Wednesday Morning

Howdy, I hope you are having a good Wednesday, or a good whatever when you are reading this.

Moving Offices
Aaron and I are moving our offices today. Last week Student Ministry and Children's Ministry sat down and decided to end our 2yr. Gang War. The papers have been signed a cease fire has been called. Since then we have realized just how cool Clayton and Paula are, so we are moving into their offices. Maybe I'll take some pictures and put em up once we are moved in, but we are siked because today is moving day! It will be great to spend more time working together to make a difference in children's lives for the Kingdom.

New Switchfoot Album
Hello Hurricane dropped yesterday, and it hasn't been off my ITUNES since. You definitely have to check out the title track and Sing It Out. The passion of Sing it Out is just great. I love the lyrics.

OSU vs. IOWA
This Saturday @ 3:30 the outright Big 10 Championship is on the line. I am worried about it though, because everything points to a Buckeye Win which means a lot of bad things could happen. The Buckeyes could have a letdown from last weeks great performance. They could be looking past Iowa to THE GAME against Michigan next week. Hopefully I am just a worryer, and the Buckeyes won't forget what is on the line, or that its the Seniors last game in the shoe.

HS Playoffs
Anderson and Turpin both won their 1st round playoff games, but this week both of them have a major task ahead of them Trotwood Madison and Middletown both have a lot of speed. It will be interesting, and I hope they both have great games.

Proverbs 3
I read Proverbs 3 this morning. Here is something I found both challenging and encouraging:

¹⁹ By wisdom the LORD laid the earth's foundations,
by understanding he set the heavens in place;

²⁰ by his knowledge the deeps were divided,
and the clouds let drop the dew.

²¹ My son, preserve sound judgment and discernment,
do not let them out of your sight;

²² they will be life for you,
an ornament to grace your neck.

²³ Then you will go on your way in safety,
and your foot will not stumble;

²⁴ when you lie down, you will not be afraid;
when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

No Shave November
Alright its been a week since the shave here is the update.

Yesterday Frank John (10th Grade) came into my office. Last week I had a full beard when he say me and yesterday he just stared at me and said, "What did you do! You had something so magnificent and wonderful and you just decided to shave it off?" - I don't think he is too big of a fan of No Shave November so far.

13 Cavities
Thank goodness my mom doesn't read my blog because if she did she would be mortified right now. I just have to share something catastrophic from my life. I went to the dentist yesterday. They said I had a few cavities. 13 to be exact. I felt like I should be getting fitted for dentures right then and there. The first 18 years of my life= No Cavities. 18-22 yrs old=3 cavities. 22-24= 13 cavities. Is there a Biggest Loser for people with Obscene dental issues? They asked about my dental hygiene habits (I do everything but floss), and after that they tried to make me feel better by telling me sometimes our bodies just change. I am terrified! My teeth could have at least done me the favor of telling me they were going to heck in a handbasket.

Why Small Groups Can Be So Tough
One of the HS Guys I am mentoring started helping with one of our Middle School Small Groups this past week. He did a great job and it was neat watching him connect with the students. We were talking afterwards about how interesting small groups are, especially with Middle School Students. They say some really interesting things (ie- Zach saying, "I brag to my pillow every night, 'I have arms and legs and you are just a pillow for my head to rest on.' ") Still they also have great insights and depth to them.

We were talking about different aspects of our group and one thing we focused in on was positive and negative reinforcement. Its easy to just give attention to the students who act out in negative ways. Its easy to say be quiet etc. Its harder to reward students for great answers or great questions or just for sharing. During this school year though we have already recognized the growth in some of our students from that positive reinforcement. If you make a habit of rewarding students for contributing and participating they will start doing it more and identifying themselves in new ways. Its not the easiest thing to do but it makes a huge difference.

Another Wednesday Morning Thoughts and Ramblings

If you want to waste 2 hours of your life

Here is something cool to check out on youtube. Pick out one of your favorite youtube videos and then take watch out of the url and replace it with warp.swf and then hit enter. Its pretty cool what happens. Let me know if you try it.

Work, Life , Parenting: The Ultimate Juggling Act

I went to the Anderson Town Center for the first time last night. It is an incredibly beautiful building. The theatre is gorgeous. The Area Chamber of Commerce held a seminar on parenting. I thought it was a tremendous and even courageous effort on their part. I have it said that Parents just don’t go to things like this (its hard because their so busy). I know its true, because in Student Ministry we have to make a really big effort to get a good parent turnout for a seminar or a panel. All that to say I really applaud the Township for putting something on like this. The speakers, Sharon Guard (Anderson Hills UMC), Dave Brewer (Beech Acres Parenting Center), and Sherry Gibson (Fifth Third Bank) all had good things to say. Alicia asked me afterwards what I took way from it. My first response was that parents don’t have time for things like this (Sadly the event was poorly attended). This morning though I went back and looked at my notes and here are the nuggets I came away with:

• Take every opportunity to point out your child’s strengths
• Don’t miss life’s wake up calls.
• Children and Student Ministers get 40-50 hrs a year with the average child. Parents get 3000 with their child.
• You have got to make sure your family is having regular meals together

Thanks again to the Anderson Town Center for putting this together. I really appreciated them putting the emphasis on Families.

Yankees vs. Phillies

The World Series starts tonight! I am excited. As much as I detest the Yankees, I am not super upset they are in it either. I will only get upset if they when. There are a couple things I am really looking forward too. First I am looking forward to the former Cleveland Indian’s Aces Matching Up. How did the Indians not win a Series with Cliff Lee and CC Sabathia as their 1 and 2? Also, I am hoping that A-Rod gets into like a 1 for 25 rut (Am I bad person?). Finally, I am looking forward to seeing two incredibly potent offenses facing off against 2 pitching staffs that are good but not great. It should make for a great series with close games. I am calling Phillies in 6 games.

1 Peter 2:1-3 (NLT)

¹ So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. ² Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, ³ now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.

I read this today during my devotions. I talked with my guys this morning at breakfast of how being grateful affects your life. Its easy when you have all your physical needs being continually met to feel like you really don’t need or crave anything. It’s a simple thought, but we can not let the taste of God’s Kindness fade in our memories. If we do we will slide back into old habits and behaviors and forget just how much we crave spiritual nourishment.

Check out Clayton’s Blog

Our Children’s Minister Clayton Hershner is great guy. He has been sharing some pretty heartfelt stuff and cool stories on his blog. Check it out.

Middle School Retreat

The retreat was a blast and it was amazing to watch our students connect to God and each other. Look for a blog entry with photos and stories sometime in the next couple of days.

Work, Life and Parenting: The Ultimate Juggling Act

The Anderson Area Chamber of Commerce is holding an event for Parents this October 27 at 7PM. It is called Work, Life, and Parenting. I have talked with one of the planners and they are very excited about all they have lined up. Here are some of the people that will be sharing:

• David Brewer, Beech Acres Parenting Center
• Sherry Gibson, a senior Executive in the banking industry
• Sharon Guard, Director of Family Ministry at Anderson Hills United Methodist Church

This looks like it will be a very beneficial thing. I am not even a parent, but I am planning on going. I think it will be valuable. Maybe you should check it out too. If you are interested let me know. Afterwards if any one is interested we can all go grab some Graeters or some dessert somewhere else and talk about what the speakers said.