The End and Beginning

This is my last blog posting for my English class; I know, very sad. However, it will not be the end of this blog! I plan to continue this blog for as long as I can.

For the final portion of the English requirement, I would like to talk about today's encounters. Today I had the chance to talk with many of the pastors here at Vineyard on the subject of student ministry. Not only did I receive great wisdom and advice, but I was also encouraged to fulfill some of my own wants and dreams as I continue my internship at the church. Youth ministry is one of my passions, just because I get to see, and have seen, students totally turn around from broken situations into purpose filled lives. One of the greatest feelings in the world is seeing true joy displayed by students who are loved and understand that people truly care about them, and that they themselves have something to contribute to this world. That is why I am in this ministry right now; who knows where I will be in the future!

I hope you all have enjoyed my blogging so far, and I encourage you to still check out the postings I will throw up here in the future.

God bless you guys!


"For God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

1st Samuel 16:7

I Whip My Hair Back and Forth

Hello again,

Last night was the final Revolution Wednesday for the semester. We jammed it full of fun games that the students really got 'wrapped' up in! Our first game was to wrap a student like a present, and the best looking present would win. Of course, the best present wrappers turned out to be some middle school boys, because they're awesome.  The second game involved pantyhose and a tennis ball; the tennis ball was placed in the pantyhose and was worn as a hat. The point of the game was to 'whip' the ball back and forth 'til it fell off, and for the few that remained, to take your neighbor's hat off using your own. It was an interesting game idea, but I don't feel it went very well. It was not mine, thankfully!

Our talk was on Peter in the bible, and how he took risks. My guys seemed to really enjoy the group discussion on this topic afterwards: we discussed how to take more risks in school, and what it would look like in college.

I am excited for next semester to start! It should be an exciting time!

I will leave you with a Swedish proverb I found quite interesting:

“Fear less, hope more; Eat less, chew more; Whine less, breathe more; Talk less, say more; Love more, and all good things will be yours”

Made me think about the meaning of purpose, especially that of myself, and what my actions and desires point towards. Is my life merely to learn, work, then die? Or is there something greater to the existence of man and what we could potentially be called to? Thoughts?

God bless you guys.

All the Other Kids With the Pumped Up Kicks

Guten tag!

I don't know why I'm speaking German, but it doesn't matter. I am in a traveling type of mood; I really feel like backpacking across Europe right now. The only country I have ever been to is Mexico, so there is a world that is still wide open for exploration, and I do not intend to leave any part unseen! This is just a random blob of information...

The real meat of today's post shall ensue now! On Saturday, a few of the guys from Revolution and I held the very first Macho Man Mania night, and of course, was very manly and filled with macho activities. We made pizzas and raided Walmart for all the chips and dip that this pastoral intern could afford! Our activities included watching movies starring the 'old breed' (Bruce Willis, Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Chuch Norris, etc), as well as some hard core wrestling sessions. Being in charge seems to provide wrestling matches with more difficulty: most of the kids took me on in groups! Nevertheless, they lost. We had some fun at Walmart, though: while strolling through the ailses, we stumbled upon foam swords, with which we immediately used for duels. *Disclaimer* To propel any negative thoughts of our actions, understand that no patrons (or students) were harmed in the enjoyment of our night!

It was a great night to bring different students together, and we hope to have many more like it!

I leave you with this quote:

Reason is the natural order of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning.
C. S. Lewis

Whipped Cream or Vomit?

Howdy do,

So the semester is nearing the end, and finals are looming in the distance. I'm not too worried; I feel I will be able to pull off some pretty satisfying grades. Nevertheless, with such stress that only school can offer, it is always enjoyable to watch my Revolution students face plant into a pie dish full of whipped cream and gummy bears! That's right folks, we actually pulled off the gummy bear pie game. Eight students were selected in sets of twos, the groups consisting of junior high boys and girls, and high school boys and girls. For a minute these students rooted around for gummy bears, completely covering their face and hair with whipped cream. Glorious. The only problem was that there was nothing for them to spit their mouthful of cream covered gummy bears into, so they used the table...and some of these kids puked out whole mouthfuls of pure whipped cream. Hindsight is 20/20 I guess. Despite the grotesqueness in the end, the game was a massive success, and the participants and audiences had a lot of fun. I am brewing some more games for next semester, and believe me, they only get better from here!

Cool phrase for the day that I thought of last week:

Jesus didn't come here to prove that God is right; He came to prove that God is love.

Thought it was cool to think about, just the fact that walking out faith isn't meant to be one that follows a checklist of rights and wrongs, but one that fulfills a relationship with someone who loves you enough to die for you.

Have a good one guys!