Wow.

CannonBells

Wow.  How hardcore devoted are these guys.  I'm not 100% convinced it's real... but it's FASCINATING. 

I love this kind of over the top geekiness.  I wish we could only be so hardcore about our Savior.

Let's go CannonBells for Jesus! 

snnnoooooowwwwww!!!!

This is what Pondo looks like right now.  We will be there in t-minus 2 days.  I'm so excited. 

Man... this is tough!

Keeping a consistent blog with everything else going on in life is hard.  I've gone from 3 rather decent posts to maybe one every two weeks.  No good.  Once retreat and Christmas Performance are done, it'll be back to a more regular schedule.

In the meantime, try to wrap your head around this knowledge bomb. 

December 25th is coming, and we're gonna be celebrating Jesus birthday by giving other people gifts and receiving gifts.  But what about the baby Jesus?  The Magi (wisemen) brought gifts... what are you bringing to Jesus as a gift?  Well, let's think about his wish list.  What would he have wanted?  A Nintendo Wii?  Maybe a PS3 Slim?  Naw... he's more of a MacBook or iPhone kinda guy.  But then again... AT&T sucks, so the iPhone is clearly not good enough for the Savior of the world. 

Hmm. Well let's ask Jesus what he wants for his birthday.  Oh... he's already told us you say? It's written in the Bible you say? 

Matthew 25:37-40
"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' 
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."

Oh snap... so maybe Jesus wants us to give to those who are hungry or thirsty?  Hmm... well how can I do that?  I don't really know anyone who doesn't have access to clean water... except in places like Africa or India.  What?  Elevate JH is already doing something to bring fresh, clean water to places like that?  What what?!  So can I pitch in with you guys to help out? 

Heck yes.  We're gonna need all the help we can get.  $10,000 in 3 months is no joke.  It will be a small miracle if we can pull it off.  So you wanna pitch in to get Jesus an amazing gift this year?  Let's make 2009 a year to remember.  For you, for me, for Jesus.

HAHAHAA...

This rip-off of Cars isn't funny cause it's cheap looking... oh no... listen to the narration! Top notch EEENGRISH!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tJsAuG2TR8&feature=player_embedded#

Moving the impossible...

So you know those giant tonka trucks that haul MASSIVE amounts of dirt in building projects?  The ones where the wheels are like, 20 ft tall?  How do you think they get from one place to another?  Driving, right?  Well, what if you wanted to send one from the US to Africa?  Or Russia?  What do you do?  You can't drive it.  And there's no way that you could fit it into a plane.

Simple.  You just take it apart and ship it separately.

Except... it's not so simple.  You have to take apart an entire truck, and then take those pieces to the airport, ship each piece individually, and then when they land, you take them off the plane, and then you drive the individual pieces to wherever the truck needs to be, and then you have to build it back together again.  But remember... each piece is MASSIVE.  So we're not talking about mechanics putting things together in a shop somewhere.  We're talking huge machinery needed to put these things back together.  It's a crazy, labor intensive process requiring tons of work and planning.  But more than anything, it requires the coordination of many people, skills, industries, and machinery.

I think being a part of a church is similar to this.  We have one goal... to move people towards Christ.  But it takes the coordination of so many people to get even one person to get closer to God.

What has your role been?  How are you helping the ministry draw people towards Christ?

we are what we hate

Why is it so difficult to be a good person?

Let's genuinely think about this and be honest with ourselves.  Aren't we the very person that we hate?  We talk about how much we hate it when people lie to us.. and then we're backed into a corner and what do we do?  We lie.  Hey, big problems when you do it, but when I do it?  It's cause I had to.  We always have some sort of excuse to lie. 
We talk about how much we hate it when people talk crap about us.  But let's be honest, who doesn't?  We hate gossip when it's about us, but we can't help but say something here or something there about someone or something.  Aren't we entitled to our opinion?  We would never call our "normal" conversation "gossip".  No way. 
We talk about how much we hate being mistreated because of our race... and we turn around and do exactly that.  We use our race to our advantage, and we turn it around on anyone else. 
We talk about how messed up someone is for doing this or doing that to someone else.  "I can't believe he/she would do/say that to him/her!"  But the truth is, we've all done/said something that we regret.  We've all been there.  We've all done that. 

Let's face it... we are what we hate. 

So maybe we give the guy/girl a break.  So maybe we're not so hard on them when they mess up.  So maybe we don't get so offended when we hear something about us.  Maybe we realize that deep down, we're really not all that much better.  Maybe instead of anger... we extend mercy.  Maybe instead of hate, we extend forgiveness.  Maybe being a Christian doesn't mean we pretend to stop doing all these things, but extending a hand to people that are just like us. 

Maybe forgiving a liar will make me less of a liar.  Maybe forgiving a gossiper will make me gossip less.  Maybe extending grace to someone who hurt me will make me less prone to hurt others...

Dinosaurs!!

Hey guys,

Some of you had asked your teachers some more questions about dinosaurs. 

1: If the flood wiped out all the dinosaurs (and people), then what about the sea dinosaurs?

2: Are there anymore verses in the Bible about dinosaur like animals?

First thing, my message about dinosaurs was not about presenting conclusive evidence, rather it was presenting what the Bible tells us and shows us, and then showing everyone how what we know about modern science actually works with the explanation the Bible gives us.  And then I wanted to conclude my argument by presenting it as a REAL, viable alternative to the "asteroid" or "volcano" theory that is widely accepted now.  Why can't the "flood" theory be widely accepted?  Doesn't it make sense?  Of course it does... but many people can't accept it because then it would mean that other things in the Bible might be true... and that would lead to lots of change...

In regards to sea animals, the current theory is that a lot of them died during the flood too.  There are some species of fish that can adapt to both fresh water and sea water, but we know that a lot of fish can't.  So with the rain, there would be a mixing of fresh/sea water and could cause problems for a  lot of sea animals, thus their deaths.  Another thing is that a torrential rainstorm over the entire earth would cause TONS of tsunamis and other crazy water tidal waves and such.  This would be catastrophic to ocean animals.  After the 2004 tsunami a number of years ago, disaster relief workers found a huge number of marine animals strewn alongside the beaches of the affected areas.  So just because they're in the ocean doesn't mean that they're not immune to physical abuse.  Another thing is that the majority of fossils found on earth are of sea animals.  Why? Because the ocean is a great place for animals to get buried and die and be discovered later on.  So from the fossil record, we know that there are mass fossil farms, similar to that of dinosaur bones.  So sea dinosaurs like the Plesiosaurs could easily have died during the flood.  Another crazy thing is that there is a fish called the coelacanth.  Scientists thought that this sucker had died with the dinosaurs "millions" of years ago.  Well guess what happened in the 1970's?  A whole mess of them were discovered in the Indian Ocean.  You can eat one today if you want. (Although I heard it's nasty.) Anyway, point being, scientists are always assuming stuff, and sometimes they're proven wrong.  Maybe the pleisosaurus is alive today... after all, the world is nearly 70% ocean and there are hundreds of new species being discovered every single day.  Also, let's say someone from 1902 saw the Pleisosaur... there were no cameras.  So no evidence.  But let's say they wrote about it.  What are the chances that the document would have survived until now? 

We can't assume that we know EVERYTHING right now.  Evidence gets lost, people discover new things, etc.  So is this a definitive answer?  No.  Does science give us a definitive answer?  No.  So which one should you believe? 

Other Bible passages that mentions dinosaur-like animals:
Isaiah 27
Isaiah 30:6 (king james)
Psalm 74:13

And lastly, remember that the Bible was not written as a science book or an expose on dinosaurs.   ;o) 

New pictures

Hey guys,

I'm in the process of getting new pictures and videos up.  The first things are the Candyland pictures and then the next thing is the bumper video for the new Q&A series.

More to come... yeah yuh!

Porter Christian Club

So you guys know I went to Porter for a semester way long time ago.  (13 years ago to be exact.)  I was invited to speak at their Christian Club.  I was thoroughly impressed and humbled and encouraged.  It was really great to see this amazing mix of students in a classroom, all willing to spend time learning about God and fellowshipping with one another.  I hope that I can have more chances to work with groups like this.  Often times more powerful ministry happens outside of church, and it was great to see JH students being at the forefront of that on Thursday.  Major props to all the Christian Club leaders.  I hope that we can get together soon to talk strategy!

A call for prayer

Somewhere between the beginning of this summer and the beginning of this school year... something changed.  I can't put my finger on it.  Maybe it's the transition of the old 8th graders out and the new 6th graders in... but things seem unsettled.  Maybe it's individual hardships and circumstances, but If your heart beats with the rhythm of our ministry, then you know exactly what I'm talking about.

We need to pray.  Things have been funky, and we need to get on our knees about it.  We need to pray for our ministry, our staff, and our fellow brothers and sisters.  


Wed 7:30 to 9:30.

Candyland!!

Candyland season is upon us.  (Halloween, I mean.)  That means we need people to help us pull together to decorate our church and lead elementary students through the maze of games and candy. 

It's always a fun event, and there's always a bonus: candy!

We'll be decorating for the next two Fridays (including today) from 6:30pm to 10pm.

And then the event itself will be on Saturday 10/31/09 from 5pm.

Yeah-Yuh!

Windows 7 & Healthy Competition

Today, Windows 7 was released.  I doubt any of you JHers actually upgraded today. (If you did... congratulations!) 

So that marks the two most famous computer companies both using this week to launch huge products.  Apple launched a new iMac and Macbook, some other updates and a brand new mouse.  Microsoft wiped out Vista and launched a significantly better Windows OS.

So who wins? 

You and me! You see, sometimes competition can be awesome.  It motivates us, it helps us gain an edge and makes us want to do better.  This is why we watch sports.  It's all about competition.  And in the case of Microsoft vs. Apple, when they compete and do their best, we, the customer, get better products.  But not all competition is good.  Sometimes it's terrible.  It leads us to do shady things like cheat and steal.  And dirty competition leads to nothing for everyone involved.

So... who do you compete with in life?  Your friends?  Your brother? Sister?  What do you compete for?  Attention?  The latest fashion statement?  Popularity? 

Whatever it is, let's just make sure that it's actually worth competing for.  The latest and greatest thing will soon become last year's long gone trend.  What you wear now may not be cool in 6 months.  But your education?  Your grades?  That actually has an impact on your future. 

Reputation?  Now that's a tougher one to figure out.  But what's your reputation worth?  Say someone is saying things behind your back.  Sure, you attack them back, but what does that say about you?  Reputation is difficult to defend with words because reputation is built on actions. 

Be competitive with things that matter, and drop the things that don't.  It's a waste of time.

-Kevin

Following the leader, the leader, the leader...

Hey, did you know you can become a follower of this blog?!?!

New Apple Products!

Wow! The new iMacs look awesome.  Exciting. It makes yesterday's iMacs... so... old looking.  Apple is the master at making their old stuff look old when their new stuff comes out. 

And that got me thinking.  What is it inside of us that makes us all of a sudden hate the old stuff when newer, shinier things come out?  Whether it's cars, computers, clothes, or phones, we all have this desire to get the latest and greatest thing.  But it's not like the old stuff stops working.  It's not like the old stuff doesn't do less than when you first bought it... it's just our desire to have something better, shinier, newer, smaller, bigger, etc.  We spend so much of our time chasing the newest thing... when a couple of months from now, we'll have it, and then something new comes out and then we'll all be chasing that again.  It's a constant cycle of chasing... when does it end? When are we finally going to be satisfied?   

I think you know where I'm going with this.  Maybe we need to stop chasing the newer, shinier thing, and be grateful for what we already have.  Maybe we need to stop chasing the things that are ever-changing, and start chasing the everlasting, always faithful God.  6 months from now, guess what?  God will be God.  He'll still be all-powerful.  He'll still be full of grace.  He'll still be loving and merciful...


The new iMac is incredible... but in 6 months, something tells me that this will no longer be the "best" thing out there.

It's Fall! Time to turn a new leaf...

P. Kevin here...

So I know our website has been fairly dry lately, but I think it's time to have something interesting or insightful everyday of the week to read. You guys spend all day at school, and then you're home, and you're studying, you're watching TV, you're playing video games, you're talking to your friends... it's hard to get a "God" moment everyday when there are so many other things going on. Sometimes after a busy day, we can forget that God wants our attention, even if it's just for a moment.



So I had a chance to watch "Where the Wild Things Are" with my small group yesterday after Sunday worship. We had a good time, but I have to say that the movie wasn't really what I expected. The previews made it seem like it was going to be an adventure movie, and critics gave the movie some awesome reviews. Me? I found it a bit boring because of those expectations. And I know my boys found it to be pretty dry as well... maybe even a little confusing. The movie was slow and there didn't seem to be much to look forward to once you saw Max interacting with the "wild things". The movie itself was very well made though. The "wild things" were done very well... the eyes of each character expressed things that most CGI characters in movies can't do. There was emotionality to the characters that I enjoyed. But it wasn't a "terrible" movie. It was just not at all what I expected.

But as with all movies, I was reminded of the fact that each of us want to belong. The main character, the boy named Max runs away into his imagination because he wanted attention... he wanted love, he wanted to belong. No one likes rejection. And so even in his fantasy world, he wants to be accepted, and so he lies about being a "king". Aren't we all like that? We become who we think someone else wants us to be. Think about the groups of friends at your school. Certain people hang out with certain people. If you have two separate groups of friends, if you pay careful attention, you'll see that for each group of friends, you're different with them. You talk and act a certain way around them. The fear of rejection and the joy of being accepted are very powerful things in our life.

I hope that you feel accepted in our Elevate JH ministry. You may not know everyone or care about everyone... but I hope that you can call this ministry home. It's not an easy process, but hopefully in the weeks to come, those on the edges would become part of the inside. And once we start making a greater effort, we hope that you'll make a greater effort too.

New Year's Eve

So in the JH ministry, we have 2 "new year" celebrations. One is in January, and the other is always September. This year, it's the last week of August. So this is our first New Year's Eve of the new 2009/2010 school year. And by "eve", I really mean week. So in preparation for our official New Year's Day (Sunday, August 30th), we have a 6th Grade Welcoming Event coming up. It's going to be a really awesome chance for us to get to know them, talk to them, participate in games with them, etc.

So how are we preparing? I already told you guys we're going to be a doing a skit for them. But we're also going to do some physical labor for them, and lastly, we're going to make direct contact. What does that mean?

You'll find out if you show up this Wednesday, from 7:30pm to 9:30pm. See you then!

-Kevin

Really?

So I saw this video on YouTube about the Big Bang Theory.

BIG BANG THEORY VIDEO

Now... if this is so easy to believe... how come believing in God seems ridiculous? How in the world is this easier to believe than God? Crazy scientists.

Really!????!

-Kevin

Last week and half!

I like it when Jason posts something. I look forward to it. I didn't know that you could get socks at Albertsons.

Some food for thought as we're getting into the last week and a half of our fast and of our time of trial and renewal.

Do things feel different? Or have things become the same already? Isn't it interesting that when we change routine in our life... that change eventually becomes routine? For example, a lot of us have stopped listening to non-Christian music. And what was hard in the beginning, has become easier. But the excitement that we held over doing something like this has lost it's meaning to some degree... and now it's become routine. But not a routine we hold in hearts, but rather something that we do.

So if that's you, and that's what you're feeling, ask God to make it meaningful again in your heart. Ask God to reapply that sense of accomplishment for this season of Lent. Let's not drop the ball during this last week and half, but let's finish strong.

-Kevin

man all my pick are off LOL

all the college basketball teams i pick to win .. lost Lol
i should not write about sports hahaha

so just ignore the March Madness thingy i wrote on the 19th
ok Robert im not doin sports any more :(

i will do weather now :)

tomorrow is going to be Sunny Skies in the High of 71 degrees F and as low as 46 degrees F
so its going to be tiny bit cold .. so wear warm clothing ..
so like a sweater .. if u dont have one .. then like 3 t-shirts and like 5 pairs of socks
or go to Macy's, GAP, Old NAVY or Alberson's and buy one

i hope im right on the weather LOL
watch im wrong and tomorrow there is a snow thunder storm

The Duck & the Devil

The Duck & the Devil

There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm.
He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods.
He practiced in the woods; but he could never hit the target.
Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner.
As he was walking back he saw Grandma's pet duck.
Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head and killed it. He was shocked and grieved!

In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile; only to see his sister watching! Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.
After lunch the next day Grandma said, 'Sally, let's wash the dishes'
But Sally said, 'Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen.'
Then she whispered to him, 'Remember the duck?'
So Johnny did the dishes.
Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing and Grandma said, 'I'm sorry but I need Sally to help make supper.'
Sally just smiled and said, 'Well that's all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help'
She whispered again, 'Remember the duck?' So Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed to help.
After several day of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally's; hefinally couldn't stand it any longer.
He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck.
Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug and said, 'Sweetheart, I know. You see,I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing, but because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.'
Thought for the day and every day thereafter?

Whatever is in your past, whatever you have done... And the devil keeps throwing it up in your face (lying, cheating, debt, fear, bad habits, hatred, anger, bitterness, etc.) ..whatever it is...You need to know that God was standing at the window and He saw the wholething.
He has seen your whole life. He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven. He's just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave of you.
The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness;
He not only forgives you, but He forgets.
It is by God's grace and mercy that we are saved.
Go ahead andmake the difference in someone's life today.
Share this with a friendand always remember:
God is at the window!
When Jesus died on the cross; he was thinking of you!

Today Is March Madness

(#2 rank)Memphis Tigers are going to Play against (#15 rank)CSU Northridge Today

GO! GO! CSU Northridge (it might be the biggest upset) the whole world will go upside down

I think Memphis might win the whole tournament if they can beat CSUN ^___^ Today LOL

ok here goes for my picks on the 2009 March Madness (NCAA College Basketball Tournament)
for those who do not know what this tournament is about (wow how could u not kno ~ LOL ^^)
Itz the biggest college basketball tournament that happen every year .. where 64 best colleges in the United States that qualify gather together and plays one game elimination to advance to the next round in the month of March (thatz why itz called MARCH MADNESS, also others call it THE BIG DANCE, or others call this tournament THE ROAD TO FINAL FOUR) which means the same

this tournament is very important to college basketball palyers .. because if they do really super really good in the tournament .. they might get a job in the NBA (which is their DREAM come TRUE) .. and also they could make too much money .. to even buy a big giant house, super cool car, maybe buy an iland, maybe a helicopter.

From the Midwest Bracket .. i see (#1 rank) Louisville beating (#3 rank) Kansas

From the West Bracket .. i see (#2 rank) Memphis beating (#1 rank) University Conneticut

From the East Bracket .. i see (#1 rank) Pittsburg beating (#2 rank) Duke

and From the South Braket .. i see (#3 rank) Syracuse beating (#1 rank) University of North Carolina

so there u have it

my FINAL FOUR team is .. Louisville, Memphis, Pitts, Syracuse (ROAD TO FINAL FOUR)

then i see in the semifinals (#2 rank in south) Memphis beating (#1 rank in midwest) Louisville

and in the other semifinals (#1 rank in East) Pitts beating (#3 rank south) Syracuse

and in the NCAA Championship .. i think Memphis beating Pitts

MEMPHIS Tigers .. WILL WIN the whole thing ;P
only is the beat CSU Northrige Today LOL ^_______^

ok just testing

its a wonderful monday morning March 16, 2009 at 10:42 am pacific standard time
im in my computer at work
this is a test .. but i have a feeling itz goin to work
ok then im going to go eat a banana .. and make me a coffee ^__^

do i have to put my name
lets just see want happens if i leave it like this
by very good lookin unkown author

ROBOT POST March 7, 2009

ROBOT teacher here!

This blog needs more posts! I check this thing every day in hopes that one day...
Jason teacher will post something awesome. lol.

Things to look forward to!

• We've made Jason teacher an official author on this site.
  
• Hopefully ALL the teachers will be on here as time progresses.
  
• We're still working on other updates. Newest one I believe is PICTURES! New Pictures from the Lock-In and last year's Christmas Performance can be found here.
  
• Also, stay tuned for the Staff page!
  

I don't know about you guys... But I'm pretty excited. And so is JJ teacher!

It looks like he just found a dollar in his pocket.
lol, we should have a caption contest for this picture.
Whoever can come up with the best caption wins a brand new... preowned... #2 pencil! from ME!

-ROBOT OFF

Hi everyone. The website has been updated with some helpful technical information on how to download things and view them. Please comment and let us know if you need any help!

We've also enabled "comments" in our "INFO" page. So post any questions or comments there as well, and please remember to use your full name!

To Jeannie and Jenny - The "Lent" document is actually a PDF. Download "Adobe Reader" to open it up.

Mac users do not need to use Adobe Reader, as there is a program on all Macs called "Preview" (in your Applications Folder) that allows you to open/view/edit PDF files. That's why Macs are awesome.

And once again, please use your full name when commenting. "User Names" don't really count.

-Kevin

Hi everyone,

In order for this website to maintain it's integrity, all comments that aren't proceeded by a full name will be deleted.

But in other news... how are you guys doing with your fast? If you're reading this, you should leave a comment and let us know what you're fasting!!

And as a reminder, I hope that everyone has taken to the "Rock my iPod Challenge" to only listen to Christian Music/Worship Music for this season of Lent.

I hope that everyone has a great week... Let's DO it!!

-Kevin

LENT! Day 2 + Day 3

I hope everyone's Lent is going well.

The challenges aren't extremely tough, but it's important that we all attempt and finish them.

Today's reading was from Colossians 3:1-17.

Make sure you guys do the little paper we handed out on Sunday. If you lost it somewhere, you can click here and print it out again! ...or put a piece of paper on your computer screen and trace it.

The teachers are excited to see what you guys write on your papers (I'm speaking for myself, but I assume that the teachers all have one brain when it comes to things to be excited about). Remember! We're doing this with you guys! So I totally missed this week's Office. (today = Fast tv, movies, video games)

So tomorrow... Day 3 - Fast going on your computer completely.

Which means you guys won't be reading this sentence tomorrow.

It's 10:41... right now, so hopefully you aren't reading this now either. SLEEP!

So I wish you all a Happy Lent Day 2, and See you on Day 4~!

ElevateJH.com goes up in 5... 4... 3... 2...

1... hour.

Yes! Very exciting!

I know a few students have already seen the site because they stared forever at the homepage and found the secret button, but ElevateJH.com officially goes up in just a few minutes!

So for everyone else... it's finally here!!!

Have fun exploring as we add more and more to the site, and post cool stuff on this blog.

And it does!

Yay. So this website is up and running. Excellent.

The website is coming soon...

I know that no one's reading this right now, but the website is coming!!
Let's see if videos work in the blog...