Star Search!

As youth pastors we totally LOVE this time of year! This is when you guys have so much going on and we get to see you doing the things you love to do!!!
For example, we got to see Cheer Captain Kendall at her game Friday night....

Cole scored a touchdown last Saturday in his game against Westlake!!!

Cole showed that he can dominate on both offense AND defense!!!

Sergio marches to the beat of his own drum on Friday with the Coog band!

If you haven't given us your activity schedule, please get it to us ASAP!! We want to come see you in action!!

Missing Shane

Last Wednesday after our Bible Study we all bunched up outside the Teen House for a picture to let Shane kn0w that we love and miss him! For those of you who don't know, Shane is an Ex-SACN TEEN now in Africa setting up a "pipeline" that will enable others to more easily enter Africa to minister and bring the gospel of Christ!! We love you, Shane, and are very proud of what God is doing through you there!!!

Introducing.....[drum roll please]...the Meuers!!!

Have you guys met our newest sponsors? Ben and Callie Meuer [pronounced "moy yer"] have graciously volunteered to join us on Wednesday nights and for other activities to get to know you guys better!!! They are a quality couple and we are blessed to have them in our church family! Like many of you, Ben was a band nerd and now plays the drums for our Praise Band. At 6'1'', Callie played volleyball and now lends her voice to the Praise Team! Be sure and introduce yourself to them to help them learn your names! Welcome Meuers!!

Are you Joshin' me?

Do you know what a "face plant" is? If your guess was, "A green leafy vegetation that requires watering", you are close....but not quite. Webster's dictionary defines the "face plant" as "the violent and oft painful pressing of your face against the surface of an object of stronger substance than that of your face." E.g. Josh's face was a mess after he lost control on a bike jump and face planted.

For your information I present to you, the pre- and post- "face plant" pictures of Josh after his recent biking accident. As much fun as Josh makes this look, he would want me to recommend against it and tell you to ALWAYS WEAR A HELMET!

We're glad you're okay, Josh!!!! And thanks for being a good sport and letting me post these pics!!

Back-to-School Lock-In!!!

If someone were to ask you;

"Hey, you wanna go with me to a lock-in at my church? We're gonna drink 96 cans of soda, eat 14 pizzas, 75 cookies, countless M&Ms, 40 breakfast tacos, write some songs, play 3 hours of dodgeball, 3 hours of "Signs", 2 hours of Rock Band, and we're gonna watch "Iron Man", our youth group vids on YouTube, the "Worst Music Video Ever", Little Marky, Manheim Steamroller Christmas lights, do card tricks, arm wrestle, and wake Cole up from a deep slumber just to see how funny he reacts!!!"

...would you go? Well you SHOULDA!! It was a blast!

High Schoolers square off against Middle Schoolers in Dodgeball...

Midnight madness....

Manufactured dodgeball drama..

Cole breaks into song..?

Mmmmmm.....pizza!

Sabrina contemplates her next move in "Signs"

Sierra and Josh exchange the always difficult "high flying high five"

I silence my critics who said I couldn't beat a 16-year-old girl arm wrestling....booyah!!

....it's all in the stare down...

Aaron turns off his gravity disruptors and returns to Earth...

Cole is NOT...I repeat....NOT a morning person...

Connor takes his turn in some sunrise "Signs"

A HUGE thanks to Cheryl K., Sonja J., and Tom C. for all of your help in making it happen!! You guys rock!!!

Offsight Insight: Burger Center Bus Depot!!

Let's face it....some of you are weird. Some of you are misfits. ALL of you are a little whacked, if you ask me. But the great thing is, every one of you is to be unique. God has called us to be set apart, "aliens" even, put aside for one particular, sacred purpose.....and that is to love the Lord with all your heart. We used the Burger Center bus depot as a backdrop for the evening, with the idea that if we do not live as though we have been set aside for a sacred purpose (sanctified) then we are much like these yellow buses, all lined up in a row, no differences from one to another, and certainly no one is drawn to us, much less the God that we supposedly have opened our hearts to.

Praise the Lord for the rain that night, and for the break in the rain that allowed us to be outside for our Offsite Insight!!

Vacation Bible School!

Once again it was awesome to see how you all jumped on board to help with Vacation Bible School this year! The little munchkins love you guys and look up to you and your "coolness"!!! Thanks to Julie Crawford for the shots below of you guys doing your thing!! Whether it was with snacks, songs, crafts, classes, building sets, drama, or games, you guys really worked hard and you made us proud!!!

Thanks again to the Brands for letting us use their pool for a post-VBS cool down party!!!

Spider Women!!

I personally like to stay below the 3rd or maybe 4th step on a ladder....but Laura and Megan like to take things to new heights!!! Check this out!!!
Laura has found a new love in this beautiful art form called aerial dancing which she has just picked up!! Not too shabby for a beginner, huh?

Megan recently returned from a national rock climbing competition in Salt Lake City where she placed 19th in the nation!!!! Wow!! She climbed a 45-ft rock climbing wall in 22 seconds!!!!

Here's a shot from her competition...hey! She looks a lot like.....nah, couldn't be....

This just proves what we have all known for a long time....these girls are amazing!!!

Offsite Insight!- Treaty Oak!!

The "Treaty Oak" in downtown Austin is the last surviving oak of a grove of 14 known as the Council Oaks. Local folklore suggests that the oak was the sacred meeting place of local Indians in the area and even witnessed the signing of a peace treaty between Stephen F. Austin and the Indians. The Indian women believed that a potion made of a mixture of honey and its acorns would ensure a safe return of warriors and loved ones. Having endured an attack by a lunatic that tried to kill it with massive amounts of poison, the tree provided the perfect backdrop for us to discuss our own need for deep roots that are tapped into the strength of the Lord, and to trust Him when he chooses to prune us and shape us as He sees fit. A beautiful place to glorify a beautiful God!!

Offsite Insight! - Amtrak Train Station!

"Enter by the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it." This is quite an ominous warning in Matthew 7:13. Living a life that honors God is not going to happen by dumb luck, no more than a train is going to reach its destination off its tracks. We found ourselves at the Amtrak train station to talk about this concept and had a great discussion about the importance of staying on track with God, with one rail being prayer and the other being meditation upon His word. With these as our spiritual "wheels", we can avoid many of the pitfalls of the broad road that leads to destruction. We were treated to a very long, noisy train while we were there, as well as a friendly wave from the conductor!!

New Teen Quizzing blog site!!

Thanks to Tom, there is now a blog site with everything you need to know about the upcoming Quiz season!!! We had a great kick-off meeting this last Sunday (again, many thanks to Tom and Julie for the great food and hospitality!!) where the Waltons gave out lots of information for the new and/or seasoned quizzers!! The site is http://www.sacnteenquiz.blogspot.com/, and you will always be able to easily access it on the right side of the screen under "Check out these sites". This year the quizzers will be diving into I and II Corinthians!! Have fun, Quizzers, and make us proud!!!

Offsite Insight!! Nature recycling center!

"Magnificent". That's the word you often hear when someone sees a majestic, large oak tree under which they can find shade and wonder what events of history took place under its branches. But on this "Offsite Insight" we visited the recycling center used by the City of Austin to recycle trees for making mulch and wood materials for our city parks. And what we found there was what used to be one or more magnificent 75+-year-old trees is now a pile of huge logs.
Very often in our own Christian walk, we feel like we are "magnificent" stationary oaks....unbreakable, indestructible. But then something comes along...a crisis that we aren't prepared for or rooted enough in the Lord to weather, and then....timber!!!!..... We fall.

The great news is that if we submit to Him, God can "replant" us, water and brace us for what lies ahead.

Surrounding us were piles of wood in various forms.....ground up mulch, pruned branches, and yes, huge chainsawed logs. We were reminded that when we have fallen or failed, God can change us into a NEW form that He can use even more effectively and in a way we never even imagined!!!

What a great place to be reminded of God's mercy and power!

New Teen Boat Party!

50 of us took off from the Emerald Point marina for an evening of burgers, boating, jumping, and games!! We welcomed in new 6th graders Samantha, Abigail, Claudia, Juan, Arron, and Abba!!! At the same time, we recognized and commissioned our outgoing seniors, Hunter and Kyle, and sent them off to the next phase of their lives!!! You can check out the entire slideshow on YouTube here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhynRemmNp8

There were a couple of great highlights which you WON'T see on the slideshow, however. For example, on a dare Aaron swam over to the party barge NEXT to ours and took a jump off of THEIR boat!!! It was sweet! And then when Hunter was giving his "Last Will and Testament" a june bug went up his shirt! To appreciate what happened next you have to know Hunter's complete aversion to bugs.....but as the color left his face he swatted frantically at himself until he ridded himself of his flying nemisis, and excused himself behind the van to let out a primal scream!! It was a thing of beauty....

It was a beautiful evening together, and we really appreciate the help of the Pardues, who opened their home for us on a night they were having guests already!! And to Cheryl Katrenick, Sonja Jimenez, and Shane Sellstrom for going along as sponsors and driving!!!! The evening would not have happened without you!! Thanks a ton!!