Wednesday June 9th

Mike read the story of a man that told about Christian being persecuted for their faith then Dan asked are we willing to give up everything for God? we often are afraid of saying Yes to Gods call because we are afraid of what he may ask of us - we he make us give things up that we enjoy, will we be asked to leave our family and friends, will God send us to Africa? God is a rewarder He is the most giving and loving Father their is, Every Good and Perfect Gift comes from God. We often find that when we say yes to God the things we were afraid he might tell us to give up -we don't want anymore. Dan stated he never knew anyone to truly say Yes to God and follow his leading to regret the stuff they gave up. Are we like the rich man who told asked Jesus what he must do and walked away when Jesus replied sell everything, give to the poor and follow me. What fears do we hold keeping us from saying Yes to God? What are we afraid to give up?

Survivor winners

6 week Survivor came to and end last Wednesday with it being any teams game.....but Mighty Ducklings pulled through in the end and won a night of bowling with their team and youth leaders!! We had a great time and look forward to our next four weeks leading up to Summer Kick off on June 23rd. Make your own Sundaes Luau!! Wednesday the 23rd from 6-9 high school bring chips or drinks and middle school bring ice cream topping.

Daily Bible

This Past on Tuesday in your daily Bible and this coming week on Tuesday the scriptures talk about the Living Water. As I talk to many youth I hear about the loneliness, emptiness, dis-content, and unhappy. Have we found the Living water? Are we thirsting no more? God wants to come into our lives and fill us leaving us empty, lonely and discontent no more. Maybe we asked him to come into our lives but are we truly allowing him in? Or are we still trying to fill ourselves with things of this world? Let God in your heart. Let him in your life. He will fill us and we will thirst no more!

Survivor week 3

Week 3 kicked off with the bubble game - Yeah Maddie for winning in record time!! Our moon light game ended when all lights had successfully been, not turned on, but blown to pieces, maybe the rubber baseball was too hard of an object to throw at them, the game sight did recommend bean bags!!! The teams worked together to keep a feather in the air and proved more difficult then we would have thought but it was still alot of fun!! Service kits were the group project this week each team came up with a kit that the could collect items for and assemble next next week - hygiene kits, new baby kits, project blessing kits, etc. will be donated to different organizations in our local area. Blue team received a special challenge this week, each team member to bring snack next week gets extra points for their team!
Teens make sure your working on your verse and Bible reading!! I John 5:5!

Last weeks Survivor Week 2 was great - Blue, Gentle Lapping Waves, had a great turn out and earned themselves great points in the attendance area. The egg toss was successfully won by Jimmy and Marcus -(although at the end Marcus ended up covered in the egg) and earned Black, Sinners 400 points! Yellow, The Mighty Ducklings worked hard on making their flag and will be working extra hard on getting their teammates to youth, and Khaki, the disciples came out on top in the Cookie game thanks to Maddy!!
More fun to come this week on Survivor Week 3!

Last night survivor week 1 was awesome!! The students that were there found out there teams,put together team verse and name -looking forward to designing their flags next week. We did coconut bowling, and compeated in some fun challenge -this picture is from one of them!! Remember reading your daily Bible everyday this week earns your team points, adding teammates gets you points, and then of course winning your team games and individual challenges. If you didnt make it this week make sure you come next week, your team needs you!!

OUT-LIVE, OUT-PRAY, OVERCOME!! I john 5:5

I will give extra points to anyone who can quote I John 5:5 next week!!

I John 5:5 "Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?"
This Wednesday starts Stainless Survivor. Find out your teams, play some coconut bowling, solve some puzzles, overcome some challenges, and find out how you can Out-Live, Out-Pray, Overcome!!

4 TEAMS, 6 WEEKS, 1 WINNER!!
Out-Live, Out-Serve, Overcome!
Starting April 14th (Mike Farley's 30th b-day!!)
Wednesdays 6-8 grades 6-12
Dress to play!!!

Outreach

New Challenge is set before you... As a youth group we spend 60 days reaching out to those in poverty needing Physical items. We collected household items, clothing, food, school supplies, and money for Haiti. But now we have the opportunity to reach out to those around us living in Spiritual Poverty - our unsaved friends. We have an outreach event coming up April 9th at New Life - UNITE. They are bringing in December Radio + Seventh day Slumber, setting up inflatable games, have some great giva aways. They are making it real easy to bring our friends out to something fun with other youth from all over Maine. And bonus -your friends will hear the Gospel!!!
So lets see if we can collect as many friends as we did other items, lets see if we are willing to reach our friends with the same effort we reached out to strangers!! Tickets are only $5 each - thats an incredable price. So please I need a number by March 17th to order tickets. Sign up you and your friends at http://stainlessyouth.weebly.com/ or bring $$ in an envelope to youth with the number of tickets needed.

Daily Bible reading

Psalm 30:4+5
"I sing to the Lord, you saints of his; praise His holy name. for his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning."

His favor lasts a lifetime - I don't know about you, but that phrase brings Joy to my heart. How often do we beat ourselves up in self-condemnation, unable to forgive our own mistakes? Often we use it as an excuse for not do all we can for God - He can't use me, He doesn't want to help me, I am not worth it. God favor lasts a life time!!! Does he get upset when we mess up? Sure -but it lasts only a moment. We need to trust that Gods Word is true and that we are favored by God. he can use us -he will help us, we are worth it to Him.

Get into those daily Bibles - you find a whole lot more encouragement and direction if you do!!
This weekends readings
Friday - Mark 12:28-44 and Proverbs 20-29
Saturday - Mark 13:1-31 and Psalm 30:8-12
Sunday -Mark 13:32-14:16 and Psalm 31:1-8

Famine Update - Next Event

So far as a group we have brought in over $1000!! Great job youth! I am still collecting sponsor packets-I would like them tonight if possible but they can be brought to me as late as next Wednesday. This will be great for the Haiti relief fund. Remember along with the church we are now collecting tents for Haiti-get the word out there we only have two weeks as the rainy season comes soon!!

Next event UNITE at New Life Biddeford - more details and to reserve your tickets -

http://stainlessyouth.weebly.com/

So are we blending a yummy drink for Dan and Mike tonight? What should we put in it?any suggestions??? Who's bringing school supplies? Check out last entry for list of needed items - Goal 32 cloth grocery bags along with other items. Stop at hannaford on the way to youth - 1 cloth bag = $1, you can did around for that in your house!!

Also check out our new web page - http://stainlessyouth.weebly.com/
Give me advice on what you want to see in a web page!

School Supply collection

Items needed -
Pencils + eraser tops
pony beads
googly eyes for projects
special gel pens
multi-culteral crayons
cloth grocery bags
glue sticks
Wide markers
Magnetic letters

30 hour famine

One week till famine time - Are you praying? Reading your Daily Bible? Getting those sponsorships? Direct your friends and family to this link to donate funds http://www.30hourfamine.org/portal/onlinegiving/donate/103682444-002

30 hour famine - 11 days and counting

11 days to the famine - are you prepared? Hope you all have been doing your daily Bible reading and collecting your sponsorships! This is going to be a spiritual challenge as well as a physical challenge. You need to be preparing yourself for that challenge!!

lighthouse

It time to pass the torch...or is it? Who will go home with the light house tonight? Team Alex or will team Kelsey continue to hold the honor? It was a close race and the team that won brought only 2 bags more them the other!! I will tell you that Dan will be eating alot of goldfish tonight!!!

Clothing Drive

The clothing drive was fantastic!! We collected so many clothes that Preble Street couldn't handle it all, so we divided up our collections into three missions. Preble Street, Good Shephard Methodist Church in Gray's Child+ teen Clothing Share, and a group from St. Joe's heading down to New York in two weeks to bring clothing to the homeless. So yeah!! Youth your doing awesome - I believe Team Kelsey ended up winning by 2 bags!! Team Alex it was close!! Now on To The Gorham food Pantry, remember kids friendly items, tuna, mac + cheese, Spaghetti O's, school snack items, juice boxes, stuff kids like!!

Preble Street Challenge

Who will hold the trophy next?Will Team Alex take it or will Team Kelsey keep it? Clothing drive is on for Preble street teen center- 25 grocery bags per team is the goal and Dan and Mike will eat a gold fish -for every 5 bags over the goal another fish will be eaten!!! Remember they need winter items such as hats, gloves, scarves, hoodies, coats, and also hygiene items. Right now Team Kelsey has 7 bags and team alex only has 2 so lets get the word out there and start collecting items.
Challenge - Pick one outfit from your own closet that you love and give it to a homeless teen at Preble Street!

60 day update!

Hey everyone, I want the youth to know they did a great job collecting items for Project Blessing!! There was so much stuff it was amazing - the little office was half filled!!!! And my hair is red + blue +a bit green in areas. (my plow guy asked me what happened to me!) Now on to Preble Street teen center- dig deep I know you can find lots of stuff for them! As far as Haiti it was so great to have the church get behind World Vision and take a collection yesterday, cant wait to hear the total. You can still encourage others to help through our page
http://www.30hourfamine.org/portal/onlinegiving/donate/103682444-002

Haiti

Hey everyone,Here is a note from the president of World Vision Canada. This is a great clip giving us a picture of what is happening with the money we are raising through our 30hour famine. All money raised will be helping Haiti in their recovery effort and helping the families with food, water, and other necessities. Check it out the get sponsors. The sponsorship link is in an earlier blog! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5O5sb_-gWGw

Todays Daily Bible

As I was reading my daily Bible today the last few verses really stuck out to me - Matt.9:35-38 "Jesus went through all the towns + villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless,like sheep without a shepherd.Then he said to the disciples,"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few, ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field""
It really made me think about our 60 days of service. This passage isn't just about preaching the Gospel, Jesus also healed their disease and sicknesses. We are in this 60 days reaching out to the homeless and the hungry, those living in poverty. The work in plenty and the workers are few. I thought about how much more I can be doing, right now for Project Blessing knowing with each person they provided household goods for they also provide a Bible. That box is a source of light to the sick of heart. I know I am asking the Lord of the Harvest to send workers and am being challenged myself to work even harder - What about you? Are you willing to ask God what he wants you to do and step up your game?

30 hour famine donations

To donate to the 30 hour famine this is the youth page. every $30 feeds a child for a month. teens you should have been able to make your own donation page but this one works if you would rather direct people here.

http://www.30hourfamine.org/portal/onlinegiving/donate/103682444-002

checking that it works

Ok Just checking that this works, the first post isnt showing and I am new at this!!

60 day journey

Hey everyone - I decided as we start our journey into the 60 days of service we needed a place to document everything we go through. This really is more then just something we are doing, its who we are. We are servants, followers of God, Reaching out to the lost and needy. Our first collections are for Project Blessing - Who are they and what do they do?
They are a ministry run solely by Life Church members providing household items to those moving from Homelessness to housing. Do we really understand how important that is? Imaging living on the streets due to job loss, foreclosure, illness, etc., its a hard spot to be living on the streets or in shelters packed in beds next to strangers. Finally through the help of a service you are able to get back on your feet and get a place to live. Imaging the excitement. Now picture moving into that apartment with the clothes off your back. Where do you sleep? Floor, what keeps you warm? Your hungry and want to cook some soup, how do you open the can? Cook the soup? Eat the soup? You want a shower but what do you wash with? What do you dry off with? I'm sure you get the picture - New place great but its a bit bleak in its emptiness. Now imagine you receive a box full of bedding, bathroom essentials, and kitchen items, along with a Bible. How blessed do you feel now? Do not minimize at all what collecting these items is doing. I mean great you get to dye Nellie + Julie's hair but think beyond that to the reward how helping others. Last year alone Project Blessing served 770 individuals (191 were children) that was 470 households. That's amazing and this year you are a part of that!! SO go on out there and collect these items (team contest end the 17th but we can continue collecting all year long!)
Items-
Kitchen - *Can opener *dish clothes+Towels *Dish Soap + Scrubbers * Glasses + Mugs * Plates *bowls *Pots+ Pans *Cooking utensils * Cutlery * flatware * 8 paper Towels
Bedroom - *sheet sets * pillows * Blankets
Bathroom- *bath towel * hand towels *Face Clothes *Shower curtain + rings *Deodorant *razors *Shampoo *Bar Soap *Toothbrushes + Paste * Toilet Paper