Thursday, March 27, 2008

Last night........

Rex made his debut at Family Stuf!

Every Wednesday, the Children's Department at Centerpoint Church, has Family Stuf, which is a service that lets children (ages 5-12) interact with their parents, and offers different activities and stories. Often times, they also have a drama, which tells a story about their virtue for the week. (This week's was Courage, next week's is Joy, etc....)

Well, about a month ago, Ellie asked Rex if he would be willing to become part of the drama team for Family Stuf. He agreed, and last week, he got his first script. It was a little difficult for him to learn his lines, since they weren't able to have rehearsal on Sunday (Easter). But with a little perseverance, and help from God, he remembered his lines!

His performance was a hit! Everyone loved his character, Herbert. He was so convincing as a 13 yr-old "nerd". He made everyone laugh, and after the service, several people came up to him and told him he did a great job. I was so proud of him! All his years of drama training paid off. I thought he was the best performer up there (but of course I'm a little biased).

Rex will be part of the drama again next week, so if anyone wants to check it out, come by at 6:30. Family Stuf takes place in the main Sanctuary at Centerpoint Church. For more information about Centerpoint Church, Family Stuf, and all other services, go to www.centerpointcolton.com. If you're looking for Journey (Young Adult, ages 18-29) information, you can either link from Centerpoint's website, or you can do directly to www.towardtruth.com.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

The Good Friday Service..........

It was a hit! We had 130 adults/teens, and 15 children (2-12)! That's the largest amount of people we've ever had in the High School room in the Student Ministries Building (at least as far as I now). It was the highest attendance for a Journey service, at least. (Our Friday night Fuel Service usually averages about 15 people.)

The set-up went pretty smoothly, since G.P. showed up real early, and started setting up chairs. Rex and I got there fairly early, and started setting up the sound equipment and decorations. Little by little, everyone else started showing up, and we were putting things together. We were doing fine, until people started showing up EARLY! We weren't expecting people until 6:30, and they started showing up around 6! We started running around, trying to finish setting up. We finished as quickly as possible.

Then, more people started showing up. The only problem was, we didn't have the bulletins to hand out as they walked through the door. We greeted everyone, and directed them into the High School room. As soon as we received the bulletins, we made sure everyone was handed one, even the people who had already been seated. Shortly after, things started calming down, and the service started on time!

It was a beautiful service. We basically had a funeral service for Jesus. Andre took on the role of John, and gave the eulogy. It was very moving. The music Jess played was lovely. There were several positive comments made during the service and worship. It all went fairly smoothly. In fact, the service ended early! Fuel NEVER ends early! We're usually run late, or end right on time. It was a nice change of pace to end early. Everyone there seemed to appreciate what the service had to offer. Even Pastor Dane had a lot of positive things to say.

And since we had dessert available, many people stayed around, and had fellowship. Several people went up to different Journey members, and complimented our efforts. They were impressed by how well we ran everything. We hope that the Good Friday Service gives everyone who attended a better idea of what The Journey is, and what our goals are for young adults in the Inland Empire. We hope that they see us in a new light, and that more young adults at Centerpoint Church will want to attend our Journey services and meetings.

For more information about the Journey, and to hear the recording on our podcast, go to www.towardtruth.com.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

This Week....

Monday night's St. Patrick's Day party was a blast! We had good food, good friends, and lots of fun! Everyone was in an "Irish" state of mind. I think there was only one or two people who weren't wearing green (party poopers! just kidding!) They were welcome, too. It was nice seeing so many Journey members in the same place, at the same time.

Tuesday night's College Age Group was wonderful. Like we would expect anything less, from Evan and Adda! They are truly a blessing to those who attend those meetings. I look forward to stopping by sometime, to meet any "kids" I don't know yet. It is my duty, as Personal Relationships Liaison, to become acquainted with all Journey members! It's great!

Wednesday night's Thru the Bible went through without a hitch (or so I heard). The only problem was, Kevin (our worship leader) was not feeling well, and couldn't be there to add his special touch to the worship songs. He was dearly missed, and we hope he gets well soon. Pastor Dane's message was educational, as usual.

Tomorrow night: Good Friday Service! The Journey is hosting. It starts at 7pm, in the Student ministries Building. We will be having worship, prayer, and a message from Pastor Shawn. We will be offering childcare, so all you parents can attend! It will be a beautiful service, offered in remembrance of Jesus Christ, and what He sacrificed for us. Everyone is welcome! People of all ages! Come one, come all! We look forward to seeing you.

For more information about The Journey and all our groups or services, feel free to check out our website at www.towardtruth.com.

Friday, March 14, 2008

It's been too long!

I'm sorry it's been so long since I've blogged! I've been busy looking for a job, and Rex and I are trying to find an apartment, since our current lease is up next month. So, I've been turning in my resume to everyone I can find, and trying to pack up our apartment all at the same time! So much has happened since I blogged last! Okay, let's see if I remember everything in order.......

I started a new class, which I mentioned in a previous blog: Comparative Religions.

Rex and I joined a new bible study. It's on Thursday nights at Ed and Nancy Boyd's house in Grand Terrace. The nice thing about it, is the fact that we already knew 80% of the people who attend! Some of them are even part of The Journey: Evan and Adda Dahlke (College-Age Leaders), Kat Newhouse (College-Age Group and Fuel attendee), and Kat's boyfriend, Chris Nunez (Fuel Childcare Leader). We enjoyed reading and fellowshipping with everyone who was there.

I discovered that one of the young ladies that used to work with me at The Avenue passed away. We're not exactly sure what happened, but I attended her funeral on Wednesday. Please pray for peace and comfort for her family.

Rex and I applied for an apartment in Colton, and we got denied for the credit check because our income was too low. Please pray that we find the home that God has waiting for us, because we need to be out of this apartment by April 7th.

Rex will soon have a running car! A friend of ours had a 1998 Ford ZX2, that was just sitting in her apartment complex. She needed to have it removed, or her landlord was going to tow it. She told us there were some transmission issues, but we were welcome to it, since she wanted the car to have a loving home, and not be junked. We picked it up Tuesday night, he drove it home, and now we just have to wait to get the pink slip from her on Saturday, so Rex can start getting everything taken care of, and changed over into his name. Praise God that this car was provided for us.......we didn't have to pay for anything, except a new battery and possibly some transmission work! Amen!

I received a call from a marketing company, and I have an interview set up for Monday afternoon! Please pray that everything goes well.

My mother-in-law had yet another surgery on her eye this morning, and she called this afternoon to say that her doctor said everything went well. He's confident that this time, everything should heal normally. Praise God that my mother-in-law has such promising news! Thank you Lord for making everything go as planned!

Rex and I are attending the "I Love You More" workshop at our church, to help us continue to make our marriage stronger, and become more centered around God. I will let everyone know how it went!

We have Fuel as usual tonight, at 7pm. come join us early for dinner at 6pm! Childcare is provided. Pastor Shawn will be continuing this month's series, "What if there is no God?" Join us to see what God will reveal to us, through Shawn's message.

Sunday is Palm Sunday, and I will be setting up an information table at my church, about The Journey. If you have any questions, come by the table, and see me or one of the other volunteers! (We will be announcing the Good Friday Service- for more information about that, go to The Journey's website at www.towardtruth.com).

and just in case I don't make it back on here over the weekend:

Monday night is The Journey's St. Patrick's Day party! Anyone who wishes, come join us at 6pm. It will be in Rialto, at Ellie and C.J. Clark's house. For anybody who doesn't know how to get there, I believe there are directions or a contact number on The Journey's website, as well. If you come by, Don't forget to wear green!

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Comparative Religions

My new class for this session at CBU, is Comparative Religions. It's basically World Religions, but from a Christian perspective. This class is aimed to educate the students on how other religions compare to Christianity. My teacher grew up in Thailand, so she learned how important world views are, and how Buddhism and Hinduism relates to Christianity. She is a committed Christian, and her only goal for the class is to introduce the other religions to us, and make us aware of how different they are from the Christian faith. I look forward to learning a lot in this class, and I believe this knowledge will give me a greater respect for my own beliefs. I am a Christian, but I know very little about the world faiths or how they view Christians. I look forward to learning all knowledge that my professor has to offer. Maybe I can share what I learn with the other members of The Journey. There is much many of us don't know about Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, and Islam. I might be able to offer a different perspective of these religions. We'll see......