Poor Charlie Brown

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think of a title, Liz, quick ...

I'm just gonna assume everyone's home page on their browser is already set to a news site, so I don't have that responsibility of bringing news items to your attention.

Heads up, UPC, here comes a 16 year old girl with an interest in receiving her minister's license. Are we ready to handle it?

Everyone's Connected - are you in? I tried to search for GYD but to no avail. Maybe someone could shed a little light on that subject. The funny thing is, EC's policy is to not allow under 18's on their site, for obvious safety concerns.

Now I'm all for being connected to my under 18 friends. I am connected daily to such as should be saved. But is it really in GYD's best interest to condone the little white lying that goes on to get around this policy? This summer when I was pooling together the teen campers I was using for camp choir (soloists, musicians, etc), I utilized EC quite a lot, and was so sad that I missed asking some excellent singers to help simply because their EC profile listed them at 18, 19, etc. Therefore, I didn't know that they were within the age range of teen campers. As well, I casually mentioned EC to a parent of one girl and promptly wished I could have taken back my words. The young and the restless friends of this precious girl had put up her profile without her knowledge, and the parental units were none too pleased about this development.

Makes you stop and think, hmmm?

In more shallow waters, I'm going to try and do some yard saling this weekend. A few weeks ago, I set up a seller's account on Amazon, and last night on a whim I listed some random books from my personal bookshelf. And I got a sale! woohoo I don't want to shamelessly plug my site here, so if you are interested please clicky the linky and email me.

Duct Tape, Dixie, and More is transferring ownership to Stu Kent soon. Stu is an eclectic combination of RN, firefighter, and author who talks to himself. I'm looking forward to Stu's stint (oh yeah, alliteration!). Some time ago I won an autographed copy of his book, but I promise to not sell it on Amazon.

Although I hear that an autographed copy makes it a collectible, therefore drawing a higher price...

Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!

Around this time last year...

...I was completely hooked on 90&9's blogs by the Youth Congress '05 Group Blog.

Hi, my name is Liz, and I'm a blogaholic.





Yes, that would be 2 computers on my desk, with the same background. I'm a registered geek wannabe. My friends tell me when we have a family, we will be affectionately known as The Geek Squad.

Thanks, girls. Here's to you *clinks Diet Coke can to monitor

Now, seriously, how can I possibly follow up Bro. Gaddy as a blogger? Guess I better get out my lightbulb and start imagining.

Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!

A Final Time

It's been fun sharing August with you ...

I must say, the blog thing is a unique, exciting, time-consuming, yet enjoyable excercise in writing, creativity, and community. Thanks for coming along for the ride through the end of the summer.

And now, before turning the page, a few predictions:

Politics

1) The fight for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination will come down to John McCain and Mitt Romney. Don't be surprised if Romney captures the crown (who's he? Don't worry you'll be hearing much more about this Governor who's also a Mormon), however, my gut tells me John McCain, IF he can capture 1st or 2nd in the Iowa caucus, will be the nominee.

2) McCain's opponent in the general election will be the Democratic nominee - Hillary Clinton.

3) On the first Tuesday of November 2008, John McCain will be elected President, becoming the oldest first-term inhabitant of the White House (73 years old).

4) Osama Bin Laden will be killed in 2007.

5) Joe Lieberman, the now-independent, will defeat Democratic nominee Ned Lamont for the Connecticut U.S. Senate seat.

6) The Democrats will win a majority in the House in 2006, yet the Republicans, while losing Senate seats, will retain a 2 seat Senate majority.

7) Not much will get done in Congress between now and 2008. Surprise?

GYD and Other Stuff

1) The official site of next year's North American Youth Congress event will finally, officially, go public next week. By the way, this IS not just a prediction. Be watching www.northamericanyouthcongress.com next week for all the information.

2) Resolution Six will pass at General Conference this year. This is nothing more than an uneducated hunch.

3) SFC will once again surpass $4,000,000.00 this year. Don't forget September 10th!

4) The General Youth Division will finally get on Everyonesconnected.com (by the way this HAS already occurred. Thanks for your feedback.)

Personal

1) I'll take another spin around the blog block sometime next year.

Thanks again, I enjoyed it.

Oh, and most important - follow Jesus. You'll be amazed at where He takes you.

It's all yours, Liz ...


Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!

Heaven, Hell, and a Re-Assessment

I'll never be described as a hell fire-and-brimstone preacher, but how often does the church hear about hell and heaven any more?

By default, I tend to follow a three main points and an application format in my speaking, and as I've reviewed my ministry journal, I've noticed certain mega-themes around which my preaching revolves (i.e. grace, forgiveness, the Christian walk, etc.)

I've been challenged recently though to expand my topical list and include messages about new (or old) themes. No, a compelling discussion of Hell doesn't likely inspire nearly as many "I enjoyed that message" comments, but shouldn't current preaching be as balanced as Jesus' preaching? Certainly extremes can be plumbed if care is not taken, but Jesus Himself masterfully balanced the challenging, the convicting, the instructive, and the redemptive. Shouldn't we (I) seek to emulate the master communicator?


Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!

Carter and Columbus

On the political front:

Jimmy Carter goes to England and trashes Prime Minister Tony Blair on being President Bush's lap dog. One question - Does anyone really take Jimmy Carter seriously any more? The man from Plains, GA is a good man, but was a terrible president. Why his commentary on world events is given any air time is truly confounding.
Interesting blog entry by Jed Babbin explores this further.

Another one of those GYD decision-making sneak peeks:

At General Conference next month in Columbus, Ohio, at the Youth Day service (Friday, September 29, 12:00 noon) the GYD will be highlighting 3 or 4 young people and young adults and describing (in a narration delievered by Loida Howell) how God has used them and worked in their lives. Here's the question we've been asking - do we focus on the extraordinary testimonies (i.e. the young person who's taught hundreds of Bible studies, won bunches of friends to the Lord, etc.) and run the risk of not affirming and addressing the far more prevalent number of kids who are doing things for God, just not in such great numbers? Or do we highlight the more "ordinary" (yet equally significant) testimonies of young people and risk not displaying what can be accomplished (i.e. set the bar high with a extraordinary example)?

We're leaning to a mixture of the two. We get one concentrated shot at General Conference and all elements of the service are important - the what, the why, and the how.


Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!