hey guys,
i just got back from high school camp a couple of days ago. it was busy. we would go to breakfast, morning session, games, lunch, jump rope, dinner, night session, games, bed. yeah... we jumped a lot of rope. for over 5 1/2 hours we tried to get all 96 people through without screwing up. it was hard, but in the end it was justified. i wish we would have more FRC only time and games because Scot really pushed us. it was cool to watch some kids grow emotionally, spiritually, and as a team. one cool moment was when God laid it on my heart to pray for a certain person who normally doesn't come to mind right when i bow my head. sure enough after about 5 minutes, they got up and grabbed a rock which symbolized theyre commitment to follow Christ. it was cool how prayer was answered right there. it was definitely worth it, so anyone on the fence, please trust me, and go!
camp
i just got back from middle school camp. it was a long drive, but well worth it. the kids were pushed to their limits in all the games and had fight through their want to quit. the sessions were entertaining, and had some real thought provoking moments. we even had about 10 kids get baptized. overall, i think it went great. it was definitely something to build on.
i came home and found out that my sister had some complications and was in the hospital. it was much more serious than i was led to believe, but kelly is alright now. that was a scary moment for all of us. i donated some blood for her, and went to visit her in the hospital. she seems to be a little better, but is still weak, and should be in there until at least monday.
it has been an extremely stressful week with kelly's complications, having to watch the babies, big decisions weighing me down, and having no sleep through it all. now i'm turning around and going to high school camp. just keep me and my family in your prayers. thank you.
i came home and found out that my sister had some complications and was in the hospital. it was much more serious than i was led to believe, but kelly is alright now. that was a scary moment for all of us. i donated some blood for her, and went to visit her in the hospital. she seems to be a little better, but is still weak, and should be in there until at least monday.
it has been an extremely stressful week with kelly's complications, having to watch the babies, big decisions weighing me down, and having no sleep through it all. now i'm turning around and going to high school camp. just keep me and my family in your prayers. thank you.
balance
i've been reading "The Barbarian Way" lately and it has peaked my interest. it raised a question in my head though. how is a church supposed to keep the raw, powerful, all consuming call to sacrifice everything for Christ, yet still stay relevant and seem welcoming to seekers?
one side enables personal spiritual growth, while the other raises numbers to the kingdom. its a delicate balance and definitely hard to find.
one side enables personal spiritual growth, while the other raises numbers to the kingdom. its a delicate balance and definitely hard to find.
random acts of kindness
I just went on youtube, and on the featured videos section, which is sort of like the front page or cover for those non youtube users (though you probably wouldn't be reading a blog, so i'm not quite sure why i'm typing this, but i digress) 8 out of the 12 videos were about random acts of kindness or making the world a better place.
that's very encouraging. the world tries to crush every group's aspirations for positive change with loads of negativity. it is uplifting to see a glimmer of optimism somewhere.
i'll risk being thought of as naive and say, sometimes i think that this generation may be able to change the world for the better. they may have really taken hold to this belief that they can make a difference. we might even be witnessing the beginning of an altruistic culture. that would be pretty cool.
that's very encouraging. the world tries to crush every group's aspirations for positive change with loads of negativity. it is uplifting to see a glimmer of optimism somewhere.
i'll risk being thought of as naive and say, sometimes i think that this generation may be able to change the world for the better. they may have really taken hold to this belief that they can make a difference. we might even be witnessing the beginning of an altruistic culture. that would be pretty cool.
Senior Night
senior night was this past saturday at church. basically, senior night is when all of the graduating seniors are recognized/honored. the band is full of seniors, the speaker is a senior, they have a slideshow. its like a big celebration service.
shannon led three of the songs with the other seniors tyler, cat, shane, brian, and grace filling out the band. they did awesome.
then they had the slideshow and showed everyone's baby pictures.
then i got the chance to do the teaching. i settled on three points to grow closer to God in the future, serving, leading, and obeying. I was nervous at first because the place was packed with high schoolers, their families, and their friends. all in all, it turned out well.
it was an honor to get the chance to speak and i just want to say thanks to everyone who came out and supported us.
shannon led three of the songs with the other seniors tyler, cat, shane, brian, and grace filling out the band. they did awesome.
then they had the slideshow and showed everyone's baby pictures.
then i got the chance to do the teaching. i settled on three points to grow closer to God in the future, serving, leading, and obeying. I was nervous at first because the place was packed with high schoolers, their families, and their friends. all in all, it turned out well.
it was an honor to get the chance to speak and i just want to say thanks to everyone who came out and supported us.
