Links to resources...

Check out the whole lot of links I've added to the side bar...

Please use your discernment as some of the resources vary greatly in quality. Some things are great as is, some things need tweaking, and some just provide a spring board for ideas!

I hope you find some of the resources useful in your context of proclaiming Christ!!

Summerfest...

This year on Summmerfest we are not staying in the school and instead billeted out in our sections to family homes. My section "XTREME" of 17 or so leaders are staying in an awesome home with wireless and with really generous hosts!!

This week in XTREME we are going BLACK & WHITE - get a fix on the truth

Day 1: The Truth about God... we had about 72 youth today with lots of non-CCEC youth. Had great time mc'ing, lots of good conversations, lots of fun and games!

Praise JESUS!!!!

Please pray for the rest of the week.

Day 2: The Truth about People
Day 3: The Truth about Jesus
Day 4: The Truth about Life & Death
Day 5: The Truth about Heaven

Also this is the first year XTREME has been running out of Erina Youth Centre... so pray that we would get heaps of kids walking in off the street, CCEC youth bringing friends and that we would make the most of proclaiming Jesus from an awesome location!

August Prayer Points...

Youth

• Death by Chocolate night tonight - fun times to indulge in all things chocolate!!! "This is a taster" night for iGod which starts next week. Pray that friends do come tonight, that we aren't as scary as some people might think and that Marcello will speak well and kids will be keen to come to iGod!
• iGod - starts August 17th.... Pray for the speaker, can't remember who, some dude from somewhere, but hopefully he will be good! Pray for logistics as I don't think we have been told to be doing anything, so hopefully food and setup and stuff is all sorted.
  
• Pray for my year 12 girls - thanks that trials are over but that the HSC is still looming. Pray for their stress levels to lessen and to keep trusting God every step of the way.

Night Train

• 6 Steps to Talking about Jesus - Thanks to the 10 women who signed up who are motivated to develop their skills in sharing Jesus with their friends, family and stangers!
• Creativity - to think up some more practical exercises to do, so that the women can actually have a go at sharing Jesus.
• Good times - sharing lives with these women has been great and the fellowship over God's word is awesome. Thanks for what God is teaching us. Pray that God would continue to transform us all into bold and confident women who delight in the Gospel

Scripture @ Paddo

• 2 girls have left our class... one said because it is 'boring' the other said because 'i don't like it anymore'. This hurts! Doreen and I are trying to work out why two of the most well behaved girls, who contribute and seem to have fun don't like it. Pray that Doreen and I would be more creative with our songs, games, activities, stories and worksheets!
  
• Pray for the kids with behavioural problems, who make teaching difficult and who we give lots of attention when we disciple. Pray that no child would stop another child's interest and that all distractions would stop.
  
• Pray that Art class would not be run at the same time as our lesson.
  
• Praise God that one new girl has started coming - she is really inquisitive and asks great questions.
  
• Praise God for 'D' - we are studying the Kings of Israel at the moment and he was really frustrated last week and asked: "Can you tell me at least one King who listened to God and wasn't so evil - and don't tell me that there were none - cause that really would be that Jesus is the only perfect King" - He gets it! Pray that the seed is ripped away!
  
• Pray for 'T' - as she grapples with the truth that we are all sinful. She is convinced her Auntie is sinless and so was Mary, the Mother of Jesus....

Personal - me, me, me, me, me....

• I have been a little under-the-weather with sinusitis... my nose is slowly drying up! Please pray for continued recovery!
• I also am feeling pretty run down generally and feeling bit exhausted. Pray for renewed energy and enthusiasm and for God's sustaining hand. May he keep reminding me that all I do is in his strength and power!
• Pray for decisions about next year... college interview coming up in a week or so!
• Thanks for friends and the life God has given them and the times I get to celebrate their birthday (Mia, Gina, Nicole & Nicolette) & marriage (Cali & Zach - friends from school)- pray for many gospel opportunites and good times!!!

Thanks friends for praying for me and my ministry... I am very thankful to God for you all who constantly uphold me in prayer. It truly is a great partnership in the Gospel!

KYCK '07

Our youth group went away to KYCK 07 - Katoomba convention for Highschoolers...

I really enjoyed myself and hopefully so did my year 12 girls.

I had command of Warwick's tarago, with Chloe, Ellen, Emily & Emily as my passengers!

Great talks, great people, great food (thanks Verity P & team), great fun, great MUSIC....

Great talks by Steven Jefferies & Eugene Hor- theme: "FOLLOW" from Luke's Gospel. I personally loved the prodigal son talk on the Saturday night - it chokes me up every time I hear it taught as I feel like it is the story of my conversion and highlights the glorious mercy and generosity of my Father in heaven, that he would welcome me a sinner. Praise God for the cross of Christ!

I was also really built up by the repeated phrase by Steven : that we are to display the supreme value of Christ in our lives! AMEN to that!

Only feedback I have about the talks that is negative was the fact that both speakers used very boy focused illustrations. Not one of the illustrations about people of the faith were women, so no role models for all the girls there as such. And most of the other images given were blood and gusty, car, national park, computer games etc... thought that these creative things could have been a little more creative in targeting the different age groups and genders.

We had good times at THE GRANGE... where our junior youth: Jam Camp were staying as well. We had compulsory fun on Saturday arvo which included a few active games and then a trip to the cafe in Blackheath!

One of the highlights ;) for me was driving Warwick's tarago.... now tarago's scare me as they give a sense of soccer/ballet-mum-ness, which the girls in my car were more than happy to tease me about! On the way up though we had a plank of wood fly into the windscreen from the ute in front... no major damage - just shock from the noise and the e-tag falling off from the impact.


ALL UP A FUN-FILLED WEEKEND - only took me all week to recover!!