Thanks Grandma Pearl!

Judy, Grandma Pearl, and me

My last blog post says thanks to mom and dad for helping get my alto sax overhauled. While I was at Tenor Madness I casually mentioned that my grandmother had given me some money to help get a tenor sax and he actually had something. I've already played my new (used) Yamaha YTS 52 prob around 10 hours by now. It is incredible.

Thanks so much grandma for helping to make this dream a reality. You've had a rough go of it for the past 11 months (or more?) but you fought and fought. We are praying for you to get well, completely well!

Love, Tye

Thanks Mom and Dad

Me, Dad, Mom, and Judy

This past weekend I blogged about picking up my Selmer Mark VI alto sax after having it overhauled. Well, that would have never happened if it hadn't been for my parents, John and Linda Male, giving me $1k buckeroos to have my horn overhauled. I had prayed specifically for this and they were the answer. WOW!

My alto is as good as new, actually, better than new. Randy and his guys at Tenor Madness did an incredible job doing a complete mechanical overhaul.

Again, thanks mom and dad! I love you!

Happy birthday Allyson!!!

Allyson and Lindsey

Today is a very special day here at the Male home. It is the day we celebrate Allyson's 17th anniversary of her birthday! Allyson has brought so much joy into our lives and we are so proud of her.

Lindsey came over to the house and decorated her bedroom. Sorry no pics - the camera went to the concert choir concert tonight.

We didn't really have a celebration tonight. She had a concert to go to and the family was kinda scattered around tonight. We'll have a party for her as soon as we can all get together!

Happy birthday Ally!

Tenor Madness

Randy up at Tenor Madness dials in my new Tenor Sax

Today was the day to go pick up my alto sax up in Cedar Falls at Tenor Madness. Randy owns and operates the shop that restores vintage horns like mine. You can click on the pic to see a brief slide show.

While I was there, I mentioned that I had a little bit of money saved for a future tenor purchase and he siad he had a great horn that would work for my discerning taste - one that played a 1968 Selmer Mark VI back in the early 80's. After experimenting with a number of necks and mouthpieces and several adjustments with the venting of the horn I finally found a combination I liked so I bought it. I was a few bucks short, but hope I can make it up teaching and playing.

Hats off to Randy at Tenor Madness for a job well done! You see, work on vintage horns like mine is more art than science. But Randy quickly added that it is passion, and he has a lot of it!

Visit www.tenormadness.com.

Can you imagine a world of servant leaders?

I've been talking a lot about forgiveness this week in the wake of the Amish school house slaying. Another story emerged today about how one of the 13 year old girls asked to be shot instead of the other children. That's amazing. That's superhuman. Let's think about it.

Can you imagine a world where everyone tries to out serve, out love, out forgive everyone?

• People hold the door for each other.
  
• At Panera, younger people (like myself) park in the other lot so the elderly people could park right up front.
  
• No one would go racing up the lane that is supposed to merge and then cut in line. They would patiently wait in line like everyone else. (my personal pet peeve)
  
• Unions would go out of business.
  
• Hungry people would get fed.
  
• It would look just like heaven, wouldn't it. (thanks Tammy for adding that one!)

I'll go first, uh, at going last. Want to join me at the back of the line?

Forgiveness help survivors heal

(Excerpted from MARK SCOLFORO, Associated Press Writer.
Click here for AP news report.)

Richard J. Gelles, a childhood violence expert and a University of Pennsylvania dean, said the importance of forgiveness in Amish culture should help survivors heal.

"Nobody has to accept that behavior. But forgiveness is a whole lot easier than seeking revenge," he said.

Many Amish have embraced the gunman's wife, Marie Roberts, and their three young children.

Enough said. Tye out.

The Italian Prophet

Ever heard of the Italalian prophet? Malachi (pronounced Mah-Lah-chee if you really think he was Italian) wasn't Italian - just looks like it. It's actually pronounced Mah-Lah-Ki (accent on first sylable and long 'i' at the end). I was just trying to lighten things on this Friday. It's been a long week!

I just finished reading through the Old Testament for the second time this year and it has been another eye-opening experience. God's sovereignty was clearer to me than ever, but so was God's willingness to act in response to man's actions. Over and over again he tells his own people Israel to forsake their evil ways and he will bless them. Nineveh was as good as destroyed by God's decree, yet when they repented God chose not to punish them. Did he change his mind? Nah, I don't think so. He knew what they were going to do. I think it comes down to trying to understand things that only God can understand.

In the end this Italalian prophet says a couple of things I like. First, don't divorce the wife of your youth. God hates divorce. Note that he does not hate the divorced! As men, we must stay true to our wives and love them as Christ loved the church - no excuses! Second, Malachi says that the sun of righteousness would rise with healing in its wings. We now know that that sun of righteousness was Jesus.

The Old Testament closes with a promise that a redeemer would come and you would know it because he has healing in his wings. Then 400 years later Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Whoah! I'm so thankful that over 30 years ago Christ healed me of my sin and gave me new life. I'm not perfect - you all know that! I'm just forgiven. : )

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone and the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:16 NIV

Jazz to the Max

Lexi Forstrom, Me, Kris Rutt
(Click on the pic for a slideshow)

Tonight I had the privilege of playing with a jazz band downtown at the IMAX called the Iowa Vanguard Jazz Collective. We played Billy Strayhorn to Sammy Nestico. Click on the pic above to view a slideshow. Again, thanks to Kim Pagel for taking pics and posting them.

It has been pure joy getting to play my fave music in the world - big band. It is challenging, fun to play, and the other players are incredible.

If you're not doing anything, head on down to the IMAX on either the first or third Thursday evening for an awesome evening of jazz music. Thanks to Lynne and Peter Hart for organizing this band so people like me can enjoy playing this kind of music and keep my reading chops up at the same time.

P.S. I am giving Lexi lessons and she came down tonight and I had her sit next to me so she could see what it's like to play in a section. Thanks for coming down Lexi!

"The Amish way"

Amish women pray outside schoolhouse

The outside world is trying to grapple with this whole Amish forgiveness thing and they have difficulty comprehending a group of people not only forgiving such atrocity, but offering financial assistance to the family of the murderer of their children. Check this out:

"The hurt is very great," Huntington said. "But they don't balance the hurt with hate."

In just about any other community, a deadly school shooting would have brought demands from civic leaders for tighter gun laws and better security, and the victims' loved ones would have lashed out at the gunman's family or threatened to sue.

But that's not the Amish way. [bold mine]

In the aftermath of Monday's violence, the Amish have reached out to the family of the gunman, Charles Carl Roberts IV, 32, who committed suicide during the attack in a one-room schoolhouse.

(Quotes above by Gertrude Huntington, a Michigan researcher who has written a book about children in Amish society.)

Ok, so I've gotten a little carried away with this forgiveness thing. But can you imagine a world where everyone tries to out serve, out love, and out forgive one another? What if we took Jesus command to "forgive our enemies" seriously? What if we were all to "Love God, and love people" jsut like Jesus said? can you imagine the world we would live in?

And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” Mark 11:25NIV

Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God. For it is written, “I will take vengeance; I will repay those who deserve it,” says the Lord. Romans 12:19NLT

Jesus said, “Father, forgive these people, because they don’t know what they are doing.” And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice. Luke 23:34NLT

Men's Fraternity - 139 men this morning

We just wrapped up our third meeting of Men's Fraternity at NCBC and it thrills me to report that we had 139 men there. Robert Lewis shared his story about the things his father gave him as we looked at the topic The First Step to Authentic Manhood: Looking Back. There was a lot of sharing around the tables afterward as we discussed our fathers and the things they gave us for life.

To date, I am estimating that we have touched over 160 men between the morning Men's Fraternity and evening. One gentleman stopped me afterward and this is what he said about Men's Fraternity:

Todays Mens Fratennity was the best yet. I only wish this was available 40 years ago.

See you next week!

What my father gave me

(Me, Dad, Mom, and Judy)

Today at NCBC's Men's Fraternity the topic was : The First Step to Authentic Manhood: Looking Back. Robert Lewis shared about his relationship to his dad and how it deeply impacted his life. I would like to tell you a little about my relationship with my father (in picture above) and the good things my dad gave me as I ventured out into life:

• Work ethic - dad knew how to give an honest day's work for an honest day's pay.
  
• He taught me how to check the oil, change the brakes. When I asked him why we didn't have it repaired at the gas station, he said "They are men just like you and me. We can figure it out just like they do."
  
• Dad protected mom and he loved her.
  
• He was a disciplinarian and I knew better than to mess with him.
  
• He bought me a saxophone and told me that I would be the best sax player in the world. (he was wrong, but the encouragement went miles)
  
• He taught me that swearing was unacceptable.
  
• He took me to church.
  
• He taught me how to hunt.
  
• He taught me how to give people the benefit of the doubt and to offer forgiveness quickly.

Thanks Dad for giving me some of the stuff of life that a man needs. Thanks for always encouraging me. Thanks for continuing to be my friend to this day! I love you!

Amish offer forgiveness to Roberts and the family in slaying of children

I'm not surprised by what I just heard in the news - online Yahoo! News. In an interview with a buggy maker who works in the community where this terrible tragedy occurred we hear first hand how the Amish react to such evil and violence and I must admit I'm not surprised. Here's what this Amish gentleman shared with CNN:

In forgiveness there is healing...it's an understatement to say there has been a terrible hurt and so many times when folks are hurt they can become angry...we have a choice to do what Jesus would have done or we might do some other way. I don't think there is anyone here who wants to do anything but forgive and not only reach out to those who have suffered a loss in that way, but to reach to the family of the man who committed these acts.

What an example of Christian love. I wish we could all have this kind of forgiveness for those who have wronged us. I agree with this Amish man - There is healing in forgiveness.

Jesus said, "Father, forgive these people, because they don't know what they are doing." And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice. Luke 23:34 NLT

Revenge - one more thing

The more I trust God, the less I need revenge. Christians are called to forgive.

Please Lord, forgive me when I secretly desire revenge when others have wronged me. Help me forgive them and allow you to work not only in my life, but in theirs as well.

Don't talk to me about revenge - Part 2

From the suicide notes and telephone calls, it was clear Roberts was "angry at life, he was angry at God," and co-workers said his mood had darkened in recent days, Miller said. - MARK SCOLFORO, Associated Press Writer reporting on yesterday's shooting at a school in Lancaster, PA.

This line grabbed my attention this morning. I feel like someone punched me in the stomach when I read this morning that two more children have died as a result of Robert's revenge.

It says that Robert's was angry with God. What if he had asked the Lord to heal his pain and to handle the vengeance part instead of him taking it into his own hands? What if this father and husband had given his hurt and pain from the past to the Lord and allowed God's justice to prevail?

I wish that Robert's would have done this. Had he done so, life in this Lancaster Amish community would be the same as it was the day before this trajedy.

Besides, why would you want to be mad at God? He is trustworthy. He is faithful. He is righteous. If we could only learn to trust him more - even with our desire to see the scales balanced.

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8 NIV

WHEW! Judy and I stained the deck today!

After working almost two weeks straight, I finally got to take a day off today and we finally stained our deck that we powerwashed back in early July. I was pleasantly surprised at how well it turned out as we applied the stain. Actually, the best part was spending the day with my wife doing a project together. Then it was off to our fav lunch destination Applebee's.

Deal or No Deal - I don't get it, but then again I do

I watched part of Deal or No Deal tonight and I have to say I don't get it. It seemed kinda cheesy to me. The participants seemed like they were hamming it up too. Then, they got all excited when the case they opened had very little money in it.

The thing I did get was this - the guy turned down $48k hoping to get more. That's a little greedy if you ask me. I would have taken it, paid off our debt and bought a Selmer Paris Mark VI tenor sax from the 60's. They're around $5-6K. Then our family would have a family vacation next summer. Oh well.

P.S. the guy wound up walking away with $15k.

Don't talk to me about revenge today please

A milk man open fired on a classroom of old order Amish girls in Lancaster PA today. (Click here for the news story) Apparently there was some disturbing notes left about a suicide attempt by the killer but other than that no one really knows why he unleashed his fury on innocent school children. In a cell call to his wife during the hostage situation he told her that he was getting even for something that had happened 20 years ago.

Help me out on this one. Killing innocent people makes things even - to get revenge? Many, many lives will forever be changed because of someone who felt the score needed to be settled. A wife, sons and maybe daughters of a murderous dead man, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends; on and on the list goes. How could this happen? One man's revenge is everyone else's demise. Why?

What drives people to even want to get revenge? Selfishness drives us to settle scores, get revenge, and make sure everyone knows how right we are. Grudges only eat and destroy like a cancer the person holding it. Grudges cause sickness (physical) and emotional instability.

I fear that what we have seen in recent days is a lack of value for human life, and this is directly proportional to our cultures lack of acceptance that we have a creator who has endowed each of us with inalienable rights and ultimately we are responsible to God and God alone. And when we toss God out of a society, all hell breaks loose. People kill one another. Innocent people die. Marriages are broken because a younger, sexier person (that looks like those "hotties" on TV) walks by and offers a temporary fix. (oops, I'm ranting now)

What should be our response? First of all, let's pray. Pray for the wife of the deceased murderer. Pray for the Amish community of Lancaster PA.

Are you harboring resentment toward someone? Have you been secretly seeking an opportunity to get revenge?

The Bible says that vengeance belongs to the Lord. I think the reason is because when we get revenge, uh, even the score, get even, etc., it NEVER solves the issue, resolves the hurt, and sets things right. Only the Lord knows how to balance the scales, so we should leave that up to him.

I know this is getting long (that's why I break it up into short paragraphs) but I have to say a word about forgiveness and justice. We are called to forgive people who have done evil things to us. God is love and we are called to extend that love to others which includes forgiveness. On the other hand, God is a just God and therefore he must punish sin. God solved this problem in the person of Jesus Christ. Accept him today as your Savior. He is the only hope for our world.

I'm done.

Connecting to Community - Prepare for Impact!

Today was the culmination of 2 months of recruiting and training Hosts and signing up participants for this year's Impact ~ Growing Great Lives! Click on the pic above for a slideshow that will give you an idea of what it was like today at Impact Central. BTW, Host is an acronym:

H - have a heart for God and others

O - open your home

S - serve by leading a discussion (or, serve snacks!)

T - tell others

What all this means is we spent the day today between all four services trying to place last minute particpants in a small group based on what over 60 Hosts have told us how many people they can take in their group. All total, we spent several hours, including today at the services doing something that would be somewhat like attempting a match-making service for around 200 people - no wonder I'm a little stressed! Ha!

The story of the day was when one of our groups was overloaded and as we were discussing this, another Host walked up and said, "Hey, I'll take some!" About then another Host walked up and said that they were full as well. In just a few minutes, two groups that were too full leveled off and group that was lacking people got filled. Praise the Lord!

Connecting others to community is what we are all about at New Covenant Bible Church. The most exciting part of this year's Impact is seeing lots and lots of new people stepping up to get connected in community. We have a few couples Hosting groups who have only been attending NCBC a few months. What a great way to meet people and connect.

Stay tuned for updates as we Prepare for Impact!

P.S. Click here to read our Executive Pastor's blog about the Impact.

Homecoming

Allyson & Josh

Saturday night was Allyson's homecoming dance and she was accompanied by Josh Pagel. It was a perfect evening for such a celebration. They started off at Olive Garden with a 12 young people ranging from freshman all the way to seniors. It is so cool to see the upper classmen including the under classman.

AFter Olive Garden they headed off to Noelridge Park for pictures in the beautiful flower gardens there. Click on the pic above to see a slideshow of the pictures taken by Josh's dad. (thanks Kim for taking pics - they are incredible.)

After the dance they all headed over to Purdy's house until around 2 AM. I think it is so incredible that our kids can get together and have such a wonderful time and still be committed followers of Jesus. Allyson said she had a great time.

Cookies for Fire Fighters

Morgan and Mackenzie with CRFD Personel
(Clic on the pic for a slideshow)

9/11 had a profound effect on me this year. I watched that documentary by the french guy who was filming a NYFD when the 9/11 call came in. It was too much. Andrew and I stayed up until 1 AM watching.

The next day, 9/11, I decided that I wanted to do something to say thanks to fire fighters in our area. Thanks to Judy for spending the afternoon baking chocolate chip cookies and right after supper we headed out to deliver cookies. It was our hope to bring a little sunshine to people who lay there lives on the line and rarely here the words "thank you."

At the first firehouse, we dropped off a plate of cookies to the station on C Ave and I think the men were a little shocked. They also seemed somewhat preoccupied - maybe a meeting or something.

Second stop was 42nd Ave. They invited us in and they were quite surprised. They gave us a tour of the station and even posed for pics! (Mackenzie wearing the fire coat)

Third stop was on 19th Ave (I think) just off 1st ave. Again, they were so surprised and welcomed us in even though Monday night football was on!

The last stop was near Coe College downtown. We received a complete tour of this very old fire hall that is a two story. The guys there were thrilled we stopped and posed for a lot of pics. (pics with fire truck in background)

Most of the stations we stopped at said that they rarely get visitors. All them were very receptive to our visit. It was a moving night, and gave me an idea for next year.

Next year, I would like to take goodies to all the fire stations, paramedics, and police in Cedar Rapids on 9/11. Would you join me? Let me know how you would like to help.