A Weekend of Special Ocasions:

Well, this weekend is definitely a weekend of special occasions. Here is the run down:

• Thursday: Wedding Rehearsal for Justin Lynch and Kari Pettit Wedding.
  
• Friday: Wedding Ceremony for David Crews and Angela Scroggs at the Wilhite House in Anderson. (This wedding was absolutely beautiful...yes, David did cry when he saw his bride. I love that!!)
  
• Saturday AM: Anderson University Graduation at NewSpring Church. I was able to see so many of my peeps graduate. Congrats to: Bridget Bagwell, Andrew Sentell, Shearer Wludyka, Meagan Gregory, Heather Raffini, Miranda Doolittle, and Whitney White. They are all volunteers in Ignite Middle School Ministry, except for Andrew...he is on staff full-time with Ignite. Congrats! You all rock!
  
• Saturday PM: Wedding Ceremony for Justin Lynch and Kari Pettit.
• Sunday AM: Worship Service at NewSpring...which is always a special occasion in my book. Especially since, Perry is teaching on the vision of the church...should be freakin awesome! Come and join us!!
  
• Sunday PM: Last IGNITE service at the Fusebox, our Student Ministry Facility at the Anderson Mall. We are moving throughout this whole week...you should come and help us move...to our new facility that will be called "The 2Seven."
  

WOW!! A whole lot going on, but a lot of fun and excitement happening! by the way, I love all the special occasions this weekend. They are a whole lot of fun to be apart of! Peace!

Beach Wedding.....

Beach Weddings are awesome.

There are a lot of times that you hear people say outside weddings are too risky. Well, today was a great example of why you would want to have an outside wedding. It was BEAUTIFUL! The weather was perfect…no rain…visibility was outstanding…just perfect.

**Sometimes the risk of not being able to control the weather and other external circumstances, pays off! Same way with Jesus. Sometimes the risk/scariness/uncertainty/lack of personal control pays off in some awesome amazing ways!**

Congratulations to Kevin and Kelly Croshaw as they began a new chapter in their lives today! It was a privilege to be apart of their special day.

Fun Times....

This weekend has been awesome (I am excited that it is just Friday and we are ear until Sunday morning)!! Deanna and I traveled to Edisto Beach, SC last night. We are hear for a wedding of a family friend. Tomorrow, I have the honor of officiating the wedding n the beach at Edisto Beach State Park. I cannot wait to be apart of it. The rehearsal dinner tonight was a Low-Country Boil (also known as Beaufort Stew or Frogmore Stew) and it was awesome.

This has been such a relaxing time for Deanna and myself. We have slept a good bit, fellowshipped with family and friends, eaten some GREAT food, and will celebrate the union of two people who love each other tomorrow. Those are some FUN times.

Let you know how it goes!

Why Question....

A couple of days ago someone made a statement to me that made me think. They said, “Alden, you haven’t written on your blog I awhile. If you do not write on it more consistently you readership will not rise.” I did think much about it until the other day.

It made me ask myself a question, “why am I doing a blog? Why do I write on it?” Since that time, I intentionally have not written on my blog, because I felt I needed to answer those questions before I continued.

The answer…to share what God is doing / teaching me in my life…to share my life experiences with those who may be interested…to journal some of my life’s experiences…to continue to point people to Jesus. This blog is an extension of a desire I have to make Jesus famous.

If I don’t make Jesus famous, then there is no reason to do it. Plan and simple. So…may Jesus be made famous…be honored…be glorified…be lifted up…be pleased with my blog.

Awesome Nephew.....

The physical growing up process is so much fun to observe. In that process there is excitement, frustration, success, growth, learning, and so much more. Even in the frustration of growing up, we can always look back and be thankful that we went through it and accomplished so much.

A great example would be learning to walk. Learning to walk for the first time can be so frustrating for a little one. For starters they are surrounded by people who can go where they want, do what they want, go as fast as they want, and they have to depend on someone to take them. Well...when they begin to walk they are really excited, you can see a smile on their face and feel a sense of accomplishment, but in those times they will fall down. They may scrape their knees, get a bloody lip, hurt their hands, hurt their legs, and possibly hurt their spirit.

The great thing is...the child always gets up and tries again. No matter, the hurt they get back up and try again. They want to walk, they want to accomplish this HUGE task. Their spirit gets renewed and mostly because they have adults that are loving them, caring for them, and supporting them. They can get up and try again because someone has their back!

Just as a child has adults loving, caring, and supporting them...you have Jesus Christ loving, caring, and supporting you. Well...what is it for you that you need to try? You may feel that the task is way too much to try (ex. a child walking), but you know that you need to do it.

"What would you attempt for Jesus, if you knew you could not fail?" Perry Noble, my pastor at NewSpring Church, was asked this challenging question...and...from that with a vision from God, NewSpring Church was born. What about you?

Below is a video of my nephew, Jonathan Ellis Neighbors, taking some of his first steps. I love to be able to watch both my nephews and nieces grow up. Last night we had the nieces over for dinner and they were all over the place...talking, walking, running, laughing...everything!

OK, this may not be a big deal to some, but...this is just awesome for me and my family! So...just back off! ;)

Weddings.....

Congratulations to Kyle and Sarah Bolt!

Today, I had the privilege to officiate the wedding ceremony of Kyle and Sarah. It was a very simple, but elegant wedding! I had a blast! I was nervous that I would have a lot of mishaps, misspoken words, etc, but not really. Praise the Lord! What a fun night, the wedding was great and the reception was awesome.

Right before the doors opened and Kyle got to see Sarah, I looked at Kyle and he gave me that nervous smile. While she was coming down the isle, I looked at him and he leaned over to me and said, "WOW!" That but a HUGE smile on my face! I love to see the reactions of the groom when they see the bride!

Another great part about the wedding was that I shared a table with parents of my students at IGNITE! The whole table was HILARIOUS!! I heard so many stories and laughed a ton. It was great to see that side of some of my parents, to just hang out with them, to learn from them, and laugh with them!

Below is a picture of myself and the newlyweds!

Marriage.....

Today is a great day! I am looking forward to tonight. I get the wonderful privilege to officiate my first wedding ceremony tomorrow for Mr. Kyle Bolt and Miss Sarah Rhodes. Of course, the rehearsal is tonight, which will be a blast.

I just got done reading through the wedding vows they have have chosen/written for one another. (I am trying to know them as well as possible, so there are no "mess" ups tomorrow, although I will have a book with them written out in case my minds draws a blank.) It made me think of my vows, I made to my wife on our wedding day. I made a promise and covenant that I would love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, forsaking all others and keep myself only to her. I am so thankful that I have kept my vows to wife and hers to me. Marriage is such a beautiful thing.

Also, I cannot wait until tomorrow to watch Mr. Bolt watch his bride come down the isle. You know, each time I go to a wedding, I always like to watch the groom's expression when he sees his bride coming down the isle. There are a range of emotions that they go through. I will admit that I was so overwhelmed with my wife's beauty that I started to cry. It was so AWESOME! I actually did not stop sniffling and letting a couple tears fall until the end of the ceremony.

It will be a great day tomorrow for Kyle and Sarah and I am so thankful that they have allowed me to be apart of their special day.

Take a moment to say a quick pray for them as they begin this journey in life together as husband and wife. Also pray for me that I don't mess their wedding up ;)!

Lastly, if you are married, take a moment to think about when you saw your spouse for the first time on your wedding day. Think of all the emotion, the joy and the excitement that you felt. thank God for your spouse and be sure to tell them that you love them.

DAILY.....

This morning I went and played basketball with a bunch of guys from NewSpring. Random group of guys together, but still fun to get out and run around for a couple of hours! Also ate breakfast with Stewart Hudspeth and Chris Pierce. Both guys are awesome and desire to follow Jesus, so it was cool to hear them talk about life, relationships, Jesus, and many other things.

I came home and I have been trying to help my wife straighten up the house (my in-laws are coming for dinner tonight). I looked around the house and we have clothes in the hall needing to be washed, clothes waiting to be folded, clothes waiting to be dried, rooms to be straighten up, things put away, etc.

I almost got exasperated by the amount of work to be done, which brought a though to my head. If I would just take the time to DAILY straighten up as I go along, there would not be that OVERWHELMING feeling when i try to do it all at one time.

I believe that the same goes for our spiritual lives. There are times when we all get "slack" in our DAILY times with Jesus. If we didn't and then tried to "catch up" maybe there would not be this OVERWHELMING feeling inside of frustration and sometimes despair because of an inability to communicate.

Take the time DAILY to spend with Jesus! He loves you, He cares about you, and He has so much that he wants to tell you! God Bless...Peace!

Blessing from my IGNITE leaders....

A little over two weeks ago, I went to Willow Creek Church for SHIFT Student Leadership Conference. It was a great trip and awesome time to learn from and network with youth leaders from all over the country.

During that time, there was something that was happening back home in South Carolina that I did not know about. There were some IGNITE volunteer leaders messing with my car. When I say messing with, I mean giving it some tender, loving, care. A group of about 39 or so IGNITE leaders, were taking my car to get detailed (cleaned, waxed, etc.), getting a full service oil change, getting my headlights changed, along with getting the casing for the headlights burnished.

For a long time now, my lights worked, but I could not see all the light that the headlights were given off because the casing for the lights was very foggy. A couple weeks back, I was having a conversation with a couple of volunteers and we were all talking about issues with our individual cars. I mentioned my headlights and the issue I was having with them. I said that i had gotten so used to it that there was no need to get them fixed. One of those volunteers heard that and ran with it.

When we returned it was about 1:00 AM, I could not see my car real well, but I noticed my hands were sliding on the steering wheel. I also thought that my lights were brighter, but I had been driving another car all week, so I didn’t think much about it. I got home and park my car in the garage and look at my car and it was clean and shiny! I looked at my headlights and the casing was clear. I was blown away! My wife greeted me at the door with a smile, and asked if I noticed a difference.

What a HUGE blessing!

To ALL the IGNITE Volunteer Leaders: I am still blown away by the generosity and thoughtfulness of all the volunteers that contributed to giving my car such a clean up job! You guys rock! Each week, you make IGNITE happen through setting up the stage, running check-in, setting up the chairs, straighten up the Fusebox, leading your small groups, and much more! You bless me each week by serving Jesus and serving our students, so this messes me up that you would do this as well. I consider it a privilege to minister alongside each of you! Keep rockin it out for Jesus!

Random Things from SHIFT Conference....

Here are some cool things from SHIFT Conference:

• Got to see Wes Wilson, Program Director for Elevate, Jr. High Ministry at Willow Creek. I met Wes at NYWC in Charlotte this past December. Awesome Guy. Look forward to hanging out with him tomorrow.
  
• Got to meet Jason Raitz, Groups Life Pastor for Elevate, Jr. High Ministry at Willow Creek. Jason and I meet in BLOGWORLD. He is very down to earth. It was great to meet him face to face after reading his blog, post on forums, and emailing back and forth. I look forward to hanging out with him and others tomorrow night for dinner.
• Got to hear Dr. Henry Cloud, author of Integrity, teach at Willow's New Community Service.
• SHOUT OUT: Willow's Association has done an AWESOME job putting together this conference. They have paid attention to the details!
  

Time to go to bed...although it has been an awesome day of learning...I am tired. Conferences tend to drain you...well, at least I get drained! PEACE!

SHIFT Session #3: Bo Boshears

Bo Boshears, Executive Director of Student Ministries for Willow Creek Association, led Session # 3: "A Student Leader's Guide to Preparing for the Long Haul"

Here are some notes:

Psalm 71:17-19: "Since my youth, o God, you have taught me, and to this dayI declare your marvelous deeds. Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your ower to the next generation, your might to all who are to come."

3 Common Warning Signs for Youth Leaders:

1. Your Heart is Becoming to Proud:

• Youth Ministry has become so professional and so competitive.
• Focusing on this will steal your joy.
• When this happens you focus on YOURSELF and NOT God.
• Lead with humility and protect your heart.

2. You are No Longer Teachable:

• We need to stay sharp: learn, grow, increase your ministry skills.
• Ask good questions, learn from others.
• How are you doing by modeling God's Word to others?
  
• Are you modeling a checklist or a deep passion for Jesus?
• You must slow down and hear God's voice!
• Who are you allowing to mentor you?
• Philippians 4:9: How can students put into practice what they have not seen up close?(This messed me up and challenge me in who I should be mentoring within our ministry.)
  

3. Are You Losing Home Field Advantage?:

• Our ministry can't distract us from the ones we love so much.
• We should be at home a MINIMUM of 4 nights a week.
• Learn to say, "NO ONE CAN PRESSURE ME WITHOUT MY PERMISSION!"
• Being present is not just being there in physical form, but bring there in mind, body, heart, and spirit.
  

Busy.....

It has been some time since I posted on this blog. Lately, I have been really busy with some many things pulling me in many different directions. In that busyness, I have also been reading a small, but powerful book. The title of the book is, "What Matters Most...When No is Better than Yes."

Needless to say, I have been giving so much of myself to MANY tasks and all of them not getting the best. I decided that it would be best to say NO to this blog. I took the time and tried to finish up some things, refocus on the things that have to have my attention, and give away what does not.

Here is a description of the book from SimplyYouthMinistry.com:

Every youth worker should read this book!

If you can't remember the last time you said no to the senior pastor, the custodian, the church secretary, or the parents of that annoying kid, you're on the road to... well... to nowhere. Actually, you're on the road to death--the death of your passion, your ministry, you joy, your family, your long-term ministry effectiveness, and maybe even your faith.

It may sound dramatic, but the truth is, ministry often makes us feel like we have to say yes to everything for the sake of Jesus. We're asked to sacrifice our time, our energy, our personal resources, and often our families. And we usually make these sacrifices for others who believe they know what really matters for us. But if it's all in t he name of Jesus, do you think Jesus would really ask us to do it all?

Probably not, because Jesus said no on a regular basis. He said no to important people and significant opportunities. He took time to focus on what mattered most. He said no when he needed to refuel or refocus. In fact, Jesus was effective in his ministry because he occasionally said no. Can you imagine what your ministry could be if you took the opportunities to refuel and refocus from time to time?

This is your chance. Doug Fields, author of What Matters Most and a youth ministry survivor for more than 25 years, is giving you permission--no, he's telling you--to learn to say no and say it often so you can say yes to what's most important. If you want to do more than just survive, if you want to thrive in youth ministry, this may be the most important lesson you'll learn.

This book will provide you with encouragement to stay the course, reignite you passion for ministry, and most importantly, nurture your passion for Jesus. After all, isn't that what matters most?

Do yourself a favor buy the book, spend hour reading, and say NO!! You can do it and if you do it will change you and free you!

New Design....

I switched over to the new Blogger. Very easy to change the template and seems to be very functional. This year I hope to make more posts on a daily basis. We will see how that goes. Anyway, getting ready to head out to watch a little church league bball and then the BCS Championship Game.

Christmas....

What a great Christmas! Awesome Christmas Eve Services at NewSpring (be sure to check out the new design for NewSpring) and spending time with Deanna's family in Belton. Hanging with my family, Liberty Bowl, etc. WOW!!!!

Merry Christmas!!!