So yesterday morning I mentioned a little about what my Thursday was going to be like but little did I know how amazing it would be. God has put me in the 9th chapter of Mark this week in my studies in teh morning and I have discussed in my other blog the highs and lows and how to face them. Well, I am fully living that out right now this week in my life and I can't emphasize enough how happy I am that I am not studying Job! Yikes!
Wednesday was a decent day, I was in teh office the majority of the time doing the end of the month stats for myself. I in affect had spoken to over 600 students and teachers last month so it was a good month. Which by the way is my plan, I feel God has led me to spend the first 2 years of my time at Freedom doing everything I can to get our name out and make the church recognized. So far, so good on that. But a day in the office is rarely good for someone as go oriented as myself. I will admit I was a little bummed because the day before I wasn't able to go eat lunch at Murray with my usual crowd of kids from the church. I also went to church that night and we had a decent crowd, not one of our larger ones but decent for youth. Tara and I spent some time in the office with Angie crunching some numbers and realizing that many of the things we are hoping to do may not happen as we want because money is starting to get a little tight. GIving is good, we're just facing new challenges in other areas of the budget. So I was a little bummed about that, I have a few families that I have poured my heart and soul into over the past several months and a couple of them are there on Sundays, and a couple of them are rarely seen at church making all kinds of excuses. All of this amounted to a slightly bummed pastor Wednesday night.
Then, Thursday came and happened. I started the day out at Pacetti Bay where I am still sharing with kids about suicide and how to face the feelings of depression and being down.(I'll admit that isn't helping either) But I had an awesome conversation with 2 young girls about facing trials. They asked me about my faith which opened the door for me to share because that is the ground rule on public education. IF they ask you can share, if they don't you can't force it on them. So we had an awesome discussion and that was definitely picking me up.
WEll, at lunch I had to rush off to St. Johns River Community College to share a presentation with Mr. Meehan's Psychology students on domestic violence and healthy relationships. I had about 5 minutes to take a deep breath and prepare for it and it went off flawlessly. I spoke for about 45 minutes and then did some question and answer and then it took me another 45 minutes to get my stuff packed and leave. I had students bombarding me with questions about my ministry, the church and other things. One was a new family in town looking for a laid back baptist church(that's us), another couple who are dating and looking for somewhere that they can be more involved in teh ministries, and about 6 or 7 more that asked where the church is located and what times the services are. One which I have been in a selfish way praying for. There is a girl who I remember from highschool at St. Augustine High, I just remember her face I don't know her name. But, this summer I spent time at several summer camps sharing about bullying and respect. I ran into this young lady there and what she could do with the kids and the way she loved on them and was respected by them left an impression on me. Well, she was one who came up and asked when the services were and where the church was. And one final lady had just gotten out of a troubled marriage and wanted to talk so I sat down with her and her friend and we talked for quite a while about her past, how to mend her heart, her relationship with her father, and most importantly how to rely on Christ to see her through it all. I prayed with them and they said they would love to come visit the church as well.
So there you have it, I didn't even get a chance to sit down in my valley before Jesus swooped me up and took me back to a high!
Oh, and I forgot to mention one thing. After St. Johns I rushed out to Pedro to be a part of the team meal for the freshman football team. I helped out with that and then I hopped in the truck and rushed to get Tara and the girls. Our plan was for me to go to the first half of the pedro freshman game at Creekside and then we would rush off to the St. Augustine freshman game at Bolles. Well, when I got to Creekside the freshman coach Tom Dickerson came over and asked me if I could help coach(they had two coaches missing) He gave me the game plan and the formations and turned me loose. I stood there on the sideline talking to the kids when they came off the field, getting the next team ready and making sure that the special teams guys were paying attention. We won 16-6 and Creekside's only touchdown was a fumble recovery run back about 2 minutes into the game. So I am undefeated as a football coach, considering retiring on top but there's still a lot left in me(to quote Brett Favre) so we'll see what next week brings.
Have a great weekend, come out and root on those Falcons tonight if you can and hope to see you on Sunday!
Friday, October 3, 2008
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Yay THursday
Wednesday is when it all officially breaks loose for me. Wednesday night I leave work in teh afternoon, rush home to work out, get a shower and then start picking up kids for church. Then, I take them all home afterward making a 1 hour youth meeting about 4 hours of work for many of us. As Tara does pick ups at the highschool from football, Jordon does pickups from Pedro from football and I do everything in between the 2. It's a full night but it's well worth it if we can get into just one person's life and change their lifestyle with a personal relationship with God.
Last night was no different except that I decided to do an exercise with the kids instead of highs and lows. Each kid took a paper and wrote their name on it. Then, it was passed to someone and they had to write down what that person would be when they grow up, what kind of food they would be if they were a fruit, what cartoon character they would be if they were a cartoon character and finally who they will marry.
This little exercise is always funny as students pass the papers around and get to anonomously write down things about their fellow students. The things they write are hilarious. Like Ethan would be Elmer Fudd, or Jordon would be Patrick Star, Shae Defore would be a tater tot, and so on. It's fun, it's interactive and I have done it every few months for about 10 years now. I actually came up with the idea when we had a youth group that didn't interact much and I can't stand that. To have a group of kids who only talk in their cliques is disgusting in the youth ministry setting so this exercise gets them out of there.
As for the church projects, the 3 main sides are all painted with the base coat, we are going to paint the trim next week and I already ripped up the carpet to re-do the surface under the front entrance. So we are moving right along on our project to spruce things up and get attention from people as they pass by.
Things are all going pretty much status quo nothing mountaintop to share, nothing too valley low to share.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!
Last night was no different except that I decided to do an exercise with the kids instead of highs and lows. Each kid took a paper and wrote their name on it. Then, it was passed to someone and they had to write down what that person would be when they grow up, what kind of food they would be if they were a fruit, what cartoon character they would be if they were a cartoon character and finally who they will marry.
This little exercise is always funny as students pass the papers around and get to anonomously write down things about their fellow students. The things they write are hilarious. Like Ethan would be Elmer Fudd, or Jordon would be Patrick Star, Shae Defore would be a tater tot, and so on. It's fun, it's interactive and I have done it every few months for about 10 years now. I actually came up with the idea when we had a youth group that didn't interact much and I can't stand that. To have a group of kids who only talk in their cliques is disgusting in the youth ministry setting so this exercise gets them out of there.
As for the church projects, the 3 main sides are all painted with the base coat, we are going to paint the trim next week and I already ripped up the carpet to re-do the surface under the front entrance. So we are moving right along on our project to spruce things up and get attention from people as they pass by.
Things are all going pretty much status quo nothing mountaintop to share, nothing too valley low to share.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Pacetti Bay
So I have spent the past 2 days at pacetti Bay middle school in the middle of quite the predicament. I have been sharing with students about bullyside, bullying and suicide all at once. It's tricky to share with students about suicide and their feelings of being overwhelmed without sharing what and Who I know. It's hard to not preach and share verses that point us to JEsus as the answer. So I have to rely on stories and personal anecdotes to get them through it.
We actually had one class that has 4 girls in it who were friends with a girl who committed suicide last school year. To think that a 6th grader thought things were so bad, and had lost so much perspective that she took her own life. So we shared with them ways to see it comeing, warning signs and mainly how to cope with life. There again I know the real solution but in a public school I have to tip-toe around it until a student asks me about it.
After school was out I was off to the house to work out and then to football practice. It is so funny to see the girls think that they belong out there. Alexa and P.J. have developed relationships with ms. Kim and the water girls and they think they are part of their team for sure. They have also taken a liking to some of the players and they make sure they go over and either hug or hit (depending on the mood) the players that they like. Several of the players have even taken the time to know them, carry them around and wrestle with them. Which is not helping in my efforts to make them realize that everyone does not exist to entertain them. Alexa and P.J. walk into a setting and they just go over and start messing with people and spending time with people. Sometimes the last ones you would expect, they have 3 of the toughest and meanest kids on the football team playing with her and even playing catch with them on the days that they make it to practice with me. It's so funny to watch a 2 foot nothing little blond attack a 300 pound kid in a football uniform. She loves it and they do too.
On that note the team seems to have bounced back well. To think that they poured their hearts out on the field last Friday night, had 2 field goals blocked and 3 touchdowns taken off the score board. As well as letting one of the best offenses in the area start their second drive of the game first and goal at the 3, all in all they are back and working hard. Things just didn't go their way and they understand it is time to move on. They have a lot of football still left to lay and they play 4 district games in their last 6 meetings with the goal to make the playoffs they must win those 4 games to get in. And they are focused on that one game at a time.
So have a great day and thanks for reading.
We actually had one class that has 4 girls in it who were friends with a girl who committed suicide last school year. To think that a 6th grader thought things were so bad, and had lost so much perspective that she took her own life. So we shared with them ways to see it comeing, warning signs and mainly how to cope with life. There again I know the real solution but in a public school I have to tip-toe around it until a student asks me about it.
After school was out I was off to the house to work out and then to football practice. It is so funny to see the girls think that they belong out there. Alexa and P.J. have developed relationships with ms. Kim and the water girls and they think they are part of their team for sure. They have also taken a liking to some of the players and they make sure they go over and either hug or hit (depending on the mood) the players that they like. Several of the players have even taken the time to know them, carry them around and wrestle with them. Which is not helping in my efforts to make them realize that everyone does not exist to entertain them. Alexa and P.J. walk into a setting and they just go over and start messing with people and spending time with people. Sometimes the last ones you would expect, they have 3 of the toughest and meanest kids on the football team playing with her and even playing catch with them on the days that they make it to practice with me. It's so funny to watch a 2 foot nothing little blond attack a 300 pound kid in a football uniform. She loves it and they do too.
On that note the team seems to have bounced back well. To think that they poured their hearts out on the field last Friday night, had 2 field goals blocked and 3 touchdowns taken off the score board. As well as letting one of the best offenses in the area start their second drive of the game first and goal at the 3, all in all they are back and working hard. Things just didn't go their way and they understand it is time to move on. They have a lot of football still left to lay and they play 4 district games in their last 6 meetings with the goal to make the playoffs they must win those 4 games to get in. And they are focused on that one game at a time.
So have a great day and thanks for reading.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Sharing
I am spending all day each day this week with the exception of Wednesday sharing about Bullycide in Pacetti Bay Middle School. Pacetti Bay is probably one of the nicest middle schools I have ever set foot inside of. THeir gymn, their halls and classrooms are remarkable.
I'm sharing about the things that take place in a young person's life that make them or maybe lead them to even consider suicide. Some of the kids are so busy trying to be cool that they laugh at the fact that people consider it, others are so moved by it that they are compelled to treat others differently.
I prepared some teachings, share some funny and interesting illustrations and then I allow them to be a part of it. I put together a skit for them to act out showing some of the warning signs of a friend that is more than just depressed and some ways they have made it to that point. That is all they remember about the time in the classroom, the skit. I wrote the skit as a time filler and now it's the prime part of the deal.
Hands on is how our young people learn these days. They're tired of hearing about it, reading about it and learning, they want to be doing it. They want to be and feel like an active part of things.
That is why I involve youth and young people so much in our ministries at Freedom. They want to be putting feet to what they are learning and not just following along, or sitting in a classroom, they want to contribute. This skit situation is a prime example.
Not a lot of excitement going on when you're in a middle school with 6 classes of 50 minute presentations to get through. I did get done, rush home to work out and then go to football practice. The guys seem to have bounced back pretty quickly from the weekend which is good because there is still a lot of football to be played. We're three and one and still eying those ever illusive playoffs.
I got to watch a little bit of television with the kids, and we did for once eat dinner all together. That is always an experience in itself with our two kids. They're so lively and entertaining even sitting down to eat dinner.
That's about it for me, hope your week is off to a great start and thanks for reading!
I'm sharing about the things that take place in a young person's life that make them or maybe lead them to even consider suicide. Some of the kids are so busy trying to be cool that they laugh at the fact that people consider it, others are so moved by it that they are compelled to treat others differently.
I prepared some teachings, share some funny and interesting illustrations and then I allow them to be a part of it. I put together a skit for them to act out showing some of the warning signs of a friend that is more than just depressed and some ways they have made it to that point. That is all they remember about the time in the classroom, the skit. I wrote the skit as a time filler and now it's the prime part of the deal.
Hands on is how our young people learn these days. They're tired of hearing about it, reading about it and learning, they want to be doing it. They want to be and feel like an active part of things.
That is why I involve youth and young people so much in our ministries at Freedom. They want to be putting feet to what they are learning and not just following along, or sitting in a classroom, they want to contribute. This skit situation is a prime example.
Not a lot of excitement going on when you're in a middle school with 6 classes of 50 minute presentations to get through. I did get done, rush home to work out and then go to football practice. The guys seem to have bounced back pretty quickly from the weekend which is good because there is still a lot of football to be played. We're three and one and still eying those ever illusive playoffs.
I got to watch a little bit of television with the kids, and we did for once eat dinner all together. That is always an experience in itself with our two kids. They're so lively and entertaining even sitting down to eat dinner.
That's about it for me, hope your week is off to a great start and thanks for reading!
Monday, September 29, 2008
Monday here we come!
It's monday and I am refreshed for once. There was nothing pressing, I didn't have to set the alarm clock on Saturday. I just had a bunch of work to get done at the church and that is it. So, I took my time getting going and then I took on the things I needed to. In the mean time however, we had a chance to just relax and watch some football with our family, let the kids swim and just relax which was much needed for Tara and I alike. WHile neither of us had our games go the way we wanted all weekend until Sunday afternoon it was a decent weekend.
Friday night we had to rush out of the football game(Coach Cromwell and I) because his wife Holly had hurt her foot the night before and lost feeling in it. It had swollen and she had lost feeling in it during the football game Friday so she decided to go to the emergency room. She forgot to tell us that she went to Dr. Grimes and they had already closed so she went home instead. So Coach and I rushed to teh emergency room and then to the house where she had gone instead. She eventually went to the doctor on Saturday morning and has ligamints torn and sprained her ankle, so she is going to be fine.
The Falcons stayed strong even though they had 2 touchdowns taken off the board in the first half, and a bad punt snap left St. Augustine with a first and goal at the 3 yard line. That gave them a 14 - 0 lead and that score stayed until into the third quarter where the defense started to get tired from being on the field too much. So the 41-0 score doesn't tell the full story, but it says enough.
I'm ready for this week, to see the guys back at it and hopefully hungrier than ever. We face Creekside this week at home, finally another home game for us to get back into a routine somewhat.
Sunday we had a good crowd, several families missing but we had an interesting guest. A lady who said she had been invited to our church by a few people stopped in half way through the service to tell us that she had a 4 year old daughter with cancer. She was on a list and 165th on the list for a transplant. THen, they got a call at 7am yesterday morning and her daughter was receiving a transplant after only a few months of being on the list because she was a 99% match. We prayed with her for safety, and for the guidance of the doctors and physicians and she was off on her way. The little girl's name was Destiny, so remember them in your prayers please.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!
Friday night we had to rush out of the football game(Coach Cromwell and I) because his wife Holly had hurt her foot the night before and lost feeling in it. It had swollen and she had lost feeling in it during the football game Friday so she decided to go to the emergency room. She forgot to tell us that she went to Dr. Grimes and they had already closed so she went home instead. So Coach and I rushed to teh emergency room and then to the house where she had gone instead. She eventually went to the doctor on Saturday morning and has ligamints torn and sprained her ankle, so she is going to be fine.
The Falcons stayed strong even though they had 2 touchdowns taken off the board in the first half, and a bad punt snap left St. Augustine with a first and goal at the 3 yard line. That gave them a 14 - 0 lead and that score stayed until into the third quarter where the defense started to get tired from being on the field too much. So the 41-0 score doesn't tell the full story, but it says enough.
I'm ready for this week, to see the guys back at it and hopefully hungrier than ever. We face Creekside this week at home, finally another home game for us to get back into a routine somewhat.
Sunday we had a good crowd, several families missing but we had an interesting guest. A lady who said she had been invited to our church by a few people stopped in half way through the service to tell us that she had a 4 year old daughter with cancer. She was on a list and 165th on the list for a transplant. THen, they got a call at 7am yesterday morning and her daughter was receiving a transplant after only a few months of being on the list because she was a 99% match. We prayed with her for safety, and for the guidance of the doctors and physicians and she was off on her way. The little girl's name was Destiny, so remember them in your prayers please.
Thanks for reading and have a great day!
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