Dorney Park

Well, we went to a sweet theme park, near Allentown, PA, yesterday with the students. Dorney Park is superfly. And the students were even better. They rocked...no injuries, no real fights...all fun and fantastic!

Serious, it was great...it was sweltering hot, but it was great. Mt. Dew Icee's never tasted so good.

I got to bop around from group to group and experience the park with and through them. I started off with the Jr. Hi guys who went directly to the highest roller coaster there, the Steel Force. It was awesome. We got on the front cart without having to wait longer than 3 minutes. It was a 205 foot drop, and pretty thrilling. Sauder and DJ were quite the thrill seekers. We rode in the front at first and then went to the back. You gotta get the extreme perspectives.

After hanging out with them, we went to lunch and then I bopped around with Casey and his grandmother, Donna. They liked the tame side of the park, so we lounged in the Wave Pool and went around the Lazy River thing. Wow, that water was wonderfully cold. Waterfalls everywhere...

Then I hopped over to Josh, Bryce, Alecia, Tiana, Allie, and Nicole's group. we had a blast on the steel force, the Talon, Hang Time (my favorite), Revolution, and Dominator (takes you up really high and then drops you...it freaked me out...). They were tons of fun. We got Josh, who is afraid of roller coaster type things, to go on the Talon and the Hang Time, but he was spent after those two.

After them, I hung with Evan, Brian, Holly, Jared, Holly's friend, Koren and Rick Dodd. We rode the Hydra and the Comet. I was feeling sick after that one...definitely not good to eat a bucket of fries and then get on a roller coaster...ew. They had a good mix going in their group...real easy going and fun.

Then I went with Izzy, Marissa, Tia (M.'s friend), Amanda and Leah, to the Carousel and Mouse Chase...that was stellar. I don't think the Carousel will ever get old.

Well, lots of good times...it's just good to hang with the students in large packs.

We have a great bunch of students...

Well, I'll be joining up with Aubrey tomorrow to finish up her vacation with her family in NC. Should be fun. Gotta drive through tonight...

Weekend is over

Well, the weekend is over.

The sermon went really well, I think. Used a bit of Dallas Willard's explanation of kingdom (the sphere where what I want done is done) and had people figure out their kingdom and talked about getting God's kingdom in that. Explained that the prophets were looking for God's kingdom as shalom, which is more than peace, which is completion, wholeness, righting of the wrongs. And when we think of heaven of the afterlife, we think of that type of place. Then I moved to talk about how sometimes we make our following after Christ, our understanding of his message, more about what's going to happen to me after we die. And I talked about the Rwandan genocide and how it was supposedly a dominant Christian nation. What we saw there was the opposite of shalom, we saw destruction, something that tore from wholeness, that caused incompletion. Then I went to our lives...are our lives bringing the shalom, or causing incompletion. Then I talked about Jesus' emphasis on this life now, that the kingdom is now...and how he wants to move into our sphere of influence, into our kingdoms...It was good.

Then I had some youthworkers over to our house. It was cool to have them over. We haven't had any youth workers to our new house yet, so it was fun. matt forsythe, 7 foot 7 guy, nearly got his head chopped off by the ceiling fans, and had to crouch in our upper bedroom.

It was a good weekend...except for one fact. Aubrey wasn't here. She's in NC with her family, and I'll join her on Wednesday, but...it's not the same without her around. Gosh, I miss that girl.

Possible Themes for the Fall and Winter

OK, I've got a short list of things for the fall. Not sure of the order or how they'll be carried out...I'm thinking of having a verse for the month, something that the students can get used to seeing and maybe take in memory.

Pain-how to handle it, how God feels about it, how to help a friend, what does grief look like

Justice-IJM's stuff for 5 weeks, ending with the 30 hour famine...I'm really looking forward to this.

Wisdom-How to make wise choices regarding friendships, parties, parents, the future

Life like Christ-a couple weeks to see how he lived and what it meant for his disciples and what it means for us as his followers

Advent-Opening our lives to His presence, living in the "now" of his kingdom, welcoming Him into everything we do

Sex Retold-glories of sex, downfalls of sex, healthy habits

I'm also thinking of having a class for Juniors and Seniors on Sunday mornings for college prep. Talk about how to prepare for future, talk about fears, talk about possible new ideas they might encounter that might rock their world and faith (things I wish I had heard before I went to college, things that made me doubt most of what I believed, things that most young high school students aren't prepared for, but that maybe juniors and seniors are).

The Birds are gone

Sadly, the birds have left us with an empty nest. I thought they'd be around longer, but I guess they grow up incredibly fast.

Today I am working on what the themes are going to be for the youth group this fall. Currently I am thinking about how to talk about suffering and social justice in ways that are swallowable and applicable. I think we might have a series on pain, and a series on oppression. We'll probably use IJM's stuff they did through Youth Specialties (The Justice Mission).

I am looking forward to this fall and what God's going to do in our groups. We have an awesome group of teenagers who are excited about what God is doing and who want to walk with Him and help others do the same.

NYC 2007

Well, at General Assembly (the world gathering of Nazarenes), they announced where NYC USA will be in 2007. It's going to be in the city of arches, the St. Louis. And what's even cooler is that my good friend, Brian Hull (www.gilborules.blogspot.com), is going to be working real hard on making it the best NYC experience yet.

If you want to see more about it go to www.waterfirewind.com. I think they have an excellent theme. Check out the video they have on there too. It's rad. The site isn't fully operatable, but they're going to have a blog for the event...that should be flippin sweet.

And I gotta give a shout out to my friends at Panera Bread for providing us with the best and only free wireless in York County. Thanks Panera. You rock!

The Birds Are Out

Well, we looked out the window this morning and the birds have escaped. They are learning to fly around the bushes in the back. I tried to sneak up and get a picture of one, but it lunged at me and pulled out a lightsaber...ok, it didn't really do that, but it did jump away so that I couldn't get a good pic.

Teaching this weekend

So, I'm teaching on Saturday and Sunday at our church. I'm still wrestling with what to talk about. But I think I am being led to talk about how heaven is breaking into our daily existence, that the reign of God is coming through us Christians. I might do a little bit about how we were originally created to help take care of the earth (first commandment) and how Jesus' first commandment to love others is part of the restoration and recreation of the earth...a continuation of the original first commandment.

We'll see...I'm taking a good portion of tomorrow to finish it...I'll be writing some of it tonight too.

The Baby Birds are here

Yay, we got back from our missions trip and found that our bird under the window has had her babies. Now they cheep at her and scrawn around their little heads trying to get food. There are three of them. I can't wait to watch them learn to fly and stuff. I just hope they don't get caught in the branches of the bush.

Arms Wide Open Part 2

Well, we returned from AZ on Saturday night. They held us in the air for an extra hour because of the storm. Crazy watching the lightening from above the storm. I'm glad the pilots know what they are doing.

Wow, mission trips really create a sense of family within the group that goes. It's amazing how that happens. It's easier to share joys, to share frustrations...I think there is something supernatural in the gathering of people for a common purpose. Even if its not Christian, I think something happens there. My uncle told me about some experiences he has had (free of reefer) when a bunch of drummers gathered in a circle for a session in the woods. it sounded a lot like what happens on missions trips or camps. The cool part about following Christ, is that we know the source of that phenomenon.

Further highlights:

Dancing with the Indian Dancers on Tuesday night. They have beautiful movements and we got to join them on a couple dances. My favorite dance was this one a boy did with hoops. He did all these crazy things with the hoops, things I can't explain in print...you just have to see it.

Seeing the Grand Canyon. Holy mess, that place is awesome. Over 40 miles long, average 10 miles across (18 is the max), over 1 mile deep. The curves and drop offs are breathtaking. Ryan and Bryce scared us a bit when they got close to the edge, but nobody in our group died.

Sunset across AZ. We gathered by the crosses for devo's with the sunset.

Devotions by Tim and Scottie. They are great guys and had some quality things to say to our group. Kylie was supposed to go, but our week got crammed.

Worship with the Sun Valley staff. Our fella's led worship and we had a gathering the following night.

The Buffer. Cleaning floors has never been so crazy. The first day, Joann (youth worker lady)couldn't figure it out, so she had Jordan sit on the buffer while she buffed the floor. Then I thought I had it figured out until it threw me into the wall. Whew, floor buffers are crazy. It reminded me of Ernest Goes to Jail.

Here's what we did for the campus: we built a fence at the entrance, cleaned the classroom floors (not an easy task), did some landscaping, built a deck, painted the deck, tested out the playground equipment (not requested, but we did it with pleasure), raced golf carts.

If you want to check out Sun Valley's website it's www.indianschool.org.

I'm glad we went. You really get to see what's in the hearts of your students. And we have some quality students who have servant hearts.

Arms Wide Open: Part 1

Well, I'm in Sun Valley, AZ right now with the Sr. Hi Mission Trip Team. It has been a crazy past few days.

There are so many things to write about, to think about, to notice from this trip. It's really hard to take it in. And I don't have much time to type right now. So, I'll just sum up the highlights so far.

Students bonding with other students who I didn't expect to bond together. (Is that understandable?)

Worshipping with the Navajo Indians on Sunday morning and night. They asked us to come back after the morning service, for a spontaneous service. Hearing familiar tunes in the Navajo tongue was a blessing. It reminds me that I am not the sole owner of the gospel. These are not distant cousins who belong to my half-brother, but they are my brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. We are bound together by the Spirit who resides in us both.

Flash contests in the van. No, it's not as sick as it sounds. There were some kids who discovered that you can make your disposable camera flash without taking pictures and they did that for at least 45 minutes on the way home.

Bryce got a mohawk.

Trip into Canyon de Chelle. That was awesome. WHew, breathtaking views. I'll post some of the pictures at a later date.

Fun conversations in the van.

Sweet views of the Rocky's from the airplane.

Being 3 hours behind our normal time.

Awesome landscape and skyline. There are no trees out here...just bare land. YOu can see for 70-80 miles. Breathtaking again.

Today was our first day of official work. Wow, it was long and tough, but it was cool to see the students hearts in what we did. They have such a great spirit and are encouraging each other.

Well, I will post more later. Gotta get ready for devos with the sunset.

One Eyed Mother

Well, Aubrey and I have discovered a nesting bird right underneath the windowsill of our kitchensink window. I can wash dishes and watch the bird resting in its nest. It's neat, actually, because we've seen this almost from the very beginning, when there was hardly any nest except a few twigs. But this bird and another worked together to create a little bed in the bush beneath my window. After the nest became sturdy, the mother bird began to sit in the nest for long periods of times. I would look into the nest when she would fly away, but nothing was in the nest, until one day there were three little blue eggs, each about the size of a walnut. And now the mother stays with the eggs, warming them, tending to them.

There is one thing that is unusual (that word is unusual) about her. Her right eye is only a slit, where it seems she either lost her eye, or was born without it. So, we have a one-eyed mother bird nesting under the windowsill of our kitchen sink. Every morning when I walk past, I look into it to see if the little ones have arrived. Nothing yet. But I can't wait to watch them grow, to watch the mother tend to them and feed them. I love miracles that happen under kitchen sink window.

2nd Anniversary!

Well, Aubrey and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary yesterday. We're going to Anapolis on Thursday night to celebrate. Got a great deal through Priceline for a nice hotel!

On the day of our anniversary, I went to a funeral of Frannie Lahr, mother of Burdette Lahr, a pastor at my church. I had never met her, but being at her funeral made me want to. She sounded like a beautiful woman, who loved God through all her pain and suffering.

Interesting that as God is in my wedding celebration with Aubrey, he is with the Lahr's in their mourning.

Jr. Hi Mission to York 2005: Part 3

Favorite Scenes
1. McDonald's Runs-The boys discovered the McD's was close to my house and wanted to go there the first night. So we ended up having our devo's there every night. That was cool.
2. Rotten Strawberries-Our first ministry site was Our Daily Bread, a soup kitchen that gives breakfast and lunch to people in need. We helped in the back, organizing food, preparing food and whatever was needed. While we were there a truck dropped off 12 boxes of strawberries, each box containing 8 quarts of strawberries. Half the Strawberries were rotten, some so rotten and soft that when you went to pick them up they fell through your fingers. It was gross. Anyways, we sifted through them and chopped up the good ones. They should be set on strawberries for years to come.
3. Fartage-The first night the guys were in the house there was some farting festival. It was crazy. I was upstairs in my bedroom, which is connected to the living room where the guys were sleeping by a vent. And I could easily hear them. Loud and rumbling they were. And then the king of it all was when I could smell the worst fart all the way upstairs in my bedroom. The thing smelled like car oil. That's stinky.

There's more, but that's all I have time for right now.

Jr. Hi Mission to York 2005: Part 2

A walk through the Projects
One of the ministry points that we had was in the projects of York. Stillnaz has a bus ministry that goes into the heart of the city and brings a lunch to the kids every Saturday. In order for the kids to get the lunch, they get to sit through a program on the bus. The kids range from 3-12, and most come by themselves, but there were 3 mother figures there as well. The kids were crazy rambunctious and had a hard time listening to Chastity Frederick (the lady who runs the thing with her husband, Jade...Aubrey and I really liked them...she is becoming a doctor so that they can go overseas and serve as missionaries...they have 3 beautiful kids). And after they listened to her and sang silly songs with me, they got off the bus and grabbed their lunches and ran off.

We told some of our students to go to the park and clean it up. So they went over there and were picking up some of the trash that was there, including some of the trash that the kids were leaving there. One of the kids on the bus threw his trash down in front of our students and one of our students asked him to pick up his trash, and then a little tif started which ended with the 10 year old kid calling our student a nigger. That set the missions student off. Thankfully an adult was close by and separated the two. Ironic that we would be there to serve...

But I came in at the end and talked with our student, trying to help him cool down, trying to hear his side of the story, trying to help him understand where the kid was coming from, trying to help him see how Christ would react. He was pretty mad. After he cooled down a bit and the other kid had left, I let him grab lunch and go back to the park. But the story didn't end there.

Our final assignment there was to take flyers to the different doors to advertise for VBS that is coming up. I decided I wanted to take Cody as my partner and leave the other guys with somebody else. I wasn't sure what I was going to say, but I took him along with me. As we walked I explained to him how the projects work, how most of the people there don't have much money at all, how many of them are hurting. I showed him the backs of the houses, which were pretty torn up with lots of trash all over the place. I wasn't trying to shove anything down his throat, but he seemed to be getting it when he said, "So, that's why the kid wanted to fight with me. He's not in a good situation..." Yeah, man...you're getting it.

And later that day as he was leaving to go home with his mother, he came up to me and said, "Hey Josh, thanks for taking me on that walk." That's all he said. But I knew that the Spirit was helping him understand. I only pray that it will stay and that the Spirit will develop within him the heart to understand other people's stories.

It is amazing how knowing the backgrounds of somebody will change the way you look at them.

Jr. Hi Mission to York 2005: Part 1

Well, on Saturday we concluded my second Jr. Hi mission trip with the Stillnaz students. It was fast and furious. We started on Wednesday night and ended on Saturday afternoon. The boys stayed at my place and the ladies stayed with another family.

Plenty of stories, plenty of laughs, plenty of learning moments. I would have to say that mission trips are most definitely my favorite things in youth ministry. You get to be with students for longer than 1.5 hours, and you get to see them at their best and at their worst. And they get to see me at my best and worst. It's so real, so raw.

When am I going to get saved?
One of the guys who went had never accepted Christ into his life (officially...) and his mother had asked me if I could pray with him sometime. So when I saw him on Wednesday night the first thing he said to me was, "PJ, when am I going to get saved?" And it was like that the rest of the night. He just kept asking, "Am I going to get saved now?" "Am I going to get saved at McDonald's?" It was great. We finally had a time to sit down at the end of the night. And I explained to him about what it meant to follow Christ, and what life is like without Christ. I had him explain why he wanted Christ in his life. Then I talked to him about the hard side of following Christ, about how when Christ comes in he will go through his life, like he would go through his room. And there might be some things he would want to remove and take away. And by letting Christ come into his life, he was saying that it was okay for God to do that in his life and that he was willing to be changed. I don't know how much discipleship is possible for young people, but I think he understood some of it, and it was exciting to be a part of that experience with him. Then after that, the guys had tons of questions about general stuff. I loved it.

This is one that one of my students sent in to me. We have a llama of the week for each mid-week gathering, and the students supply the llama's, while I provide the commentary. It's a great partnership 

I'm not sure that I have ever officially announced this on my blog, but I have a weird thing with llama's. I just can't help it but chuckle and laugh out loud when I see a goofy picture of a llama. So, I am including some of the funny ones I have found on the net... 

Quote from I, Francis by Carlo Carretto

You have more wealth than before, and you talk more of poverty. You are middle class and you play "poor Church." You talk more of community, and you live more isolated, more divorced, from one another.

"Many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip," they say--and there is a whole ocean of slips between what you say and what you do.

It is the ocean of your chatter, and you are drowning in it in every regard.

Now would you care to know why I am not inclined to give you a "tough talking-to?" Because you are the tough ones, not I.

All one has to do is listen to you when you gather together.

it is a terrible thing, how hard, unyielding, and radical you are.

What a pity that this hardness, this radicalism, is always directed against others and never against yourselves.

One would say that your great passion is to convert others!

And I, Francis, tell you, aim at your own conversions. You will see that you will understand things better.

Above all, understand this; it is of no use to think can change the Franciscans, the Capuchins, and Conventuals, and to continue, the Jesuits, the Salesians, the Little Brothers.

It is simply not possible!

What is possible is the conversion of a person--especially if that person happens to be you who are listening to me at this moment.

History has its own laws, and no institution escapes the ravages of time, and are able to place themselves before the nakedness of the Gospel and make it their own.

My children--this is what I shall call you, since you call me Father Francis--do no believe in the reform of your Order. Believe in your personal reform.

My brothers and sisters--for you call me Friar Francis--be holy, and the world will appear to you as holy.

The Move Part 2: Hello Orpah

Along with being cottagy and cozy, our house is nestled between two other homes, both of which house friendly neighbors. On our left is Carol and her red-headed grandson, Joe. She is so kind. she offered her rain jacket to me the first time she met us, when she saw me moving stuff in the rain. She is also talkative and has already filled us in on her family history. I can tell that Aubrey and I will enjoy getting to know her.

And on our right live Meeko and Mickey. I met Meeko before we had moved anything in. He was standing in his yard and when he saw me getting out of my car, he said, "Are you our new neighbor?" And I told him that I was. And then I asked him what his name was and if he had any brothers or sisters. And he has a sister, Mickey. And then I told them that I was moving in with Aubrey. They asked if she was my girlfriend. I told them, "no".

Meeko and Mickey are in 4th and 5th grade. They are always in their yard playing with their 5 dogs or with each other. And they always greet us when we get home in the day time. It's swell. When Aubrey was getting there to clean the kitchen out, they would greet her, saying, "hello orpah!" I guess they thought I had said her name was orpah! We weren't sure whether or not to leave it as Orpah, but Aubrey kindly told them one day that her name is really Aubrey, and they haven't gotten it wrong since.

But I was cleaning the bathroom the other day, ridding it of some of the hair from the previous resident (making me think about legacy and what we leave behind us...). So I had the window, which faces their backyard, open just in case the fumes from the cleaning stuff were too strong. I was in the middle of cleaning and I heard, "Meeko, ask him if he's taking a bath." Then I heard, "Josh, are you taking a bath?" I told them, "No." Then they talked to me for the rest of the time that I cleaned the bathroom. They asked me more questions like what my favorite color is, whether or not I liked to climb trees when I was little, how old I am, if I ever had any pets. They were full of questions. It was quite pleasant really. I can tell it will be great to have them as neighbors.

The Move Part 1: Cottagy and Odorific

So, Aubrey and I are now almost moved into our new place. We still have boxes all over the place, but we have had a couple meals at our table, which makes us feel more at home. The house is very cozy, kind of cottagy, as our friend Isabell describes it. It has two living rooms, a larger kitchen, a small room off the kitchen (former porch maybe?), and a former attic that serves as our bedroom. I described it as cozy, and I mean it. Especially in the sense of the small side of cozy. The upstairs, where our bedroom is, is 5 feet 7 inches. So, I get to stoop...but seriously, I love it. I always wanted to have a room upstairs that had a railing to prevent anybody to fall down the stairwell, and a sloping ceiling and small windows.

Aubrey has been so great in helping us get adjusted to the place. She has spent so much time cleaning out the kitchen, clearing it of the gunk in the cabinets and the smell, oh the smell, of the cabinets. Currently we have cups of vinegar and boxes of baking soda spread out through our kitchen cabinets. We heard that both are excellent at removing unpleasant odors. Considering that the cabinets smelled somewhat like a combination of old person and dog sweat we jumped at the opportunity to have the unpleasant odors removed.