sKiiNg At tHe hoLidaY

This past Friday I took 2 students to Holiday Valley to go skiing. It was a blast and we definitely had some funny times. The craziest thing is on our way home we got stuck in a snow storm and ended up staying in a hotel. It was very interesting because when your with a group you always tend to say, "It would be sweet if we got stranded and had to stay at a hotel." But, when it actually happens you want to get home more than anything and be in your bed, your house, and use your tooth brush. We had fun, got to see the most pimpin target shopping carts, and rode in chair 50! (Also, some of you might be thinking these students skipped school. NO THEY DID NOT! They got permission from their parents and I talked with their parents. So, no laws where broken:)

Excited for the snow, thanksgiving vacation, and the awesome ski season ahead. WOO WOO!

hoPinG tHe chUrCh wiLl gEt thE ideA aboUt preAchiNg

For those of you who do not know me I currently work at a church located outside of Syracuse, NY. Your typical willow creek style seeker friendly church. I used to be a super seeker friendly style of preaching: topics, general, share the Bible but not to much, and don't make anyone uncomfortable....not really a good preacher! But recently (about the past 8 months) I have been realizing how this generation is sick of the candy coated bull crap that many churches have to offer. The problem that I see is that the older generation, 40's+, likes the seeker sensitive model but the new generation, the future elders of the church, cannot stand the watered down, light hearted, consumeristic messages. We are sick of the bull crap, we want to see people who will read/preach the word of God, talk about Jesus, and not be gentle. We live in a culture that is all about LOVE, which is a good thing, but many times we cherry coat Jesus with so much love. We need to remember He was very radical for his day. He flipped over tables, called Pharisee's out, told people to abandon everything for Him, and died on a cross. My hope and prayer is that the church of America figures that out before it starts to die. Some churches are getting this and they are growing abundantly (Mars Hill in Seattle grew 2,000 people during a series on Sex, and it was not a light message at all). People want to here the word of God preached and we need to remember that God will do the rest!

Check out Mark Driscoll's pod cast

tHiS maDe mE lauGh

loOkiNg fOr sUn iN thE rAin

Currently in my life I am learning a ton about patience, faithfulness, and seeking after God. Some days it feels like I am outside in the cold, cloudy weather, and I am having rain pour down on me and I just can't seem to find shelter (which is much like the weather in syracuse anyway). But I am realizing in life that you have to have rain clouds at certain times in life to really be able to enjoy the sun. I pray and hope for the sun shine but I know that God is working on me in the rain and sculpting me into a more beautiful piece of his creation.

I love you God and thank you for the faithfulness you have to me. Please help me in the rain storm to have peace, comfort, understanding, and when the sun shine comes I will praise you for it. Also, let your will be done and not my own.