Join Me In Prayer:
Gustav (Cat. 4 Hurricane) headed toward New Orleans

Join me in prayer for those being affected by Gustav which has already has killed 78 people in the Caribbean. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said it could strengthen even more after hitting Cuba and entering the warm Gulf of Mexico on a projected course for the Katrina-battered U.S. coast.

My Favorite Toy Box Gang Video

The gang discuss their current social commitments. Louis is the coolest!

Inviting People to Follow Christ

10 Reasons to Invite People to Follow Christ Every Week At Church
from LifeChurch.tv : swerve by Craig Groeschel

1. Someone may be at church only once.
2. The Holy Spirit may have been working on them for months or years.
3. Even some churched people don’t understand the gospel.
4. Many trust in the church for salvation instead of trusting Christ.
5. Seeing others saved gives believers another reason to worship and motivation to witness.
6. New Christians can “light a church on fire.”
7. Angels in heaven get to party when one person meets Christ.
8. Hell is a real place.
9. You care deeply about people.
10. Families, workplaces, neighborhoods, cities, and generations could be different when one person meets Christ.

10 Reasons Not To Invite People to Follow Christ at Your Church
from LifeChurch.tv : swerve by Craig Groeschel

1. You are afraid of rejection.
2. You think everyone at church is already a believer.
3. You wouldn’t dream of offending someone.
4. You don’t really believe the gospel changes lives.
5. You are so busy preaching about “sex” or “how to have a better life” that you don’t have time to present Christ.
6. You would rather tell another joke than spend time explaining the gospel.
7. You don’t want to be criticized for being narrow minded.
8. You care more about everyone feeling welcome than about their eternity.
9. You are embarrassed to talk a lot about Jesus.
10. You don’t really really believe the gospel yourself.

Shawn Johnson Won the Gold

On her fourth and final chance, Johnson won her gold medal with a nearly flawless routine on balance beam, outpacing teammate Nastia Liukin and China’s Cheng Fei.

At the end she unleashed a smile as big as Beijing itself, a glorious conclusion to a competition that never got her down and only taught her more about herself as she came to appreciate the journey as much as the destination.

“I kept saying, ‘finally’ a lot,” Johnson laughed. “I made it. I finally won a gold medal.

I can’t stop smiling. I’m so excited.”

by Dan Wetzel yahoo.sports

Michael Phelps: Is he listening to "We are the Champions?"

Chris Chase recently wrote about the iPod headphones dangling from Phelps' ears. He said, "The earbuds are a ubiquitous presence in the ready room and on the starting block; they're just as much a part of Phelps' 'uniform' as goggles and a swim cap. About two minutes prior to the start of a race, Phelps sheds the iPod along with his warm-ups. So, what is he listening to?"

Good question! It has been said that he listens to hip-hop, but I am thinking some Queen from the 70's... "We are the Champions," because he is the champion. With 7 Gold Metals at Bejing and an opportunity for one more, he can claim it as his theme song!

Copyright © 2008 Yahoo!

Trend Sites Youth Workers Should Follow
from ysmarko by marko

A few weeks back, anastasia at ypulse posted 10 sites she thinks everyone in media or marketing to youth should follow regularly. a handful of them would be really helpful for christian youth workers to follow also. i’ve bookmarked several of them, and list them here, with anastasia’s comments:

1. MTV News. Whatever your thoughts are on the relevance of MTV, the channel invests heavily in researching their demographic and knowing what teens (collective) want. Reading MTV News online is basically reading headlines handpicked by editors who are deciding what entertainment news is most relevant to their audience. It’s worth checking on a daily basis. You can also sign up for MTV Sticky, a free trend email from MTV’s research department.

4. My High School Journalism. Obviously this site is dead during the summer months when school’s out, but this fall you should definitely check in on a weekly basis. This is the gateway to loads of high school newspaper websites and a way to see what teens think are important issues both at their school and in the world.

5. Next Great Thing Youth. Mobile. Trends. Fleishman’s blog description says it all. They do nice roundups of youth oriented mobile links along with more in-depth posts on what’s happening in this space.

6. Trends & Tudes - Harris Interactive (a sponsor of Ypulse Research) has a monthly e-newsletter that highlights research they’ve done for their clients. They don’t just offer numbers but always offer insights you can pull from the research, whether it’s on bullying at school or college students today.

7. The Pew Internet & American Life Project - Pew produces free reports on how teens are using the internet. Every one is a free goldmine of information.

9. danah boyd’s research. danah is one of the few academics who consciously strives to make as much of her research free and available online. Not only that, it’s required reading if you’re focused on youth and social media.

10. Youth Media Exchange. If you are interested in social change and want to know what young people all over the world are concerned about, YME is a great resource and a truly international youth activism site. Worth checking to get a global pulse of what youth activists are thinking (and doing) around the world. Also a great resource for corporations looking to partner or create global pro-social campaigns.

New Office Furniture!!!

Tennis Ball Office Chair
VHS Visitor Chair
This was not what I had in mind when I started looking for new office furniture. I was thinking a trip to IKEA would take care of business. Maybe I am missing some new trend from the latest designer.

Spread the Love
18 ways for students to make someone's day.

1. Send "thinking of you" cards to some guys and girls in your youth group who need cheering up.

2. Surprise Mom by offering to do this week's grocery shopping or laundry.

3. Have dinner ready when your parents come home from work.

4. Call your pastor or youth pastor and volunteer to help out around the church for a few days during your summer break.

5. Surprise a missionary family from your church. Get your youth group friends together, buy some gifts and assemble a package to send to the family. (Contact your pastor or youth pastor for ideas on what to send.)

6. Take pictures of your family and e-mail digital copies (or mail prints) to your grandparents or extended family members who may live far away.

7. Spend a Saturday or a day of your summer break volunteering at your local food bank, soup kitchen or Salvation Army shelter.

8. Spend a day at the zoo or a park with your little brother or sister.

9. Smile and say "Hi!" to someone you don't know.

10. Send "thank you" cards to a few of your favorite past teachers—including teachers from your elementary and middle school years. Tell them what you enjoyed most about your time in their classroom.

11. Offer to help an elderly person in your neighborhood with yard work or even just bringing in the groceries.

12. Walk your neighbor's dog.

13. Treat a friend at his or her favorite coffee shop.

14. Buy your mom a single rose.

15. Get together with some church friends and deliver homemade snacks to new members of your youth group.

16. Spend an afternoon visiting residents at a local nursing home.

17. Wash your parents' car without being asked.

18. Don't stop now. Look for little ways to make somebody's day every single day.

Copyright © 2008 by the author or Christianity Today International/Ignite Your Faith magazine.

A Great Way To Impress Your Friends

Picked this video up from my friend Marco.  

I would love to see someone at youth group "WOW" a "Newby" showing their impressive Dominoes skills.  This is better than the "Ligger" skills of Nepoleon.

Seven Burning Questions About Star Wars: The Clone Wars

by Tom Burns

August 15th... it's reality folk! Coming to a theater near you. Checkout some detailed info/answers to questions I know you have.

http://www.thedeadbolt.com/news/104852/7clonewars_feature.php

Please Pray for the Greg Laurie Family

Christopher Laurie, son of Pastor Greg Laurie and Cathe Laurie of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, Calif., passed away on July 24, 2008 in a car accident. A resident of Huntington Beach, Laurie, 33, served as the art director at Harvest Christian Fellowship for the past three years.

In addition to his parents, Christopher is survived by his wife, Brittany, and daughter, Stella, as well as his brother Jonathan. Christopher and his wife are expecting another daughter in November.

Update: A memorial service will be held on Friday, August 1, at 11 a.m., Pacific Time at Harvest Christian Fellowship. You may watch the service live online by visiting harvest.org.

Ken Griffey Jr.-Going to the White Sox

Cincinnati Reds' Ken Griffey Jr. agreed to accept a trade to the Chicago White Sox today.
Sad day in Cincy!

Anchors
by Nelson Searcy

Anchors are set activities that keep our priorities in order.

There are many different kinds of anchors: family anchors, spiritual anchors, personal growth anchors, etc.

Spiritual anchors are daily, weekly, yearly or occasional activities that we do to celebrate our faith or keep us grounded in faith.

Family anchors are things you do with your family to keep your priorities in order.

Let me give you some examples from our group discussion:

SPIRITUAL ANCHORS
- Daily time with God
- Practicing a weekly Sabbath

FAMILY ANCHORS
- Regular date night with your spouse
- Monthly son/daughter lunch or dinner

PERSONAL GROWTH ANCHORS
- Reading one book a month
- A monthly mentoring or coaching relationship

Some are very systematic…do this every week or every month.

What are the anchors in your life?

How are you helping the members of your church build anchors?

Poll: What should Oklahoma City's nickname be?

I Voted for the Barons!!!
The NBA didn't like that KOCO-TV leaked word that the Oklahoma City team name was going to be Thunder, so they went and registered five other names on Friday to keep us on our toes. The six names filled for trademark: Barons, Bison, Energy, Marshalls, Thunder and Wind.

Nickname: Barons
Marketing campaign: "Shoot 'em up, shoot 'em down."
Mascot: Snoopy
Dance team: The Flying Aces
Arena songs: "We Fly High" by Jim Jones, "I Want To Take You Higher" by Sly & The Family Stone, "Shoot 'Em Down" by Twisted Sisters, "Pump Up the Jam" by Technotronic

Original Article By J.E. Skeets

Isn't Money... Money?

Often I pay with rolled coins and seem to face the same response. Are you sure there is 100 pennies in the roll? "That's what my coin machine says," is my response! I love the disgusted look on the clerks face.

I am also amazed at the response I receive when I pay with cash... "the pause, the look, the yellow pen (Could it be counterfeit?), the pause, the confused look (I can't count change back!), the slap-back from the receipt!" What was it like before credit cards? Isn't Money... Money?

What are your funny experiences?

Jimmie Johnson Wins the Brickyard!!!

Jimmie Johnson grabbed his second win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway by surviving horrendous tire troubles that made Sunday's race a caution-marred debacle.

My Redeemer Lives

I am still amazed how the Lord Jesus picks me up and carries me in my weaknesses and inabilities.

Sad Day for the Golden Girls

Estelle Getty, the diminutive actress who spent 40 years struggling for success before landing a role of a lifetime in 1985 as the sarcastic octogenarian Sophia on TV's "The Golden Girls," has died. She was 84. My favorite line: After listening to the grueling non-sense story of Betty White, Estelle said," I have had kidney stones with less pain!"

Yahoo.com News

US Makes Mark in History on July 20th

Yesterday marked the 39th year the Apollo 11 landing on the moon. Dispite those who believe the landing was a hoax, it was the first manned mission to land on the Moon. The first steps by humans on another planetary body were taken by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on July 20, 1969. The astronauts also returned to Earth the first samples from another planetary body. Apollo 11 achieved its primary mission - to perform a manned lunar landing and return the mission safely to Earth - and paved the way for the Apollo lunar landing missions to follow. Happy B-Day Space Team USA.

Is the Inflatable Car Our Answer to Rising Gas Prices?

Is this the answer to the ever rising gas prices? I can't imagine a blow-up car. Just thought this was funny.

The photo is an artistic recreation of a Porsche Carrera. It is completely inflatable and runs from natural "air" gas. To drive it, you simply unplug the cork, and sit on the thing, and inch forward as the escaping air propels you down the street. Look out there she blows!!!

I guess if every one owned one, wrecks would resemble bumper cars; but what about pranks like keying an enemies car. No more car!

Keep your eyes pealed for this beauty!