Learning Where Strength Comes From

Welcome to Tuesday! Day two of the soccer camp, and generally normally just a sucky day, because it feels like you are no closer to Friday than Monday! Today, however, was quite wonderful. I slept in a little later than normal, because of my work with the camp, and had some great time with God.

Then I proceeded to more or less play Futsal/Soccer all day. I worked a lot with the kids, just in being a goalie and offering some pointers on defence, etc. They made some really awesome progress throughout the day, and by the end were playing more and more like a team. It was neat to see that kind of progression, and I got a great workout at the same time!

I took my car in to the shop today, to find out how serious some of the mechanical issues are. Turns out I'll be looking for a new car here very shortly! I'll trade this one in, and look for a newer model and go from there. I'm not so thrilled on spending the large amounts of money on a new car, but it's something I'll be praying about and looking into the future for. But I know it's all in a plan, and so I'm just going to trust that, and move forward from here.

My evening chapel sessions with the kids have been going really well. I think some of them are really paying attention to what is being said and starting to struggle with more than just their soccer skills. That's very encouraging to see! We'll be looking a little deeper into the faith tomorrow, and ending off with a salvation message on Thursday.

Now it's time for bed... God is faithful, and the source of all our strength. Spending time with Him makes all the difference in the world.

Out of the Weekend

I wasn't sure how this past weekend was going to look. I know that after Friday night, I was exhausted, not so much physically, but very much emotionally and spiritually. That's not a good thing when I'm looking at a wedding on Saturday, and preaching on Sunday, but I once again just clung to the rock for everything I was worth.

Dave's wedding went off without a hitch (other than him getting hitched, haha), the weather was incredible! I don't think you could ask for better. We all had sunburns by the end of the ceremony, and the skies were blue and perfect. The reception went really well, but by the time the dance rolled around, I was just emotionally worn out. So sadly, I didn't actually get up and dance, but I have a long life to live! Next wedding!

Sunday morning went really well. I was tired when I got up, so I wasn't really sure what to expect, but the more I preach, the more I come to realize that the worse shape I'm in, the more God takes over. Perhaps I should just start always being worn out when I preach. (joke!) He took my words and shaped them exactly as He saw fit, and I hope that it really sunk into people's lives. I've gotten a few comments already, so that is definetely encouraging.

Now I'm looking ahead into the soccer camp this week. I'm excited about the potential to speak into these kids lives, and I'm also really excited about the exercise I'm going to be getting! It'll be a good week, and I'm already feeling much better than I did over the weekend.

God is faithful!

Faithful

The funeral today went off without a hitch. *deep breathe* That is more of a blessing that I can really put into words, but after a bit of time spent working on the camera this morning, everything went smoothly, and we had over 800 people here in Bethel. The sanctuary was crammed completely full, and the gym was also filled. It was good that we had the cabling run to simulcast the service into the Gym, otherwise we wouldn't have had nearly enough room.

I also finished the sermon last night, by the grace of God! So it looks as though I might make it through this weekend yet!

I've been unsure about the Jetta in recent days, as it looks like there may be some fairly major work that needs to be done on it. But after talking to the Mechanic and Paul, it's become clear that I'll have to wait till Tuesday to find out what is really going on and what we can do from there. It could be that it really is a major job, and I'll be looking to trade her in for a newer model, or maybe it's just something small that can be fixed. I've been praying hard about it, and I know that God's got it in control one way or another. I'll hold firm to that, and we'll see where He takes me!

He's faithful.

Take a deep breathe

I just finished the rough draft of the sermon for Sunday. Thankfully, it was one that I had been thinking and research about long before I sat down to write it, and God is SO faithful in giving me the words that I need at just the right time. It came fairly easily, after a 4 AM session yesterday, and a few hours spent working on it today, it's ready for some feedback.

Everything is getting ready for the funeral tomorrow. I'll come in at a normal time, and get the video simulcast working, so that there won't be too many hiccups to worry about last minute. God willing (and I think He is!), everything will go smoothly.

Saturday is Dave's wedding. Sunday is preaching. Monday-Thursday is speaking at the Soccer Camp. It's going to be a long, long week from today, but I had a good chat with God about it today. I told Him I can't do this. He told me He knew it was coming and to hang on tight.

Good thing it's not my strength, eh? He's faithful. Hey, He got my dad's computer back from a full on non-boot situations this afternoon with only about 15 minutes on the phone, so I know He's got an eye on me!

The life lesson here: You're not in control, don't try to be. Hold dearly to God, and let Him carry you through the rapids. He knew they were coming all along.

Till tomorrow (which will be longer than 20 minutes from now! :D)

Jumping in the Deep End

There's nothing quite like coming back from Vacation. You know that God must have had his hand in the whole thing. I had two perfect weeks where my responsibilities were lowered and I was free to go wherever my heart took me, and it was a great time of refreshing, at just the time when I needed it. Now I'm back, and I'm getting the quick plunge into the deep end.

On Monday, I was here at the church relaxing, because it is my day off, when I got a phone call. It turned out that one of the church elders had been killed in a freak farming accident. It shook me pretty deep. Something that was just so sudden. I went out to the farm later that evening to be with the family and the friends that had gathered there. I've only experienced that kind of environment once before, when my mother passed away.

As I described to Jordan, it's like the house doesn't want to breathe, in case it might disturb anyone. The whole place is just off-kilter. The family is naturally in shock, and people are crying, and people are laughing, and it seems to come and go in waves. I talked to different people from our congregation and just got them talking about their memories, to help the whole process along. I didn't know the family well enough to really get in knee-deep with them, but others were doing that.

While I was in the house, I was fine. My emotions didn't do anything funky, and I felt strangely ok with everything that was going. It was familiar, but it wasn't uncomfortable. When I left, however, things quickly changed. I was driving out of the farmyard when it just all broke loose. The worship song 'Meet With Me' was on my stereo and it just echoed my heart at that moment. I really need to meet with God on a regular basis, and I can't survive without Him. Needless to say, I spent some time crying on my drive back.

So now we're all in the process of preparing for the funeral on Friday afternoon, while life carries on like normal. All the same responsibilites are there, meeting with all the same people, etc etc. I spent more than half my day meeting with people, and I spent the rest of the day getting the simulcasting stuff ready for the funeral so that we can put people in the Gym when the sanctuary fills up. Thanks to our sound guy, everything is ready to go, and it only took us 3 hours.

Pastor Dave is leading the service, and he was set to preach on Sunday as well. But I could tell that it was a little too much for him, so I offered to take the sermon for him. So now I'm preaching on Sunday! Good times. That's what I'll be getting ready for until late in the morning today. Holy Spirit... I could really use your help here!

The Skinny

So, I said yesterday that I would get my vacation all laid out for those few of you who might be curious! I left early early on Thursday (June 15th) morning, and drove through the day to get to Peachland that evening. I met Jordan in downtown Peachland, and after she tried (keyword: TRIED) to trip me, and then DID put me up to my knees in the lake, we went up to the falls. There is a great trail around Peachland that takes you to a waterfall back in the woods, so we went back there and climbed up around the falls and sat down beside them. Very, very cool view from up there.

Then we went back to her house for dinner, which is where it all went downhill. I immediately started to feel very gross, and as it turns out I must have had the 24 hour flu or something similar. I spent the rest of the night throwing up, and generally feeling really nasty. She said it was hilarious because I was just saying whatever because my cognitive processes weren't really up to speed.

Thankfully once I got to sleep and got up the next morning, I was feeling MUCH better. I was still a little weak and I didn't want to push myself too hard, but I was well enough that I could go camping that night. Jordan and I spent the day around the house packing and getting ready for the evening, as well as running down to the grocery store to pick up any missing supplies. That night, myself and the Walker family (minus Josh) went up to Hedley and camped the night with an INCREDIBLE view. My camera didn't really do it justice, because it was too dark, but picture standing on a mountain top looking down on a valley deep below you with a meandering river through it and another mountain on the other side. All of it was green! It was gorgeous.

Bo, Jordan's younger brother, and myself spent much of the evening hunting the rabid cows that lived in the pasture we'd invaded. At one point, a bull just about ran us over. It was good times. Bo had brought some fireworks with him, so we set them off later that night and put the cows on a stampede! Oops!

The next morning, we got up and went on a little 4x4ing adventure down the road to find some of the mining camps. We found an old cabin, and then a little way down the road a bonified log cabin who's roof was nearly caved in. Naturally, we explored! From there on, Jordan and I rode on the back of the Jeep (the bumper!) and her dad tried to throw us off in any way possible. No one died, whcih was almost a dissapointment.

Then, a group of us young people went into the Hedley Mines to explore through them. Jordan, Myself, Tara (Jordan's Friend), Bo, Josh (the older brother) and two other friend all went into the mines together. It was dark, dangerous and had lots of crazy holes and random paths. I had a lot of fun, and knowing me, I spent a lot of time observing the different people and the way they interacted under stress. Some just pushed ahead, some ignored the others, some took on a huge weight of responsiblity, some got stressed out, and some avoided the problems all together. It was very interesting!

That night, we got back safely, and everyone was super tired. Jordan and I went out and spent the evening looking at all the stars that were coming out. Peachland doesn't have a lot of lights, and so you get a really clear view of the heavens. It was so gorgeous!

The next morning, Sunday, I got a chance to go to church and not have a single responsibility! It was wonderful. Jordan hadn't been able to go to church because of her work, so we both just enjoyed the chance to be there. The people were very friendly, and I got a more than a few threats about treating Jordan well! I guess that means I'll actually have to do it, eh? *sarcastic* ;)

The rest of the week was pretty relaxing, and we didn't do too many crazy and wild things. We climbed a tree, went 4x4ing ourselves, and nearly got lost, saw X-Men 3, and met a few of her good friends. It was a blast, and I really enjoyed my times there.

From there, I went to Vancouver, and spent some time with Lorelei, Orlando, Paul and Carys! My little niece was of course as charming and wonderful as ever. I don't get how that little girl is so cute. I spent the first few days sleeping (seriously!), and just relaxing. We watched some movies, but for the most part just lounged around.

I spent some time with Lorelei's Sister-in-law out at their place and her four children. It was actually a lot of fun, because the kids were pinned up inside for being bad, and they were more than happy to see a new body. One, however, was quite scared of me. She cried, hid, and did everything... until later that day. Then I got the tour of the bedroom and was welcomed with open arms!

I saw a few movies with Paul and Orlando, Nacho Libre I can't suggest, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (once you get through the serious lack of clothing), is super good. Much better than I was expecting, that's for sure. And Paul and I had some good chats. It was a relaxing time, and exactly what I needed after Jordan wore me out!

On Wednesday night, I drove back to Peachland, so break up the trip. We went and saw Superman that evening (which is really good despite some of the reviews I'm reading, classic superman!). There was a large group of us, some of whom I'd met before, and a new person or two.

The next morning, I just lounged around the house, and about noonish, Jordan and I ate and then went down to the beach again. We rollerbladed... well, she rollerbladed and I managed to stay off my butt and then went swimming, which is much recommended on a 35+ day. Sadly, that ended my vacation and I left for Three Hills about 3:30. It took me 9 hours to get back home, and I pulled in around 12:30 at night.

It was an awesome vacation, and I feel much better! It was good to see Jordan and family again and just get away from the stresses of Three Hills for a few weeks. Now it's time to learn how to be a Children's Pastor!

Back from Vacation

Howdy all!

Well, I made it back safely this past Thursday Night (technically Friday morning) and I had a blast. I'll post a little more about it in the next few days (seriously!) but I wanted to say that I just got into the Picasa Beta, so that means that I now have a web album. So I have a few photo's on there, such as from my birthday party, of my niece, grad, etc. So if you want to check it out, it's at http://picasaweb.google.com/stephenphilps.

Vacation

I'm now a little over half finished my two week vacation, and it has been a blast! I spent the first week with Jordan, and we did all sorts of crazy things together. Camping, Mining, Hiking, Randomly jumping into the lake, Salsa (yes, the dance :S) lessons, going to a fancy restaurant, etc. It was a lot of fun, and a god time to get to know each other a little bit better and talk things through at the same time.

I came to Vancouver yesterday, and have been hanging out with the family ever since. It's a fair bit more low-key than hanging out with Jordan. Current my sister and Carys are both sleeping and I'm watching Argentina and Mexico battle it out in Golden Goal.

Vacation has been incredible. It reminds me how key it is that we take the down time to spend with friends and most importantly God. We so often get busy working ourselves to the bone that we forget to stop and breathe for a bit. This is my breather, and I'm loving every moment.

Youth Retreat and more!

So it's been far too long, but here is my report on the youth retreat! Things went really well, and while I walked into the weekend exhaughsted from preaching, and walked out the same, God worked! It's awesome to see how He'll take something that I just really feel won't work and makes a difference through it.

































The theme for the weekend was Spiritual Gifts, and God definetely used that. We did some teaching about all the different gifts, some challenges to the youth to find out what their's are, and to start using them. And the responce was powerful!

































On the last day, I had the pleasure to lead them in a discussion of just HOW they could start using their gifts... and they decided that a drop-in would be the best way to utilize them. So this coming year, Kevin will be working on forming a youth leadership team to start getting the drop-in off the ground and running. The key in that will be to make sure it is a youth-led initiative!

From here on in, I'm no long an intern. I'm leaving early early tomorrow morning to head out to BC for two weeks of vacation after 10 months in my internship... and when I come back Bethel has asked me to stay on as a full-time pastor until December, at least. So as of right now, I'll be working with the children's ministry come the fall, and I'll be just a regular sponsor with the youth!

It is both an exciting time, and a scary one, as I know that stepping into this role puts me into a position I never expected to find myself in, and have never prepared for. Yet I am also confident that this is exactly where God wants me. So I'll keep on moving forward knowing that God is faithful and will carry me through to the end.
































For now, I plan on relaxing VERY hard over these next two weeks, visiting Jordan and then Lorelei, Paul, Orlando and Carys. It's going to be awesome!

































I trust that God is blessing you also!

Youth Retreat #2!

T-Minus 2 hours to the 2nd youth retreat! We're once again heading out to River's Edge and we're taking 16 youth with us. It's going to be a blast, and I'm looking forward to it! I'll take lots of pictures, see you all when I get back.

Small Joys

It's been a good day. Last night we had our board meeting (DURING THE HOCKEY GAME !?!!), but it was valuable to be there. I got unanimous approval for the idea of a young adults/sr. high worship service (shh... don't call it a service) to be held here at Bethel. Now I just need to get around to organizing, and forming the group of pastors that will give it direction and leadership! It's an exciting time.

Today I met with Derek, as usual. It's fun to have a regular time to get together and talk about where we are both at. I continue to pray for him, and have been enjoying our regular chats.

And this afternoon I taught religious ed at the town school. I've really missed seeing those kids! It's awesome to have the opportunity to share the Bible with kids who may not have heard it before, and who are excited about the story. We talked about Jonah today, and they just constantly make me laugh! Whenever I walk in, there's a few that just come to give me hugs. Speaking of times of refreshing!

God rocks!

Tired

You know, I really enjoy preaching. It's fun to get a chance to just dig into the Word and discover what it is that God wants to say to the people around me, as well as into my own heart. He's always so faithful in challenging me with what is written in His word, and letting it sink into me.

It's even more fun when I see how God takes my words and my work and molds it into something beautiful and effective to the people in front of me. It certainly has nothing to do with my own skill, but the way it morphs and changes when I'm up there is really a unique way to look at it. Then when you can see people mulling over your words, there is just this huge sense of fulfillment.

But there's a flip side to that coin as well. With every minute that I put into a sermon, it takes a little something out of me. I'm pouring my heart and soul into the words and the teaching that God has given me to prepare, and when it's over and finished on Sunday Morning, I feel like I've run a marathon. Rewarding, yes, but very much in need of a rest. That's how I feel right now. I've still got energy, but spiritually, I just feel worn. It's unique, because it's alive, but just needing some water and a bit of rest!

Good thing God provides those times! Bring on the times of refreshing!

How to focus oneself

So I'm learning one thing... in order to really get down and do work, I need to be out of the ordinary. I drove a close friend of mine to a town around Calgary for a meeting he had (he doesn't have a car!), and then went to DQ for the morning to work on my sermon. I turned my iPod on, so I couldn't hear much of what was going on around me, and started to read and research.

3 and a half hours later, I had 11 1/2 pages of notes, for my sermon on Sunday! I think this teaches me a lesson. A) I need to be out of the ordinary. B) I shouldn't have the internet when I want to really do work!

It's going to be a gooder, Matthew 5:23-28!

Nearly There...

I'm 3 weeks finished a 4 week stint of preaching. That will be an awesome load off of my shoulders, and I'm looking forward to being able to spend some of my week thinking about something other than Sunday morning's service! It's been fun, but I'm ready for a break too. Between grad, life, and other ministry, it's been a wearing process over the past few weeks, but God is faithful.

I'm going to be staying at Bethel for another 6 months, right up until December, and it's looking like I'll take over Sr. High and Children's ministry, so that should be neat! A challenge for sure.

So here's what my next 2 weeks look like. Preach this coming Sunday, following weekend is the youth retreat. Then I go hardcore on my Distance Education courses, and hopefully take a good chunk out of them.

I leave you with this... God is faithful, no matter the circumstance.

Oh My Word

I think the title says it all. I'm not really sure how to describe myself right now. I'm a mix of all sorts of things. I can't seem to put a finger on what it is that I'm feeling, but I know that I'm very much in a state of flux. All the students left approximately 2 weeks ago, and most of those that will be staying here for the summer are gone on one tour or another right now, which leaves nearly no one my age in town! Yee haa!

Beyond that, I'm just about half-way through my 4 week sermon series, and I'm suffering from some serious 'writer's block,' and a lack of motivation to actually sit down and write out the thoughts that are floating through my head. I just want to veg, but I can't afford to. Quite the interesting dichotomy that is me!

Lonely, frustrated with myself, and hoping that I get another breath of fresh air! Peace... peace that God overcomes all. That's what I'm preaching on. Appropriate, eh?

Sermonating

Just an update as per what I'm doing right now. I've been busy writing my sermon for this Sunday. I start a 4 week series covering what it means to be a passionate believer. We start with Joy. It's going to be an interesting weekend.

Children's ministry is all ready to go, Saturday I'm heading to Edmonton for a youth event at West Edmonton. We've got something insane like 35 kids coming with us, so it's sure to be a good time. It also means that I need to get my sermon done either tonight or early tomorrow, because I still have work to do. Oh the life of an intern.

Sheesh

Well... it has been quite awhile, hasn't it? Sad that I've been saying that more and more as of late. I guess part of that is that I've been learning to spend less time in the office, and more time with actual people. Needless to say, however, there has been a colossal amount of things going on in my life!

Children's ministry has been going AWESOME. The kids have been really really enjoying it, and the volunteers have been having a lot of fun as well. It's awesome, because we just had our first turnover of volunteers, so I'm getting some great feedback. As Paul and I talked about this past weekend, negative feedback can be one of the best things, so that it points out where you need to improve.

I've also been thinking ahead to some programs that would really scratch the itch of what is going on here in Three Hills. A lot of the problem that I've run into in working with youth has not been in educating them in knowledge about God, but in educating them to know God. Head knowledge vs. Heart knowledge. There is no fire, no desire to know Him more. Ultimately that is each our own responsibility. However, all that being said, I think providing a platform for people to feel free to worship can go a long way.

What does that all mean? It means I'm thinking of a Saturday night service. Something you'd expect to see in a huge city, but rather placed right here in Three Hills. With the college, and the high schools, I think there could be a huge 'market' for it. A service where the lights are mostly out, creating a more intimate environment. Something far more upbeat than most youth in Three Hills are accustomed to out of a worship service, and getting the College and Youth to interact on a regular basis. The goal is to put a lot of prayer into the whole thing and see if the Holy Spirit can't break down some of the HUGE barriers that exist in the town between the youth and God, the youth and the college, and the town and churches. With God... I think it might just be possible.

In more personal news... Jordan just left for Mexico today. It wasn't all that long ago that we started our relationship, and it's been a bit of a whirlwind trip. However, as of right now, she's gone to Mexico until the 5th of May. I saw the Redeemer play at a church in town yesterday, and I think they will have a powerful ministry down there. I'm looking forward to hearing how it all went! For now... I'll just be biding my time until the next time I can see her, and throwing all my focus into my 4 week sermon series starting this next Sunday.

There's the abridged version of my life for today. Hopefully I can update you on more information tomorrow.

The River

Well, I know that a few of you at least are excited to hear about how the ministry went this past Sunday. We got everything off the ground, and I'm super excited about where we are going! We had more than enough volunteers (the youth showed up in force), and everyone (kids and adults) had a blast!

There are some kinks to be worked out in the system, but overall everything went off without a hitch and looked more or less exactly as I had envisioned.... God's great, eh? He really carried me through the whole thing. And it's Him that really pulled it all together, with the volunteers and people to help out. What a blessing!

I'll leave you with a few pictures of the event!

The Grit

My impatient cousins! Sheesh, don't even let a guy have a day off before they are wondering what happened and what all the juicy details are! As I said, this past weekend was nuts, and not getting as much sleep as I wanted didn't really help matters along either!

Friday went about as well as expected! I had one other youth sponsor come out to help for about an hour or so, which was invaluable. Myself and 10 junior high's going bowling. We had a ton of fun, and despite my AWFUL bowling, I'm pretty sure I came out on top with the highest score somewhere around 170ish. Needless to say... come the end of the night, I was totally exhausted... so I helped Jordan with her Psychology project.

I know... go to bed. I completely agree. Hindsight is worth a million words, right? I was actually planning to be in bed at about midnight, but conversation seemed to be the word of the weekend.

I was up at 8:30 the next morning, for the half-day of prayer at Bethel, and was there until about noonish. After which I tracked down some friends of mine that came in from Saskatchewan for the weekend. We went and saw V for Vendetta in Red Deer. AWESOME movie!

The rest of Saturday was pretty uneventful. I had someone phone me late at night that really needed to chat, so we talked for about an hour and half (again... less sleep than I wanted) before I finally got to bed. So come Sunday, I was tired and VERY worn out.

The announcement went well, and now I'm working on groundwork to get everything going and phoning around to people who would be interested in possibly volunteering. It's going to be a long week. But I hope the fruit of it will show in the end!

The River - Part 2

So as promised... there is the logo that I designed. No particular significance, all I was really going for was something cute and colourbookish. Tell me what you think!

It's going to be a very busy weekend, as usual! Tonight we have a bowling event, and I've been phoning the Jr. High's to see if they are going to be out... a few are even bringing friends! Then I'll be helping Jordan with her Psych project.

Tomorrow morning I'll be at the 1/2 day of Prayer here at Bethel, and leading the Canada and the World section of it. After that, I'm hoping to go see V for Vendetta, as everyone EXCEPT for me has seen it... grrr! Then back to Three Hills to either just chill or go to another church's worship service. I think I'm going to start making Saturday Night Services a regular part of my routine, so that I can get fed, as well as feed others!

Sunday morning is going to be a little nuts, as I'm teaching Sunday School, announcing The River, and then teaching the 3-5 year olds! It'll be a good morning, definetely busy! That evening we have Fusion as normal, and I have yet to get the curriculumn ready for that.

It's going to be a CRAZY weekend!

The River

While I don't have the logo finished quite yet, I thought I mine as well post what I've been working on over the past week. Bethel has not had a Children's Church over the past two months, and it is starting to grate on the nerves of parents to have their Elementary aged kids. So I was asked to put together the Children's Church program, which I've decided to name, The River. That's based off of Revelation 22:1-2.

It's a pretty simple concept, they spend the first 15 minutes in the main service, and then come to the gym, and we do this...

15 minutes - Games
20 minutes - Worship
10 minutes - Speaker
15 minutes - Small Groups
5 minutes - Final Song

Total time - 65 minutes

That's enough time for the service to finish out, and time for us to build into the kinds life in a meaningful way. I'm looking forward to it, and I'm excited! Some goal to work towards!

Far too busy!

It's been quite awhile... and just a quick update before I run out the door to go set up for the board meeting tonight. I'm busy working on our Children's Ministry program that will launch on April 9th. It's much needed at this point, as parents are getting frustrated at having their kids in the service with them.

Over the next few days I'm going to be phoning possible volunteers, finishing the logo, and planning out the curriculum. It's going to be a good week! More tomorrow!

Passion

It's been quite the interesting last few days, I've learned a lot about myself, and a lot about where God is starting to take me. That's a cryptic sentence, eh? I've been constantly seeking out what God is going to be doing in my life, and that starts here, now. Passion has been a constant theme that has been coming up over and over again. People that I talk to, things that I read, experience that I go through. Passion is key.

One of the main things that I've learned is that pastoral ministry can quickly drain a person of their passion, and a lot of other things besides. I've been thoroughly enjoying my time here at Bethel, and I've been learning more than I can ever truly express. And one of the main goals of a 10 month internship is to really get a true experience of ministry, and I've definetely got that.

How do you maintain a passion when you are involved in such indepth ministry? When you are the one who is supposed to be feeding others, how do you feed yourself? I've spent a lot of time in personal devotions, and I have some really good friends that definetely help, but it's become clear that the hunger, the fire is not nearly as bright as it used to be.

While I may be an introvert (surprise!), I know with my spiritual life, community is VERY important to my health. So that's where I've been at, learning once again what it's like to be passionate, and putting my life on the alter for reworking. Refiner's fire. Here we go again.

Quickly...

Just quickly before I head off to teach religious ed. to the grade 5ers. It's been a tough past couple of days, kind of teetering on the edge of my rope. But I've learned that God is faithful. Just when I feel like I'm really out for the count, God brings people around me to lift me up, gives me time to relax, and friends to laugh with.

I'm in the process of figuring out what I'm going to be doing for the next few years. And I've got two 'sheepskins' I've put down for God. I need a decent paying job, where I can save money and also have enough to not worry about my living, and a good place to live, whether with a family or roomates.

As it stands right now, it looks like I may be in Three Hills for a few more years, and work in Enrollment. Depending on the pay, it might offer a decent compromise, with being able to travel all over NA and not do it on my bill! It would also allow me to save up to travel the world in a few years. I have a few options for the housing, so we'll see what comes of that.

It's an interesting time, but I'm really getting the sense that God is telling me to just chill out for a few years, and enjoy life a little before I throw myself into ministry and the rest of my life. Have an adventure and do some travelling. I'm young, so now is the time to do those things. God is faithful.

The Future

Wow, it's been almost a week since I've updated. My apologies for that. My life over the past week has been absolutely insane, as I've been juggling a whole lot of different batons, and trying my best not to drop them all at the same time. Between Futsal, Youth, Church, Pastoral Responsibilities, Personal life, etc. it's been a hectic week.

Let's start with Futsal. It was playoff time, and I played my heart out. Friday night, the guys just didn't play all that well, and we ended up losing the game 4-3. This is when we only really 'played' 5 minutes of the game and scored all 3 goals in that time. Makes you wonder what would have happened if we'd played the whole game, eh?

Saturday was a different can of worms. While we didn't play the best that I've seen, the guys showed up, and played really well. It started of, believe it or not, with me scoring.... from my own crease! INSANE! First play of the game, and I score! It was a great feeling. We hung on for the rest of the game to win it 6-5 over RMC. It was a good game, and we ended up with a Bronze.

So that ends my current Futsal career, and may be the last time I play it in a league setting, and it was a good way to go out. I was satisfied with both of my games, and thought that I played well, so it was good to walk out with some medal. Apparently the coaches recognized that too, as I got voted onto one of the two all conference teams as a goalie. Quite the honour!

Church on Sunday went well. I didn't have a lot of responsibilities, other than serving communion, so that was an interesting experience! I didn't screw it up too bad! ;)

Other than that... lots of personal stuff going on. God is my anchor, and I think I'm learning more and more about what God's mercy is about.

Thy mercy, my God is the theme of my song
The joy of my heart and the boast of my tongue
Thy free grace alone from the first to the last
Hath won my affection and bound my soul fast

Without Thy sweet mercy I could not live here
Sin would reduce me to utter despair
But through Thy free goodness my spirit's revived
And He that first made me still keeps me alive
Thy mercy is more than a match for my heart
Which wonders to feel its own hardness depart
Dissolved by Thy goodness I fall to the ground
And weep to the praise of the mercy Ive found

Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Great father of mercies Thy goodness I own
And the covenant love of Thy crucified Son
All praise to the Spirit whose whisper divine
Seals mercy and pardon and righteousness mine

All praise to the Spirit whose whisper divine
Seals mercy and pardon and righteousness mine

Having Fun!

I've been having a blast over the past week or so! Everything at the church has been going well, and other than an exorbant amount of reading that I've been doing, due to school work and other responsibilities everything has been awesome.

Futsal has been keeping me busy, and we play this Friday at 3 PM in Calgary in the Semi's and then again on Friday for the Gold Medal. As it stands right now, I won't need to be going to Nakiska to help supervise the ski-trip, which would be really nice. I guess we'll see once the deadline of today settle's.

Other than that, I've been enjoying the large amounts of snow lately, whether that be from throwing it at others, or driving my car VERY responsibly down the roads... sideways! :D It's been a good week, now it's back to reading.

History

I spent most of today just reading through the history of the EMCC. Not actually a bad read, and I'm barely into the 300+ page book. Lots of Mennonite ties, and lots of good history, going all the way back to Germany. I'm interested to see how the history will tie into the beliefs today, as I know I can agree with those. If there's anything of note, I'll be sure to make mention.

Other than that, Kevin is on his way back from the West coast today, and will be getting in late tonight. We'll be planning the Jr. High event tomorrow, and then running it. Anyone have any good ideas on games with Banana's? That's our theme!

Saturday will be a relaxation day, which I'm looking forward to. I've got a futsal party that night... Brazilian BBQ. If you've never had a Brazilian BBQ, imagine the best meat you've tasted, salted to just a little over perfection, and you're starting to get the idea. Sheesh, I'm salivating just thinking about it!

Things Start to Fall into Place

I woke up this morning to a beautiful snowing Three Hills. Nice, big, wet snowflakes covered the whole town for most of the morning! We must have gotten over a foot in just a few short hours. It finally feels like winter is here! I love this weather.

Today, I finished up some loose paperwork, getting my internship review finished, and the DE assignment that they wanted to finish Revelation and Scripture. So both of those are now done, and I took out my remaining DE course. That will leave me with three.

From there, I went and talked to Dr. Punter, the Dean at Prairie. We had a great chat, and it's been encouraging to feel listened to in the whole course debacle. While there is nothing we can do course wise, he's going to see what can be done re: financial assistance. It's been a good process all in all.

Afterwards, Jordan and I spent some time sliding around the roads of Three Hills... in a completely legal way (*cough*). The roads were definetely good for it! :D

Hockey and Andrew's tonight!

Sunday's Service

As many of you already know, I spent this past week preparing for the weekend. That meant getting things ready for Sunday Morning's service, as well as making sure that I was prepared myself. I spent a good part of the week going over my sermon, and refining it, with the goal of making it the best that I could.

You know what I've learned? No matter how much work you put into a sermon, how good it is has nothing to do with you. I had my notes with me the whole time, and they were helpful for a few parts, but mostly, I just went on what I remembered, and let God do the rest.

I decided, because it was a youth service, that I would do a narrative sermon. Something very different from what Bethel traditionally sees in a regular morning service. I cleaned my car (literally) with an old t-shirt and a pair of jeans, getting them good and gross. They were covered in old car oil and grime. That's what I wore to preach.

Using the perspective of an orphan boy, I walked through different events in Jesus' life, telling them from my point of view. It was an interesting study for myself, as I really wanted to know what it would have been like to have been there and watched it. Sort of recapturing that innocence when you first hear the story of Jesus turning water into wine. It's not just Jesus' first miracle... but it's impossible!

I had to overcome my own fears and desires. Forget that I'm 21 years old, and that I'm standing in front of 400 people, and instead play the part. God is faithful.

As the service progressed, God really worked through the youth to make a huge difference in people's lives. It was an experience that really is indescribable to be a part of. He still works!

Sermon Written

I'm finished my sermon for Sunday. I spent all day today writing it, and now it's finished, and the memorizing and fine-tuning can start!

In other notes, it's -23 outside. My car sounds like it has a cold. It's awesome.

The Prayer of an Unbeliever

William James - "The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook."

I've had the pleasure over the past few weeks to be meeting with an old friend of mine on Wednesdays. And if there is one thing that I've learned over those weeks it's that talking is not always such a good idea. Sometimes you need to just let a person talk it out, even if it takes them 5 minutes to do so.

Today, he prayed. It was, moving. I guess that's really the best way to put it. Someone who hasn't prayed in at least 2 years, finally talking to God again. Now that is a prayer I wish we all had every day.

Frustrated

So... what's going on in my life right now. Isn't that a good question, let me stop the world from spinning and then we'll take a look. Okay, there we go. I'm in the process of the final stages of planning the Pancake breakfast that will be happening on Saturday. We've got a good amount of teens that are helping out with the serving and doing dishes. If you're in Three Hills Saturday morning... it starts at 9 and goes till 11:30. I'll see you there!

Last night I was given very generously tickets to the Calgary Flames game. So what better to do than take a girl to the game? Nothing! I picked Jordan up around 4:30 and we went into Calgary for dinner and then to the game. It was a blast, we had a lot of fun. Oh yeah, and the Flames won 3-1. That was fun too. ;)

However something as a bit of a damper on all of this. My educational woes just don't seem to be going away. As it's looking right now, no matter how I swing the bat, I'll be in the hole for 4 courses, which means that I won't be receiving my degree until December. Grr, words just don't convey the frustration of that. I wish I had Jake to be growling at everybody. Gr.

What does that mean for me? It means I'll be in Three Hills for another year. That's not so bad, but when you think that I've been looking forward to graduating and getting out into ministry, it's a real dissapointment. I've spent most of this morning asking why and crying. Why on earth does this happen? Why do I not find out until it's too late to really do anything about it?

It's kind of ironic, actually. Last night, my devotions dealt with the Israelites and the Cloud over the Tabernacle. Here's the passage:

Numbers 9:15-23 15 On the day the tabernacle, the Tent of the Testimony, was set up, the cloud covered it. From evening till morning the cloud above the tabernacle looked like fire. 16 That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire. 17 Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. 18 At the LORD's command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. 19 When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the LORD's order and did not set out. 20 Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the LORD's command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out. 21 Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out. 22 Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out. 23 At the LORD's command they encamped, and at the LORD's command they set out. They obeyed the LORD's order, in accordance with his command through Moses.

Waiting. Waiting for God to move. Sometimes days, sometimes weeks, sometimes years. I guess this is my waiting on God, and Him telling me to just wait and be patient with where I'm at and wait for him. Well God, I guess I've got no choice but to wait, and trust that You've got everything undercontrol. It was never my life to command anyways, right?

The Times and Life of Stephen

Woowee! What an exciting weekend. I'm telling you, this one has been a real killer. It might just change your life... FOREVER. Just to set the tone, let me start you off with a song that has been a real staple in my life over the past... 6 years! :)

Goliath
Melanie Doane

I've been sleeping
under the beanstalk
and I've been dreaming
of something big
I don't know how
but I could swear
I'm on my way somewhere
Awake the giant
awake, awake

Hey Goliath
oh you're no bigger
You're no bigger than me

I know I've got something
inside of me
Just like I know you've got
something inside of you
It might be hard
but if we dare
we're on our way somewhere
Awake the giant
awake, awake

Hey Goliath
oh you're no bigger
You're no bigger than me

Say the words you have swallowed
See the visions
in you're mind's eye
Do what you feel in your heart
Awake the giant in you

I've been waiting
for a signal
for something to tell me
everything's all right
But now I see
it's up to me
No one else can fight this fight

Yup... that about sums it up. This past Friday, I was awaiting a final checklist, which was going to tell me which two distance education courses I needed to take in order to be finished. When I finally got ahold of the checklist, it turns out that I have seven... read that, seven courses to finish. Now... I was planning on appleing (experiential learning for credits) one of them, so that still leaves me with six. Four more than I had been expecting!

Needless to say, Stephen was more than a little stressed out. I've been working this over the whole weekend and it's had no real benefit, other than God saying... "Wait Stephen. I've got it all planned out, so just wait and trust me." So I'm trusting. I'm hating every moment of it, but I'm trusting that God is working out His perfect, infallible, omniscient, all-powerful will in my life.

I have faith that this will all work itself out, and when push comes to shove, I'll walk out of it in just the way that God intended. For all of you out there... you can hold me to that! Because I can almost guarantee I won't remember.

I'm gone tomorrow and Tuesday out to River's Edge camp to take the second half of the coaching seminar. I'll be back Tuesday night... but feel free to call me if you'd like to talk.

A Different View

After 4 months with Marilyn and Bruce, I moved out of their house last night. It was a splendid time filled with good laughs, and lots of different learning experiences. It's always neat to get a snapshot of different people and see what their marriage, life, and view on the church truly is. I know that I've made friends that I'll want to keep for the rest of my life, and they offer some really great insights that I might personally never have thought of.

Last night I moved in with a new family. Already, it's been more than worth it. The place has a homey feel to it, and I've more or less got the basement all to myself. I know I slept well last night, so that's always a good sign if I wasn't familiar with the place. And I've had some great conversations with Marina, so I'm looking forward to it!

I trust you're all doing well!

Fire and Brimstone!

Have you ever been to a large youth rally? You know the type, big-name speaker, loud music, and thousands of screaming, emotional teens. I never liked youth conferences like that, because to me, they were characterized by empassioned speakers that were full of large guilt trips to teens that wanted only to be on an emotional high. A month later, they were no different than before they fell on their knees to change their life completely. Life change starts with a consistent, honest approach to ministry, beginning with the pastor's own integrity.

This past Sunday, I had an opportunity to take into action some decisions that we youth leaders decided while on our retreat. You'll remember it from my post about the disagreement and heading to Red Deer. Well, that disagreement was on how we deal with the problems that come up in our youth group. Do we use subtle nudgings in order to provoke life change, or do we use a little of the American's shock and awe?

It's an interesting view on the world when you're the one who is speaking into the kids' lives. It's extremely hard to read what they are thinking, and especially how your message is being received. I spoke, as you read in my previous post all about the need for definitive life change in a person's life. Naturally, when I speak, it's not going to be exactly as the message, but that's the general jist of it.

Today I went out with one of our youth for lunch and had a chance to get some feedback from my message, as well as speak into his life. I can say that it was one of the most worthwhile talks I've had in a long time. God took my words and used them to really speak into his life, and ask questions about what needs to change in his life.

I think this is really how God wanted it to all play out. Not just your mega life-busting events, but challenges that are geared to where they are at, and more specifically followed up by more intimate talks that really delve into the depths of the situation. I can honestly say that I learned a lot about this youth that I never knew before.

Now to see what God will do in the coming weeks! It's exciting times.

Have You Changed?

Here's my sermon that I'm preaching tonight. Sorry for the lack of updates... it's been a crazy week between the retreat, all-nighter, and Futsal.... This is one of the many things I've been working on!

Have you Changed?
A look into the depths of the Christian faith

Purpose: Understanding the reality of the Christian faith in relation to their everyday lives.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live your life completely free? To throw off the chains of oppression, of homework and money and just do whatever you pleased? Perhaps that is to be done with school, and just be grown up, finished and able to do whatever you wanted? The glorious ability to come and go as you please, sleep when you want to sleep, eat what you want to eat. Life would be grand if only this were true. Let’s not forget, however, that in the midst of this, there are responsibilities that suddenly seem to pile up… rent, food, phone, internet bills. You’ve got to worry about work, so that you have the money to pay off all of these awful bills. Sleep suddenly takes on a different view when you’re the only one who is going to earn the money so that you can eat. Money means work, and work means showing up on time; showing up on time means getting to bed at a decent time. You’ve got neighbours to work with, and Mrs. Johnson always wants you to take out that garbage, because when you leave it for over a month it starts to stink. It’s a tough life. Oh to be a child again.

Story of my Father

There was a time when I thought like a child, acted as a child. Oh boy did I think like a child… I remember a specific instance when I was young yelling at my dad because I felt that he didn’t spend enough time with me. My friend’s dad always played hockey with him, and bought him things, why couldn’t my dad? I don’t think he’d disagree with me now that what I had to say was true in certain respects, but I hurt him deeply. When I looked at it from that point of view, my worldview told me that he wasn’t meeting my needs, and I should have been most important. He spent most of his time at work, and when he wasn’t at work, he was usually too exhausted to really spend that extra-curricular time with us kids. So I lashed out, I got angry and started yelling at him… in a public place. I acted as a child, but now I am a man, I think like a man, and I act like a man, for the most part. I look back at the situation and see the love of a father recognizing that he needed to support us, and so he worked hard; harder than he wanted to. I wanted his time and love, and he was giving it to me through means that I wasn’t expecting… work. His love was being poured out on me by spending 12+ hours a day at the office calling people he didn’t know to try to sell his house, and I was too immature to recognize it. The pain I caused because of my immaturity.

Transformations

There are many transformations that you will go through in your lives. Some will be evident, others will just be a memory of having a memory … one day you’ll wake up and the whole transformation will be finished. Physically, you are all going through transformations. Mentally, you’re starting to grow up and are reasoning like adults and starting to discover what you really believe. Emotionally, you are discovering what it is like to love, to hate, to hurt. Spiritually, you have begun a journey that starts to guide the ship down the river that it will flow the rest of your life. This is the transformation of a person who is bound and chained by sin, who merely has to bend a knee to be freed by the grace of Christ.

That wonderful, overflowing grace of God, that quenches our every thirst, completes every aspect of our beings, and gives us hope when others only see desolation. It’s an experience unlike any other, unmatched in this world. You live a life where you are bound by what other people think about you, grades, and expectations of the world. You attempt to meet those expectations, and your every actions is hung on a weight in order to try to find out if you are worthy.

Expectations

The ancient Egyptians believed something very similar to this. When a person died, their soul was lead to Duat, to the hall of Judgment. There Anubis awaits the person, to judge their soul. They would put the deceased’s heart, the symbol of the soul’s morality, on a scale against a feather. If their heart was lighter than a feather, they would proceed to Osiris, the god of the Afterlife, in Aaru. But if not, the heart would be eaten by the demon Ammit, leaving the soul stranded in Duat for the remainder of all time.

All your deeds weighed against a single feather. Would you pass? I know that I wouldn’t. I’d fail miserably, because I’m only human, a work in progress, and far from perfect. I sin, I’m still growing, and those expectations weigh heavily in my heart, mind and soul. I’m not worthy. But God never asked me to be worthy, only willing.

The Change

But as I’m sure we all know here, that journey doesn’t end there. It carries on for the rest of our life. It starts to manifest itself immediately. People see a recognizable difference. We talk differently, act differently. There is no gossip, no lying, no hateful words against another person. A Christian will share their belongings with another person who needs it, willingly giving up their own well-being so that others can be comfortable. We think differently, choosing not to fill our minds with pornography, gossip, and hatred.

The real question I want you to ask yourself tonight is not whether or not you are a Christian. I don’t want you to ask if you’ve prayed that prayer, and bought yourself fire insurance. I want you to ask yourself if you can relate more with a person who doesn’t have Christ than with a person who does. Can you look at those characteristics I just stated for you and honestly say that you’re striving to be more than what you are? Or do you look at them and say they can never be attained? Are you satisfied with a stagnant faith?

A Challenge

This goes much deeper than asking you if you hang out with Christian friends, I’m asking you if you are living your life as though you were that Christian friend. Jesus taught us to look at the fruits of those around us, and by their fruits we will know their faith. Where are your fruits? Where are the results of what Christ is doing in you? If others are looking into your life, are you characterized as someone who gossips, lies, hates others, is selfish, or looks at pornography? Or are you a person that others feel safe around? Do you radiate God’s love? These fruits… good or bad are what really tell us you are a Christian, not whether or not you have prayed for forgiveness. This is the change that God enacts in your life. Has He?

Revelation 3:15-20 15 "I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! 16 But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! 17 You say, 'I am rich. I have everything I want. I don't need a thing!' And you don't realize that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. 18 So I advise you to buy gold from me-- gold that has been purified by fire. Then you will be rich. Also buy white garments from me so you will not be shamed by your nakedness, and ointment for your eyes so you will be able to see. 19 I correct and discipline everyone I love. So be diligent and turn from your indifference. 20 "Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.

Watching...and learning

Stephen has been doing great.
We've talked about sincerity as one of the keys to NOT being perceived as flattering so I'd best explain. The other day we were both stressed - not caused by each other mind you, just both of us in a stressful spot. Some of the conversation was curt - not rude, just curt. I opened my email to read an apology - which prompted an apology of my own too. We spend a lot of time in each other's space - that's a necessity for what we're attempting but it can also create some tensions of its own. I was so blessed by his initiative apology that I thought I'd better record the feeling for posterity. I got an email the other day that suggested we tend to be more patient with strangers than with kin, more undersatnding of people we know less than those we know better. In our situation it's important that we communicate clearly (I'm afraid I don't always) and that we keep short accounts. Those things are tough but I think that we are bvoth growing. That is to say I know that I am and pray that somehow Stephen is too.

On another note (cuz it'll take me another 6 weeks to get to posting again)...
I am delighted at the way I see people responding to Stephen. At our staff retreat the last couple of days he has had some great ideas, and everyone recognized them and appreciates him. The kid has a lot to offer and I'm excited to see where the Lord will take him when this phase of training is over. It's a great privilege to pray for direction in his life, knowing that his Master has great things in store for Stephen.

Sure having fun at this retreat...

- Kevin

Where I'm Going

Well, it's been a busy week. A rewarding one, but definetely busy. Filled with all kinds of different challenges, it was good to just head to a friend's last night and chill. Tomorrow it's off to Vancouver. It'll be a good weekend!

I've been wondering over the past few weeks about where God is going to take me come July. Where am I going to end up? What is this building towards. And I've come to the firm conclusion that I have no clue! Most notibly, that I need to take one day at a time, and just enjoy my life.

However, there are a few options that are beginning to present themselves. Quebec is one of the foremost options. And there are a variety of attractive options that really bring it to the forefront. There is a huge need there, teens that want to know about God, but don't have the resources to do it. A need for people to go and work with them, challenge them, and really just to show them what living a Christian life looks like. That kind of a role model has been missing. That's hits home with where I want to go with ministry. Helping people who want to know more about God not only do that... but go beyond that to where they are being an example to others around them!

Some others are working with the EMC for a few years in youth ministry, and getting some experience under my belt that way. That's very much up in the air, because I'd start looking for a church in June, and go from there. Regardless of where God puts me, I'll be going through my credentialling process with the EMC in the next few months... it's an exciting time!

Next entry: Vancouver.

Catching Up

So it's been awhile. You'll have to excuse my tardiness in posting, it'd been a busy week. On Friday, Kevin and I took all the youth leaders into Red Deer for a short getaway. We spent some time bonding and having a good time over food and conversation. It was a great time just to get to know each other outside of the normal bounds of a youth event.

That night, we stayed up until two in the morning just chatting and playing various games. It's crazy what kind of sentences you can come up with when each person contributes one word. My favourite words for the night... Krista, Hypothetically. It was a lot of fun, and we all had good time!

Saturday morning, we spent equipping and learning. Leora filled us in on youth culture in Three Hills and the different influences that we obviously are going to have in our minstries, so that we are all aware. After that, Kevin ran through the seven checkpoints that we want to instill in the kids, and finally we ended on small group tools. I talked about how to lead a discussion, and how to use body language to convey different messages. It was useful because we had a disagreement on ministry before that, so it gave me a great object lesson to dissect what everyone was feeling and thinking during it. It also helped that I was right! ;)

Saturday night, I had a Futsal game. I felt that I played pretty well, and when it was all said and done, the score was Prairie 6, United 4! All of our hard work paid off and we came out victorious. It was a lot of fun, and I certainly enjoyed it.

Sunday morning I preached in Big Valley. This was my first message in front of a congregation that I'd never met before, so that was a very different experience. It was neat to see how a small town church does things differently from a church that has been established long before. Big Valley E-Free has only been around for 7 years, and they have a very dynamic congregation. It was a really awesome experience.

Tommorrow, you can expect a post on some places where I think God might be leading me!

Stephen Philps - Sermonator

Over the past day or so, I've been writing the sermon for Sunday. Not only is this insanely early for someone to write a sermon... but it's more or less done now! Those of you on my MSN have seen 'sermonating' on my display name, and to quote one of my good friends, Pam... I'm a sermonator. She took much glee in that!

I'm speaking on James 5:7-11. I thought about including verse 12, but in the end opted not to, just because of theme, time, and it would require another change in speed and thought. Didn't work with where I was wanting to go. Now I'm only mostly busy!

Last night I had Futsal again for the first time in the year. Things are going much better than when I left, but I'm still working through some mental flinching that I'm doing. Really wierd. It was fun, and I'm looking forward to getting my cardio back in shape. For Lorelei: I've been doing my exercises! It hurts everywhere! :D Floor Hockey tonight.

Writing a sermon for people you don't know

So I'm in the process of writing a sermon for Sunday. Unfortunately, it's for a congregation I've never met, seen, and generally don't have any knowledge on whatsoever! It'll make for an interesting Sunday morning as there will no doubt be some shuffling of analogies and points here and there.

This is a new experience!

A Trip into Red Deer!

Kevin and I went into Red Deer today to pick up a 27" TV for the church, as well as do some personal errands, and some forward planning for our youth leaders retreat this Friday and Saturday. All in all, it was a good trip. I was planning on picking up a Palm TX, but Staples ended up backing out on their price-matching deal that they were going to offer me. I bought it on NCIX instead! I got more than I was planning, for the same amount of money, so that's not too bad at all!

Tomorrow, I work on the video for Blue Chip Kids, as well as finish up my James course, and finally... start work on my Sermon for Sunday. It'll be a busy week, but rewarding at the same time!

Three Hills!

Well now, I'm back in Three Hills, and back on the job! I've set up my computer, and my office still needs some serious organization, but everything has been going smoothly. This morning, I'm finishing my James commentary, so that I can write my exam sometime this weekend, and be done with the course!

From there, I've got a sermon to prepare for next Sunday, that I'll be preaching at Big Valley. I've also got a short (60 second) video clip to film and produce for the area churches about Blue Chip Kids. BCK is a inter-denominational, inter-church children's ministry that is starting up here in Three Hills with the primary goal of reaching out to the community. The video I'll be preparing is to introduce it to the churches... so I've got a bit of work to do!

Back to Three Hills

Tomorrow, I head back to Three Hills! It'll be good to be back and get back into a pattern! Hope you all had a Christmas as good as mine!

James

It's later on at night. I haven't posted for awhile, and I need a distraction from my reading of the James commentary. I've really been delving into some of the depths of what he's talking about, and some situations in my life are really springing up that relate to what James is referring to -- putting your faith into action.

I've been spending the past few days meeting with old friends, and talking with them, getting caught up, and seeing where they are going in the future. It's a really interesting thing when you get to talk to people you haven't seen in years. Brings the changes into perspective in their lives. Some who have changed drastically, good or bad, and others that haven't moved at all in their lives.

Makes me really look at who I'm becoming, and where I've come from. If I'm happy about that. All I can say is that I'm a work in progress, there are things that still need a lot of work. Closets that need to be cleaned out and renovated, so that nothing can move back in, and other areas where I wouldn't change a thing. It's a journey, and I'm walking it.

Welcome to a New World

Wow, that's about all I have to say. God has been hard at work in my life, even over the Holidays. It's amazing what a bit of off-time can do for you, when you really just want to spend some time to recuperate, and reflect. That's exactly what I've been doing, and God has been guiding my every step.

I've really been pondering a lot of things in my head. My own faith, what that really means, what the core of my faith is, what is malleable, and what really needs to stick firm. These are just a few of the things that I've been juggling around, so you can imagine what it's like to be inside of my head!

Yet the old analogy of a tunnel doesn't really work in this instance. It's more like I'm on a journey, and God is there every step of the way with me. I recently had a conversation with a lady that I've known for awhile. It was an odd conversation because she is very much searching for the meaning of her life. She doesn't talk about it often, but it's a constant thing on her mind. So we had a good chat about her beliefs, about what was important to her, and where she was. It's interesting that the simple phrase of "I don't know" can really get through to someone. In this case, she grew up in a very conservative home, where it was just a matter of "God wanted it that way."

That just doesn't jive with the way she thinks.

How do you explain pain and suffering in the light of an all-loving God. There are answers, and they are completely legitimate, but when push comes to shove, we can never truly understand the sheer scale of that destruction, except to know that Jesus hurt with them. That is where our conversation shifted to, Jesus. How did he react? What were his comments? Jesus wept. Jesus was left alone by his own Father. He knows what it's like to feel completely and utterly alone. He understands.

God is good.

Caring for Your Introvert

Caring for Your Introvert

This was an interesting read. Something to give everyone a bit of perspective on others!

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year!

Just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year... I'll look forward to hearing from you all come early January, once I get back into the swing of things for the 2nd half of my internship!

Carys is blogging!

m ,,,,,,111111111111111111110mj bbgb gbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbg j mmmmmmym
,,,,,,,,,,,,///////3ooooooooooooooooooooooooooookkkkkkkkghhn ..,/M" [[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[=\ n ,m

so there you have it... the words of a Christmas crazed 11 month old named Carys! Oh so cute!

Home for Christmas

Well, the first part of it is over. I'm back in Edmonton now, and home for the holidays! A chance to unwind, relax, and just enjoy the company of family! Everyone else is driving out here tomorrow, and will get here tomorrow night, so I have a day where I can just veg and not have to worry about a whole lot.

Before I left this morning, we finalized next semester's calendar up to March, and I got the poster done, so that it can be printed and mailed out sometime next week. Just laying down the plans so that come January, we have a plan from which we can build off of. Makes everybodies life easier.

Life is good :)

Almost done James!

So I've been working on my Distance Education Course pretty steadily over the past few days. The work has paid off. I'm nearly done the whole course, and all I have standing in my way now is a short presentation, a 1 page write-up of that presentation, the final exam, reading through James 5 times, and reading through the commentary. I figure I should be able to be completely done the whole course by Christmas! One less thing to worry about!

Other than that, work is continuing in my secret project. Soon enough I'll be able to reveal exactly what it was that I've been working on. I had a little technical difficulties, but they seemed to have ironed themselves out.

Tomorrow will involve the finishing touches on next semester's youth planning, some graphical work, a little bit more of James stuff, and then heading home for the holidays. I'm super excited for us all to be together again, and I don't think I've been this excited in years! It's going to be a good first Christmas for Miss. Carys!

Thoughts

I finished watching Saving Private Ryan last night, and the ending really made an impact on me, more than I remember it making the first or second time around. After battling all through Europe to find Private James Francis Ryan, the captain dies just before reinforcements arrive, and it's at that moment in time you can see in Ryan's eyes that he knows that he is the reason this man is dead.

The look in his eyes speaks a million words. Suddenly the weight of war is upon his shoulders, and he doesn't know how to cope. The captains last words were to Ryan, and he says, "Earn this." Referring of course to Ryan's life. It was paid with the death of at least 5 other soldiers, and the Captain never considered him unworthy.

Today in my devotions, David Roper challenged me to think of life as a gift from God. I'm crafted for a very specific purpose. Am I earning that?

Cool Weekend!

Well, what a weekend. Friday night kicked off with the youth Christmas banquet. For which I shaved! I know, the world rejoices. I got all dressed up into my suit, etc. We had a good time all in all. Bryce was constantly on the prowl for things to put into my drink, and that's completely dangerous when they give you Hershey Kisses, a large turkey dinner and a full complement of napkins, cutlery, etc. Kinda scary!

After that, we had a LAN party here at the church. Sadly, as I get older, I can no longer stay up all night, so I went to bed at about 5 or 6. However, before I went to bed, I established and defended my crown as the undesputed kind of the Apache in Desert Combat. No one could touch me all night long. I was mobile death. Surprisingly, the network came together quite nicely and easily, and everything went smoothly throughout the night, once we got all the computers up and running. We had a fun night, and all was good.

Sunday morning we showed the video I had prepared, and everything went over really well! Slowly getting the formula down for communicating with all of the different generations, and a few parents said thank-you for showing the pictures of their kids. It was good fun! I also had to pray that morning, which was a little different. It's funny how you take the normal things for granted. I learned that if I'm going to pray like that again, until I get used to it, I need to write down in detailed form what I'm going to pray for, not just try to wing it! Lessons learned!

I'm heading home for Christmas on Thursday. T-Minus 6 days!

The Lion, the Witch, and the Great Insult

The Lion, the Witch, and the Great Insult

This is really an interesting take on our world. Completely true, in and of itself, and offers a piercing look into the depths our sin. "We don't need you God, we can do it on our own." Now that is where we meet people, and begin to show them what Christ does do in our lives.

Crazy Go Nuts

Alright, so I haven't been all that busy. But it has been a full two days! Yesterday, Ashleigh and I went out for coffee! Good to talk to someone else who is at the same place as you when you look forward in your lives. It's neat to see how God is moving in my generation to prepare people for ministry in our new world, even while it is in the midst of change.

In Ashleigh's case, she has a real desire to walk people through their problems... beginning to end. Not just talk to them once, and then drop them. But be there for the long-term and minister to the lost, the broken, and the types of people that most won't even touch today. And as she's been here at Prairie, God's been building in her a desire to do ministry here, not overseas as she originally intended.

That fits pretty well into my own model. As I look forward, the goals are to have a church that is accepting to all, and works with all. Accepting them for who they are and walking along the journey that is the Christian faith with them. Prodding them here and there, but also realizing that we all start at different places, and because of that, we have to have different expectations of everyone. It'll be interesting to see how that plays out in a real-world church.

On a less serious note... over the past two nights, I've been involved in... two parties! Two nightes ago, I was a 'internet pirate' for the Discover program's semester party. They were all dressed up as authentic pirates, and it was totally awesome. It was good fun, and there were some wicked good costumes. One girl, Jaqueline had the full outfit going on, it was pretty incredible!

Last night was the church staff party. We met at the harvest house for dinner, and it was good laughs all around. Here's 21 year-old Stephen hanging out with 40+ people! Whodathunkit? Good thing I can still appreciate my dad's sense of humour (the secret it out!).

For dinner, I had a 16oz steak... or should I say I tried to have one. The Harvest House is known for their large portions, and this one must have at least been a 20oz steak. I finished half of it last night, and the other half at lunch today! It's was VERY good, but I thought I was going to explode after eating it! Good times.

We went from there to Kevin's house, where we had a rousing game of Catch Phrase. You have one piece that you pass around, and it has words inside of it. You have to get other people to say the word by describing it, singing, dancing, just about anything but saying that word! It lead to some pretty hilarious moments! Highly recommended!

All in all, it's been a good past couple of days. Tomorrow: Red Deer. We're working on forward planning for the next three months, and we need to get the Youth Christmas Banquet program worked out.

Holy Toblerone

Alright, so here I am sitting in my office. I just got in, so I was checking out all the new things on the net, like my crazy cousin Val commenting on my blog, when Lynn walks in... accompanied by a HUGE Toblerone bar. You know, the 750g type. I'm still in sugar shock from just the THOUGHT of eating this thing. I love toberone, don't get me wrong, but this thing will last me for 6 months. Totally awesome.

On the DL

So... I'm working on a project. It has nothing to do with work. Everything to do with Christmas. Keep it on the DL.

More on that after Dec 25th :D

The Return of Links!

So I got bored, and decided that I would put in a few links to some different blogs. Notably my two cousins! I just stumbled upon them here in the past few days, and I figured why not include them. So props to Bonnie and Val!

Also, I included a link to the RSS feed for the blog. So if you're more into the RSS kind of a thing (Gmail just started supporting it), that option is there for you. :D

Friday!

Hello, and welcome to Friday. Today we will be preparing for the weekend and making sure that we're not stressing out Sunday morning. Some of the tasks that this includes are preparing for the Junior High Sunday School class, the 2-4 year old children's church, and generally making sure that we are mentally sane.

Alternatively, we need to make sure that our James course continues with the recent progress, meaning some time in the Library, as well as reading an journalling on our thoughts. The goal is to have this finished by Christmas, so make sure that you keep working on it!

Finally, there are some smaller tasks, like confirming your preaching appointment on the 15th of January in Big Valley, setting up coffee with someone who really just needs to chat, finding a hotel that is suitable for the youth sponsor retreat in early January, and goofing off.

As we read this morning, it's important to just be patient and let God work in your life. This means clinging close to Him, and trusting that He ultimately knows what is best for us. If we ask for strength in the midst of trial, He promises to always give it to us. So the question is... do we?

Good luck :D

Funny How it Fits the Mood

I'm working through In Quietness and Confidence by David Roper, and it's funny how the devotionals just fit whatever mood you're in at that given moment. In my case, that's pretty pensive. It's just a day where I'm into thought, and not saying a whole lot, but just enjoying what God has to teach me.

That's exactly what the devotional was about today. Sometimes it's better to keep your mouth shut so that you can hear what other people, and God, have to say. It's amazing what He'll teach you when you don't say a word. Just listen, and somewhere out of that silence comes a small whisper in the form of a good book, music, someone else's words, or perhaps just your own thoughts. It's in those moments that you really grow.

Youth Retreat

Alright, so just as promised here is the update from the youth retreat! It was an awesome weekend, and we did a ton of crazy things such as....


... tobogganing down this huge hill on crazy carpets and tubes! It was a total blast! And I know that I was still feeling the effects on Monday, which means it must have been fun.

We had a total of 19 kids along with us, and with 9 youth sponsors it meant that we could just relax and enjoy ourselves, rather than worry about what was going on around us. The kids were a huge delight to be with, and there weren't really any issues that arose.

Friday night, I spoke and just set the platform for the rest of the weekend and Kevin and I spoke about Relationships and the importance of them in our lives. I included a lot of fictional examples in there, but I threw in some ones of my own from junior high and the story of a young friend that I have that has come to know God in the past year.

Saturday was really the meat and potatoes of the retreat. Breakfast was at 9 AM, and as all the food was out at REBC, it was fantastic. Kevin spoke that morning on the Biblical basis for relationships, really going over Proverbs and other examples in the Bible of relationships. He laid a good foundation that we could build off of.

That afternoon, we went tobogganing, played some card games. And really just enjoyed ourselves. There were numerous different games that were going on. Some poker, some egyptian war, and a few other games that I forget the name to. It was a good time to just talk about what was going on, enjoy ourselves, and get to know each other a little better!

That night, we gathered around the fireside room for the nightly chat. We had a skit, which involved a 'used teenager lot' and "Honest Al" talking about youth like they were cars, and then was shocked when someone would 'USE' a car! I think it really set the stage. From there I talked about relationships in their lives. Friends that were a huge help to me during my high school years, and I also talked about Sarah, and how I really didn't do her justice in our friendship. I thought it went really well.

That night, we played some fun games. Charades, Jeopardy, and Wink (which turned out to be a group favourite) dominated the night, and the kids had a blast! Three of the Junior High Boys built a fort out of the chairs we had downstairs, and so I crawled in there with them and we were joking around. Then I had to get out, so I just stood up, and the whole thing collapsed!

All in all, the whole weekend was a success. It was awesome to see God working in the group to bond them together throughout the weekend, and I'm excited to see what He'll be doing in the next few weeks from the progress that was started there. It was tiring... but it was totally worth it!

My Day

Alright, so I promised the youth retreat low-down... Tomorrow... Morning. You have my word!

Today didn't really consist of much. Showing up late for staff meeting after sleeping in (purposefully this time), and then reading for the rest of the day. I found some good resources for ministry related things, and I'll be looking over a lot of that in the next few days as we look ahead for planning.

I spent most of the afternoon just reading through some of "A New Kind of Christian." Some interesting stuff that I'm in the process of ... well processing. It's pretty thought provoking.

Other than that, I think some glow plugs need to be replaced on the Jetta, so I'll be looking around at that in the next little while. Paul and I are going to work on that and a few other things over Christmas. Nothing like a little brother bonding time over a hard hunk of metal! Booya!

The Youth Retreat

It's sitting at -18 outside right now, and I've finished writing all of my e-mails that I wanted to today, and I'm still waiting for the car to warm up. So I guess it's time to write a note as per what happened this weekend! I think I'll start today by giving rules for anyone who attempts to plan a youth retreat, and give you the recap tomorrow when I have a little more time.

Rule #1 - Always plan far ahead of time

Don't leave the messages and devotionals until the last day. This is never a good thing, as it will generally leave you without dinner, and stressed out. If you can plan to have your messages and devotionals done at least a week ahead of time, then you can leave the last week to touch-ups and minor details.

Rule #2 - Don't have another major message to give before the youth retreat

In my case, that meant teaching the gr 5 religious education class. Things may go well, but it takes up almost a whole day when what you really want to be doing is working on the youth retreat.

Rule #3 - Know your limits

Don't commit to doing more than you are physically, emotionally, or spiritually able to do. There are people that are willing to help. Let them. If someone wants to help you do something, give them a job to do! That's less for you to do.

Rule #4 - Take a deep breathe

It's guaranteed that if you are seeking after God's will, there will be some serious attacks. That means that you need to take a deep breathe a lot of the time and lean on God. Your patience and abilities are not enough to do that job, we all recognize that. So remember instead that you could have never gotten this far on your own, and give the credit where it deserves to be... God.

Rule #5 - Have some good friends

People that are removed from the situation, but that love you dearly are your best friends. They will pray for you, help you, love you when you need it. Being on the planning end can be very lonely, and having someone like this can really help you through the rough patches when you're ready to give up (thanks dad!).

Rule #6 - Remember that it's a retreat

This means that when you actually get out there, if you've done Rule #1, you should be relaxing just as much as everyone else. You do have responsibilities, but take some time to throw yourself down a hill on a crazy carpet, and while you're at it, try to bowl someone over!

Rule #7 - God

This is the most important of them all. Don't even try to go it alone. You need to be spending even more time with God before a retreat when things get hectic than before. Satan is going to come on strong, so don that armour soldier and fight with what God gives you. He's there with you every step of the way, and you need His strength, not your own, to get through this. Don't forget that.

T-Minus 7 hours

Here we are, approaching the youth retreat. I've still got one sermon, four devotionals, and a schedule to make. It's going to be a wild day :)

What a Day!

Nothing quite like preparing for a youth retreat! There's always something more to do, and I think no matter how much preparing you've done, you'll always end up winging some portion of it. I'm personally really looking forward to this retreat. It's going to be a blast. Our theme? Relationships.

I've got two messages during the weekend, first of all laying the foundation for the weekend by outlining the state of relationships in the world. My plan of attack for this is more of a shotgun approach. I'm going to throw a lot of different scenarios at the kids, and hope that they hit where they are at. That's really up to the Holy Spirit.

From there, I'm going to move onto my own life, and the effect that relationships have had on my life, and finally finishing on the state of culture at large. Hm... Scratch that. I'm starting with the culture at large and moving in from there. I think that will focus it a lot more.

The second message will focus on their relationships, where they are at, and it will follow Kevin's Biblical basis of Relationships. Part of me can only do so much preparing for this. I will have my outline, but it will really be determined by where the atmosphere of the retreat is at! At this point, I can only really offer it up to God and hope that he'll take it from there.

So here are a few things that I've got to do over the next 24 hours. Prepare my second message. Preparing the devotional material for the weekend (Morning and Night, I think), Prepare the schedule, get my desk cleaned (gotta leave a good impression!), get my powerpoints done for both messages. Go to Karate tonight, as well as Soccer.

It's a mad, mad world! Good thing that I'm not in control!