My Epic Journey

November 22^nd–Parents’ Night Out

Time: 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm

Where: Grace Point Community Church (2393 Peachblow Road, Lewis Center, OH 43035)

Who: Individuals with disabilities and their siblings.

What is it: Parent’s Night Out is a youth sponsored event that allows caregivers to drop off individuals and their siblings at Grace Point Community Church to be cared for and engaged in a fun-filled evening of activities.

Cost: FREE! This is a service of the Student Ministry at Grace Point Community Church

Please call 740.548.7718 by November 20th to reserve your spot

November 29^th—NO EPIC (Thanksgiving weekend)

November 29^th—HS ELF Night

Time: 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Where: Home of Dave and Traci Bleedorn (5356 Port Haven Drive, Galena, OH 43021)

Who: High School students

What: An opportunity to ring in the Christmas season with our annual ELF Night. We will be watching the movie, Elf. Fun games and prizes.

Cost: FREE!

What to bring: Guys—Pizza toppings (you will be making pizza for the girls). Girls—desserts

December—The NeverEnding Story Teaching Series

A manger. A baby. Shepherds. Stars. The Christmas story is one we look at with great reverence. The peaceful scene is recreated and plastered on everything from phone backgrounds to lawn decorations. But the Christmas story is more than a just a story we look back on and remember. It’s ongoing. It’s active. It’s a story that required a response over 2,000 years ago, and one that requires a response today. It’s a story that invites us to participate in it even today—because the Christmas story is the neverending story.

• Session One: invited to (December 6th)  When a story is small and distant, it really doesn’t have much impact in our lives, does it? It solicits a nod, a smile, a “that’s nice.” But it doesn’t affect us. It doesn’t move us. It doesn’t shake us. And while many people, us included, tend to approach the Christmas story, the story of Jesus’ birth, in a familiar, typical and remote sort of way, it’s not that kind of story. The Christmas story, at its very core demands a response—good or bad—from you, from me—from anyone who hears it.
• Session Two: participate in (December 13th)  The Christmas story is more than just one we respond to individually, it’s one we participate in—and we’re not talking bathrobes and kids in sheep costumes. The participation the Christmas story calls for is more earth shaking than a quiet stable and a clear sky with a bright star. This story shook the way the world operates when it started to unfold thousands of years ago. But it has the potential to do the same thing today when we become an active part of it. What would our world look like if we became a part of the vision God has for the world—a vision revealed with the birth of His Son, and rests on us now?

December 20^th—EPIC Christmas Party

Time: 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm

Where: Grace Point Community Church

Who: ALL EPIC Students

Cost: FREE!!!

What to bring: A gift under $5.00 for a gift exchange. Friends.

Middle School—Desserts

High School—Appetizers

February 12-14, 2010—The CHILL

Where: Camp Otyokwah (3380 Tugend Road, Butler, OH 44822)

Who: High School Students

What: This is our annual HS winter retreat. This year’s purpose is to get high schools students away from the stresses of life so that they can become one with the Trinity of God (i.e. the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), to become one with themselves, and to become one as a community/family of believers (Ephesians 4.4-6)

Cost: $75.00. Please stop by the EPIC table to pick up an information/registration packet.

November Teaching Series:  The Invisisbles

We are surrounded by the invisibles. These are people who simply want to know someone cares, someone notices—people who want to know God cares. Some of us would even say we feel that way—invisible to an entire world, daily passing us by. Whether that feeling is a familiar one or not, the reality is that each one of us has felt invisible at one point or another. But we didn’t stay that way. God saw us. He sees the invisibles. And because God took notice of us, we are able to open our eyes to see those around us.

· Week One: Can You See Me? (November 1st)

Sometimes you can stand in a room or walk down a hallway or sit in a chair and no one notices you. It’s not that you have some type of special ability that makes you invisible—people just don’t see you. They know nothing about you—nor do they seem to want to know anything about you. It’s like you’re not even there, even when you are physically in the room. You’re invisible. The good news is Jesus sees invisible people—even those who never realized they were invisible.

· Week Two: In Focus (November 8th)

Some people go unnoticed. There are people in the background of our lives we never see. Maybe it’s the guy at the gas station or the girl at the coffee shop. Maybe it’s the girl sitting in the lunchroom, or the guy hanging out in the back of the youth room. There are people all around us who we treat as invisible. But because of how God has seen us, because of what we’ve experienced personally, our vision is changed. How can we begin to see the people in our lives every day that may normally go overlooked? How can we see the people halfway around the world that go unnoticed? What can we do to bring those around us in focus?

· Week Three: Seeing Beyond the Seen (November 15th)

Sometimes what we really want isn’t what we are asking for. Sometimes what we really need is invisible to us. Thankfully Jesus sees us, really sees us. He sees the obvious physical needs and the more subtle spiritual ones too. And not only does He see them, He cares enough to do something about them both. When it comes to reaching out to the invisibles, when we provide friendship, water, help—sometimes it just isn’t enough. There’s a deeper, spiritual need that can only be met through Jesus Christ. And because of that, we do both—we help with the physical need but point them to Jesus Christ for the spiritual one.

· Week Four:  Service Project (November 22nd)

Excited about partnering up with Tonya Riedel and hosting a Parent’s Night Out for Parent’s with children with disabilities.  We will be meeting at the regular time of 5:00-7:00 pm.  Parents, if you want to join us as we serve the community, we would love to have you there!!

· Week Five:  No EPIC (November 29th)

Because it is the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend, we will NOT have EPIC on November 29^th.

Anna gave me an early Christmas present–4 tickets to the Colts/Browns game in Cleveland this past weekend.

So Sunday afternoon, with Carharts, snow pants, and many other layers of clothes, Isaac, Noah, myself and Anna’s brother, James braved the cold, rain and snow to see the Colts beat the Browns 10-6.

What surprised me was there were just as many Colts fans there as Browns fans.

Tickets to the game–$180

Nachos, Pizza and Pop–$40

Seeing the Colts beat the Browns with my boys–PRICELESS!!!

Thanks Swheets for the amazing Christmas gift!!!  IT will be a memory I will never forget!

NOTE:  I will be posting more later about some lessons we learned while at Cleveland Browns Stadium.  You don’t want to miss that!!