C.S.I. Columbus

Next Monday morning begins our effort to bring the joy of Christ to some families in our community. We are going to paint and do small repairs on three houses and also hand out food. With the canceling of our Honduras Mission trip comes the new opportunity to work in our own neighborhood. There are many families in need all around us. Sometimes the ones next door are harder for us to see than the ones over seas. Please pray with us that God will be glorified through our hearts and actions over the coming days

We will meet after Wednesday night services and Sunday afternoon services to discuss the week and see how many are interested.

MNL @ Starkville

Last night we went to Starkville church of Christ for Monday Night Live. I had a great time driving up with my children, Nathan, Karlee, and Kristen! I learned some interesting things on the road. We got to Starkville and enjoyed some singing together. After that, The pizza buffet was opened before us and we got to see all of our friends from camp. After eating we returned to the auditorium for a talent scavenger hunt. Brent Pyle did his best to burp as loud as possible (which proved impossible). I was asked to play armpit music (which I failed miserably at). Guess I'm out of practice. Jessica Pyle was able to touch her nose with her tongue and Matthew Chaffin can place his foot behind his head. Both were very impressive. Calvin McNabb also can make a pretty mean monkey face. The wierdest thing by far was watching a girl peal and eat a banana without using her hands. DISGUSTING! All that aside we had a great worship together and Westley shared a message about the living water of Christ.
Do you know what Manna means literally?
Next week we will head back to Starkville and go to North Montgomery Church of Christ. We leave at 6:15. They always have an awesome MNL. Come with us.

Happy Birthday Nathan

Today is Nathan Allen's B-day make sure and wish him a good one.

TORCH

As many of you know, we travel every summer to tegucigalpa Honduras for a mission trip every year. Since 1998 I have been blessed by the Honduran people and what God has allowed us to do in the mountains of tegucigalpa. This year there is much unrest within the political system and we have decided that the danger is too great for us to travel there. Please keep the people of Honduras in your prayers.
We are working hard to find an alternative for everyone who was going to serve with us as missionaries. This wednesday evening after services plan on hearing more of what we have been able to find as far as God given opportunities in our community go.

SNL @ Slip N Dip

Notice on our upcoming events we are having an snl at the slip n dip on July 5th. We have it reserved from 5 until 7pm. I need to get a good count of those who plan to come. I have to have an extra $2.50 for each person above 30 people that come so if everyone will bring a dollar and their own drink that should cover the costs of food and stuff. We will be having a devo out there as well. As far as dress code goes, you need to wear a one piece or a tankini or a t-shirt over your swimsuit. Bring a towel. should be a lot of fun. Feel free to bring friends but let me know if you are so that i can make sure we have the right amount of life guards out there. See you Sunday. Leave a comment and let me know you are coming.

Happy Birthday Karlee

Yesterday (friday) was Karlee's birthday. Wish her a good one!

Bible Bowl

The material for Bible Bowl 09' has been released. you can go to the links section of our blog and get access to a downloadable version of the NKJV gospel of John for your studies. The date of this event is Sept 12.

It's Your serve

Every Wednesday night over the summer we are trying to be the hands and feet of God. Last week we went to visit many of the shut ins in our congregation. It was a great experience for us all and reminded us that we have much to learn from others. I'd love to hear from any of you who participated. Just leave a comment and let us know. Tonight we are going to Windsor place and are going to bring gift bags put together by our children's ministry. I hope to put up pics soon.

SLCC

What a week! Everyone who went to camp this summer was indeed blessed. I will post some pics soon. many of you have already seen all you want via facebook. Videos will also be posted shortly.
This year we had the largest participation our church has ever enjoyed at Sardis Lake. We brought about 80 people with us. As Bruce mentioned prior to our departure that number represented about half of the camp so we had a fifty percent chance that anyone hurt or in trouble would be one of ours. Thankfully that was not the case.
Friday brought excitement. Many of you come up on friday to experience the mountain peak of the week. Billy also speaks on friday... coincidence... I think not. All of the cabins produce spiritual skits, we have a talent show, and many of us bare our hearts. This Friday was a little different. God sent us a storm and, as one of our girls put it, delivered the best sermon of the week. Many were drawn to consider their eternity during this particularly violent natural light show. We lost power throughout the camp until about two thirty the next morning. Thankfully we had plenty of glowsticks. Our skits were performed via flashlight. We also had an impressive improv comedy performance. For me the greatest part of friday is the reflection devotional. You guys bring the lesson and share what God has done for you. Everyone comes to camp with baggage. Many of us unpacked that on the first night. Many of us got rid of it throughout the week. God does great things at Sardis lake and I'm privileged to be a part.

I'll write more later but wanted to include a little now
Take some time and share your good camp memories with us by commenting here

Summer Has Arrived

Hey everyone! Summer is here and it is already hot. Now that you and I are both out of school. i have a bit more time to do some morning blogging. I will be doing my best to get out a blog update to you every monday that we are in town. Camp is next week so don't expect one next monday.
I felt like you saved the best for last with the way your ministry teams ministered to the congregation Sunday evening. I'm already getting excited about how next year's teams will be used to spread the good news of Christ and encourage his church. A big thank you to all of our team leaders and the effort you put into this year. Seems like only a week ago we were meeting in my house dreaming dreams. Dreams do come true because of you.
We leave for camp this sunday at 12:45. I'm ready. Are you? The week's theme is "Home". When you are with your Christian family, you are home. God has made a place for you in his house and we want everyone to discover the truth of this. So often we feel like strangers or visitors in God's house. We feel like we need to get out in the real world and have real experiences. We set out to make a name for ourselves. We find ourselves frustrated because the truth is that God already has experiences in store and a name for you. We have already arrived and don't realize it. In Christ, we're home.

What should we do in the summer

When summer comes in just a few weeks we want to change things up a little bit. What ideas do you have for our youth group in the summer? What should we do with snl and ministry teams? Leave a comment and let us know.

Just a reminder, our SinnerStage drama team will be performing outside of Fulton, Ms at Brandi Johnson's dads church on Saturday, May 9, 2009 for their Mother's Day celebration.  We hope that parents and some of our youth will be able to join us that day and support SinnerStage and Mothers too. Thanks for all the support we receive from everyone. We wouldn't be able to do what we do without our Lord and Savior and our church family there to support our every move. Thanks again. Love u all!

Should we keep this going

Hey just wanted to get your input. On the left side there is a poll. I want to see if the blog is serving its purpose and if you are interested in keeping it alive. Please select an answer and let us know what you want. If the answer is yes, then we will go back to regular posting and pics. If not then you can get the info you want on faithout.com.

Response from Westpoint Church of Christ

I told you guys i would post a copy of the card we received after our SNL service over there. Her you go

7th Street Columbus COC youth,
the OAR COC was so impressed with the performance of your youth group last Sunday night. We wish to express our gratitude and appreciation for allowing us to experience your program. It was creative and an inspiration. We are so proud your group is willing to step out of their comfort zone and let God work through their lives. It takes a lot of courage and strength to step out. You touched so many lives Sunday night. Please continue your good work. It was an amazing service.

Isn't it cool to realize that what you did in Christ's name made such an impact. This Sunday night (march 27th) we will have a church wide SNL. Thanks for the ways you have all chosen to serve.

Happy Birthday Stephanie

Today is Stephanie Hopper's Birthday! Her last name has new meaning now that she has one good leg to stand on. Hop on Steph.

Happy Birthday Ben

Today is Ben Goodwin's B-day!

Karlee Downs changes her life

Karlee Downs gave her life to Christ in Baptism Sunday night after SNL!!! Leave a comment and encourage her as she begins her journey

Update on Stephanie

After getting her mri results, Stephanie has 4 weeks of rehab and then an evaluation. Lets pray that rehab will take care of everything.

Caption of the week

What is going on in Jaden's mind in this picture

MRI

Stephanie Hopper had an mri on her knee today. She should get the results back tomorrow, so keep her in your prayers.
- She hasn't gotten an update yet but we will keep you posted

Hunter gets another ring!

Hunter Johnson's Basketball team won state while we were away at Winterfest. That's two big rings for his fingers this year. I asked him if he was going to go for the triple crown by winning in baseball and he said no. Baseball isn't his thing. Congratulations Hunter.

SNL Westpoint

Sunday night our ministry teams ministered to the members of Westpoint Church of Christ. I am so proud to be a part of their ministry. Sinner Stage and unified put together powerful worship in song and illustrated Christ's love through drama. They are really working hard and God is rewarding their effort.
One of the skits Sinner Stage performed last night involved a person being chained to his sins and was an idea set into motion by Billy Ferguson. We are always looking for ideas we can bring to life so let us know if you have one. After we finished we were treated to a dessert bar. Much craziness ensued as the video camera somehow fell into the hands of Emily Evans. I will post some videos on faithout soon. Please leave some comments and let us know what you thought about Sunday night

Faithout update

Just wanted to let everyone know that we have 16 people on faithout.com now. I'm excited about us all getting on it and getting many more of our church members involved on this site.

Caledonia vs Columbus (softball showdown)

As the crisp prestorm winds gathered up the dirt forming tiny tornados on the field in Columbus, the all too familiar yellow ball began popping into leather gloves. Caledonia and Columbus were warming up for a 7 inning nail biter. Stephanie Hopper played second base and left field. Cara would pinch run in the sixth and Allyson (the daughter of our own Noahs ark preschool comestible coordinator) would be responsible for the first 3 runs scored in the game. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Patrick and I both sat and watched as the temperature dropped steadily. i was proud of my long sleeves, Patrick was ashamed of his short ones. Colby Hopper was content to steal our drinks and food and scream in our ears just as we had calmed down from the last time he'd done so.
Steph got a hit her first time up and reached base 3 out of four times (correct me if i'm wrong about that). She also scored the winning run in an eight to nine slugfest (hurting her knee in the process). Perhaps one of the best parts of this story was a fan who really enjoyed the game. He had a mental disability but was so happy to be there. It made me happy to hear him talk to the pitchers and refs. I realized how much we need to cherish the times God has given us while we have them because, just like the red clay blown by the gusts of wind, they are only with us for moments but paint pictures that last a lifetime.

Anthony Hatchett Baptism

Anthony Hatchett gave his life to Christ in baptism Sunday. We are proud to call him a brother in Christ.

Alliemarie Brooks Baptism

Just wanted to let you know that Alliemarie Brooks gave her life to Christ in baptism Wednesday night! Welcome to the body of Christ.

Girl Talk

This is a segment taken off of plugged in online. "Girls today are under what Dr. Stephen Hinshaw considers unprecedented levels of stress. In his book The Triple Bind, Hinshaw says that 20% of girls ages 10-19 experience episodes of major depression, 10% try to kill themselves, and 5% have an eating disorder. Girls' rates of aggression and self-mutilation both appear to be on the rise as well. "It all goes back to expectations," says one girl quoted in the book. "First of all they are impossible, and second of all, we don't know what they are." [today.msnbc.com, 2/10/09 stats]

Jaden Bennett Baptism

Jaden bennett was baptized tonight. Thanks to all who were able to come. Leave him a comment here

Jordan West's Baptism

Jordan West was baptized last night when we got back from Winterfest. Leave him a comment

WINTERFEST

Thank you for all of the prayers you lifted up for us while we were in Gatlinburg over the weekend. It was a great experience and I will do my best to give you the rundown. Please comment with any of your memories or takeaways.

We all met at the church around five thirty. All of us but our bus driver that is. He didn't show up until about six forty five. was getting a little worried when the original driver denied any knowledge of meeting me las Wednesday and shaking my hand. I was afraid they had cancelled and just didn't tell me. But he drove in and all was right with the world again as 50 of our 54 member group piled into the bus for a 10 hour bus adventure culmanating (not sure how its spelled but it means "finishing up with") a minor wreck in the hotel parking lot.
We unpacked, had dinner, and then met under the gaze of our rally possum (bet you never thought you'd read that in a sentence) to be herded with the other 6500 of 13000 total teenagers into the convention center. I went in a little early through a side door to take care of a faulty pass and was allowed to go into the convention center a tad early so i saved three rows of seats for us. As I was standing there the flood of humanity swept through the auditorium. I told a few people that we were trying to hold our seats and many were doing the same thing so they were happy to allow us our section. One group however wasn't really excited about it. I asked him if he minded if I kept three rows and he replied, "no, I don't mind" and then proceeded to seat his teens there anyway. I thought I was over that, but I guess not (where is my L-2 today). Anyway, I moved back a couple of rows and we all were together for one of the best opening sessions I can remember.
Chris Seidman open the session up and then Jeff Walling had an interview with him. The stage was designed like a science lab and they broke down the elements of Christianity into two basic parts taken from the greatest command... love. These two parts were L-1 (Love God) and L-2 (Love Others). The opening night focus was L-1. After they spoke, a mad scientist made a coke bottle bomb using aluminum foil and hydrochloric acid and talked about what happened when two elements were mixed together. After a few minutes the bottle expanded and exploded (awesome!!!) and we discussed the power of mixing L-1 with L-2 and the explosive power of the gospel. This message would serve to set the stage for our weekend.
We left the conference hall and returned to our hotel for late night devotional. We had the whole third floor of our hotel so we were able to just meet in the hallway. After some great singing someone with the habit of speaking for a realllllllyyyyy long time spoke for a reallllllly long time and we were off to our beds (or maybe just bedrooms) Ben Goodwin is much more sanitary than any one could imagine him to be. Also he has quite a gag reflex. (I will leave it at that)

Day 2 - Earl Arndt, who is always a servant, practiced some L-2 by driving into Pigeon Forge and picking up 6 dozen Krispy Kreme donuts for us so that we could have a healthy breakfast. After eating we had until 12:15 to hang out and get lunch. I'm really interested to hear some of your stories from this time frame. For instance I know some of you had an interesting tram driver in Ober Gatlinburg. My family and I ate at Bubba Gumps and answered trivia about Forrest Gump and Sponge Bob. (they have really intense waiters). All of us gathered beneath the possum beacon and were lost in the throngs of people. We began singing silly songs and I was treated to a shock from an electrified pack of gum Zach Ferguson got me with. I then, of course had to get others. After getting in and finding our seats we were treated to the comedy of Taylor mason (i will have some of his videos on the sidebar of this blog) He is a vintriloquist (once again poorly spelled but i mean to say he talks through puppets without moving his mouth) who has really perfected his art form. i can still feel the beady eyes of Paco as he stared at Wes and joked about his father being an uncatchable UT football. Don't even get me started talking about Romeo. Maddie Bennett really got wrapped up in the act and the worship afterwards. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to hold your daughter in your arms as she sings her heart out to God. Jeff walling then spoke and brought up some girls from Tennessee who have started a girl's ministry called "Real Girls" (the link is on the sidebar under links). And a young man who started collecting change at his school and is working to abolish slavery in other countries. Jeff also interviewed a jewish rabbi who converted to christianity. He explained the passover meal in ways that will forever change my understanding of the last supper and communion.
After that we had evening free time where we ate dinner and played lazer-tag. Macy and Emily beat me and rubbed it in pretty harshly I must say. Then I took on all comers in Air hockey. I rule the perferated (hole-filled) fake ice field! Tinsley did come close to beating me and my win did result from some trickery against him. We then rallied beneath the possum once more (who was blessed by Casey Cowart with a new outfit meant to add femininity which was significantly overpowered by the possum's masculine fortitude... and tailwhip action) and made our way into the convention center. Worship was really powerful and the drama team was amazing. The mad scientist worked with fire and Jef Walling brought us another message focusing on L-2 (Love others). We then went back to our hotel for a devotional in which Vint and Edna offered some opportunities and insights. Our guys and girls split because the "Real Girls" ministry agreed to come and speak with our girls. As the girls had their time (which I'd really love to get some comments on) the guys had a really powerful time of confession and discussion. We then went back to our rooms and at two am it began to snow.

A slideshow for our group is on faithout if you want to see all the pics

Day -3 Earl once again delivered the doughnuts and we loaded the bus before going to the convention center. The snow was really falling down and as you would guess we were rapidly picking it back up again in a compacted rounder form. Mo Mcnabb has no mercy. After the white brutality was quelled (quieted... i think. I just put these words in here so Don Cole can understand what I'm writing about) we went to our morning worship. Being a part of the worlds largest Church of Christ service is always cool! We looked at some stories of Christian martyrs (people who have died for the cause of christianity) and Jeff talked about the birth of his son (bloody lizard). Communion was really special. Then we returned to the bus for a group picture and more snow induced violence. 2 meals and 5 movies later we pulled into the church building where the most marvelous thing happened.... Jordan West was baptized. I'd say it was a good trip. Write in and let me know what you thought.

Happy Birthday Tinsley

Tinsley Brooks is 13 today! Happy birthday!

Caption of the week

Take a look as this pic and tell us what you think is going on with Amy and Paul.

Shout Out To the Worship Ministry

Hey everybody, I have yet to post to the blog, so I thought I'd get on here and share a little about the Worship Ministry. I can't even begin to express how much I have enjoyed leading this ministry and how far everyone in the ministry has come when it comes to learning the songs and their parts in the songs. Last week we finally decided on a name for our ministry and that name is "Unified" (props to Brandi for that name). Hopefully we can get some t-shirts made pretty soon.

We are pumped to be leading worship in West Point, March 1st and we will be furiously working on those songs in the next few weeks. Worship in song is such a powerful tool and it has always had such a huge impact on me and hopefully through this ministry we can impact others as well, at least that is our goal.

I really appreciate how eager those in this ministry are to learn new songs and even new ways of singing old songs even though it can get really repetitive some nights. Thanks to all the adults who have helped me, you just don't realize how much easier on me you have made this. Anyways, look forward to learning more songs and leading worship with you. Now let's go to Winterfest and sing our hearts out.

Matt

Out of the Park

Stephanie Hopper hit two home runs in one game last week. I can barely do that in a video game. Way to go Steph

New sister in Christ

Casey Champion gave her life to Jesus last night in baptism. Congratulations Casey!

Sinner Stage

Hey Guys! Sinner stage here! Just a reminder, We will be Performing for SNL in the youth room this Sunday night.  We are so excited to present these skits for everyone!  These are some of the best skits we have done so far.  We hope everyone will come support our ministry, and don't forget the Worship ministry as well.  also, keep inviting your friends. SNL is a great time to share our ministries with them.  hope to see you all there!

Caption of the week

Check out this photo of Will West and Tyler wheat and let us know what is on Will's mind by leaving a comment.

Prayer Request

Emily and Matthew's Grandfather, Bob Hickman, is having his kidney removed Friday morning at 8 am in Birmingham. please keep him in your prayers.

Prayer Request

Alliemarie has a great uncle that had to return to the hospital and has asked that we keep him in our prayers

A Christian Facebook?

At SNL Sunday night we talked about a possible facebook alternative. There are many pros and cons to both myspace and facebook. I will try to list some here. If you think of others, please put them in the comment section.
Pros:
- You can put out all the info about you and your friends in one easy access place. Pictures, videos, personal notes are easy for any of your friends to get to. They no longer have to ask you for copies of stuff cause they can get it from facebook.
- conversations are easy to have with friends over long distances and your friends can still feel like they are sharing in your experiences even if they didn't get to be there because they can see and read about many of the things that are going on. they can even comment on them along with others
- People can catch a glimpse of who a person is quickly by looking at their profile. If the profile lies, then their 300 friends will call them on it. (It's our own personal ad campaign)
- you can really share the music and things that you like with lots of people.
- you can meet new friends with similar interests
- not just anybody can look at your profile

Cons
- People sometimes use it to prove how popular they are
- People's feelings can get hurt
- There are so many little extra badges and drinks and little games that if you have too many friends it can drive you nuts
- Impostors can easily get your info by pretending to be someone you know. Then they can find out all about you
- Sometimes you are accidently exposed to things you don't want to be exposed to (language, pictures, posts)

I'm not asking you to drop your facebook or myspace account. That's up to you to decide if you need to. i do want to offer you something new. Basically this is just like facebook but with a Christian slant. Profanity and improper photos aren't allowed. Give this a look and see what you think. Comment and let me know. The link is in the links section of the blog. Or you can type in www.faithout.com.

* CREATED MY PROFILE. PRETTY GOOD SO FAR

Happy Birthday Alliemarie

Today is Alliemarie's Birthday. wish her a happy one

Winterfest

Continue to check out the blog as your Winterfest information headquarters. Remember we decided no on the concert. Brandon, you will get your ten dollars back. There is a link to Winterfest's main site on the right side of this blog. Click it for more info. Thank you to all who turned in your deposits and full payments. We will now be able to pay for our hotel. I know you are all wondering about your rooms. so here we go. The first name is the chaperone. I'm sure these will change. Earl and Beverly Arndt and Don and Edna Cole will also be with us. Remember, we head out at 6am Friday morning. That means be there by 5:45( ewww) AM

* We will have a meeting for all chaperones and attendees Wed the 18th after church

Room 1 Bus Driver
Room 2 Pam West, Jordan West
Room 3 Vint, Zach, Mo,
Room 4 Samantha, Heather, Amber
Room 5 Matt W, Jared, Patrick, Matt C
Room 6 Amy C, Alliemarie, Casey, Jennifer
Room 7 Deborah, Jasmine, Emily C, Macie
Room 8 Teresa, Katyln, Mallory,
Room 9 Sacha, Carlee, Anna, Kaitlan
Room 10 Leslie, Stephanie, Lenora, Emily E
Room 11 Paul, Eben, Tyler H, Ben,
Room 12 Bruce, Nate, logan, Ethan
Room 13 Allen, Brent, Tyler W, Matt F,
Room 14 Sara, Brandi, Jaden, Maddie
Room 15 Wes Pumphrey, Jimmy, Brandon, Tinsley

Happy Birthday Ethan Brauer

Birthday wishes go out to Ethan Brauer. Leave him a comment and wish him a good one.

Give Me an A

Congratulations go out to Jasmine Lindsey who's team placed fourth in a cheerleading competition last week in Tuscaloosa

Can't seem to get away

People seeking to advertise during the superbowl this year payed a cool 3 million dollars for 30 seconds of exposure. If you think about it. We really get Billy for a bargain. He gives us way more than thirty seconds. I'm amazed they were willing to pay that much during a recession market. I guess these companies really believe that any exposure, even if it is brief, will influence those being exposed. They put their money where their mouth is by paying massive sums to advertise to what is one of the most massive audiences gathered together at one time.
So what did these companies do? Did they spend those hundred thousand dollar seconds trying to explain exactly what their product was? Nope. They punched a koala in the face, removed a woman's clothing with the amazing power of a tortilla chip, or even better, hurled a snowglobe at a boss and an employee out of a window. They tried their best to make their product appear fun, desirable, even sexy. We don't really need to know what the product really is as long as we know that it can make us happy, popular or brave. Advertisers know that they only need a few seconds with us. they know those seconds don't even have to be informative if they can find a way to make those seconds memorable.
How do you make something memorable? The easiest way is through shock. The problem is, the more we have been shocked, the less shockable we are in the future. So now the bar must be raised. So, as you and your family are watching a show that is clean, you must be prepared to change the channel away from the commercials that aren't
Our adversary runs the greatest advertising campaign in existence. he has always known that any product is easy to sell once it has been dressed with the right attitude. In the hands of the snake a fruit becomes a symbol of wisdom power and freedom in the garden despite our Father telling us eating it will lead to death. If Satan can just get an audience with us for a single precious second, he can change us for a lifetime.
Exposure... We believe a thing will be exciting and discover that wrapped in that blanket of excitement is a barbed hook of enslavement. Take your cell phone for instance. We polled you to see how often you are giving and receiving text messages. Let me throw out a way that the technology is being twisted. "According to researchers at Rochester Technology of Institute almost one-third of teens in grades 10-12 have sent or received sexual content. For children in grades 4-6, that number is one in ten." In a report from the associated press, "This month in Greensburg, Pa., three high school girls who sent seminude photos and four male students who received them were all hit with child pornography charges. And in Newark, Ohio, a 15-year-old high school girl faced similar charges for sending her own racy cellphone photos to classmates." Notice that just by having the image on the phone, whether you sent it or not, you can face charges. Excitement leading to enslavement.
Chances are, you've been exposed. Chances are, you have exposed others. You heard that it was exciting harmless flirtatious fun. Don't eat that fruit.
This is where you may want to comment anonymously. Let us know if this going on in your school. Has anyone sent you a sext message or tried to share one they got with you? How hard is it not to be exposed?

That Superbowl was Da Bomb

Last night we all went to David and BJ Hill's house for some fellowship and football. I must say congrats to Matthew Chaffin and Brandon Williams who are the two biggest steeler fans I know. We had a blast. Great food. Great people. What more can you ask for. Oh, I know, how about hot sauce?
Proverbs 16:18 tells us,"Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." During our half-time devotional, we shared an experience from the past. On my first youth group mission trip a young man named cameron, who felt that because of his ethnic heritage he could endure all things hot and spicy, almost ended my career in youth ministry. He swallowed a hot sauce called "Da Bomb". The after affects were not in the least bit manly. It was more like begging for mom and pleading for a hospital. For me, it was the realization that sometimes people suffer, not because satan exists but because intelligence doesn't. I learned that manliness is not measured by how much you can out do your neighbor. So every year we celebrate this epiphany by reliving it in a smaller, much more humorous way.
A friend of mine sent me a bottle of that hot sauce as a joke and Last night some brave people felt that they were tough enough to endure what cameron could not. So Stephanie, Emily, Brent, Morgan, Jared, Anthony, and Patrick all lined up to endure what has brought so much joy for so long. (editors note. These sauces are impossibly hot and cannot be effectively described with words. Although a thousand tiny ninjas assaulting the tongue with firebrands does come fairly close. And yes, i have experienced them all first hand. I would never allow someone to try something I have no first hand knowledge of)
So with a BB sized drop on everyones chip (except emily because she couldn't taste hers) we embarked on a mission in heat. Morgan McNabb bit first, chewed once, and then deposited his mouth under the faucet. Brent Pyle turned red like in a cartoon and emily continued to chew (amazing! i figured she got a faulty drop so she ate another). Anthony wasted no time in expressing his emotion and found an ice cube to deposit on his tongue. Somehow during the commotion I rubbed my nose and had forgotten the cardinal rule of this hot sauce. Don't get it on you! My nose began to run and burn with every exhalation. Stephanie said, wow! and never flinched (girl's are tougher than boys. Sad but true) Emily's Nervous system finally began to react and her eyes began to water as sweat broke out on Jared's face. She went to the kitchen, got a paper towel, and after wetting it, placed the towel in her mouth (interesting method) Nathan Allen kept trying to pour sugar on people's tongues to stop the heat. Allen home remedy I guess. And Anna steady took pictures of people when they weren't looking. The only dirty deed of the night was Nathan Allen touching Cody on the face. Interested to see what became of that. Cody, let me know. Everyone cooled down and bruce watched Bruce perform while i remembered an snl with persimons ans another with sour gum. Why is that stuff funny?
We settled back down and watched the Steelers pull off the win in one of the better superbowls I have seen. Thank you to the Hills and all who came for a wonderful evening we will not soon forget. i will have pictures soon.

Special Need

A young lady came into the office today and said she is in need of some clothing. Medium sized tops and size 3-5 clothes. Please comment and let me know if you can help with this need.

Caption of the week

How would you caption this photo? Leave a comment and let us know.

Challenging your faith

For the past two years I have been attending classes at MUW in an attempt to finish up a psychology degree i started to pursue in 1994. I have two classes left to take that deal with the degree I seek and i have several left that deal with nothing I'm interested in. I'm sure they will serve to make me more well rounded (although Sara and Ginger seem to be doing a fairly good job of that). This semester I taking a world civilization class. In involves a lot of writing and even more reading. At least it's not algebra (took me three tries to pass that).
Being a student at a christian schools and universities all my life, I never realized how hard teachers push for any explanation other than God's power to tell people how we came to be. I was angered the first day of class when our teacher told us we would not be using the old an obsolete a.d. and b.c. terms to describe time periods since they were not politically correct. We now use b.c.e (before common era) and c.e. (common era). Just another attempt to sweep over the tracks left by our savior Jesus Christ.It makes me mad to think that soon, we as christians may be the ones fighting for equality in a nation founded on the belief that God led us here.
Just a few days ago, I spoke in my office with a member of our youth group who had been approached by the principle of his school and told not to talk to people about church (the rule is for faculty not students) because God was not to be talked about on school grounds. He has since discovered that there is a christian club on his campus, but said that the flyer is so small that no one would ever really notice it.
How do we respond to this? I'd like to hear from you. leave a comment and let us know if you have experienced anything like this or if you have a suggestion.

Play it again sam

Congratulations to Matthew Chaffin, Matthew Ferguson, and Logan Ferguson who have all received roles in the upcoming YMCA play "The Secret Garden". We will be looking forward to seeing you perform soon.

Prayer Request

Jared clark called yesterday with a request that we pray for the family of his close friends (also carrying the last name clark). The husband was killed when a tractor trailer blew its tire and ran over him. A horrible loss as you can imagine. please lift up this family in your prayers.

Do Hard Things

The latest adventure our guy's Bible study group is embarking on is a book that challenges us to rise above the standards and expectations our society has for teenagers. The book has also challenged me. We have been taking it a chapter at a time and it is a real eye opener. The word teenager is only 70 years old. It was a term created during the industrial revolution after the inception of child labor laws and requirements that children attend twelve years of school.
If I were to ask you what the teen years were meant for chances are you would think of it as the time to sow wild oats and make mistakes. Why? Are we really missing out by claiming the responsibility that is rightfully ours? What did the twelve year olds of the 1800s have that allowed them to do great things that we don't have today? How bright can we really shine during the teen years? Do you need a challenge? Come to guys Bible study and find the answers.

Hunter Johnson for Three

Friday night Jaden and I got to go watch Hunter Johnson and the Victory Eagles Smash Bessemer (can't remember their mascot) in B -ball. Victory Christian students and parents really turn out for their team. The atmosphere was electric in the standing room only crowd. I must say that the girl's game was crazy aggressive. I expected a brawl to break out at any moment, And that was just the mothers. Hunter played well. He constantly moved to get opened and didn't just stand around waiting for the game to come to him. We are really blessed to have him as part of our youth group. I'm looking forward Seeing how he likes his first winterfest. Good Game Hunter

Caption of the week

What do you think JP is thinking as she blasts down the slip n slide on our white water rafting retreat? Leave a comment and caption this photo

Happy Birthday Matthew Chaffin

Today is matthew's birthday! Wish him a happy one here.

A question for the week

I thought it would be cool for us to have a question posted here for discussion. Any question that you guys have and will let me know about would be great. Feel free to be anonymous or not on this section. anything that is submitted that is just to be silly will not be posted. This is a place for you to throw out some of those things you have wanted to ask and just haven't. so submit some questions and we'll work together to find an answer.

First Question
Is copying someone's homework really wrong? Why or why not?

Tyler's Gradfather

Just wanted you all to keep Tyler White in your prayers throughout the week. His Grandfather passed away last night. Grandaddys are special people. Feel free to leave Tyler a comment here.

Caption of the week

Comment on this Photo and give us the caption that should go in the bubble beside Nathan's head

Never Been Unloved

In first grade, I was in a play that honored the founding fathers and folk heroes of our country. The play ended with all of us singing the song, "God Bless the USA". I remember as we tried out for our parts (we would all get a part, but not all the parts were desired) As we were singing I can remember one of my classmates turning to me and saying. "You can't sing, why don't you just shut up." That was the first time I remember being judged for my ability to perform. It shut me down. I remember at that moment becoming more concerned about my ability to do things than I was about whether or not i actually did them. After that moment I would hesitate when asked to sing or do anything else in public.
When I was in the third grade we were in a play about a rainbow colored elephant. I was a hunter and my friend brandon Carter played the elephant. It was a Musical as well. I didn't sing, but I did carry a gun. My part was to hunt down and kill the animals so they were always in hiding. The end of that play found the elephant being accepted by his jungle companions in spite of his weird coloration. He chased off the hunters so everyone appreciated him.
I found myself thinking that if I could do something like that, then I would be accepted. Being accepted is so important. We all need to be liked just the way we are.
I spent some time this morning thinking about the love of God. Over the last week spent in Colorado I was honored to be reintroduced to his love in new ways. Very refreshing. One of the things we focused on was the baptism of Christ and that, as billy mentioned Sunday, everything Christ did in his life after that moment was planted in the truth that God was pleased with him. Christ worked out of acceptance.
How often have we worked out of rejection? How often have our actions been influenced by a fear of rejection or a desire for acceptance. We want to appear funny or exciting or intelligent so we act differently than we really are. We feel unacceptable, unloved, and unappreciated. We spend emotion, money, and time so that we can be what we think others want us to be.
When Peter denied Christ he ran away crying. He no longer felt accepted by Christ. Did Christ cease to accept him? Absolutely not. But the way Peter saw himself after that moment crippled him in the kingdom. It is not until Christ reinstates Peter that his fires are renewed.
How different would your life be if you'd lived under the knowledge of that acceptance? Leave a comment and let us know what you think.