Jordyn's Journey

Wow.  There are so many things that I could say about this trip to DC.  Most of them are the little things, but those are really what make the most memories.  We’ve been to monuments, a ton of fast food restaurants, and even hit a car!  

There’s a road trip for you.  Every night we have the most amazing Bible studies [not that they’re worse back home], learning about the past leaders and events that took place in our country.  

The sacrifices that these people made were so amazing, and it was beyond incredible to walk through those war monuments.  The silence that we kept through that place was very different compared to the rest of the trip.  It was great to be able to experience this with our youth group.  

Pastor Tony always speaks in ways that make me think, and I really like that because then I get fired up.  I get to thinking and doing the little fill-in-the-blank areas on the Bible study we have.  Every morning I get to wake up [a little too early sometimes] and to being welcomed by the greatest people.  In fact, I’m writing this from Jillynn’s room right now.  Haha.  I’m just so thankful that I have Jillynn and Pastor Tony in my life.  They’re both so wonderful, and I don’t think trip would be as – exciting – without them.  So, we got two more days!!  I can’t to spend New Year’s Eve with these people.  It’s so great, so wonderful, to have a place like The Station.

Love,

Jordyn Tawney

Madalyn's Memoirs

The start of this week was exciting. We were all so pumped for the journey and experience that GOD was leading us to. We got to our first hotel and man, we thought it was the best. That night was an experience. 

With all of our leader’s, we had our service and then went for a very fun time at the pool and weight room! The next day we were off to the city of Washington D.C. when we got there we were all amazed. It was a long walk a long journey but we got through it!

I learned a lot from the people who fought, died and lead our country. We got back to the hotel after our second day and we had service. The title was Abraham Lincoln and to stand straight under pressure. 

Rev. pastor Tony really was on fire for this message. GOD really spoke to me and really showed me to stand for him in EVERYTHING I do. GOD has taught me so much so far on this trip and I am so thankful for him giving me this time and experience with my youth group.

The Real Truth

In a society surrounded by lies what is truth?

Someone tells you to do this, believe that, follow this, what’s truth?

Then the next persons tells you to do something different, believe in something different, follow something different, what’s truth?

Someone pledges their undying commitment ask you to trust them, and then leaves you, what’s truth?

Your families fall apart, people step out of your life, relationships end, problems overwhelm, what is truth?

The church says, “The Truth Will Set You Free”, what is that truth?

With an always changing, unstable world, let us discover; THE REAL TRUTH! 

Join us on Wednesday in January as we Get Real and Get the Truth

Having Joy At Christmas

Rejection, being left out, not really fitting in, is a feeling we all know to well. I don't need to describe what it looks like and feels like when you are left out, you know when it has happened to you.  It's not fun and it's not right.  

Remember the old Christmas song "Joy To The World", it goes on to say the Lord has come. Webster's Dictionary defines joy as, 1)a very glad feeling; happiness, delight 2)anything causing this. Thanks Webster! So if Joy is "a glad feeling, happiness and delight" and anything causing this" is joy what do you do with these words? "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad..." (Matthew 5:11-12a)

"Rudolph" moments of life make it difficult to experience JOY! So here are a few thoughts for you.

1) Joy is to be Expressed in Spite of What's Happening!

* The Bible exhorts us numerous times to have JOY in SUFFERING!

2) Joy is Known in Light of God's Choice!

* God has made specific choices and decisions and in them there is joy.

Where does Joy come from?

The Bible says every good and perfect gift comes from above. (James 1:17)

Is Joy something for a select few?

No. Joy is for all who hope and believe in God.

Is Joy given to us or is it something to be attained?

Yes!

During this Christmas season just remember this: Joy to the world the Lord has come!

Watch Your Step

1 Timothy 1:7 says, "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline."  

What a great day we had on Saturday when 10 of us headed to Chestnut Ridge's high ropes course in Efland, NC.  For some of us it was a chance to get over some fears, for others the only fear they had was what the meat was in the taco we ate on the way home.  However you put it what a great day we had.  This is one of many trips our "LEADER 412" team will take.  If you would like to be a part of it just ask Pastor Tony how to get involved.

The Big Man Upstairs

We just finished our series called "The Big Man Upstairs" where we tried to answer 3 questions we ask God.  Why Don't You Speak...? If You Loved Me...? What Do You Want From Me...? So many times we become frustrated when it doesn't feel like God is listening to us.  We sometimes just want answers.  Maybe God's is speaking to you but your not listening or you can't hear him.  We put some much "noise" around us that we can't even think straight.  God may be talking but we may not be listening.  A lot of times we go through tough times in are lives and we don't understand why God is letting this happen.  We get caught saying, "If you loved me God why am I going through this," or "why did this happen".  We have to understand that God is on our side, and there's nothing you can do to separate God's love from you. (Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing)  Every time we go to Walmart with our kids they always ask the same question, "Can we buy it?"  and a lot of the times the answers, "NO".  Then they give me this look like, I thought you loved me.  What they don't understand is the whole picture.  It's not that I don't love them or don't want them to have things, it's just not everything will make us happy, and maybe there's something better around the corner they don't see.  The last question is sometime hard for us to shallow.  We don't always what to hear the answer to "What do you want from me...?"  God wants are everything, all of us.  We are good at giving him parts or days but not everything we have.  There was a movie that came out a few years ago called Facing the Giants that illustrates this point very well.  The leader of the team had really lost heart and had given up.  When the coach hears him he ask him to do a death crawl but this time he wants him to give his absolute best.  He asked if he can go to the 50 yard line.  He says he'll try.  With the coach's cheering him on he makes it from end zone to end zone. (100 yards) All God wants is for us to give it everything we got.  We might fall flat on our face sometimes, but we can get up and keep going.  I hope that we come to love the Big Man Upstairs, and understand that the answers to the questions are right in front of us, maybe we just don't want to hear them.

Up-Coming Events

I just wanted to let everyone know about some important dates that are coming up.

This Saturday from 7:00pm to 10:00pm we have SNA

Saturday the 22nd is our Leader 412 Day Away.  We are going to Chestnut Ridge for a morning of high ropes and team building.  The Cost is $7 + a meal.  We are leaving the church at 8:00am and returning after lunch.  You have to have a release form sign to go.

Sunday November 30th is when your deposit for our DC trip is due.  The Deposit is $30.  The remaining balance is due on December 17th. For more information on the trip pick up a flyer from the back of the youth room.  

What does a little spooky music, a little dry ice smoke, a kickin’ maze, a mummy, a gangsta, and an x-ray all have in common?  A sweet time!!!  That’s for sure!  Thanks for rolling out for our Fall Festival Party!  We truly had a great time.  Tell us what your highlight was...

Stand Straight In A Bent World - DC 08

This December we will be taking a "Road Trip". We will be going to Washington DC after Christmas. Our goal besides having a blast is to take a hard look at how to stand strong in our faith in a world that is bent out of shape.

We will be leaving Sunday December 28th and going to Harrisonburg, VA to stay the night. On Monday, we will have some fun snow tubing at a ski resort around there before heading to stay outside DC. We will spend 2 days enjoying DC before heading back to Richmond, VA to spend New Years Eve together. We will be returning home around noon  on the 1st of January.

The cost of the trip will be $95 + food (all breakfasts will be taken care of). The $95 will include all major activities we do on the trip.  

Any questions please email Pastor Tony at: shadygroveyouth412@triadbiz.rr.com

Spook Week

Join us Wednesday Nights this month for a series called “Spook Week”. Come and join us for games that will make you sick, videos that will make you jump and message that will make you think.

messages topic:

 “Living outside the darkness”,

“What will be on your tombstone”,

“Wednesday of the living dead”, 

“The Mask we Wear”.  

We hope you join us for these scary nights.

S.Y.A.T.P.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) will be "See You At The Pole".  This is a chance to make a stand at your school and to pray for your school.  How it works is that you will meet outside your school before school starts.  Some schools have activities planned, others will just meet around the pole and pray.  No matter what, get involved and pray for your school.  (If you are a home schooler then you can still pray.  Take the time to pray for your friends and there schools)  

The First of Many SNA!

In case you missed it Saturday Night Alive was a blast.  It was great to see teens come and hang out together, and just have some fun.  We got our new basketball goal up, and it was a hit.  We are still working on getting Wi-Fi in our youth room.  We had over 40 students come out, with some of those being new face.  All in all we hope you had fun and we hope to see you next month on the 18th for the next SNA.

Never a Dull Moment!

Mix teenagers with toddlers and this is what you get...

The "DON'T GO TO CHURCH" T-Shirt

Last week Jillynn, the family and I were at CiCi's pizza eating dinner. Jillynn noticed a girl wearing a shirt that read "DON'T GO TO CHURCH". At first we were put back by this. How could she wear something like that.  Who does she think she is. What we didn't see was the back of the shirt.  On the back it read "BE THE CHURCH". As we left I told the girl that I liked her shirt, she asked if I read the back, I said yes. As we left CiCi's  my mind raced with this thought.

How many of us get caught up with just going to church, just going because we have to, or feel obligated to go, or that hot girl or boy are there. It's time for our students to stand up and not just "go to church" but "be the church". The last 2 weeks we been looking at this verse in 1 Timothy 4:12; about how we are the "standard" for others in our speech, life, love, faith and purity. It's crazy to think that 3 simple words could have such a huge meaning.  "BE THE CHURCH"

Saturday Night Alive - (SNA)

On the 3rd Saturday of the month Station 412 will be open for a night of fun, games, and a place to build relationships.  Our goal is to provide a fun and safe place for you to hang out while building relationships.  We have video games, pool, ping-pong, basketball, snack shop, and soon free wi-fi.  

Back To School- FREE STUFF!

So all of ya'll are back to school, finally. Some have been back a few days longer than others. Some of you are excited to be back, some of you are hating life that you are back to enduring class. Reality is reality & school is upon us. No matter where you are on the spectrum we are going to celebrate!!! Join us Wednesday, August 27th at 7:00 pm for a cool night of fellowship, reliving summer memories, craziness, and oh yeah, TONS of giveaways (anybody need a new ipod?)!!! Come check it out!

Kick Square - (It's all the rave)

A new game has hit the pavement! It's kind of like "four square" but there's some big differences. You have a square, you use a ball and you have to bounce it to get people out. One of biggest differences is that you use your feet. You can have one bounce in your square either before you hit it or after. You can't slam, however baby drops are allowed. The King serves it and play goes from there. Personally I feel that Caleb Jones, and Pastor Tony are two of the worlds best players. John Bradley thinks that he's pretty good, but he can't hang. Roman Hendericks is just all talk, Mason Fletcher just needs practice and Jeremy Kidd is always saying "It Hit The Line". We did have some girls try their hand but it wasn't a pretty sight. Sydney Fletcher thought that she was good, but we took it really REALLY easy on her. Erin Jones is just too blonde to understand the game to really be a factor. If you think that you can play, then bring it on.

(I do have to give credit to Jeremy Kidd, and Mason Fletcher for coming up with the game, and sorry we really don't mean everything we say in this blog)

Night of Fun!!!

What a great night of fun, friends and kick-ball.  If you missed it well there's always next time. We had a great night of playing water kick-ball before school started for everyone.  We had over 40 people out to play.  

                                          

We hope that we don't miss you next time.  And that you will come and see us real soon.

Pastor Tony

                                                                     

W@T312 K!CK 13@\\

well water kickball was the name of the game we played this evening on wednesday august 20th two thousand and eight. I have had prior experience with this exciting game. i do not mean to brag but, i must say i am a very experienced water kickball player. It is such an honor to play in the presence of a legend known as Tony Parsons. He is by far the greatest water kickball player in the world. Followed by me, CALEB WORTH JONES. then roman........hendricks or whatever his name is. but i must say, it is very excting to play such an exhilerating game. The best part is probably the sliding into home on the slip and slide i love doing my singanture move called the torpedo. In which i fling myself onto the slip and slide and do as many spins as i can while sliding into the home base. Well it has been a pleasure blogging on water kick balll, this has been caleb jones

bye..............................................................................................

Water Kickball Game by: Kaylee Frazier

Water kickball was so much fun! At first I didn't want to get all wet, but after I had to sit in the 1st base pool i got over it. The ball was really hard to catch and i missed like every ball that was thrown to me.  I was the 2nd base person for my team but by the end of the game we had like 5 2nd basemen. The worst part of the whole game was when sydney made me fall in the water. Over all water kickball was probably one of the best games i have ever played!!!!! 

water kickball game

Wednesday night we had a water kickball game. first base is a pool and second and third and on the way from third to home it's a slip and slide. It's kinda hard to kick and catch the ball believe it or not because it's huge and wet. Well my team won of course ( since i was on it ) :) jk. But overall it's pretty fun, so if you don't come to Shady Grove Wesleyan Youth you need to come. CHUCK NORRIS ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ( and also Jeremy Kidd ) 

Water Games Extreme

Coming up on Wednesday August 20th at 7:00pm, we are going to have a night of water games.  Come prepared to get wet and have some fun.  We will be meeting in the field behind the fellowship hall. 

Carowinds

An early morning adventure turned out to be a torrential down-pour!!!  Amusement parks in the south in the middle of August are supposed to be smoking hot & super crowded.  It was neither.  A little rain (ok, A LOT of rain!) couldn't dampen our spirits & we all had a TON of fun!  Nighthawk, Afterburner, and Carolina Cyclone couldn't compare to the awesomeness of Scooby-Do's Haunted Mansion!  Enough said.  Wanna ride the Drop Zone again, C.J.???  After three hours of riding everything in the pouring rain, we called it a day & headed off to Concord-Mills Mall to buy some dry clothes & warm up.  And just because you blew all of your money on fantasy game cards, massages, and clothes doesn't mean we are only stopping at McDonalds for the dollar menu!  Uh, oh...where is your backpack, Madalyn?  

What girls do when no ones looking

Have you ever wondered why girls go to the bathroom in groups.  Well maybe this will help.

A new look with a new name.

This summer we have started to paint and refresh our youth room.  There is some other changes that we have taken part in also.  We are now called Station 412.  The 412 comes from 1 Timothy 4:12, which says, "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." 

We hope that you will come by and check us out some time.

Pastor Tony