Thursday, November 03, 2005

Hero Question of the Day #15

"I tell you the truth," he said, "this ____ ______ has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."
Luke 21:3-4

The answer really isn't a specific name, but more like a description of her. Post your name and answer or email them to jgregory@gccwired.com.

This is a great illustration of what Jeremy talked about on Wednesday. Jesus is more concerned about the condition of your heart than anything else. The heart of this lady was vividly on display when she gave all that she had. She was "all in". How about you? Maybe you're not there yet, but decide today to ask Jesus what your next step might be... then take it! I love you, I love Oasis, I love GCC, I love Jesus.

Everyone Needs A Chris















Chris (left) with Jackie at Feed the Children

I used to be horrible at delegating things to people. Seriously...really bad...a major weakness of mine! And then came Chris. Now a days, Chris would tell you that delegating is no longer a weakness of mine. Seriously...I'm really good at it! The reason I'm good at it is because of Chris. She's got my back, my front and my sides. I am convinced that there is no greater administrative assistant in all of the world. She's learned to ask me great questions...do you have this, have you done that, did you reserve the room...the shuttle...the whatever? Most of the time my answer is "workin' on it" or "no, can you do that for me?" She's also one of those people that will always take my call. Sometimes I'm zippin' through the office and can't find something or have a question, so I give Chris a buzz and, of course, she knows where it is or has the answer. I value that. I value her.

What's even cooler is that she cares about me! My dad's been goin' through a rough time over the last six months. He's just now coming out of it (thank you Jesus). She's one of my inner circle of friends who remembers and asks about him. I like that...a lot. A lot of people know about him and the illness he's been battling, but only a few people ask about him...that makes me sad. I think about that a lot. Do I do that to people? Forget to ask about their sick mom, their struggling teenager or how the school play went? I know I do sometimes. I hate that about myself. I wanna be more like Chris:)

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

McFarland vs. McFarland

Evan McFarland has been running our set up team forever! He is off-the-chart awesome I tell ya. However, Hilary, his sister, is now giving him a run for his money. I always new Hilary was incredible too, but she took it up a level a couple of weeks ago when she began leading her very own "girls set up team"... and it has some serious girl power. They now hold the new record for set up with a time of 30 minutes (previous time to beat was 45 minutes)! Wow! The hearts of our Tuesday night teams - guys and girls - are as big as the state of Texas. Thank you... thank you... thank you! I love what you do, but more importantly who you are. The McFarlands and crew rock. Below are pictures of some of the team (a few key players are missing, like Vito).

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Hero Question of the Day #14

In those days _____ ___ _______ came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."
Matthew 3:1-2

This dude has three names... kinda.... more like one name and a title. Rock on. Post your name and answer or email them to jgregory@gccwired.com.

Monday, October 31, 2005

Hero Question of the Day #13

Ok, today's question is a little different. The verse I wanted to use is soooo very cool; however, it doesn't identify the hero's name in it who said it. So, I'm changing the question just for today. The hero is Isaiah, fill in the blank found in the verse.

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send ____!" Isaiah 6:8

I love that verse because that's who I want to be 24-7. If God needs something done, I want Him to forever be able to call on me! However, I know I need the foresight of the Holy Spirit to do that (like we talked about on Wednesday). I need to be able to hear His voice and/or have Him push, prod and nudge me in the direction He wants me to go. Oasis you rock... I love you guys!

Sunday, October 30, 2005

That's One Big Sundae & That's Not Chump Change

$2,180 - That's some major green!

When I posted about the 1200 boxes packed at Feed the Children, I forgot to tell you that we also had the opportunity to give Alan Jones (the son of Larry Jones, the founder of Feed the Children) our check for $2,180. While the 7th grade pulled out the win for most money donated, collectively we all have reason to be proud. The money will enable over 15,500 pounds of food to be delivered to hurricane ravaged areas. Hungry people will be fed because of you my friend. Way cool!

Over 100 seventh grade students feasted on this 100' sundae! The prize for the victorious seventh grade students who collected the most money for Hurricane Relief Efforts.





































































Hero Question of the Day #12

Wow! I can't believe how many students are emailing and posting the answer to the Hero Question of the Day. I am so proud of you... seriously. Taking time out to look up the passage each and every day or two is off-the-chart. It's a huge step toward getting to know our God and His Word for yourself!

When they had crossed, Elijah said to ________, "Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?"
"Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,"...
2 Kings 2:9

Post your name and answer or email jgregory@gccwired.com with them.

Meet the Leader - Carole

Carole Marzke is an amazing leader. However, what I appreciate most about her is that she is an awesome friend as well. Carole has been doing youth ministry alongside me forever. You know you have an incredible leader on your hands when they look forward to being here each and every week, year after year. Seriously, the only time Carole has missed is when she's been out of town or sick. That's pretty amazing. Love ya friend... hope to be doing ministry and life together for many more years to come!














Carole is about the sweetest person you'll ever meet. She's the queen of cupcakes in my book too! She has four great kids - Grant, Gabby, Gloria and Gracie - and one incredible husband named Dave. Below is Carole trying to look scary... somehow she still ended up with a smile on her face:)

The Feed the Children Team - Relentless I tell ya!
















1200 boxes divided by 24 people = 50 boxes a piece! That's a lot of boxes!

On Saturday, October 30 we rocked Feed the Children by pumping out 1200 boxes of food. This isn't just food for anyone, but those in the Michiana area. When the people of GCC gather together in January to distribute food, it will be all the more special knowing that their student ministries helped boxed them with a whole lot of TLC.

John, Noah, Gabby, Grant, Ashley, Chris, Jackie, Rayne, Shelby, Tara, Lilly, Becky, Emily, Beau, Kasie, Andy, Hilary, Evan, Zach, Karen, Lisa, Carole, and Zeke... thanks for giving it your all. Not once, did you guys moan or groan. When it came to packing boxes, you were relentless for five hours... zowee!

If you build it, we will come!

When Karen and I heard about this corn maze, we had to check it out. We could of driven 20 minutes to a corn maze in Edwardsburg, but opted for this one 2 hours away in Sparta, MI. Why might you ask? It has a pumpkin launcher. It was worth the drive to spend some quality time together... and to launch pumpkins. Mike you gotta build us one of these things!

Up, up and away















Is that the sun setting? No, it's a pumpkin flying to its death.















Last, but not least, Andy launches the Great Pumpkin!















Team 1 -John, Andy, Zeke and, of course, Vito McFarland
They smoked everyone through the corn maze! Great job guys!















Team 2 - Hilary, Karen, Erica and Amanda















Team 3 - Steve, Evan, Bob, Kyle and Levi (aka Beaver Cleaver)















Team 4 - Kasie, Kalie, Amanda and me

Thursday, October 27, 2005

Hero Question of the Day #11

Hero Question of the Day #11
__________ answered, "O king, live forever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king."
Daniel 6:21-22

Post your name and answer or email them to jgregory@gccwired.com

I hope you can all make it to Feed the Children this Saturday. We'll meet at GCC at 8:30 a.m. and return at 2:30 p.m. Remember to call (574.243.3506, x348) or email me if you are going by 7 p.m. on Friday. You Rock!

Eagle's Nest of the Week - Soul Candy

Soul Candy - It's good for the soul!














































Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Stayed Tuned for Tomorrow Night's Eagle's Nest of the Week Picture Posting

Hero Question of the Day #10
From inside the fish _______ prayed to the LORD his God. He said: "In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry."
Jonah 2:1-2

Post or email (jgregory@gccwired.com) your name and answer. 24 more hours until Oasis... YES!

Hero Question of the Day #9

For all those Hero Question of the Day bloggers out there... I am so proud of you. Whether you just started answering the questions or you began day one, you totally rock in my book. As of yet, absolutely no one has answered a question incorrectly. So far, there have been 8 questions with 10 potential answers. Here are the tallies with two questions remaining before Wednesday's random drawing.
1. Brian 10 (entries into the drawing)
2. Shelby 9
3. Donald 9
4. Ambre 8
5. Kalie 7
6. Erica 7
7. Keena 5
8. Neil 3
9. Kayle 1
10. Renae 1
11. Kira 1


Hero Question of the Day #9 - This servant asks God for wisdom and God gives it to him...Big Time! Who is he? Post your name and answer as a comment or email jgregory@gccwired.com with them.

"... and God said, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you."
_________ answered, "You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day.
"Now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?"

1 Kings 3:5-9 (Oops, posted the chapter wrong the first time)

I think that would be a cool thing to ask for in prayer too! I think I'll go and do just that! Night!

Monday, October 24, 2005

In Her Shoes












You know, sometimes it's great just to hangout with your mom. They need that sometimes... you need that sometimes. I have a great, great mom...and aunt...and sister. We decided to do a chick flick together tonight. Unfortunately, my brother-in-law busted his wrist big time racing at the speedway today, so my sister had to make a last minute run to the hospital and couldn't go.

They had picked the movie, and had I checked the kidsinmind.com website, I might not have gone. It scored pretty high (6 out of 10) on the sexual content for a PG-13 movie. However, after seeing the movie, I'm glad we went.

Basically it's about two sisters, one very successful (she's a lawyer) and the other definitely not (she jumps from one relationship to another - that's the junk part because they show some of that). They have a major fallout and the lawyer sister kicks her kid sister out of her apartment. The kid sister then goes down to Florida to live with her recently discovered grandmother. While there, her life is transformed. She leaves behind a life of lying, stealing, drinking and promiscuity when she realizes her life has meaning and purpose. I won't go into anymore details, but watching a life be transformed on the screen... or better yet in real life through a relationship with Jesus and by discovering how God wired you (your SHAPE as we talked about on Wednesday)... is just about the coolest thing in the world.

There are many more lessons in this movie about betrayal, forgiveness, sisterhood and how a learning disability can affect your self-esteem if you allow it. It would be great if an Oasis student who's SHAPE is producing movies would one day resurrect this film without the inappropriate scenes. The value of expressing Biblical principles by painting a picture using the arts (movies, drama, paintings, music, etc.) is powerful. I'm glad I go to a great church were we do just that.

Well, I gotta jet. I'm heading off to the hospital to be with my sister while my brother-in-law has his wrist operated on. Why go? Because sisters just do that for each other. Pray for him. He teaches guitar for a living... you need good wrists to do that. Remember, family matters... you matter... Jesus matters.

Friday, October 21, 2005

Off to Indy and Hero Question of the Day #8

Last night Grand Rapids, today Indy

Last night, some friends and I loaded up the shuttle and headed off to Grand Rapids for a Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman and Louie Giglio concert. These guys were off-the-chart. The fact that I was able to see them with my friends and sister made it even sweeter. Chris and Matt are worship leaders and Louie is an incredible speaker. All three have an ability to take you into the throne room of heaven in the blink of an eye. You can listen to Louie at the Northpoint's church website (Andy Stanley's church for those Andy Stanley fans like me). Here's the link: http://www.northpoint.org/sermons. Louie's Astronomical Grace and Significant Insignificance messages are awesome. I suggest you click on those. Of course, Andy's will rock your world as well.


Hero Question of the Day #8
Since I'm heading off to Indy, I'm posting tomorrow's question early. Hopefully I'll have web access, but I'm thinkin' not!

Then ________ sent this reply to Mordecai: "Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish."
Esther 4:15-16

Post your name and answer as a comment or email them to jgregory@gccwired.com.

Chicks take the Stage and Hero Question of the Day #7

Introducing Leah and Ashlee
While Mike, Scott, Jeff and Tom always rock the house for us at Oasis, it was very, very cool having Leah and Ashlee join them on stage. The female touch was very nice!




















Hero Question of the Day #7 - This guy not only wept over his sin, but he helped other people realize the sin in their life as well.

While ________ was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a large crowd of Israelites—men, women and children—gathered around him. They too wept bitterly.
Ezra 10:1


Fill in the blank by posting a comment or emailing jgregory@gccwired.com the answer... don't forget to tell me your name. You rock!

Thursday, October 20, 2005

Oasis - All Means All

ALL MEANS ALL
And now, O Israel (Judy), what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good.
Deuteronomy 4:12-13

Tonight at Oasis, after an exciting game of Lanny-Ball, we talked about how God didn't stop at love Him and serve Him, but He went on to say "with all your heart and with all your soul". Really love Him like He first loved us.

We've talked about loving Him well over the last few weeks and to recap, Leah sang "About You" by ZOEGirl. The key points in recent weeks were to be "RELENTLESS", choose to be "ALL IN", find your "PILLARS" to come alongsdie you, because in relationships (with friends and Jesus) "PROXIMITY MATTERS".

Afterwards we went on to hit the other side... to SERVE Him because people are dying for us to breathe life into them, to perform spiritual CPR like we would physcial CPR. However, instead of breathing life into them by giving them air, it would be by speaking words of encouragement and hope into them, as well as serving those who not only need to hear about Jesus but see and sense Him through our hands and feet.

FIRST RECORDED CASE OF CPR
And the LORD God formed a man's body from the dust of the ground and breathed into it the breath of life. And the man became a living person.
Genesis 2:7


We talked about our SHAPE - Spiritual Gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality and Experiences. With my own life, I illustraed at age 12 what my SHAPE might have of looked like. I challenged them to fill out the SHAPE form, get an idea on areas in which they might be wired to serve and then go give it a shot. If it worked out great, if not try something else.

People are depending on us to figure out what God wired us to do - what He wired us to LOVE to do - and to do it not out of obligation, but as an ultimate expression of love.

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Go Grissom and Hero Question of the Day #6

Five Star Rocks the House at GRISSOM.
Today was the first day of Five Star's after school event at Grissom and it was a HUGE success. Ninety plus signed up and most of them showed up. Technically, they are only allowed to have fifty. What a cool problem to have.

We kicked off playing Pac Man, Knockout and Dodgeball in the gym, then it was off to eat an enormous ice cream sundae for 90 out of gutters (yes, I said gutters), followed by some great, Great, GREAT words by Seth on seizing your destiny. If you missed it, you missed out big time... BIG TIME. The good news is that you will have another opportunity to sign up in January. For those that made the first eight week cut, it's gonna be a blast.

Hero Question of the Day #6 (written in blue since I spent my middle school years at Schmucker)

The LORD said to ____________, "You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands. In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her, announce now to the people, 'Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.' " So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.
Judges 7:2-3

Bonus question: If you read just a few more verses beyond 3, it tells you how many the army was eventually reduced to. What was the number (hint it's a lot less than 10,000)?

Remember you don't have to do the bonus question if you don't want to. Also, if you can't post for some reason, just email me (jgregory@gccwired.com) your name and answer.

Sunday, October 16, 2005

Skyriders and Hero Question of the Day #5















Today at Skyriders was a blast. I love to watch students as they attempt their death defying tricks. All went well and no major injuries... that's the way I like it! You guys are awesome, talented and brave beyond words!

Hero Question of the Day #5
_______ was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother's name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah; she was from Bozkath. He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.
2 Kings 22:1-2