Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Planet Impact Killball Tournament!
That's right ... It's a Planet Impact Invite Night!
Bring Your Fiiends for our Killball Tournament (otherwise known as dodgeball)
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Cost: $2/person (all money collected will go to World Vision!)
7:30-9:00 p.m.
Create your own 7 person team or we'll help you get on a team! Just come out for an awesome night of fun!
Monday, March 30, 2009
Small Groups Doing Small Things That Make A Big Difference
I am passionate about small groups because I know they make a BIG difference! They're messy, they're a lot of work, but I am convinced that they are totally worth it. One of the things I challenge our small groups to do is get out and find creative, simple ways to serve our community and show God's love in practical ways. Yesterday our two Smithtown small groups joined together to walk around the businesses on Main St. and pick up trash. Yep, trash! Or, as our good friends across the pond call it, rubbish. Why would well-to-do kids from Long Island do such a thing? That's exactly what the policemen who were watching them were wondering. They didn't say anything; they just drove alongside them wondering. The mystery of the gospel in action. It makes no sense to logical, sane people. But we do it because we believe, as Mother Teresa said, that when we do small things with big love it makes a difference. Not only did we leave Smithtown looking better after we collected and disposed of several bags of garbage, but our students had a fun time doing it, laughing and making goofy videos. After cleaning up the streets, the small groups sat in Starbucks laughing and sipping coffee and frappuccinos. Then they returned to my house where they had an evening of fellowship. I was super proud of them! Way to go guys! Here's the kicker. I came to Starbucks this morning to do some work, and I am facing the window. I have never seen this before, but there were two guys with buckets and sticks walking through the parking lot collecting trash - but there was not much to collect; just a few papers that have been blown in by the wind during the night. Did the town send them because they felt convicted by the reports that kids were out cleaning the streets? Or was it just coincidence, and these guys couldn't believe that there was so little trash as compared to the past? Not sure, but I thought it was funny!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Twittering Narcissists
Walt Mueller, founder of the Center for Parent & Youth Understanding (CPYU), posted a blog called Twittering Narcissists that I thought was a good caution for those of us who live in the Twittersphere. Check out this very funny video that was in Walt's post. Absolutely hysterical!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Another Great Day in SoCal
Today was a very full day! During the morning session at the PDYM Conference Doug taught on the purpose of fellowship, and my friend Ben and I were invited to share how we implement that purpose in our respective ministries. (Note: They spelled my last name wrong on the screen ... MahaffEy ... lol) Both of us shared on the importance of small groups and how we introduced and run them in our settings. During lunch we were able to connect with a lot more friends, both old and new, and after lunch I spent a good hour talking with my friend Chris Reed who is a pastor here at Saddleback. After returning to the hotel in the afternoon for some swimming with the girls and a quick nap, our family went out for dinner with Chris, his wife Tina, and their family. It was a wonderful time, and we are so excited about our new friendship which was initiated back in October when we were here for The Gathering of PDYM state mentors. Then, to cap off our day, we went over to Doug and Cathy Fields' house to watch two episodes of The Office. It was a really great day! Tomorrow we are off to The San Diego Wild Animal Park for our last full day of vacation. Looking forward to that!
Thursday, March 26, 2009
A Tour of Saddleback's New Student Center "The Refinery"
Hey everybody! Thought you guys might enjoy this tour of Saddleback's new student Center "The Refinery" by my friend Jake, where we have been attending the Purpose-Driven Youth Ministry Conference!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Pics from La Jolla
Here are some more pics from yesterday taken at La Jolla (pronounced La Hoya) Cove just north of downtown San Diego.
Family Fun @ The San Diego Zoo
Today we had a lot of fun as a family visiting the San Diego Zoo! Their most famous attraction is their Giant Panda exhibit which all of us thoroughly enjoyed. Seeing these endangered creatures was a great treat! Claudia really liked the reptile exhibit and was thinking about Pappy. Perhaps the most scarry moment of the day came when we were leaving the park and the zoo people accused us of stealing a monkey. After showing them some identification and giving some DNA samples they finally realized Natalia was indeed my daughter and let her go home with us. lol! Before driving back to Orange County we stopped by La Jolla which is just north of San Diego, and visited the La Jolla cove which is where about 200 sea lions come ashore to rest for the night. We always love going there in the late afternoon. I'll post pics of that tomorrow.
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