We also decorated the church this past Sunday. We hung lights, decorated a tree, hung branchy, viney, long things. and set up the big room for a major chiknpotpie feast. It was yummy good.

We ate, listened to music and read the meaning of christmas traditions stuff. I read about the colors of Christmas. Red and green, ya know. I wasn't wearing red and green while I read about it.

Christmas bible verse...

Luke 1:26-38
In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

 "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?"

The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God."

"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.

There is a new movie called The Nativity Story out right now that goes over the story of Mary and Joseph, and the birth of Christ. I think I will check it out. Maybe we can discuss the movie later. Go see it and meet me back here. bye

tomr

We are saved by faith, not works. Read Romans 9:30-33

What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the "stumbling stone." As it is written:

   "See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble
    and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who
    trusts in him will never be put to shame." (Isaiah 8:14; 28:16)

Still, we must work, We shouldn't just sit around reaping God's faithful blessings. So monday afternoon, out we went. We carried 50 bags of wood pellets from a back porch down to a wood stove in the basement. The elderly couple that needed the help were thankful for our service. We hung some wreathy stuff and looked at christmas flashy lights. We saw real life struggle and helped in the way that we could. That is all we can do. And what we should do.

tomr

we met and did our hanging out this week. here, but not here... visited myspaces, sat in small piles of humanity, tugged heartstrings, chased, stood, swatted, and tossed. all these things are easy to do. no practice required. our faith is a practice. our existance is a "blah, here i am".

Matthew 28:19-20
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

a great commission is something that would impact your concious. make you think, even when you are chilly-chillin'. move you to action. that is where we all go sooner or later. see you there. when we all go home...

tomr

We went out on a service project this monday afternoon. Picking weeds... ugh! None were super excited about getting on our hands and knees to fight blades of grass in an amazon jungle of ground cover. Work doesn't last forever though, and we soon enough switched to the fun part of the work day. PIZZA! We devoured 2 pizzas in about 15 minutes and then shuffled our tele-tubby-tummies back home to spend the rest of the no-school day being our usual chillin' selves.

Matthew 9:37-38
Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

We will continue to look for ways that we can serve others as we learn and grow in faith and strength. (But pray for us to not have to wrestle weeds again...)

tom

Thanksgiving has passed and we are all heavier and sleepier for it. Then on to black friday! Mandy and Tom stayed up all night to get a cheap laptop. Woohoo! We were not happy when people cut in line ahead of us, and when we were insulted. But..., we did end up with a new computer! woohoo!

John 16:33
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.
In this world you will have trouble. But take heart!
I have overcome the world."

Then Alysia Sufrin and Stereos played at our church. They were both great. Thanks to both for your awesome performances. People are blessed by your work. We will look forward to having you back this coming year.

We drank decaf and full caf and half caf until we couldn't hold it any more. We checkered ourselves silly. And we partied like it was 1999! What?

Ecclesiastes 11:9-10
Be happy, young man, while you are young, 
and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. 
Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, 
but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment.
So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the
troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless.

Next time... giant teatherball. oh yeah....

tomr

turkeyday!

new game!

shopping tomorrow!

woohoo!

it's another youth sunday and we have  a good group hangin' out. we talked about old and new bible stuff and ended with the great commission (matt. 28:18). go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit! I shoulda grabbed a big bucket and started soakin'. A slip-n-slide of salvation! woo-hoo!

then on to pingpong baseball. some participated while others played solo hide and seek. one casualty. a flattened pingpong ball. doh! i wish i coulda saved it.

today is the beat the bushes, call out the reserves day. i need ppl to come to the coffeehouse this (someday soon) sunday night, nov. 26, 6-9pm. come out, come out wherever you are!

i just though of a great game to play sunday night. hmmm... i need to print out some pics asap.

pray for seth's sis n dad, kristin's mom n herself, bunnies, kittens, and small furry things in general. remember

tomr

hey kids, it's time for sunday school! today's lesson is prayer. should you do it? YES! but make it real. mt. 7:7 reads- don't just go on and on like blah, blah, blah..... instead say something meaningful and heartfelt. even if it's just a little bit of meaningful. Like, Lord I'm sad about my bad grades. Or please help my Mom get over her cold. Or, thanks for making me a happy, fun person in this great world you created. It's just awesome. Thank you!

We also talked about getting your foot run over by a lawnmower and watching it chunk out the lawn mower shoot and fly across the yard. eeewwwww!

Thanks for that not happening Lord.. Amen!

tomr

we played s.m.ball thurs. but i just watched. i am stuck on the level that you have to roll down a ramp and then launch onto another ramp. it is ridiculous! then we ate ice cream. and a twix.

lesson was the 10 commandments. where do you find them? old testament. exodus 20. remember? moses... stone tablets....

1. God says, have no god other than me.

2. Don't make any idols.

3. Don't use my name as a swear word.

4. Rest the seventh day with me.

5. Honor your mother and father.

6. Do not kill anyone.

7. Do not commit adultry.

8. Do not steal.

9. Do not lie.

10. Do not covet others stuff.

you can find them in Deut. also. they deserved repeating. pretty simple rules that make sense to remember. okay? tomr

We met last night to whack on a little evergreen tree/bush, and think about website design. We chunked a whole pickup truck load of branches and tonight we will stuff them under Sam's bed so her room smells pine fresh! mmmmm...

Tomorrow, we will chop and hack some more. 'til there's nothin' but stump.

Time for a lesson.

Okay, what would you do? Parable (story with a lesson)...

"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent." Luke 15:4-7

That was the lesson from last night. Chelsea read and we had a little discussion. The parable reveals another of God's amazing hidden truths. If you wander away from the good group, he will go out look for you until he finds you. It should make you feel loved and important. Think about it,,,,

youth guy

TomR