youth ministry

The Ramblings has been going for over five years now. And after 1200 posts, it’s time to pull the plug. Yup, it’s time to put the ol’ girl down. She’s had a good life, had a good run, but all good things must come to an end.

Some while back, either due to getting flack or something else, this blog became… safe. And that was never the intent.

It’s time for me to cleanse my palate and move on to something else. So, today on August 25th, 2010 I pronounce TheRamblings.org officially dead.

You’ll always be able to find me on Facebook (Stuart Delony).

And as for blogs… I have a feeling I’ll pop up somewhere else.

Bye for now…

Here is a flavor of the epic signs teens made to lure people to our garage sale Saturday. It was pure genius. We raised $400 bucks today. It was great.

I always looking for real world examples to back scripture.

Revelation 21 – “Behold, I make all things new”

Now I know in the history of Christendom this will be seen as a pretty communion wafer thin example, but nonetheless I like it.

Do you remember back in the 80′s? The band INXS? Well remember the song, “Never Tear Us Apart”? You know the one with the over the top orchestra and that “cheesy is good” vibe that permeated that decade…

Here’s your reminder.

The band Record Club (put together by Beck) has redone the song. I love how you can find beauty in making things new. The Lord continues to make things new in us. And I like anything that remotely reminds me of the newness that He’s working in me (2 Cor 5:17).  So what is God creating new in you?

It’s been like 3 weeks since I’ve posted and I figured that I should give you a bit of an update on things. No, I didn’t fall off the face of the earth… life’s just been busy. So I’ve hiked up the Olympic Peninsula, been rafting with a men’s group, and then there’s also the bee’s (just keep reading).

So I give you the Delony Ketchup: Top 5 things over the last 3 weeks.

5. Despicable Me

We got free sneak preview tickets to go see Despicable Me. It was a fun movie, not awesome, but fun. The movie felt like a long looney tunes cartoon – lots of fun, but pretty much no story. The kids loved it, so don’t listen to me.

4. Fabulous 4th of July

The family got invited to a big party with tons of fireworks and a bouncy house. Life doesn’t get any better than that if you’re of the 8 and under crowd. And then later we took the older kids up on the roof of the house to watch fireworks. My pick for best fireworks? The ones I don’t have to pay for, but can watch for free.

3. Rafting on the Skagit River

I was asked by a local church to come on a men’s retreat and guide one of their rafts down the Skagit river. Boy, what a fun group of men. It was like a WWF wrestling match on the water. I love it when guys cut lose and act like kids. We had epic water fights and tons of laughs. It was a great retreat.

2. The Swarm of Bees

This was one of the weirdest and coolest experiences we’ve had as a family. One Sunday afternoon, we’re all out in the back yard when we see a huge swarm of bees circling around our shed. Miriam ushers the kids in the house like aliens were attacking. Then the bee’s settled down and congregated on one branch at the top of a tree.

Lucky for us, we have a friend that’s a beekeeper and he came right over. We took the bee’s down, relocated them into a bee box and now the Delony’s are amateur beekeepers!

1. Olympic Peninsula Backpack

We took 8 students backpacking up the Olympic Peninsula for 5 days. It was epic. Our senior guide commented that he’d never seen such good weather in all his years of guiding. We had great weather, sandy beaches, tons of wild life, and a beautiful coast filled with sea stacks. It was a great time basking in God’s creation. It was a great time of bonding with students and having good conversations about their spirituality. I couldn’t have asked for a better trip. Thanks for all of your prayers. It made a difference.

I was going for a “Sparrow”, but it ended up looking like my Cinco De Mayo ‘stache (see options). Oh well, Viva la Olympic coast!

I’ll be gone for the next week taking 8 teens backpacking up the coast on the Olympic peninsula. We’re making our trek through Twilight territory (ie Forks, WA). Hopefully we’ll escape without any sparkling vampires or oiled up werewolves. We’ll be having some fun and seeking the Lord. So far, weather doesn’t look to spiffy, so pray for sunny days!

See ya in a week!

Next week, we’re taking a group of students backpacking up the coast of the Olympic Peninsula. And right now, I’ve got a beard.

Two unrelated topics, you may say? Not at all.

I’m seeking some festive facial hair for our backpack trip. I’m willing to cut, shave and trim the gruff into a festive expedition stache.

And here’s where you come in. I need some input, advice, opinions…ect.

So, he’s what you’re working with:

And here are the festive options [note: that some are not possible either due to genetics or beard girth/length]:

So pick one! Vote! And you’ll see the outcome later this week!

It’s like pin the tail on the donkey, only there’s not tail… but I have been called something similar to “donkey” on many different occasions.

Ever feel unappreciated, abused, worn out or alone in youth ministry? The National Youth Workers Convention is like a stadium sized group therapy. It’s a great resource to any of you in youth ministry (paid or volunteer).

check out: http://www.nywc.com/