Boys versus Girls

Our staff is 1/2 men and 1/2 women. Today we had staff meeting at Fun Depot. We needed a little R & R and team building. So the first thing the guys want to do is kill the girls at lazer tag. Little did they think...Tracy loves video games, Amy is highly competitive and Glenda is a trained sharp shooter. I only scored 6500 points (half as many as Amy) but we beat them. It was so much fun.

Go girls! And, BTW, we beat Claude at skee ball too!

HalloWest

Many Pastor bloggers debated going to Halloween events, dressing up, churches calling Halloween events Harvest or Fall Festivals, etc. But after attending Hallowest last night I know that there is a need for the community to pull together and celebrate together.

Common Saints http://www.commonsaints.net/ had some of the crowd dancing and the babies bopping. The live band added so much to the event. Someone from the apartments across the street heard them playing and came over to check it out. The dual lane slide always had a line. We "ran" out of candy, cooked a few hundred hot dogs, and hosted the community for a night of laughs.

Over 174 kids under the age of 12 attended the event with only 70 of them being Covenant Kids. Around 600 people attended this two hour event including volunteers, parents, grandparents, neighbors, teenagers, kids and church staff. Word on the street has it that next year Halloween is on Friday and Hallowest will be open a little longer!

Thanks to the 40+ volunteers that manned the rides, food, trough or treat, glow in the dark putt-putt and registration. You guys rock! And a big thanks to Sheriff Jim Sanders for all his marketing, dedication and direction.

Chase the Lion

2 Samuel 23:20

This is a little known scripture in the Bible. It actually turns out to be quite the story. Mark Batterson, Pastor of National Community Church in Washington, DC has a lot of insight into this story. Watch Video

Now it has been turned into small group material. I suggest reading the book and then doing the study with your small group. Or do it with your older children. It's a great study!

I read this book, but I hear college students and high school students really enjoy it. I think it could be a great stocking stuffer (the book).

Everyone has a "Lion" to chase. What's yours?

New Book - Going All The Way

Craig Groeschel has written a new book, Going All The Way. This book is meant to help people prepare for a Godly marriage.

I've read two of his other books that were phenomenal. You should gift anyone you know preparing for marriage. I would also think it would be a great book for youth pastors or young adult pastors to read for counseling information.

Wearing Christianity on Your Sleeve

Last night Mike & I went to Wild Wings for dinner. We like to play trivia. I wish I could report that I beat him, but last night was his night. He won.

I had on my Hallowest Shirt and as we were leaving a girl approached us (she was very persistent) and told us that she was new in town, in a bad place and needed food. Could we go back into the restaurant or meet her at the convenience store and buy her some food? My first thoughts always are why did you leave where you were and come to a new place where you don't know anyone and can't get food? Did you leave the safety (or maybe unsafe) haven at your parents to find freedom and mooch off strangers? Or are you truly in this world alone and needing help from strangers?

We are three blocks from the shelter where they just served a meal. They don't let you in if you are high so it made me wonder. I don't want to perpetuate the homeless epidemic in Asheville; however, it was hard to say no. Also, knowing that on my back was our church name and website. But I honestly feel I do more with my money by giving it to our church to help ABCCM or by giving it to ABCCM than I do by giving it to someone on the street.

All I could think about was Francis Chan at Orange 2007 saying do we love our neighbors as ourselves Matthew 22:39 and will we get to heaven and be asked why we didn't feed Jesus? Matthew 25:40 John 21:15

Anyone any thoughts?

Challenge to Fathers

http://www.evotional.com/2007/10/three-challenges.html

Mark Batterson, Pastor of National Community Church in Washington, DC is on a year-long quest with his son Parker. In the link you will find some of his plans to disciple his son. It's so exciting to me when I hear about fathers taking an interest in not on the physical growth of their child, but also the intellectual and spiritual growth.

Father, thank you for the dads in our community. Let them see their children's spiritual growth as important. Give them tools to teach their children about You & Your son and the desire to draw their child into a growing relationship with You. Let them be lights to other fathers and let them have relationships with their children. Amen!

Parents are Clueless

One of the churches I follow for wisdom and tips (Newspring in Anderson, SC) is getting ready to do a parenting series on Sunday mornings. In doing so they put up bulletin boards around their county with a website www.parentsareclueless.com that gives students and parents the opportunity to anonymously write things either about their children or their parent. I started reading through the comments and I'm in tears. What children are going through, what parents feel, hopelessness, fear, anger, regret, and actually some thankfulness. It made me rethink my relationship with Brooklyn.

You might want to check it out.

Have a great rest of your weekend and I hope to see you tomorrow morning!