I'm Open and REALLY COLD!

This past weekend our high school group went up to Timber-lee in East Troy Wisconsin for the WinterXtreme. Man alive it was EXTEMELY cold! I guess that's the point of an event called WinterXtreme, but I've never been on any Winter trip when it was that cold! After a game of Squamish (a game kind of like soccer and American football) it took hours to get rid of the red color in my cheeks! Even though it was below zero for some of the weekend our group had an awesome time! I saw hundreds of high school youth and their leaders come closer to God! One of our youth said that this what he's been craving! That is so cool! When people crave God! People all around us (and ourselves) crave things to fill or fulfill us yet nothing truly does except for Jesus! When we open ourselves to God He's always there. Matter of fact He never moved. We are the ones who always move away from God! That's what I really love about God. He's always right there waiting for us to come to Him, becuase He's already come to us! We just have to be open even if it is REALLY COLD!

Is Silence REALLY Golden Anymore?

Last Sunday night at our 24/7 youth ministry we had a lesson on silence. Hmmmm....
Seems strange!!! We watched a Rob Bell (Nooma) video. After just a couple minutes of him talking about our noisy and busy world the screen went black. The youth were restless and started getting noisy. Then words popped up on the screen. They had to read it out loud and answer the questions. Others had to make noise by tapping or some other way. It's amazing how much we probably need silence and time with God, but hardly ever get it. We say we want to hear God and follow, but hardly ever put ourselves into the right position to hear Him speak to our hearts and minds.
Whenever I have quiet time with God I always come away feeling better, less rushed, more confident and more peaceful. Why wouldn't I want more and more time like that?
I too, get rushed and run by my schedule and the tyranny of the urgent. I'm trying not to let those things run my life anymore!

A new baby & "The Bus"

Last week I held our friends' (Matt & Heidi) new baby! James Paul Eckhardt was only two and a half days old. What an awesome feeling it is to hold a new born baby! It makes you feel all gushy inside! The look on Matt & Heidi's face was so cool too! They are so excited and have been waiting a long time for their baby! I recently saw some video clips where some parents baptized their children. One dad spoke (and choked) as he told his daughter that he was there when she was born into this world and also when she entered the kingdom of God as she asked Christ to come live in her! That's worth livin' for! Seeing people enter the kingdom of God! We chase after so much stuff that is so temporary and unfulfilling for the long run!

The Super Bowl last night was cool, because I wanted the Steelers to win. I'm a Bears fan and you know how often they are in the Super Bowl, so I usually pick a team to root for so I can enjoy it more! I wanted the Steelers to win for the "Bus".
Jerome Bettis who people call "The Bus" retired after the game. He's called "The Bus", because it's so hard to stop a 5 foot 10 inch 255 pound bus running quickly at you. He usually runs people over! I wish we could all have that kind of ending to our careers or life. It's so dramatic and ideal. When we stop and think about it we can have a great ending to our lives, or should I say a new beginning? When we live our lives for Jesus and we stand before God one day we hope to hear the words "Well done my good & faithful servant"! Now that's worth livin' for!