Crazy Dog From The Soup.

My 300th Post!!!! Youth Group Thanksgiving Dinner

Last night we had our annual youth group thanksgiving dinner. It went off great and it was a great time of being together with each other! I am so thankful for this group of kids that I get to work with! Thank you to Sarah who did so much! I love you and Happy Thanksgiving to all and to all a great bite!

Catalyst One Day

Last Thursday I was able to attend the Catalyst One Day event at Granger Community Church with my good friends Bryan Donaugh and Ryan Van Matre. It was a challenging day that has given me confidence in many areas of my life. God really worked on my heart and challenged me. Steve Fee led worship and I got my pic taken with him! He is my FAVORITE worship leader out there today...he is amazing! Also, Craig Groeschel and Andy Stanley spoke amazing things into my life! Here are some pics:

Christ in Christmas- December newsletter article

We've all heard the old rant that goes something along the lines of "don't let people take Christ out of Christmas" and all the soapboxers talking about people and what they are turning Christmas into. It bothers me that people who represent the church are often times known for what they are against and what they do not allow rather than being known for what they are for and what they are all about! I'm going to let you in on a secret...there is only one person who can take Christ out of your Christmas: It's YOU!
There are a lot of things that pull us and demand our attention during this season and too often we let them become the focus. Plays, musicals, family get-togethers, traveling to all these things and many more things that are really good parts of this season and should be priorities high on your list. However, if they are ahead of remembering the real reason behind the Christmas holiday there is only one person responsible for that. So this Christmas take the time to stop often during the madness and remember the age old story of salvation and love and sacrifice that was born in a lowly manger. Take the time to realize that God loves you so much and you are worth the sacrifice of sending His only Son to earth. Take the time to share what you have realized and come to believe about Christ. That is what Christmas is all about. Christ will never be taken out of your Christmas unless you forget what Christmas is.

Brandon Heath -

This is my prayer today...

Vacation

Hey all...Vacation was great! Here is a few tidbits:

1. We slept in (mainly Sarah) every day and then woke up and ate breakfast for lunch.

2. We went to Caribou Coffee pretty much every day and played Scrabble and Ingenious and then read some while just relaxing

3. We went and watched Fireproof. It was better than what I expected and the message is one that every married couple or couple that is thinking about getting married should hear.

4. Lake Geneva is beautiful but there isn't alot to do for the average folk

5. Sarah was getting whipped by me in Scrabble at the beginning of the week but she turned the tables at the end.

6. We did a whole bunch of nothing and it was exactly what we needed! It was nice not to have a plan or something that NEEDED to be done.

7. We celebrated my 27th birthday on Sunday and then our 3rd anniversary on Wednesday...we always have a blast together no matter what we are doing

8. We couldn't figure out how to spell that big long word from the movie Mary Poppin's ...how do you spell it?

9. Wisconsin has some weird street lights...they are on the sides rather than being overhead. Also, the streets in Lake Geneva had crazy angles and you had to pay to park...keep your cheese I'll take my basketball

10. I love doing anything and nothing as long as I'm with Sarah...

Target Lady from SNL

I love this skit!

Brooke Fraser - Shadowfeet

To all those who think that the world is ending...this song is for you. Listen to the chorus when everything is through we are found in Him! Be encouraged, God is still close by

Weekly update

Hey...just wanted to update before we ...


1. Go on vacation! We are going to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. So excited to be able to get away for a while. This is an anniversary trip disguised to look like a vacation or something... oh well...Pics to follow...

2. My birthday is coming up this sunday...and I cannot wait for my birthday present from Sarah (IU tickets to a game at Lucas Oil Stadium December 6th!).

3. Our anniversary is a week from tomorrow. 3 years already...I'm amazed at the love that God has given Sarah and I and cannot wait to see what tomorrow, let alone the rest of our lives, will bring! I love you Sarah!

4. I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas so we can see the family. It is really hard when you don't live close to your family and you are in the ministry to see family that often. We miss them.

5. I'm trying to learn the piano...but it isn't nearly as easy teaching piano to yourself as it was guitar...ugh

6. I love it when you hear an old song that you haven't heard and it brings back some awesome memory that you had forgot about. Here's to old songs!

7. Do grown-ups (over 22) still make Christmas and birthday lists? Do you? I don't...but if I did I would put a new mp3 player on it...one that you can charge with a cpu rather than buying batteries all the time

8. What is up with the weather? I thought I saw snow on the ground last week and now it is in the 70's? C'mon...one or the other...don't play with me!

9. Does it seem to anyone else that time is just flying by? I cannot believe that it is November and that I'll be 27 next week! Wow...

10. IU's first exhibition game is this Friday against...Anderson University...yeah the Anderson University from Anderson, Indiana...where I grew up and graduated High School! Go IU!

Have a great rest of the week and a great week while I'm on vacation drinking lemonade

Halloween and A Walk in the Park