...What You Gonna Do?

Saturday afternoon/evening

Quinn Mallonee, Jacob Hord

After lunch, we met in the big room to go to the mast general store. Once we 
finished at the store we returned to the annex and had free time, it was raining 
so we had to stay inside. A portion of the group hiked up to the waterfall 
despite the weather the rest of the group watched Rudy. Once everyone was 
prepared we went to dinner and ate lasagna. After dinner we had the Miss Valle 
Crucis pageant where Parker pulled out a victory. After that we played some 
games and sang some songs. Later we a watched a video about how to be yourself 
and discussed it in groups. After that we had a very quick snack. Later we had 
the zilch prayer then came the 8th grade spotlight. Once that was over we handed 
out our shirts that said "It's Your Life,What You Gonna Do?". Lastly some of the 
group stayed at the house while the other part went to the graveyard to hear 
some ghost stories. Finally we all went to our places to sleep.

It's Your Life....

Saturday morning at Valle Crucis 

Julia towner, Jillien Zukaitis, Ava smith



After we woke up this morning we headed up to breakfast at about 8. After breakfast we gathered together and learned about teamwork during a scavenger hunt all around Valle Crucis.Then we played a couple quick fun games. We then got together by grades and figured out that God gives us many hints in the bible,we just have to find them. After that each grade level got an old item. The 6th grade a gutter, 7th a trash can, and 8th a box. We restored them to new items. After that we watched a video about an 18 year old girl name Latipha Cross who has overcome homelessness, abuse, cancer two times, bad adoptions, and deaths of family. Things most of us never go through in a life time. She solved her problems by running. In one of her senior year races she wore bright neon shoe laces and socks. We got pink and yellow shoe laces and wrote the verse, psalm 55:22 on them. We also got together by grades and made crosses out of sticks we found outside together. We then went to lunch and ate BBQ!

Living in community

Friday Night at Valle Crucis:

Once we finally arrived, we got situated and right away started on our program. 
We got to know each other a little better by singing songs and playing games.

After that we listened to our theme song 

"It's Your Life" and talked about our 
personal life's. Then we did our devotion, which taught us to soak up all of 
God's teachings and how it would change us.

We concluded our night with huddling around the bonfire and roasting marshmallows. We then called it a night and settled into our rooms and talked with friends until it was lights out.

Chelsea and Olivia

In Remembrance of 9/11

This is a poem Catherine wrote shortly after the attack in 2001 and shared with our church family several days before the year anniversary of this tragic event. Hard to believe 11 years later we are still in a war as a result of 9/11. May we continue to pray for all persons impacted by this tragedy then, now and in the years to come.

Above all else let us live as faithful followers of the Prince of Peace and, in the words of the author of the Letter to the Colossians: “As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other….” (Colossians 3:12-13, NRSV) 
 Statement from Bishop Goodpaster prior to the 10th anniversary of September 11th.

Bread of Life

Below is the devotion I shared with the Senior High Youth at Prayer Breakfast last Tuesday:

If you were in church Sunday (Sept. 2) you had communion. I was in Chapel Hill at Catherine's church and we also broke bread together at the communion table. In today's world there is discussion about what kind of bread to use, some even want a Gluten Free option. We have that luxury. Back in Jesus' day, bread was a staple, it was a complete necessity. We can't possibly understand its importance because we have choices. We can even chose not to eat bread if we are watching our figure. 

But the very city of Bethlehem is named "House of Bread," which shows its significance during that time period. It was also an important symbol of Jesus' invitation to eat with him. In the book of Luke alone there are 22 references to Jesus eating with others. Ninety percent of the people were poor, so they relied on bread and Jesus to sustain them.  Bread was also a sacrament, just as it is today. Bread was coveted and particularly sacred then, but it is important that we are reminded just how special and significant it is now.

So when you go to school or work today and others say why do you have Prayer Breakfast share with them it is because we recognize this is a staple for starting our day with God, we acknowledge it as a symbol of Jesus' love for us and we honor the sacrament of breaking bread together as an important discipline. He believed in it then and wants us to continue it now.

and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 1 Corinthians 11:24

 

Keep Your Eyes on the Prize

Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest. -Hebrews 3:1

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. -Philippians 3:14

      In the second quarter of the Carolina football game, the quarterback threw a long pass and the defensive back and wide receiver jockeyed for king of the field. The d-back tipped the ball as the UNC receiver fell to the ground, an incomplete pass was sure to be signaled. Somehow, the Carolina player managed to catch the football as it was falling to the ground. Unbelievable!  The crowd erupted in jubilation. It was an awesome catch, but his concentration was even more amazing. He never lost sight of the ultimate goal: to catch the ball.  

      As the re-play was captured on the Jumbotron, it occurred to me how eerily similar it resembled our game of life. As Christians, we need to maintain a supreme focus on Jesus, prayer and scripture, but all too often there are distractions, tipped balls and interferences with those goals.  I am embarrassed to say that I probably have more incomplete passes at Christ-likeness, than  I do completions.  So my short-term commitment is to sharpen my exclusive attention to the characteristics of Christ. It won't be easy when I am stumbling, or when someone is intentionally distracting me, but just like the receiver, I am determined to catch the prize.

Dear Father, 

Help me seek undistracted communion with you each and every day.

Amen