Thoughts and Shots from Tanglewood: Summer 2006

ENTER THE SACRED...

...was the theme of our week of camp this year. The idea was that through Spiritual Disciplines (i.e. meditating, fasting, Bible reading, Bible studying, prayer, journaling, solitude, etc.) we move from casual relationship with God, into a passionate relationship with our Creator.

Here's Jessi being launched from the Blob

Matthew in mid flip!



"Superficiality is the curse of our age…. The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people."

-Richard Foster, "Celebration of Discipline"

"Silence is frightening because it strips us as nothing else does, throwing us upon the stark realities of our life."

-Dallas Willard, "The Spirit of the Disciplines"

"Stop trying to impress people with your clothes and impress them with your life."

-Richard Foster, "Freedom of Simplicity"

Abbot Agatho frequently admonished his disciple, saying: Never acquire for yourself anything that you might hesitate to give to your brother if he asked you for it, for thus you would be found a transgressor of God's command. If anyone asks, give it to him, and if anyone wants to borrow form you, do not turn away from him.

-from"Wisdom of the Desert: Translations from the 'Verba Seniorum,'" by Thomas Merton

"One of the monks, called Serapion, sold his book of the Gospels and gave the money to those who were hungry, saying: I have sold the book which told me to sell all that I had and give to the poor."

-from"Wisdom of the Desert: Translations from the 'Verba Seniorum,'" by Thomas Merton.

"Those who live prayerfully are constantly ready to receive the breath of God, and to let their lives be renewed and expanded."

-Henri J. M. Nouwen, "With Open Hands"

"Jesus took a towel and a basin and redefined greatness."

-Richard Foster, "Celebration of Discipline"

Journaling: Wednesday June 21st - Tuesday July 5th

This is two weeks worth of journaling. Remember that I will be out of town June 28th, so there will be no youth group until July 5th.
Contact Jessi F. if you are interested in still getting together for a game night or to watch a movie. If you do get together I ask you to remember to continue being respectful to the family whose home you meet in.

Wednesday June 21st, 2006 – Tuesday July 5th, 2006

Scriptures to Read:
Psalm 141:2 Matthew 5:43-44
Matthew 6:5-15 Matthew 26:36-46
Mark 11:20-25 Luke 11:1-13
John 17 Acts 2:42
Philippians 4:6 Colossians 4:2-4
1 Thessalonians 5:17 Hebrews 5:7
James 5:13-18

Thoughts to Journal:

#1 Someone recently said, “If you do not pray, you do not have a relationship with Jesus”. Journal your thoughts.
#2 Finish this sentence: “The person I reveal myself the most to is…., because….”
#3 Re-write the Lord’s Prayer in your own words. (Matthew 6:9-13)
#4 Journal: What if…you could spend 24 hours with anyone in the world?
#5 In your own words describe what prayer is.
#6, #7, #8 Write out your prayers for three days.
#9 Journal: Would you rather make a phone call, send a text message, or send an e-mail.
#10 How does God typically respond to your prayers.

UN-BE-LIEV-ABLE !!!

OK...where to start.
I think I should say that I understand where all of this comes from. (You're asking "where what comes from?"... hang with me I'll get to that). There are "things" in this world that are really great! And Jesus is really great too. And how much better would those "things" in this world be if there was a Jesus version of them? Obviously the greatest EVER!!!!!

Unfortunately this logical thinking doesn't really play out. And you know what I mean. It's those cheesy Christian t-shirts, or those obnoxious bumper stickers, or those bad "end of the world" movies. Those things that make you frustrated your a believer.

And there is plenty of it.

Jesus told us to be LOVE in our culture, not to create a sub-culture that we easily love. Instead of promoting Jesus is a manner that really celebrates who He was and what He was about, we end up with what can probably only be called "Jesus Junk",

I think I'm going to start posting all the Jesus Junk I find. So today the question is; since 1000's of people love the WWE, what if there was a Pro Wresting League for believers?

Well here you go...
http://www.ultimatechristianwrestling.com/index.html

The Top Skylines

This web-site (http://www.diserio.com/top15-skylines.html) has a listing on the top 15 skylines in the world with some honorable mentions.
I think my favorite is Singapore (pictured here).

If I were creating the list my top 5 would probably be:
1. Singapore
2. Pittsburgh, USA
3. Guangzhou, China
4. Sydney, Australia
5. either Dubia, United Arab Emirates with it's desert or Seattle, USA with Mt. Hood in the background.

Feel free to post your top 5..

BEWARE - THIS WILL WASTE YOUR TIME

click here: http://www.googlefight.com/

I'm warning you now that by visiting this web-site you will be sucked into a world that you may never return from. Enter in your "keywords" and the battle begins. The results may not be pretty, but without a doubt there will be results!
And don't tell me that you didn't put your name in there against someone else.

-T-

Desperate for a Pop-Tart

I love Pop-Tarts, but this guy is just ridiculous.

Let this be a lesson to everyone that the lust for Pop Tarts only leads to destruction.

Click on the link below to read the article...

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,635212761,00.html

NO YOUTH GROUP JUNE 14th

This is a reminder that there will be no youth group June 14th, due to the fact that several of us will be attending camp.
Keep up with your journaling and we'll meet again on June 21st.
-T-

Journaling Wednesday June 7th, 2006 – Tuesday June 21st, 2006

Wednesday June 7th, 2006 – Tuesday June 13th, 2006

Scriptures to Read:
Nehemiah 9:17
Colossians 2:13-15
2 Chronicles 7:14
Matthew 6:9-13
Luke 23:34
Psalm 130:4
Acts 10:43
Ephesians 1:7
Hebrews 9:22

Thoughts to Journal:
This week the Scriptures are key, so read them carefully, and then use these sentence to practice your journaling.
- If I could pick a nickname for myself, I would choose…
- My parents make me mad when they…
- The best way to eat spaghetti is…
- In the last month in my life, God has…
- If I found a wallet full of cash on the street I would…
- I feel anger when…


Wednesday June 14th, 2006 – Tuesday June 21st, 2006

Scriptures to Read:
Ephesians 4:32
Colossians 3:13
Matthew 6:14-15
Mark 11:22-25
1 John 1:9


Thoughts to Journal:
#1 Journal about a time when someone asked for your forgiveness…
#2 Find the lyrics to a song that talk about being hurt by someone else, and write the lyrics in your journal.
#3 Go Online… Google Rembrandt’s “The Return of the Prodigal Son”…print the picture…post it in your journal
#4 Read the Parable of the Lost (or Prodigal) Son…Luke 15:11-32
#5 Meditate on Rembrandt’s picture, and journal your thoughts about the painting and the story in Luke 15.
#6 Finish this sentence…
- “I find it hard to forgive because…”

"24" Jack Bauer facts

Surely by now you've heard me say something about my obsession with the TV show "24". Below is a list of Jack Bauer facts that has been making the rounds on the internet and through e-mails. I think it's funny. You might have to be a "24" fan to get some of this, but just understand that Jack Bauer is one tough dude.

- Jack Bauer believes in Divine Election because he understands what it means to control everything.
- Jack Bauer is a Complimentarian- everyone submits to him.
- Jack Bauer once questioned the authenticity of the Bible, so he brought the authors back to life and tortured them until he was convinced they were telling the truth.
- Jesus will return when Jack Bauer dies. The problem is that he keeps coming back to life.
- Jack Bauer knows whether the earth is “young” or “old,” but no one’s successfully tortured it out of him.
- For Jack Bauer, confrontation is the only form of evangelism.
- 1/3 of the angels fell when Jack Bauer kicked them out of heaven for not telling him who they worked for.
- Jack Bauer is proof of Intelligent Design.
- Luckily, the Egyptians gave in after the 10th plague because number 11 was going to be Jack Bauer. (HT: Amy)
- The 10 spies gave a bad report because they saw Jack Bauer.
- Jack Bauer is his own accountability partner and community.

Try this game #2

OK this game drove me crazy. Please don't write me about being cruel to animals.
I made it all the way to level 3.

http://www.rrrrthats5rs.com/games/dont-shoot-the-puppy/

Which Action Hero Are You?

Believe it or not, but according to this quiz (http://quizfarm.com/test.php?q_id=92013&first=yes)
I resemble Indiana Jones.

Go ahead and post which action hero you are!

Would you like the Spinal Cord with your jello?

"Brains, lungs, rectum, stomach, feet, oesophagus, spinal cord, testicles, large intestine, small intestine, spleen and udder."

This list has actually just recently been banned from school lunches in England. Apparently these were allowed before?!

So the answer to what that mystery meat really is has been answered....Rectum!

Go to http://www.tes.co.uk/2237483 for the actual article.

Think Your Parents Are Overprotective?!

So the next time you start complaining about how you parents are too involved in your lives remember this story...

Mum worried about love life of daughter, 68
Social workers called out by a worried mum to speak to her daughter about her loose morals were shocked to find out their ages.
They had to tell the 92-year-old German mother that her 68-year-old daughter's love life was none of their business.
Adelheid Schmidt called the youth department of social services in Hildesheim, Lower Saxony, to complain about her daughter Tina's "uncontrollable, immoral and loose behaviour with men".
Mrs Schmidt made the call after she found out that Tina had a boyfriend.
But the social workers told her they could not help her as her "child" was 50 years past the age limit where social services can get involved.

Story from Ananova: http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1855057.html?menu

Journaling Wednesday May 31st, 2006 – Tuesday June 6th, 2006

Scriptures to Read:
Matthew 28:19-20
Acts 1:8
2 Corinthians 5:14
Mark 16:15
2 Corinthians 5:20
Romans 1:16
Philemon 1:6
Galatians 6:9
2 Thessalonians 2:14
Hebrews 12:1
Matthew 25:34-35
Romans 10:14-15

Thoughts to Journal:
#1 Choose one of the following sentences and finish it in your journal:
- The first words out of my mouth in the morning are…
- When I’m feeling overwhelmed I usually…
- When I need to go somewhere to think, I will most often…
- My favorite fragrance is…
- The best thing about our youth group is…
#2 Draw a pair of feet or make a collage of feet.
#3 Fill a page in your journals with a list of things that make you sad.
#4 Journal your answer to this question: What if God was calling you to be a missionary?
#5 Watch one half hour of news on TV and make a list of the things that would break God’s heart and another list of the things that would make God smile.
#6 Write out 3-4 of the scriptures you have read this week along with a brief description as to what they mean to you.

Try this game #1

Escapa!
http://members.iinet.net.au/~pontipak/redsquare.html

The site has the rules. Post your top times and let's see how we do!

Journaling Wednesday May 24th, 2006 - Tuesday May 30th, 2006

Scriptures to Read:
Ephesians 5:1
Philippians 3:21
2 Timothy 1:7
1 John 3:1
1 Timothy 4:11-12
2 Peter 1:3
Joshua 1:8-9
Philippians 3:13-14
Ephesians 2:10

Thoughts to Journal:
#1 Stare at yourself in a mirror for ten minutes, and then write two list, (1) what you like about yourself and (2) what you don’t like about yourself.
#2 Write a description of who others think you are.
#3 Make a list of your Top 7 favorite Movie/TV characters and then give a brief description as to why you relate to them.
#4 Write a description of who you think you are.
#5 Write a description of who God thinks you are.
#6 Stare at a mirror again for another 10 minutes, but this time tape a note to the mirror with the words “The one Jesus loves”. After the 10 minutes journal your thoughts.

YOUR GOD IS TOO SAFE

Last night we discussed the premise of a book by an author named Mark Buchanan titled Your God is Too Safe. If you would like to read a summary of this book you can visit the following link: http://www.christianbooksummaries.com/library/v2/cbs0208.pdf.

Essentially the book proposes the idea that in our journeys of following Christ, we often find our selves stuck trying to live in between the two choices we have, 1. to follow Christ or 2. to reject Christ and pursue our own agenda. Christ never said that pursuing him was going to be easy, in fact he said, " 13"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Matthew 7:13-14).
The problem is we often try to compromise the passion that is needed to be a fully devoted follower of Christ. Jesus said that we can not be lukewarm, he wants us to be honest pick a side, but not to lie to ourselves and cheat ourselves, by doing things half heartedly. (Revelation 2-3)

So the book suggested, and we did too, that to leave this "Borderland" we must discipline ourselves to create holy habits that place us daily into the presence of God. This is a dangerous thing to do. To trust God with our lives. But just like the four children in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe learned about Aslan, Jesus is not safe, but he is good!

So the book and I challenge you (and honestly me too) to practice some common and some not so common disciplines. These included:
Woundedness
Confession
Quiet
Fasting
Study
Service
Prayer
and Joyful Celebration.
I also added the discipline of journaling, and have asked that next week along with your Bibles you bring with you a journal of some kind (a spiral notebook, a Big Cheif writing pad, your diary, whatever). We as a group are going to practice this art of journaling and reflection.

TANGLEWOOD CHRISTIAN CAMP

http://www.tanglewoodchristiancamp.com/

Senior High Week of camp will be June 11th - 16th.

At the above website you will find most of the information you'll need including: registration forms, what to bring, camp rules, etc.

Soon to be available: Trevor will be information on traveling and total $. (I know that the registration forms says $115, but we may add another $5 to help cover the expense of gas to and fro.)

Don't worry, Trevor will be attending, which should be an automatic guarantee that this will one of the best weeks of your summer!

For the benefit of whoever wants to pay attention!

Students, Parents, and whoever else happens across the site. We will try and use this as our main source of communication. I'll post regularly advertising events, sharing previous lesson ideas, and basically opening up a channel of communication between us.
Feel free to post your responses and I'll be checking in at least once a day, Monday through Friday. And I won't promise anything during the weekend, but it's only two days long so don't panic.

Trevor...out!