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!