we just got back from winterfest this past sunday, and i think by now everyone has recovered. maybe.
i knew given the subject matter that this would be an awesome weekend, and one that hopefully would hit home with the teens since it has been the topic for a quarter and is now the topic of our devotional series over the course of the year. the theme was based around the book "the celebration of discipline" which teaches about 12 disciplines we should incorporate in our lives. the biggest challenge was teaching about all 12 in a matter of a weekend, or really even 6 hours or so..
the focus was mostly shifted towards about 4 of the 12: meditation, prayer, solitude, and simplicity. the other 8 were mentioned, just not in as much detail. but the overall goal of these disciplines is that when we live a life where we are living out these 12 points, we live a life that pushes away the sin that we struggle with. because our days are so filled with devotion to God, we leave no room/desire for those things and we begin to see what it was Jesus was trying to teach us, both by word and action.
i'll close out by sharing one thing that really hit home with me. on sunday morning we crammed in the last bit of disciplines. with these, the point was shared that the church has become so self-serving. we've completely made it about us, and if we don't like something we complain. this is the short of it all.. and maybe this isn't you. if not, thank you! i long to see the church come together in such a way that the only result is a consuming fire that ignites a town with salvation and action, and we can all see Jesus through one another. this is the power of God's word, but we condense it and dilute it so much that we lose the reason we were ever changed at all. we just do things because we're "supposed to", not because it's our hearts desire.
as rich little stated, "the bible is not for your information, it is for your transformation." what a life we'll lead once we live by this!
"since God chose you to be holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. and let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. for as members of one body you are called to live in peace. and always be thankful."
colossians 3:12-15
so this was a tiny taste of our weekend. go-karts were ridden and crashed, arcades and air brushed t-shirts were hits, fast food was consumed regularly, and feet were sore from both walking and standing. but these are all a part of the experience, and why 13,000 people come together to share these things for a few days. above all, lives were changed and God was lifted up in praise. in the end, that's the point.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
a retrospective look: workcamp
throughout the course of the summer, i had a hope that i could bottle up some of what i and the teens experience to share with you all to give you a better understanding of what it is we do, and maybe in some way you could get a taste of that experience. i remember being at northside church of Christ for the evening while at workcamp and typing out some information to share with you, and felt a bit of a conflict. while i wanted to bring this home for you, i was missing out on my own experience of hanging out with the teens. with wanting to hang out with them each night and having only 4 days in between workcamp and impact, it was quite easy to fall behind and become overwhelmed. you get the idea.. with that being said, i'll be bringing you a retrospective look at some of our trips, which excites me since we're not so far from the start of summer. so we'll start with workcamp.
i shared some images with you in earlier posts, and will share a few more so you can see our finished project. as i mentioned, we were put behind early on by another crew working on winterizing the house. we had to wash the siding, and couldn't do that since they had drilled large holes all around the house to put in insulation. we did what we could, but it wasn't much. they were supposed to be gone the next day, but that didn't work out either. so we were now 2 days behind, had an entire house to wash, scrape, and paint, and only 3 more days in which to do it.
i don't know if you remember that particular week, but it was HOT. mid to upper 90s each day, and did i mention that we didn't have any shade? there were a few spots where we could get out of the sun, but not many. so i was tasked with motivating a group of teens to stay active, taking breaks when needed, and to keep ourselves focused on finishing this house despite the heat. there has been only 1 house i was unable to finish (due to rain) in all of my years at workcamp, and it's a terrible feeling. there's just something about completing your project that week that lifts you up, and i wanted this group to feel that. we made it through days 3 & 4 having done some great work, but there was still much to be done.
on the last day we roll up to the house. it's been 4 days of intense heat, hard work, and little sleep. this is always the day where we have to dig deep down and find energy and strength we didn't know we had and forge ahead. turns out some of the group didn't have that energy and strength deep down, so that puts more work on everyone else, and more of a challenge for crew leaders to keep everyone active. that day we had 3 other crews come in to help us after lunch, so it was a mad rush. i believe that i became the man to ask when it came to looking for jobs, and really wore myself out more in those 2 hours than i had the whole week.
there was something so awe inspiring about seeing 40+ teens come together with a common goal, to bless this homeowner and glorify God. but that's what it took. it seemed an impossible task starting the day, but with the hard work poured out it became a great moment. our group got that feeling of accomplishment, our homeowner loved looking at her "new" house.. suddenly all of the heat and sweat and exhaustion made sense.
we wrapped up our week with a banquet for the homeowners, and, to me, that alone is worth it all. you get to hear some pretty awesome stories, and see the joy in their faces. that night can't last long enough it seems, but we wrapped it up on a great note and said our goodbyes. i always leave with that same feeling: i'm hating the week about midway through (sometimes as early as tuesday morning), but in the end there's nowhere else i would've rather been.
hopefully this gives you some insight into this trip as we near summer. this is one of those trips where you just have to close your eyes and jump in if you've never been, but this is what it's all about. you will be blessed, but more importantly, you will be used to bless someone else. i'll leave you with some images of a finished product...
i shared some images with you in earlier posts, and will share a few more so you can see our finished project. as i mentioned, we were put behind early on by another crew working on winterizing the house. we had to wash the siding, and couldn't do that since they had drilled large holes all around the house to put in insulation. we did what we could, but it wasn't much. they were supposed to be gone the next day, but that didn't work out either. so we were now 2 days behind, had an entire house to wash, scrape, and paint, and only 3 more days in which to do it.
i don't know if you remember that particular week, but it was HOT. mid to upper 90s each day, and did i mention that we didn't have any shade? there were a few spots where we could get out of the sun, but not many. so i was tasked with motivating a group of teens to stay active, taking breaks when needed, and to keep ourselves focused on finishing this house despite the heat. there has been only 1 house i was unable to finish (due to rain) in all of my years at workcamp, and it's a terrible feeling. there's just something about completing your project that week that lifts you up, and i wanted this group to feel that. we made it through days 3 & 4 having done some great work, but there was still much to be done.
on the last day we roll up to the house. it's been 4 days of intense heat, hard work, and little sleep. this is always the day where we have to dig deep down and find energy and strength we didn't know we had and forge ahead. turns out some of the group didn't have that energy and strength deep down, so that puts more work on everyone else, and more of a challenge for crew leaders to keep everyone active. that day we had 3 other crews come in to help us after lunch, so it was a mad rush. i believe that i became the man to ask when it came to looking for jobs, and really wore myself out more in those 2 hours than i had the whole week.
there was something so awe inspiring about seeing 40+ teens come together with a common goal, to bless this homeowner and glorify God. but that's what it took. it seemed an impossible task starting the day, but with the hard work poured out it became a great moment. our group got that feeling of accomplishment, our homeowner loved looking at her "new" house.. suddenly all of the heat and sweat and exhaustion made sense.
we wrapped up our week with a banquet for the homeowners, and, to me, that alone is worth it all. you get to hear some pretty awesome stories, and see the joy in their faces. that night can't last long enough it seems, but we wrapped it up on a great note and said our goodbyes. i always leave with that same feeling: i'm hating the week about midway through (sometimes as early as tuesday morning), but in the end there's nowhere else i would've rather been.
hopefully this gives you some insight into this trip as we near summer. this is one of those trips where you just have to close your eyes and jump in if you've never been, but this is what it's all about. you will be blessed, but more importantly, you will be used to bless someone else. i'll leave you with some images of a finished product...
Monday, June 6, 2011
82 with a realfeel of 96.. what?
so our first day on site was very hot, as was expected. my phone told me it was 82 outside with a realfeel(tm) of 96. if it feels like 96 degrees, isn't it 96 outside? anyways, i digress. we arrived at the site a little sluggish for the first day, but were able to get a lot of the groundwork laid so that we can get some major work done in the days to come. as usual with my sites, we hit a few obstacles that are going to make it a challenge to get done by friday.. mostly with some spacial restrictions and having to reach some very high points on this house. not to mention all of the cicadas.
i didn't mention this last night, but i somehow got stuck with 4 of our students this week. i've never seen that happen. so i've got danielle, abby, mini pr, and half-hour bauer. so rest assured, they'll be safe with me. and they'll also stay busy!
our house has siding that can't be scraped, and as a result we have to peel off the loose paint by hand. i'll have an interesting picture from that venture below. we scraped the foundation, peeled lots of paint, and did a lot of work caulking and scraping around the porch area. there's a little more to do with that, but hopefully we'll be able to begin painting tomorrow. it's always a good step to be able to get started with that. i'm hoping that our students will get some better rest tonight as well, so that they can be a little more energetic tomorrow. staying at northside has given a few of them a sense of a lock-in, but they definitely regretted that today. lesson learned. i hope. i'll leave you with a few images of workcamp: day 1! enjoy.
this is our work site for the week
the workcamp motto!
danielle hard at work
blurry cicada
half-hour bauer and mini pr peeling some paint away... together
this is what happens when teens see a camera
gathered for worship
i didn't mention this last night, but i somehow got stuck with 4 of our students this week. i've never seen that happen. so i've got danielle, abby, mini pr, and half-hour bauer. so rest assured, they'll be safe with me. and they'll also stay busy!
our house has siding that can't be scraped, and as a result we have to peel off the loose paint by hand. i'll have an interesting picture from that venture below. we scraped the foundation, peeled lots of paint, and did a lot of work caulking and scraping around the porch area. there's a little more to do with that, but hopefully we'll be able to begin painting tomorrow. it's always a good step to be able to get started with that. i'm hoping that our students will get some better rest tonight as well, so that they can be a little more energetic tomorrow. staying at northside has given a few of them a sense of a lock-in, but they definitely regretted that today. lesson learned. i hope. i'll leave you with a few images of workcamp: day 1! enjoy.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
workcamp: the start of something... warm!
tonight was our first night of nashville workcamp '11. despite the many things that might deter teenagers from coming out for a trip like this, we have about 350 people gathered here this week to go out into nashville and paint some houses for those who aren't able to do this kind of work themselves. looking forward into the week, it looks like we'll have some nice weather.. even though it'll be in the upper 90's at some points.
our theme for the week is "follow you" which is the idea that God is already around us, and it's to us to follow Him wherever he goes. this week He's heading into some uncomfortable territory, but that's exactly where we're called to be. this week we'll certainly get dirty, but my prayer is that our teens are covered in the dirt of Jesus' feet. no matter how uncomfortable and hot and sweaty we get this week, we'll know that this is exactly where we're supposed to follow. please lift up this cause in prayer this week. i'll keep you posted as we go throughout the week. i'll get you started with some images from our worship this evening.
our theme for the week is "follow you" which is the idea that God is already around us, and it's to us to follow Him wherever he goes. this week He's heading into some uncomfortable territory, but that's exactly where we're called to be. this week we'll certainly get dirty, but my prayer is that our teens are covered in the dirt of Jesus' feet. no matter how uncomfortable and hot and sweaty we get this week, we'll know that this is exactly where we're supposed to follow. please lift up this cause in prayer this week. i'll keep you posted as we go throughout the week. i'll get you started with some images from our worship this evening.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
spring retreat!
about 2 weeks ago we headed out for our annual spring retreat at taylor christian camp and met up with the northside, riverwood, crittenden drive, and franklin youth groups. the theme for the weekend was "covenant" as we looked at the covenant between us and God. much like the entire month of april, it was rainy and the sun was seldom seen.. but that didn't stop us from having an awesome time! i would go into more details on what was talked about, but i couldn't do it justice with a blog post. but what i will do is let you check out the weekend through pictures. you'll see a little bit of everything from juggling to play-doh pictionary to treasure hunting to, well.. just hanging out. enjoy!
friday night's lesson
see? told you there was juggling!
let the play-doh pictionary begin!
such intensity
figuring out the map and clues
teamwork!
more juggling
playing spoons or something..
group shot
i approve of this retreat
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Face Off: White House vs Northside
This afternoon Northside made the trek up to White House for a little face off in volleyball that started out as WH vs NS but by the second game was definitely a blend of the two. Throw in a frisbee and a reenactment of John 6, youth style, and you've got a great afternoon. Jack Bauer led us in a few songs and Chris and Nixon led a devotional that held a lot of great reminders as the kids get ready to go back to school from Spring Break. Christianity is not always easy and it may not always be the coolest but the reward is bigger than we can ever imagine. It's never going to be easy but we have a pretty awesome God who has our back.
When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval. Then they asked him, "What must we do to the works God requires?" Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent. " - John 6: 25-29
Thanks to all those who came big and small and made yesterday afternoon a lot of fun!
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
the new day
as i was thinking about the look of this blog, i concluded that i wanted you to always have an image that in your mind signified your faith. the typical look that a Christian based site goes for is something along the lines of a cross. while i have nothing at all against that, it's important that we remember that the cross wasn't the end for Jesus. what set Jesus apart wasn't the death on the cross, it was the resurrection. this is where the victory was won.
so whenever you come here, you'll see a picture of a sunrise. this signifies the new day. in matthew 28 it talks about the marys going to visit the tomb "as the new day was dawning" (nlt). there are so many times in life that we'll feel knocked down, bruised, broken, shattered.. defeated. but when all hope seems to be lost, the new day dawns. and just like that our sorrow is turned to joy.
imagine for a moment the way the marys felt. they loved Jesus so much, and watched him suffer, bleed, and die unjustly. in their sorrow they went to see his body only to find it was no longer there, and that he was back. how quickly did their sorrow turn to joy? how quickly did they go from mourning to celebrating the life that they thought was lost?
in this way we should feel excited in our hard times to know that the new day is dawning. so as you come to this blog to see some of the latest happenings of the white house youth group, be encouraged about the life you have in Christ and in knowing that hope is always on the horizon.
so whenever you come here, you'll see a picture of a sunrise. this signifies the new day. in matthew 28 it talks about the marys going to visit the tomb "as the new day was dawning" (nlt). there are so many times in life that we'll feel knocked down, bruised, broken, shattered.. defeated. but when all hope seems to be lost, the new day dawns. and just like that our sorrow is turned to joy.
imagine for a moment the way the marys felt. they loved Jesus so much, and watched him suffer, bleed, and die unjustly. in their sorrow they went to see his body only to find it was no longer there, and that he was back. how quickly did their sorrow turn to joy? how quickly did they go from mourning to celebrating the life that they thought was lost?
in this way we should feel excited in our hard times to know that the new day is dawning. so as you come to this blog to see some of the latest happenings of the white house youth group, be encouraged about the life you have in Christ and in knowing that hope is always on the horizon.
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