jackson's blog 1.0

no more blogger...

2006-04-28T17:27:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Todd Phillips, my new blog site is JacksonBohlender.com, and it looks way better. Check it out! I'll be uploading photos, videos and such soon to make it a real multimedia center.

I won't be updating this blog anymore, you'll have to go to JacksonBohlender.com to see my thoughts now, so update your Rolodexes (or would that be "Roledi"?)

Thanks, Todd!

FSM?

2006-04-27T10:04:00.000-05:00

I just found another Forerunner School of Ministry online. What are the odds of another group of people choosing the same name for their bible school as we did? The name itself isn't all that catchy. You can't say it fast, it's wordy, and it's ambiguous. Huh...

I don't think they copied IHOP, though, because judging from their website, it looks like a bigger and older school than FSM-KC.

the blob

2006-04-26T13:10:00.000-05:00

Shot and produced by yours truly on sight at Waukaway Springs in Mississippi, here are two videos of blob launching... one of my dad trying to launch Grayson (it didn't work too well), and then one of Jason launching my dad, which was a little more successful.

click here to see Grayson's launch...

click here to see Dad's launch...

2006-04-26T08:13:00.000-05:00

Last night was our second night at Great Wolf Lodge, andnot a very restful night at that. I had the brilliant idea of redeeming one of our many free coffee coupons at the Starbucks downstairs. The problem was, it was already 9:30 pm. This provided for a caffeine-induced energy spree, which provided for a restless night. Well,
"restless" is putting it mildly.

I kept thinking about how I wished I had a feather duster right by my side to snuggle and take home and call it my own. Then I envisioned the lifeless bodies of birds whose feathers had been plucked in order to get me the said feather duster. And then I started feeling bad, so I thought about the End-Times, and staring into the blinking "12:01" on our hotel room's microwave oven's screen, I thought of how if the antichrist could just build a big microwave oven, then he could nuke a lot in a little time.

And then I started considering the possibilities of becoming a science major, but then I decided I didn't like science. And then I thoughtfully pondered the kids in Somalia who you can't even talk to for less then $20 (It's $23.99 - trust me. I know these things.) and they would love to learn science but can't because nobody in their rural village know how to get a science book in their native language. And then I decided to get a degree in science when I'm older, but to learn everything in whatever the native language in Somalia is.

It was an endless line of meaningless thought. And that's how I spent my evening. There is a moral to this story, folks - caffiene'll kill ya.

a song...

2006-04-25T13:44:00.000-05:00

I've kind of pieced together from other songs I've written....

I ate of this world and I became of it,
the light I thought I was living for
was a glimpse of darkness.

but it's a new day,
and it's a new hour
I'm so grateful for your mercies,
they descend like spring showers

I've forsaken this world
and I've partaken of your blood
and now my sins are washed away, my sins are washed away
because I'm covered by blood of the Lamb, my sins are washed away.

And as I sing this song, I feel undeserving of my destiny.
And as I gaze upon your splendor, I feel unworthy of your Word.
You are my rock and my redeemer, you are worthy of my praise.

my apologies to Ali Mohommad Ghedi, prime minister of Somalia. Mr. Ghedi, I didn't mean to make that long distance call...

2006-04-22T21:41:00.000-05:00

God's been talking to me about simplicity lately. I feel like I've been storing up treasures on earth. I feel like I've been treasuring my computer and cell phone and computer more than I've treasured my relationship with Jesus. (now, if you were planning on getting rid of a MacBook Pro, I'd still be willing to take it off your hand for you, because I've learned my lesson.)

I've been using my computer a little too much not only doing FSM homework, which takes up most of my time on my iBook, but surfing. Let me tell you, folks, every stinking iPod on eBay sells for what it's worth. There's no use watching them. Take it from someone with experience in this field.

I've been using my cell phone a little too much not only just for the telephone feature, but for text, picture, and video messaging. (which is free with our cellular plan - it gets better).

The postman graciously brought the T-Mobile bill to our doorstep the other day and we were suprised to see that my phone was charged 24 more dollars for a call to Somalia. That's right - Somalia. I don't know anyone in Somalia, and I deifinitely haven't called anyone there. Heck, I didn't even know they had telephones in Somalia.

The only thing I can trace it back to is a time I let Zion play with my phone and I thought I had locked the keypad. This whole thing has left me with two conclusions: 1) being that debt stinks, and 2) that I have to be responsible with the stuff the Lord has given me.

room evaluation

2006-04-21T07:39:00.000-05:00

Our hotel room provided decent lodging for the night, but if we were to have paid big money, I'd want it back. Maybe its yuckiness comes from the fact that it's not in the nicest area of town. All I know is that it's just plain uncomfortable sleeping in a hotel room where they keep a 12-gauge shotgun in the nightstand drawer* next to the Bible and the Book of Mormon. Ah, the bare essentials.

I won't be blogging from the camp due to a lack of WiFi. Expect reports on the way back.

*I may have exaggerated a tad. The 12-gauge shotgun was more like a small bottle of pepper spray to protect yourself from Fire-in-The-Nighters at the International House of Burglary...

War and Peace

2006-04-19T23:36:00.000-05:00

I've placed a hold on Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, because according to my parents, it's like the 500-page book. Now, mind you, I won't read it, but I'll carry it around and put in in conspicuous places to make it look like I'm reading it, and then I'll walk down the road and people will point and say, "There goes young Jackson Bohlender, the noble and wise boy who reads 500-page novels for light bedtime reading."

And then, all I have to do to get into college is plan a meeting with the president of my chosen school and casually mention that I have War and Peace checked out at the library and he'll say, "By golly, son, you've got yourself a scholarship! Any boy who reads 500-page novels for light bedtime reading deserves his way paid to school."

And that's my plan for college, so Mom and Dad, all that money you put away every year for college, you can go on a shopping spree now, because I've got everything mapped out for the future.

baking injury...

2006-04-19T23:29:00.000-05:00

I'm kind of on a cookie-making spree. I like doing it, because you take something totally disgusting-looking (cookie dough) and make it into a rather attractive piece of art that people can take home and look at and hang up on their wall. Or they can gobble it up, whatever their preferences.

Anyway, I was on Batch #27 this evening and got a little too close to the side of the oven, thus leaving a minor burn on my arm. It stings a bit, but now, I have this really impressive welt that people will look at and ask what happened, and I'll proudly proclaim as manly as I can, "Cookie-making injury."

My mom and I have also discovered that if we aplit a cookie, each taking a half, we can easily have 2 cookies a piece, but it always looks like we're having a half. Oh, shoot. Now my secret's out. Sorry, Mom! :-D

Missippi

2006-04-19T15:14:00.000-05:00

We leave for Mississippi tomorrow, (and yes, I know how to spell Mississippi!) and we get to rent a car because our current vehicle is over 150,000 miles and acts kind of scary from time to time.

My dad says he's going to try to upgrade like we did last time we rented a car - we went from 7-seater Town and Country minivan to a 9-seater Excursion for only a few more bucks a day, and boy was it worth it. The SUV was the size of a school bus. It was beautiful, because most of the time, I got an entire row to myself. Ah, the glory of leg room.

I've got to go pack right now. Later, taters...

USA Today: 22 States Likely to Restrict Abortion if Roe is Overturned

2006-04-17T16:12:00.000-05:00

Take a few minutes to look at the chart below. 49% of America is saying that they are willing to ban abortion. This is huge. However, we need to pray for the other pro-choice 35% and the 16% of apathists.

click here to see the whole article...

Will someone kindly explain this to me?

2006-04-17T07:42:00.000-05:00

Every time I turn my cell phone on and it's within 6 feet (I measured it) of my alarm clock radio, my alarm clock makes weird buzzing noises, andthe closer the phone is to the radio, the louder the buzzing. The radio part of the alarm clock is off, though, and even if it was on, its volume control dial is turned all the way down. hmm...

If anyone can find out, there will be a reward... in heaven.

hmm.

Something I do not understand...

2006-04-14T21:31:00.000-05:00

Why is it an insult when people say "your mom"? I mean, I love my mother, (she's the best one I've ever had) but it seems that it would be easier to just insult my face or my out-of-proportion abodiminal area. Why my mom?

It makes no sense. "Your mom is so old she went to school with Ronald Reagan". Wouldn't it be more insulting to tell me that I was old? Or maybe they just want to semiinsult me by talking about my mother.

Quite frankly, as much as I love my mom, nothing is insulting about "your mom's feet stink" or "your mom is an ugly design project".

This generation needs some originality when it comes to sarcasm. I mean, if you're going to be sarcastic, make it good! Make it memorable; say it like you mean it! (or you don't mean it, whichever is the case)

We don' seek originality, though. We laugh when someone makes a stupid joke and we go on telling them. If you don't believe me, I found an entire website devoted to "stupid your mom jokes" that I will not link to because I can't vouch for its cleanliness.

Also, the phrase "who's your daddy" is another pet peeve of mine. What is about revealing the truth about one's parents? Why would someone who obviously doesn't care inquire about my father?

I'm not ashamed of my dad or who he is. Sure, he's a bit of a footwear enthusiast (he's been dancing around the house today because he just bought his first pair of flip flops), but he's my dad. Even is I didn't like it, I'd be stuck with him.

So, what are the origins of these phrases, these cliches, that bind us all? I am yet to find out.

My mom is an awesome public speaker

2006-04-13T09:43:00.000-05:00

I'm sitting in her Song of Solomon teaching right now, and it's amazing. She should teach an FSM class or something. Oh yeah. I'm sitting in it.

Grayson got the new Narnia DVD for his birthday

2006-04-12T19:44:00.000-05:00

I could have sworn my mom said "urinal-cleaning kit". I need a hearing aid.

Dunkin' Donuts v. Western Church

2006-04-12T12:19:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking a lot about the way we spend out time. I know this may not sound entirely original, but we are serious hypocrites. We may not think we are, but we are.

On my trip to Boston, we passed one of the many Dunkin' Donuts in the Beantown area, and this particular store had a sign out that said "Up late working? No problem! We're open 24/7!"

I was struck with the reality that Dunkin' Donuts employees have more passion than most of the church today. Maybe they weren't even passionate about their job, but they were committed to it, and even then they're a step ahead of us. What is the world coming to when the donut shop has more committed members than the church?

We worship 30 minutes a week, maybe an hour if our church is edgy, but what do we do with that? Do we live out our worship? "24/7 worship" doesn't have to be literal day and night singing to God. It can be living your life for Him.

But we don't live our lives for Him. We go and support the donut movement. This is why we are hypocrites. We close our eyes and raise our hands and are sincere during that 30-90 minutes of intimacy a week, but we fail to live it out, because worship is not easy. Donuts are easy.

Happy Birthday, Grayson!

2006-04-12T12:16:00.000-05:00

Grayson turns 9 today, and I would put what his present is, but I think he may read this from time to time, so I'll have to wait until the unveiling to publish it.

click here to see a hint.

Pictures from Boston!

2006-04-10T21:19:00.000-05:00

2006-04-10T20:18:00.000-05:00

Let me just say that I love IHOP's semi-new website. It used to be Ambiguity City, but now the vast field of online resources is more accessible than a handicapped parking spot.

the TV just up and done it again...

2006-04-09T19:04:00.000-05:00

"Safety lies not only in forecasts and predictions, but in preperation as well."

- Discovery Channel man, in context of Hurricane Katrina

"Ditto what Discovery Channel man said."

-Jackson Bohlender, in context of the End Times

If this does not provoke you to go read Revelation, it could be argued that you are eschatalogically inept. The sad thing is, I don't feel provoked by this, either.

I think it's easy to get caught up in the prophetic aspect of the End Times, getting revelation and words, but preparation is the not-so-fun part of it. Preparation is the thing fewer people are and will be doing, and it's the most important part.

Oh, I've gotta get learned in this stuff.

live from downtown Boston

2006-04-07T16:59:00.000-05:00

We got in to Boston Wednesday night and connected with our JHOP buddies. It does my heart good to see the Amabiles and Engles and all of the people here from DC.

It's good to be here, but it'll be good to be home.

I also got to see the NorthEeast House Of Prayer group from New York that I met last week on another trip.

Grayson the salesman

2006-04-04T17:08:00.000-05:00

This video is from a few weeks ago when we went to the Kansas City Auto Show downtown. Grayson and I found it interesting that the people giving the car presentations kept advertising "this year's model" as the best one yet and talked about "last year's model" like trash.

They kept referring to new features as "exclusive to this year's model" or they would say "last year's model did not have this feature". We thought it was funny that they advertised last year's model only 12 months ago and most likely advertised it as the best thing since sliced bread. Ah, the fickle nature of man.

Anyway, I whipped out my camera and we took an on-the-spot video of Grayson imitating the spokesperson for the 2007 Subaru Forester...

Click here to see it

This just in: Grayson looks handsome in hand-me-down robe

2006-04-03T21:51:00.000-05:00

Grayson looks like a little British kid with maids and servants and stuff when he wears his red bathrobe. There's something about it that makes him look like a royal somebody.

Pictures to come... maybe. Grayson's a little funny when it comes to pictures of him in his pajama's being put on the internet for all the world to see. I might have to rethink this.

I am back.

2006-04-03T15:59:00.000-05:00

I'm back from New York today, and I found the previously-mentioned tweed Chuck Taylors I bought on eBay. I ordered my size (12) because it seemed logical. (I don't order any other size... duh.)

Well, today when the Chucks came to my door, I found out that Converse size is different than regular US size. It's whatever is between US and European size. So, instead of being a perfect fit, the Chucks are a bit too spacious, leaving no other choice but to relist them. (Each shpe is big enough to house a small family. Well, you could house them JHOP style.)

I gotta go take [another] nap. Traveling takes it out of ya.

Quote of the Day...

2006-04-02T08:04:00.000-05:00

"I'm reliable, just late."

- Anonymous FSM student, last week

travel blog version 2.0

2006-04-01T22:26:00.000-06:00

Well, we just got back from the camp in New York. (We're still in NY, but the camp is over.) I fly out on Monday.

I taught on prayer this afternoon and I was surprised and impressed with myself. I was learning as I was teaching. (Does that ever happen to you?)

I'm beat. my outsides are tired, but my insides are lively as ever. (Need I say more?) I'm kind of suffering from a caffeine-induced energy spree. My adrenaline is up and at 'em and my eye keeps twitching.

I'm going to try to get to bed, but the three cappucinoes and one Mountain Dew I had today (I wish I was kidding.)

On a somewhat random note - Jenny Powell, I took your advice and tried a Marble Mocha in the Chicago airport this past Thursday, and it was divine. It was an airport Starbucks, though, so I'm sure the real thing is even better, if that is at all possible.

a traveling ninja

2006-03-31T06:13:00.000-06:00

After a long and arguous journey yesterday evening, we finally landed in the Albany airpirt - without our luggage.

Our 5:00 flight from Kansas City had been delayed, so we caught a 4:30 flight for fear of missing our plane in Chicago. Unfortunately, we had already checked our baggage onto the 5:00 (now 6:00) plane.

So, the 5:00-then-6:00 was delayed even more after we left, and our luggage is somewhere between Chicago Midway and Albany, New York.

I was sleeping like a baby last night until their (our hosting family's) very cuddly and obesity-stricken dog decided to give me a kiss. This dog was like the size of a Chipotle burrito. Maybe even bigger.

Anyway, after I had moved to the top bunk, out of the reach of the canine lover boy, I realized that the top bunk was probably not the safest place for an iPod. (I'm using my dad's iPod mini on this trip.) Being too tired to have any real power over my limbs, I fell asleep pronto. I awoke and couldn't find the iPod anywhere. Fearing the worst, I jumped down and looked everywhere on the floor, suspecting that it had fallen 10 feet. (that was going to be a toughie to explain to Dad...)

In a moment of despiration, I climbed back up to see if the iPod actually was up top, and I saw it safely nestled on my pillow. All that anxiety for nothing. What a Jackson moment.

Everyone here seems fascinated with my Mac. They've all got up-to-date PCs (if there is such a thing anymore), but they know true workmanshop when they see it. Someone said, "It's so small! Where can I get one?"
Take that, Sean Henry!

"Bluetooth more of an annoyance than anything for local cell-phone bearing teen"

2006-03-30T10:21:00.000-06:00

My Nokia 6600 keeps trying to send people things via Bluetooth. I'm not trying to send them messages, but it sends them weird gibberish (HTML maybe?) text documents. The weird part is - I've turned Blueooth off!

It's done it to Matt Hartke's, Pamela Stead's, Grace Falkner's, my dad's, and undoubtedly lots of other people's laptops who have internal Bluetooth.

Maybe it was the time I dropped it when I was going down Red Bridge on my bike. Or maybe it was the time it went skidding accross the IHOP parking lot. Whatever the case, it's acting funky.

If it weren't for the ability to transfer pictures I took on my phone to my computer via BT and vice versa, I'd be tempted to have someone take it apart and take the Bluetooth module out.

the plot thickens

2006-03-30T09:23:00.000-06:00

Okay, a few months ago, I got in nig whoopie trouble with leadership for having a mocha in the prayer room. (I blogged about how after I had experienced it, I realized that having a mocha in the prayer room was all that was missing, and, wouldn't you know it, a section leader read my blog...)

Let it be known that unnamed IHOP singer is currently on the stage sipping a latte or mocha or something of the sort in a Starbucks cup. Hmm...

I smell a conspiracy. Or maybe it's just white chocolate.

a song I just wrote

2006-03-30T09:02:00.000-06:00

Goodbye, world,
Goodbye, things that do not last,
Goodbye, dark and lonely place,
Goodbye, I am to be with you no longer,
for I've served my 10-20.

He, sitting on the cloud, awaiting my presence,
can see all that I've gone through to get here
and I'm not going back to Square One.

I've fought to get this far,
I left my iniquities behind,
Oh, Lord,
I'm your pure and spotless bride
and I'm not giving up until I see Eternity.

I won't sign on the dotted line until I see Eternity (repeat)

I leave this afternoon.

2006-03-30T08:23:00.000-06:00

I'm really excited about this trip to New York. I'm especially excited about my message, which, thanks to my mom, will be a bit of a stretch from what I'm comfortable with. That sounds like I don't like it, but I do. It'll be like that sensation you get when you have a wedgie and you finally fix it.

Also, I'd just like to publically thank my mom for everything she's done for this trip. Not only did she help me pack my clothes last night when she had an FSM teaching handout to finish, but she got me every kind of food known to man. (Airline food nowadays consists of a bag of nine minipretzels, which have 19.3 carbohydrates per bag, according to my outgoing health consultant, Truman Falkner. Truman knows how to ruin a meal because he knows what's in everything. The first time I ate fast food with him, he stared at his burger and said, "Isn't it fascinating that meat is actually the muscle of the cow?")

You name it. Sushi? We've got it. Dehydrated orange rinds? Oh yeah. Double-layered cheesecake? Of course.

a short story about a Czechoslovakian farmer boy...

2006-03-29T10:49:00.000-06:00

Once there was a Czechoslovakian farm boy. He was homecoming king, voted Most Likely to Succeed, and valedictorian of his class. The reason for all of this was that he was homeschooled.

He had nineteen siblings and privacy was a very rare occurance. He had to share a bedroom with nine of his brothers. He shared a twin bed with his brother Sven. (A traditional Czechoslovakian name.) He shared everything. He didn't mind it so much, but there was one thing he wished he could have for his own - a toothbrush. (Which he also shared with his brother Sven.)

It was always something on his mind. He had always wanted his own toothbrush.

One day when he was feeling amitous, the Czechoslovakian farm boy asked his mother and father, Minidona and Olaf, (also traditional Czechoslovakian names) if he could go out into the world and seek out his very own toothbrush. Being discerning parents who knew what could happen out in the real world to a Czechoslovakian farm boy, they told him that he could not, which only provoked his desire for his very own toothbrush.

One night when he was feeling even more amitous, he slipped out of his bedroom window and ran away to find a toothbrush. He stowed away on a pirate ship going to south Nairobi, and aboard the ship he found a gold-plated toothbrush that had belonged to Long John Silver. The Czechoslovakian farm boy stole the gold-plated toothbrush and sneaked off the ship once they reached Nairobi.

In Nairobi, he met a beautiful maiden who threatened him until he finally asked her to marry him, and they went back to Czechoslovakia with the gold-plated toothbrush on another pirate ship. Once he got back, the Czechoslovakian farm boy's brother Sven became envious of the gold-plated toothbrush and hid it under the floorboards in a secret compartment.

When the Czechoslovakian farm boy finally found his treasure, Sven was severely punished for hiding it and the Czechoslovakian farm boy decided to try his new posession out on his now plaque-infested teeth. It worked like a charm until he realized that the toothbrush was not actuallly gold-plated but actually spray-painted gold and that he had just digested spray paint.

The Czechoslovakian farm boy was rushed to the emergency room and they gave him some yucky medicine and he lived.

After this fiasco, the Czechoslovakian farm boy's wife decided that she wanted to go and visit her family in Nairobi, and she forced her husband to come with her. Once they got to Nairobi, it became known that the Czechoslovakian farm boy's wife's Nairobian father was a dentist, and he wanted to give the Czechoslovakian farm boy a root canal just for the fun of it. (hey, some people do colon cleanses, this guy pulled teeth out...)

The Czechoslovakian farm boy fainted and when he awoke, he and his wife fled to the safety of the Himilaya's, where they both live today, and legend has it that if you stay in the Himilaya's too long, you begin to see the figure of a Czechoslovakian farm boy brushing his teeth.

Please pray for me...

2006-03-28T11:03:00.000-06:00

I'm teaching on the heart of the Father this Saturday at a Signs and Wonders Camp in Albany, New York.

Please pray that I don't botch this oppurtunity and that I tap into God's heart, because if it's just from my heart, I'll be teaching heresy, and I'm liable to be hung on Judgment Day, and that just doesn't sound fun.

Seriously, though, pray that I don't preach bogus. I've done it before, and it's not very appealing. Definitely not Kenny Banana.

I'm back!

2006-03-26T16:32:00.000-06:00

I realize that I am breaking my blog fast two days early, but I couldn't resist. (Actually, I could have resisted the tempatation if I had really wanted to...)

I have to inform you all of all that is going on in my life and has happened since I last blogged. (February 28th)

I'm not going to Mexico - You may have noticed that I deleted my fundraising letter asking for money so I could go to Mexico. I did so because we scheduled my end-of-the-year SAT testing for the time I was going to be in Mexico. (Oh well.) I've been given a lot of more traveling oppurtunities, though, which you will find out more about if you read further...

I'm going to New York! - I'm going to Albany, NY with Lenny LaGuardia to do a Signs and Wonders Camp. The trip is March 30th(Thursday!)-April 3rd. This will be the eighth time I've traveled with Lenny, and I love it.

I'm going to Boston! - My dad, myself, and Grayson are going with Allen and Samuel Hood to Boston, MA to see our friends from DC and join them in the Rumble University conference. (We're also going to make this a homeschool field trip, seeing fun stuff like the church where Samuel Adams preached in.)

eBaynium! - Following in my father's foosteps, I found about 15 old Elvis records in someone's trash last week and decided to take them home and see if they were worth anything. I took them home to my mom, who played an archeaologist, dusting the records off and telling me that all but one were in excellent condition. Figuring that whatever I made on these seemingly worthless pieces of ancient technology would be free money, I promptly listed them on eBay with the assistance of my dad. After eBay fees, I'll have about $20, which is enough to buy a pair of Converse slip-ons, which I have had my eye on since my other Chucks got too small a few months ago. (The moral of the story is, "Look in people's trash and you'll be surprised how much junk is worth.")

"JacksonBohlender.com?" - You probably noticed that I changed the title of my blog to "JacksonBohlender.com". No, this isn't wishful thinking... My goodnfriend Sean Henry got me the domain name and I'm having it just redirect you to my blog until I become a little more HTML-saavy.

We're setting the trampoline up - My dad and I attempted to set our family trampoline up today and we were about halfway there when we both got so tired we could have dropped. Rather than risking head trauma and going on, we gave in to our inner wusses and saved the job until tomorrow. Right now we've got the trampoline mat stretched out and the frame ready, but it's not on its legs now. It kind of looks something like a firefighter's mat that he would carry to catch children who are jumping from multi-story buildings.

Worldview Camp - I want to go to this camp June 4-9, 2006 at Central Missouri State College. Worldview Academy shows, well, how to have a good worldview. (hence the name.) They give you arguments for creation, how to stand up for your faith, etc., and I think I would really enjoy it.

However, the tuition is a bit expensive. If you feel it on your heart to donate, contact me (godsgofer@gmail.com). Also, if you would like to give but simply can't dupport me financially, I'm doing something my dad did a while back - an eBay garage sale.

If you have anything that you think would be of any worth (or worthless - it's priceless to somebody out there) that you don't use, I can sell it on eBay and get tuition money. It works pretty well. I can only pick things up in the Kansas City area, unless you will be somewhere I am traveling soon. (Mississippi, Boston, etc.) Email me if you're interested.

Alright, I'm all blogged out. :-D

There are seriously not enough hours in the day.

2006-02-28T13:40:00.000-06:00

I've decided that I spedn a bit too much time blogging and not enough time doing what I am expected to do by thse around me - schoolwork, prayer time, etc.

It is for this reason that I'm going to take a 1-month blog fast, just to see what I can get done without my blog.

This is only a temporary thing.

thanks

2006-02-27T07:44:00.000-06:00

I'll just start out by saying that I am no good at thank-you notes. This could be attributed to the fact that I was given odd birthday gifts as a child.... "Thanks for the... glow-in-the-dark underwear." Then what do I say? "It was very timely"? "I really needed them"? "How did you know"?

I am very rarely at a loss for words, but when it comes to gratitude, I am speechless. Not the good kind, either. Speechless like Bugs Bunny when Elmer Fudd points a gun up to his chest and asks him to say his last words.

So, with that said, I will continue...

Thank you guys so much for fasting with me. I couldn't have imagined that I would have 300+ people fasting and praying on my birthday. To risk sounding like the end of a Disney movie, I believe we can overturn this thing together.

We are in the midst of a crisis. This generation is being murdered, and what's left of us is too caught up in the Spirit of the Age to care. They've been blinded, and it is our job to give them sight of what is happening.

If a twelve-year-old can gather 300 people to fast and pray, how much more powerful would it be if someone with governmental influence were to call a fast against abortion?

I was thinking about it yesterday, and we are all pumped up because we think this fast is a volunteer effort. In reality, we are obligated to fast and pray against death. Of course we pray against abortion, but only when they do the 22-word prayer at church. I know that was true for me until yesterday.

Until next birthday,
Jackson Bohlender

300+ people praying and/or fasting with me on my birthday

2006-02-19T19:29:00.000-06:00

please forgive me if I didn't know your first or last name and I refererred to you as "Mr" or "Mrs" "______".

I have also received news of countless groups that are fasting, so that's why I put "300+".

1) Mom
2) Dad
3) Myself
4) Brent Steeno
5) Brett Estherbrook
6) Jonathan Chase
7) Danielle Wheeler
8) Mike Bickle
9) Lou Engle
10) Kirk Bennett
1) Somebody that walked up to me in IHOP (name unknown J)
30) Alison Watkins
30) Teri Hamilton
31) Michael Hamiltom
32) Joel Greutman
33) Andy Hailstone
34) Brian Clark
35) Jen Seddon
36) Alan Anderson
37) Anastasia Follwurczny
38) Lacy Vaughn
39) Jacob Ferrel
40) Kenny Reed
41) Bekah Myers
42) Morgan Bennet
43) Isaac Bennet
44) Matty Ray
45) Jason Guthrie
46) Chuck Mervin
47) David Hofshi
48) Sue Girvan
49) Gabirelle Sotomayor
50) Ben Gruetman
51) Rachel Beauchamp
52) Bri Nichols
53) Dee Bennett
54) Conne Ellertson
55) Lisa Lancaster
56) Sean Lancaster
57) Bekah Lancaster
58) Ryan Harmening
59) Melissa Harmening
60) Brian Kim
61) Mike Helms
62) Rebekah Youngendale
63) Gary Kennedy
64) Jill Kennedy
65) Esther Irwin
66) Bethany Anderson
67) Isaac Karns
68) Kevin Bennett
69) Jamie Pexa
70) Charlie Hibberd
71) Troy Hart
72) Shawna Hart
73) Alaska 1
74) Alaska 1's wife
75) Rose Dewebber
76)Shirl Leonhardt
77) Brandon Chaves
78) Matt Candler
79) Adam McArthir
80) KC Finley
81) Margaret Schenider
82) Kyndra Turnbull
83) Jennifer McArthur
84) Chestion Stearns
85) Delores Bohlender
86) Maggie Powell
87) Liz Caxton
88) Christa Harness
89) Taylor Bush
90) Larry Edelman
91) Jane Edelman
92) Loraye Becker
93) David Comack
94) Brigid Comack
95) Christine Gooden
96) Raquel Jabobs
97) Raquel Jacobs' husband
98) Elizabeth Steel
99) Jenny Barnett
100) member #1 of anynomous IHOP family
101) member #2 of anonymous IHOP family
102) member #3 of anonymous IHOP family
103) member #4 of anonymous IHOP family
104) member #5 of anonymous IHOP family
105) Kim Warner
106) Paul Dochety
107) Ian Rutherford
108) Emily Speight
109) Nathan Steel
110) Gabrielle Bootsma
111) Jon Kulikowski
112) Gail Stoddard
113) Amber
114) Derri
115) Lucas
116) Micah T.
117) Micah B.
118) Bethany
119) Kristina
120) Anna
121) Briana
122) Kim M.
123) Kim T.
124) Derryl
125) Dick Gruecio
126) Marilyn Gruecio
127) T.J. Petrino
128) John Esiner
129) Meshell Vincent
130) Allen Hood
131) Michelle Baum
132) Caroline Fairchild
133) Caroline Fairchild's husband
134) Mandy Dawson
135) John VanWeelden
136) Dianne Van Weelden
137) Peter Martin
138) Julia Martin
139) Esther Cunningham
140) Jenna VanWeelden
141) Abbey Geverdt
142) Karen Hailstone
143) g_fthr_1@_________.net (I'd like your name so I can put it up here)
145) Ann Mock
146) Bruce Mock
147) Brenda Hamm
148) Eileen Brado
149) Anita Roux
150) Monica Blackburn
151) Jim Nickels
152) Cindy Dodd
153) Jeanne Allen
154) Jenni Ingalls
155) Gina from New Zealand
156) Cindy Schmidt
157) Luke Ahrenholtz
158) Jonathan Phillips
159) Abigail Phillips
160) Bill Jobe
161) Penny Allen
162) Sarah Lowe
163) Kelly Evelyn Lucille Janowiak
164) Charlotte Savage
165) Marianne Chamberlaine
168) Jeanne Allen
169) Anita Roux
170) Esther in New Zealand
171) Dorothy in Ireland
172) Sean in Owa
173) Nidia in Kansas City
174) Gina's Dad in New Zealand
175) Betty in Australia
176) Señor Daniel
177) Alyssa from Indiana
178) Anna Anderson
179) Dave Lane
180) Judy Lane
181) Sonny Treadway
182) Brenda Treadway
183) Jerry Shelnutt
184) Cathy from New Jersey
185) Gail Balfour
186) Christine Robertson
187) Jonathan Cone
188) Judy Williams
189) Ed Hackett
190) Kellie Murphy
191) Madison Murphy
192) Scott Beauchamp and the IHOP/Springfield Team
193) Braiden Domkowsky
194) Nina Domkowsky
195) Charger ________
196) Frank Dzielski
197) Emily Clark
198) Leonard Hays
199) Beth Medders
200) Rusty Medders
201) Marie G
202) Bethany Boyd
203) Frank Dzielski
204) Teri ________
205) Sarah Walker
206) Casey Sttapleton
207) Kevin Dangler
208) Dan ___________
209) Simeon Mucke
210) Lisa Gootee
211) Holly Snow
212) Gabrielle Cucilo
213) anonymous (their email had a disclaimer at the bottom saying not to use any of their information in oublic, under penalty of law...)
214) Glenn Taylor
215) Roella Dissels
216) Rod Young
217) Melinda Schneider
218) Jaqueline Harvey
219) Connie _________
220) Matt __________
221) Tracy Artz
222) Ryan Bundra
223) Armanda Soto
224) Lisa Showalter
225) Lois Pappademos
226) Samuel Nam
227) Caren Scrivner
228) Susan Turner
229) Michael Turner
230) Christian Turner
231) Sondra Reeves
232) anonynous (their email didn't say)
233) Dianne McGouyrk
234) anonymous (they wish their identity to remain a secret)
235) Matt Shannon
236) Laura Cowling
237) Mary Hellberg
238) Bernadette Bliss
239) Barbara Pritchett
240) Kathleen Teasdale
241) Brian Harris
242) Laura Walker
243) Flo Baldwin
244) Sedina _______
245) Laura B. Hann
246) Jen Strohkorb
247) Caroline N.
248) Pamela Parker
249) Richard Madden
250) David Crane
251) Kate Chiricosta
252) James Austin
253) Sherri Stewart
254) Cindy Hyde
255) Lindsay Smith
256) Barbara Adams
257) Christine Tilell
258) James Juris
259) Lisa Juris
260) Heather Demko
261) Mary Augulair
262) Afred Hill
263) Barbara Hill
264) Gary Baigent
265) Sandi Harmening
266) Julia Henry
267) Connie Carpenter
268) Donna _________
269) Joan Money
270) Phillip Williams
271) Phillip Williams's wife
272) Karen VonGonten
273) Ginny Stafford
274) Dr. Ana Steele
275) Katie B.
276) Joseph Lawson
277) Jean Kaye
278) Cynthia Collins
279) Barbara M. Tedesco
280) Cowboy0001
281) Pat Evans
282) Barb Stoneman
283) Linda Edwards
284) Allen Jones
285) Shari ______
286) Hannah Rock
287) Rebecca Porter
288) Twila Allen
289) Joel ________
290) Joseph Cornell
291) Dominic Cornell
292) Sadie Cornell
293) Rachel Cornell
294) David Cornell
295) Maureen Dacek
296) Cynthia Britt
297) AnnaThea Scholtens
298) Karel choltens
299) Kari ______ from Atlanta
300) Lalita Smith
301) name unknown, initials M.A.P.
302) name unknown, intitals E.B.
303) The Reeder Family
304) The Oakes Family
305) Amy Moore
306) Sandy Martin
307) Sean Nelson
308) Carrie Goudy
309) Lydia Crumrine
310) Maria _______
311) ReJean Vawter
312) Gloria Coffelt
313) Henrike in Holand
314) Pat Pennington
315) Allie Amabile
316) Shelly Pawson
317) Grayson Bohlender
318) Natanya Crumrine
319) Adam McPhearson
320) Julie McPhearson
321) Melissa Widrick
322) Rebecca Copeland
323) Dora from Chicago
324) Isaac from Chicago
325) Tyler Ratliff
326) David Spangler
327) Mihae Yamamoto
328) Mihae Yamamoto's friend
329) Rachel Bryson
330) Jim Gordon
331) Melissa Smith

quote of the day

2006-02-18T18:10:00.000-06:00

"Yo-yo's used to be 1 cent back in the day, but now they cost like $2.00! What's up with that? Why has the price increased by 200% in 50 years? You tell me! That's 200 cents! 200 whole pennies!"

-Samuel Hood

Let it be known that Samuel is 10 years old and does not even remember when yoyo's were 1 cent. I think he might be going through emotional prosecution... or something like that.

ahead of the times

2006-02-18T00:14:00.000-06:00

For those of you who read the below entry, let it be known that the OnePlace.com Headquarters are in California, which is in Mountain Time Zone. We, in Kansas City, are in the Central Time Zone, where it is currently 12:17 AM on Saturday, Febrary 18th, 2006, but in California, it is 10:17 PM on Friday, February 17th, 2006. What a catastrophe!

Mom and Dad, why on earth do we live in Kansas City when we could live in California and things could be so much more normal?

Captain's Log, 2300 hours

2006-02-17T23:40:00.000-06:00

This may sound a bit hokey to you, but with 20 minutes left in Friday, February 17th, 2006, I cannot wait until Saturday. Why?, you may ask. Well, the answer is simple - so I can listen to the new Odyssey's.

Adventures in Odyssey has been going now for almost 20 years, and with over 700 episodes, it's eassy to find ones you haven't listened to. Every day, they have reruns of ancient shows streaming on their "Daily Broadast" OnePlace.com page (click here), but we're in the middle of Season #47 (but who's counting?) right now.

That means, every Saturday for the next 6 weeks, a new Odyssey comes out and is posted on their "Weekly Broadcast" OnePlace.com page (click here) for all of your little ears to listen to. (Or, in some cases, record, if you have the right equipment... not that I would know that by experience or anything.)

Remember, I didn't tell you you should record auudio, I just said you could, hypothetically speaking.

Only 9 more minutes left.

i felt a sudden burst of poeticality

2006-02-17T19:20:00.000-06:00

Inundate me,
penetrate me,
Jesus come and
overcome me
outrun me in this race, please.

Why does injustice linger?
Why has righteousness been cast out and dubbed "old fashion"?
Why must we endure such pain and toil
if we are truly to be called your bride?

Why, Jesus?
Why, Daddy?
Why, Jesus?
Why, Daddy?

Come and show me now, before I fall of the edge, oh, Jesus.

Come, I know we've fought.
Come, I know we don't see eye-t0-eye.
Come, Jesus, I know we're not equals.
Come, I don't know why...

Why does injustice linger?
Why has righteousness been cast out and dubbed "old fashion"?
Why must we endure such pain and toil
if we are truly to be called your bride?

Inundate me,
penetrate me,
Jesus come and
overcome me
outrun me in this race, please.

we interrupt this blog for a brief bit of family business

2006-02-16T15:55:00.000-06:00

Dearest Mother-

Let me just start this off by telling you how much I love you. Even though organic foods are constantly being shoved down my throat, do I complain? No, I do not.

I come here with one humble request - artificially flavored toothpaste. Yes, you read me right. Toothpaste. The Tom's Organic toothpaste has a hideous minty flavor with even worse aftertaste. This is why I say, if you love me at all, will you please buy us children even a dollar-store-clearance-brand toothpaste with the slightest bit of non-natural flavoring?

I understand you are doing and buying whatever is in our best interest, and I respect your decision.

Your loving first son,
Jackson

it's all in my head

2006-02-16T11:55:00.000-06:00

I have finished Blink by Malcolm Gladwell and I have decided that if I don't become president by the time I'm 40, I want to go into social psychology.

I've always been interested in people's reactions. I go to ball games to drink lemonade and observe the observers. The sport is not interesting. They throw leather around a field and lights blink on a screen.

In DC, I went to a Washington Nationals game with a group of interns. When Lou Engle convinced us to let him pay (it wasn't very hard) and the total was $77.77 after sales tax, he started rocking back and forth and saying, "Seventy-seven! The perfect number! C'mon...."

And that's when the lady at the ticket booth started looking at us funny. That's what I find fun and interesting.

At the same ball game, at which the Nats were playing the Dodgers, we sat behind a group of profanely-speaking high school students and in front of a guy who, judging by the number of empty bottles at his side, probably was not who he normally was. You kind of got the sense that he had a few "critters", so we kept our guard on.

The Engle family, being Californian natives, couldn't help rooting for the Dodgers, which provoked a few odd looks from the people around us. (We were sitting on the Nationals fans' side of the stadium.)

The formerly mentioned man with the accumulating empty beer bottles decided he would get the wave going. This seemed like a lost cause. Somehow, though, he got it going. (Well, it was more like "the ripple" than "the wave".)

After many passionate laps around the stadium, though, the guy had everybody doing the wave. After seeing the fruits of his efforts, the guy screamed with joy - well I think it was joy. Maybe it was hangover - and sat down.

I find it interesting what people put their passion towards - PlayStation, sports, Apple computers (ouch), and such. There's nothing incredibly evil aout these things. but we find that it is much easier to worship our things than it is to worship God, and that's when we corss the line.

I've gotta go eat lunch, but this popped into my head and I thought it was worthy of blogdom...

My brother, the model...

2006-02-14T18:09:00.000-06:00

I had Grayson dress up and I took pictures of him. When I first suggested it, I figured that his inner boyness would provoke a rejection, but au contraire. He actually jumped on the opportunity, so he got his sweet corduroy jacket on and we went outside.

here he is...

recent conversions

2006-02-14T17:01:00.000-06:00

My dad and I have successfully converted our refrigerator and our microwave to Macs. It's an easy hack, all it requires is a Sharipe, Post-It's, and labels with the Mac logo printed onto them, and there you have it... your very own custom Mac appliance.

(right) our microwave (left) our refrigerator

from Elijah Scott's blog...

2006-02-14T10:37:00.000-06:00

Eli (click here to go to his blog) says...

We were all down stairs praying for people when Lenny told me to pray for a lady. After I started praying for her she started twiching.Then everybody started to pray for her. Then she started to say that she was going to die and not make it. We figured out that she was oppressed so we prayed that the spirit would not bother her. Then this man[which I think was an angel] came through the crowd and asked what was wrong. she said she was afraid. So we prayed that she would'nt be afraid. Then instantly she was freed.

This is really cool...

some thoughts on generosity

2006-02-14T10:20:00.000-06:00

This is kind of a touchy subject in the church today, because many take the passages about stewardship and assume that God wouldn't have them give anything away.

Although there is something to be said about stewardship, we must not assume that being a good steward and being generous are two different things.

Take 2 Chronicles 4. This entire chapter is about how Solomon furnished the Temple. (More proof for my theory that the books of I and II Chronicles were written by an Old Testament sewing circle of little old ladies who liked to gossip.)

verses 1-2
Moreover, he made a bronze altar; tewnty cubits wide was its length, twenty cubits was its length, end ten cubits was its height...

From what this passage tells us, Solomon wasn't building the temple from dollar store suppies. My guess is that there wasn't any plastic in the temple.

Now, King Solomon didn't turn out to be the best role model, but this isn't as much about him as it is about his generosity.

He wasn't buying the cheap scrolls and the off-brand guitars. The Bible says he was generous.

I'm not one of these people who generosity comes easy to. In fact if it is easy for you to be generous, I would see a doctor. You probably have some dort of disorder.

The more I think about it, though, if generosity was easy, I don't think God would call us to it. Why? Because God is not an easy God. For lack of a better phrase, God is not a safe God. He is just, but not easy. He is righteous, but not safe.

Okay, I'm all blogged out for about a year now... :-D

Zion the Great Knight of the Midwest

2006-02-12T20:30:00.000-06:00

I've got 21 people fasting with me on my birthday so far!

2006-02-11T13:24:00.000-06:00

# of people / City, State

2 Kingsport, TN
3 Washington, DC
14 Kansas City, MO/KS
2 Unknown, Alabama

As I said before, please don't feel pressured to fast with me on my birthday, unless you know for a fact that you would go to my birthday party if I had one. This can be your birthday present to me. To quote Amazon.com and take them out of context a little, "gift-givng has never been so easy".

just putting this up again because it was only up for a short while before...

2006-02-10T16:00:00.000-06:00

Friends and Family,

As some of you know, my 13th birthday is coming up. (February 26th)

This time last year, I was having a hard time celebrating my birthday when fully aware of how many babies had been aborted on my birthday - 60,500 at the time since 1993. It seemed wrong to celebrate my birth when two thirds of people born on February 26th wouldn't be able to celebrate.

This year, I am faced with the same dilemma. I feel a heaviness that I think is from God, telling me to fast on behalf of all of those aborted since then. There are over 65,000 that will have been aborted by my birthday this year, and the way I see it, if I don't stand, I will be ignoring God's voice.

I feel a divine invitation from God, and I believe he's ready to establish justice in our nation. This is why I ask you, Will you fast with me? Will you stand in the gap with me on behalf of the unborn? Will you take the time we would have otherwise spent celebrating my birthday and fast?

Please prayerfully consider this invitation, and do not feel pressured to do anything. If you feel nothing, do nothing, but if you feel as I do, please do this with me.

Thank you,
Jackson Bohlender
Intercessory Missionary, Kansas City, MO

Confucious says...

2006-02-10T15:57:00.000-06:00

"The man who has socks in his drawer is well-prepared for tomorrow."

a glimpse into I and II Chronicles...

2006-02-08T20:58:00.000-06:00

I'm discovering that I like the books of I and II Chronicles. I like them because I like gossip, and I and II Chronicles are like OT Gossip Central.

I can just imagine the average Old Testament Sewing circle sewing little patches of donkey fur together and talking about King Solomon's latest wife. "I heard that she gets Solomon to buy Aveda shampoo. I wish my husband, Ishmael, wouldn't be so stingy and get me some. I mean, look at him! He spends more time waxing that chariot of his then he does pampering me. What does he think I married him for? To be his cook? I could get paid to do that!"

"...That little King Josiah needs a mother. I mean, his mother would probably get all the best homeschool curriculum out there."

"Has anyone seen that Herod kid lately? He's becoming quite the bully at school. I might have to send a message to the Rabbi..."

All of a sudden, somebody comes up with an idea... "Let's put all of these things in a book so our posterity can read it and know of our culture."

They get together everybody who can read and has a spare chisel and hammer down all of the juicy highlights of life in the Old Testament, and that book was eventulally given a sequel (II Chronicles), which they put right between its predecessor and the book of Ezra.

It sounds a bit far-fetched, but it puts a whole new twist to I and II Chronicles.

my ode to chai

2006-02-08T15:32:00.000-06:00

Sweet, caffeienated chai, you keep me up all night.
However expensive, I love my chai,
whipped cream here,
cinamon there,
you may cost an arma and a leg,
but chai, it's worth it.

Oh, chai, why does the barrista ruin you so
by putting you in the same category as Fraps?

In the dark and wearisome world of caffiene,
you shine among your dingy Frappucino comrades

As much as I hate to admit, though,
Dear chai, I believe your days are numbered,
for I fear your bountiful fluffiness is not enough.

This may come as a shock to you,
innocent chai,
but you are hindering me from yet another love that is greater than my love for you - you are an idol.

no comment(s)

2006-02-08T09:50:00.000-06:00

Okay, so I'm a bit bummed. My dad got 21 comment comments on one of his posts (granted, that was the post that got people mad, but still...)

According to my Site Meter, I get an average of 47 hits a day. So what gives? Why doesn't anyone comment? Is the content just not worth commenting on, or are you just busy?

Okay, I'll quit now. I think this post is somewhat revealing of my emotional insecurity. :-D

some thoughts on pride

2006-02-07T21:31:00.000-06:00

I've been thinking about it, and if we compare ourselves to the pagans, hypocrites, and false prophets of this world, we become pagans, hypocrites, and false prophets.

Take 2 Chronicles 9, for instance. I'm sure Solomon got quite a few pats on the back for asking God for wisdom instead of riches. He's probably thinking, "Look at me! I've got HDTV, a Bentley stretch-chariot, a 17" PowerBook, a 60GB iPod, a Hummer, a whole lot of wives, even more children, and all I asked God for was wisdom. Kudos to me! A big-shot queen from Sheba even traveled all that way to give her regards to me, wise, faithful, Solomon."

As self-centered as it sounds, it could be argued that Solomon was just being human. After all, hypocrisy is rarely a voluntary action. However, this is why we must be careful not to forget who gave us our PowerBooks and iPods and Hummers. (And wives, for that matter, although I advise just having one. I have so much experience in this field.)

pictures

2006-02-07T20:49:00.000-06:00

(1) Tyler in E12 writing down the things that are to come

(2) The typical girl pose.

(3) He found out I had a camera and decided to pose.

(4) somebody was raptured... wearing my clothes. that's kinda creepy

consider it...

2006-02-07T15:07:00.000-06:00

a song yet to be titled

2006-02-07T12:32:00.000-06:00

Spirit, flow
Father, come
Jesus, wake us up

Oh, Holy Trinity,
in your divinity,
Won't you come and show us who you are
and show us why you're here.

Spirit, flow
Father, come
Jesus, wake us up

Oh, Holy Trinity,
in your divinity,
Won't you come and show us who we are
and show us why we're here.

One thing I desire
is to be in the presence of the one who loves me.

Give me a voice,
Bring justice through me.

Make me your chosen,
and use me.

I must have more
I must have more
I must have more
I must have more of this man Jesus

I must have more
I must have more
I must have more
I must have more my beloved.

a little Robin Hood action

2006-02-07T10:37:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, my art teacher, Miss Hsu, took the entire class (all 3 of us) in to the teacher's lounge and told us to take anything we wanted - hot chocolate, apple cider, coffee, whatever.

The Good Shepard teacher's lounge is, as I'm sure other shool's teacher's longe(s) are, consecrated ground.

A virtually endless mound of Slim Fast bars and TollHouse Cookies, the teacher's lounge is the place teachers go in their spare time (yeah right).

I felt kind of bad, but then I convinced myself that I was acting as Robin Hood would have, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor (myself), and then the conviction went away.

Blogging from the new blog widget...

2006-02-05T20:25:00.000-06:00

Thanks, Dad! I'm petitioning for this new widget to be featured in the March addition of Macworld as a "Mac gem"

Blogging from the new blog widget...

2006-02-05T20:23:00.000-06:00

Thanks, Dad! I'm petitioning for this new widget to be featured in the March addition of Macworld as a "Mac gem"

the day in a nutshell...

2006-02-05T15:58:00.000-06:00

We arrived for the Sunday morning service at 10:30. To anyone outside of Kansas City, this might seem perfectly normal, except for the fact that church starts at 10:00 - we were a half an hour late.

I helped Lenny lead a C-12 group for kids this Sunday, and we had a fun time doing it. Church was followed by Daniel Sliker's 3rd birthday party at CiCi's Pizza. One of CiCi's trademarks is that they will put anything on a pizza, and if you ask for a certain combination, whether it's mushrooms and pineapple or pepperoni and olives, they'll have it ready for you in 5 minutes or less.

Well, according to the buffet worker, somebody got it in their head about a week ago to order a pizza with macaroni and cheese on it, and people liked it so much that CiCi's kept on making it long after the original inventors left.

I reluctantly tried a piece, half trying to prove myself a man and half out of pure curiosity. Although not a love-at-first-bite experience, it had taste beyond what you would expect, and I am glad I tried it.

We left CiCi's and headed for home, where my Grandma took over as Chief Childcare Officer while my parents are at E12.

I got an email from my dad a while ago saying that he had officially paid - well, paid the guy my money - for my eBayniously (that's a new word) bought iBook charger.

Now, I lay in bed, half wanting to fall asleep and half wanting to go watch people watch the Super Bowl. (It's more fun to watch people who are watching the Super Bowl than it is to actually watch the game... I'm more interested in social psychology than athletics.)

My bio is on Wikipedia!

2006-02-04T15:21:00.000-06:00

It's bonehead easy. Click here to go to it - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackson_Bohlender

Grayson is merciless.

2006-02-04T09:16:00.000-06:00

Grayson had his buddy, Joshua Farnhum, over to spend the night last night, and they're playing a quick game of Monopoly (Is there such a thing?) before we have to frop Joashua off at his house. Well, Joshua was playing pretty well until Grayson persuaded him to mortgage all of his properties. Now, Joshua's money is going down the drain, and Grayson is the youngest millionare* in the world.

*"Millionare" in the sense that his Monopoly money is accumulating rapidly.

The rise to power...

2006-02-03T22:32:00.000-06:00

I need an AC adapter for my iBook G4. According to a few review websites I found, the older YoYo power cords for Clamshell iBooks work with G4's, and they are a lot more sturdy than Apple's newer flimsy white brick model, which costs a rather large chunk of money for someone as tightly budgeted as myself.

I've had the brick model for a while, and long before the comp0uter was mine, the cord had started to fray. I wrapped the cut in electrical tape, hoping that it would be fixed. It wasn't pretty, but it worked. One cross-country trip and several visits to the prayer room later, the cord is fraying again, and when my iBook is charging, it becomes unusually warm. Well, the cord is now a fire hazard, and no amount of electrical tape is going to change that, so I think it saw its last charge today in the prayer room.

I'm bidding dor a YoYo adapter on eBay, so hopefully, this will be the end to all of my problems. (Well not all of my problems, but one of them, at least. The others can be fixed later.)

I'll tell you what's cool...

2006-02-03T13:17:00.000-06:00

When a 24/7 worship and prayer meeting is going on, and an intern with a jet-pack-looking vacuum cleaner on his back starts vacuuming the ceiling vents and the worship keeps going, man, that's cool.

This baby was louder than The Brave Little Toaster. It was awesome, because the band kept on going.

(picture: Luke, cleaning volunteer, vacuums ceiling vents - 02/03/06)

Zion beat me at CandyLand.

2006-02-03T08:57:00.000-06:00

This might not be as humiliating if it were a game of luck, such as Yahtzee, but Zion has just beat the former CandyLand champion of our house.

positive/negative trends

2006-02-02T20:37:00.000-06:00

Positive trends of my day....

I aced my Science test. This doesn't happen very often in Science. This is good.

I didn't have to do Math. Thanks to a little thinking ahead on my part, I was able to do all of my Math for the rest of the week and then into Monday. Woohoo!

My mom made granola. Besides sitting in the prayer room, I can't think of anything more satisfying than a bowl of my mom's granola. Mmm.

I have walls. Until a few days ago, I was sleeping in our rather large laundry room. It was cool, because we had curtains and set it up to be a nice temporary room, but temporary is they key word. Now, I have walls, and I feel like ordering room service.

Negative trends of my day...

I have a cough and my throat is sore.

My laundry supply is running low. It's not that my mom's not busy doing laundry, it's that I have to get clothes. I have a hefty (I love that word, "hefty") credit to Old Navy left over from Christmas, we're just waiting for the gift certificate to come in the mail. (ON's new return policy: Must make it difficult to give someone a credit. Must promise to mail them a gist certificate for the ammount owed.)

My turtle died. Actually, I don't have a turtle, but it would have died today if I did have one. (That's me, always optimistic and never sarcastic)

My desk...

2006-02-02T19:08:00.000-06:00

Happy Groundhog's Day!

2006-02-02T15:47:00.000-06:00

Let's party because winter's almost over.

the cellular generation

2006-02-01T17:11:00.000-06:00

Live wirelessly.
Enjoy uncertainty.
Life is random.

Everything's cordless, and everything's free,
today is a good day for the pirating economy.

Ringtones here, MP3's there.
Charge your battery, you might be running low.
HTML and such. What a pain. (oh, oh...)

Pretty soon, we'll be so wireless, we won't go anywhere,
it'll be so easy, we won't have to leave our chair.

We can text message for a pie, IM for calico curtains,
eat online, sleep online, it'll be great.

Until then, though, we have to go places and do stuff physically, in anxious anticipation for the future.

We just registered for FSM.

2006-01-31T19:51:00.000-06:00

I am now the Forerunner School of Ministry's youngest registered student, and they told me that mine was the first application processed on the new database. I hold two records on the Missions Base now that I do not take lightly.

haha

my unruly hair

2006-01-31T18:07:00.000-06:00

My hair can be styled in a variety of different.. um... varieties. It's kind of a toss between Hillary Clinton, Orville Wright, and David Crowder right now, (not exactly a great mix) and I'm trying to find out how to use gel or spray or something and make it be easy. I want to be able to get up and not spend 30 minutes on my hair, because that's something girls do, and I am not one. I have consulted my dad on a number of occasions about this subject, but after his fifth offer to give me a bowl cut or shave my head, I gave up.

My mom thinks it's amusing to put my hair back and give me pigtails, but I do not share this sense of humor. I might think it was funny if she did it to one of my little brothers.

Maybe I should take a Nazirite vow, but around the third month of not cutting your hair, you have what the modern world calls a "mullett", except they only calll it that behind your back. (You learn these things being at the Cause... I had a buddy who tried to grow his hair out.)

There's always the third method: Wear a hat. I might do that.

(left)
The Woodrow Wilson cut, patent pending.

(right)
The Dave Crowder cut, Copyright 2005 David Crowder*Band

a bit of revelation

2006-01-31T11:15:00.000-06:00

Proverbs 12:1-3

1 Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
but he who hates correction is stupid.

2 A good man obtains favor from the LORD,
but the LORD condemns a crafty man.

3 A man cannot be established through wickedness,
but the righteous cannot be uprooted.

The first verse might seem a bit harsh, but the more I think about it, I see how true it is. Men, who are of the seed of Adam, who hate correction are stupid. We are sinners. We are not perfect. If we refuse correction, we are being stupid, because we are saying that we are perfect; that we are God. Ouch.

After reading this passage and writing the above commentary, I think I'm going to be a lot more open to correction from now on. :)

I can fly!

2006-01-30T21:09:00.000-06:00

In addition to being quite the rockin' little worship leader, Zion has recently taken up flying. Yes, you heard me right. Flying. After seeing a Pippi Longstocking movie where she builds an aircraft and runs away via her invention (Hollywood has no imagination!), Zion found a scarf and some swimming goggles and quickly dubbed them his "pilot costume". It's actually rather amusing watching him jump off the couch and think he's defying gravity. Here are some pictures:

This strikes me as a bit odd...

2006-01-30T15:18:00.000-06:00

Acts 28
1Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta. 2The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. 3Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. 4When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, "This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live." 5But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. 6The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

How is it that he went from being a dangerous murderer to deity in just one day? This does not make sense to me. Either the islanders were very undecided people or they were just like the rest of us in that they tend to humanize everything.

Life is like a bag of Sun Chips.

2006-01-30T14:43:00.000-06:00

Crowder's on my stereo and I'm doing Bible homework. My laptop sleeve should arrive via UPS today. I feel inspired. This is pretty much a Popsicle1 day.

1:A "popsicle" day is a day with a whole stinkin' lot of good things. The origin of this phrase is somewhat related to the favorite children's confection, Popiscle, which is sweetness on a stick. Hence the phrase, "sweet".

Satan's inner workings...

2006-01-29T15:54:00.000-06:00

As I'm sure you can tell by the title that I'm not entirely fond of snakes, but if this doesn't make you want to avoid the little creatures, I don't know what will...

playing the "cute and cuddly" card...

2006-01-27T21:21:00.000-06:00

The more I think about it, the more I realize how fortunate I am to be young.

Why? Well, first of all, some people just tend to not take me seriously because I'm 12 years old. However annoying at times, this has more pros that cons...

I can say things that older people can't... consider the previous post. If my dad or any adult had said, "John Kerry needs Jesus", one with opposite views might have taken offense, but since I'm just 12, they naturally assume I don't know what I'm talking about.

No matter how bold I am, no matter how proffesionally I dress, no matter what I say, there will always be someone in the crowd who tunes me out because I'm an irritating 12 year old.

My days as cute and cuddly are numbered, though, and soon I'll either have to stay cute and cuddly for my entire life or start being aggressive and irritating. In just 30 days, I'll be a teenager, and after 8 years of teen life, I'll be 21. An adult. A full-sized stinking adult. And even then there are going to be people of the previous generation who think I'm inexperienced and won't listen to me.

The way I see it, until I'm about 35 (old enough to become a US president), I have no voice in the corporate world. This is kind of sad, because not including the Millenial Kingdom, half of my life will be gone and if I'm not careful, I'll have lost my message.

This is why we must not worry about being "mature", but about being heard, or at least Holy, because it is out of fellowship with God that true maturity blossoms.

Wow. I just wrote what was on my mind and my heart and when I looked at it, I realized that it's really poetic.

John Kerry needs Jesus.

2006-01-27T15:08:00.000-06:00

That's all I have to say about that.

ignorance

2006-01-25T10:47:00.000-06:00

I'm finding that no matter how much I study the Word, no matter how many e12's I attend, no matter how loud I sing in worship, that unless I'm humble, I'll still be ignorant of Jesus. That's just the ugly truth. The truth is rarely fluffy-Peter Cottontail-happy-happy-joy-joy. Unless we face facts and realize that we are not God, we are spiritually ignorant.

Studying the word and attending e12's are all extra-curricular in a sense. We get to do those things as a result of our relationship with God, and if someone is ignorant of God, they don't really have a relationship with him.

Okay, this is enough to make me think for a week...

This is incredibly too easy...

2006-01-24T21:15:00.000-06:00

Huh.

2006-01-24T20:46:00.000-06:00

Charismatic/Pentecostal

86%

Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan

75%

Fundamentalist

68%

Modern Liberal

50%

Neo orthodox

46%

Reformed Evangelical

36%

Roman Catholic

36%

Emergent/Postmodern

32%

Classical Liberal

18%

What's your theological worldview?
created with QuizFarm.com

Bound 4 the book table

2006-01-20T22:54:00.000-06:00

Relient K’s More Than Useless plays as softly as punk rock can play in my headphones. I’m sitting behind the book table. I don’t mean to sound spoiled, but this is most boring job possible. More boring than picking rice. More boring than being a librarian. More boring than Krispy Kreme. More boring than insurance claims. More boring than Xeroxing books. More boring than selling vacuum cleaners door-to-door. More boring than working in the Mathematics Editing department of Hake Saxons Publications. More boring than fishing in eel-infested waters. More boring than working in a Twinkie-filling factory.

Actually, now that I think about it, I’m not that bad off. It’s actually quite exhilarating here selling books and CD’s and DVD’s and study guides for the book of Joel. I’m not being sarcastic. This is actually the most fun I’ve had in years.

I’m happy. I’m smiling. I’m excited. This is exciting. More exciting than picking rice. More exciting than being a librarian. More exciting than Krispy Kreme. More exciting than insurance claims. More exciting than Xeroxing books. More exciting than selling vacuum cleaners door-to-door. More exciting than working in the Mathematics Editing department of Hake Saxons Publications. More exciting than fishing in eel-infested waters. More exciting than working in a Twinkie-filling factory.

Funny how counting other people’s misfortunes makes you count your blessings, isn’t it?

some recent revelations

2006-01-18T21:24:00.000-06:00

The first thing I realized when we began our trip was that our rented vehicular unit was quite large. Not just quite large, but bigger than you, bigger than me, bigger than yo mama hey. I measured it, and it is the size of Cleveland, Ohio. I am not exaggerating. I have never stretched the truth. Ever.

The second thing: My set of DJ-style over-the-ear stereo headphones had a short. I supposed that if I just looped the headphones in a certain direction and quickly wrapped it tightly in a piece of electrical tape, my problem would be fixed. I was wrong. It had more than one short. It had many shorts. Loop it this way, turn it that way, tape it here, loop it that way, turn it this way, tape it there, and 96.09283 feet of electrical tape later, (again, I'm not exaggerating) the headphones finally sound great.

A Wendy's Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger tastes much better at 11:39 PM than any other time in the day. This is not psychological. There is something about 11:39 PM that makes a Jr Bacon Cheeseburger especially delectable.

The first word of "sweet tea" is "sweet".

Google Earth works!

2006-01-17T08:41:00.000-06:00

And pretty stinkin' well, too. It finally opened on my 12" iBook. My guess is that it wsn't a program fluke, though, because it opened faster than a cheetah in its ressurected body when my dad opened it on his unreasonably large 17" PowerBook.

Below is an arial shot of good ol' Camp Bennett:

Google Earth on a Mac?

2006-01-15T20:48:00.000-06:00

According to the Google Earth homepage, the newest version of Earth will run on Mac OS X... I'll believe it when I see it. I already downloaded it, but the application is yet to open.

From an instant message conversation with Brent Steeno...

2006-01-15T14:46:00.000-06:00

Brent Steeno:im leading it
Jackson Bohlender:yeah
Brent Steeno:anything i do is fun and anointed
Jackson Bohlender:I'll blog that
Brent Steeno:ha

Stuff I'm reading

2006-01-13T23:04:00.000-06:00

I'm not sure why some find it fascinating what one is reading, but my dad does it. Maybe he just does it, though, so people can see it and say,"Hey, he's reading the book I got him!"

Whatever the case, here are some books I'm reading, and a few I'm enjoying...

Blink by Malcom Gladwell - Halfway through it already, the day I finish this book will be a sad day, however victorious. Gladwell makes things interesting without over-simplifying the topic. Reading these kind of books make me want to be a psychologist.

The Dream Giver by Bruce Wilkinson - Although I've only read the first chapter, The Dream Giver is great for a young reader (I am living proof), but Wilkinson writes in a way that makes you want to see what's on the other page. I give it a double thumbs-up.

Holy Bible by Various Authors - I've been digging deeper into the Word lately, and I've found that I'm actually enjoying it. The Bible has never been so real to me, and that is definitely a good thing.

Saxon Math by Hake Saxon Publications - Nobody knows how to party like Hake Saxon. Grab a pencil and get to work! This curriculum is guarunteed to teach your children vaulable lessons, like how to finish schoolwork fast and get it over with. (Maybe that's just what I get out of it...) Unfortunately required reading, I'll probably be glad when I'm older that I did my math... although I cannot imagine why.

Some news...

2006-01-13T11:37:00.000-06:00

The reason I haven't been blogging lately is not because of a lack of news or lack of deep thoughts, but because of a lack of time.

1) I got outbid. eBay user "yardsaletx" beat me in the auction for the Booq Vyper XS laptop sleeve. From what I gather from the last two characters in the winner's username, ("tx") I can only speculate that he or she was a Texan. Stinkin' Texas.

2) I have money and I'm not sure what to do with it. It's kind of a toss between an iPod and a bicycle, but then I realize that I have a computer that can do everything an iPod can do and more. Then I remember someone's half-promise to give me a certain used bike for my birthday (February 26), and I decide to wait until then. And then I start thinking about how cool an iPod would be and how much space my all the music in my iTunes library takes up on my computer and how I could delete it all if only I put it on my very own iPod first. And then I think of how I want to do what's wise. And that's why I'm undecided at the moment.

3) I have some late-breaking news... If you stare into one of the prayer room's flourescent lights for too long, all you can see for an hour and a half are big blue and purple dots.

2006-01-08T15:37:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was Millard Fillmore's 106th birthday, and we missed it. How sad. What is coming to this world when an entire nation overlooks their 13th president's birthday?

Today is the perfect day...

2006-01-08T15:07:00.000-06:00

This could be argued several ways. For instance, I could complain that this chair I'm sitting in is uncmfortable. Or that my room isn't as big as I wished it was. Or that I have a wedgie. Or that there is a reason eMusic gives away music. (They can't afford to sell it because their selection is so poor.)

But with Chris Rice in the background, squirrels bickering outside, the weather at 61 degrees F, and in my newly-bought sweetness-on-a-stick Saucony shoes with sweetness-on-a-skewer (not quite sweetness on a stick) arch support, today is prefect.

Happy Sunday...

Currently the high bidder...

2006-01-06T17:35:00.000-06:00

With 5 days left, it is only by the grace of God that I will win the eBay auction for this Booq Vyper XS 12" iBook sleeve. Normally $50.00, I will get this baby for $10.01 or less if I win. To quote my good buddy Tanner Peake, "This is pretty stinkin' sweeeet."

Inspired by Dad, done by me with a little help from Flickr Toys...

2006-01-05T21:13:00.000-06:00

Wowzamundo...

2006-01-02T11:50:00.000-06:00

Taking a week off school for Onething was probably not wise. It's not like I had a choice even if I wanted to do school at Onething, but I am now swamped with work, which means blogging might have to be put on hold for a while. :(

a song written by me entitled Runaway Bride

2005-12-31T13:10:00.000-06:00

Jesus, why us?
Father, who are we to kneel at your feet?
Jesus, who are you to die on a tree?

We've ran, we're stranded, and without you we're gonna die.
You're our only source of income, but it's so much more than that,
because you're the one we love.

Jesus, look at us!
We're your undiserving, self-serving, egotistic runaway bride.
We have no idea. We're just afraid of love. We're just your runaway bride.

Happy 149th birthday, Woodrow Wilson!

2005-12-29T14:05:00.000-06:00

Why do I know these things?

halfway to an iPod

2005-12-26T23:22:00.000-06:00

After some Christmas money and a little babysitting, I am now only $133 away from purchasing my very own brand-new, 5th-generation black 30GB iPod video.

How is this possible? A year ago, I couldn't possibly tell you what an iPod did, and now I am purchasing my 3rd one in a row. (Not my 3rd purchase, just my 3rd iPod... the 2nd was a gift and the 1st was a 4GB mini that was sufficient until I was given the 6oGB photo.) A month ago, I barely had enough money in my envelope to buy my own food for a day. (Lucky for me I'm still 12 years old and I have loving parents.) A week ago, I had a little money that I was thinking of wasting on a microphone headset for my computer, but because of some wise advice on my dad's part, I held on to the money for some unknown reason. At least, unkown until now

God is so cool.

It's Christmas [Eve] Eve

2005-12-23T22:12:00.000-06:00

I just realized that a year ago, I had had no past experience with emus (no, you heard me right - emus, the ugly ostritch-looking things that lived at Camp Bennett... seriously), I had never ridden on a Goshen (those boxy, short vans Ford makes that orginally belonged to a nursing home, complete with the wheelchair lift and intercom system), hanging out with 20-year-olds would have been as intimidating as trying to guide a rodeo bull down accross a highwire, HTML could have stood for "Human Twosome Marvin and Larry" for all I knew, and iPods were all but a dream.

As good as it is to see how much I've gone through and how I might have grown in some areas,
here are some things that still don't make sense to me:

What does the saying, "a rolling stone gathers no moss" mean? That an on-the-go person has a less-than-likely chance of making friends, or that The Rolling Stones will never die?

Why do writers lick the end of their pen in movies? Is this just a mental spasm I'm experiencing, or is it something that actually happens?

When good companies can make good products and still have to close down at some point, why is it that Hormel has managed to keep SPAM on the market all these years?



2005-12-22T21:40:00.000-06:00

I just found out how to get the Apple logo as a character. Actually, I found it in a NotePad doc... :)