The end of a long week...

After one of the worst weeks of my life, I had a great weekend with my family. My sister Anna graduated from Hannibal LaGrange College. My brother and I headed out on Friday morning and we got back this evening. It was so nice to be able to be with my family far away from work and all the junk from this week.

Christmas break could not come soon enough!!!!

Give me a minute...

If you wouldn't mind, give me a minute to complain. This week is nothing but school and concerts.

How much long do I have to do this? Both yesterday and today I left for school around 6:45 and haven't come home until after 9:00 at night. The same will be true the rest of the week. I'll miss Oasis and New Community.

My students did very well tonight and pushed through some rough stuff like pros. My students tonight aren't even close to being ready, not even to sing Rudolph or We Wish You A Merry Christmas. Most of the classes have been plotting to do nothing but mess around on stage because they don't think I'll do anything. WRONG!

I am constantly amazed at the number of students that just don't care. Even more startling is just how deep those "I don't care" attitudes run. I had to write up a student earlier this week who was one step away from JJC. That student gave me no choice but to write them up and now will spend some time in the JJC. I asked the student if they understood what that meant. They proceeded to describe exactly what it meant. When asked if that bothered them they replied, "Why would it? I don't care. I'll get out and keep doing whatever I want to do because I don't have to do nothing. Nobody tells me what I'm going to do." I struggle to understand that perspective of life.

I guess I just feel like I've wasted an entire semester and seen no change in these students. It is incredibly exhausting and extremely frustrated. tomorrow I'll get up and do it all again, praying somehow my students see a little bit of Jesus and grasp a little bit more of the fact that they matter.

Tonight at Lifeline...

Another great night at Lifeline. I had a three new girls in our small group...very exciting. I hope to see more of them in the future. Corey was very honest tonight and shared a great message. I loved it!

WHO ARE YOU? Corey Mann
Series: SHIVERNAKEDVOMITJAILSTARVE

Do your innards match your outards? Are you a pretender?

Negative Example of Generosity – Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5)
-They chose image over God.
-What is the price of generosity? ALL
-God removed the cancer in the early church.
-You will pull yourself down when you pretend. Are you bringing others down with you, with your pretending?

How do I get to the point I can truly handle SHIVERNAKEDVOMITJAILSTARVE?
1. Be grateful for what I have.
2. Put others first. Other people matter!
3. Don’t let greed get a hold of you.
4. Get in the habit of giving.

Positive Example of Generosity – Boaz (Ruth 2-4)
-Boaz noticed Ruth’s kindness and generosity.
-He was generous with his compassion, courtesy, crops, and compliments.
- Why do I think what I have is going to run out?

Quote of the Night
I should probably take those earrings out; I’m going to be 40 soon.

Food Drop 2008

One of my favorite things our church does is the Food Drop because volunteers run the entire event. This morning over 2,000 volunteers from our church gathered together to feed thousands of families in the Michiana area. Around 200,000 pounds were distributed to local neighborhoods and food pantries. A truckload of toys was taken to Toys for Tots. It was an incredible morning. I had a blast serving along our students.

Why I love GCC

Recently a minister friend of mine wrote a post about how our church looks too much like the world and isn’t doing church right. I have already decided I’m not going to waste my time arguing about this topic. People can say what they want but I LOVE MY CHURCH! Let me tell you some of the reasons why.

1. I love that people can sit through a service and walk out in tears because they have heard how much they matter and that the one who created them loves them. For some it is the first time they have ever heard it.
2. I love that thousands of people will meet in our building tomorrow to feed thousands of families in the Michiana area.
3. I love that I get to spend every Sunday and Wednesday night with hundreds of students.
4. I love that I can walk around and see leaders LISTENING to students and helping them walk through life.
5. I love that I had the opportunity to speak to over 100 jr. high girls and tell them about the things I've had to learn about relationships the hard way.
6. I love that every service our message is centered around Scripture and what God has to say about the things we face in life.
7. I love that I am able to worship with people who understand they don't have it all together and don't want to pretend they do.
8. I love that we are intentional about helping people find their SHAPE and give them the training they need to reach out and serve.
9. I love that every WEEKEND I walk away from service challenged…even during parenting series!
10. I love that above our door you see what we are all about taking next steps towards Christ...together.
11. I love that my church reminded me what the church was suppose to look like when I was ready to throw in the towel and walk away.
12. I love that my church helped me get back up when I was broken and angry.
13. I love that they did that without once pointing fingers or looking down at me.
14. I love that this last week during our Eagle’s Nest I watched as about 7 girls realized the way they were treating one of their classmates was wrong and came up with ways they can befriend this girl and invite her to join our Eagle’s Nest.
15. I love that people’s lives are being changed because God is doing something great in and through his people at GCC.

I’ll stop before I take all of your time. I could go on and on and on. It is okay that others don’t agree with our “methodology.” But I figure if God thought GCC was good enough to help me through the lowest part of my life, then I want to be a part of that church.