I am going to take a break this week, so if you need anything  just call the church and they can direct you to someone in the know.  Thursday will go on as usual, so come out and make it great!

Quick Note:  If you feel sick, please stay away… we don’t want your flu.  My understanding is that the schools around the area are all taking a number hit during this season cause people are sick.  Take care of yourself and we’ll catch up when you’re feeling better.

See you in a week!

I realize that all of you have been feeling like something’s missing because I haven’t been around for about a week with this stinking flu!  Sorry there has been no blog updates for a while… I was sick!

Souled Out was AWESOME!  I wish you could have all been there.  What was your favorite part?

For a couple years now I have felt that we are building one of the coolest youth groups that I have known!  We have cool people, cool adults that hover around all the time,  and then there’s the band and games and everything else too.  It’s fun to be us!

But one of the dangers that comes with being “cool” is the idea of the shallow lake.  Think of a shallow lake… it’s wide and looks great, but under the surface of the water it’s only inches deep.  From a distance it might look very cool, but don’t try to use the diving board!  Ha.   What I’m wondering is, are we a group of Jesus followers or just friends?

My goal was always to teach you how to be Jesus followers and really take on the role of disciples.  To be a bunch of people linked by our common goal of going deep with God.  Are we?  Do you have an understanding of God’s love for you and have you given your life over to him?  Have you been baptized?  Are you going deep with God on your own time?  Do you have unanswered questions about our faith that you haven’t asked?  Do you have a Bible, or see it as a relevant book?

What could God do with our “cool” group if we all were radical Christ followers?

So, last night during our Jr High small group we had this moment of pure brilliance… I just had to share with you.  We had watched Rob Bell’s Kickball and then were discussing God’s gifts to us.  The question had something to do with comparing God to Santa as a gift giver.  Then in one moment of brilliance one of the young ladies summed up the conversation with this statement, that I have turned into a sticker for the group for next Thursday.  It’s so profound and elegant that I can’t believe I didn’t come up with it first.

Hope to see you all out next week!

Though there will be a GUY event that night… this one’s just for the ladies.

Just wanted to say that JR PITCH was fun… cold, but fun!  Check the Jr Pitch website for pics in the near future.   I hope more people are able to come to JR HIGH RETREAT in February.  Here’s the details for Thursday: