In The Grove

So you think you can dance???!!!

2007-06-19T21:38:00.001-05:00

http://www.paloozahead.com/779516-22d7

Check me out....LOL!
I got moves!

Lost People

2007-05-15T14:45:00.000-05:00

As Christians, that is what we call people that don't know Jesus as Savior, Lord and friend, right? We call them "lost". Sometimes I think we have a lousy attitude toward the "lost". I know I can anyways. We see or perceive them in a bunch of funny ways. One of the funniest is that we see them as "them" and we are "us". That pretty naturally places a huge dividing line between "us" and "them". We also attribute all kinds of reasons to why they are still "lost". Be it their pride or arrogance, or their stubborness or stupidness or evilness, or laziness, or their indifference. Whatever it is we blame them with it causes us to say things like if they only...fill in the blank..., then they would finally see how right we Christians have been and how lousy their lives have really been without Jesus. Then we begin to imagine the sweet scene when they finally are humbled and broken before God and their lives radically change and they begin to act more like you and me. Oh, we might not say it so bluntly, but in a very candy coated sweet way it gets said never the less. I've seen it in myself and in others. Our intentions are good but to a world that needs to know God's love, we instead come across as arrogant and dare I say as jerks. The world does not need to see that we are right. They need to see that we care about them enough to become engaged in their lives.

Check out Luke 15 in the Bible and see what God has to say about lost things. As you read try and hear the heart of a God that longs for the lost to be found, and for the disoriented to find their way.

I'll leave you with this thought from author Jim Henderson. He reminded us that "The Lost" don't have a book that tells them to go find a church but the Church has a book that tells us to go find them. Hmmmm...Interesting.

New Shoes!!

2007-04-20T21:04:00.000-05:00

When I was five years old I got a new pair of black sneakers with yellow stripes down the sides. I can still remember the rush of putting on those sneakers and being totally empowered by them. I was instantly made faster, more nimble, and I could jump so much higher. We were actually on vacation when I got them and I remember that on the way home I had my parents stop the car like a half mile from my aunt's house so that I could run the rest of the way.

The reason I'm reminded of those sneakers is because right now I have a four year old boy who is sleeping with his new sneakers on his bedside table and for the last two days I have had the pleasure of watching him be empowered by the magic of new sneakers. As we were walking up to the cash register to by them we passed a random lady and he joyfully shared with her that he was getting new sneakers. When we got home he put them on and just ran around the house stopping only long enough to tell me all the things that his new shoes would be good for. Did you know that new shoes like his will actually help you do hand stands? I didn't know that either until he told me last night.

hmmmm....new shoes.

Why does this new shoe phenomenom have me thinking about Jesus right now? Well because I think that in a way He would like to give us new shoes everyday. And He'd like us to feel empowered by His Spirit to joyfully run around for Him. I want to feel like I can run faster, be more agile. and jump higher because I know Jesus. You might not agree(and if you don't then start your own blog and complain about me) but I think it is a crime for someone who says they know Jesus to be boring and lackluster.

The first thing my boy is going to do tomorrow, without a doubt, is put on his new shoes. How about you? Are you going to let yourself be empowered by the God of new shoes? I hope so. I really do.

Is It Here Yet?!?

2007-04-16T12:57:00.000-05:00

Anticipation is a wonderful thing when you are waiting for something good, isn't it? I usually find that the anticipation leading up to that good thing is just about as exciting as the actual thing itself. Funny how that works, huh? With that said, you should know that I have ordered a paintball related item that I have wanted for sometime now and am currently waiting for it to arrive in the mail. The anticipation is killing me but I must say that it is also very exciting. Every time I check my post office box for the package slip, which I do every few hours when I'm expecting a package, I get all pumped up. (Don't laugh at me...you know you do it too) This time though it got me thinking about something way better than a package in the mail. Something that should be causing anticipation so intense that it could almost cause an ache inside of those who are waiting. What is this thing you ask? How about the return of Jesus. With Easter just disappearing in our rear view mirror and the focus on His resurrection and ascension that accompanies the season I thought it might be nice to turn our eyes to the horizon or the clouds in this case and remember that at any time Jesus might be coming back. Take some time this week and ponder how exciting Jesus' return will be and also what it can mean for you personally. Very Exciting when we actually take time to think about it. God Bless you big Goobers...

Overnighter!!

2007-04-13T12:47:00.000-05:00

I think we should have an overnighter. Any Objections? No. I didn't think so... This is why I think we should have an overnighter:
1.) To celebrate the ending of Jump Start for the year.
2.) To get the 30 Hour Famine crew back together for a fun time that includes eating.
3.) To remind myself that I'm not too old to handle an overnighter.
and
4.) Because we haven't done a Junkyard Wars in a while.

Not that we need a reason to get together but I thought I would offer some anyways.

Now here are some possible dates:
April 27-28 This date has some conflicts so probably won't be the best.
or
May 4-5

Let me know which of these dates would be best for you.

Alright, now for some details...This overnighter is intended for Jump Start kids, 30 Hour Famine teens, and other teens who are regular attenders(i.e. come most every week) to our Sunday Morning Services. If that is not you then this event is not intended for you. Not that I don't love you, it is just not who this overnighter is for. It will start @ 7PM on the chosen Friday night and end @ 9AM on that Saturday. We will not sleep and we will have fun. Stay tuned for more details.

Love
PJ

The First Drum Lesson

2007-04-10T14:08:00.000-05:00

I'm just back from giving my son his first "drum lesson." So is he a superstar? Well, he is to me, but I doubt that he is ready to rock out in any stadiums yet. There is so much that he needs to learn: how to hold sticks, how to strike the drums properly, how to keep time, basic grooves and the list goes on. The funny thing is...he doesn't know or care or know that he should care about any of that stuff. He just wants to wail away on the drums and think of himself as a drummer. He actually told me he is better than me now, and though he won't have to go far to be better than me, right now it is a little misguided.

Makes me think about how God must feel when He is done giving me a "life lesson." He must get quite a laugh watching me wail away thinking that I've got it all figured out while He knowingly shakes His head wondering when I will learn how to hold the sticks. I think I'll take myself less seriously for now. Oh yeah, am I a superstar? Well, even though I'm far from it, God's word reminds me of His love and I can almost picture Him sitting all alone in the stadium tapping His foot as I "rock out."

It's "30 Hour Famine" Time!!

2007-02-21T14:05:00.000-05:00

Hey all. Yes that is correct. It is time once again to turn our minds towards feeding the hungry folks in our world. What a priveledge to be used by God to meet such an important need in the world.

This Year we will be doing the Famine on the weekend of March 23-24. Last year as many of you know, we went to Emporium to help out the Free Methodist Church there, but this year our friends from Pittsburgh, that have joined us on occasion, have invited us to join them. So we will be journeying to the 'Burgh. Yahoo!! Please plan to keep that entire weekend free as we will probably be staying to worship with them on the Sunday morning.

So keep tuned in to find out more details and to get your fundraising materials. Also check out www.30hourfamine.org for even more info.

Better Love

2007-02-14T16:00:00.000-05:00

I thought it would be fun. We had just gotten tons of snow and there were tunnels just waiting to be dug through massive snow piles. So, though it was cold, we soldiered on. I bundled up my boy, got ready myself and trooped out into the snowy landscape. Barely a minute, it seemed, had gone by when he started whining and crying and complaining of being cold. Thinking this to be impossible, I told him to get on with playing. This of course didn't help and the crying continued. I became rather annoyed (and to my shame let him know it) at the thought of going back in after being outside for less time than it had taken me to put on my snow boots in the first place. Never-the-less inside we went, with me being noticeably annoyed the whole way in. As we shed the layers that we had put on only minutes before I found that my sons boots were full of snow and his lower legs were red as red can be, due to the cold. It seems that someone's dad had forgotten to tuck his son's pantlegs into their boots causing extreme discomfort. Man did I feel bad. I got his wet clothes off, rapped a blanket around him and cuddled him until he was comfortable once again. As I took him upstairs for his nap I apologized for how I had mistreated him.

So now here I sit not feeling altogether proud of myself, contemplating just how unloving I have been on this snowy valentine's day. I find myself being very grateful that my Father in heaven is not like me. That His love is so much more understanding. That He knows all the things that are causing me extreme discomfort. That His concern for me runs so very deep. I'm glad that He does not show me ugly displeasure at my crying as I showed my boy. How much better is His love than the often times shallow things that we call love.

Today would you take a minute to ponder just how much you are loved by God. I don't care who you are or what you've been up to, God loves you more than you know. I for one am glad for that and I am going to do my best with the rest of my day to share that love.

Hey Mike!

2007-02-08T22:54:00.000-05:00

I just read a comment from you but I don't really have an easy way to respond to your comment so you should start a blog as well. Then I can comment on yours too. Yes? What do you think? I could then link your blog to mine or even create a link from Time4Revolution.com.
Sweet! C'mon you know you want to. We can be blog junkies together.

A Little Red Chair

2007-02-07T15:04:00.000-05:00

I know it's here somewhere. I'm searching. Looking. Wandering here and there. Come on, I know it's here somewhere. I know because my computer connects occasionally with a "very low" signal then drops it, then picks it up, then drops it. You get the idea. So here I am wandering around our churches' store front outreach ministry trying to pirate our neighbors wireless internet signal. I definitely could not hold onto the signal sitting in our comfy couches in the back of the shop but as I worked my way toward the front of the shop I got just enough signal to work on my Blog.
So here I am. But I must say that the little red children's plastic chair that I am now sitting in is much less comfortable than the couch. But this little red plastic chair is teaching me a lesson at this very moment. It got me thinking about the Spirit of God and how He is always on the move. You see, I had to go on the search. I had to leave my comfy couch. The signal wasn't going to just come to me, I had to go on the hunt to find it. I think God works much the same way. He is always on the move. Oh, He might meet you where you are at in life but He doesn't want you to stay there so He is going to move and you must move with Him or be left behind. In Matthew 7:7 Jesus himself tells us that if we seek we will find. It leaves me with the impression that if I want to be discovering God in my daily life I need to be on the lookout for where His signal is the strongest and move there no matter how uncomfortable that might be. Do we want God's strong signal or do we want to be comfortable. They rarely go hand in hand. So as for me, I'm going to keep striving for the the strong signal of God's will in my life even if it leaves me sitting in a rather silly little red chair.

-bye-

Pushed Too Far...

2007-01-31T16:06:00.000-05:00

It tried but failed. It tried again and ran for awhile but failed again almost instantly. I would go no further. That was it. I had pushed too far and was at the end of my journeys. Well at least on that tank of gas anyways. Yes that is right. I was left sitting in my garage, in a van that was out of gas.

Of course I was not surprised by this in anyway because for days I had been driving with my fuel guage on "E". I kept pushing thinking that I was not going far so I should be fine, and I was until this morning. This morning though was different. My van was not starting and I in turn was left walking to the church in the cold.

Naturally, this all got me thinking about fuel tanks. Not car fuel tanks but our personal fuel tanks. Did you know that we have fuel tanks? Actually we have more than one fuel tank. We've got our physical strength fuel tank, our emotional needs fuel tank, our psycological wellness fuel tank, and our spiritual fuel tank. Maybe even some other reserve tanks that I'm not smart enough to know about but those are our major tanks. If any one of those tanks runs low ,or worse yet, empty we will be in trouble. Our live will not run properly. Unfortunately though, we were not built with sweet backlit guages to let us know when we are running low so we have to spend a little more time determining our fuel level status. We need to take time each day to search ourselves and also to listen to the Spirit of God who will help us to see our personal needs. Our friends and loved ones are also good at seeing our fuel levels. Listen to them when they tell you you look terrible and need more sleep or that you're being grumpy.

We were not created to run on empty. Just the opposite really. We were made to run on "full to overflowing." So check yourself and see how your fuel tanks are doing today.

I'm Back.

2007-01-30T22:33:00.000-05:00

Hey sorry for the slight vacation away from my blog. Just a slacker? Partially. But I'm also not sure anyone is reading(no comments) so it has made it a little difficult to stay motivated. Anyways, so here is another go...well not right this very minute because it is late and I'm tired, but how about tomorrow? Promise. Take care.

See You at the Pole Rally.

2006-09-18T12:53:00.000-05:00

On September 24 @ 6:00 PM we are having a youth rally to prepare us for "See You at the Pole."(SYATP) SYATP is a student led, nationwide time of prayer held around the flagpoles of our local schools.

It is such an important event that we want to have a rally to encourage you all to get to your flagpoles on Wednesday the 27th and pray for your schools. At the rally we'll have a time of worship with some pretty rockin' music, a time for students to tell of their relationship with Jesus and why they think that prayer is important, and I (PJ) am even going to get the opportunity to share with you about the importance of prayer for your school.

I have some seats open in my van but it would be really great if parents would come out to the rally with your teens to show them you think it is important too. The rally will be held at the ampitheater where the outdoor concerts are typically held. I am not sure of its' name but if I find out I will edit. Hope to see you all there and if you have any questions please feel free to contact me at the church @ 489-3105.

A Good Book

2006-09-11T09:29:00.000-05:00

Have you ever felt like your relationship with God was stagnant. Not going anywhere. Or maybe you haven't even given it a thought but if you did you would have to admit that there wasn't really anything new to report on the God front. Actually, that is one of the ways I know there is something wrong between me and God. How could there be nothing new when my God is infinitely deep. Must be my problem right? Right. So what can I do to remedy the situation? There are many great things one can do to rejuvenate your relationship with God but one of my favorite ways is to read a really good book that totally stretches my understanding of God to new dimensions. Some great books I've read lately are The Jesus I Never Knew by Phillip Yancey, Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell, and Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. What are you reading? I'd like to know. I'm always looking for a good new book to keep my life growing. Take care.

Starting Up Again!

2006-08-29T14:39:00.000-05:00

Hey all. Just a reminder that "The Wreck" will be starting again September 12. There is going to be a time change this year. We will be meeting from 6-8PM not 6-9PM so come down and bring your friends. Please remember that you must in 7-12 grade to attend. Thanks.

Also,

Our 5-8th grade program, Jump Start, will be starting on Wednesday, September 6 and will run from 6:15 to 7:30PM. You are also welcome to attend our cafe' at 5:30PM to get a good meal before Jump Start begins.

We look forward to seeing you all for a great new year.

Heaven Was Quiet

2006-07-18T14:20:00.000-05:00

So, it's 7:24 AM as I rise from my nights slumber. I quietly sneek down the stairs so as not to wake my two lovely children and I make my way to a comfy seat with good natural light to read my bible and spend some quality time with God.
First things first. I seek to quiet my thoughts and my heart so I can hear from God. I'm not too interested in saying a bunch of stuff to God. I mean I take time to praise and thank Him for all his good gifts to me. And of course I have some things I need to ask of Him, but I mostly just want to hear from Him. I want to know where I stand with Him today. I want to know what my purpose for this day will be. Most of all I just want to get a sense that He is right where He has promised me He would be. I want to know the weight of His presence. I want to sense His interest in me and my day. I want to know that he has not set me aside for today, that I will be used for His good purposes.
But do you know something? Heaven was mostly quiet this morning. It seems God did not have a lot to say to me. He chose to not overwhelm me with an emotional experience. He did not grace me with any new brilliant ideas. When I read His word He did not reveal to me any mind-blowing truth. So, was it a waste of time? Was God not interested in me? Did He not see me there ready to hear from Him? Should I now give up meeting with a God that didn't talk back? I don't think so. You see I know He was there. I know my prayers were heard, and I know that God Cares for me deeply. "But how do I know?", you might ask. Well because He told me so and in faith I believe Him. Simply that. I'm not about to lose heart or doubt my God even one bit, just because I didn't feel something I thought maybe I should feel. That my friends is pure silliness. Who am I to question God just because He chose to sit quietly with me instead of striking up a conversation. It actually makes me feel pretty good to know that the God of this Universe and beyond chose to just sit quietly with me this morning. So will I do it again. You know I will. Who knows what God might have in store for tomorrow.

Just a Rainy Day

2006-07-12T14:45:00.000-05:00

Well, It's an all to common rainy day here in northwest PA. The kind of day where just staying dry is a major accomplishment. but i find myself wondering if there is more in store for my day than just staying dry. i wonder what Jesus would do with this kind of day? i've just been contemplating the love of Jesus and the adventurous, bold ways he chose to express that love, and it makes me want to use up what's left of today creatively loving the people that God may put in my path. even if i have to get a little wet doing it. and as excuciatingly slow and frustrating as it may be i am forcing myself to learn how to type at the same time. please pray that the learning process will be a quick one.

2006-06-07T21:01:00.000-05:00

This is my very first contribution to the world wide web. I have not been interested in chatting with the world in such an ambiguous way but i'm going to give it a try to see what all the hype is about. oh and i can't look at my own blog until i have at least one post so now i do and i'm out for now.