See You Later!
This past Sunday marked the end of what has been an absolutely incredible 4 years, 8 months, and 11 days of ministry to Dade City Christian Church. I cannot put into words the depth of thankfulness I have towards God for the opportunity to have known and served alongside each of you in the youth group. Sure there were times when my foot got pressure washed, my head got shaved and painted orange, or some hooligans attacked me with shaving cream on the beach that might not have been exactly what I thought I was getting myself into. :-) I have loved all 148,435,200 seconds of it though and am honored to have seen and proud to have been a part of the growth that God has accomplished in your lives.
Now God is giving us all an opportunity to meet new people and go on new adventures. The future doesn't take anything away from the past, but is only an opportunity to add to the joy we've already had. Thank you for making my time of service here a delight instead of a burden. Continue to pursue and love the Lord with all your heart, strength, and mind, and love your neighbors in acts of sacrifice and service. I expect you all to do what the Lord requires of you so that we can one day have a heavenly reunion of D3C, and so instead of saying goodbye I can simply say, "See you later!"
Finish Strong
As the end of the year approaches we all look forward to the times of relaxing and enjoying the holiday break. It's easy to get so caught up in what we anticipate that we neglect to make the most of the work before us now. I want to encourage all of you to finish this first semester of the school year strong. Instead of getting lazy and quitting early, push yourself to work even harder, knowing there is a time of rest just ahead.
That being said, there is also a lot to look forward to that I want you to start thinking about now! This month we are meeting on Saturdays to design and build this year's Dade City Magical Night Christmas Parade float. Those of you who attended last year saw the huge crowds, and remember passing out massive amounts of candy. Anyone who is willing and able to help out this year is needed.
Throughout the month of December, there will be many events taking place. The choir is preparing their annual big production, which includes handbells this year. We will be having numerous opportunities to eat, party, sing, and celebrate the season. Make the most of all of it and find joy in everything.
Good Friday
Have you ever wondered why the day we set aside to remember Jesus' journey to the cross is called "Good Friday?" Is it good because you get out of school for Spring Break? Is it good because most people don't have to go to work (or at least get to go home early)? Is it good because it reminds us that in a few days we will be chowing down on massive amounts of sugar and chocolate in the shapes of eggs and bunnies?
Over time all those things I listed above have become what we often consider so good about this day, but what is good is really something much deeper than all the things we now enjoy. Today is the day we commemorate the depth of God's love for mankind through the not so good things (which is a huge understatement) that Jesus was willing to endure in the final moments of his life on earth before he died.
That kind of love is as good as it gets for us. We do have something else that we are looking forward to celebrating on Sunday, which is also far beyond the sugar and chocolate, but on this Good Friday take in the joy of our good situation because we have a God who loves us that much. Below I've posted a cool video I came across that is set to the words of a sermon by S.M. Lockridge called "My King" to help you think about Jesus on this day where we honor his sacrifice.
In other news, if you missed all the logos and links above I'm highly concerned about your vision or ability to pay attention. :-D I've added all sorts of info, forms, links, etc. for all of our summer activities. Take a look at it and start making plans now to be part of all the summer fun. As always if you have questions let me know.
Welcome to 2009!
It's a new year and the D3C youth group has a lot of exciting things ahead of us for the last half of the school year on into the summer. Before moving forward to 2009 though, I want to say that 2008 has been a great year and I have been very proud to have served along side you as your youth minister through things like fundraisers, the playground project, the parade floats, and everything else we accomplished this year. Let continue to have a humble spirit, placing the needs of others ahead of our own in all that we do in 2009.
That being said, there are a lot of things starting up in the first couple months of this new year. By far the biggest is beginning to plan and raise money for the massively huge high school summer trip to the Move 2009 conference. We will be packing in tons of great and unique experiences into this summer's 10 day trip from July 3rd-12th. The conference itself is from July 6th-10th in Grantham, PA, but along the way we will also be making stops in Mountain City, TN, Washington, DC, Hershey, PA, Gettysburg, PA, and more. The trip is going to be $450/person, but in the past most if not all of the cost of these trips has been raised through church fundraisers. Head on over to the Move 2009 page to learn more.
In addition to that, there will be a number of other local events taking place in January, like the Winter Jam concert series and the Super Bowl Breakfast, that you may want to check out on your own. Our Sunday night program "The Vault" is taking a break in January to get re-organized for 2009, but some other things will be happening in its place on a couple of those Sunday nights. We will kickoff the new year of the Vault with another Super Bowl party on 2/1. Be on the lookout for details on that soon.