it to Him so that He may heal my heart.

For this people's heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes
hear with their ears
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them. (Matthew 13:15)

Before Everything and After

It's finally here. I have been waiting since last summer for this album when they told us that they were working on a new album and had 40+ songs to choose from. They made some great selections.

(Note: This is my first criticism of the album so my mind may change.) My first impression of the album when I first heard it was, "different." That is the only way I could describe it. It has many different sounds, ranging from bands like Good Charlotte, Blink 182, New Found Glory, and Slick Shoes. There was a lot of different instruments and kinds of instruments used to make BE&A and if you buy the cd, you will find out what they used. You just have to hear it for yourself. They have strayed away from the punk beat on most of the songs on BE&A with the exception of a few songs. They used more of a rock beat, and they sound awesome. They put a lot of hype and time into BE&A and it is climbing up to the hype in mind the more I listen to it.

After listening to BE&A all the way through, the song You Make Me, Me stuck out as my favorite. Just one of those kind of songs you listen to for the first time and tell it is a good one. It has a great beat, great musicality, and great lyrics. The songs I like so far are; You Make Me, Me, On the Outs, The Capitol, Well Adjusted, Play It Loud, Brokenhearted, and You're Not Alone. Wow, that's half the album.

Anyways, the more I listen to it, the more I like it. It's a change from the old MXPX, such as "Life In General" (the best MXPX album so far), but change is good. If bands don't change things up ever once and a while, they tend to struggle and fall off the map.

Well, that is my take on the new MXPX album, Before Everything and After. Overall, I give it two thumbs up and a rating of 8.75 out of 10.

Critically Yours,
Zach

"Sounds like someone has the case of the Mundays."

Well, the countdown is on. It is now 18 hours, 3 minutes, and 48 seconds left and counting until the new MXPX album comes out. I finally got to hear "Everything Sucks" from Ben's new link also with the other two songs they have released. I didn't get to watch the video because my computer connection is too slow. Anyways, Everything Sucks and Well Adjusted sounds really good. Quit Your Life sounds really different. That is the first time I have ever heard a song like that from MXPX. So far it doesn't sound as "MXPXish" (in the words of Ben) as in the past, but I am eager to hear the whole album.

Our revival ended last night and to me it was the best night of the revival (and not because it is over, like some of you are thinking), because he preached on how we need to keep the focus off ourselves and on God so that we can be servants of the Utmost High. We had a baptismal service last night before the service. Two young men ages of 9, Rocky, and I think 13,Chris, asked Christ into their hearts during the revival, which is awesome. Rocky's sister (Chelsea, 15) has been going to our church for about a year in a half was saved in the summer of last year. It is a big step in their lives. They live with their grandparents, because their home life was not too good, but it really touched and blessed her to see her brother saved. And Chris and his sister were saved within a few weeks of each other and their family is coming to church now. These are the only salvations I know of, but there were other decisions made throughout the revival. Some may think that only 2 salvations in an eight day revival is not much, but it's two more that know Christ and it is totally worth it.

OU remains #1 in both polls and are recieving more and more votes. Ohio St. moved down to the #4 and #5 spots in the polls and I am so glad, because they are the luckiest team in the nation and should have lost their last two games. Arkansas pulled off a huge upset against Texas. Never would have thought that would have happened. Anyways, the OU defense suffered a huge loss on Saturday in the 2nd quarter with the loss of Lance Mitchell to a torn ACL (?). It will hurt the defense, but I think they will recover fine. Jason White is doing very well. Saturday was a great day for football. 70 degree weather with overcast skies. The Fresno St. game was perfect the first half. You couldn't have done much else to improve it. The second half was good too, with a good showing by the 2nd team offense and Paul Thompson, but the 2nd team defense had some problems; allowing Fresno St. to score 2 td's in the last 5 minutes which made the score 52-28 instead of 52-14. We still won, I'm not complaining. UCLA is coming up this week and will be televised at 2:30pm on ABC. OU should put them away this week too. OU 31-17.
That was a long blog. Thanks for reading and I'll leave you with this from the words of Homer Simpson - You can't keep blaming yourself. Just blame yourself once, and move on.
Zach

PS - 17 hours, 10 minutes, and 37 seconds left.

No two people are on fire!
Hello, how is everyone doing? I am doing pretty good. School is going pretty well for right now. The Basic Counseling class I am taking is better than I thought it would be. The whole class is cool and the teacher is relaxed, which allows all of us to relax and have a good time. These kind of classes are rare these days.

We have been having a revival at our church this week. It has been okay, nothing great though. This is actually the first time the church has advertised it and handed out flyers and have events to target different groups. But dissapointingly, we haven't had as good of a turnout as expected. (It actually surprised me that we didn't have a lot of new people show up. But in a way the church is sort of static and in a way it didn't surprise me. We don't even have people from our own church coming.) The best night was youth night on wednesday. Eric and I said that if the kids could get 80 youth there, he and I would shave our heads. They put together a great effort with 67 youth. We had pizza and Rickey Dale Crane who is a 5 time world champion, who gave his testimony and sang a few songs. But overall, it has been an okay revival.

Anyways, OU plays Fresno St this weekend and should be another win. I am not sure of how good they are, but they have only played in the state of Oklahoma once before against OSU. So maybe the weather will get to them. OSU is playing Southwest Missouri State (high school team) and that should be a win for them. If not, they will definitely the suckiest bunch sucks I have ever seen suck, boy do they suck.

Touching your butt; that's not very lady like.

Hey Guys, how's it hanging? Not bad here. Just getting ready for another busy weekend. My sister leaves Monday, so I am spending those last few days with her. Please keep her in your prayers. I taught on priorities on Wednesday night and I hope that the kids got something out of it, because it still seems that they don't listen. I guess the boundary of me being a youth and their friend is still in their mind and not that I am the intern and should get a little more respect, but I guess that comes with time. I hope so, cause it is frustrating when I am trying to teach, make an announcement or something and they are talking. And when I finally, with the help of one (that's right ONE) helper, get them to quiet down, I make a comment and always and I mean always someone has a comment and then that starts up a riot. Anyways, pray that I keep my temper and I will be patient with them.

Enough of my bickering. On to football. Well, I went to Meeker's first football game last night. They installed a new spread offense (which is way different than our usual run it up the middle, run it around the left/right, run, run, run) and to my surprise it didn't look half bad. I was expecting a 31-0 blowout, but Meeker lost to Prague 6-0. Meeker was driving and got down to the 10 yd line, but fumbled. But that was story of the night for both teams, and Prague took advantage of one of our many mistakes and we couldn't take advantage of their mistakes. But overall, they should improve throughout the season.
On to OU. They travel to Tuscaloosa tomorrow and play the Crimson Tide of Alabama. Two great traditions clashing again. It will be a tough game, especially being at Bama and them looking for paybacks from last year, but I think OU will ignite their rushing game and they won't stop Jason White and OU wins, 31-20.

I shall leave you with this from The Homer Simpson Random Quote Generator If something is too hard,give it up. The moral my boy is too never try anything.

Scroll button, one two, one two. And if you swing by my crib, then I can scroll with you.
Well this Labor Day Weekend was a good one, a little wet, but we needed the rain. College Football, a real sport, is finally here. I went to the Big Red Rally, which sucked by the way, but the plus of the night is that I got to go up into the new part of the stadium and looked around. It's really cool. It looks like a whole new stadium. The seats up top are high, but they have chairbacks, cupholders, and you can see the whole field. The suites are nice too. They have seats by the windows or you can go outside to sit and watch the game or you can go sit at a table and visit and watch the game on TV. It's nice and it would be nice to have A/C, but I don't think it's worth it. I got up Saturday and watched a few games, and then about 4:00, we headed off to the OU game. The throwback jerseys looked cool (good for one game only thought, because they started to remind me of Nebraska) and the atmosphere was great. It started to rain about halfway through the game and then it stopped. It did sprinkle off and on throughout the game. That place was packed, 83073 people was the most to see a sporting event in the state of Oklahoma. Well, it looks like I am leading after the first week of the ESPN Pick'em. I am taking more of a chance this week and have more upsets this week than last week so hopefully I won't screw up too badly.
At church, we had 5th Sunday Sing, which is where anyone who wants to sing/play an instrument or whatever can if you didn't know what that was. Anyways, that is always cool. We have a lot of people with musical talent, but we never hear it except for this time. Then we headed over to my friends house and played card games, ate food, and played Gamecube, X-Box, and Playstation 2 until 4 o'clock in the morning. Then on Monday, I just sat around and watched, "The Hunted" and "My Fellow Americans."
Be in prayer for me. My walk has been climbing back up, but pray that I won't settle at one point and that I will be obedient and move one. Also, like Ben, I am in some need of finances. My situation is different from Ben's, but I need books for school, supplies for school, and other misc. stuff. It is not a major thing, but I'm struggling right now to keep afloat. Also, my sister leaves for Alaska the 9th so if you could remember her that she has a safe trip up there and she enjoys her time and she finds a good church. Thanks.

Nice hippo slippers. Thanks, their elephants.

Well, as you can tell I have changed my colors again. I am trying a few different themes and colors to find the one I like. I did make out a list of colors I have found that has worked. So hopefully the changing of seasons on my blog won't bother anyone.

My sister finally got her blog up, but she is just trying to figure everything out now.

I actuallt started school today. I am taking World Religions and Basics to Counseling from 8 am to 11 am every Tuesday and Thursday. It went better than I thought it would. We had a good discussion going in World Religions about if Jesus was an "Inclusivist" or an "Exclusivist." It was slow going at first, but it didn't take long for the flames to spread. There were two guys going back and forth for a while. It was hilarious! We had a fight the first day of class. In my next class, Basics to Counseling, the teacher seemed nervous. He was making some stupid jokes. But he made us tell us about ourselves and we all sort of relaxed and started having fun. We talked about what we like to do and do for fun. And somehow, we started talking about lesbians (or was that thespians) at OCU and how basketball teams get recruits from other countries. Anyways, as we went around there was a girl named Whitney that the first thing she said was that she didn't like sports (and I'm thinking, you have got to be kidding me). She doesn't play, watch, or know anything about sports. She was a cheerleader all through high school and doesn't know how football works. Then she said she was from Locust Grove and all I could think of; "Was she apart of the deliberate "accidents" the Locust Grove football and basketball team Ben has told me about when the QB would pass the ball out of bounds on purpose and "saving" the basketball from out of bounds." I couldn't stop laughing in my head. " No wonder she doesn't like sports." hahahaha. Anyways, I need to go and find some money so I can buy books and supplies. Talk to you all later, and I'll this you with this quote from Hugh Black. The fear of God kills all other fears.
Zach

I am simultaneously honored and insulted to be involved in the contest for the fourth year in a row.

The countdown is on. Only four more days until OU kicks off their season against the North Texas Eagles. OU should have no problems at all winning this game and hopefully we will get to see some other quarterbacks play. But we may not seeing as how it is the first game and they want to get Jason White as many snaps as they can so he can get used to it again. Also, we have OSU @ Nebraska. That is going to be a great game and hopefully Nebraska will pull off this win.
I am finally enrolled as of yesterday at OBU. I am only going part-time (6 hrs) because I am the interim youth minister at my church and I know that will take up a lot of time and I don't really want to go full time. I am taking "Intro to Counseling" and "World Religions." High School football season is starting here in a week or so. Meeker has always been a running team since I was in high school. They would pass maybe 0-3 times a game. But this year, they are going to a spread offense. I haven't seen them play yet, but let's just say it is going to be an interesting year.
The new Strongbad email is pretty funny. There are like 3 places to click after the email. Also, I was messing around when he was writing the email and I found a another word you can click on. I am not sure if you can do that in the other emails or if you all have even tried, but it is new to me.
Well, that's it for now. Boomer Sooner
Jhonka

Next time you think you are perfect, try walking on water.
Yeahhhhhhh, I finally figured out how to get some better color added to my blog. Took me a while, but got it down

College Pick'em '03


Hey Guys,
I found a College Pick'em on ESPN.
The Group name is
"OUFootballOSU"

and the password is
"stoopsandmiles"

Well, Ben made a group too. So, I figure we will just have these two groups. I have emailed my friends and told them about both of them.

Ben's group is
SOONER or LATER

and the password is
Stoops

Have fun and Boomer Sooner
Zach

"Bart, with $10,000, we'd be millionaires! We could buy all kinds of useful things like...love!"

HomeStarRunner is catching on. I have introduced "the intro" to my sister and she died laughing. Some of the youth have gotten into it too. The new email is hilarious, especially the game (also the title of Ben's latest blogspot) "Am I Sid Hoffman or Sid Frenchman? HAHAHA. Well, I am getting close to being enrolled in school, just waiting on Financial Aid.

The College Football season starts in less than a week and a half. Some friends and I are starting "College Pick'em" this year. If you or anyone wants to join in, email me @ updraft419@yahoo.com or write me in your blogspot. I need to know by Tuesday the 26th. The season actually starts the 28th, but for me to get all the things in order I need who is playing and the picks for that week in on the 26th.

I have been watching some of the Little League games and Japan beat Saudi Arabia 17-0 in 4 innings (the run rule came into effect) These kids are amazing. These kids are hitting home runs and throwing like 55-70 mph. Also, if you missed the X-Games these past few days, you missed some awesome stuff. Deegan and Pastrano (motorbike freestyle) both pulled off a 360 degree turn (not sure of official name) in competition. Meaning the bike turned all the way around in mid-air. It was sweet. And the Bike Vert and the Skate Vert were awesome too.

I bought Charlie Hall's new CD "On The Road To Beautiful" and "Passion '03:Sacred Revolution" yesterday. I have been waiting for Charlie's CD since mid June and it lived up to what I expected. It's good. I heard some of the songs at church camp, because he did worship for our week, but the other songs that no one has heard are awesome. I would encourage you to buy it. Also the Passion CD is good too. There is still more to say about them both, but I need to listen to them more and then I will give you an update later.

Well, that's it for now. I have to go and do some reading.
Talk to you all later.
Zach

PS - Ben/Josh, could you please tell me how to use the templates. I would like to know how to put links in my blog, how to capitalize letters, use different fonts, use different colors, and how to put on a shout out. Any help would be useful, thanks.

The System is down. The System is down. The System is down!

Well, it is another day down in the books. Last night, we took the kids (along with another church) to the school for a prayer walk so they could pray for themselves, their friends, teachers, and the other kids. Overall, I thought it went great and hopefully the kids will continue in praying for the school and themselves. I know and I'm sure you all know that it is hard to stay focused on God when school starts back up, but God will get them through it as long as they give it to God.
I have a busy weekend in front of me. I am going to Josh's apartment tonight and hopefully get this camp video done. I'm excited! Yippeee (Hon, Kids need you) Then on Saturday, I am going to Six Flags with my sister and 3 of her friends. Well, I guess I should update you on my sister. Amber, my oldest sister, just finished her clinicals at Lackland AFB in San Antonio. Now she will be home for a month and then she will head off to Elmendorf AFB (what idiot came up with this great name for an AFB. Boy those were the suckiest bunch of sucks I have ever seen suck, boy did they suck) which is in Anchorage, Alaska. She will be there for 3 years and then she is done with the Air Force thing. She will finish as an Senior Airman, but at this point she is an Airman 1st class.
I'm out of things to say right now, so I'll yak at you later.
Zach

PR-pray for my granny. she basically has alzhiemers(however you spell it). she is spending money on crap, especially the salesman that call and all the junk she gets in the mail. they are ripping her off and we are struggling to figure out how to keep her in check. she won't listen and you can't explain it to her or even take stuff away from her. today she gave her account number to 2 salesmen over the phone. we have seperated her husbands account, but pray that we can hold her back somehow from blowing all her money. thanks

Hey Everybody! Let's welcome Josh to the show!!

How is everyone doing? Good. Well, I am going to enroll at OBU this week. Just part time though, because of being interim youth minister at my church. Anyways, we had a good weekend. We went to YEC (youth evangelism conference) on Friday night and Saturday morning @ the Lloyd Noble Center. It wasn't as good as it has been in the past, but The Skit Guys and Chris Tomlin were awesome. Chris Tomlin has a new CD coming out on August 19th (same day as Charlie Hall's new one comes out) At noon, we went to Frontier City and hung out and that night, we saw Relient K in concert. It was a pretty sound concert. It sounded like Matt Thiessan screamed more in the concert compared to what you hear on the CD, but it sounded good. The band had a very crisp and clean sound, which i thought was odd/different since it was an outdoor concert. They played a variety, Softer to Me, Mood Rings, Failure to Excommunicate, For the Moments I feel Faint, Chapped stick, chapped lips, and things like chemistry, their song they wrote about FIF, FIF is either dead or dying, and they ended with Sadie Hawkins Dance. I quit UnitLiner last thursday so i could have some time to enroll and a bunch of other misc stuff, plus there was no way they would work around my schedule so i quit. A
OU begins their season on August 30th againt North Texas and i can't wait. I got to play NCAA 2004 on playstation 2 at a friends house and it was awesome. 2 thumbs up. If i had the money, I would buy a gamecube/playstation 2 and NCAA 2004, but no funds right now, but maybe in the future. Well, that is it for now. Ben, your cd's will be in the mail wednesday or thursday (13th or 14th) I'm sorry it has take so long, because i know you miss your cds, cause I know I would. Talk to you later

zach

Well, it has been a while since I have posted anything, but that is why I am writing. Well, it looks like I am not going to take the youth ministry position at my church. God has not given me the go to take it, so I will continue to be the intern until they find someone. I have decided to go back to OBU and finish my Bachelors Degree. Also to defer my loans so I won't have to start paying them now.
Well, I am finally getting things finalized for YEC which is coming up on the 8th and 9th. It's a conference Friday night and Saturday morning and then we go to Frontier City that afternoon, and that night is Relient K in concert. It should be a blast. I'm excited about it. It has been crazy, getting kids to sign up, announcing info about it, getting money, but it was some good experience for me. We have, so far, 24 kids going and I pray that it will be a blessing for our kids and that it will and juice to their fire inside to continue their journey's as they head back to school this fall.
I had a great weekend. I went up to see Ben, Christina, and their new baby, Josie. She is a cute baby. It was fun, we played NCAA Football 2003 and watched a couple of movies. Caught up on some new music that we had both purchased. It was an overall great weekend.
Well, Ben ended on a great verse that truly blessed my day and so will I. This verse was used last night at our quarterly meeting among the 3 churches in our area who come together every 4 months to have a big service. By the way, it went very well for not a lot of great preperation by me. Anyways, here it is. Psalms 9:9-10 - "The LORD also will be a stronghold for the oppressed, A stronghold in times of trouble; And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, For You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You."

It's hotter than a preacher in a whore's house!!!

Well, I am really glad that it is the weekend, because after working in this ridiculous heat I am sick of summer and now wanting winter to come. Heat sucks. Anyways, I was checking out MXPX's site and if you buy $40 worth of merchandise, you get a mxpx music sampler cd. Not really sure what that means, but I was thinking about getting some stuff, but I may have to wait because of other expenses. It's almost football season. August 31st is the first game against North Texas. It looks to be another promising season with another shot at a national championship if our QB stays healthy and consistent. Well that is it for now, I am going to go eat dinner and stay inside the air conditioning tonight and you should to. Talk to you all later.
zach

The End Is Near

Well, another Monday has come and gone. Thank goodness, it was like 102 degrees today. Anyways, I have been listening to the Five Iron album and it is starting to grow on me. It has a sound that is similar to their last album. On Distant Shores, So Far, So Bad, Canonball, New Year's Eve, and Farewell to Arms are the ones that have really jumped out at me, but I will do a further review of the album later in the week sometime. The hidden track (#14) has the band joking around and there is a guy laughing ( I think it's Reese) and it sounds exactly like Ben laughing, it's hilarious. The CD is not available in stores right now and will only be available on tour, but you can get it at www.themobilemessage.org. They will be OKC on October 19 and in Tulsa the 20th.

Relient K will begin touring in late September with "Anberlin." They are a good rock band. I have their album. Also with guest "Don't Look Down." Never heard of them.

MXPX's album comes out in August sometime and hopefully they will soon start touring late fall sometime.
Dinnertime.
Talk to you later.
Zach

Does Anyone Really Know What Time It Is?

Well, this has been a busy weekend even with Thursday and Friday off from work. But Trent( a youth f/ the youth group) and I helped move my friend Rocky(ex youth minister) to Fort Worth, Texas. I got to drive a 24 foot Uhaul. That was interesting. Only had one close incident with me changing lanes and almost running someone else off the road. He said a few choice words and went on. Those things have no acceleration at all. It was so annoying cause I am used to going in and out of traffic, but it took me like 5 minutes to pass someone unless I was going downhill. Anyways, I am glad to be back in the great state of Oklahoma. I should be getting to put together my video from camp soon. Josh is supposed to call me when his computer is fixed and he is ready to do it. Well, that is about it for now. I did get the new Five Iron Frenzy cd this last week. I haven't to listen to it much, but it sounds good so far. More updates later.
Zach

Zach's Englilsh Paper
by Zach "The Yellow Dart" Davidson

Anyways, I just wanted to update you all on my church situation. Well, my pastor talked to me at camp about being the intern youth minister. I told him I would pray about it and I would get back to him. I went to meet with him last night over dinner. I was planning on accepting the intern position and that is what I thought we were going to talk about, but he would like to turn the whole youth over to me and be youth minister. It came as sort of a surprise. But I ask that you all pray for me (I think Ben is the only one who reads this, anyways) and that I would follow God in what He wants me to do. It is a great opportunity for me, but it is not about me, it is about God. Well that is about it. I'll talk to you all later
Zach

Thought of the Day
In the words of Matt Chandler, "Too many times we are chasing the creation and not the creator."


It's Wednesday the 2nd. I have been meaning to write ever since I got back from Falls Creek on Saturday, but I had a wedding that day, church sunday, and on and on and on. But anyways, I am writing now. My youth minister did "resign" from the church the Sunday night before camp. I wish that he would have been allowed to go, but wasn't. So I basically took over camp. I was somewhat prepared because we knew that he may have not been there, but I didn't think that it would happen. The first day was the worst. So much crap going on, but it lightened up throughout the week. Actually it turned out to be a great week. God is soooooooooooo awesome. We had 4 saved, 9 or so rededicate their lives, and one surrendered to the ministry. It was sweet. Pray for my church about the opening and who God is planning to fill it and also pray for me that God will put me somewhere, whether it is this church or some other one. Well I guess I better head off to church. I will try and do better to keep this updated more often.
Zach

updraft: get caught in it
Isaiah 14:14

Hey, It's another great day that God has given us, but we humans ALWAYS find ways to make it a crappy day. Please pray hard for me and our youth minister. Now because of some overreacting college girl that has complained about what Rocky (YM) did to her ("verbally abused her, but the truth is that she has problems with authority) and for now is not going to camp. That leaves me in charge which is fine and i can handle it, but there is a meeting today at 4:00pm(sunday, camp starts tomorrow) and pray that rumors are handled correctly in a christlike manner. Pray that I won't say or do anything stupid. This is a huge burden on my heart. I feel like God has told me to start putting applications out for a youth ministry job and i think i am about to find out why. Pray that God uses me and that I would be obedient this next week, if I go. Geez this church bites. I don't know how anyone can spiritually survive here and be on staff here. Because unless your perfect like our pastor, you can't be on staff and you will be heckled all the time you are here. We ARE the rumor capital of the state and yet we never go to the source, but to others.
Sorry, I cant write anymore
Give me the mind, heart, words, and attidtude of Christ
Zach

Hey Guys,
What has been going on? Today is Meeker's 100th Anniversary for being a town. Well laddie frickin da! Anyways, last week I went to Super Summer, a camp for youth leaders. It was awesome. If I could describe it in words, I would, but I can't. Anyways, I am doing some final work on Falls Creek which starts on Monday. Please be in prayer for our kids, but mostly our leaders. We have a lot of new leaders and we have some stupid problems going on. Please pray that God moves through our group and we can unite under God and be there for these kids. Well, I am going to get back to work so I'll keep this updated as much as possible.
See ya,
Zach