the shop & wired Christmas Caroling

Hey Everyone-

There is an opportunity for everyone to sing their hearts out at one of our local nursing homes. We lead worship every Third Sunday at Country Villa at 2pm. This year on December 21st at 2pm we will sing at Country Villa and lead worship there and then head to Tam Creek to lead worship and sing there. Meet at Country Villa on Hill Road across from Hill Middle school at 1:50pm and then we will venture off to Tam Creek.
Tam Creek Atria at 2:45pm

Question of the week for Oct 27

The last pizza question for the month of October is.....

How many slices of pizza are consumed per second?

Question of the Week Oct 20

The Next pizza question is.......

Approximately how many pizzas are sold in the U.S. each year?

Question of the Week for Oct 12

This is to catch up on our questions of the week:

Approximately how many pounds of pepperoni do American's consume in one year?
Remember no searching engining the answer! :)

Question of the Week Oct 5

It is pizza month- so here begins our pizza questions:

Approximately how many pizzerias are there in the United States?

(If you get the exact number i will know that you did a search engine guess- so be honest, make a wild guess and see where it takes us).

The 10 Commandments!

What are the 10 commandments? Do people really care about them any more or even follow them? I think that for many Americans the 10 commandments have become obsolete, unimportant, commandments reserved only for Christians not for everyone else. It is a shame really. The 10 commandments at their basic level are 10 important ways to govern our lives, ways to honor God, our family and our neighbor and yet for many of us they don't have any significance in our daily practices. Sure we agree with the statements "don't kill, steal or commit adultery." But who cares about making idols, or honoring our parents, or remembering the Sabbath- do they really have any significance in my life? And yet when we look at each of the commandments individually there is a lot in those simple phrases. To honor the sabbath and keep it holy means that we take a day of rest and in this day and age, finding time to relax, to be quiet, to enjoy being with friends and family can help us stay healthy, whole and help us to live full lives. God's intention for us to be still and to know Him means that we have to take time out of the busyness of our lives and to focus on godly things. What about not making idols? Our culture is full of idols, we idolize, fame, money, power, wealth, our friends wii games and more and yet when we idolize things our focus is now no longer on God but on this world. In idolizing things we begin to covet (another no no) other people's lives, things, homes families and we lose sight of being grateful of the things we do have. When we compare and covet another's things we may do things (steal or use our power) to get those things and in the process hurt others. So while we think that the 10 commandments are obsolete they are not. They can help us to have whole lives, lives that are honoring to God and to our neighbor. So this year we are going to take a journey through the 10 commandments and see how they can shape us and help us to live full and healthy lives that are honoring and pleasing to God, our family and our neighbor.

Question of the Week Sept 28

Next question: (the last one is still up for grabs)

When did the first ice cream parlor open in America and in what city?

(Next month's questions- surrounding pizza!)

Where Does Time Go?

Have you ever wondered where time goes? It seems like time slips by in a moments notice and we are left wondering, wondering where it went. One day we are playing on the swings and picking up bugs (maybe eating them) and the next we are graduating from high school or college, or in our first job or getting married. When I think about time I often think about our faith. As the days go by faster and faster, how do we live out our faith in the midst of it all? Are we filled with so many things that we forget about God and our faith until something important happens, or is faith and our relationship with Christ a constant friend that is always there, that we make time for in the midst of everything else that is going on. I know that I am guilty at times of not being more involved in my faith development, I let the everyday ordinary things of life get in the way, or the temptation to be lazy block my relationship with God, or the fear of what others will think about me if I admit my faith to publicly. And yet when we think about it, we don't have as much time as we would like to make sure that our faith and our relationship with Christ will continue to grow if we allow those other things to get in the way. God should be above all things, should be number one in our life and everything else should fall in to place after that relationship and yet often in our busyness we forget God the most. Our challenge this week and this year is to work on our relationship with Christ, to allow time to be our friend, not our enemy; to make the time to come to church, to youth group, to fellowship events, to reading the scriptures each day and to pray. When we begin to invest our time in our relationship with Christ we begin to learn more deeply what our priorities should be and how God wants us to spend our time with our friends, family and in service to the world around us.

So where are you going to put your time this day and every day? In the things of God or in the things of this world?

Running the Race!

Paul write in 1 Corinthians 9: 24 "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize?"

What are you doing to run the Christian race? How are you living out your faith each and every day? Trophies and medals, money, and things are just that- things. The things in our lives will collect dust, some of them will get old and break down, other things will rust and will not last forever. Striving for more money and power will leave us empty and always searching for more. The prize we gain from Christ is eternal, it life with God forever, it will never rust, or break, or tarnish, it will not leave us wanting more. If we turn our hearts and lives over to God we will get the greatest reward- a love from God the father, a relationship with the creator of the universe, a heart that has hope and joy and a desire to serve the world around us and most importantly a life eternal with God. Living out our faith each day takes work, effort and a desire to learn and grow. Having a faith in Christ is not a one time thing, but a life long event, a race in which we run slowly and steadily. We run this race with perseverance and hope. We can't run this race alone, we need others, people who will cheer us on, encourage us as we go, help us when we fall and challenge us when we are running backwards. Who can you trust to help you in this journey? Who do you need to ask to run with you? How can you be training each day to live out your faith in God?

Question of the Week Sept 21

Hey Everyone-

Here is the next question:

In what year were ice cream novelties (such as ice cream on sticks & ice cream bars) introduced?

week of Sept 7

Hey Everyone-

As you get used to looking at the blogspot I hope you will feel like this is your place to add comments, ask questions about faith/life, etc. and to find out all the important information you need for upcoming weekly/monthly events.

This Friday wired is going bowling! Meet at the church at 5:30 and bring some money for bowling and for In N Out Burger!

This Saturday- Sept 13 we are going hiking to "Hidden Lake" all wired and the shop students are invited. Bring a lunch, water, hat and sunscreen. Meet at the church at 10am. Hope to see you there.

Have a great week!

Question of the Week Sept 7

What one country in the world produces/grows 80% of the Vanilla Beans used for Ice Cream?

Post your guesses- this is the honor system no looking up the answers on google or any other search engine! Don't forget to sign your name. Stay tuned until next week for the winner!

where would you want to go?

If you had a choice to go somewhere in the US and do a week long mission trip, where would you want to go? As we think about serving and giving our lives to Christ we want to go and serve others whom we can both give to and learn from. What is more interesting? People in a large city or in a rural community, the elderly or children, homeless or the disabled or all of the above? If you have an opinion let me know!

wired & the shop Begins!

wired- Calling all middle school students- Monday night September we begin our fall programming. Come join us at the Kinney's home from 6:30-8:00pm for a BBQ dinner and swimming and for what promises to be a great year.

the shop- We are back to hanging out on Sunday evenings starting Sept. 7th at Pastor Amanda's house. We will have a BBQ and some games as we get to know one another. COme hang out, have some food and fun. Hope to see you there 7-9pm.

This will be a great year!

Thought For The Week- Faith

What does faith mean to you? Is faith stepping out into the unknown and accepting the impossible? Is faith putting your trust in a God who is "out there?" Is faith only accomplished when there is proof of its existence? Can one have the same kind of faith in God as they can with a person?

What are your thoughts on faith? What does your faith mean to you?