Have a Blessed Christmas everyone!

Our new name

OK- I've got some names for us to vote on. You can vote here - by commenting to the blog; you can email me; or just tell me what you think. Here are the top 4 names voted on by the Youth Ministry Team.


– Jesus' Army (We had a discussion about how you actually pronounce this!)
– GeMS (Geneva Middle School)
– His Kids
– G.L.O.W. (God Lighting Our World)

What do you think? Parents, kids, or anyone else reading this blog, can vote!

AACK!

OK- They changed the place at the very last minute of where we are supposed to ring the bells for the Salvation Army. please meet me at Walmart today between 4 and 6:00. I called everyone who told me they were coming, but in case there are some of you who didn't sign up .... this message is for you!

Mission Trip 2010

When is it?
From Sunday afternoon, June 20 through Friday afternoon, June 25

Who can go?
Anyone who has completed 6th grade through 8th grade (and their parents!)

Where are we going?
We are spending the week in Detroit as part of the Presbytery of Detroit Youth Mission Blast

What kinds of things will we be doing?
We will participate in a variety of opportunities. Some examples are:
Habitat for Humanity/Barnabas Youth Center/Second Mile Mission /Riverside Church Sandwich Ministry/ COTS/ Gleaners Food Bank/ Presbyterian Villages/helping seniors in our Detroit churches that need help around their homes.

Where will we be staying?
This part I don’t know yet. We will stay overnight at a church or at the Second Mile Center.

How much will it cost?
Again, this hasn’t been established yet. I estimate the final cost to be about $150. I will be requiring a $50 deposit by December 6. (Refundable if cancelling before March 1)


Are you getting excited for it? I am!!

What's in a name?

What should the Geneva Middle School Ministries be called? At this point, it is identified as the Mid-Highs. That's sort of a confusing name to some people, and doesn't really identify who we are. I’m thinking we should come up with a name that lets people know who we are and what we’re all about. Let's figure out a new youth group name.

I’m opening up the floor for suggestions. I want YOU to suggest as many names as you like for our group. I want one that is reflective of our group's mission and one that is interesting and engaging. I want one that identifies who we are and what we do.

You might be wondering what kind of name to suggest. I found this site that has lists of youth group names. I mentioned this site at Breakfast Club and I said there were over 500 names. I was wrong. There are over 500 names on this site that begin with the letter ‘A’ alone! There are over 12,000 youth group names submitted there! If you want to take a look there for some ideas to get you started thinking, go ahead. Another good resource is the Bible. You could use favorite words, phrases, or images from scripture; use combinations of letters and numbers; or use words as acronyms to come up with a unique name.

So go ahead, start suggesting names. Anyone can submit a name – whether you are in middle school, a parent, a friend, or even a 'regular' member of Geneva. I’ll take submissions from now until Thanksgiving. You can submit names by commenting on this blog, emailing me, or writing your suggestion(s) down and giving it(them) to me. I’m going to bring all the suggestions to the Youth Team where we will pick three that we like the best. Then, I’ll let the middle school students vote from those three. Once they've made a choice, we can create a logo and get T-shirts made.

I’m excited about the possibilities to identify our group. Put your thinking caps on and get me those ideas!

Picture Links!!

Here are the links to some pictures from our recent events. Thanks to the Noble family!

For laser tag pictures click here

For corn maze pictures click here

For clothes closet pictures click here

Your Word is a Lamp to My Feet...

... and a light to my path. (Psalm 119:105)

Are you reading The Word? Are you letting God's word guide you?

It seems that this fall I've been so busy -- School has started; I've been going to Physical Therapy; I got a new part time job; I've been trying to buy a car for Hannah -- it just seems like one thing after another, not to mention all the work I do for the Mid-High program. I came to realize I had less and less time for each thing I wanted to do. (Unless I didn't want to sleep anymore....)

During the summer, when I wasn't as busy it was easy to read my bible and take time to reflect on what I read and really listen for God's word to me. Now that I have so much to do, I really have to be deliberate in my reading. I can't just think I'll have time for it during the day. I have to make time.

I'm sure you all have school, homework, sports, music, dance, helping around the house and/or other things that take your time. Don't forget about your 'God Time' though. Remember to make time to read your bible and reflect on God's word for you. You won't regret it. I know I don't.