I wish I were...

Do you ever find yourself saying "I wish I were" or "I wish I could" instead of saying "I can"or "I will".Driving the bus the other day, I heard a 6 year old say, "I can't wait until I'm 15 and I can get my permit!"(The thought of this child ever driving, made me check to make sure my seat belt was on tight) Later, I heard a teenager say they wished this school year was over so they could head off to college and have all the freedom they wanted. I helped Dad this week with book sales at the college and I heard a student say they couldn't wait until they graduated this semester so they could finally get to the real world. I caught myself saying to Jessie just the other day, "wouldn't it be nice to be in elementary school again". Being content with where you are at in your stage of life would be a tremendous quality.All the phases of life come with such exciting potential, why can't we embrace where God has put us and take hold of the opportunities given us at the time? God can and will use people at all ages, in all areas, in all social classes, and of all personalities if we are willing to be used where we are. Paul wrote in Philippians about being content in every circumstance and understanding that he could do anything through him who gives him strength. We need to learn to be content with the opportunities and circumstances that God has laid before us. Contentedness does not mean we are satisfied with living a mediocre life for Christ. Paul never gave in to his rough circumstances, but accepted them and used them as opportunities to spread the news of Christ. Use your age, location, relationships, and occupation whatever they may be to further the cause of Christ. Take courage in Jeremiah 29:11 which says, "For I know the plans I have for you", declares the Lord,"plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Still Here

It has been a while since I last posted. I am currently a substitute teacher in Wood County Schools and am enjoying that. I will be coaching elementary basketball this year and I am excited for the season. My position at Grand Central has changed a bit. I am still the intern, but my emphasis has moved out of the youth program and is now focusing on starting a young adult ministry with those in their 20s and early 30s. Things are just getting started, but I am so excited for what God is doing and will continue to do with this ministry. Those who are wondering about the Powell Ministry, Jessie and I are still working with that ministry and are excited about how things are going there. We are taking as many as 25 kids and adults to church on Wed. nights and T.A.G. is going great. There is a blog completely dedicated to the Powell ministry. It is powellministry.blogspot.com and the young adult ministry also has a blog- yamatgc.blogspot.com. My blog has been down, so I hope this will be able to be seen.

Scuff Marks

Sunday morning, I was looking at the front of the auditorium during services and something kept catching my eye. Behind the pulpit at our building , we have our baptistry. On the wall, I noticed multiple scuff marks going up the wall towards where the baptistry is located. Now, I am not one who cares about neatness and I'm actually shocked that I noticed it, but it made me think of when I was a child and I used to leave my scuff marks on that very same wall. As a child, the baptistry is a source of amazement and mystery. Every now and then someone will go back there and get dunked and as a child you notice the excitement and genuine happiness come across the crowd. The person has done something that you can just feel the importance of and you can feel that this experience marked a change in them. As a child, you want to climb that wall and look into this source of amazement and mystery.
Looking at the wall, I realize that kids are still fascinated and still want to know about this mystery and experience this change. If you watch after services, you will often find children boosting themselves up and allowing their shoes to scuff the wall beneath them, but you will never see an adult go to check it out. The mystery disappears a little as you grow older. How do we get people excited about this christianity like a child who would leave scuff marks on a wall?
You won't see a ton of fingerprints on the doors of church buildings from people so desperate to see inside. How do we get people excited about the mystery of Christ? It's most likely not going to come from having exciting worship experiences, moving messages, powerful drama, or magic water. It is going to come from watching people outside the doors who are living extraordinarily for the cause of Christ. People who will go out of their way to meet the needs of others, people who will use what they have not to further themselves but to promote success in others, and people who will stand for something bigger than this world. When people see people living like that, they will excitedly follow them in to the buildings where they worship once a week. And lets not let that be the goal. Let it be the goal that they too will become people who will live out in the community in such a way as to show Christ in their every action. Let their be scuff marks on the doors of our homes, cars, businesses, and hearts where people so excitedly want to know why we live the way we do and lets not leave them in the dark, but show them the excitement of the mystery of Christ.

Crazy Month and Top Ten Favorite Movies

I've realized lately that most people use these blog things as like online journals about what they did from day to day. I, on the other hand, just randomly throw stuff on here after a few months of nothingness. I know I'm very random. The next month is going to be an exciting and tiring adventure so I hope to come back and type a little about those things when it is all over. I just finished Workcamp which was awesome. Next week will begin Mystery Mission Trip to Just Kidding guys I'm not that stupid, then I go to Joe's camp for a week in Barbour County, then VBS at GC, then off to New Orleans to help out there. I hope to be able to share some great stories when I return. I know God wants to use us these next 3 or 4 weeks, just pray that we are willing to be used. Ok, not to disappoint all those who in some way enjoy my randomocity- Here is my top ten all-time favorite movies. (Disclaimer:It does not mean I recommend everyone to watch these movies and if You don't care for one of these movies or have a problem with one of them please realize we may share different tastes and I am not perfect).
1. Tommy Boy
2. Cool Runnings
3. Remember the Titans
4. Toy Story
5. Bruce Almighty
6. Italian Job
7. What about Bob?
8. Field of Dreams
9. Patch Adams
10. Brian's Song
Feel free to comment if we share a movie on our top ten lists!

Weird Discussion Starters

Donald is a duck, Mickey is a mouse, Pluto is a dog, what is Goofy?

What idiot put the “o” in the front of opossum? What is the dumbest spelling for a word?

If there was a movie made about you, what star would play your role?

If they were to name something after you, what would you want it to be?

What would be worse than having your taste buds at the other end of your digestive tract?

What would be the worst tasting food if it was covered with chocolate?

If “schnagleton” was a word, what would it mean?

If you were president, what would be the first thing you would want to send to Congress to vote on?

If OVU were to change their nickname from the Fighting Scots, what should they change it to?

Which of the seven dwarfs are you most like?

If you could go anywhere in the world for a one week all-expenses paid vacation, where would you go?

What would be the world’s worst occupation?

How many licks does it take to get the center of a tootsie pop?

The "Big Gift"

Merry Belated Christmas! Christmas is such a fun time of year, but its not quite the same as you get older. I remember as a kid, not being able to sleep imagining everything possible that could be under the tree. I would try to logically figure out where on the globe Santa might be at that time and how long it would be until he got to my house and wonder how he got into my house since I didn't have a chimney. I would finally fall asleep and then wake up at the crack of dawn. I would then run to wake up my parents and brother and head towards the tree where there was usually plenty of gifts, but one gift that would be so big it wouldn't even be wrapped, you know, like a bike or something cool. I always heard it referred to as the "Big Gift".It was the gift that you would call all of your family and friends about because you were so excited about it.
As you get older, there very rarely is a gift that you open on Christmas that sends you to the phone to tell others about.Wake up! We have received a gift that should send us everyday to our beds with great anticipation and excitement. It should cause us to think about when He is coming back and how amazing this gift really is going to be. We know of this amazing gift that we've been given and the promise of its coming should send us to the phone to tell everyone we know. The gift of Christ and all that gift means should not cause us to go back to sleep and forget to tell anyone about it, but should send us on a news-sharing spree. We have got the best gift in the universe and to keep it to ourselves is crazy. Share the gift, there is plenty more to go around!

Fake Chapel Announcements

The English Department will be sponsoring a symposium that will be held in Room 139 this evening at 6:30. Mrs. Sturm will be speaking on “How to plagiarize effectively”.

The Business Office will be having their bi-annual Day of being Nice this coming Friday. Be sure to attend- hours will be limited.

We would like to recognize our Fighting Scots football team on their undefeated season.

The History Department will be hosting a lecture by Dr. Sturm this evening in the chapel entitled “The Abe Lincoln Story: Through the eyes of a peer”. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Employment Opportunity; Lambert-Tatman Funeral home is looking for some part-time models in their coffin sales department. Sleeping on the job is encouraged.

We would like to recognize all of our athletes who have been named to the All-American team this year. I would like all of the Canadian golfers to stand.

All Dorm Residents: You were right all along. Fire alarms are just a suggestion. You are encouraged to sit in your room and refuse to leave.

Computer Labs will be open all night due to so many projects being due.

In other computer news, the computers in the labs will be down due to repairs until tomorrow afternoon.

*I noticed the day I did chapel announcements that nobody really listens to them and thought it would be funny to say fake announcements and see who caught them. If you have agood fake announcement, leave it as a comment. Please keep them nice( a little mean is Ok) and clean.