One of the favorites each year…Pool Comp!

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Monday was a great day at camp! Everyone is having a great time.  Here is a video from our rec time.  Keep praying for our students that God would continue to speak to them and that they would grow closer to Him this week.

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Jr High Camp is in full swing! This year we have 300 campers all ready for an amazing week.  One of the tricky parts of running a camp like this is trying to keep everyone having fun and not being to dumb!  To help us communicate this we put together a little video for the campers to watch.  Check it out!

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I am not a fan of fundraisers.  I really don’t like car washes or selling candy bars. However, a bunch of years ago we came across a great fundraiser. Every year we run the “JCC Stock Market”.  Everyone going on our summer missions trip submits 3 personal prayer requests and a picture and we create “Stock certificates” for each person. Stock is sold at church for $25.00 a share and when you buy stock you receive a stock certificate to remind you to pray for the person. On the back of the certificate we list the names of everyone who is going on the trip, prayer requests for the trip, and our tentative schedule.

One of the other fun parts of our stock market is our “share holders” report.  While we are on our trip we take an evening and everyone writes postcards to their “share holders” telling them about their trip, what they have experienced and what they have learned.  I think this really gives both our students and those who purchased the stocks time to see what God has been doing in their lives.

Over the years our Stock Market has become something that people at our church have grown to love.  We have people come up and ask who needs the most financial help.  We have kids come and buy stock in high schoolers who help in their Sunday School class.  Working the stock market is awesome because you see people just wanting to be part of what God is doing and supporting students.  This year we sold 131 shares of stock! The stock market has closed for this year, but you can still buy stock here!

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My daughter and friend have been raising money for Hogar Rancho Hebron (a ministry to kids in Nicaragua) for the past 3 years.  A couple months ago I wrote about what they were doing this year.  The event has come and gone and it was a great day!  Check out the video from the day.

1 hour…11 girls…2187 goals…over $4000 raised!

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A few weeks ago I started playing Words with Friends with some of my students.  It grew from there include some of my leaders and other friends. I have to admit it’s pretty fun, and addicting.  Not only that but it can be pretty humbling (when you get beat by a TON of points, thanks Brian and Joel) or make you feel good about yourself (when you beat an honor student). The best thing about Words with Friends is that you can make it more than a game.

Here is why it’s more than a game to me…

The people I’m playing against enter my “world” periodically through each day (every time they play a word).  When my iPhone goes off and someone has made a move I think about them.  I wonder what they are doing right then. I wonder why they are making a move when they should be paying attention at school! I wonder what God is doing in their live right then.  I hope that their day is going good or if they a having a tough day. I wonder how I could pray for them.  I try and figure out if they really knew that word or if they are cheating and are in need of prayer!

I don’t know, maybe it’s just me not wanting to feel guilty about playing a game. But really, to me it’s more than a game.  Try it.  Play the game. But do it with more than the game in mind.  I’m pretty sure you will be even more addicted to the game if you play this way.

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One of the greatest inventions EVER is the DVR.  It’s great.  You can record shows you want and watch them when you are ready.  What makes it even better is that you can skip right through commercials.  The other day we were watching something that wasn’t recorded and were stuck watching commercials.  There was a commercial that caught my eye. I actually rewound the show and watched the commercial again. You have to check it out.

This commercial made me think. In church ministry we might not officially be in customer service, but I looked at this commercial through the eyes of visitors to our ministry.  I was left asking myself some questions about our visitors.

• Do they feel welcome?
• Do they get noticed?
• Are their needs met?
• Did they connect with anyone?
• Will they want to come back?
• Do they turn and run away?

I hope that our visitors feel welcomed and get connected with others. If they do we are doing something right.  If they want to run away something needs to change.

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It seems to me that we can spend a lot if time wondering or worrying about what kind of legacy we are leaving.  We want to make sure that when we are “gone” that we leave something behind for others to remember us by.  Don’t get me wrong.  I want to leave a legacy.  I want my kids to learn from me.  I want to be remembered in a certain way.  I am just scared that if we focus so much on trying to make sure we are remembered in one way that we may miss out on really living.  I think that there is a better way to leave a legacy than reading books or going to seminars about it.

A simpler way to leave a legacy is to live.

Live for God.  Put God first in all areas of your life.  As you do this, the entire way you live will begin to change.  You will see things differently.  You will act differently.  Others will see this and they too will change how they live.

Live for others.  Don’t make your life all about yourself.  Look around you and see what you can do for other people.  Not just in big things or when tragedy hits.  Look for small things.  Take someone coffee.  Help someone drops something in a parking lot.  When you ask someone how they are doing really listen to their answer.

Live in the present.  When we are so focused on the future we miss things that are happening now.  Be present in where you are today.  Instead of asking, “what’s next?” ask, “what’s now?”  This might mean slowing down a little, turning off your phone or laughing a little.  Whatever this means for you – DO IT!

You will leave a legacy.  The type you leave is up to you.  Start living and the legacy you will leave will be better than any type of legacy you could have “planned out”.

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As a pastor I’m probably not supposed to say that I struggle with Easter. It’s not the bunny, eggs or candy. It’s not anything to do with the death and resurrection of Jesus. My struggle is with the attitude of the crowd that was around Jesus.

Look at the attitude of the crowd when Jesus enters town…

The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” Matthew 21:9.

Now look at the attitude of the crowd a few days later…

But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.  “Barabbas,” they answered. “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.  They all answered, “Crucify him!”. “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.  But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”. Matthew 27:20-23.

I’ve read this before. I’ve taught this before. For some reason it hit me different this time. I’ve always looked at why the crowd changed and focused on them. This last weekend I personalized it. I wondered how was it that this crowd who saw Jesus, heard Jesus and touched Jesus could change their feeling about Jesus in such a short amount of time. Then I wondered if they could change so quickly, could my students, my own kids or even me change like that? Could I go from praising Jesus at one moment and then begin to shout “crucify Him” in the next?

I want to say no, not a chance. But look at the crowd. They witnessed Jesus’ teachings first hand. They saw miracles. They still turned on Him. As much as I want to say it would never happen to me, if I’m not careful the same thing could happen to me.

In each of our lives we have to choose which of these attitudes will be ours.  I choose to have the attitude of praising Jesus.  In my life for this to happen there are three things I need to know:

• Know who is speaking into my life.  Matthew 27:20 says that the people were persuaded by the cheif priest and the elders.  Don’t just know who is speaking into your life, guard your life from people who will speak falsely into it.
• Know what I believe.  If I don’t know what I believe it is much easier to be led astray.
• Know the real Jesus.  I need to know who Jesus is and what it means to be a follower of Jesus.  I need to continue to grow closer to Him everyday.  To seek Him with all that I am daily.

Easter is one of my favorite days of the year.  I love the service that our church does.  I love seeing our community come together.  I love celebrating Jesus raising from the dead and giving me new life.  Take time this Easter to remember Jesus’ words in John 10:10, “I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.”

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Can 11 and 12 year olds really make a difference in the lives of kids who live over 1000 miles away from them?  Last year I wrote about how my daughter and her friend were going to try.  They raised about $2300.00 last year! With that money our team of students from Jamul Community Church was able to put in a road by Hogar Rancho Hebron (the ministry ran by the Diaz family).  The road was huge for the family because when the rainy season hits it floods out the property and makes it hard to get from building to building.  It took almost the entire week and 3760 concrete pavers weighing close to 10 pounds each, but we finished!  It was amazing to see the difference that it made and how thankful the Diaz’ were.

This year Keri and Jerusha wanted to do it again…but a little different.  Check out this video where they explain what they are doing this year and how you can be part of it.

They have set their goal this year at $5000.00.  To help reach this goal they each asked some friends to kick goals with them.  There will be 10 girls kicking goals and raising money!  There are three ways that you can partner with Kicks 4 Kids if you would like.

1.     Pray.  Pray for the girls as they kick goals.  It might not seem that hard, but kicking goals for an hour is tiring!  Also, pray for the Diaz family and Hogar Rancho Hebron that we would be able to make a difference in what they are doing.

2.     Come and watch!  Kicks 4 Kids will be happening Sunday May 1 from 3:00-4:00pm at the Jamul Soccer Fields.  We would love to have people come and cheer them on!

3.     Give.  If you would like to donate to Kicks 4 Kids you can do a flat donation online below or send me a message saying how much you would like to sponsor per goal.

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