His Power is Made Perfect in My Weakness: January 2010

Sunday, January 31, 2010

The Edge Conference

Once again I am catching up on posts! Over the MLK holiday weekend, our youth group from Cambria Baptist Church went to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee for the Edge Conference. We had six youth go, along with me and another leader. We had a great time hanging out together and growing in our Lord Jesus Christ. The best part was our accommodations. We originally had two rooms, one for the guys and one for the girls. We had plenty of room for the guys but were not given a roll away for the girls. Carrie, the other leader, knows the head of the conference well so she asked him to help us out. A few minutes later she had a key to another room, only to find out it was for the Honeymoon Suite! We all had a good laugh over it and enjoyed the spacious room to hang out in during our free time.

The speakers were really good. Craig Tackett and Sammy Knuckles preached all weekend about having a new mindset and attitude when approaching the idea of church. The worship band was awesome as well and we even were treated to a few illusionist acts. God really blew me away with how much it means to high school students to be given the freedom to enjoy a weekend together in place away from home. There were moments where my patience was tested, but all in all it was a great time. I really hope this trip helps lay the foundation for a great year together growing in our faith and seeking Jesus further.

When I got home I did not get around to posting pictures on facebook right away. Of course my youth were waiting in anticipation and eventually told me to hurry up! I had a few minutes of down time at work and was able to upload the photos. Usually the next step is to tag the photos with the names of the people in them, but I received a phone call and needed to step away from my computer for a bit. I came back 20 minutes later and every picture was tagged and commented on! My email had about 150 messages in it telling me about each photo tag and comment. It was great to see my youth discussing how much fun they had and how they wished they were back at the Edge conference. God really taught me a lot about how these kids look up to me and the other college students who attend our church. What was just another weekend for me ended up being the time of their lives! I look forward to seeing how God uses me to help lead this youth group in 2010 and how He is going to work in each of their individual lives. Please pray for the youth of Cambria Baptist Church. We are a small group but a group seeking after God's heart each week!

The Honeymoon Suite!

We had a hot tub!

Hanging in the suite!

All the youth

Our lunch destination on Sunday afternoon

Outside the Old Mill

These guys were outside a diner we ate at. Unfortunately that was the highlight of the dinner because the food was not so great

Inside the diner

The girls with Sammy Knuckles

The girls with the worship band

At every worship gathering, two girls were up front painting different pictures. These then went up for auction. Here are a few from the weekend.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Rachel and Craig's Wedding

I had the pleasure of going home for around ten days to celebrate Christmas with my family and take part in my sister Rachel's wedding. These ten days may have been the most eventful of my life! Usually Christmas is the most exciting time over break but this time it was the calm before the storm. This was the last Christmas we would spend together before things change with the weddings and such. I am so blessed to have an awesome family which enjoys quality time with each other!

Wednesday kicked off the wedding madness as most of the wedding party arrived. We all took the train into New York City to show people around and see the tree. Though it was cold and very crowded, we enjoyed our time. My favorite part of the evening was when we ate at a pizza place. The guy in there was a true New Yorker and was trying to get everyone to order and move through the line quickly. I loved seeing the expressions on the faces of those not used to the pace of New York living haha! That night we enjoyed playing games and having good conversation.

New Years Eve was a time of food and fellowship. Normally we only have us five at our house so having 15 or so was a blast! Most of us watched the Hokies crush Tennessee 37-14. The rest of the night was spent playing games and watching the Honeymooners! New Years Day started the wedding festivities as the groomsmen all picked up their tuxedos and the bridesmaids had their nails done. The rehearsal was that night at Hillside Church, a place we called home for many years. Many memories flooded into my head as I walked around the church before the rehearsal. It was great to see Colby again (youth pastor from high school and wedding officiator) along with his wife Stacey and two kids. I also really enjoyed seeing so much of my family come together for this joyous occasion.

The rehearsal was the first time it truly dawned on me that my baby sister was getting married. When I saw dad walk her down the aisle, the tears started flowing! I knew I had a tall task ahead of me the next day, trying to keep myself together before singing a song. Thankfully I was able to get through the ceremony alright. It was when I hugged her in the receiving line that I completely lost it! Rachel was a beautiful bride! I couldn't be happier for her. She has married a wonderful, godly man who will love her and take care of her for as long as they live.

I have never enjoyed myself as much as I did at the reception. Dances have always been a mixed bag for me. Most times not many people want to dance and it ends up being very boring. Thankfully, on this day, everyone was ready to have a good time! I have never seen my mom and dad have so much fun. After a few minutes of encouragement, my dad took the dance floor and never stopped! This is coming from a very reserved individual who rarely shows much emotion. I asked my mom if it reminded her of when they were younger and she literally told me , "No! Dad has never been like this!" You could just see the joy on the faces of my parents. They had spent a year planning for this day, and were finally able to relax and watch it unfold. Another blessing was how well everyone in the wedding party got along. We all had a blast together and all spent most of our time on the dance floor. We danced to classics such as "The Cupid Shuffle," "The Cha Cha Slide," and "Don't Stop Believing." Even all the little kids at the reception were busting a move. It was great having my best friend Kevin there to partner with me in the quest to be the most ridiculous looking people at the party! What a day!

As if the week was not already incredible enough, I had the pleasure to spend a lot of time with a wonderful girl who was a part of my sister's bridal party. Her name is Val and she was my sister's roommate for 2 1/2 years. We had started talking during the month leading up to the wedding, and I developed a strong interest in her. I had prayed a lot about pursuing a relationship with her and had discussed it at length with my sister and my parents. We had a great time together during the wedding week and she accompanied me to drive Rachel and Craig to the hotel after the reception. I invited her to church the next morning and she obliged. At lunch I expressed my interest and she returned it. After some discussion we decided it was time to enter into a relationship. It is my prayer that this relationship will be completely devoted to Christ and be about Him and not us. God has already blessed us through great conversation and I am excited to see what He has in store for us as we continue to seek His will!

I am now back in VA and looking forward to what 2010 brings. One thing I know is that God is good and He has my life in His hands!

Four cousins together in NYC!

The whole group at Grand Central

At the rehearsal dinner

Mr. and Mrs. Cooper!

Me and dad looking sharp

My favorite picture from the week!

Val and I

The three former roommates or as Rachel likes to say "ex" roommates!

My second family

I love this one!

Aunt Patty and Patricia

Grandma and Uncle Ed

Great shot of mother and son!

Mom's cousin Denise and her family

I love you Rachel!

The groomsmen!

The old Hillside crew!

One big happy family!

Thursday, January 7, 2010

SNOW!

I am going to try to catch up on a few posts, even though this occurred over two weeks ago! We of course were hit by a ton of snow like the rest of the East coast. Blacksburg got about 13 inches or so; the most since 1996. I was so blessed to be able to enjoy the snow with a bunch of great friends. Finals had ended for Tech students the Thursday before the snow, but my three roommates, their girlfriends, and a few other friends decided to stick around for the weekend in order to enjoy the madness together! What followed was a weekend straight out of Acts 2: 42-47 which states:

"They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

For three days, the eight of us (My roommates Barry, Josh, and Phil, Josh's girlfriend Meredith, Barry's girlfriend Mandy, and two other friends Donny and Clare) lived life together. Meredith, Clare, Mandy, and Donny came over on Friday before the snow came. They brought clothes, food, and sleeping supplies with the plan to crash here all weekend. We were snowed in after the 13 inches hit us and were well prepared for a weekend of fun!

On Friday we stayed in all day, playing lots of games and eventually watching the movie UP. On Saturday we went sledding and eventually helped move around five cars out of the snow. Barry almost killed himself attempting to surf down the hill over a ramp on a sled! At one point we were in front of Donny's apartment helping a car get free. After achieving success we decided to completely clean Donny's kitchen. With six of us cleaning, it was like Extreme Kitchen Makeover! It was things like this that made the weekend so great; we were serving others and each other as a community, giving to all that had a need like the Scripture says.

That night we went to the Hokie basketball game. Tickets were free because of the weather conditions. Though there were not many people in Cassell Coliseum, we had an absolute blast. We destroyed our opponent (Charleston Southern), which was no surprise, but it was the actions of my crazy friends that made the night memorable. At every timeout they would play music over the loud speaker and my friends were dancing their hearts out to each one! I have never had so much fun at a Hokie basketball game and it wasn't even competitive! Amazing what a blessing good friends are. We returned to the apartment that night to find the Cowboys up 17-3 at halftime over the then undefeated Saints, a very pleasant surprise! The Cowboys made it close, but pulled off the victory, capping a wonderful day.

Due to the weather, all church services were canceled. We decided as a group to have our own church gathering at our apartment. It was really cool! We played some worship songs, shared what God had been teaching us, prayed together, and finally took communion together. It was a real neat time of transparency and unity in Christ. God is so good! Sadly, after church everyone had to head home, ending a wonderful time together. Of course I was able to sit back and watch football all day, so all was not lost :)

God really taught me a lot about the value of good friendship that weekend. I had my share of struggles earlier in the semester but my friends were always there for me. I know that each of my friends had experienced plenty of trials as well and I hope I was always there for them. The weekend that may well be remembered as the Blizzard of 2009 will also be remembered as a celebration of the end of another semester spent with the best friends one could ever ask for!