The Selfish Clown

So, I have a clown fish...a tomato clown fish, to be exact. His name is Tom.

Now, I was pretty pumped to get Tom. You see, he lives in our anemone. They have a symbiotic relationship, meaning that the anemone provides a safe shelter for the fish and the fish, in turn, feeds the anemone. At least...this is how its supposed to work.
Ever since we've gotten Tom, our anemone has not seemed to be very happy. He is constantly moving around the tank (thus why he got his tentacles stuck in the filter).

Well, last week, I went to feed the anemone and noticed that Tom decided to steal the shrimp out of the anemone tentacles and eat it for himself. Since then, I've been watching very carefully to see if our fishy friend is, in fact, feeding the anemone as he is supposed to. Turns out that he is not. We have a sel"fish" clown. Dang.

I woke up this morning thinking about this. My mind immediately drifted to how humans are sort of in a symbiotic relationship with God. God gives us peace, love, and a safe place. God provides us with comfort. God is always there for us.
Then there are humans. Yes, sometimes we do hold up our part of the symbiotic relationship by praising God and thanking God for our blessings. But most of the time...not so much.

We, like the selfish clown, do not hold up our end of the deal. We leave God hanging, so to speak. Why do we do that? Well, I'm not sure I have an answer, other than that we are just flawed beings, who seem to always mess up.

If we look at Tom as an example not to follow, then we have a lot of work ahead of us. I'm not too worried about it though, because God is a pretty forgiving deity. So, when we mess up, its not back to square one, but rather we just pick up and move on. Its the least we can do for someone who loves us so much. I'm just thankful God isn't like the anemone and doesn't pick up and leave every time I mess up.

Kind of heavy stuff to wake up thinking in the morning, I suppose. But, then again, its not every day you get to learn a life lesson from a fish.

Procrastination

I am sitting at my desk and for the last hour and a half, I have been trying to find things to do that I can finish up instead of writing the articles I need to write for the Chimes.

Why am I procrastinating, you may ask? Well, I'm not sure. I don't hate writing articles for the Chimes...I don't really mind it, in fact. But, there seems to be something in my nature that makes me want to procrastinate. I have done this since I was in college. I always seem to work better under pressure. Who knows why...I guess its just how God created me.

So, as you may have figured out, I am using this blog as a way to procrastinate. Probably not the best use of my time, as I have no idea how many youthies really read this thing anyway...but, I'm writing just the same.

As I was thinking about how much procrastinating I'm doing (despite that I am getting a lot done...just not the stuff that needs immediate attention), I was thinking about how I procrastinate in other ways in my life. Sure there are the every day things most of us procrastinate with - emptying the dishwasher, putting away laundry, cleaning out the fridge (gross!). But what about God?

How are you procrastinating in areas of your life that have to do with God? Have you been putting off spending time with God - reading your Bible or praying? Have you been putting off asking a friend to come to church because you aren't sure how they will react? Have you been putting off making the commitment to become more involved in church yourself?

In my life, if I decide to put something off, I become the MASTER of putting it off. In college, I dubbed myself "The Master Procrastinator." If I decided I'd do my devotions a little later...well, I would find tons of things to keep me from doing it until it had been put off for the whole day...not a great way to treat God, is it? He deserves so much more than the end of the day when we are tired and ready for sleep.

So, as I finish up this blog and get back to writing those Chimes articles (like I should be!), I want to stress the importance of NOT procrastinating with God. Spend time with Him...He deserves it. And not the "I'll do it later" time. God deserves your best time...your "right now" time. Lets not procrastinate any longer.

Retreat

How did this happen? My last post was on the first day of October and here we are at the end of the month. Seriously...where does the time go?

This month has been pretty great. We've had lots of fun activities and have really gotten into our Genesis Bible study on Tuesday nights. It has been a great time of growth for our group.

This past weekend, though, was by far the greatest growth yet. We took our Fall Retreat to Lake Williamson. We stayed Friday through Sunday and it was really amazing to see how God worked in that short of time.

Our theme for the weekend was "Be the Change." We talked about what it means to be transformed by Christ and how we need to strive to transform others. One of the coolest parts of the weekend, though, we to see how our group was transformed.

We spent some time on Saturday doing team building activities. I would guess that this was most of the youths' favorite part of the weekend. We started out having quite a bit of trouble - lots of talking over everyone, not listening, voices getting lost in the shuffle, etc. But, when they took time to listen, to talk one at a time, and to think, they really got the ball rolling. I was so proud to see how much the group started working together. By the end of the weekend, everyone was commenting on how we felt like a family.

It was pretty great to hear. I want nothing more than for our youth group to feel like a family. That we are supportive and loving, not negative and clique-y. So far, we are on the right track. I pray that we will continue to be transformed by the love of Christ - so that our youth group will grow closer together, but also so that we can go out and change the world around us.

I am so thankful for this retreat. If you weren't able to make it this year, I hope you can next year! It was an unforgettable experience.

Its OCTOBER?!

Today when I got into the office, I happened to look over at my bulletin board and noticed that my September youth calendar is out of date. Yes, that's right, it is October! How did that happen? I am not sure. Time flies when you are having fun, I suppose.

So, since it is now a new month, I ripped off the September calendar to reveal the new October calendar underneath. Wow...we have a lot of fun stuff coming up! I bet we will blink and October will be over as well. So, we better enjoy it while we can!

Our Fall Retreat is almost upon us! The deadline to sign up in on Tuesday, so be sure to do so! We still have a few spots open, so feel free to invite friends, too! Cost is only $50! We will be headed to Lake Williamson in Carlinville the weekend of Oct. 26-28th. Believe me, you won't want to miss this awesome retreat - AND you get a cool t-shirt! What could be better!? Sign up on the FourTwelve bulletin board!

What else is going on this month? Well, here is what we are doing for UMYF in October:

• Oct. 7 - Dinner and a movie - 3:30-6:00
• Oct. 14 - Haunted Corn Maize - 7:00-9:00
• Oct. 21 - Open Gym - 3:30-5:00
• Oct. 28 - No UMYF (Fall Retreat Weekend)

I hope that we will see you around a lot in October! Its going to be a fantastic month to be a part of FourTwelve!

Its been a while!

Hey FourTwelvers!

Sorry its been a while. But here's the latest:

• Sunday we will be playing Glow in the Dark Minigolf! Bring $10 and meet up at the church at 3:00. We'll be back by 5:30.
• Bible study is in full swing! We are studying Genesis...come and see how it all began!
• See You at the Pole - Wednesday, Sept. 26th. 7:00 am at the flag pole at your school. Go and pray with your fellow students and start the day off right!
• Friday, Sept. 21 - 5th Quarter Bash returns! Come after the football game for food, ping pong, and the infamous bungee run (sr. high only).

As you can see, we have a LOT going on! But that means there are plenty of opportunities for you to come and hang out with us. Hope to see you soon!

First Tuesday of the Month!

So, here is a new bit of information that hasn't made it out in the calendars, etc.:

The FIRST TUESDAY of every month, we will meet at 5:30 for PIZZA! Be sure to come on out for free dinner - and bring a friend!

That means Sept. 4th, we will be having PIZZA again!

I mean, you can't turn down pizza, can you?!

Two Quick Things

1. Check out our updated youth webpage at www.mainstreetumc.net! Click on the "Youth - FourTwelve" link on the left side panel.

2. In the Chimes, the Fall Retreat date was incorrect. The date listed in the previous post is correct!

That is all for now!