If You Can't Say Something Nice...

It's an old cliche. I still remember where I first heard it, Bambi. Thumper's mom ingrained it into him so much that he was able to quote it. "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all."

So why bring that up? Well, I talked to a high school student today that I won't name who doesn't attend our church at all. But somehow or another people in our student ministry thought it would be okay to talk about them behind their back... at one of our student ministry events...

You know, I understand that not everyone is perfect and we're all trying to be better, but this does sadden me when someone who doesn't know God and sees the church as a joke, yet is still willing to talk with me, has this happen to them. It's simply not right. I don't know who said it, they didn't want to tell me their name (which shows you what kind of class they have), but come on people, let's try a little harder, please. We're supposed to have Christ in our lives, His Holy Spirit living within us, and God is many times in the Bible simply defined as love. Let's all try to be a little more loving...

Beloved, let us love one another. For anyone that loves is born of God and knows God. He who doesn't love, cannot know God for God is love. ~ I John 4:7-8

We Have It So Easy

Today I was listening to the international news, something that's seems harder and harder to do here in America, and I realized just how easy we have it. I heard about problems with China and it's treatment of people in Tibet, plus worried people in Taiwan over the same problems. I read at theworld.org about drug trafficking in Mexico being such a problem the army has been called in, about Mgabe still trying to hold onto power in Zimbabwe and rigging elections, all sorts of things people deal with in our world. And what's one of our top news stories on AOL? Miley Cyrus telling a paparazzi that he's bugging her.

Wow, do we ever have it rough...

T

Easter Blahs

Yesterday was Easter, an amazing day that I am incredibly thankful for, but here's my question. Did it seem blah to you? Lorie had been saying all week how it didn't "feel" like Easter, and then at church people seemed really, really out of it (there wasn't a whole lot of singing going on), it was hard to keep my mind in the sermon, and then after I really did little than sit around. Did anyone else feel this?

T

Real World, Day 2

It's really late, but here's the highlights. We didn't get to a service we had planned to attend today, we got lost (apparently there's an E East Street and a S East Street, not confusing at all...), we ate lots of pasta which was waaaaay better than the last time we had pasta here, and Stephen Myrick has the quote of the day. "If you walked a day in the life of my shoes..." Glad to see college is making an impact on the young man.

T

Real World, Day 1

Well, today is the first full day of Real World. We all started last night, but that doesn't really count, it's fun and all, but this morning at 6:45 is when the real fun began. Everyone got to school, that's good, and everyone got home from school, which is also good. Right now Justin and Adam are cooking dinner. Tacos never seemed so complicated. It may have had something to do with the marathon games of pool and PIG, but who knows.

I also got a taste of the real world today too, my basement flooded last night. One of the sump pumps stopped working, how wonderful. Thanks to Milt and Noah for all their hard work today. Thankfully, it's all fixed and nothing irreplaceable was lost.

If anything, we got the message that being prepared is a good thing. Lorie and I had almost everything off the floor, at least all the stuff we cared about. All we lost was an empty box and something that didn't fit the house anyway, so no big loss.

More news from Real World forthcoming :)

T

Sorry It Was So Long

Sorry to everyone about the Stations Of The Cross being so long last night. We really did not expect it to go so long and a big apology to those who had to leave early.

Also, we didn't get a chance to talk with everyone since it went so long. We'd still love to hear from you, what you thought of it, what you liked, didn't like, etc. There's a section in the discussion board for Sunday Night Conversations, post in there and let's hear from you :)

T

What If God Actually Showed Up?

The other day I was reading one of my favorite stories in the Bible. I'm going to paraphrase, but if you want to see it, it's in I Kings 8.

King David has died and his son Solomon his now king. Now David had wanted to build God a home since for hundreds of years God had been moved around in a tent, otherwise known as the Tabernacle. But God said David couldn't do it, instead Solomon would get to. So Solomon does, and he goes all out (remember, he's basically building the first church, the one where God is going to live with the Ark of the Covenant, all that fun stuff). He builds this great big temple and on the day of dedication prays a prayer that God will come in and live here.

But this is where it gets crazy. He prays, the priests put the Ark in, then God shows up, and I mean physically. A cloud of smoke shows up and fills the temple (kind of like the cloud that led the Israelites in the desert with Moses). In fact, the presence of God is so strong, the service has to be stopped and all the priests go outside, basically letting God settle into His new home.

I always wonder why that doesn't happen every Sunday in every church. I've heard so many pastors pray that God would show up to their church service, what would happen if God really did show up, a big cloud of smoke, and messed up all our plans? What if God came down so strong that we had to leave because of the presence of God?

Something to think about, and maybe hope and pray for a little taste of this Sunday at church...

T

New Sins

Sorry I didn't post all weekend. My dad was here (well, he still is, he's leaving in a bit though).

But this morning, this caught my eye. I think most people have heard of the seven deadly sins. Apparently the Vatican is adding three more. Pollution, mind damaging drugs and genetic experiments. They also put a lot of emphasis on social justice. Basically from what I read they were trying to make people see that not all sins are as self-involved as the old list (they were all things that really only effected you, how you felt, etc. where this list is how your sins hurt others).

It also got me thinking how well we in North America did on the original seven, not great, and how we're doing on the new ones, maybe even worse...

T

A Day Of Rest

So here's one for you history buffs. This day, almost 1700 years ago (321 AD) Constantine I was emperor of Rome. On this day he decreed that the "dies Solis Invicti" (translated, the Sun Day) would be a day of rest for the entire empire.

And we managed to reverse that in only 1700 years...

btw, my dad's coming to visit this weekend. Make sure you say "hi"!

T

Hexapus

No, it's not a spelling mistake, they've actually discovered a hexapus, or an octopus with six legs.

http://news.aol.com/story/_a/worlds-first-six-legged-octopus-found/20080304092309990002?ncid=NWS00010000000001

Isn't it amazing that with all our technology and everything we think we know we're still discovering new creatures that God made, and not little ones either, a hexapus!

T

That Desperate For Friends?

This weekend we had the 30 Hour Famine. Numbers aren't in yet, but the eleven people who participated did great, including helping out at our food pantry for a few hours (which was lots of fun on empty stomachs).

But today I was reading the news as I usually do online,. picking out the stories that look interesting, and two seemed to go together so I had to read them. Apparently some people just really, really need friends. What started it was the story about Scarlett Johanssen auctioning off tickets to go to a movie with her. Alright, I can give her that, all the money's going to charity. But the bigger one is Paris Hilton. She's the queen of reality TV alright, but here's her new show idea that supposedly is coming. It's to find a best friend. From AOL:

"Rumor also has it that the socialite will be starring in a new reality show where girls will compete to be her new best friend. Hmmm -- can't wait to see how many people this show attracts."

I mean, really. Are we that desperate?

Gal. 1:10b ~ If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.

T

Adventures From Wal-Mart

Yes, Noah and I were in Wal-Mart today shopping for stuff for the 30 Hour Famine (if you miss it, you're going to miss all the fun games...).

I'm in a section trying to find a set of five different colored stickers, which of course is impossible because the fact that I'm looking for five means they only come in packs of four colors. So as I search for a five packer, the woman and her little 3-4 year old by me are having a conversation over money, that went as follows:

Mom: Sorry honey, but you don't have any money left this month.

Daughter: When do I get more money?

Mom: March first. [I now start wondering how a 3 year old has a monthly allowance]

Daughter: But when is that?

Mom: In two more days.

Daughter: I can buy it in two days? Yay. [Apparently we're teaching the daughter fiscal responsibility]

Mom: Well, I don't know, you still may not have enough. It's sixteen dollars. [So apparently she does get an allowance, but not a very big one. I also start wondering if this is the only way other than Birthday and Christmas this child gets toys]

Daughter: Mommy, Baby [the toy baby she's holding] says she'll help buy it too.

At this point I was trying really hard not to laugh, so I had to take off, with two packs of stickers...

T

Feels Good To Be Home

Going away for the weekend, meeting new people, seeing old friends I haven't seen for a year, all fun, but man it's nice to be home. In my own bed, being with Lorie, seeing the bunny, eating food that I don't have to wolf down and hurry to the next "thing", all so much fun. But the mess on my desk is still there so if we could get that fixed...

T

NYMC

Sorry, I didn't realize it's been so long since I posted. I hung out with some pretty regular bloggers this weekend, so I have to do a little better.

I'm at the National Youth Ministry Convention and it's been great. No sleep, running around fixing technical stuff, seeing friends I haven't seen in months, even got to meet Tony Dungy (he's a nice guy). It's been a cool couple of days and it's been good to see that even with all the planning and people working here to make this run smoothly, they still have all the little hiccups we have at our church :)

So I really don't have anything to say, but as I've found out, neither does any other blogger. I read a lot of I Samuel yesterday, a book I know really well (I did my master's thesis on a related topic), so that was fun and relaxing. And in reading it I remember how David, the man described in the Bible as "A man after God's own heart" still was human and messed up just like me, sometimes worse (I haven't had anyone killed because I wanted to marry their wife I got pregnant after seeing her naked from my roof, so I don't feel so bad). And it's nice how we talk about stuff like that here at the convention. Last night they made a literal cloud of witnesses. They had everyone in the room write down a failure or thing they struggle with, ball up the paper, then throw it in the air at unison so everyone could see a cloud of how we all fail but can all help each other out. Kinda nice...

Okay, I've rambled on long enough for someone who had nothing to say. Can't wait to see my lovely wife, I miss you...

T

"Looking Good For Jesus"

I've heard of products making some far-fetched promises, but you gotta love this.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23129555/?GT1=10856

T

An Irish Legend I Learned Tonight

Yes, I love the Celtic legends, they're more full of Christianity than most American ones, but this one takes the cake.

So the story goes that long, long ago there was a war in heaven. Even Biblical scholars have little to no problem with this one, the angels dividing, some to become demons and fight for satan and the rest to stand by God, fighting for Him. But in this Celtic version there was one more group of people. The Leprechaun.

No, I'm not kidding, the little people stood on the side of the angels as the demons started cursing them down and swearing about what they would do, but once the battle started, things changed. The angels flew through the skies, Gabriel throwing rocks at the demons, Michael hurling lightning bolts. But what about the leprechauns? Well, they felt they were neither big enough to throw rocks, or powerful enough to control lightning, they felt as if they could do nothing at all, so they hid. The story goes they opened a door under the golden steps to heaven and hid inside until the war was over.

At the end, the angels were triumphant and the demons were chased out of heaven. But in that time, the little people emerged from their hiding place and were confronted by Gabriel. He looked at them and bluntly said, "If you do not have the courage to stand up for what you believe in, you don't deserve heaven. But you've done nothing wrong to deserve hell neither." And it is for this reason that leprechaun's are still in the world today, still hiding, still afraid to fight.

Now I don't care if you believe in leprechauns or not. I've done some reading that makes me think their roots in Celtic legend are far more than we've made them to be, in fact before Christianity they were thought to bepowerful spirits but it was stories like this that reduced them to little fairies. Either way, believe what you want. Either way, it doesn't really effect the way you live your life. But the statement that Gabriel made does. Do you have the courage to stand up for what you believe, or will you forever hide?

T

We Gotta Step It Up A Little

My apologies to those who are not in our student ministry, this is more of a housekeeping one today.

Last night we had our "Football" Party. We asked people to bring some food and drinks if they could, but we also said that everything was free. At the beginning of the night, we asked that we not forget our Compassion Children we sponsor and give to them, especially as one student put it, since we're eating all this food for free watching a big TV while they need food. So how did we do?

$5.50, a little over a nickel per person that was there.

I know we can do a lot better than that guys and gals. Every single penny we take in for offering at Fire & Water goes to feed people overseas, so please give generously.

Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. ~Luke 12:33-34

T

Winter Retreat Highlights

We're back, most of us in one piece, and we have had another Winter Retreat. Honestly, I thought this was the best one yet. Some highlights for me:

~the Cave being so huge!
~the bitter cold on the first night (by the time we left I was sweating)
~hitting the rock hard ground on the first play in football
~having a room full of smoke thanks to the flue
~people singing so loudly I could barely hear myself (that was awesome)
~talking to many people I didn't know so well
~having both Katelyns on my football team, and both helping us win!
~seeing Taylor in his full camo
~beating Shawn at carpet ball, even if it was the only game I won all weekend
~having my air mattress deflate during the night, rolling around at 2:00am like a fish stuck in it half-inflated
~lots and lots of food
~talking to the adults who are continually amazed at the spiritual depth of students
~giving people a chance to slow down and walk in nature, and them enjoying it!
~fighting with Liz's projector for 90 minutes (I"m still going to figure it out)
~the boys leaving as reigning champions of Four On A Couch
~talking about/with God for so much time (I love it)
~Taylor not playing drums for 1/2 of "I Want To Go Up"
~winning Capture The Flag (Pastor Aaron was in jail for almost an hour)
~watching Sarah play football for the first time, starting out not knowing the rules and ducking when the ball came near her to by the end having 4 "tackles", 3 receptions and a touchdown
~seeing people thinking as they read the Bible and learn Spiritual Truths
~hiding in sardines for 40 minutes with no one finding me, even though I was 20 feet from where we started.
~the lovely faces of certain non-morning people at breakfast
~getting beat in euchre 10-2 (we sucked)
~talking with Mr. Patterson, someone who has never been on a trip with us before, hearing what he thought and how he enjoyed the weekend
~watching Carrie run full tilt into a big cement chair during sneak (hey, she won)
~pouring salt in people's cereal, and them getting back at me (the hot sauce in the chili was good)
~the brownies and ice cream made by loving adults
~watching the Jr. High faces when going over the rules "Oh, and no sex. I don't have to explain that, do I?"

There's a short list, if you want to add your own, give your two cents at the discussion board at www.fumcfireandwater.com

T

Religious Leaders?

Bill Maher was on the Tonight Show last night and I happened to catch a bit of it. I know most people hate Bill Maher but I like him. I think he's incredibly intelligent. He has a slight problem presenting his message because he's overly sarcastic and people don't like him for it, so I think he and I would probably get along.

Anyway, he was on last night and I got there just as he was talking about how the Pope was a big Catholic celebrity. Yeah, offensive and a little overboard, but the point he was trying to make had some validity. He was saying how over in the Muslim countries if a religious leader says something, the people do it. If a religious leader in the Middle East says to kill someone for adultery, the people take that person out and kill them. Yet over here, if a religious leader says to do something, we give blank stares and do nothing. His example was the Pope saying no sex before marriage. How many people who say they are Christians uphold that one?

Obviously we have a level of cynicism being that we have many religious leaders who don't agree and have had a few nuts our in left field who have claimed "God told me" but in the grand scheme of things do we listen to our leaders and try to learn from them, try to live as we should, or are they celebrities, faces we watch but not voices we listen to?

And you who are younger must follow your leaders. But all of you, leaders and followers alike, are to be down to earth with each other. ~ I Peter 5.5a

T

Twins Marry?

I won't even comment, I'll let you decide...

T

We've all heard those heartwarming stories of twins who were separated at birth finding each other again later in life. Torn apart by circumstance and fate and unaware of the other's existence, they are understandably overjoyed to find that missing piece of themselves. Except in this case. These two "separated at birth" twins discovered their unique bond at the worst possible time. After they married each other.

Lord Alton, a peer in the British House of Lords says, "They were never told that they were twins. They met later in life and felt an inevitable attraction, and the judge had to deal with the consequences of the marriage that they entered into and all the issues of their separation."

The court dealt with it by annulling the marriage. But can you imagine the "issues of separation" the formerly-married twins are dealing with?

Mo O'Reilly, the director of child placement for the British Association for Adoption and Fostering, says that while this situation is rare, it isn't completely unheard of. And that makes sense, considering the fact that many of us are attracted to someone who we find to be similar to ourselves. You just can't get more similar than a twin."

(From http://www.parentdish.com/2008/01/11/twins-unknowingly-marry-each-other/)