6 Flags

Y'all,
These are the arrangements for tomorrow:

1. Meet at church at 9am.
2. Get to the park around 10
3. Stay for a long time (depends on the kids)
4. Come back to church and disperse. 

Make sure to bring $32 for the ticket, plus some money for food, giant stuffed animals, etc..  You might also want a swimsuit for the water park.  I'm definitely spending a healthy amount of time there, and you don't want to be staring over the fence, jealous of all the fun I'm having.  General info on the water park can be found here, and FAQ's on the rest of the park can be found here.   Cell phones are a good idea, bring 'em if you've got 'em.  And feel free to call me with any questions you've got.  See you guys tomorrow!

Dave Out

Great America?

Y'all,


I heard cries from the masses last Sunday, requesting, pleading, groveling, for the chance to stand in long lines under a hot June sun.  This weekend looks like rain, as Dan Almquist pointed out to me yesterday (Dan's the only kid I know with a solid grasp of the upcoming forecast).  However, next week is supposed to be nice, and so I'm wondering I Tuesday or Thursday works for y'all to take a trip to Great America?

We'd be talking a 9am to 3pm time frame -- more, if you like -- and we could caravan from church if anyone needs a ride.  I'm looking into group pricing, but any leads/discounts you know of would be helpful.  Parent's: you're certainly invited, but please, no tiny swimsuits.  Survey the troops, and let me know what you think.

Dave Out

Puppet Ministry

Hi guys!!

I just wanted to remind you, or invite you if you have not heard, that we are going to be having our first puppet team practice/meeting after church on June 6th.  I am sure you are shortly going to be finishing up your school year and getting into full swing with your summer activities - this is why I was hoping you could meet up with me on June 6th so we could discuss how we should proceed with your practices/plans/etc.  This ministry can be alot of fun and I hope we can get it off to a good start.  However, I know that plans for the summer can get crazy fast - so this meeting will be a time when you can let me know what your schedules are and we can decide what is best for our team!  I hope you will join me for puppets and pizza on June 6th after church!!

Thanks!!

Cheryl

Parental Pow-Wow

Y'all, 

Just a reminder to all parents to try and make time to meet after Church tomorrow.  Room 5, about seven minutes after the closing hymn.  This gives everyone time to grab some coffee first, and you have my permission to cut in line.  My blog poll idea, surveying which day of the week works best for the summer, was not such a hit.  However, I can live with that provided you know what suits you when we talk tomorrow.

Also, we're running low on snacks for the Youth Group.  Chips, pop, Shark-Bites.  Pretty much everything except popcorn (thank you, Shirley).  If you have any high-fructose corn syrup laying around, donations are greatly appreciated.

Okay, that's it.  Hope I can see you tomorrow.

Dave Out

Summertime Scheduling

Y'all,

I'm trying to set up a plan for the summer, and would like your feedback.  Feedback is important, it's essential.  Really, the only time you're not gonna want feedback is maybe in the middle of a concert or something.  But we're not in the middle of a concert, we're in the middle of a Monday.

Should your eyes drift to the right side of this page, you'll notice a poll.  You can, and should, use this to indicate a day that works best for your kids this summer.  Harpsichord practice on Tuesday nights?  Check the Wednesday box.  Amish Poetry Slams on Wednesday nights?  Check the Thursday box.

I'd also like to convene a Parent-Youth-Leader Symposium in the near future.  By this, I mean that it'd be great if the parents could meet after church on a not-too-distant Sunday.  If May 16th is not a good time, let me know, but otherwise I'm gonna hope we can all have a sit-down then, to get on the same page before Summer arrives in full force.

As always, call/text/email me with your thoughts.  Thanks again.

Dave Out

Timothy Ministries This Sunday

Hey Guys,

Just wanted to remind you that you are invited to participate in the Timothy Ministries Church Trip this Sunday.  I know that you were looking for opportunities for Missions, this is it!!  If you can make it, I know your help would be greatly appreciated!

Also, They are hoping for help either when you return from Timothy Ministries, or later that you will be willing to help with the set up for the sale, your help would also be very helpful and needed there too! 

Thanks for willingness to help!!  Please contact Dave with any questions as to times and places, etc., and Dennis for any info. you need on Timothy Ministries Trip.

Cheryl

Head Count, etc...

Y'all, 

If you're planning on coming to play paint ball tomorrow -- I hope you all are -- I need you to let me know.  I'm trying to get a rough estimate on the amount of food to buy for lunch.  Also, please let me know if you're planning on driving in our caravan, or if you'd a passenger on the Paint Ball Express.

Okay, that's it for now.   Happy Friday.

Dave Out

Paint Ball Pandemonium

Y'all

Overcoming fears and uncertainties is a part of growing up.  Facing your fears might mean speaking in front of a large audience.  Other times, it means telling a person something they might not want to hear.  

This Saturday afternoon, facing your fears will mean charging like the Light Brigade, headlong into a hailstorm of tiny orange paint balls.  It will mean laying in a muddy ditch, hugging a fallen tree trunk, while someone -- a friend of yours, someone you've sung worship songs with -- yells that this is your last chance to come out of that ditch peacefully.  And laying in that ditch, you remember that you signed up for this, that you've been waiting for the ground to thaw for this very moment. 

We'll meet in the Church parking lot at 11am, and caravan out to the field together. The price is $30 per person, and includes:

• admission 
• a Marker (the "gun")
• 250 paint balls
• unlimited games
• unlimited air refills
• lunch

Bring your friends, since there's 1 $5 discount for groups of 14+. You can save $10 if you have your own Marker. Also, it costs $10 to buy 250 more paint balls if you're trigger-happy.

Let me know if you've got any questions, and remember to invite those friends.  Everyone knows someone with fears to face!

Dave Out

In Like a Lion, Out Like a Hedgehog.

Y'all, 

It is that horrible time of year when people look at you with big smiles and wide eyes and hands clasped and say, "Spring has sprung!"  I'm not in love with this phrase.  It's misleading.  It makes Spring seem like an overly-eager Jack-in-the-Box, like it bursts onto the scene like Kramer into Jerry's apartment.   In reality, the beginning of Spring looks an awful lot like the end of Winter.  If it weren't for college basketball, I just don't know if I'd make it to April.  (My brackets are shot, if you're wondering.)

But Spring is here, and that means change, and growth, no matter the pace.  In the spirit of such change, the website's been re-tooled.  Also, you'll find an array of activities up on the Linear Planning Mechanism.  I'll happily refresh your memories as individual events draw near.  Do check them out if you get a chance, and let me know if you've got any questions.

Anything more important than new-fangled websites or group activities?  Hard to believe, I know, but we're also starting an ambitious 12-week series on The Imitation of Christ, a 600-year-old book that might very possibly blow your mind all over your face.  It's that good.

Since this book is such a winner, and since we'll be referencing it repeatedly over the next 3 months, I encourage  you to get yourself a copy to bring on Sunday Mornings (starting after Easter).  You can find it at any Barnes or Borders, but I suggest  grabbing your copy here or here.  The $22 copy is not any better than the $0.99 copy (unless the latter smells like herring or something,  What are the odds of that though?  Trout maybe, but herring? I doubt it.)  That's all for now.  See y'all tomorrow morning.

Dave Out

Come One, Come All

Y'all, 

Yup, its been a few weeks (like 5 of them) since the 1s and 0s of The5thRoom have leaped the synaptic divide, and ended up in your inbox.  However, today's announcement demands...uh...an announcement.  So here goes:

I am very pleased to inform the lot of you that Mark Torgerson will be joining us at Youth Group, this coming Sunday night.  Aside from his huge desire to play dodgeball, Mark will take us on a church tour of sorts, explaining all those DaVinci-Code-looking symbols that line our Sanctuary.  Since Mark is almost as busy as he is smart, I'd really love to see as many of y'all there as possible.  I'll provide pizza, popcorn, and high-fructose corn syrup, so we can eat while Mark unleashes upon us a hailstorm of mortar rounds from his arsenal of knowledge.  Exciting, right?.  Hope to see you there.

D a v e  O u t 

For Zac

The book of Job uses the word "curse" between 5 and 7 times, depending upon the translation you use.  In fact, the word that appears in English as "curse" is actually one of a few different words (they're listed below; Hebrew first, then Greek).  It's important to remember that Job was neither Hebrew nor Greek, but was in fact Aramaen, and lived completely outside of (actually, before) any Abrahamic structure.

rra, 'arar (verb; to curse)
llq Qalal (adjective: to be of little account)
hla 'alah (noun; an oath)

ylla 'al lay (interjection, basically: "woe" or "oh no")

If we use the book of Job as our sole resource on Job -- I know of no other -- then I fail to see how one could be led to believe he curses GOD.  Satan (the "Accuser" or "Advocate") bets that Job will (Job 1:10-11 and Job 2:5).  But in both instances, the immediate result shows that Satan was wrong (Job 1:22 and Job 2:10)  Also, Job's wife - a lovely woman -- tells him to curse GOD and die (2:9), but again, Job refuses (2:10).  

Not only does Job refuse to curse God, but he offers sacrifices to God on behalf of his children, just in case they might have (1:5).  He also refuses to curse the evil people around him, leaving them instead to be dealt with by God (31:30).  The only thing Job curses is the day he was born (3:8, llq Qalal), saying that it would have been better if he had not been born at all (3:13).  

GOD's renouncement of Job's friends, and their shoddy advice, comes in the end (42:8).  But it doesn't come until after GOD reminds Job that He is the Creator, and that creation exists because He tends to it (38:1 to 39:35).  Job is perhaps wrong for being overly dramatic in submitting his complaints to GOD, but at no point does he renounce Him as sole Creator.  Neither does he doubt GOD's omnipotent hand on the whole situation.

That's all I got.

Dave Out

Deep Freeze Twenty Ten

Y'all, 

Deep Freeze is upon us!  As in years past, we will meet at Church and caravan up to Covenant Harbor from there.  Check-in begins at 6:30, so we will need to be at church by 4:30, so we can be on the road by 5-ish.  They aren't serving dinner, so we'll stop on the way (Same goes for lunch on Sunday).

Remember: NO ELECTRONICS!  This seems to be the one rule that never sinks in.  Cell phones, iPods, ham radios -- leave 'em all at home.  They always wind up being a distraction, robbing you of the important moments.  Feel free to call with any questions.  This is not the first time for most of you, but its been a busy year and I'm happy to fill in the gaps of whatever you've forgotten.

Dave Out