Excitement of Seeing the Bride/Bridegroom

I have had the wonderful opportunity to attend a wedding the last two weekends for some dear friends. While each wedding was spectacular in their respective manners, each was quite different. Both had something very unique, that I had never seen at a wedding before....the first wedding had a time where the couple had asked some family and friends to gather around them during a song and pray for the couple. I imagine this will be a moment the couple will never forget! The other wedding had a taped segment of the groom giving his testimony prior to the bridal party entering the sanctuary. The groom used the opportunity to challenge every person in attendance to enter into a relationship with the Lord! What an awesome idea!

While both weddings were very different, each had at least one thing in common....the bride entering the sanctuary. You know the moment all to well...the bridal parties walk in and take their place, the beautiful flower girl walks down the aisle, and then some weddings have the young man carrying a pillow to symbolize the ring bearer, and all the while there is music playing softly in the background. Once everything is in place, the music stops for a few moments, the doors are shut so the bride can take her place on the other side with her father...the anticipation builds as everyone wants to see the beautiful bride in all her glory. The grooms heartbeat begins to increase and his palms start to sweat a little. Finally the doors open and you can usually sense the electricity in the air as everyone marvels at the beautiful bride....what a moment!

While everyone else is staring at the bride, I've gotten into the habit of focusing in on the groom during the anticipation that builds as the bride makes her entrance. While every groom is slightly different, there is that same grin that comes across his face when he first sees his future spouse. Some fight back tears while others smile ear to ear; some slightly bounce up and down on their toes while others stand flat footed in awe; some will stare at their bride to be the entire time she walks down the aisle, while others look at their friends and family almost to say 'check her out!'. But all grooms being to beam in the presence of their bride.

If a grooms anticipation and excitement is that great for their bride to be....what more should our excitement be for entering into the presence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If there is electricity in the air right before those doors open so the bride can walk down the aisle...how much more electric should it be when we enter the throne room? If a groom starts to smile or fight back tears when they see their bride, how many more emotions should we be experiencing when we see the King of Kings and Lord of Lords high and lifted up?

Our excitement for the our Lord should be that much greater than a groom's excitement for his bride. If we have lost that sense of butterflies in our stomachs when we enter into His presence, then we need to fall in love with Him all over again!

Do you need to fall in love with Jesus all over again?

Our Heavenly Father

All week I eagerly looked forward to posting two more lessons learned from my hiking trip! I had been thinking of the lessons I learned, descriptions of how to describe what I experienced, biblical references to support my thoughts and even when I was going to get a few minutes to actually blog. My plans to blog about my hiking experience came to a halt Sunday morning during our worship service at Grace Pointe. In a matter of seconds, I realized I needed to blog about something far greater than my hiking experience!

I saw the absolute best illustration of the love and compassion our heavenly Father has for us exhibited by an earthly father and his daughter during our morning worship yesterday. Allow me to explain. We have the wonderful privilege of having a family in our congregation that is very musically talented (one of the best around!....seriously, they are amazing!). The oldest child's name is Hannah and she is approximately 10 years old (my apologizes if I'm wrong on her age....I know that misjudging ages is a HUGE deal for young ladies!). Hannah has sang with her dad in the past, but to my knowledge never performed solo here at Grace Pointe. Yesterday she was brave enough to take that step of faith and perform as a soloist in front of 300+...a daunting task for many adults, let alone a young child.

As Hannah step to the center of the platform, she was visible nervous (who can blame her!). There was a slight pause from the time she had taken her place in the middle of the platform until the music started. As she stood there, I grabbed a pen and scribbled the following down as a powerful illustration of our Heavenly Fathers love:

In the pause before her solo, Hannah in all her anxiousness, excitement, and nervousness peaks over her shoulder for her fathers approval, as he sits on the platform behind the piano. I can't see her father completely, but imagine that as his little girl peaks over her shoulder he gives her a thumbs up or maybe even a giant smile and head nod to show his little masterpiece that he has total confidence in her. I'm sure on the outside daddy is exhibiting an exterior that is one of confidence and support but on the interior he is a ball of nerves as he knows all to familiar the the butterflies that are floating around in his little girl's stomach prior to a solo performance. As Hannah realizes her dad is there for support, she turns back to the congregation and begins to display the wonderful gift that God has blessed her with.

As Hannah begins to sing, her dad yells out, "Good job Hannah!" which gives his little girl more confidence that she can do this!

Towards the middle of Hannah's song, she forgot a few lines of her song. You could just see a sense of fear in Hannah's face as her mind raced to find the correct lines. Much like before, Hannah looks over her shoulder to her father with a look of, "help me! I don't know what to do". In a time of uncertainty for his daughter, the father leaves his seat of comfort and disclosure, walks out to his little girl and gently slips his arm around her. As if he had handed Hannah a piece of paper with all the words, her confidence was completely restored, nerves fled, and she was able to relax and continue to bless the congregation with her beautiful voice and song. At the completion of her song, the congregation erupted in a standing ovation for Hannah (and I would think that part of the congregation was cheering on the loving father who came to the aid of his daughter).

Our Heavenly Father is much like this father. He allows us to venture out and experience new things on our own, but He is always there in disclosure watching and giving us the thumbs up or the head nod with a giant smile of His face. When we are uncertain or nervous and we are looking around for Him, He calls out to us and says, 'you're doing a great job!'.

Much like Hannah's father, when things take an unexpected turn and we begin to panic, our Heavenly Father doesn't step in and steal the spotlight rather He slips in and places His arm around us exhibiting a great deal of trust and confidence in us by showing that He knows we can do the task at hand! When we feel that loving arm wrapped around us, we seem to quickly allow the troubles surrounding us just fade into the shadows as we complete the task at hand.

What a wonderful Heavenly Father we serve!

(I would like to especially thank Hannah and her father for a wonderful exhibition of what a loving family looks like! And Hannah.....you did an amazing job!).

Lessons learned on the trail

Many of you know that I had the amazing opportunity to hike on the Appalachian Trail earlier this month.  The AT covers over 2,200 miles spanning from Georgia all the way up to Maine.  My group decided to hike in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park for 6 days and 5 nights.  In our adventure we were scheduled to hike around 40 miles...quite the challenge. (You'll learn later in these upcoming posts that we didn't accomplish our original goal........but many lessons were learned in just the few days we were on the AT). 

We learned quite a few lessons rather quickly once we step onto the trail.  One of the biggest lessons was none of us suspected how steep of a climb we had signed up for.  I realize I'm from Indiana and a hills aren't something we are too familiar with....let alone a mountain!  However, I thought I had prepared myself mentality for climbing this trail...I quickly realized I had under estimated the mountain.  We were about 15 minutes into our hike when one of my buddies turned around and said, "Welp, I think reality just set in!" His statement was more true than he knew.

Through all the sweat and heavy breathing, we found a rhythm and a steady pace and were making our way up the mountain.  We would stop, most definitely, more often than an experienced hiker...but we were accomplishing the same task.  Our Christian walk is very similar to this concept.  We often times think we have to be walking the same pace as everyone else on this Christian path, and yet Jesus is just as proud of us 'not so experienced' Christians as he is the 'experienced hiker' Christian.  He isn't walking along side us shaking His head in disgust that we aren't step for step with everyone else......rather the exact opposite is true- He is walking step by step alongside of us cheering us on telling us we are doing great!

The second lesson I learned during our hike was this part of the AT was VERY DIFFICULT!  Day 2 of our hike, we were in one of the shelters for the night and an experienced hiker informed us we were on literally the most difficult part of the entire AT!...not the best spot for 3 rookies to try their hand in hiking.  In our first full day of hiking we elevated over 5300 ft in the first 5 miles.....for all those fellow Hoosiers who are used to flat ground.....that is pretty much walking straight up!

There were hours and hours that past during the day that we would walk and come around a turn only to see another steep walk to the next turn.  You would get around that turn only to see more of the same.  You have no idea how much farther you have until you reach a intersection that would have an sign with mileage and an arrow for the trail you desired.

As I walked I become very tired and leerily at times throughout the day.  I would become discouraged and start to question if we were EVER going to make it to the next intersection.  In the stillness of the wilderness God reminded me that life is like this sometimes....we are wandering on this path God has set out for us and at times it seems as if we are alone.  In those times we can't see the next intersection (or next major encounter with God) and we begin to focus on the current situation and how much pain and sweat you are enduring.  We begin to question if the path is really worth walking anymore and have the temptation to turn around and give up.  However, God continues to call us to keep stead and trust  He is there all along.  He gently reminds us that while the journey is tough, the reward is far greater than the pain, sweat, and at times difficulty we encounter along the path.

There were many more lessons I learned during our time on the mountain, and I will post more in the days to come.  I encourage everyone that is on the path...stay sweet and steady and wait upon the Lord!  He is there every step along the path....even if we can't see/sense Him.  

Camp is Great!

I'm a firm believer in youth camps and retreats! I believe a student can look back many years after they have left youth group and recall the memories and commitments they make at these events. I know this to be true in my own life!

This past week, we had our district youth camp and it was a blast! Over 240 students and adults flooded Camp Camby for 5 days as we sought to have fun, enjoy wonderful worship, and draw closer to Christ. I'm certain all the above were accomplished at some point throughout the week for each of our students.

Darrel Harvey was our speaker and he challenged us each night to rekindle (or start) our love relationship with Jesus once again! We partook in communion each morning service, which I'm sure was quite different for many of our students. He continued to stress that communion has more meaning than just 'something we do sometimes'. It is an outward expression of communing, or being with, our Savior! Each night students responded to His calling, as the altars were full each evening.

Our worship was lead by All Things New (a group from Olivet). They did an outstanding job of inviting the Spirit through worship. I have attended this camp the last 4 years, and this was the first year a 'mosh pit' developed with crowd surfing included. While some may have a problem with this during worship....I don't doubt our students were worshipping through their own means. I had the opportunity to pray during one of the services and as I walked to the platform the large majority of students had their hands lifted or eyes closed as they worshipped Christ (the crowd surfing had ceased by this point).

What a great week! I love youth camp!

I challenge everyone to make it a point to go to youth camp next year!.....you won't be disappointed!!!!!

Congrats to our Graduating Seniors!

What an accomplishment! 12 years of studying, preparing, planning and now it has all paid off! We had asked our seniors to fill out a little questionnaire that we were going to run in our church bulletin....however, we had too much information! So we decided to post a review of the questionnaire here on our blog.

Again, congrats to each of our seniors. I pray that as they take this next step in life they will continue to seek Jesus!

Nick Bailey

Achievements and awards: Nick graduated with honors from Mooresville High School and has received 2 academic scholarships.

Favorite television show: The Office

Favorite cereal: Captain Crunch

Thing you will miss most about Grace Pointe: “Well, I’m not really leaving Grace Pointe. I plan on still attending and keep it as my home church while in college.”

After Graduation: Nick will be attending IUPUI and continue to live at home with Phil and Lisa Bailey.

Daniel Carlton

Daniel graduated from Covenant Christian High School and plans on attending Ivy Tech this fall.

Rolyn Clarke

Rolyn graduated from Avon High School and plans on attending Purdue University this fall.

Taylor Figg

Achievements and awards: Taylor graduated Avon High School with academic honors and also received President’s Award for Academic Excellence. Taylor was also active in FCCLA, Project Angel, March of Dimes, and Trick-or-Treat So Kids Can Eat.

Favorite pets name: Roxy (Bunny)

Favorite cereal: Lucky Charms

After graduation: “I plan to work and enjoy the summer until the fall when I will start taking core classes at Ivy Tech. My intentions are to decide a career path while taking my main classes, and then to move on to a four year college to pursue that chosen career. I hope to someday travel and see the world and experience life to the absolute fullest. Life is a journey that requires persistence and hard work, but love, friendship, and your own happiness is what makes it worth living.”

Travis McCord

Travis graduated from Avon High School and plans on attending IUPUI in the fall.

Bre Moore

Bre graduated from Avon High School.

Ariel Morgan

Achievements and awards: Ariel was selected to be a part of the National Honor Society her junior and senior year at Avon High School. During the month of March, she was selected as the Music Student of the Month. She has also received an academic scholarship for Olivet Nazarene University.

Favorite Cereal: Fruity Pebbles

Favorite Movie: Hairspray

Things you will miss most about Grace Pointe: “I will miss seeing my friends and my ‘other families’.”

After graduation Ariel plans on attending Olivet Nazarene University while majoring in Music Education.

Mickey Piotrowski

Achievements and Awards: Mickey was selected into the National Honor Society and graduated in the top part of his class at Decatur Central High School. He also was captain of the varsity golf team, and received the honor of MVP of the varsity golf his senior year.

Favorite pets name: Titan

Favorite television show: ESPNEWS

Thing you will miss most about Grace Pointe: “The great friends I have made in a short amount of time. The great messages I hear either on Wednesday or Sunday. Going to ECHO and hanging out with friends and having fun!”

After graduation Mickey plans on attending Olivet Nazarene University and studying psychology to become a Christian psychologist.

Andrew Robinette:

Achievements and Awards: Andrew particapted in the Avon Marching Band, and won the State Championship in 2006, 2007, and 2009. In 2008 and 2009, the marching band was crowned national champions!

Favorite pets name: Baxter

Favorite television show: Deadliest Catch

Thing you will miss most about Grace Pointe: “I will miss ECHO and the friends it has brought me. I will also miss all the crazy and fun activities that we have done. I don’t plan on stopping attending Grace Pointe at all!”

After graduation Andrew plans on attending Lincoln College of Technology in the fall of 2011

Britni Stevenson

Achievements and Awards: Britni participated in softball for 11 years and received all-star honors 5 of those years. Britni has been faithful to our Bible quizzing program here at Grace Pointe for 6 years. She also graduated with honors from Avon High School.

Favorite pets name: Taco and Nacho (both are Chihuahuas)

Favorite movie: Blind Side

Thing you will miss most about Grace Pointe: “Nothing! I’ll still be here! However, I will miss ECHO and quizzing.”

After graduation Britni will be taking general study courses at Ivy Tech for a year and will transfer to a bigger college to become a psychiatric nurse.

Christofer Tinajero

Achievements and Awards: Chris participated in the Dollars for Scholars program and has also volunteered his time at a local nursing home. Chris graduated Speedway High School with academic honors and was also a part of the National Honor Society. Chris also has received two scholarships.

Favorite cereal: Trix

Favorite movie: Transformers

Thing you will most about Grace Pointe: “Well, I’m not going to leave Grace Pointe. I still plan on attending.”

After graduation Chris plans on attending Marian University.

Day at the Park!

Who doesn't like free stuff??? I'm convinced that everyone enjoys a few free things now and then....

That is why this Sunday, we are having a free youth outing by going to Hummel Park in Plainfield. We will be at the park after morning service until around 4 p.m.

I would love for this outing to be a family gathering....so parents, please feel free to come along.

All you will need is lunch (not provided) and if you want to bring roller blades, bikes, etc. I would encourage everyone that wants to bring a bike to make the proper plans to transport the bike to and from....we won't have room for bikes in the church van.

Really looking forward to our time together! Flag football anyone?

***And finally, I would strongly encourage everyone to invite a friend....who doesn't like a day at the park?

Youth Service

I realize I'm a week behind in posting about this topic....my apologies!

On April 11th, we had our first ever youth service (at least to my knowledge).  We intentionally tried to exhibit as many of our ministries within ECHO as possible!  Our service was packed, yet everything went really well!

Before the service, I had instructed each student that the one thing that would kill our service was if they missed their cue or if we had the awkward silence of not knowing what was coming up next.  To my delight, everyone was on cue and things went very smooth (other than computer problems during the bible quizzing demo....but we survived! lol).

I received many compliments afterwards and all the praise goes to the Father for His sustaining grace!  Thanks again for all your hard work and efforts!