Thank you all for your prayers leading up to our first service. It made a difference. They were felt.

We had 18 people attend and I was surprised that we had that many. We hadn’t advertised it because we wanted a trial weekend to cut out teeth on.  And it couldn’t have gone better. We had a few random adults there as well. I love seeing multi-generations praying together. There’s something that feels so right about it.  It was a simple service. Prayer, reflection, scripture, discussion and contemplation. I never grow weary of watching teenagers pursue the Lord through the ancient practices.

I’m excited to see how this thing progresses. Those that attend definitely caught the vision and I’m excited to see how this community will grow together as we purse the Lord.

Thank you again for your prayers!

Ahh the blob. Any good camp has one of these bad boys. So, as our summers in youth ministry (or regular lives) come to an end, I give you this, the ultimate, blob launch…

In youth ministry, you find yourself investing in kids, but don’t usually see the the direct impact on their lives. We just work, love, invest, teach and walk alongside young people praying that the Lord will take hold of their lives.  But every once in a while, you get a glimpse into heart of a student. I got this note myspaced to me last night from one of our students. It was totally unexpected and it brought tears to my eyes.

If you knew this student, you’d realize that it’s totally out of character for them to be so honest, heartfelt, thankful and real. But I’ve also seen the Lord really begin to this student’s heart in the last few weeks (after what seemed like 3 years of a cold heart towards anything pertaining toward the Lord). Here’s what they wrote:

Lately, I have been going through some hard times. And some in a more direct way than others, have helped me. You guys make me laugh until i almost pee my pants. Sometimes make me want to stick a cork down the barrel of a paint ball gun and shoot you close range, but most importantly, make me feel accepted. In my family i am perceived as very different, and kind of an embarrassment. All of you make me feel like I can be myself and don’t have to worry about being judged or rejected. No matter what i say, no matter how dumb it comes out as, you make me feel like I’m important, that what i say matters. Even if you don’t know it, you all have helped me in your own way, and as a group. So i just wanted to say Thank You. You have no idea how much i appreciate it. So THANK YOU!!!!

So this is my encouragement (because the Lord encouraged me with this) to you youth workers out there. Keep investing. Keep spending time with kids. You may not see the direct impact today, but it’s not our job to see the result this side of heaven. It’s our job to minister, encourage, love, inspire and journey. So don’t give up. The work you are doing is much more impactful than you will ever realize.

Last Tuesday, we took some youth on a hike. We were expecting a pretty easy hike to some ice caves (natural formations left from snow melt). What we got was an expedition. It was a hot day till we got closer to where the ice caves were supposed to be. There had so much snow this winter there were at least 4 football fields filled with snow stacked up at the base of a mountain. It’s 85 degrees and we were playing in snow! It was a sight to see. I’ve never been sledding (sliding down on your butt) in July. If it’s hot where you are, enjoy these refreshing pictures.

Got kids in your youth group? Don’t they all pound back the energy drinks?

We’ve all known they were bad, but I’ve noticed it becoming more a of a problem, more of a habit.
You see kids now with them in the mornings (like coffee) and in the afternoons. It’s the new legal crack. It’s not just caffeine infused, there’s a bunch of other chemicals meant to stimulate. Red Bull, Monster, Full Throttle… etc. If you see a group of kids, you’re bound to see cans of this stuff.

And now there’s coming reports of health problems - reports of nausea, abnormal heart rhythms and emergency room visits and worse.

“Red Bull may be the best selling energy drink in the United States, but it isn’t so popular in other countries. In 2000, the French government decided to ban Red Bull after the brand was linked to the death of an 18-year-old Irish athlete. The teenager died after drinking four cans of Red Bull at a game.” [How Stuff Works]

For more go here.

Anyone else noticing this trend? I’ve been around youth ministry for a while and Mountain Dew and other colas have always been downed in mass amounts… this new stuff goes beyond caffeine and sugar. They contain both ephedrine and taurine.

• Ephedrine - A stimulant that works on the central nervous system. It is a common ingredient in weight-loss products and decongestants, but there have been concerns about its effects on the heart.
• Taurine - A natural amino acid produced by the body that helps regulate heart beat and muscle contractions. Many health experts aren’t sure what effect it has as a drink additive.

Now, I’m not trying to be an alarmist, but seriously have you seen how much of this stuff teens consume? It’s scary. And all the FDA has done is to force these companies to change the “serving size” on the cans. Like that’s going to slow anyone down. Ahhh, you gotta love the FDA.