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

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

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

Lost People

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!!

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?!?

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!!

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

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!!

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.