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.
Its a Girl! x 2
today i was closing, and after work i stopped by my buddy's birthday party. except, i had to rush out because i got a call from my mom saying my sister was in labor. so i rushed home and from there went to the hospital.
we chilled in the lobby for a few minutes until drew came and took us past the locked door, into the back area (i don't know what its called, i'm not up on hospital lingo, maybe i should watch greys anatomy).
then, the doctors did the c section on kelly around 3 am, and pulled out the babies. Kayla Mackenzie Robinson (formerly known as Alpha or baby A) and Braelyn Elizabeth Robinson (Bravo or baby B) both came out at about 5 lbs each.
i caught a glimpse of them as they were rolled out to the NIQUE (once again, i don't know how to spell this stuff). drew went with them to name them and get their identification straight.
then i got a chance to see kelly for a second but she was out of it. after that i got kicked back out to the lobby. so i killed the time by trying to chat with the spanish speaking security guard, it was kind of hard cause he spoke very little english and i speak very little spanish and he was distracted by one of those crazy spanish shows with a lady in a short skirt and a guy with a lot of whistles... but im getting off topic.
drew came back out and pulled in my dad to go see the babies (my mom was with kelly) then eventually i got to go see kelly. apparently only grandparents get to go visit the premie babies. but after the drugs hit kel, and she rambled on about red gatorade, she eventually fell asleep and we left.
now i'm home writing this blog... sorry if it was wordy, i'm a little tired and a little excited.
but praise the Lord, i got two neices.
we chilled in the lobby for a few minutes until drew came and took us past the locked door, into the back area (i don't know what its called, i'm not up on hospital lingo, maybe i should watch greys anatomy).
then, the doctors did the c section on kelly around 3 am, and pulled out the babies. Kayla Mackenzie Robinson (formerly known as Alpha or baby A) and Braelyn Elizabeth Robinson (Bravo or baby B) both came out at about 5 lbs each.
i caught a glimpse of them as they were rolled out to the NIQUE (once again, i don't know how to spell this stuff). drew went with them to name them and get their identification straight.
then i got a chance to see kelly for a second but she was out of it. after that i got kicked back out to the lobby. so i killed the time by trying to chat with the spanish speaking security guard, it was kind of hard cause he spoke very little english and i speak very little spanish and he was distracted by one of those crazy spanish shows with a lady in a short skirt and a guy with a lot of whistles... but im getting off topic.
drew came back out and pulled in my dad to go see the babies (my mom was with kelly) then eventually i got to go see kelly. apparently only grandparents get to go visit the premie babies. but after the drugs hit kel, and she rambled on about red gatorade, she eventually fell asleep and we left.
now i'm home writing this blog... sorry if it was wordy, i'm a little tired and a little excited.
but praise the Lord, i got two neices.
this past weekend
this past weekend at church, i got the opportunity to preach at the 4 middle school services. jesse taught the high school service (it was a straight sawgrass takeover).
it was a lot of fun. the first service was really short because i wasn't sure about how much time everything would take. apparently, i severely overestimated my material, so i was up and down in probably 10 minutes. but for the sunday services, i threw in a story about my spoiled rotten sister (shes not really that bad) and it turned into a 10-15 minute sermon.
the kids seemed relatively interested, at least as interested as middle schoolers could be. all in all, i got over my nerves, and it turned out pretty good. i get the chance to do it again, in a couple weeks. i'll only be doing the high school service, but its good that now i'm more comfortable, i should be able to speak better. glory to God.
the lesson was on gratitude, and i feel real privileged that God put me in the position to be able to speak these two weekends. it was a lot of fun, but it is a struggle to stay humble and not make preaching about me or my own ego. i'm sure real pastors know this much more than i do.
but still, i feel blessed that God gave me that desire and opportunity, so in a way, i learned more about gratitude than i thought i would. (doesn't that sound like a cheesy line from the end of an episode of Full House, cue the sappy piano.)
anyways, i figured i'd upload the outline of my teaching if you were interested.
p.s.- all of the spaces and blank lines are for you Matt.
GRATITUDE MATTERS
Luke 17:11-19
Gratitude MATTERS because it shows humility.
“True humility and fear of the LORD leads to riches, honor, and a long life.” – Proverbs 22:4
Gratitude MATTERS because it shows dependence on God.
“How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?”- Galatians 3:3
Gratitude MATTERS because it leads to success.
“Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful…” -Deuteronomy 8:18
it was a lot of fun. the first service was really short because i wasn't sure about how much time everything would take. apparently, i severely overestimated my material, so i was up and down in probably 10 minutes. but for the sunday services, i threw in a story about my spoiled rotten sister (shes not really that bad) and it turned into a 10-15 minute sermon.
the kids seemed relatively interested, at least as interested as middle schoolers could be. all in all, i got over my nerves, and it turned out pretty good. i get the chance to do it again, in a couple weeks. i'll only be doing the high school service, but its good that now i'm more comfortable, i should be able to speak better. glory to God.
the lesson was on gratitude, and i feel real privileged that God put me in the position to be able to speak these two weekends. it was a lot of fun, but it is a struggle to stay humble and not make preaching about me or my own ego. i'm sure real pastors know this much more than i do.
but still, i feel blessed that God gave me that desire and opportunity, so in a way, i learned more about gratitude than i thought i would. (doesn't that sound like a cheesy line from the end of an episode of Full House, cue the sappy piano.)
anyways, i figured i'd upload the outline of my teaching if you were interested.
p.s.- all of the spaces and blank lines are for you Matt.
GRATITUDE MATTERS
Luke 17:11-19
Gratitude MATTERS because it shows humility.
“True humility and fear of the LORD leads to riches, honor, and a long life.” – Proverbs 22:4
Gratitude MATTERS because it shows dependence on God.
“How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?”- Galatians 3:3
Gratitude MATTERS because it leads to success.
“Remember the Lord your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful…” -Deuteronomy 8:18
