What Kids Are Thankful For

Happy Thanksgiving!  Here’s the official Top 10 List of Things That the Three-Year-Olds at the Training Station Are Thankful For, according to some colorful paper turkeys they made:

(10) “coloring with markers”

(9) “monster trucks”

(8) “non-spicy pizza”

(7) “the color purple”

(6) “my softer Spiderman toy that Daddy won for me”

(5) “oranges and grapes and soup too”

(4) “Morris, a pet that has spots and is happy”

(3) “ducks because they are yellow”

(2) “the number 2”

(1) “lions and tigers and bears, oh my!”

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Published in: on November 27, 2008 at 1:25 pm  Leave a Comment  

Living in Peace

We wrapped up the Real Life series yesterday at CrossWay with a message called “Living in Peace.”  We talked about several verses that help us live in peace with each other.  There are things we can do to promote peace with other people, and there are ways we can restore peace once it’s been broken.

Verses we read include 1 Thessalonians 5:13-15; Ephesians 4:29-32; Proverbs 27:5-6; Psalm 141:3; Luke 6:31; Proverbs 28:13; James 5:16; and Proverbs 12:20.

These passages of Scripture teach us that we can live in peace with others by treating them as we want to be treated, and speaking to build others up instead of tear them down.

When a relationship has been damaged by conflict, peace can be restored when we accept responsibility for our wrong, confront others in love, refuse to hold a grudge, and forgive.

We closed the worship service by sharing in Communion to celebrate the peace with God that we have through Jesus Christ.

Next week begins the Christmas season, and we’ll launch a new series called “Are You Ready for Christmas?”

Hard to believe it’s already Christmastime again!

Published in: on November 24, 2008 at 1:54 pm  Comments (1)  

You Might Be Southern Baptist If…

This is awesome.

Published in: on November 22, 2008 at 5:36 am  Leave a Comment  

Caffeinated Art

Last night my brother-in-law Michael created a caffeinated masterpiece.  He’s already a very talented latte maker, but last night he added some coconut depth that just took it to a whole new level.  It was so delicious it made me emotional–for a minute I thought I might even cry.  It was just beyond words; it was even beyond poetic expression.  So smooth, rich, and foamy, with a flavor that was pleasing at first taste but quickly crescendoed into ecstasy.  It was unbelievable.  It was such an amazing creation that it caused a dilemma: to drink it meant that it would be no longer, but not drinking it was not even to be considered.

In the end I followed the advice of a beer billboard I saw: Sip.  Savor.  Repeat.

A portrait of the artist as a (barely) young man:

Published in: on November 21, 2008 at 11:54 am  Comments (2)  

And Now It’s Snowing Again

Yesterday I drove up to Pennsylvania for a couple meetings and a two-day class.  This morning I woke up in Oxford, Pennsylvania and saw this out the window:

“A nice little dusting of snow in rural PA,” I thought.  “How quaint.”

It stopped being quaint about a half hour into my drive northeast, when the dusting became a full-fledged snowstorm.  This picture doesn’t really show it, but here it is anyway:

A better picture would’ve been the one with the cows standing in a field with the snow drifts going halfway up their legs, but it wasn’t exactly stop-say-cheese-and-snap-a-memory kind of weather.

Anyway, to make a long story (and a long drive) short, I couldn’t get anywhere near Frazer where the class is.  After slipping and sliding and skidding in traffic that averaged about 0.352 miles per hour, I stopped at a gas station to ask about an alternate route to Frazer.  Their response was pretty much along the lines of: “You’re not getting even close to Frazer.  Anywhere else you want to go?”  As I returned to Oxford I passed miles and miles of traffic just sitting there, with several cars parked at weird angles off the side of the road.

Well, at least I got to hang out with some people.

November weather in Lancaster County sure is different from Ocean City!

Published in: on November 21, 2008 at 11:39 am  Leave a Comment  

Running Circles in Deer Park

This is weird.  I’m trying to get Deer Park water delivery for our church, but their website doesn’t tell you how much their plans cost!  It keeps sending me around in circles.  How effective can that possibly be?  I just don’t get it.  Quite literally.

Published in: on November 19, 2008 at 10:37 am  Leave a Comment  

11 Weeks

A friend of ours from the Training Station recently loaned us a book called Pregnancy Week By Week.  It’s really cool because the people that wrote it seemed to have thought of everything possible related to pregnancy.  There’s a chapter for each week of pregnancy, and in each chapter they explain what’s going on with the mom’s body and how the baby is developing.

One of the coolest things is that each week has an actual-size drawing of what the baby looks like at that stage.  When we first got the book last week and I opened it up to week 10 and saw the picture, I almost cried.  Yeah yeah, I know I’m a weenie, but it was such a shock–the baby is already bigger than an action figure and looks like a real person!  Very cool stuff.

Carolyn and the baby are now at 11 weeks.  The baby has fingernails now.  (As you probably know if you saw the movie Juno.)  The baby weighs about three-tenths of an ounce and is just under two inches long from head to butt (apparently that’s how babies are measured before they’re born).

Here’s what our baby looks like.  Isn’t s/he cute?:

Published in: on November 19, 2008 at 10:23 am  Comments (2)  

Real Life: Living With Leadership

At CrossWay on Sunday we picked up again with the Real Life series in a message called “Living with Leadership.”  We spent some time looking at 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13a and Hebrews 13:17.

These passages talk about the importance of supporting our leaders.  Leaders are not only those who hold a position of authority over us.  Leaders are those who influence us.  Leadership is influence.  In the church, leaders are those who influence people to move from where they are toward where God wants them to be.

We have responsibilities to our leaders.  These passages teach that we must support and love them.  How can we do this?  Pray for them, follow them, become good leaders ourselves, and step up into whatever leadership roles God is calling us to.

Two questions for you:

(1) Who are you following?  (That is, who is influencing you?)

(2) Who is following you?  (That is, who are you influencing?)

Published in: on November 18, 2008 at 11:44 am  Leave a Comment  

Pics from CrossWay’s 25th

A big thanks to Kristen for these pictures she took from the 25th anniversary celebration at CrossWay!

Published in: on November 13, 2008 at 5:36 am  Leave a Comment  

Watch for Deer

The location for this collision could not have been worse.  Here’s the sight that greeted me as I pulled into the church driveway this morning:

This is what everyone heading westbound along Route 50 saw this morning, as well as all the parents and children who were coming to the preschool.  Eventually the State Highway Administration came and hauled off the deer.  Meanwhile, our church wasn’t exactly giving the kind of impression we typically aim for.  I figured the least I could do was change the sign to accommodate the situation:

Published in: on November 12, 2008 at 4:30 pm  Comments (7)  
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