Just Trying to Keep Up...

Just returned from a weekend retreat with about 25 Summit Crossing Young Adults (YAs) at Doublehead Resort ... about 1 hour west of Huntsville. It was the first such retreat since we've been involved with this group beginning back in January 2009. Most of the planning was spearheaded by the YAs themselves... and they did a very good job!

Friday night there were a variety of games to play once everyone was checked in and the beds were claimed. I'm not sure when everyone else went to bed, but this old man crashed around 11 PM.

Saturday morning brought a bit of deviation for me. Before the retreat dates were set, I had already committed to attending and speaking at the Japanese Supplementary School of Huntsville on Saturday morning. So after waking at 6 AM, I stepped into a full suit and tie, and drove an hour back to Huntsville to join the students, parents, teachers, and board members. The whole event was spoken in Japanese, except my speech... I chose the language of English to deliver my thoughts.... after a bizillion pictures were successfully taken, I returned to the retreat.

Saturday morning the guys made breakfast for the ladies. I didn't get to experience the fine cuisine, but I heard it was wonderfully prepared. During the day, everyone played all sorts of games: ultimate Frisbee, volley ball, corn hole, tennis. We tossed footballs, Frisbees, boomerangs, etc. I quickly realized that I was not up to the level of energy that these folks possessed.

The Start of our Bonfire...

The ladies made lasagna, salad, brownies, and angel food cake for everyone for dinner. Nice job ladies! Then we moved to the highlight of the weekend. Sitting around a huge bonfire, Brittney led us in praise & worship. It was followed by a remarkable testimony by Eric. His life-changing story is genuine evidence of what God can do in a person's life. Michael then read scripture and challenged each of us to write something on an index card that we wanted to give to God... then throw it into the fire. We prayed, ate s'mores, and played card games.... Jim Bolte was horizontal by 11 PM once again...

Sunday morning came early again for me as I prepared to lead a lesson from Luke 22 regarding things that get in our way and separate us from God. We talked about ego, service, and the last supper. We finished by taking communion and remembering what Jesus had done for us, is doing for us, and will do for us in the future. He said to "do this in remembrance of Me." Loving God and loving people, through service, is the example Jesus gave us.... it's the example to follow if we want to be more like Christ.... and we do!

Authentic Young Adults...?

Almost every Monday night we host between 15 - 25 Young Adults at our home in Madison, AL. We usually hang out for a while, eat a bit, have a bible study, and hang out some more. Tami & I love doing life with younger folks. I have to admit though that there have been times when I couldn't stay awake any longer and had to give up & go to bed. I left them in capable hands though. Tami can hang with the best of them... We have always hoped that we could plug into a ministry at church that would give us the chance to pour into people's lives and build authentic relationships.

So far this past year, we've gone through lots of pizza, bottled water, and a variety of desserts. We've also studied James, 1 John, Jonah, Heaven, Revelation, Angels, The Resurrection, etc. We, along with another couple, probably do less teaching and more facilitating. They love to discuss the text and what it means to them on a day-to-day basis.

Sometimes we also have parties: Super Bowl, Black & White, Tacky

Christmas Sweater, White Elephant, and Costume parties... Ahh costume parties.. now this is where the authenticity really shines! Last night, at our 2nd annual Young Adults Costume Party, we had a plethora of characters... Rubix Cube, Acorn, Double Dare contestant, Blue's Clues, Caesar & Cleopatra, Elton John, Lady Gaga, Tattooed bikers, a No-Good Veterinarian, Quail Man, Harlem Globetrotter & Cheerleader, Lorraine & husband from Mad TV, GI Joe, Trucker, Disco Man, Anti-Brett Farve fan club, "recession" costume man... just to name a few. Was this the real character of some of these folks really coming to the surface???

Boy, I hope not!!

Tami and I were the bikers... trust me, this was not our true character coming to the surface... but I can only speak for myself... Our costumes were pretty cool - except for the clip-on ear ring that I had to wear. About half way through the party, someone felt the need to tell me I was wearing the ear ring on the wrong side..... what?! There's a right and wrong side?? My right ear was already numb from the clip-on. No way I was going to do the same to the left....

Nevertheless, we had another great time with some great

people.

On Tami's Facebook, where you can see more pictures, we saw some friends who dressed up as "blind referees". Hmmm? Now that's an idea in SEC Land....

How To Stay Young....

How do you feel younger....? Hang out around young people!

OK, sometimes they actually make me feel older, but not usually. Each week, about 20 young adults (YA) meet at our home for food, Bible Study, and just hanging out. It's really a blast! We've been hosting them since the beginning of this year. They are a very impressive group of folks that are really deep thinkers. We get into some enthralling discussions about many topics, and they all have interesting and diverse viewpoints.

But we also have parties! We've had YA Super Bowl parties, Costume parties, Tacky Christmas Sweater parties, and Black and White parties. At the Christmas party we exchanged gag gifts - you know, "dirty Santa" gifts. I received a French dictionary. Nice, huh! Not a French to English translation book - just a French

dictionary. Not very useful for a guy that only speaks one language (English). I wanted to give a very special gag gift, but my wife wouldn't let me.... She still has the cremated ashes from our golden retriever in a nice little wooden box.... now, wouldn't that be a surprise to someone....!?

Our most recent event was a Black & White party. Everyone was to dress in B & W. We had blackened chicken, black M & Ms, blackberry pie, other black and white desserts (Lots of chocolate!), B & W balloons, etc. Everyone had a great time. A couple of guys didn't leave until about 1:30 AM. Yep, I'm feeling younger all the time.

My hope is that they will find our home to be a safe place to hang out, to be authentic, and to build relationships. My wife set this tone in our home for many years in Lexington....

the tone carries on in Madison Alabama.

Whether they are from KY or AL, we love Young Adults! They're keeping us young...