Blog relocation...

Due to circumstances far beyond my control, I have been forced to move my blog to another, more servicable location.

 I shalt miss thee, fair blog. Alas!! To move, or not to move, that is the question!! (sorry guys, it's a little late...) :P

ANywho, I just wanted to let you all know that my blog heretofore will from hence forth be limited to the following URL: http://facetwoface.wordpress.com/

Thank you all, and to all a good night... er day... depending on when you read this! :) 

Oh, and please check out my new blog!! :D Thank you!

WE CAME, WE SAW, WE HAD FUN: a summary of the San Antonio Texas State Qualifying Tournament. (Yayness)

Hello everyone!

 

So, the purpose of this blog post is to give everyone an overview of what transpired during the Texas State Alamo Regional Qualifying tournament! Oh ya, and to maintain interest in my somewhat not-updated-quite-enough blog!! :D

We came, we saw, we spoke, we had fun, we went home.

We came: to the Alamo tournament, a little bit jittery (well, at least i did) , (only getting 5 hours of sleep the previous night will do that to you sometimes) :) But managed to arrive at the tournament facility about 30 minutes early. (which helps a lot!) 

We saw: A LOT of good debate rounds, and speeches. And we also saw one of the nicest tournament facilities ever! Praise the Lord!

Some of the families from my awesome debate club, THE Austin Rhetoric Club where also able to form a post-tournament excursion to the Alamo! What an amazing battle-site symbolizing leadership, courage, and patriotism. It was a TON of fun!! :) (perhaps, we could make some sort of an ARC tradition out of these excursions for the tournaments to come???) :-D

We spoke: a lot! some more than others, but ALL did their best. Thus, ALL where winners to God! (which is all that really matters right guys??) :)

We had fun: As always, this tournament allowed each of us the opportunity to "hang-out" with "long-lost friends" from previous tournaments, encourage each other, and just have a great time competing and practicing for the glory of God!

Oh ya, and i was also able to get 2 smallish football games going during the course of the tournament. What a GREAT way to relieve stress before breaks!! That was also quite a bit of fun. :P  

We went home: yes, all good things DO come to an end, thus the tournament ended and, after the afore-mentioned excursion to the Alamo, we all headed back home. :) The trip back home (at least for me) was filled with... lots of sleep. :) 

Thus ended yet another Amazing tournament!!

Reflections: You know guys, you all probably hear this a lot, but I honestly don't think that you could possibly hear it enough! :) I just wanted to encourage all of you who are really sticking it out and continuing to participate. ALL OF YOU are an inspiration to me! Keep it up! And NEVER stop trying to perfect your communication skills. It is one of the most important things you could EVER do to prepare for our generation. You will never regret it! :)

In Christ alone,

Ben Chambers

“Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.”

1 Timothy 4:12

If wishes where horses... then I'd ride one to the National Open

Hi guys! right now, I actually wish I were somewhere else. I mean, I know I'm supposed to be content and all, and that God definitely has a really good reason for me not being at the National Open tournament...

But I'm feeling kinda' anxious. I'm really really wishing I were there with you guys. And I'm really curious as to the results thus far. :( I really want to apologize for not making it down there. I do not like missing tournaments. :(... At all.

Anyways I just wrote this to let you all know I'm thinking of ya'll and praying very hard that you do your best and reach out to each other!! (and I know you guys always do) :)

Praise God He controls everything! And I'll see you all next week!

P.S. I was wondering if anyone could possibly e-mail the ARC group when they find out who has broken and all... it gets really intense here not knowing... :P Thanks ya'll! and God bless! :D Ooo... maybe I should e-mail ya'll about that... :)

My government etc...

Hello all! Due to the temporary shortage of ARC events to blog about... (sadness... :P hehe) I have been wanting to write a blog on the current status of the US Government. SOooo... here we go! enjoy!

1st, I want to point out a major premise of this current administration :)

What was this government created for in the first place? the protection of the rights of the people. The government was granted the right to tax the people, and enforce just laws in order to protect its citizens. The constitution was drafted in order to restrict what kind of laws where passed and to limit the power of the different branches of the government.

When asked what the government was created for, most people would agree it was for the protection of the people's rights. But not too long after the government was formed, it decided it needed to also educate its peoples. This was a MAJOR mistake on behalf of the United States of America. We will never stop feeling the effects of the regulated, prison-like, indoctrinating public school system. (sorry to use such harsh words, but it's true... )

My Government has also decided it is not going to stop there. Which leads me to point 2.

My government has failed to protect its most innocent of peoples. You know what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the mass murder and genocide inflicted on the most basic forms of innocent life: abortion.
This new administration, My Government, has decided it's not only O.K. to murder babies in the mother's wombs, but out of them as well. Under the RIDICULOUS defence that the baby is only alive after a certain point. My government is not protecting the baby's rights. Their rights to life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness. Instead it encourages murder.

What brought me to the writing of this post though is found in point 3.

My government has recently decided it is in responsible for the economy. Under the shade of an "economic crisis" (begun by the labor unions), the government has taken MY money (which has been pledged in order to protect American's rights) and given it to a bunch of automotive leaders in order to "stimulate the economy". The auto companies FAILED to address the labor unions properly and instead of being disciplined or replaced, they are rewarded with more money to waste. MY MONEY TO WASTE. It is not my Government's job to control the economy. That is The People's job. If they would allow the people to keep what they earn, they would stimulate the economy.

My government is ruining our education, devestating MILLIONS of baby's rights to life liberty and pursuit of happiness, and is destroying the economy by taking earned money and giving it to those that did not work for it. Neither do they (in my humble opinion) deserve it.

My advice to my government, go back to the purpose of the government. We where founded by the blood of brave men's souls. PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF THE CITIZENS!

My advice to all the people in my GREAT country, PRAY WITHOUT CEASING, practice your communication skills so that when the time comes, you are prepared to stand up for WHAT is RIGHT!

God is sovereign and completely in control. Completely. Allow Him to use you! :)

Sorry if it was a little long... but I had a lot to say. :)

In Christ,

Ben Chambers

analysis...

ello everyone! I believe I have finally (for the most part) recovered from last week's tournament. my affirmative case is battered, my Duo is still too short, and my Apologetics box is not nearly as big as I had anticipated. lol!

Ok! so here are some random facts that came to my attention during the January Speech and Debate Warm-up tournament, finished off with a moral lesson at the end! :) (yaaaay... :P)

1. Counter plans (though a TON of fun) are REALLY hard to run. :P

2. an apologetics round without a card or a pen is not nearly as easy. hahah!

3. Football (in excess) is sometimes not a good thing. :P lol!

4. There's NOO such thing as too many friends! :)

5. ARC is TOTALLY the best speech and debate club eva! and i am SOOOO blessed to be the president! thank you all! :)

6. Suitcoat Button's are held together by VERY thin threads... and they don't sew themselves back on.

7. My debate partner is the awesomest partner imaginable! I wouldn't dream of having anyone else beside me in a round. (even when my idea's aren't the best) ;) thank you so much Hope!!

8. Believe it or not, it IS actually worth it to get a good night's sleep. (as if i would know ;-P )

9. Interns are TOTALLY the best judges!

10. Subway sandwiches can get old... FAST! lol!

11. I drink more water at debate tournaments than at a football game. (and that's a lot!)

12. Fo Sho is a TON of fun to say! :D

13. Duos are the most fun speech and debate event EVER!! the more people watching, the more fun it is! :) thanks to everyone who watched us!

14. throughout the tournament, at a lot of different points, i was INCREDIBLY scared!!! God kept bringing a passage in Hebrews to mind though throughout the tournament that kept me going. even though I was still frightened, God gave me just enough courage to keep moving at the best of my abilities.

Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

Now, it's important to note that it's NOT A SIN to be afraid. Everyone fears something. Some fear writing, some fear speaking, some fear acting, some fear spiders, some fear being stuck in the middle of the ocean with nothing but a liferaft and a stick of gum. Lol. ok, seriously though even Jesus was nervous before the crucifixion. God understands. that is why He wrote on the subject so many times throughout the Bible.

I would like to draw your attention to the first verse however, "Let your conversation be without covetousness..." then in the next verse "SO that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper..."

One thing I have really grown to understand throughout my life, so long as I can control my tongue, or I do my best I possibly can at what I do, I truly have no reason to fear because the Lord is my helper. The only times I really had a reason to fear was when I didn't have the right motivations.

So, in other words, do not fear. :)

Hope you enjoyed my... randomness! :P Thank you all for reading. Please Post! and God bless!

-Ben

Encouragement

Hey guys! I'll try to make this as brief as possible! :)

First off, congrats to everyone who participated in the Communicators For Christ masters conference! I don't know about you all, but I learned SO much during the past week. God truly blessed us by allowing CFC to conduct their masters conference right here in Austin!! :D

OK, so I really feel like God has laid something on my heart I need to share with you all. Here's the verse that God brought to my mind when I was thinking about the upcoming tournament.

"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset [us], and let us run with patience the race that is set before us," - Hebrews 12:1

I want to point out something. God could have said, "let us run quickly the race..." or he could have said "let us run impressively..." But he didn't. He said WITH PATIENCE Sometimes you can really get a lot of insight out of the Bible by looking at what God didn't say, but could have.

Every one's "race" is unique. For some, it is slower moving, rockier... and more dangerous. For others, it's easier. What I wanted to point out to everyone who is competing in something, or is facing a challenge that they don't believe they can handle, is that this is not a race against each other. You are to finish the race for God's glory. The people who run with patience, and finish the race, get the prize. that's it. simply do your best, finish the race, give it ALL you have, and give God the glory. :)

The DUTY is ours. the RESULTS are God's.

This is going to be difficult for a lot of people. Including me. Speech and debate tournaments are always difficult. But let's try to find the joy in finishing the race, and giving God the glory. Competition is a lot of fun, and (I'll admit) sometimes a lot more fun when you win. But at the end of the day, we are all just running our race. So I would just encourage y'all to have Faith. Trust that God will use you if you let Him. And give God the glory for everything that happens. And no matter what, don't give up. Don't give in. :)

Lay aside every weight. Run the race with endurance. :)

I just wanted to end this with a few quotes from some of my favorite songs. :D

The Voice of Truth tells me a different story. The Voice of Truth says DO NOT BE AFRAID. The Voice of Truth says this is for MY GLORY. I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of Truth.

Give me words to speak, don't let my spirit sleep. I can't think of ANYTHING WORTH SAYING but I know that I owe you MY LIFE. So Give me words to speak don't let my spirit sleep.

Do all (your best) for the Glory of Christ,

Ben Chambers

Day 2 at CFC....

ONe word to describe and sum up the entire day's events... awesome.

The classes where amazing!! I learned an awesome amount of stuff that totally applies not only to competitive debate, but also different life situations.

I was most impressed, not by the teacher's smooth speaking ability, but by their witness for Christ. They are not afraid to stand up in front of hundreds of people and openly confess their faith and love for Jesus Christ. I would truly love to have that ability. That is one of the main reasons i enjoy speech and debate sooo much.

But other than that, I enjoy hanging out with all my friends! They are so amazing and I truly don't know where I would be without them!! God has really blessed me with more friends than I ever could have hoped for and I truly enjoy hanging out with everybody at tournaments. :)

Well, I'm pleased to report that the annual whenever-any-speech-and-debate-dudes-get-together (Wasaddgt) football game was officially played today. it was a blast!! (as always)
And yes, my awesome team totally OWNED the other lesser talented team. lol. no offense guys... :P

But just in case the WASSADDGT game wasn't attended by all that where interested, there will be another opportunity as tomorrow we will actually be allowed to wear COMFORTABLE clothes. *Relaxed sigh* lol. anyways, ya, so if anyone is interested, it will be in the parking lot probably after lunch. :)

Well, anyways, i'm going to get rested up for another day of extreme madly awesome socialness. :) oh ya, and learning about effective communication in order to better influence our culture (yes, mrs. moon, i was listening) :)

G'night folks! :D