Retreats
can you believe in just about 2 days we’ll be heading out to jermyn, pa for our winter camp? this year is going to be especially awesome b/c we are joining up with 2 other youth ministries (New Life Fellowship & South Branch Community Church). there will be almost 70 of us total!!
we’re looking at a snowy weekend too:) so make sure to pack nice WARM clothes! our hope and prayer is that we don’t get stuck again at the camp, that was quiet the experience last year.
so the details for the weekend, just in case you tossed your reg form out go as follows:
12/19 – meeting at LHC @ 5pm –> hit up McDonalds on the way up –> Get to HHC
12/21 – arrive back at LHC @ 4pm (barring a snow delay…which if it happens, all updates will be posted here on LHCyouth.com and sent out as an email to all parents [if you'd like to get those, please email me your address via the contact page])
please be sure to pack your BIBLE, notebook, & pen in addition to all the normal get away stuff for the weekend. you’re def going to need it. don’t bother packing your cell phones, iPods, mp3 players, and personal gaming systems…b/c if we see them up there we get to keep them:) and i could def use a new iPod;)
we’re praying for you!!
Posted by jimmyd in Retreats on 17 Dec 2008 at 12:48 pm | No Comments »
Well, it’s finally here in full swing. Mass media pushes, tons of catalogs, and Christmas carols in every store possible. Whether you like it not, Christmas season is happening.
Now i’ll be completely honest…i’m not the biggest Christmas fan. I LOVE celebrating Jesus, but all the other “stuff” makes me sick. we have to compromise in our house for music. eileen LOVES
Christmas carols and i can’t stand them, so we listen to this. i think it’s a healthy compromise and i get to dance around the kitchen with my kids:)
although i’m not a huge fan of the business, there are a couple parts to the season that i do like.
1) The LHCyouth Christmas Banquet – this is one of those events that i think everyone really looks forward to. the opportunity to dress up and celebrate together is AWESOME. this is happening THIS SUNDAY in fellowship hall…tickets are $10 in advance & $15 on Sunday. we would ask that you bring a $5 white elephant gift as well~
and don’t forget about the pictures!!
2) Winter Camp – i think the real reason i love this weekend away is b/c it sets my mind to what really matters with Christmas day only a couple days after the retreat. i love the refocusing and the refreshment it provides my soul. hopefully we won’t get snowed in again this year though:)
are you a HUGE Christmas fan? or are you more like me? i’d love to hear from you:)
Posted by jimmyd in Retreats on 09 Dec 2008 at 12:28 pm | 1 Comment »
it’s coming…one of my favorite retreats of the year…
can i just tell you how excited i am about this? i feel like i’m going to explode…right now. as always, we’ll be getting away the weekend before christmas (dec 19-21) at harmony heart camp in jermyn, pa. this is a great chance to get away from the business that surrounds this time of year and start to breath and little bit.
my hope and prayer (outside of massive amounts of snow for tubing) is that you’ll come and be encouraged in your faith. it’s a retreat designed with sr highers in mind…not to kiddy, but a whole lot of fun. head to the download page for your registration form~
Posted by jimmyd in iT, Retreats on 08 Oct 2008 at 5:26 pm | No Comments »
so we got here…a little unorthodox, but we got here:)
cargo van got here late, bus got up late, and the band didn’t get here till about 930…an hour and a 1/2 later than our sesssion…
but the amazing thing is, God was in control of it all! i really think He had a plan in mind that was way better than what we put together. we started our week out with some amazing ideas and conversations about what it really means to live for Christ. we dove into Gal 2:20 and tried to explore what it means to be dead to ourselves but alive in Christ!
it was a great night…
today has been spent hanging out with God in our small groups and by ourselves, eating fantastic food, finding tiny farm animals dropped by the barnyard spaceship, and catching high speed water balloons without getting killed.
tonight we get to look into what it means to serve each other and explore what Jesus did with his disciples on the last night he was with them; foot washing….
i think the students will love it…
Posted by jimmyd in 24:7, Retreats on 22 Jul 2008 at 4:16 pm | No Comments »
so after such an amazing retreat with our jr higers i was honestly concerned about our sr high retreat. i didn’t want our jr highers to experience the Holy Spirit and our sr highers to wonder what the heck happened and why they missed out.
God is amazing. we left LHC @ 5pm friday and returned 3pm sunday overwhelmed by the person of the Holy Spirit. He met our group in a way i don’t think anyone was expecting.
oh man…it was awesome!
by saturday nite, the pump was primed and we were like buckets ready to receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
we broke into one giant small group right after the session and went to chat about what God was doing. when i asked the group what God was doing, it stayed silent for about 20 minutes before someone spoke up. i really think God was ministering in that silence…really allowing His Spirit to continue to move and minister in ways no person ever could. after the 1st couple kids spoke up, we had the opportunity to pray for kids who really wanted to be prayed for. i wanted them to tell the group what they wanted Jesus to do for them…just like bartimaeus…
God then used all our small group leaders to really PRAY FOR the students…it was an amazing picture~
here’s the WORD DOC from everyone who wanted to document what God was doing in them…
here’s a couple i pulled out for the web:
-God’s presence was so distinct; the Holy Spirit filled the room. I’m so glad God is in control, because I’d of lost it long ago.
I’ve been caught in the middle of a bizarre, self-destructive world. All weekend I waited for a dramatic message from God. I wasn’t surprised when it didn’t come at once because I’ve been so distant. Right when I was expecting to get nothing out of the trip, it came; I felt an incredible peace while the band played and people slowly went up to nail their confessions onto the cross.
I have decided today that my life does have a purpose. I have decided that I am not worthless. God loves me and he will be with me no matter what. I will not lower myself to the ways of the earth because that has left me nothing but dead inside. I want life so I AM, for the first time in my life, going, not try, but really be with no hesitation in love with the Creator who loves the sinner I am. I AM NOT WORTHLESS!!!! So the worth that I have that God has given me is now going to shine through me like the light that shone through a now empty tomb. He took my sin, and I have turned my back on that sin. I am God’s now.
Posted by jimmyd in iT, Retreats on 23 Apr 2008 at 4:02 pm | 1 Comment »
