I'M GOING ON VACATION!

Well I said that I was going to try to go the Page-Grimsley game Friday but I forgot for a moment that I was going to the beach this weekend. So Page will have to win without me. Yeah right! Anyway I will be at Myrtle Beach but I will be back in time for youth group where we will have the first annual Irving Park UMYF ping-pong tournament. But remember that y'all will be in charge of manning the CROP Walk table at church. Hope everybody at Page has a good spirit week or whatever it is you are doing this week and I don't want to see any spraypaint in my neighborhood so keep those Grimsley kids away. See everyone Sunday night!

THINGS i WAS THINKING WHILE RESTING AFTER LIFTING SOMETHING HEAVY

I told you there would be a surprise this Sunday at youth group. Want to guess what it is? It's really heavy and took Jonhathan and I to get it transported in his truck (and even dropped one time), it's fun and potentially addictive--any guesses?

We may take a brief break from singing this week because I have another fun artistic activity to try out.

That find your shoe game sure was funny to me last week--everybody looked hilarious walking around trying to find shoes with blindfolds on. We will have to try that again sometime. I'll have to try hard to have a game this week to top that one.

Any ideas or suggestions for remodeling of the youth room--we can't do it if we don't know about it.

10%

CROP Walk is coming soon on October 8 and remember as an incentive to get you raise money for it, I will be writing a check for the CROP Walk for 10% of whatever you have raised by the time we meet for youth group on October 1. What better incentive to raise money than seeing me spend my hard earned money. It sure beats getting my head shaved (or legs or eyebrows)! So go tell your friends, families, people at church that you want to see how much money your youth leader will spend and that he has gone out on a limb and that they can really make me put my money where my mouth is if they will donate generously this year to CROP Walk. So far, y'all (and by y'all, I mean me) have raised $75 so I only owe $7.50 right now. The challenge is on--I don't think y'all will have more than a $500 total by October 1--prove me wrong and make me put up my money!

GET OUT OF HERE BEAR

Don't know if y'all saw the news this week but apparently these is a black bear on the loose in NW Greensboro. So everybody (especially you Tosco) be caeful out there. And if you do come across that bear, you know what to do right? Just run zigzag and yell: "GET OUT OF HERE BEAR!" Works everytime.

YOUTH GROUP REVIEW/PREVIEW

Well I challenged myself to keep posting to this blog more often but I have had a pretty crazy week and this has been my first chance to get back to it since last Monday. I hope everybody had a good week. I am looking forward to seeing everybody dressed up pretty tonight and the wedding.

Last week was pretty fun and this Sunday will be even more fun! Y'all did a great job singing Prince of Peace. I was impressed and maybe we will try an encore. And if there are other songs that you would like to sing (and if I can find the music), let me know and we will give it a shot. Last week's devo was pretty challenging and difficult to grasp I know. But I hope you took home the major point we were getting at: through a deeper relationship with Jesus, it will become instinctive to to have that "extra mile" response to others rather than the typical response to others--and through this extra mile response, God's love will shine through all of us.

This Sunday I have a pretty cool devo and I really think you will like it. Also I've got some new games to try and an old game (it's everybody's favorite game, the best game of all--what do you think it could be?!?!). So have a good time tonight at the wedding but I expect to see everbody at youth group Sunday night.

FIVE YEARS

It is the five-year anniversary of 9/11 and the memory of that day is still fresh in my mind. I like everyone else will probably always remember where I was and what I was doing that day when I first heard the news. And those tragic images will forever be seared into my memory. Even if we were not directly affected by the terrorist attacks, our world was certainly changed that day as we realized that our safety and security and freedom was not something we could take for granted. Since that time we have had to face our fears about war and wondering if there would be another terrorist attack. I know I've certainly changed over the past five years after that day. But as I look back I have come to realize that even though the world had become a more scary and hateful place, God's love will overcome. I have come to understand that God was there that day. God was in those towers. God was in the pentagon. God was with the passengers on those planes. God was with everyone who continues to search for answers and grieve for the loss of loved ones. God provided and provides comfort in the knowledge that 9/11 was not the end--through faith in Jesus Christ we have everlasting life in His Kingdom. And though we still more questions than answers about 9/11, we feel more secure and and are comforted in knowing that God will love us forever and ever to the end of the world.

THINGS I WAS WONDERING

Can you cry under water?

How important does a person have to be before they are considered
assassinated instead of just murdered?

Why do you have to "put your two cents in".. but it's only a "penny for
your thoughts"? Where's that extra penny going to?

Why does a round pizza come in a square box?

What disease did cured ham actually have?

How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be
a good idea to put wheels on luggage?

Why is it that people say they "slept like a baby" when babies wake up
like every two hours?

Why are you IN a movie, but you're ON TV?

Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in
binoculars to look at things on the ground?

Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They're going to see you
naked anyway.

Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible
crisp, which no decent human being would eat?

If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a stupid song about
him?

If the professor on Gilligan's Island can make a radio out of a coconut,
why can't he fix a hole in a boat?

If Wiley E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that ACME crap, why
didn't he just buy dinner?

If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from
vegetables, what is baby oil made from?

Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at
you, but when you take him for a car ride; he sticks his head out the
window?

Do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same
tune?

Why did you just try singing the two songs above?

CCC NEWS

I've got some CCC news to share. They finally have posted pictures from the summer camps at the CCC website located here. Be sure to check out the photos and some cool and inspiring videos that we saw at the CCC Summer Celebration. Also, I have the contact list with everyone's phone number, email, and address so you can stay in touch with friends you made at camp this summer. I will have copies available to hand out at youth group Sunday night.