Bye, Bye Blogger

We are moving. Starting right now, you can access the Teen B.L.A.S.T. blog at www.teenblast.wordpress.com

Why do you say what you say?

"Imagine what our lives would be like if all of our words were spoken out of perfect submission to God. How much less complicated our lives would be! Many of the problems we experience when talking with one another emerge from the fact that we have usurped the authority of God: We say what we want, when and how we want to say it. We speak as if we are in charge and as if we have the right to use words to advance our purpose, and to achieve what would make us happy. We speak as if we were God rather than his creatures, called to submit to his authority in every idle word we speak."

-Paul David Tripp, from War of Words, chapter 2

After Weekend #1

For those that care, the top in the brackets are:

1 - Mike C (I made half of Mike's picks for him...so does that mean that I get half of his points to add to mine?)
2 - Schmitty (don't let it go to your head man)
3 - PJ (me)
4 - David C (now we know what he is really doing at college)
5 - Brian C
6 - Steven G
7 - Andrew C, Mrs. G, Philip B, Riley B, Stephanie S

After Day 1

Here are the standings after the first day of Madness.

1 Brian C.-76
2 Pastor Joel-74
3 David Cochran-72
3 Mike C.-72
5 Mr. W-70
5 Pastor-70
7 Schmitty-62
8 Andrew C.-61
8 Georgina V.-61
8 Katie S.-61
8 Phillip B.-61
8 Riley B.-61
8 Stephanie S.-61
14 Marlana W.-56
15 Steven G.-55
15 Zachery Mortimer-55
17 Miss Heather-53
17 Mrs. W-53
19 James Shaffer-49
20 Mrs. G-48
21 Valerie S.-46
22 matthew gearhart-44

Brackets Online

All the brackets I received are now online. You can find the standings of our bracket contest at cbs.sportsline here. Once you register, this is the site you need to go to:

http://mbcteens.mayhem.sportsline.com/brackets

You do have to do a free registration to gain access to the site. Please leave me a comment with your e-mail address if you are going to register, because you must be invited to be able to see the standings. Once you have left a comment I will invite you. If you do register, check out who Mr. Wipf is picking to go all the way. I think you can see it. If you can't, I'll spill the beans. Even he knows where it's at. He's picked Kentucky to lose in the 1st round and Kansas to win it all! He finally has seen the light.

For those who don't register, I will regularly post updates of the standings.

Bracket Contest

Each year we have a contest to see who is the best (I mean luckiest) bracket filler-outer and it's that time of year again. If you want to be part of the competition, make sure to fill out a bracket and get it to me by the end of B.L.A.S.T. this Wednesday night. On Monday, April 3 we will find out who the winner is at the March Madness Party. Even if you know nothing about college basketball, fill a bracket out and join the fun.

What's is your assurance of salvation based on?

I love reading or hearing a good quote, so from time to time I will share them with you. I read this a while back and found it very thought provoking.

“Our assurance of salvation must include a changed life. Confidence that we’ve truly been saved shouldn’t rest on an emotional experience or a prayer we prayed during an altar call years ago. ‘I don’t care how much you cry during singing or preaching.’ Mark Dever states. ‘If you do not live a life marked by love toward others, the Bible has no encouragement for you to think that you’re a Christian. None.’ ”

-Joshua Harris, from Stop Dating the Church, chapter 3

Another Congratulations!

Yesterday I went to watch the MACS Bible Quizzing. At the end of the day the Junior High team from Faith took 2nd Place (Congrats Stephanie), the Senior High "B" team took 2nd Place (Congrats Katie and Maryanne) and the Senior High "A" team took 1st Place (Congrats Steven). I enjoy watching all of our teens when they compete in athletic and fine arts competitions, but how great is it to watch teens as they take part in a competition that focuses on memorizing the Word of God. The Word of God is powerful to change lives and I am so glad to see teens that are serious about memorizing His Word! Sorry, there are no excerpts of a letter from my dad with this congratulations...I was too dumb or lazy (I'll leave that up to you to decide) to ever compete in Bible Quizzing.

NOTE: For all those concerned about my speeling, I am now taking the time to employ spell check in Word and then copy and paste into Blogger. I do want to say thanks to my wife and David C. for being my "proofreaders" over the last several weeks.

From the "Wall of Stupid Stuff" (#9)

I thought this would be appropriate as we "take off" on our college tirp this afternoon.

All too rarely, airline attendants make an effort to make the in-flight "safety lecture" and announcements a bit more entertaining. Here are some real examples that have been heard or reported on Southwest Airlines flights.

• "Welcome aboard Southwest Flight 245 to Tampa. To operate your seat belt, insert the metal tab into the buckle, and pull tight. It works just like every other seat belt and if you don't know how to operate one, you probably shouldn't be out in public unsupervised."
• "In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop creaming, grab the mask and pull it over your face. If you have a small child traveling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are traveling with more than one small child, pick you favorite."
• "Weather at our destination is 50 degrees with some broken clouds, but we'll try to have them fixed before we arrive. Thank you, and remember, nobody loves you or you money more than Southwest Airlines."
• And from the pilot during his welcome message: "We are please to have some of the best flight attendants in the industry. Unfortunately, none of them are on this flight!"

Congratulations!

The guys basketball team from FCS played in the MACS State Championship Game today and won! I am very excited for Steven and Schmitty as they are part of that state championship team.

March 4, 1995

Welcome Home STATE CHAMP!

It's Late and our happy house is dark and quiet, just like the gym in Clarkston, just like the gym in Davison, just like our gym in Holt. But there are a lot of memories hiding in those dark, empty boxes for you and me (more for you, because your memory is so much better than mine). I gues that for me it will be a memory of sharing in your love for the game, or your heartbreaks and ectacy (like tonight!), of watching you grow into a man...I love you son. And until your son's a senior on the "hardwoods", you won't understand how proud I am of you! It's been a great four years!
Love,

Dad

I found this letter from my dad in my room when I got home after my high school basketball team won the MACS State Championship in 1995 and I wanted to share it with you. Above I said that I am very excited for Steven and Schmitty. I know it's not the same, you two aren't my sons, but for the last 3 years you have been a large part of my life as guys in our youth group. And tonight, even more than being excited, I am so proud of each of you. Schmitty, I am proud of how you stuck with it this year. To be honest, in the beginning I wasn't sure, but you hung in there, even without much playing time and that says a lot about you. Steven, I'm proud of how you have played, but more I am proud of how you have handled yourself on the court. Your example and leadership will be missed on the team and in our youth group.

Congratulations State Champs!