Archive — December, 2008
4 Dec
Me + Math = Impossible
Math has not been my best subject in school. In fact, it is my worst subject. When I got my report card in the middle of this past semester, I realized I might not pass the class. To bring up my grade to a “C” I was going to have to get at least a “B” on the rest of my tests. The problem was I hadn’t even made a “C” on any of my tests! In higher math everything you learn builds on what you learn next, so passing was looking impossible. I knew that there was no way I could pass on my own. I came to the realization that I needed help.
3 Dec
Friends After All
Recently, I’ve made a new friend of sorts. I love it when that happens! Except in this case, I’ve known this friend for several years, but it’s only recently we started talking. I remember the first time I met her. It was the first day of Junior English class; she had just moved in from out of state.
2 Dec
Spiritual Race
Photo courtesy of Baptist Press
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)—Southern Baptist Theological Seminary student Michael Diaz recently faced the most arduous day of his seminary career. But it wasn’t difficult because of tests, papers or staying up late to parse Hebrew verbs. Diaz, completed Louisville’s Ironman Triathlon , which involved a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26-mile run. “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, for sure,” Diaz said. “I’ve been a soccer player for many, many years and been racing triathlon. But it was definitely the most pain I’ve ever experienced, but I knew I couldn’t do anything about it. I had to stick with it. I’d come too far to stop.”
1 Dec
“The China Wall”
I clearly remember the ski trip that shattered my male sense of invincibility. It was the time I experienced the “China Wall.” I wouldn’t say that I was the best skier on the mountain, but I was far from the worst (no offence dad). Before long, my cousin JP and I had conquered almost everything, but as we studied our map, I noticed one slope we had missed. It was called the China Wall and it had more diamonds than a deck of cards–all of them black.
28 Nov
Alabama students set out to ‘MPact’ culture
Photo courtesy of The Alabama Baptist
When members of the youth group at Heath Baptist Church, Glencoe, in Etowah Baptist Association, arrived at church Oct. 5, they appeared a bit disheveled and even a bit dirty. But no one seemed to mind.
That’s because the morning service was the culmination of MPact Alabama.
27 Nov
Thanksgiving Day!!!
What are you doing looking at this? It is Thanksgiving…go and spend time with your family!!!
26 Nov
Lord, Put Me in My Place
Today I acknowledge that You are God, and I am not. I am finite. You are infinite. My resources and time are limited; Yours are unlimited.
25 Nov
Youth group raises money for a church van
Photo courtesy of The Alabama Baptist
Nov. 18, Donnie Sisk, student minister at First Baptist Church, Pelham, drove a used, low-mileage blue van to a church in Lake Orion, Mich. He will give the van to the church and then catch a plane home.
The van, the gas up there, his hotel expenses and his ticket back to Alabama will all be paid for with money — more than $4,000 — raised by the Shelby Baptist Association church’s youth group. All it took was a little faith and some scriptural ingenuity.
After partnering with a group of Michigan Baptist pastors and going on a missions trip to the Great Lake State, Sisk and the students at First, Pelham, decided to take on the needs of one particular church — New Beginnings Baptist, Lake Orion — as a special project.
The church needed a van.
“We just really wanted to find a way to help them,” Sisk said.
The only question was how.
24 Nov
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving break is just around the corner. This means the campus will soon be deserted, carpooling will be arranged, and everyone will soon gather around tables across the country with their families. It is a time of celebration, relaxation, good food and fun. Yet somehow in this flurry of activity, I always seem to forget what giving thanks is really about. Sure it’s cliché to say that and come back with a list of people, memories, and possessions you are thankful for – but I had an experience the other day that reminded me of what it really means to be thankful.
21 Nov
Prison Break
Trapped! Four sinister walls enforced my imprisonment. I furtively eyed the door, but her eyes were stuck on me. All around my fellow classmates were likewise slaving away under carful observation of Mrs. Shepherd. Then it happened! Turning her head –I realized my opportunity! Taking a deep breath, “We have nothing to lose but our chains!” I spirited out the door, down the hall, and into the fresh air of freedom! Thus begin my life as a first grade drop-out…or maybe homeschooler!
