Home Group Follow-Up - Christmas

Most of us are probably presented with this story of Christmas every year, but that doesn't make it any less real or powerful.

I have come to enjoy the time spent with family during Christmas, the excitement in the air, the community of humans putting down their guard a bit for a season, the coolness in the air (normally), the giving spirit.

Most of us love this time of year, and most of us realize the true meaning behind Christmas. Do we stop and celebrate that? Do we still wonder? Do we still marvel at the vulnerability of Christ as a child? Do we still see the miracle? Do we still relate the birth of Christ to our own lives?

The short video Ashley played for us had a part that made me really think. It spoke of the many different names that God has, and it's true: The Prince of Peace, I am, Emmanuel, Father (there are many more). I think he has more names than Puff Daddy, or Diddy, or P. Diddy, or whatever. It amazed me to think about how God could be all these things. That all these names are not just another way to call him something, that they are there for a reason.

So, three things:

1. What are other "names" given to God/Christ ?
2. Which name is most comforting/relevant to your life right now ?
3. And maybe this is a rhetorical question, which do you need to experience right now?

Weekend Fun

There is a great walk, shop, and art adventure this Sunday afternoon in Boylan Heights:

Art Walk

Thanksgiving Favorite

Here's a recipe for everyone's favorite, sweet potato casserole! :)

Casserole Ingredients:
3 cups cooked mashed sweet potatoes (1 good sized sweet potato is about 1 cup)
1 cup sugar
2 beaten eggs
1/3 stick butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

Topping Ingredients:
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup self-rising flour
1 cup chopped pecans
1 stick melted butter

Preparation:
1. Cook the sweet potatoes in the microwave for about 15-20 minutes (if you're cooking all 3 at once). You can boil these to cook them, but if you're pressed for cooking space for a big family dinner, using the microwave can be handy. :)
2. When cooked through, scrape out the inside of the potatoes and put in a mixing bowl. You can peel these before you cook them, but it's easier for me to scrape....use whichever method you prefer most.
3. Mash potatoes together until mostly smooth.
4. Mix in remaining ingredients for the casserole.
5. Spread into a buttered casserole dish.
6. Mix the topping ingredients together in a mixing bowl.
7. Spread the topping over the potato mixture.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.
9. Enjoy! :)

NFS Campaign

Be there!!! and bring at least 2 friends!

Stop Hunger Now

We had a great time making over 5000 meals on Sunday afternoon.
Check out Stop Hunger Now for more info about the organization.

And scroll on down to see some fabulous pics from the assembly line. Great Job Everyone!

Amy Hathaway in the N&O

So, I wake up this morning, fire up the coffee maker and grab the newspaper from the driveway (as old men often do). As I'm reading the City and State portion of the paper, I came across a very familiar name- our very own Water Quality Engineer, Amy Hathaway! Very nice job Amy! Check out the story through the link below. It sounds like a great program and a wonderful opportunity awaiting the finger tips of all our neighbors who want to become aware of the quality of our waters. So, next time you see Amy, give her some props!


http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/735628.html

Yeah for our Homegroup....

Just wanted to let you all know that I am so thankful to have such an amazing group of people to live life with. It is an incredible thing to witness and be apart of a group of people who really love, care and support one another. I feel like God smiles when he sees His children really loving each other and the people around them! Looking forward to the adventures ahead...

Joel & Rebecca's Wedding

Joel and Rebecca got married this weekend and a few of us were in Wilmington to celebrate with them. It was a really fun wedding and quite an entertaining message during the ceremony from Joel's grandfather.

If you weren't there, I'll sum it up by letting you know he talked about doing it on a bear skin rug in front of a fire and he said "lubrication" during the message. You should have seen the look on Jason's face!

It was fun reception and here are a few pics! :) Feel free to add some of your own to the blog!

Connection to the Sermon?

Did anyone see a connection between how jeff was talking about evangelism and justice being so interconnected that we miss something when we distinguish between the two and the faith and works discussion we had on Thursday?

I like to compartmentalize things so much in my life and this whole series (justice and james) is helping me see my life in a more wholistic sense.

Any thoughts?

Mudcats game on Saturday!!

If any of you are Mudcats fans...or even if you aren't, there's someone very special singing the National Anthem at this Saturday's game!! Our very own Kendal Quinn is singing the National Anthem!

I think we all need to team together and ask Kendal for a sneak preview tomorrow night at home group! :)

p.s. that's Kendal and his brother

Thoughts on Home Group Mission/Outreach Change

Most of you probably heard of the new format of missions/outreach within our homegroup. For all who did not, we have decided that our missions/outreach activities will not be geared towards thursday nights anymore (other home groups have already made this decision, and we decided it was a good idea). We will continue to meet every thursday night, but will be adding a few more worship and guy/girl nights (or something else) in the place of our thursday night missions work.

Now, obviously this does not mean we have had a change of heart and no longer desire to have this as a part of our community, instead, we will be moving towards activities that do not necessarily center around one particular night of the week. Through this, we hope to investigate what it means for us to live missional lives both as a community and as individuals. Surely living a missional life involves more than one thursday night a month.......

Thoughts?

Introduction to James

Well, we've been discussing James for the past 3 teaching gatherings and it seems to be very relevant to many in our community, hopefully more than many actually, but I digress.

When we first discussed James as a potential book to study as a group, I guess I figured I had seen this information before and we could all learn some, make some observations, apply it to our lives in some way. Well, my first teaching involved a discussion on how we are to have Joy in Trials and I began to see how this book is a bit more difficult than I originally thought. Lots of conflict between our human emotion and spiritual understanding, lots of thoughts that rub us the wrong way, lots of themes that I still don't understand. The topic of trials is difficult, a common theme we wrestle with God over. How can He allow bad things to happen? How are we to view the most horrific events in our life? How do react to those around us who are experiencing trials? Can I find consistent Joy in my life while allowing myself to feel various emotions?

-jon

Blog Debut

Hello All,
I hope this blog can become a place of discussion for our home group and whomever else chooses to chime in. I realize debate can sometimes lead to frustration, but I really hope we can have meaningful and sometimes conflicting conversation without it leading to impaired relationships. It is tough to "win" a debate, especially when talking about topics so close to the heart which involve lots of introspection. So, you can make your point known, but realize you may not "convince" somebody you're right. And that's cool, maybe you give them something to think about, maybe they give you something to think about.

FYI - If you always think you're right, you're probably not.

Basically, if we can't communicate to each other with grace and understanding, we're going to have quite a difficult time communicating with those around us as well. And I think we can get our points across without being inconsiderate (or using complete sentences and correct spelling in my case).

FYI - If your comment starts with "No offense but......" you're about to offend somebody (thanks for that quip Jim Rome)

So, here we go, enjoy, and come to flying saucer tonight.

-jon