Sorry guys, but I may not get a chance to blog more than once a week for a while :( so you may just get one big "infomercial" each week to keep everone up to speed. So here goes....

Crew
We got up early Saturday and headed up to camp for the Girls of Grace conference. It was a gorgeous ride up with the sun shining ( haven't seen that in awhile) and a silly ride home, ( with all the laughing, snorting? and honking?:) But seriosly there was some good stuff shared at the conference from self esteem, to living your life for God, controlling gossip, and making good choices. Chris Wheeler shared a definition of men and boys that I believe is worth repeating here:
He said;

A boy is someone who loves himself more than Jesus.

A man is someone who loves Jesus more than himself.

I post that as a challenge to all the guys reading this. And girls remember; never settle, for you are a princess of the King:)

:)

p.s. thanks for warming the van up for us Sonny!

Big Event

Sunday March 9, Calvary Crew is heading to the Breslin Center in Lansing for Winter Jam 2008. http://www.jamtour.com/index.php You can checkout this link for a complete look at what Winter Jam is all about. This will be a great opportunity for your unsaved friends to hear the gospel. Sign up in the youth center this weekend so we have a count and know how many vans to run.

Concert tickets: $10.00 @ the door

Ride there and back with friend: Free

Eternal reward: Priceless!

We will leave GLCC at 3:00pm and arrive back approximatly 11:00pm

Quiz meet Saturday

9:00 am- 12:00 noon GLCC

Come on over and cheer on our team. They have been working hard and would enjoy the encouragement.

Quiet Time

One last thought- I know many of you are very "busy" with life right now ( exams, sports, quiz prep, youth group etc.) so I want to encourage you to take a few minutes each day and set it aside for just you and God. Unplug yourself from everything around you and just listen for God to speak to you. He has the answer you are looking for, and you may just find it to be the very best part of your day.

P.C.

FNT- Here are a couple of shots from Friday nights v-ball tourney. A great time was had by all, congratulations to the 1st place team "Ask Paul". Joey, Kegan, Paul and Courtney. Thank you Cheryl K. for officiating the tournament. Invite your friends this Fri. Feb.22 7pm-12am. Seth Schaffer and his band will be there rockin the youth center.



Girls of Grace

Be here (GLCC) @ 7:15 am Saturday <- (nope not a type-o :). Camp Ao-Wa-Kiya will be serving breakfast 8-10am. Lunch @ 1:30. We should be back to GLCC about 7:30 pm.



Crew
Prepare your hearts for worship guys, Joe and Angela Noorthoek will be leading this week.

If you havent been to Crew in a while come check it out. Crew meets every Sunday 6-8 in the youth center.



Have you spent time with God this week?


"Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ" - Romans 10:17

P.C.

He Loves You More

Pay close attention to the words :)
P.C.

AO-WA-KIYA

Next Saturday we are loading up the van and heading up to camp AO-WA-KIYA for an all day conference. The conference is open to all girls 13-18 yrs old. I want to encourage all of you girls to go. Cost is $25 and that includes lunch. E-mail me this weekend if you are planning on going. And if $ is holding you back we have 3 more sponsorships available. pastorchuck@fnwusers.com Here is a link previewing the event:http://www.girlsofgrace.com/home.asp check it out!


CREW
See you all Sunday, we will be meeting at our regular time 6-8 in the youth room.

P.C.

Inviting God's Presence

This past week while working on varios lessons, from Calvary kids Connection to Sunday School, FNT and Calvary Crew, there seems to be a recurring theme. That theme would be the thought or idea of "looking into" or "examining" ourselves. I want to share these thoughts with you as we seek the presence of God in our youth group. (Remember Pastor Chad?)

Often times as christians we tend to profess our faith in Christ, go to church every 7 days or so and spend the rest of the weeek wrapped up in the busy-ness of this world with little regard for what Jesus did for us and why He went to the cross, and wonder why church or youth group has become mundane.

We ask ourselves; where is the joy? the excitement? the freedom? the desire? Why am I not experienceing the fruits of the Spirit? Or maybe it's been so long since you have experienced Christ in your life you no longer even ask.

Now I don't want to bore you or lose you, so bare with me and keep on reading. Satan does not want you to understand, let alone begin do these things which the Holy Spirit commanded through the apostle Paul.

I have learned over the years that rather than blaming the church, hypocrates, or outside influences beyond my control, that it is I who needs to look in the mirror. Does my life and lifestyle align more with the word of God (what the Bible says about a true disciple), Or does my life align more with the world around me?

Paul told the Corinthians to: " Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?"
(2 Corinthians 13:5) Paul spoke this to the Corintians he also speaks this to us.

Later this week I will post what it means to "examine yourself" and to "align your lives" to the life Christ intended for you, so you may experience all of that which God intends for you, and bring you words of encouragement in your daily battle with those influences that want to pull you away from the things of God.

P.C.

Snow Storm

Todays Youth conference has been cancelled due to the weather :(. Have a great day and stay warm.
P.C.

Supplying a Need

Thursday we brought all the food collected over the last couple of weeks to Annetta Jansens food pantry. The volunteers were very excited to see the bags just keep coming in, as their shelves were running low. Calvary Crew collected 34 bags of groceries and $90.
Great Job Crew!

43 days until Spring

All activities are cancelled tonight. (Wed. Feb.6)

Updates, News and such

Girls of Grace Life lessons from Point of Grace and Friends:
Girls- February 23 we will head up to camp Ao-Wa-Kiya for a national gathering of teen girls via satallite. It is an all day event 9am-4pm. Cost is $25 and that includes the ride and lunch. Click on this link: http://www.girlsofgrace.com/home.asp to see what it is all about. Six girls are already signed up I would like to bring another seven (or more) so check out their website and call me or E-mail me pastorchuck@fnwusers.com with your questions or reservations by Feb.12. This looks like a great opportunity to grow and be encouraged in your pursuit of Godly character.

IFCA Youth Conferance
Looking forward to seeing all of you this Sunday. Mel Walker and his wife Peggy will be here talking about "How to make difficult decisions",4-7pm. There will be games a band, pizza, pop, and chips. We are expecting about 500 students so get here early the doors will open at 3:00. Cost is $4

Continue praying for one another-
P.C.

Food Drive

Hi guys-
I'll update later today but I wanted to get this out as soon as possible. We will bring the donations to Project Hope Thurs. (Feb. 7) If you would like to help be here at the church at 4:30 we will load all the food in the van and leave at 5:00. we should be back between 6 and 6:30. Hope to see you then.
P.C.

Sombrero Bowl Party @ The Puckets

We will leave GLCC at 5:15. Don't forget:

1. Your ticket (a Kingsize candy bar)


2. Your appetite. (can you say "Taco bar")


3. Your brains. (Triva through out the night for prizes)


4. Your mexican themed outfit. (Best dressed contest)

If you like "running to the border" your gonna love the prizes awarded Sunday night.

See ya then, P.C.

P.S. Go GIANTS