Hi HO IT'S OFF TO WORK I GO.....

If you would have talked to me three months ago and told me I would be working twenty hour weeks packing goat cheese, I would have told you were were crazy. Now,  I am in it and... well I still find it a bit crazy. I actually love the hours and i get to hang out with The Chad, but part of me feels like I am loosing my summer. I just always run so hard during the school year and now i am not letting down, it just worries me and starting to worry everyone around me. :/ not the best thing.... I have however gained some new experiences this summer and met some really cool new people so I won't count it as a complete loss. I am really surprised that summer is already 1/2 over! It just doesn't even seem possible, but I am not really going to argue with time (i usually lose in that argument) I have noticed that I have created a dependency on music. It is actually hard for me to go through a week without music. That is what caused me to go out last night at 10 to Walmart to buy the new Coldplay CD and a Michael Buble CD. which is what I am listening to as I type. I guess everyone has their crutch, this just happens to be mine... at least one of them. I am really curious what the month of August has stored up for me. I am starting off on a pretty good note, catching up with a friend that has been out of the US for a year. Hanging out with a pretty cool girl that is eventually heading off to college. Lava Monster. Just awesome stuff coming my way. Just hoping I really stay alive now till next Summer, or at least till the end of this one.

YQ

So this is my 3rd Youth Quake I have been to. I already have the video and collage posted and even though pictures are worth thousands of words, i thought i could also add some words along side it. 

YQ is really important to me because when I went as a student in 05 my walk with Jesus was drastically changed and in effect, my life was altered. YQ was the first time I felt called to be a pastor, and so set the course. Anyhow, it has always been important to me to help other kids get a similar experience, so I have been the last two years as a leader. I really enjoyed this round. The middle schoolers were on fire for God which was awesome to see. The leaders were all really great and easy to work with, and the projects all got done which is great for the people who were in need. By the end of the week everyone got really into the worship, and you could tell that the hearts of the middle schoolers, all 180 of them, were on fire for God and were willing to give their lives to Him. Pretty amazing stuff!

While i was there, i got to dress up as Jesus, as you can see in some of the pics. I also was placed on the "Newburg Car Wash" project where we raised money for an old folks home. I did that both Tuesday and Wednesday. Then Thursday the Salem Allianites got together and set up for the Free Kids Carnival over in Grant Park. Everyone else showed up and we had a blast letting the little tikes play games and win candy and prizes. From what i saw, everyone had a great time. (except Bethany, but that is ok, not everyone can win...). The worship was fantastic, the speakers were really great, the kids responded well. I think that overall it was a great week. 

The thing i loved most though was that the kids that truly experienced helping others were then excited to continue that life style and though it is hard and it probably will be close to never being like a camp built for it, it is still great to see this generation stepping out and wanting to be about something bigger than what they want. If our world could just step out of their "me" box for two seconds many of our "problems" would start to fade because people would actually care what happens to friends and even strangers. The farthest you can get away from God is sometimes the closest you can get to yourself.  Hopefully people will begin to realize that not everything has strings attached, that free can really mean free, that a nice gesture can affect thousands of people just because of the snowball effect. Hopefully someone wakes up and wants change. I know that i never feel as alive coming home from YQ because i start slipping into this "me" world i created. Work begins to feel like i am stealing because i am being paid. Driving by hitchhikers begins to stir up emotional attachments i never really had before. I can feel changed, now i just need to follow that up with action. 

That was GO! Youth Quake 2008

Check out a video from Youth Quake. :)

My Montage 7/20/08

Youth Quake! 2008 GO!

Go Figure, Go Work

Wow, so I had never expected to work as many hours as I did this last week. SHEW! I am excited to pay off some money I owe to my parents for stuff but let me tell you, I am completely ready for a break. Hopefully Drew Stumbo will be over to finish building the Carpetball Table for the church. *crossing fingers* I am extremely pumped for Youth Quake, our churches Middle school retreat that I will be a leader on. We get to stay on the beautiful George Fox campus and do service projects all week. :)   (I know, I take pleasure in the weirder things of life) So work-hard, time to play hard I guess?