Fire Cantata

I am probably the world's worst blogger, since I have not added anything since November. That will all change when I have Internet in my home. Which needs to happen in the next week, since we are hopefully getting a computer for the house.

This past Wednesday our youth praise band, The Fire at 4th and State put on a Christmas cantata. It was Todd Agnew's "Do You Hear What I Hear?" It has 11 songs written from the different points of view of those associated with the Nativity. It was a very meaningful night for all who attended. I know for certain that I didn't have a dry eye most of the night. There are probably apologies owed to those around me who had to listen to me singing along with the tunes. The music of Christmas is powerful. To think that our God sent his one and only Son to earth to live and die for us is incredible. As I work on sermons for this weekend and Christmas Eve, I am constantly reminded about the real meaning of the season. Please join us here at Grace Church this weekend and on Christmas Eve at 4:30 as we explore salvation through Christ! That is the best gift of all.

What a Trip It Was

The youth from Grace have returned from Bayou La Batre, Alabama and the impact has been amazing. The students that went were incredible! They all worked so hard and learned so much about how God works. We spent two days doing work projects and two days helping with a local kids club. Each night we spent together doing some traveling around the community and seeing some local sights.
The highlight for me was our club time and church time every night. The club time was a a time when the whole group was together and a YouthWorks staff member led us in worship and with a lesson. Afterwards, we went into church time. This was a chance for just our Grace group to meet and talk about what had happened that day. I enjoyed hearing what the student's experiences were and what they had learned that day.
I can assure that the students that we took on this trip were changed. The way that God worked in their lives was incredible. We studied Luke 1:37, which says, "For nothing is impossible with God." I know the students believe that and I know that I will never doubt that again.

Wet and Wild Wednesday

Last night we had a cookout and played some water games at our house. It was a great night as we had 24 students come. We played drip drip drop, Alkaseltzer tag, and did some relays with water guns and water balloons. The students here are so much fun to be around and play games with. I haven't had a chance to mess with the pictures yet, but I will be doing that later today. Our new website, www.gracejolt.weebly.com will also have pictures up very soon.

NEW WEBSITE

I have some exciting JOLT news for all of you today. www.gracejolt.weebly.com Is up and running. You can to there and keep up to date with all that is going on. The best part about it is, Marjorie is the webmaster. It is very exciting to have a student who is willing to run the site and keep it up to date. Her creativity is far above mine, so that will help the site immensely. She will be putting a link to this blogspot on the site. Now there are more ways than ever to keep up the JOLT ministry here at Grace United Methodist Church.

Big Sale

Last Saturday we had a fantastic 1st annual big sale here at Grace. It was sponsored by the youth and the hospitality committee. Let me assure you, it would not have happened without their help. The ladies on the hospitality committee were fantastic, they did so much to help make sure everything went off without a hitch. Which it almost did.... we found out on Friday that the Pekin Daily Times had not placed our ad. This was not a good thing. I know many garage salers plan their Saturday route on Friday, and we were not in there to be looked at.

As we all know, God is in control and he works to bring good to His children. Of course, the sale went great on Saturday. There were a lot of great students who came to help and of course the hospitality committee and my wife were there to help also. Many of the folks who came through found some great bargains and I think we helped the community out with the a bag sale we held at the end of the day. You bought a bag for $1.oo and you could fill it as full as possible. There were many satisfied customers leaving with full bags of great stuff.
Thanks to all who donated and helped and shopped.

What a trip

The junior high mission trip to the Midwest Distribution Center in Chatham was a great success. The students had a great time working with the other volunteers there and learning about all the good that the center does. The students put together health and school kits. Some worked on preparing flood buckets, while others mowed the grounds. There was time for fun too as we went to Knight's Action Park and to Dell's Popcorn Shop in downtown Springfield.
Below you can see some of the fun we were having as we played some water games one night at the dorm. This Sunday June 22nd we will be giving a report to both services about the trip. Please come and here all that happened on our exciting journey.

Off to Chatham!

Now you are probably asking, "why are you going to Chatham?" Located in Chatham is the Midwest Distribution Center. We are taking a group of junior high students there to serve at the center for a couple of days. I can't tell you exactly what we will be doing, but I do know it is going to be hot down there. The temp is supposed to reach 90 degrees over the next couple of days! The good news is we will be heading to Knights Action Park on Saturday.
If I can find a computer with internet access I will post about our trip here on this blog. Otherwise I will have to wait and do it upon our return on Saturday. Please pray for our group!

Graduation Weekend

Graduation weekend is here. The seniors of Pekin Community High School will be going through their commencement exercises on Sunday afternoon. The weather for that day looks fantastic and I am very excited to go and see it. This time of year can be filled with stress also. Houses need to be cleaned for open houses, and the prospect of leaving home and starting the next part of your life can be scary. This weekend I am preaching the services at Grace and we will be studying Matthew 6:25-34. In these verses Jesus teaches us about worry. He tells us that worry is not necessary. As a matter of fact, in verse 33 it says "seek first his kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

Come this weekend and we will learn how to actually do that.
Of course, Congratulations Graduates!

Jr. High Missions

Last night we had our first jr. high parent and student mission meeting. We are going to the Midwest Distribution Center which is located in Chatham, IL. The students will be going down there to serve in the Center. This will be the first mission experience for these students, and the first for me here at Grace. We will be heading down on a Thursday and working all that day. Friday will also be a work day, with Saturday being a trip to Knights Action Park. The students we are taking are super, and I am so excited to have the opportunity to work with them.
This week is busy as graduation nears, and I am excited to see the students prepare to move on to the next phase of their lives.

bowling, climbing, and rockin out

This past month has offered a lot of opportunities for me to hang out and have some fun with the JOLT students. Over spring break we had the chance to go bowling at Roxy's here in town. We were able to secure a great deal! I would suggest making that the place for all of your group bowling needs. Two weekends ago, we headed to a farm in Canton and did some rock climbing. One of our parents took us and showed us how to climb the wall properly. That was a blast. I think everyone was a little sore for the next couple of days, but it was well worth it.

Last Friday, some students, with Chris and I went to a great concert. Superchick, Disciple, KJ 52 (not that great), Britt Nicole (Chris' favorite), and Starlit Platoon. Their lead singer is the drummer for Superchick. They were surprisingly good. I had never heard any of their stuff before. It was a really long night! I think I crawled into bed around 3:30 am. Let me tell you something, I am way to old to stay out that late. Unfortunately, the nap I attempted to take the next day didn't go so well. My ears were still ringing from the great music the night before.

There will be pictures coming from those last two events very soon!

Walleyball

No school on Presidents' Day? Great. Come play Walleyball from 4-5 at Parkside. I have reserved two courts, so we can divide up as much as we need to.