Here is the list of why I am excited to spend one more day with her:

1.  She is GREAT mom!  Just ask any of our kids.

2.  She is my CLOSEST friend.  One that sticks closer than a brother. Through THICK and THIN!

3.  She is my STRATEGIC business partner.  She loves our students and our students love her.

4.  She is a FANTASTIC lover.  More beautiful than the day we met.

My hope is that my boys, Isaac and Noah, will be as blessed as I am if and when God brings a help-meet into their life.  For Emma, I pray she picks up all the AMAZING qualities of her mom.

Thanks Anna, for bring such joy and excitement into my life and into the life of our family and friends.

This weekend at EPIC, we will be discussing how the Bible fits into today’s culture.  With the last lesson in our Godview series, and with some of the questions raised last week but our students, we see it necessary to help students learn how to see their world through God-lenses (the Bible).

In order to help us with this, I am asking parent to please send, with your student, their Bible.  It doesn’t help if we want our kids to learn from the Bible if they aren’t carrying one with them.

Thanks to one of our moms in EPIC (Pam Joy), I was introduced to an article beautifully written by Steven Isaac from PluggedIn Online.

Let me encourage EVERY parent to read this article BEFORE you student has picked up and read the books and if that is too late then do so before the movie comes out this Friday!!!!

Click HERE to read the article.

GodView (2): Distorted

Bottom Line: How you view God determines both your expectations and your responses.

TEACHING OUTLINE

INTRO:

People walk away from Jesus.

But when they walk away, are they walking away from God or are they rejecting the view they have of Him?

TENSION:

God’s primary goal is not for us to be good.

God’s primary goal is not for us to be happy.

But when we live with these as the ultimate goal, and God does not deliver, our Godview falls flat.

God’s primary goal is to be God.

TRUTH:

When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?” (Matthew 11:2-3 NIV).

Jesus told them, “Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen—the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. And tell him, ‘God blesses those who do not turn away because of me’” (Matthew 11:4-6 NLT).

Jesus was saying, “You need to see Me differently. Where you are now doesn’t change who I am, but your view of who I am does need to change.”

APPLICATION:

We have to learn to follow a God who is bigger than our expectations.

The times when life seems the most out of control are the times when we need the most accurate view of God.

CONCLUSION:

Our prayers aren’t usually for surrender to a loving Father, they are usually for us to get more control.

There is a real and personal God who longs for you to surrender your deepest hurts and your biggest disappointments.

Know and Be Known

Life Groups are not just meetings or Bible studies.  Meetings focus on an agenda and Bible studies can be done alone.  Life Groups are meant to be places for people to grow closer to God via authentic fellowship with one another.  It is the fellowship which lays the foundation for everything else that our Life Groups try to do.  This excerpt from a post on smallgroups.com speaks to this topic quite well:

Fellowship is the glue that keeps us in relationship with one another.  Ephesians 2:19, [a] key verse about fellowship, talks about how we are members of God’s family. It says, “You are no longer foreigners or outsiders, but citizens together with God’s people and members of God’s family.” Godly fellowship enables us to experience true family.

Genuine fellowship helps us move from just sharing coffee and cookies to being a safe community where we can be transparent with one another. Here are some simple but effective steps a small group in your church can take to build this kind of fellowship and encourage genuine community:

• Offer new people a history of the group. Have everyone-including the first-timers-share a little bit about their family and a few of the activities they enjoy doing in their free time.
• Provide ice-breakers. Sometimes the silliest questions or activities are best. These help people get to know one another in a safe way.
• Celebrate milestones. Help foster community by celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, long-awaited adoptions, and other special events in people’s lives.

• Celebrate victories. In addition to job promotions and other achievements, make sure you celebrate spiritual victories and answers to prayer.
• Plan an overnighter.  Arrange for an “adults only” weekend or a family getaway. The time spent together on an overnighter is equivalent to three months of nightly group meetings.
• Host a “Fun Night.” Instead of the usual study time, surprise the group with a night full of games and fun. Such a change of pace is both healthy and refreshing for the group.
• Institute a hot seat. Sit a person in the center of the circle and have everyone shower him or her with heartfelt affirmation. Statements can begin with, “You’re important to our group because … ” Everyone needs this kind of affirmation from time to time.
• Tell stories. Plan a brief activity that encourages face-to-face interaction between members. This could be as simple as letting people share a story from the heart, such as when they got saved or engaged or married. It could also be a time of sharing a personal story that is relevant to the study. When people share about their personal stories, community deepens.
• Pick up the phone. Follow-up calls strengthen community. When people are absent from the group, call to check on them. If a prayer need has been brought up, follow up to let them know you’re still praying. Those phone calls can go a long way toward affirming community. Be sure, too, to call or send a card to people who attended your group for the first time.
• Print a directory. A group roster is a simple but important tool for building fellowship and fostering community. Make it easy for people to connect outside of group time by sharing e-mail addresses and phone numbers.
• Keep a scrapbook. It’s very cool to be able to turn the pages of the book and retrace the journey the group has traveled on together. Of course, the person encouraging small-group fellowship can find help with this assignment. And maybe even be able to delegate it entirely to another member of the group.

How intentional is your group in allowing fellowship to create “a safe community where we can be transparent with one another”?

Ephesians 4.25-32

25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin” : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. 29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Be Correct

1.Speak Out

2.Speak the Truth

3.Speak the Truth Lovingly

Be Current

1.It is not always sinful to be angry

2.It is sinful not to solve problems daily

3.Failing to keep current gives the Devil an opportunity

Be Constructive

1.Don’t use “unwholesome” words

2.Speak only edifying words

Be Controlled

1.Exercise Self Control. Don’t allow the situation to control you

2.Put off unbiblical reactions: bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander, malice

Be Compassionate

1.Make the decision to act in a Christlike fashion

2.Don’t allow yourself to react to the unbiblical actions of others.

3.Put on biblical actions and attitudes: kind, tender-hearted, forgiving

Here was our agenda along with pictures:

Mom captures us before we leave:

Stop #1–Post Office.  We needed to mail out postcards for Mommy’s business (At Home America)

Stop #2–Olentangy Orange High School.  We picked up two tickets for Anna and I to attend Footloose tomorrow at 1:00 pm.  A lot of our students from EPIC are involved.

Stop #3–Best Buy.  Had to pick up a wireless router and card for the house and Anna’s computer.

Stop #4–Carfagna’s Kitchen.  For lunch Emma had Penne Pasta in Butter Sauce and I had Gnocchi in a red cream sauce.  Very good stuff.

Emma and I had so much fun and can’t wait to go on a “special” date again.  But next up is a special day with Dad and Isaac.

6:39 a.m. An ambulance is needed at Tuck-A-Way Ridge Road for an 80-year-old female who has fallen.

9:06 a.m. 911 caller says that she is driving a red truck traveling toward the west park gate and she thinks her husband has had a stroke.

9:25 a.m. Jackson Branch Ridge Road residence needs an ambulance for a 77-year-old man with a possible blood clot.

11:20 a.m. An officer is needed on Sweetwater Trail regarding the theft of a motorcycle.

12:09 p.m. A 20-year-old woman is shaking on the floor on State Road 46 East.

3:09 p.m. A caller wants to know what law his neighbor is breaking by using his bush hog.

5:29 p.m. There has been an accident with property damage on Beech Tree Road.

6:46 p.m. A vehicle has struck a building in the Cordry Sweetwater area.

7:01 p.m. 911 caller reports a single car accident with property damage on State Road 135 South.

November 4

6:04 a.m. A car has hit a deer on Three Notch Road.

8:16 a.m. Caller from Quailwood Run Lane says she sees smoke.

12:36 p.m. A mail carrier was on the side of the road and unresponsive. They woke up while the caller was on the phone with dispatch.

2:02 p.m. A motorcycle has had an accident near Fox’s Corner.

3:09 p.m. An ambulance is needed on Poplar Grove Road for a 57-year-old diabetic.

3:17 p.m. Unity Church Road man says a bulldozer drove through his woods and tore down his trees. He is blocking the drive nobody can leave.

6:03 p.m. 911 caller says a dead animal is in the middle of the road on State Road 135 North near Grandma Barnes Road.

6:55 p.m. A woman says that she is on the way to the hospital with her 35-year-old husband. He is confused and disoriented and does not recognize some family members.

9:06 p.m. A possible drunk driver is on State Road 46 West.

10:05 p.m. Yellowwood Trail caller needs an ambulance for her 57-year-old husband with cancer.

November 5

1:16 a.m. A 14-year-old male says his mom is being battered by her boyfriend on State Road 135 South.

9:44 a.m. An ambulance is requested for a 35-year-old man with chest pains.

11:40 a.m. A 13-year-old boy on Park Lane is having seizures and needs an ambulance.

1:41 p.m. 911 caller says there has been an accident on North Nineveh Road. Does not know if there are injuries but can hear a baby crying.

2:16 p.m. Caller needs an officer regarding shallow graves she found in the woods.

2:28 p.m. Local doctor’s office needs an ambulance for a 45-year-old having seizures.

5:50 p.m. A car has hit a deer on State Road 135 North.

6:15 p.m. A man says people are taking wood from his property on Nineveh Road.

7:39 p.m. Multiple 911 callers report a tractor-trailer stopped on State Road 46 West.

11:25 p.m. Caller says that a man and a woman are fighting on State Road 135 South.

November 6

7:11 a.m. A possibly drunk or fatigued driver is on State Road 46 East heading west.

11:04 a.m. Landlord on Country Club Road needs an officer for a vandalism report. The renters moved out and tore up the trailer.

11:06 a.m. A vehicle with Alabama plates is on State Road 46 East driving in the wrong lane of traffic.

11:24 a.m. Country Club Road caller needs an ambulance for a 31-year-old man having trouble breathing.

12:57 p.m. A 70-year-old man has fallen on Franklin Street.

2:07 p.m. A vacant house on Justins Ridge Road has a door open.

9:05 p.m. There has been an accident on Bear Wallow Road.

10:28 p.m. 911 caller says that a man in a white Chevy almost hit a woman and a child in a parking lot off of State Road 46 West.

10:30 p.m. Same caller says the man has returned and is threatening the woman.

11:30 p.m. There is a fight in progress on Oak Ridge Road between a father and son.

November 7

5:52 a.m. A large tree is blocking Salt Creek Road where Annie Smith and Salt Creek meet.

7:43 a.m. Salt Creek Road caller says that a neighbor’s dog is killing his chickens.

8:47 a.m. An ambulance is needed in the Salt Creek Plaza area for a 33-year-old with a possible heart problem.

7:22 p.m. A woman says a man on Gatesville Road has called and threatened her and her family.

10:16 p.m. Multiple 911 callers say they hear automatic gunfire near Friendship Cabin Road.

November 8

6:04 a.m. Two vehicles have had an accident on Becks Grove Road.

8:49 a.m. Homestead Road caller needs an officer regarding the theft of Social Security checks from a residence.

9:05 a.m. A calf is loose at the intersection of Lower Schooner Road and State Road 46 West.

9:23 a.m. A Nashville shop needs an officer for a shoplifting incident.

11:58 a.m. A black Z4 with Kentucky plates is driving recklessly on State Road 46 East.

1:58 p.m. Caller says they have a dead deer in their driveway and want to move it but don’t want to get in trouble for having a dead deer in their vehicle.

3:11 p.m. Town Hill Road man wants to speak with an officer regarding a problem with an ex-roommate.

4:46 p.m. There is a dead dog in the middle of the road on State Road 135 North.

5:35 p.m. Hicks Road man says another man has been in an accident at the intersection of Sweetwater Trail and Beech Tree.

5:42 p.m. An ambulance is needed on Dogwood Lane for an 80-year-old man who has fallen.

6:46 p.m. A man on Old State Road 46 says he needs an ambulance.

8:55 p.m. Deckard Ridge Road caller says a man is at his home and has been battered by another neighbor.

9:18 p.m. Now the caller from above says that the neighbor that did the battering is driving up and down the road.

10:25 p.m. 911 caller says they have been in an accident with an animal.

11:45 p.m. A woman on State Road 46 East says they have fallen and is experiencing back pain.

November 9

12:30 a.m. A theft report is needed on Grandview Road for a stolen vehicle.

8:23 a.m. Clay Lick Road caller needs an officer for a truck parked in her driveway next to her house.

8:40 a.m. Axsom Branch Road caller says he is concerned about the battery of a person on his road.

11:35 a.m. There is a report in Story of some people shooting high-powered rifles in the direction of some surveyors.

11:46 a.m. Another caller says the caller from above doesn’t like the shooting and is causing problems.

11:49 a.m. Original caller in shooting incident says he wants a full report from the officer because he has a room full of people and this is an extreme nuisance.

6:58 p.m. A car has hit a deer and the driver wants a permit.

1:24 p.m. 911 caller says that someone is shooting a pellet gun in the Wells Drive area.

The video has already been posted by Salient as a way of promotion.

Good job Matt on your hard work and service!!