Whoa, January 5, 2015 already!
I thought today would be a great time to review some of the highlights of last year.
The beginning of 2014 was pretty tame. It seemed like I blinked and it was summer. Or perhaps that's a result of being almost 50!
But summer was super sweet.
Some of my favorite times were the walks my wife and I would take with our dog. They are always filled with great talks and a whole lot of laughter! I'm continually in awe of how fortunate I am to be married to my best friend in the whole world!
I've seen God working in the mending of some relationships that had been injured. This has been so great! It has given me hope for even better times to come!
In August I had the honor of being the speaker at the Iowa Foursquare Middle School Camp. It was awesome! God really moved in the lives of the kids. We saw about a third of them make either first time decisions to follow God or rededicate their lives to Him. And I really felt God moving in my own life.
When I returned from camp I held my annual BaconFest. This one was the best so far! It's a great way for the friends from all areas of my life- work, church, and the neighborhood to get together for fun and bacon!
The following week, I met with the lead pastors from our church, The Journey, for my yearly review. In the meeting they asked me to start a youth group. After the week I had at camp, I knew it was what God was calling me to. So I began praying for wisdom on how to begin.
It didn't take long for one answer to come. Long story short, I felt prompted to ask a friend who was moving back to Madison to join the youth team.
The awesome thing was that, about ten minutes before I sent the message inviting her to be a part of the ministry, she had been praying about the Journey and asking God to use her in starting one!
So she joined us in September. She has played a huge role ever since! She leads a weekly Bible study (PB&J- Prayer, Bible, and Journal) for middle school girls.
In November we had our first youth event. We took the kids bowling. We had a great turn out and everyone had a great time!
In December we held a Christmas party for them. It was a whole lot of fun and I got to share with the kids why we, as Christians, celebrate Christmas. It was neat to look into the eyes of some kids who had never really heard about Jesus and why He was born!
Other great things (not in chronological order) are:
I bought a ukulele and am slowly learning to play.
I've gotten some opportunities to preach at The Journey. I love getting to share the Word!
Ooh, and I have even gotten to sing on the worship team a couple of times! That was super fun!
This year has been so filled with so many friends. I've been blessed to grow closer to the ones I had and make new ones.
My wife, friends, and family are what makes my life so wonderful!
I am so thankful that I'm able to share the good times with them and that they are my rock when times get tough.
What's in store for 2015?
Well, next Sunday, we are starting Youth Night!
We'll be meeting in our Youth Director's apartment (we're praying for God to bring us to a larger place soon.) We plan on this being a great way to facilitate their spiritual journeys.
And I'll be starting a boy's PB&J this month! So far we have 1 boy, and he's a great kid who loves Jesus. I can't wait to see how God grows our study.
And it's never too early to start thinking about getting the kids to camp! We're going to start fund raising soon to help offset some of the cost for them to go.
So there you go!
I'd love it if you'd pray for wisdom for me as I get the honor of being used by God in our ministry.
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