Throughout the summer we have visited Assateague often… On one of our many trips we discovered a hole that was right at the tide line. We promptly plopped Ryland inside of it and he was frantically excited. He loved watching the waves come towards him, and really enjoyed digging in the sand. So… we now dig him a hole to play in every time. It is perfect because our little runner needs something to contain him, and allow him independence at the same time. Of course by the end of the day the whole is much deeper because he eats the sand constantly. But… the fun he has in the hole makes the gritty dirty diapers worth it (hahahahaha).

We took our last trip to the beach for the 07 season two weeks ago. The weather was perfect, the tourists were gone, the surfers were out in the water, and we finally got to see horses on the beach. We spent about six hours there and enjoyed every minute. We were even joined by the Drehmer family at the end of the day. It was great hanging out, playing in the water, and eating together. Thank you Drehmers for sharing your Saturday with us.

Eating the Sand

Defending the Hole… Come one step closer and I’ll show you my upper cut.

A View From the Hole

A New Way to Dig

Oh Happy Day!

Blowing Kisses

My Boys Are Fun!

Daddy Uses the Hole to Cook Up Dinner…


Recovering From Body Surfing.

Suited Up For the Surf

The Famous Assateague Island Horses

There is no limit to the impact that Scripture can have in the lives of students… and there is no limit to the impact that students can have on the world.

I believe in a Savior who spoke words of Truth that satisfy searching minds, convict wayward souls, and restore broken hearts. The words of Jesus are as relevant and relational in this generation as they were two-thousand years ago.

The words that Jesus spoke in John 14:6 are more than powerful… more than potent… more than profound. Jesus is the WAY… the TRUTH… and the LIFE. He is the ONLY path to Abba Father… the ONLY way… the ONLY road… the ONLY source of restoration.

In my years of loving students and leading them to love Christ… this is the passage of Scripture that has been the most universally relevant and eternally applicable. These words of Christ bring comfort because Jesus is who he claimed to be (see: 12 reasons).

PRESS ON!!!

-Weav

Allen Memorial Baptist Church

This aerial image of the AMBC new building was just forwarded to me. Lord willing, we are currently only days away from receiving the certificate of occupancy. The church-wide Allen Launch date set for November 11th. This is an exciting (and oh so busy) time in the history of Allen. Thanks for your continued prayers.

More info to come…

PRESS ON!!!

-Weav

We are entering our last week of this original sermon series… “12 reasons why Jesus is my Christ”… in our AM/SM cells. I have found that this sermon series has served as an humbling reminder in my heart… and especially in my mind. So… I decided this was a great time for me to toss my thoughts on our blog for you to read and contemplate. But honestly… I hope you don’t stop at mere contemplation. I would love to hear some of your thoughts and reasons concerning “why Jesus is YOUR Christ”.

The idea for this sermon series began on an evening in June when Amanda and I were eating at Salsarita’s in Salisbury… when we started discussing ”why” each of us originally chose to follow Christ as children (I was 8 and Manda was 4). This discussion of our childhood memories of Jesus centered around our fascination with Jesus as a man who loved others and our belief in Him as a man who could, would, and did meet our needs (especially the physical and spiritual needs that we wrestled with as kids). Somewhere in this conversation we started talking about all the reasons that we have added since we began our faith-journey. Before too long we had over 25 reasons written on a brown napkin… and by the time we got home the list was approaching 40.

The more that Manda and I continued to consider the reasons why we have chosen Jesus as our Christ… the more I felt the Lord leading me to share these reasons with my students… and to provide each student a safe place to listen, think, share, and wrestle with their reasons. So I narrowed the list from almost 40… down to 12. And then I formatted our program to encourage the students to search their hearts as they heard me say… “These are Weaver’s reasons why I have chosen to love and serve Jesus as my Christ… What are yours?”

As you read the following list… and search the Scriptures… I hope that you are encouraged, challenged, and (most importantly) reminded about the reasons why you have chosen Jesus as your Christ. Please take some time to journal your thoughts and reasons… and let us know where your contemplation leads you.

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PRESS ON!!!

-Weav

If your home has been hit by “Hurricane Texting”… then this link might be of some use to you. Personally, I love the brave new world of text messaging. Texting provides me with another avenue for connecting with students… and it allows me to more effectively multi-communicate (Ex: just last nite I maintained a steady flow of seven text-conversations with students… all while watching Sunday Night Football).

I have long been fascinated with the vernacular that my students employ. And although it is never my goal to speak like my students… I learned long ago how important it is for me to keep up with the new phrases and terms that my students are using (read: I have been embarrassed more times than I want to remember by my ignorance with a certain phrase or reference). If you are a parent, mentor, or pastor… the importance of understanding and learning the lingo of this generation cannot be over-emphasized. I hope the following suggestions and links help.

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+ Here are some ways that I make an effort to keep up with the teen trends, pop-culture, and youth lingo:

1. Listen to the context.
(Sounds elementary… but it’s so true. I am able to decypher some of the most confusing abbreviations and phrases by paying close attention to the surrounding words and abbreviations… confusing? Yep… but no matter how much work this may take for me to keep up… it’s always worth it.)

2. Learn by asking questions.
(I have never been ashamed to ask what a certain phrase or string of abbreviated letters might mean. A couple of months ago a student ended her text to me with ”LYLAS”. I was befuddled and was not near my laptop… so I asked “What does LYLAS mean?”… and the response I received brought much laughter… “Love You Like A Sister”. Dang! How did I not know that? hahhaa…)

3. Lead by doing your “homework”.
(I frequent websites that keep me hooked into pop-culture and current trends among students. I have found that it’s better to be proactive about the music, movies, and cultural shifts that will eventually influence students. Honestly, this is one area that is tough to stay on top of… it’s almost a daily task to keep up with it all… but even doing your “homework” once a week is enough for parents, mentors, and pastors to stay on pace with the trends.)

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+ Here are some sites that I frequent to do my “homework”:

.: The Center for Parent/Youth Understanding… CPYU
(this site is excellent… I cannot recommend it enough… especially watch their “Top Ten Lists” if you just want a brief refresher on what is “hot” right now in pop-culture… they do all the research for you!)

.: NetLingo Text Dictionary… NetLingo
(reader beware… they pull no punches in their definitions of terms… and they do a great job of creating and updating their dictionary of abbreviations that students are texting with today… and those that they texted with yesterday.)

.: The Internet Movie Database… IMDB
(this site is amazing… it is the largest database of movies ever… and it features some great articles on past and present popular movies and any movie-dish that Hollywood might be cooking up.)

.: Billboard Music Charts… Billboard.com
(while CPYU does a great job of giving an overview in their top-ten list… the Billboard Charts are extensive and detailed… they give you enough info to have a solid idea of what this band/artist is all about without having to research each one individually.)

PRESS ON!!!

-Weav

It is September, another new month in our new state. It is beautiful here in Maryland! The weather is cool, the grass is vibrant green, the sky is electric blue, and the clouds are cotton white. The sound of the geese heading south for winter is glorious (you wouldn’t believe the huge turds they leave in parking lots… soooooooo grose). Our open windows let the cool, fragrant, September breeze infiltrate our home and our lungs. The changing of the seasons is upon us, and I am grateful.

There is something in me that longs for change. If it doesn’t happen by divine intervention, I seek it out by rearranging furniture, hanging new things on the wall, creating a new schedule for myself, painting, cutting my hair, dying my hair, or simply adding a new pic to my desktop. I do this because I love the freshness of life when change happens, but I have found that the types of change I can manufacture are only satisfying for a moment. I yearn for transformation and restoration. These types of change are God-given through His direction, His creation, and His intervention. Our transformation and restoration will only happen if we are obedient… there are times God speaks change into being, but most of the time he refines us through obedience. True change enhances and increases the intimacy in my relationship with Abba, and tunes me into the frequency of His heart. That is why I love change.

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“Soak me in your laundry and I’ll come out clean,  scrub me and I’ll have a snow-white life. Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,  set these once-broken bones to dancing. Don’t look too close for blemishes,  give me a clean bill of health. God, make a fresh start in me,  shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life. Don’t throw me out with the trash, or fail to breathe holiness in me. Bring me back from gray exile, put a fresh wind in my sails! Give me a job teaching rebels your ways so the lost can find their way home. Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God, and I’ll sing anthems to your life-giving ways. Unbutton my lips, dear God; I’ll let loose with your praise.”

Psalm 51:12 (The Message) 

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Enjoying the September view from our rear windows…

The Sooners put up another 50-spot yesterday while the Longhorns squeeked out a win. Both teams are still ranked in the top ten (in the AP and USA Today polls). Looks like the stage is being set for another classic Red River Shootout at the Cotton Bowl in 2007.

After our third worship service this morning, an AMBC church member (who will remain nameless) pulled me aside and asked if I had read the report on the UT fan who got attacked in an Oklahoma City bar. Honestly, I am not sure how I missed this story this week… but I did.

Instead of re-telling it in my own words… I’ll just link you to the story at SI.com and allow you to read it for yourselves.

OUCH! And… ummm… Boomer Sooners… I guess… if that’s even appropriate… ahhh who cares… BOOMER SOONERS!!!!!!!! 

PRESS ON!!!

-Weav

Rylz and I have had the wonderful opportunity be a part of AMBC’s “Facedown Day of Prayer” (a prayer emphasis from 6am-6pm every Wednesday) at our new church building. We attend during the 12-1pm time slot (which Ryan leads) each week. During that hour we start out in the room with those who have gathered to seek God’s face… then chico and I begin prayer-strollering inside the new building while Dadda and the others continue to pray in the room. We begin with the worship center, then head up to Studio 7o7, and conclude in the children’s ministry area.

Over the weeks it has been a meaningful time of prayer and worship with my son. It is amazing to hear him babble as I pray out loud… or sing along as we hang out in the worship center. Let me tell you… the kid knows how to make a joyful noise! I am so impressed and moved by the evidence I see in my son’s life of his interaction with The Holy. I am convinced that God pursues the young and the old with equal passion.

One of our joys has been watching “Mr. Sullivan” (a mural artist who is also the parent of one of our students) paint animals and other such things in the pre-school area. It has been fun to watch the hallways evolve. Each week new animals have appeared. This past week the paintings had all been completed, so I let Ryland out of the stroller to check them out. He was captivated by the brightly colored playful animals. He talked to them. Ran from room to room checking the animals out as well as each room’s contents. The children’s ministry area is wonderful! I look forward to seeing the impact that God is going to make in children’s lives through Allen. Children will connect, grow, and serve in this place. I am thankful that my son has the opportunity to be a part of this…

Amanda and I finally located our copy of Louie Giglio’s “i am not but i know I AM”… which allowed me to provide the story and background for the naming of our blog.

Feel free to check it out by clicking on the link on the left-hand side entitled “the[confession]”… or by clicking here.

PRESS ON!!!

-Weav

As of last week… all of my students are back on their respective campuses for the beginning of the 2007-2008 school year.

The challeges facing many of my students are daunting.

I have between fifteen and twenty 6th graders who are being forced to adjust to all of the pressures of teenage life while many are still only ten or eleven years old. I have between four and seven 12th graders who are on the other end of the teen-life-cycle as they are trying to decide what to do with the rest of their lives. I have between twelve and eighteen students who are beginning the tough adjustment from junior high into high school. I have many students with many questions who need to ignore the doubts, fears, and distractions in order to find God’s Answers.

I also have students spread out over sixeen (yes… I said SIXTEEN) public and private schools (not counting my three homeschool families) on the Eastern Shore of Delmarva and greater Salisbury community. This creates a unique (but not uncharted) challenge for me as I love and pastor and encourage and lead each of these students closer to Christ… and to one another in a Christ-centered community… while being stretched over a wide mission-field. This unique challenge will lead to the creation of a unique Christ-centered community.

In the past eight years that I have been serving in Student Ministry… and the past eight months that we have been serving among these students at Allen… I have NEVER felt more passionately than I do NOW about the following four things:

.: ONE…

This generation of students is desperately seeking a community where they are loved, accepted, and understood. (see Matthew 7:o7)

.: TWO…

The heart of Christ is for every student to find this community among those who are Christ-searchers and Christ-finders. (see Matthew 7:o8)

.: THREE… 

The leadership of the emerging church must begin spending less time and energy focusing on our “crowd programs” and “covered dish dinners”… and begin spending more time and energy investing in the unique needs of those in this generation.

.: FOUR…

The greatest mission-field in North America can be discovered on the high school and junior high campuses of our students across the nation.

———- 

AM/SM Students…
WELCOME TO YOUR MISSION-FIELD:

-Bennett Middle School
-Bennett High School
-Delmar Middle School
-Delmar High School
-Faith Baptist School
-Holly Grove Christian School
-Mardela Middle School
-Mardela High School
-Parkside High School
-Salisbury Baptist Academy
-Salisbury Christian School
-Salisbury Middle School
-The Salisbury School
-Washington High School
-Wicomico Middle School
-Wicomico High School

———- 

As of last week… all of my students are back on their respective campuses for the beginning of the 2007-2008 school year… the return to their MISSION-FIELD.

PRESS ON!!!

-Weav