It may seem like I know everything
like I have an answer to every question
like I am an expert in any topic
But in reality I know little
I give general answers to questions
I am not an expert in every topic, but at least I am decent at many topics
It may seem like I have tons of friends
like I can always talk to someone when I'm bored
like I always have someone by me when I'm lonely
But in reality I am lonely
I have no one to talk to when I'm bored
I have no one to turn to in my loneliness, but at least I have a family
It may seem like I have my whole life planned out
like I know exactly what I want to do
like I have a goal in my life
But in reality I have little plans for the future
I have no clue what I want to do
I have no long-term goals in life, but at least I have short-term goals
It may seem like I am a great Christian
like a so-called "radical"
like I have a verse for every situation
like I know every story in the Bible
But in reality I am not that good of a Christian
I do little to practice my faith outside of church
I don't have a verse for every situation and barely have any memorized
I don't know every story in the Bible nor have I read the entire thing, but at least I know where the books are
Does that mean I am not intelligent?
No, I am still very intelligent.
Does that mean I'll be lonely forever?
No, I'll find some friends.
Does that mean I will go into life without a plan?
No, I'll make a plan eventually.
Does that mean God loves me any less?
No, God still loves me just like everyone else and he will always care for me.
I just have to stop being fake, and start being real.
- Matthew McCaskill, 2017
Monday, January 16, 2017
Wednesday, August 3, 2016
Assumptions
I'm quiet, so they make assumptions.
I'm alone, so they make assumptions.
I'm afraid, so they make assumptions.
I'm religious, so they make assumptions.
I'm different, so they make assumptions.
Should I take these assumptions personally?
Should I be hurt by these assumptions?
Should I look down upon myself from these assumptions?
Should I change how I am to match these assumptions?
The answer is no.
Yet my answer is yes.
Why?
Is it the way they see me?
They assume the unknown, because I am quiet,
Because I am alone,
Because I am afraid,
Because I am religious,
Because I am different.
I'm mysterious, so they make assumptions.
I'm unnatural, so they make assumptions.
I'm incomprehensible, so they make assumptions.
I'm different, so they make assumptions.
But I don't change.
I silently get hurt.
But I want change.
I cannot handle my emotions.
But I can't change.
That would ruin my reputation.
But I need change.
Then, I do change.
Not to adapt to their assumptions, to ignore them.
I will no longer think down upon myself.
I will no longer be hurt.
I will no longer care what they assume about me.
I won't change anymore.
- Matthew McCaskill, 2016
I'm alone, so they make assumptions.
I'm afraid, so they make assumptions.
I'm religious, so they make assumptions.
I'm different, so they make assumptions.
Should I take these assumptions personally?
Should I be hurt by these assumptions?
Should I look down upon myself from these assumptions?
Should I change how I am to match these assumptions?
The answer is no.
Yet my answer is yes.
Why?
Is it the way they see me?
They assume the unknown, because I am quiet,
Because I am alone,
Because I am afraid,
Because I am religious,
Because I am different.
I'm mysterious, so they make assumptions.
I'm unnatural, so they make assumptions.
I'm incomprehensible, so they make assumptions.
I'm different, so they make assumptions.
But I don't change.
I silently get hurt.
But I want change.
I cannot handle my emotions.
But I can't change.
That would ruin my reputation.
But I need change.
Then, I do change.
Not to adapt to their assumptions, to ignore them.
I will no longer think down upon myself.
I will no longer be hurt.
I will no longer care what they assume about me.
I won't change anymore.
- Matthew McCaskill, 2016
Monday, August 1, 2016
Out of His Grace
Because of His grace, we are loved.
We need not long for his approval.
We need not ask for mercy.
We need not be perfect.
He loved us out of His grace.
Because of His love, we are rescued.
His house always has an open door.
His arms will pull us up through all struggles.
His heart wants us regardless of our sins.
He rescues us out of His love.
Because He rescued us, we are united.
The rescued have an invisible unity waiting to be unearthed.
The rescued can come together with no fear or struggle.
The rescued make an unimaginably bigger impact together than alone.
He unites us out of our rescued souls.
Because of our unity, we are changed.
Our scars are healed, our wounds mended.
Our past is forgotten, our future planned.
Our faith is strong, our hearts stronger.
He changes us out of our unity.
Because He changed us, we are sent.
We are sent to help the helpless.
We are sent to heal the ill.
We are sent to make new believers.
We are sent to do kingdom work.
We are sent to change our world.
He sent us out of our change,
out of our unity,
out of our rescued souls,
out of His love,
out of His grace.
- Matthew McCaskill, 2016
Heavily inspired by CIY Move 2016: Kingdom Workers.
- Matthew McCaskill, 2016
Heavily inspired by CIY Move 2016: Kingdom Workers.
The Wild
The Wild is not ordinary, it is extraordinary.
The Wild is not somewhere to be with others, it is somewhere to be with yourself.
The Wild is not a place to look at the past, it is a place to look towards the future.
The Wild is not the end of a long journey, is is the beginning of a great adventure.
The Wild is not somewhere to visit, it is somewhere to escape.
The Wild does not show you who you are, it shows you who you are to become.
The Wild does not open up to you, you must open up to it.
The Wild is not just a place to speak to Him, it is a place where He speaks to you.
- Matthew McCaskill, 2016
The Wild is not somewhere to be with others, it is somewhere to be with yourself.
The Wild is not a place to look at the past, it is a place to look towards the future.
The Wild is not the end of a long journey, is is the beginning of a great adventure.
The Wild is not somewhere to visit, it is somewhere to escape.
The Wild does not show you who you are, it shows you who you are to become.
The Wild does not open up to you, you must open up to it.
The Wild is not just a place to speak to Him, it is a place where He speaks to you.
- Matthew McCaskill, 2016
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Why is math so hard?
Math isn't hard. We are just taught to think that way.
You cannot be "bad at math from birth" or "naturally bad", you just were not taught correctly in the first place. In the world's (specifically the United States) school system, math is taught using processes. This means that you are given a problem X that has solution Y. You are then taught how to solve similar problems to X and come up with answers that are similar to Y. A great example of this is the order of operations. The famous acronym for order of operations is PEMDAS (I like the GOMA acronym better, but that will be covered in a separated post). This is designed to help students learn how to solve problems like 1+3/4. Reading from left-to-right gives the answer of 1, but using the order of operations, you get 1.75. And this is the problem in our schooling system. How do you teach kids to read a book from left-to-right, but read a math problem by jumping around? The simple answer is: "You can't". High school students, college graduates, and senior citizens all can mix this order up sometimes. Its not because they are bad at math, its because the school system cannot create a way that works for all kids to remember these concepts.
So how do you fix this problem?
Unlike last time, there is a simple answer to this, which I will get into later. But first lets go over why people think they are bad at math, and problems in general. When faced with a problem in life, most of the population of the world will immediately give up on a solution and ask for help. While this is not a bad thing, it is definitely not a good thing. The other percentage of the population would do something much different. They would try to solve the problem. Now, at this point, this percentage is split into two more groups. The first group tries many different methods until one works, or asks for help if none do. Alright, this is a step up from our last group, but the third group knows exactly how to solve this problem. This third group will try until their methods do not work, and then combine those methods until those work. If these methods do not work, then the individual will figure out why they do not work and do research on what could work, and then ask for help as a worst-case-scenario. This is important because this is a skill that is learned, not that is naturally acquired. These people can show up to the battle with random items, and make a weapon of mass destruction while their enemy with the same item hides in fear (sorry for the cruel metaphor). So to recap, here is an example where these three groups are visible:
Three men walk up to a bridge with a troll blocking the path. The men walk up to the troll and ask politely for it to move out of the way so they can cross. The troll refuses, but states that access will be granted to anyone if he is asleep. The three men retreat to think of a plan, however, each cannot agree with the others, so they go their separate ways. The first man walks back up to the troll and tries to negotiate with him to be granted access. After an hour, he gives up and asks the second man for help. Fortunately, the second man has a plan: wait until nighttime. So the men wait until it is night, and continue waiting until the next morning. To their surprise, the troll does not sleep. The second man then has a second idea to see if the troll sleeps at certain times. Hours pass with no luck. The men give up and go to ask the third man for help. However, they cannot find the third man, for he has crossed the bridge already. While the first two men were going about their plans, the third man noticed them not succeeding, and decided to back a sleeping potion out of herbs and plants in the surrounding area. He went to the local alchemist to get a potion brewing book, and brewed the potion to make the troll sleep temporarily.
This story is a good example of these three groups: there are those who try once and give up, there are those who try many times and give up, and there are those who analyze the situation and previous attempts to research and create a solution to the problem before them. Once again, this is not a skill that is naturally acquired, it needs to be taught. This is how to fix the problem of non-problem solvers. Teach kids how to make methods to solve a problem, not how to use one of an arbitrary amount of previous methods to find a solution.
You cannot be "bad at math from birth" or "naturally bad", you just were not taught correctly in the first place. In the world's (specifically the United States) school system, math is taught using processes. This means that you are given a problem X that has solution Y. You are then taught how to solve similar problems to X and come up with answers that are similar to Y. A great example of this is the order of operations. The famous acronym for order of operations is PEMDAS (I like the GOMA acronym better, but that will be covered in a separated post). This is designed to help students learn how to solve problems like 1+3/4. Reading from left-to-right gives the answer of 1, but using the order of operations, you get 1.75. And this is the problem in our schooling system. How do you teach kids to read a book from left-to-right, but read a math problem by jumping around? The simple answer is: "You can't". High school students, college graduates, and senior citizens all can mix this order up sometimes. Its not because they are bad at math, its because the school system cannot create a way that works for all kids to remember these concepts.
So how do you fix this problem?
Unlike last time, there is a simple answer to this, which I will get into later. But first lets go over why people think they are bad at math, and problems in general. When faced with a problem in life, most of the population of the world will immediately give up on a solution and ask for help. While this is not a bad thing, it is definitely not a good thing. The other percentage of the population would do something much different. They would try to solve the problem. Now, at this point, this percentage is split into two more groups. The first group tries many different methods until one works, or asks for help if none do. Alright, this is a step up from our last group, but the third group knows exactly how to solve this problem. This third group will try until their methods do not work, and then combine those methods until those work. If these methods do not work, then the individual will figure out why they do not work and do research on what could work, and then ask for help as a worst-case-scenario. This is important because this is a skill that is learned, not that is naturally acquired. These people can show up to the battle with random items, and make a weapon of mass destruction while their enemy with the same item hides in fear (sorry for the cruel metaphor). So to recap, here is an example where these three groups are visible:
Three men walk up to a bridge with a troll blocking the path. The men walk up to the troll and ask politely for it to move out of the way so they can cross. The troll refuses, but states that access will be granted to anyone if he is asleep. The three men retreat to think of a plan, however, each cannot agree with the others, so they go their separate ways. The first man walks back up to the troll and tries to negotiate with him to be granted access. After an hour, he gives up and asks the second man for help. Fortunately, the second man has a plan: wait until nighttime. So the men wait until it is night, and continue waiting until the next morning. To their surprise, the troll does not sleep. The second man then has a second idea to see if the troll sleeps at certain times. Hours pass with no luck. The men give up and go to ask the third man for help. However, they cannot find the third man, for he has crossed the bridge already. While the first two men were going about their plans, the third man noticed them not succeeding, and decided to back a sleeping potion out of herbs and plants in the surrounding area. He went to the local alchemist to get a potion brewing book, and brewed the potion to make the troll sleep temporarily.
This story is a good example of these three groups: there are those who try once and give up, there are those who try many times and give up, and there are those who analyze the situation and previous attempts to research and create a solution to the problem before them. Once again, this is not a skill that is naturally acquired, it needs to be taught. This is how to fix the problem of non-problem solvers. Teach kids how to make methods to solve a problem, not how to use one of an arbitrary amount of previous methods to find a solution.
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