Monday, March 31, 2008

My Kids all grown up


This weekend I went to OCMD for Impact with a bunch of my kids and leaders and it was an amazing weekend. I will definately blog more about it later, but today I want to write about my kids....the ones that have grown up and moved on. I think one of my greatest joys as a teacher and a youth director is seeing my kids all grown up and living their lives for Christ, seeking to serve Him with their whole beings. This weekend I three of my four leaders were previous students of mine. And to watch them interact with the kids and share the love of Christ with them was awesome.

In my last blog I wrote about Braedon and Jordan, they were both members of our youth group, they both now serve as leaders here at the church and with Young Life. Braedon will soon be leaving and heading out to do full time missions.

Also on the trip was my girl, Abby. She was one of my students when I taught and coached in Clearfield. She is now all grown up and is serving as an Interim Area Director for Young Life in Dover, DE. It is amazing to see how God is using her and stretching her in her faith.

I guess this is what it feels like to be a parent when your child does something really cool, and you are so proud of them. That is how I feel when I think that God allowed me to a part of the spiritual growth of these "kids" that are now adults.

The Non-Freak Version


Here are my boys - the same ones that appeared in the freak picture previously posted. I just have to say how thankful I am for their leadership and care for the guys in our youth group. I could not do my job without them! Jordan and Braedon - my brothers - you are a blessing to me and to the young men in our youth group! Thanks - I love you guys!

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Freaks


So this is what my intern does all day long! No I am not kidding he really does just sit at his desk, play video games, blog which you can check out if you would like braedontabor.theworldrace.org and then sometimes he throws things at me, he complains when I ask him to do little tasks like "will you please hang up these butterflies?" That is Braedon for you, despite his many flaws - I still love him mostly (because Jesus tells me I have to!)

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Aunt Jana the Hamster



A couple weekends ago my Mom and sister came to visit along with my sister's two kids Kamryn and Hayes. Kamryn and Hayes are from Potter County so they don't get to experience "city life" much so when they come to visit Aunt Jana they always want to go to the McDonald's playground. Well lucky for me, my sister volunteered me to play with them in the play area...have you been in the play area as an adult...I don't mean looking and watching from the ground - I mean in the play ground - crawling through the small plastic tubes as if I were a hamster or something. Let's just say it didn't help my closterphobia! And when I was done I was so tired I needed a nap for sure! The moral of the story...don't let your sister guilt you into being a hamster for the sake of her children!

Monday, March 24, 2008

Animals of Central Florida

So about my trip....it was very educational...too bad I wasn't still in school or I would have been able to count it as a field trip. Later this week (if Jeanne gets them to me (hint, hint!)) I will have some cool pictures of some of the animals that we saw while in Florida, so until then I will just let you know what I saw!

* Dolphins, red racoons, and lots of birds in Mullet Bay (not kidding about the name)
* Pelicans and fish and herons at Fort DeSoto
* Bees in the Orange Grove
* Turkeys on the side of the road (confused to be pheasants by some in the car)
* Alligators, Bald Eagles, Raccoons, and lots of birds in Kissimmee
* Oh and I can't forget the goats, horses, chickens and Buddy the stay dog that lived on the farm.

It was pretty exciting and if you want to know more about these animals stay tuned to later blogs so I can tell you fun facts about each of the above.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Wait for it, wait for it....

So I have gotten a lot of slack for not writing for about a week - I guess I just didn't realize that I actually had a following - wow I feel pretty honored. Anyway - I was out of town on vacation this past week and I made a committment to stay away from the computer while I was away, so therefore no posts. But now I am back and I have a huge migraine, so I am going to head to bed. It was a great trip and a great Easter - thanks to my friends for the delicious easter meal and for all the great laughs! Stay tuned for several fun posts about the many things I learned in Florida.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Do I still love my dog?


Let's just say that yesterday was not my day! I did not feel well all day, my shot did a number on my body - I couldn't work for more than three hours. I was wiped out, so I decided to listen to my body and go home early, not go to practice, and postpone my check depositing for the Oil Company. I was really proud of myself for listening....then I walked into my house and this is what I found....

What do you say to your dog when you find this? How do you explain to them that this is not appropriate behavior? Tucker has been out of his crate for weeks and has not done anything....until this. The good news is that I needed a new couch anyway...the bad news is that financially this is a horrible time to even think I can afford to buy one.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Step out of your box into the battle

After a long drive from Harrisburg to Williamsport on Saturday night - I had a cool opportunity to talk to the First Church Youth Group about stepping up to the challenge in life. Over the past few months they have been talking about different characters in the bible that have taken a step of faith and stepped up to the challenge of the battle of life. Life is a spiritual battle...the great news is that in the end we win!!! Because of Christ on the cross - he has conquered death and we have the victory in the end...but what about right now...there is a battle each day here on earth. As Christians we can sit inside our little box that is nice and Christiany, where everything is safe, where no one gets hurt (or saved for that matter!) or...we can take a step of faith and say I will step out of my box where I am safe and I will rely on the strength and the spiritual armor that God provides for me and make a commitment to join in the battle along with Christ.

To demonstate this point I think of the famous part of the movie Braveheart - where William Wallace gives his speech to the men - they had all the excuses in the book to not fight but he talks about freedom and if they really want to be free they must be willing to fight for that...the same is true from a spiritual perspective. The other thing that I love about that clip is that William Wallace leads his men into the battle and then fights right along side of them. The same is true with Christ - he leads us in the battle but then doesn't watch from the sidelines, he fights with us!!!

How about you - are you willing to fight in the battle are you willing to step up to the spiritual battles of life, even if it does cost you something? There is a song by Sara Groves called When the Saints and I think it ties this image all together...it is about this idea of taking a step of faith for the kingdom and about all these people who made a difference in the lives of others because they were willing to step out in faith - are you willing to step out in faith - even if it means you life is at stake?

Monday, March 10, 2008

Impact 2008 - Harrisburg

Take Two - I just wrote this really cool blog and I lost it all....awww!!! Okay I will try to remember what I wrote and do it again.

This year I had the priviledge to once again lead a seminar at the Harrisburg Impact. The topic this year was depression. It is a topic that I am passionate about, but I wasn't sure what kind of turnout that I would have and one thing that I struggle with often is this fear that no one is going to show up...well my fears were relieved when at 8:30 am my room was so full that people were sitting on the floor, in the aisles, in the hallway - it was definately breaking fire codes!!! Between my two seminars I had over 320 people attending. It was so encouraging to have so many people come to a topic that is not exciting to say the least, but yet very important.

You never really know who is going to attend the seminars or what their needs are, but after both of the seminars I had several people come up and talk about issues and it really confirmed that I was doing what God had called me and gifted me to do . My hope and my prayer for those that attended is that if they are struggling with depression, they will know that they are not alone and they will know what they need to do to get help.

The craziest part of the whole time I was there was my media and computer stuff - for me technology is bittersweet! I had some videos to show that didn't work despite the hours I spent with some good tech guys (Joel, Aaron, Jonathan - thanks!!!) but they didn't end up working - then my computer chord fried and I had to get a new one - they cost $120!!! Crazy expensive!!
So yeah - all in all it was an amazing day despite my lack of sleep because I was up until 1:30 finishing my power point since I learned how to make it look a little better (again thanks to Aaron).

I am attaching the video that I was going to use to open up my talk - it is called "Does anybody hear her" It is a song by Casting Crowns and I think it speaks so much about the depression and struggles that many teenagers face.

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Tennis, Anyone?


So we started our tennis season this Monday - the weather was surprisingly warm and we actually got to use the courts (or at least the ones that didn't have the net stolen!) We spent most of the afternoon on Sunday shoveling as well as some of Monday to get them ready. Yesterday the rains came so we were stuck inside. Since we are on the low end of the totem pole of spring sports we get stuck in the fitness lab - imagine 24 sweaty boys in a room that is 12 by 12 (I am just guessing, I didn't really measure!) It was gross!!! So today Matt and I went over to the courts to see about the possibility of getting on the courts and this is what we found.... (see the picture!) The funny part is that the courts don't really have water on them - which means we could practice outside, however the problem is how do we actually get to the courts without have to walk through a large amount of flood waters. We think we have a plan but we will have to see what happens at 3:30pm today. There is never a dull moment in my life, because if there were, I am not sure what I would do with that moment!