Early bird sign ups for the plunge are due today. Deadline is March 6th but if half the spots aren’t filled by the 23rd of February, I will have to cancel the trip to open up spots at YWAM for other groups.
Gleaning for the Hungry Munchies Photos
•February 13, 2011 • Leave a CommentThis slideshow requires JavaScript.
Gleaning for the Hungry Pics
•February 1, 2011 • Leave a CommentThis slideshow requires JavaScript.
Awesome work Munchies and Crew SSIP was very thankful and couldn’t believe how much fruit you picked. Cindy’s Denali was turned into a low rider because the fruit was so heavy! I estimated the value of the fruit picked to be around $750 maybe more, amazing.
Food for Thought: Hidden Mickey’s
•January 24, 2011 • 1 Comment
I was in sixth grade when I went to Disney World. With just under a month until our vacation, we received a promotional DVD from Disney. After watching the video, my anticipation for the trip skyrocketed. Our customized video included information about our hotel, detailed tours of the four theme parks, a brief overview of Disney’s two water parks, information about Disney’s fastpass system, and an introduction to the concept of Hidden Mickey’s.
When Disney World was created, Disney’s Imagineers created thousands of hidden Mickey’s. The idea was to hide Mickey’s face throughout the park in places tourists typically wouldn’t expect. Most tourists go their entire vacations without even noticing, but to those who make a conscious effort to find them, hidden Mickey’s are EVERYWHERE. They can be found in floral arrangements, storm drains, murals, architecture, plates, rocks, and leaves… and that was only page one of my Google search.
During our vacation, my family made a game out of finding hidden Mickey’s. The ongoing competition made the vacation even more enjoyable and made the brutal waiting lines almost bearable. I’m not sure if it was due to my own skill or my parents’ humble satisfaction in letting their child win, but in the end I found almost twice as many hidden Mickey’s as my parents.
Compared to adults, I believe children are much more naturally aware of hidden Mickey’s. And it makes sense—wide-eyed children are often amazed by small details parents would consider insignificant. Very few adults stop one-another in the middle of the street to point out a cloud that resembles a giant bunny. Adults, on the other hand, are content patiently waiting, keeping their heads down, and focusing on the task at hand.
It doesn’t matter whether we are nine or ninety-nine; we are all children of God. God created this world for us and gave us dominance over every living thing on earth. He breathed life into each and every one of us so that we may appreciate his beautiful creation and know without a shadow of a doubt that he is Lord.
Disney world was by far my favorite vacation. The Imagineers at Disney truly created an amazing atmosphere. But even Disney World pales in comparison to the world our Lord created for us. God’s world trumps Disney world every single time.
And God’s world is full of hidden Mickey’s. Many people can go their entire lives without ever noticing them, but for those who have their hearts in the right place, God is everywhere. God is present in the trees and the grass, in the sky and the dirt, in our friends as well as our enemies. My prayer is that this week we will take a step back from our busy lives to pause and view the world through the eyes of a child. Look at God’s magnificent creation with a childlike sense of wonderment and awe. The beauty of the Lord is all around us; all we must do is open our eyes.
- Greg Rapier
Food for Thought: No Strings Attached
•January 17, 2011 • 1 Comment
We all remember the story of Pinocchio, the puppet who wanted to be a real boy. For those of you who don’t, here’s a quick refresher: After wishing upon a star, puppet-master Geppetto finds that his puppet, Pinocchio, has lost his strings and come alive. With his newfound life, Pinocchio explores the world and is lured by various forms of temptation, culminating with a visit to Pleasure Island, where Pinocchio gives into temptation through drugs and alcohol. Eventually (spoiler alert) a selfless act proves Pinocchio has learned the difference between right and wrong, and transforms the puppet into a real boy.
A quick scan of the web via Google suggests that while Pinocchio is a morality tale, it is not rooted in the Christian faith. I disagree. The movie chronicles Pinocchio’s attempts to live honorably with the promise that he will be given a “real life”. After Pinocchio is consumed with sin, a spirit restores the puppet’s ever-expanding nose to its original size, thus washing away his sins. The most obvious biblical parallel comes near the end of the film where Pinocchio, like Jonah in the bible, gets swallowed by a whale. In his attempt to escape from the inside of the whale, Pinocchio dies. It is only after death that Pinocchio gains everlasting life as a real boy.
Pinocchio also provides a solid example of the way God directs our lives. While many people believe in fate and destiny, I believe that God does not directly control everything that happens on earth. If everything could be linked to fate, then God is nothing more than a puppet-master, and we are nothing more than his dolls.
But we’ve got no strings. Our God has given us free will and the ability to reason and make decisions for ourselves. God has given us this gift with the knowledge that we will sometimes use it to pursue unnecessary pleasure, fortune, and fame (watch the video). It was also given with the knowledge that if we are not careful, our sins may consume us in the same way the great fish consumed both Jonah and Pinocchio. Most importantly, we were given this gift with the knowledge that nothing, not even our sin, can separate us from eternal life with god. All we have to do is believe.
- Greg Rapier
30 Hour Famine!!!!!!!!
•January 12, 2011 • Leave a Comment
The time has come once again for the 30 Hour Famine!!! This year’s famine will take place Friday February 25th after lunch and end Saturday the 26th with a break-fast communion service followed by dinner. Our fundraising goal for 2011 is $7000, which is enough money to feed over 19 children for the next year! Envelopes will be handed out during Crunchies beginning January 18th and 19th, and Permission Slips need to be in by February 16th. For more information, email Patrick at pvaughn@faithpresby.org, or better yet, come to youth group!!!!! We look forward to starving with you!
- Your Advisors
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