Beautiful Weekend at the Lake House...

the Crave

Well, it's been a while since I last posted, and I am still alive and kickin'! As I mentioned in my first post, I've been getting more involved around Oasis, more specifically in the youth ministry called the Crave. Yesterday we returned from probably the most relaxing youth trip I have ever been on, considering the size of the group that went along. There were 32 of us all together, 7 adults, and 25 youth!

We all stayed at the Lake House, the guys in the house, and the girls on both floors of the adjacent apartment. It was a great time, we left around 6:30 on Friday evening and arrived within an hour at the Lake House, that night we had a great time watching the Crave attendants favorite movie, and everyone else's in America lately, Napoleon Dynamite, it definitely grows on ya! Following the movie, we decided to play Ghosts in the Graveyard, where everyone dresses in black, the lights are turned out, and 1 person from the group hides in the dark while the rest counts to 30 out loud, and then silences immediately after to search until everyone has found the hidden person, waiting quietly in the group. It was a lot of fun with that size of a group, however, it was difficult for each of us to remain quiet as we searched for the missing person!

Saturday we got up early, had breakfast and hit the water, some swam, some decided to sunbathe, while the most adventurous of us decided to brave the water and jet skis to go tubing. The raft we had sat three people, upright (much easier than those you hold on while dragging in the water) however, with this one, those in the raft bounced up and down uncontrollably and almost out of the raft when the driver shifted us from one side of the wake to the other, an absolute blast! That was what most of our day consisted of, aside from a second showing of Napoleon Dynamite.

That evening we had hot dogs and hamburgers for dinner, a small devotional, where we tried out a different form of Bible Study, called lectio divina (forgive the spelling, I am not sure if that is right), with this type of study you read the passage 4 times, after the first reading you write down the idea or phrase that stuck out to you the most, take a few minutes to think about it. Read the passage again, and expand on the idea, where is it applicable to your life, silently ponder a few more minutes, read it again and develop a prayer concerning its application to your life, ponder it a few more minutes and then read it again, and see what else it brings to your attention.

After the devotional, we learned of a tornado on its way toward the lake house, so every one decided to stay put until it either passed or turned, we turned on the weather, and found hit that it had hit a few of the students high school, George Jenkins (just down the street from my house, I again wondered why I moved to Florida, considering the hurricanes last fall), a few moments later it was reported that the tornado had dissipated, back to the good times!

The majority of the group decided to play Ghosts in the Graveyard again, while a few of us decided to watch a movie in the apartment, (not Napoleon Dynamite though, one can only take so much within 48 hours, we watched The Man In The Iron Mask, instead)

Sunday morning, I was in charge of facilitating breakfast, which basically consisted of cleaning up after them, it's amazing how dirty that kitchen was afterward, but we got it together. Then we had our Sunday morning devotional, on a few passages in Psalms, some of the students were asked to lead the discussion, and read the passage and share how the passage applies to their life, they each did an awesome job, and it's great to work with a group of students who truly want God's best for their lives. After that we packed up, enjoyed a little more sunshine, and cleaned up the lake house, and left for home!

So then it was back to work for me this morning, although it will be a short week, Wednesday I will leave for Bridgman for the wedding, and to see family and friends back home! I can't wait, and I am somewhat packed, I will just put the finishing touches in tomorrow and clean the house before I leave. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend, hopefully I will have a few pictures of the wedding to share with you once I return! Have a great week!

Well, it's been another beautiful day in Florida, with low 70's, a slight breeze, and bright sunshine!

I spent most of the morning slowly waking up with a full coffee cup in my hand pondering my plans for the day. After straightening up the house a bit I headed for the pool to catch some sun. It was the perfect temperature to lay out today, warm enough not to freeze, but not so hot it that it can't be enjoyed.

I have a busy two weeks ahead, I've been getting more involved at Oasis Community Church, tomorrow with worship in Upstreet Kids, and this Wednesday and coming weekend, The Crave (youth ministry), we will be heading to the lake house for some fun in the water and sun for the weekend.

The following Wednesday I will be heading home for Mandy and my cousin Nathan's wedding! While there, I will be spending some time with my parents and hopefully some friends in the area as well amidst the busy schedule for the weekend! It will be a short trip, but a ton of fun.

Tonight is Mandy's bachellorette party, I wish I could be there to celebrate with her and the rest of the girls, maybe one day when I make my millions and be able to take my private jet to Michigan more often, but for now I will just be there in the spirit of the evening!