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Thursday, August 6, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Velocity Side 2
Can I just say we have some seriously talented people leading our youth? Because we do!
VELOCITY summer camp was a huge success.
Their creativity and earnest hard work really payed off as I watched 80 teens split up into 8 teams and battle it out to win the "golden sombrero" of victory.
Each day I enjoyed watching the efforts of some of the most creative people come alive as they led the teens in games ranging from human battleship to heads dipped in chocolate syrup and bobbing for gummy worms in cereal (if you weren't there you might need an explanation for these).
Rahel is a phenomenal games coordinator and knows how to have fun!
Anita and I had the pleasure of getting 20 goldfish at the nearest WallyWorld 20 miles away- Oh what fun that walmart woman had trying to catch the fish out of the tank- I almost thought I could do it myself! And the fish about half died before they even got to Kyle, as we decided to go the self-checkout way- Note to Self: never go through self-checkout with a bag of 20 fish and one barcode. Those fish were doing the wiggle jiggle under the scanner and I was in constant need of the manager's entry code. :)
And the worship experience? Never have I seen anyone work quite as hard as our band did, setting up a complete stage, with a vibrant backdrop displaying our Velocity Logo. We had projected slides on each side of the room, for the kids to sing along during worship, and a carpet that bid you to come and bow before God in praise! I laid on that carpet so many times just to feel the presence of God in that place. I cannot write a blog without thanking Brian, Ricky, Josh, Brittany, and Olivia- I simply cannot imagine singing for 7 services in 4 days- amazing.
Of course we couldn't hear it if it weren't for Mike Wingler, or follow along without Tanner- thanks guys!
But it doesn't end there- Jacoby, Jerrid, Jordan, and Kyle made everyone laugh til their sides hurt, literally! The costumes those guys made and put on proved their unabashedness for humor's sake. They can dance too- if you haven't checked out "Im on a Blob", you must.
Last but not least, Phillip- our youth pastor with energy. Each morning and night God delivered a passionate messsage through him that affected everyone. Thank you for your willingness to hear God speak to you, and relay it to us!
If you want to actually SEE how much fun we had, I encourage you to check out the video of Im on a Blob:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCCHSheNAks
VELOCITY summer camp was a huge success.
Their creativity and earnest hard work really payed off as I watched 80 teens split up into 8 teams and battle it out to win the "golden sombrero" of victory.
Each day I enjoyed watching the efforts of some of the most creative people come alive as they led the teens in games ranging from human battleship to heads dipped in chocolate syrup and bobbing for gummy worms in cereal (if you weren't there you might need an explanation for these).
Rahel is a phenomenal games coordinator and knows how to have fun!
Anita and I had the pleasure of getting 20 goldfish at the nearest WallyWorld 20 miles away- Oh what fun that walmart woman had trying to catch the fish out of the tank- I almost thought I could do it myself! And the fish about half died before they even got to Kyle, as we decided to go the self-checkout way- Note to Self: never go through self-checkout with a bag of 20 fish and one barcode. Those fish were doing the wiggle jiggle under the scanner and I was in constant need of the manager's entry code. :)
And the worship experience? Never have I seen anyone work quite as hard as our band did, setting up a complete stage, with a vibrant backdrop displaying our Velocity Logo. We had projected slides on each side of the room, for the kids to sing along during worship, and a carpet that bid you to come and bow before God in praise! I laid on that carpet so many times just to feel the presence of God in that place. I cannot write a blog without thanking Brian, Ricky, Josh, Brittany, and Olivia- I simply cannot imagine singing for 7 services in 4 days- amazing.
Of course we couldn't hear it if it weren't for Mike Wingler, or follow along without Tanner- thanks guys!
But it doesn't end there- Jacoby, Jerrid, Jordan, and Kyle made everyone laugh til their sides hurt, literally! The costumes those guys made and put on proved their unabashedness for humor's sake. They can dance too- if you haven't checked out "Im on a Blob", you must.
Last but not least, Phillip- our youth pastor with energy. Each morning and night God delivered a passionate messsage through him that affected everyone. Thank you for your willingness to hear God speak to you, and relay it to us!
If you want to actually SEE how much fun we had, I encourage you to check out the video of Im on a Blob:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCCHSheNAks
Monday, August 3, 2009
VELOCITY
Of all the stories being told of the amazing Velocity trip, blobs and all, I would like to first touch on the serious side of camp. I will write a fun entry later, but all joking aside, God did an anwesome work at Velocity. Not that I expected anything less, because when you get together over 80 people already in love with God, and stick them in a camp with no cell phone service and appetizing food to distract them, great things will happen- And they did.
I must first say that I have never seen a whole room of people jumping and dancing like I did the last night of camp. Not one person could I see standing still; shy and bold alike joined in the marvelous praises to our God.
It is a picture that though not taken with a camera, will remain vivid in my mind.
Each person went to Bob Cooper for different reasons, undoubtedly expecting different things.
I didn't know what to expect. May I share my story with you? I share not to pour my heart out to you, but in hopes that pouring out my heart to God on paper will inspire you to do the same.
If you wish to continue and read, please do. If not, know that God has been glorified for 5 days by His children at NSM, and I hope it will not cease.
The Lord is so much more faithful than I could ever deserve. How wonderful it is to know that we don't have to be perfect to receive His blessing and hear His voice. A lesson I am continually learning, it seems I would have this in my heart at all times. But such are the ways of a fallen soul. I cannot pretend that I am always happy, and for this point in my life I have discovered through trial and error the root of my restleness. It is true what they say, that you become so tired mentally and even physically when you try for perfection ad battle within your soul to accomplish everything on your own. This past month has been grueling as I failed again and again to realize my source frustration is because of an unwillingness to hand everything to God. Something I thought I had been doing, and didn't realize until I was invited to Velocity....
I had been inside holding such a prideful spirit and a selfish attitude, that tore up my spirit of willingness. I quickly went from serving to please God to pleasing man.
Thinking every aspect of I service I was doing to honor Him and changing areas of service due to inward frustration, I slowly realized that I clothed myself in a selfish spirit because I performed my tasks in hopes of human recognition. Lack of self-confidence in positions I held in every area of my life was the perfect foothold for the devil to destroy my sense of peace and self-control. Like the climbing wall I attempted on the last day of camp, so internally was I grasping for a handhold I couldn't reach. One by one, the enemy took my footholds of confidence, peace, and suffiency in God and replaced them with slick walls of self-depreciation and pride.
All this to say it was by no accident that after much deliberation, I chose to attend youth camp. My first trip to any summer camp,ever- was Velocity-July 29-Aug.2. Five days I will never forget as one of the most humbling experiences of my life thus far. I may only be 18, but age has no bearing on how many worldly frustrations attack when you allow them.
As I lay one night wondering why I was making such a big deal about whether or not to serve at a youth camp, I realized my decision rested not on my desire to go or not go, but on an inward struggle of service for God vs. man. I know God realizes how very hard-headed I am with making decisions, so I begged Him to reveal His will to me. He was inducive to my selfish request and followed the next day with a sign too clear to miss, and so began my excitement for this camp called Velocity. God practically rolled out a red carpet of opportunities for me to attend this 5-day camp.
I did not force myself to read my Bible or write in my journal, but rather rested in God and engulfed myself in the worship made to Him. He blessed me by sending encouragement my way, along with a couple humbling moments, as I released myself in all out worship to Him.
Shortening my story, all I want you to know is this: Like God says in the Bible, every member of the body of Christ is vital. We make no impact for God and confuse other parts of the body of Christ, when a foot or an eye strives to be a hand or a mouth. Don't let this lie ruin your part in the body of Christ.
I know my attitude of late has been undesirable, and my performance of duties has been severely lacking, and all because of an ungratefulness of spirit towards a God who fixed talents in myself that are unique only to me.
Velocity allowed me the opportunity to release my worries of striving for perfection and worship God in the way I best know how- through my talents, and my talents only.
I must first say that I have never seen a whole room of people jumping and dancing like I did the last night of camp. Not one person could I see standing still; shy and bold alike joined in the marvelous praises to our God.
It is a picture that though not taken with a camera, will remain vivid in my mind.
Each person went to Bob Cooper for different reasons, undoubtedly expecting different things.
I didn't know what to expect. May I share my story with you? I share not to pour my heart out to you, but in hopes that pouring out my heart to God on paper will inspire you to do the same.
If you wish to continue and read, please do. If not, know that God has been glorified for 5 days by His children at NSM, and I hope it will not cease.
The Lord is so much more faithful than I could ever deserve. How wonderful it is to know that we don't have to be perfect to receive His blessing and hear His voice. A lesson I am continually learning, it seems I would have this in my heart at all times. But such are the ways of a fallen soul. I cannot pretend that I am always happy, and for this point in my life I have discovered through trial and error the root of my restleness. It is true what they say, that you become so tired mentally and even physically when you try for perfection ad battle within your soul to accomplish everything on your own. This past month has been grueling as I failed again and again to realize my source frustration is because of an unwillingness to hand everything to God. Something I thought I had been doing, and didn't realize until I was invited to Velocity....
I had been inside holding such a prideful spirit and a selfish attitude, that tore up my spirit of willingness. I quickly went from serving to please God to pleasing man.
Thinking every aspect of I service I was doing to honor Him and changing areas of service due to inward frustration, I slowly realized that I clothed myself in a selfish spirit because I performed my tasks in hopes of human recognition. Lack of self-confidence in positions I held in every area of my life was the perfect foothold for the devil to destroy my sense of peace and self-control. Like the climbing wall I attempted on the last day of camp, so internally was I grasping for a handhold I couldn't reach. One by one, the enemy took my footholds of confidence, peace, and suffiency in God and replaced them with slick walls of self-depreciation and pride.
All this to say it was by no accident that after much deliberation, I chose to attend youth camp. My first trip to any summer camp,ever- was Velocity-July 29-Aug.2. Five days I will never forget as one of the most humbling experiences of my life thus far. I may only be 18, but age has no bearing on how many worldly frustrations attack when you allow them.
As I lay one night wondering why I was making such a big deal about whether or not to serve at a youth camp, I realized my decision rested not on my desire to go or not go, but on an inward struggle of service for God vs. man. I know God realizes how very hard-headed I am with making decisions, so I begged Him to reveal His will to me. He was inducive to my selfish request and followed the next day with a sign too clear to miss, and so began my excitement for this camp called Velocity. God practically rolled out a red carpet of opportunities for me to attend this 5-day camp.
I did not force myself to read my Bible or write in my journal, but rather rested in God and engulfed myself in the worship made to Him. He blessed me by sending encouragement my way, along with a couple humbling moments, as I released myself in all out worship to Him.
Shortening my story, all I want you to know is this: Like God says in the Bible, every member of the body of Christ is vital. We make no impact for God and confuse other parts of the body of Christ, when a foot or an eye strives to be a hand or a mouth. Don't let this lie ruin your part in the body of Christ.
I know my attitude of late has been undesirable, and my performance of duties has been severely lacking, and all because of an ungratefulness of spirit towards a God who fixed talents in myself that are unique only to me.
Velocity allowed me the opportunity to release my worries of striving for perfection and worship God in the way I best know how- through my talents, and my talents only.
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