C.R.O.S.S. Connections

We are most definately back from Colorado...have been for a number of months now!!  Can you tell I've been slacking?!  Well, CROSSwalk is well under way, we've had a few lesson, and are now participating in the 40 Days of Community, with the rest of Thorn Creek.  We'll continue with that through November then back to our regular lessons.

So here we are in Colorado for our Colorado Challenge trip.  We flew out at 7:10 AM Sunday morning and arrived at camp around 2:30-3:00...the flight was very uneventful (which was great!!)  the drive to camp was fine, we made a few pit stops on the way, went to the firefighters memorial in Colorado Springs as well as the Olympic Training Center, where U.S. athletes train for the olympics...it was great!  So like i said we pulled into camp around 2:30-3:00 and as we started to unpack the vans we found ourselves in a torrential storm...it was amazing.  hail the size of marbles just dumped down on us.  The winds picked up...we were told they've never seen a storm that bad here before...we were struck by God's power (literally!!).  It soon stopped and we were able to move in and get settled in.  Monday was our free day so we just hung around camp in the morning, had fun playing volleyball/basketball...it was very relaxing.  Then we headed down to Manitou Springs and walked around the town, spent some time in a real old-fashion penny arcade, it's amazing how many pennies you can spend in an hour!!  Now today is our 'in camp' day, we've already gone horseback riding, conquered the high ropes course, got bruised up on the paintball field...and we look forward to dominating the mountain on our bikes this afternoon!!  In the evenings we have our chapel sessions, the speaker, Oliver, read the story of how God questioned Hagar and how he asked her where she's been and where she's going...and he challenged us with that.  And last night he really opened up to us about how it's not about us, how we don't need to be perfect...how we AREN'T perfect.

So it's been a great few days, it's already been a challenge for a number of the kids (I think a few of them are even napping as I type!!).  Please continue to pray for us as we are challenged the rest of the week!!

so how's everyone doing with the readings??

so the thing that hit me yesterday...how Jesus relates Noah and how the people were all partying and having a good time while he built the ark to His return...are you like Noah preparing for Christ?  or like the people partying and having a good time?

so i ran across this as i was pulling together a slide show for tomorrow and i thought of you all reading through Matthew...

'A final word: be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.  for we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.'

put on your full armor as you read though the NT these next 100 days, you'll need it!!

how about 10:32-33 -

' So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.'

soooo...if we aren't talking about God to people we meet on a regular basis we are denying him?

lots and lots of teaching and healing...any thoughts?  what caught your eye??

Soooo, how's the reading going?

you know, the first thing i noticed was that the entire reading (with the exception of about 2 verses!) in my Bible was all red, meaning the entire reading was Jesus talking.  words straight from the God's mouth!!  pretty sweet!

Hey guys, just wanted to remind you of the process for the Bible readings...

20 minutes, you and your Bible - just read, and highlight the things that pop...

20 minutes, you and your journal - just write! start by writing out one Bible verse, any one you read. then write down your observations on the text, what you thought, what was going on, something that stuck out, whatever.

20 minutes stop and breath, really think about what's going on here, spend some time praying, maybe you want to write out your prayer...think about how you want to act on what you've just read.

ok?  well, you don't have to time it, these 20/20/20 is just a rough guideline, some days it maybe 30/10/10, or 10/10/30 or 17/22/5.  it really depends on you!  the 20/20/20 is just a guide!  so yeah, feel free to comment on anything here, maybe we can get some good dialogue going!! 

one thing i thought was interesting, that i've never thought about before, was in chapter one, the geneology of Jesus, its Josephs line, right?  but really Joseph wasn't Jesus' biological father, right?  pretty neat how already in the first chapter there's a strong concept of adoption, just like how we are 'adopted' by Christ when we believe...

what did you notice?

more slacking on my end...sorry about that!!  but here's a quick update.

everything we have been doing lately has been preparation for Friday night, our game night.  it's been a lot of fun getting ready, but i think we are all ready for the night to happen!!  please, Please, PLEASE (!) be in prayer for the night!  God is on the move...just pray that everyone who walks through the doors Friday night will be ready and open to Him!

just a quick note about upcoming events...our next few lessons are going to be focusing more on Easter...and then after Easter, we'll get back to business learning about the Holy Spirit!

ok, ok, i've been slacking on updating the site...so here's a quick update of what God's been doing at CROSSwalk!! 

The month of December was a review of Jesus Christ, who he was, what he did, why he did what he did, and what we need to do about it...we ended this series with an intense meeting on where we are in our faith and where we need to be...it was awesome to see how God is working in your lives!! 

So here's what's coming up...OUTREACH!!  January we will focus on outreach and how to get the Word out.  What we can do, how we can do it, as individuals and as a group.  We are going to take a look at our ministry and the good things about CROSSwalk and what we can do to change it...for the better!!  I'm super excited about January (and to be completely honest, super freaked out as well!!).  I hope to see you all there!!