Recap

Here's some random recaps for Wednesday:

I really love 80s music (and music from to 00s that have a heavy 80s influence)...I believe the 80s were the greatest time to live...period.  At least I got to enjoy 3 years of it...Downloading your entire CD music library to iTunes takes a really LONG time!...I wonder if Brett is moving/moved to Auburn yet?...*Hold on, I've got to put a new CD in*...I know I've said this 10 billion times already, but I cannot wait to go to Charlotte...I also cannot wait for school to start back...God is going to rock Vincent like whoa this year...Started the new "back-2-school" series (Best Year Ever)...Next week > lead by the Spirit...My feet stink

Love you guys!

Matt

Stinkin' Forever

It's been stinkin' forever since my last post... I'll try to catch you up:

It feels like I've traveled to the ends of the earth this summer, but despite all the miles I've logged, I've yet to leave Alabama :(  [Good news though, headed to Charlotte, NC Monday :)]

I had a blast working with other Youth Pastors and having the opportunity to introduce them to Youth Alive Campus Ministry.  It was a blast!  Got to hang out with the CMs a lot this summer--especially during the CM Mini-camp [next years camp scheduled for early June!].  Had a blast in the sticks that I call the place I grew up.  Had fun experimenting with the Super Summer Contest.  I [ok, Amanda] already have a ton of ideas to make it even bigger and better next summer.  

I am super pumped about the upcoming school year.  I'm a little bummed that I'm going to miss the night-before-school-starts-back-service.  But I console myself with the thoughts of Charlotte.

This year is going to be awesome.  In fact, it's going to be so awesome that I'm dedicating the next couple of weeks' sermons to talk about how awesome it is going to be.  The series is titled "Best Year Ever" [thanks you VH-1].  We're going to find out what it takes to make this the best school year ever.

Hopefully I'll stay on top of this blog thing for a while.  Check back soon for new stuff!

_Matt

Youth Camp 08

Camp was awesome! We had a great time this year [but don't we always?].  We absolutely got plastered in the team competitions.  We finished 6th (of 6).  We were 50,000 points behind 5th place.  I got to take a nice swim in the Mud Pit for that one.  

The services were amazing from the first night.  It was so emotional to watch our teens get up on stage the first night and publicly declare "I'm not hiding from God anymore."  It was ultra-awesome to see Lee's daughter Whitney get up there.  I know that was a special moment for him as a father.

Unlike usual, it is hard for me to point to just one spot of camp and say, "this is what changed me."  I think it was a little bit of everything.  From seeing faith in its rawest form as Brooke accepted Christ w/o anyone praying/preaching at her, to making new friends w/ the Jasper guys, to the worship, and everything in between.

I know I have been personally challenged to go deeper in my relationship with God.  I want more of Him, I want to know Him in a new, deeper way.  I want to serve Him more.