Dead

This blog is dead, you should check out my new one, Numbers 13, at numbers13.wordpress.com, thanks!
Caleb the Spy

Good Day

So my wife went out with a friend this morning leaving me and the little one at home for the morning. We played a little, we ran around the house, did some laundry and a couple other things around the house, and laughed a lot. I listened to a radio interview with Lecrae, I listened to Rebel for like the 25th time this week, and then I turned on this Mark Driscoll sermon on marriage that I have been meaning to listen to for awhile. It is a good sermon. He doesn't hold back that is for sure. I like a lot of what Driscoll says I just pray that the Lord would continue to keep his ears open to the older Christian leaders in his life. Stay humble Mark the Lord is using you brother.

Anyway not what I wanted to say. So nice morning with Micah. So Driscoll sermon and wanted to check something on our budget and send an e-mail so I ask Micah to go play a little. Micah goes off and is playing with her kitchen set. After about ten minuets I look up and she is laying on the floor snuggling with her teddy bear. So I watched her for a couple minuets and then she rolled over and looked at me and smiled.

She looked at me and decided to get up and walk over to daddy (that's me) and signaled "Up please." So I picked her up and she started snuggling up with me. So we (Micah, her teddy bear and myself) are sitting on the couch and all of a sudden I see her eyes start to close and all of sudden she is snoring.

I share this just because it was a sweet moment between my daughter and I. As I sit here typing with one hand while my daughter takes a little nap on me, I guess I'm excite for another one next year...
Caleb

Jesus Paid It All

I can't stop listening to this song, great Easter song, I hope we sing it tomorrow I know we will be in my house. I love this version even if the theatrics are a little corny...
Caleb

Jesus Paid it All

I hear the Savior say, Thy strength indeed is small;
Child of weakness, watch and pray, Find in Me thine all in all.

Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.

Lord, now indeed I find Thy power and Thine alone,
Can change the lepers spots And melt the heart of stone.

Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.

And when before the throne I stand in Him complete,
"Jesus died my soul to save" my lips shall still repeat

Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.

O Praise the one who paid my debt
And raised this life up from the dead
O Praise the one who paid my debt
And raised this life up from the dead

Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.

Understanding Poverty (a paper I wrote)

A Framework for Understanding Poverty and Its Impact on Educational Events

Over the past several years I have had numerous conversations with friends, family members, and other individuals—about the topic of poverty and its impact on a person. I have always argued that poverty was not something that a person just decided they would throw off and move away from. It is not like an annoying friend that your mother forced you to play with when you were a child, and now that you are older you have decided to avoid. Many times during these discussions I have tried to articulate this point, but have not had the proper language or facts to back up my opinions. For this assignment, I wanted to look deeper into the topic of poverty and its impact on an individual. I chose to read the book, A Framework for Understanding Poverty by Dr. Ruby K. Payne. In this book, she outlines how and why poverty has an incredible impact on a person’s education experience, and why poverty is not something we just walk away from.

The main argument I hear over and over again about people in poverty, is that they are impoverished because they have not tried hard enough to change their situation; they just make bad choices with their money, or they just don’t care. Basically, if they pulled themselves up by their bootstraps, they would be able to pull themselves out of their impoverished state. When we talk about poverty this way we make the assumption that poverty is solely an economic state that can be resolved through working harder and getting a better job. Dr. Payne would argue that a person’s ability to move from poverty to the middle class, depends more on the other resources a person has (Ruby, 1998). She would define poverty differently; her definition does not revolve around a lack of financial resources, although that is included (Ruby, 1998). Payne would argue that poverty is a lack of a combination of the following resources: financial, emotional, mental, spiritual, physical, support systems, relationship/role models, and knowledge of hidden rules (Ruby, 1998). Some individuals may have a shortage in a few or all of these areas, which keeps them in poverty.

I feel this distinction is an important one for educators to make. For many educators and individuals who come from middle class families, we carry with us our cultural assumptions about poverty. I have briefly lived in what is defined as situational poverty; this type of poverty is defined as poverty that is caused by some sort of event (Ruby, 1998). For a time when I was a young child, my parents were struggling to make ends meet and were living off of government assistance. After a couple of years my father completed a night school program, which allowed him to improve his employment situation. After this my mother went back to school and finished her college degree, which also helped her improve her employment situation. My father came from a family that walked a fine line between the middle class and poverty, but would probably be considered middle class. My mother came from an upper middle class family. So although for a time they were struggling to support themselves, they had access to many of the resources needed to move out of poverty. They were able to utilize these resources so our time living under the poverty line was limited. I have never experienced what Payne would define as generational poverty—a family unit that has been in poverty for two or more generations (Ruby, 1998).

Even though my personal experience with poverty is limited, it has had a profound impact on my thoughts toward the subject. My parents would not have been able to change their economic state without utilizing the many other resources that they had available to them. Even before reading A Framework for Understanding Poverty, I understood that my parents were fortunate to have the resources to help them make this move; but after reading Dr. Payne’s work I had the words to articulate what had happened. I believe my parents’ experience highlights four of the resources needed to move from poverty to the middle class. The first two of these resources are emotional support, and a strong support system. My parents were able to support each other, and they had friends and family that lived nearby. These friends and family were able to help watch my sister and I, provide hand-me-downs, and encourage them as they made sacrifices to move forward. One of these sacrifices came in the form of personal relationships. My parents did not see each other a lot during those years my dad would come home and my mom was off to school. Dr. Payne makes the point numerous times that in order to move from poverty to the middle class, or from the middle class to the wealthy, an individual often has to sacrifice personal relationships (Ruby, 1998). In generational poverty relationships are highly valued, and this makes the move from poverty to middle class difficult (Ruby, 1998).

The other two resources my parents had are also closely tied together as well. First, my parents had knowledge of the hidden rules of the middle class. Secondly, they had role models and relationships within the middle class. An example of one of these hidden rules is that in the middle class we see money as something we manage; while in poverty money seen as something you spend (amongst the wealthy money is invested) (Ruby, 1998). Because my parents had both grown up in middle class families, they understood this concept and knew this rule. Now this alone did not make their transition possible, but it was to their advantage. If my parents had been in generational poverty, relationships with individuals in the middle class would have been vital for the acquisition of the hidden rules of the middle class (Ruby, 1998). Even though my parents knew the rules, they did need these middle class relationships as they supplied them with resources. There were a number of times where my mother’s parents helped my parents. Whether it was helping pay for groceries or helping fix the car—my parents had help. This resource in family members is probably not something someone in generational poverty will have available.

Poverty has a profound impact on the educational setting; and it is important for educators to be conscious of the difficulties children from poverty will face. One of the biggest barriers that many students from poverty face is language difficulties (Ruby, 1998). In an education and work setting we use formal register, while most individuals in generational poverty only use casual register (Ruby, 1998). Register can be described as the style in which language is used. When children from poverty use casual register in a school setting—their work is perceived as poor, and this impacts their grade. When children are unable to participate using the correct register, they have difficulty finding academic success (Ruby, 1998).

Reacting to discipline can be another area where children from poverty can struggle (Ruby, 1998). Dr. Payne describes a patter of discipline in which a child makes a mistake, is belittled by their parent and then is feed by that parent (Ruby, 1998). This leads to the child using the child voice where they become defensive and withdrawn (Ruby, 1998). The parent voice is authoritative and judgmental; it doesn’t give the child choices and presents a situation where the child must follow directions or face the consequences (Ruby, 1998). The adult voice is the key to disciplining children from poverty (Ruby, 1998). The adult voice gives a child choices, is non- judgmental, and avoids being negative (Ruby, 1998). Many children from poverty don’t even realize they have other options, and working with them using the adult voice allows them to discover other options and problem solve difficult social situations (Ruby, 1998).

Another reason children from poverty have trouble in a school setting is because they do not have the support system to help them achieve academic success (Ruby, 1998). If a child’s parents are working two jobs, or are in and out of jail—they may not be able to get the help they need with assignments. In addition, many children in poverty are forced to take on adult responsibilities at a young age, and as a result have less time for schoolwork (Ruby, 1998). Or in some cases a parent may have difficulty reading, or struggle with high-level math or science, making it difficult for them to help with assignments. Flexibility is often needed in these situations, and many schools have started to implement a school-wide support system that helps children in many of these difficult situations (Ruby, 1998).

The list of difficulties that many children from poverty will face in school is a long list. We as educators need to be very intentional about our interactions with these children and their parents. I grew up in a middle class family; and I am confident that the majority of educators also grew up in middle class families. This means that we bring many middle class assumptions into our interactions with our students, and their parents from poverty. If we are not intentional about our actions, we will have difficulty helping these students have academic success; academic success that could possibly help them move from poverty to middle class.


References

Ruby, P. K. (1998). A framework for understanding poverty (Rev. ed.). Baytown, Texas: RFT Publishing Co.

You're Batman!!!

Kramer is Batman!!!

And a thing I read on Slavery.

Interesting...

Caleb

Worship Music

So over the years I have shared my issues with a lot of Worship albums put out by pop bands. Not worship music at church, I like that it makes sense it fits, I'm not talking about that. There is something that has always rubbed me the wrong way about the worship album. Maybe it is the worship albums that has the lead singer on the cover (weird), or when the band thanks their stylist but it has always felt strange to me. I totally understand if you love it, that's fine, just has never been my thing.

Well recently at church I was sitting behind this family and they had a little girl about the age of 4 or 5. I doubt she can read but when they started playing the songs let me tell you she was belting them out. I just though now that is super cool.

I started thinking about my family, yes weird my family and I totally want my kids to be able to belt it out in their worst voice just like mom and dad. So recently I have been buying worship songs, just trying to find some of my favorite songs from church so we can sing them around our house and hopefully they will become the songs of our souls, well that and Five Iron, and bS2 and some others.

On a side note been listening to a lot of Switchfoot/Jon Foreman lately, good stuff...

Cheers,
Caleb

Why the Saarela Family will buy nothing.

So a couple of years ago a wrote about why I participate in the holdiay "Buy Nothing Day." I still feel this is an important holiday to celebrate and this story is just fuel to my fire.

Another year is upon us and once again we have another chance to set ourselves apart and say "American consumerism is bad for the county, bad for the planet, and I want people to know that some things in life are more important than 50% off on a DVD player."

Again I celebrate the spirit of the holiday if it is possible I will avoid buying anything on the day but I must confess this year I got my wife a redbox dvd and some ice cream because she is in bed with a horrilbe cold. It's more about the spirit of the thing, do your Christmas shopping next week.

Cheers!
Caleb

P.S. New Brave Saint Saturn album is available on iTunes, or better yet buy it from them. Just wait until tomorrow...

P.P.S. Here is another link to another story , the death toll climbs to three over toys and DVD players.

Reese Roper Interviews

Reese Roper is the lead singer of Five Iron Frenzy and Brave Saint Saturn. He did some interviews recently. Check them out, support good music.

Jesus Freak Hideout

Interview on Five Iron Frenzy.com

Support good music.

Caleb

Greatest Albums Ever!!!

I saw someone with a list of “1001 albums you need to listen to before you die!!!” Now I am not crazy enough to think that you need to listen to these 136 albums before you die, but it was something to do during my down time at work and in the middle of class. So here it is, my favorite 136 albums. The (*) ones are the next level of favorite, like super favorites. If you ever want to ask questions about any of these bands I love talking about useless crap. P.S. I don’t agree with all of these artists ideologically. I thought about getting links to all these but forget that crap...

Enjoy!



+Alternative Rock+

Anti Meridian – Brave Saint Saturn*
Accents – Dennis Bayne*
The Lean and Tender Years – Model Engine*
Consolers of the Lonely – The Raconteurs
5 Years, 50,000 Miles Davis (EP) – Black Eyed Sceva*
White Blood Cells – The White Stripes
Weezer (The Blue Album) – Weezer*
Weezer (The Green Album) – Weezer
Weezer (The Red Album) – Weezer*
Way Before the Flood – Black Eyed Sceva
The Kindest Days – Aaron Sprinkle
Learning To Breathe – Switchfoot*
The Light of Things Hoped For – Brave Saint Saturn*
Live at Hyde Park – Foo Fighters*
Liver – Steve Taylor
New Way to be Human – Switchfoot
Flood – They Might be Giants
Icky Thump – The White Stripes*
In Utero – Nirvana
The Hunger – Seven Day Jesus
Bareface – Aaron Sprinkle
Beautiful Letdown – Switchfoot*
The Worst-Case Scenario – Fair*
The Blackpool Deluxe EP – The White Stripes
Broken Boy Soldiers – The Raconteurs
The Colour and the Shape – Foo Fighters*
Commonwealth – Plankeye*
Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace – Foo Fighters*
Elephant – The White Stripes*
Foo Fighters – Foo Fighters
Grace – Jeff Buckley
In Your Honor – Foo Fighters
Lullabies to Paralyze – Queens of the Stone Age
Mercury – The Prayer Chain
Aaron Sprinkle – Moontraveler
MTV Unplugged In New York – Nirvana*
Nevermind – Nirvana*
The One and Only – Plankeye
A Picture of the Eighth Wonder – Poor Old Lu
Pinkerton – Weezer*
Pocketwatch – Late
Relocation – Plankeye
Seven Day Jesus – Seven Day Jesus
Sin – Poor Old Lu
So Far From Home – Brave Saint Saturn*
So Much for the Afterglow – Everclear
Songs for the Deaf – Queens of the Stone Age
The Spark – Plankeye
Squint – Steve Taylor*
Straight Six (EP) – Poor Old Lu
There is Nothing Left to Lose – Foo Fighers
The Waiting Room – Poor Old Lu
Walking with a Ghost – The White Stripes



+Ska+

Beuatiful World – The Bruce Lee Band*
Anthem – Less Than Jake*
All the Hype that Money can Buy – Five Iron Frenzy*
The End is Here – Five Iron Frenzy*
Upbeats and Beatdowns – Five Iron Frenzy*
The Green Album – Skankin’ Pickle
The Adventures of the O.C. Supertones – O.C. Supertones
The End is Near – Five Iron Frenzy*
Fight of Your Life – The Insyderz
Five Iron Frenzy 2: Electiric Boogaloo – Five Iron Frenzy*
Losing Streak – Less Than Jake
Motor City Ska – The Insyderz
Our Newest Album Ever – Five Iron Frenzy*
Proof that Youth are Revolting – Five Iron Frenzy*
Sing Along with Skankin’ Pickle – Skankin’ Pickle*
Soundtrack to a Revolution –The Insyderz
Supertones Strike Back – O.C. Supertones



+Punk+

Brace Yourself for Mediocre – Roper*
Wolves in Wolves’ Clothing – NOFX
It’s Never Enough – Ace Troubleshooter
Life in General – MxPx
On the Cover (EP) – MxPx
Guerilla Rodeo (EP) – Guerilla Rodeo*
American Idiot – Green Day
The Tennessee EP – Relient K
Dookie – Green Day*
Five Score and Seven Years – Relient K*
Mmhmm – Relient K
Philmore – Philmore
The Bare Truth About Philmore – Philmore
Punk in Drublic – NOFX*
Rock Against Bush Vol 2 – Various
Sumo Surprise –Ghoti Hook
War on Errorism – NOFX*



+Rock+

10,000 Days – Tool
Led Zeppelin I – Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin II – Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin III – Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin IV – Led Zeppelin
Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium – Rage Against the Machine*
Live Killers – Queen
How to Live with a Curse – Stavesacre
The Battle of Los Angeles – Rage Against the Machine*
Bull Takes Fighter (EP)– Stavesacre
Morning View – Incubus
A Night at the Opera – Queen*
Probot – Probot
Rage Against the Machine – Rage Against the Machine
S&M – Metallica
Speakeasy – Stavesacre*
Stavesacre – Stavesacre
Evil Empire – Rage Against the Machine



+Folk+

Modern Times – Bob Dylan*
Blood on the Tracks – Bob Dylan*
Infidels – Bob Dylan
Black Sheep – Martin Sexton
The Bootleg Series Vol 1-3 – Bob Dylan
North Hangook Fallin – Mike Park*
Saved – Bob Dylan
Slow Train Coming – Bob Dylan*
Wonder Bar – Martin Sexton


+Country+

American IV: The Man Comes Around – Johnny Cash
O Brother, Where Art Thou – Various*


+Rap+

Backbreakanomics – Mars Ill
Hindsight – John Reuben*
Hello Nasty – The Beastie Boys
MTV Unplugged – Jay Z
Pigeon John Sings the Blues – Pigeon John


+Pop+

X&Y – Coldplay
Madman Across the Water – Elton John


*So I don’t love best of albums because there is something good about listening to the album, the way the artist wanted it at the time, but if you really want to sample an artist a best of album is usually a good way...

+Best of Albums that are really worth it+

Legend – Bob Marley & The Wailers*
Best of Bob Dylan Vol 1 – Bob Dylan*
Best of Bob Dylan Vol 2 – Bob Dylan*
Chronicle: 20 Greatest Hits - Creedence Clearwater Revival
Collective – Stavesacre*
The Essential Electric Light Orchestra – Electric Light Orchestra*
The Greatest and the Rarest – The Insyderz
The Greatest Songs Ever Written (by Us) – NOFX*
Queen’s Greatest Hits – Queen*
Roten Apples – Smashing Pumpkins
20th Century Masters: Millennium Collection – Sublime
Wave of Mutilation – Pixies
16 biggest Hits – Johnny Cash
Rearviewmirror – Pearl Jam

Yea Music!!!

Another crappy post on Politics!!!

So I know a lot of people have posted a lot of political junk and I know I’m happy that most of it will be over in a week.

I guess I wanted to through my hat into the mix but first I want to make two disclaimers…

First I’m writing this in class so if the grammar and spelling are bad, my bad…

I AM NOT TRYING TO TELL ANYONE WHO THEY SHOULD VOTE FOR!!!

O.K. lets go!

First I want to share two really great resources that I think everyone should take a look at. The first is www.ontheissues.org. This website is run by a non-partisan organization that wants people to vote based primarily on issues. So you can go on there and look at a ton of candidates and what they have said or how they have voted on a variety of issues. For most candidates it also shows how compliant they are with different organizations from both the left and the right. An example is that McCain was “Rated 75% by the NRLC (National Right to Life Committee), indicating a mixed record on abortion.” And “Rated 0% by NARAL (Pro-Choice America), indicating a pro-life voting record.” The website sites all their sources so you can see where they got their information (newspaper article, or library of congress for voting records).

I love this website I totally recommend checking it out; you can also click on the state, like Minnesota and you can look at different candidates from Minnesota.

The second website is www.myballot.net. This website will show you who is going to be on your ballot. You type in your zip code and then find your street and it will show you what your ballot will look like. So you at least see what you are getting into, every time I go to vote there are like thirty people running for judges seats and they are running against themselves. So you can at least look them up see who you would support. Again I thought it was a nice little tool.

O.K. now a quote that I totally stole from Jared Lorence’s facebook page (I think). It is from John Quincy Adams and it goes like this,

“Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.”

So the last couple years I have voted for “the lesser of two evils” and I’m determined not to do that this year, so I am probably not voting for either Obama or McCain because I don’t agree with them on a number of issues. If you actually want to know why I can go into more detail, but I probably won’t, mostly because I don’t like you, no wait…

Anyway my amazing wife has really struggled with this idea that “I’m wasting my vote.” I just don’t think I am, I want to vote for someone I believe in, and I don’t really care if they win or lose.

So my Christian worldview has lead me to believe that God is sovereign over everything therefore He is sovereign over the election. God will not be surprised by who wins and I think all that is required of me is to pray about it and vote for who my conscience has lead me to vote for. Which is not a waste of my vote! Again I may not feel this way in two or four years but that is the way I feel right now.

O.K. let the playa hating begin!!!

Cheers,
Caleb