The Rock Junior High

Special Olympics Summer Classic!!!

On Saturday, August 25th, 2007 (7:30am - 12pm) - we have the opportunity to join 900 athletes, 125 coaches, 800 supporters, and 200 other volunteers at the annual Special Olympics Summer Sports Classic.  Special Olympics student volunteers help supply athletes with the opportunity to be stars!  Special Olympics athletes supply student volunteers with a treasured memory of bringing God's love to another person!

Want to volunteer?  There are only two things you need to do - and both must be done by August 10th!

1. RSVP with Laura Lowery at: KeepItG@therockchurch.net -or- 425.239.6499.
2. Get your Special Olympics Volunteer Application (Download so_volunteerregistrationscreen_07.pdf) completed, signed and turned into Laura Lowery.  (Adults need to do this as well!)

Volunteering with the Special Olympics is always a fantastic experience - I'm looking forward to doing it with you guys!

PS - We'll be volunteering to help out with softball - here's a link to the Special Olympics main website page on softball!

From Rob C... and Chuck Norris

Rob sent this to me...  I thought everybody else might think it was funny too...

Summer Camp 2007 Highlights

What was your favorite part of  Summer Camp?

What is God calling you to take a shot at'?

Crazy Assassination Ninja Bears!!!

So... we've talked a few times about how Old Testament God gets a little nuts with people right...?  Here's an example from 2 Kings chapters 1 & 2.

A prophet named Elisha had just taken over for another prophet named Elijah.  Elijah had a pretty fierce reputation for getting God to um, rain down fire on people - so people learned not to mess with Elijah.   I guess when Elisha took over, they thought they had to test him though because a bunch of guys popped out of the woods while Elisha was walking by and started taunting Elisha for being bald. 

Bad idea.  The Bible says that Elisha cursed them in the name of God (the beginning of a very bad day) and went on his way.  Then...  2 bears came out of the woods and mauled 42 of them.

Among the questions this raises for me (How many people were there taunting Elisha?  Who hung around to count the mauled guys?  How does one cause bears to attack people in the name of God?) one of the most important is, does God still make me deal with the consequences for the things I say?   (Yep.)

I don't know about you, but I've certainly insulted people referring to issues more sensitive than their hairlines and - I think God cares!  This week, we're talking about whether or not God cares what we say to people.  We're calling the lesson: Crazy Assassination Ninja Bears!!!  But you can also think of it as, Christians Aren't Supposed to be Butt Faces.

Reading:
Monday - 2 Kings: 19-25 | Tuesday  -  Matthew 12:33-37 | Wednesday -  Ephesians 4:29 | Thursday -  Colossians 3:7-10 | Friday - Colossians 4:6 | Saturday - James 3:1-10

Memory Verse:
James 3:5
So also, the tongue is a small thing, but what enormous damage it can do. A tiny spark can set a great forest on fire.

Prayer Requests

Allrighty...  you guys said you would comment with an update on your prayer requests so here they are...  let's see what God does this week!

Rob - His friend's grandpa committed suicide last week.  Asking God to comfort the family.

Maddie - Her sister's boyfriend is gone for two weeks and she's feeling alone.

Jacob - Asking God to make his grandpa stop smoking and help his grandma deal with her diabetes symptoms. Also - Kayla's having a hard time.

Hailey - Her baby cousin has cancer.  Asking God to heal the baby and give the family strength and comfort.  Also - her grandpa is sick and they are having trouble finding a house.

Everyone - Tori Gilge has cancer...  asking God to help him make good decisions on surgeons and stuff and to help his family (especially Sam) cope.

Laura - Work stuff!

Notes from Today's Discussion on How to Pray!

H – I Honor who you are (Praise God for something)

E – I Express who I’m not (Confess any known sin)

A – I Affirm who I am in you (How does God see you?)

R – I Request your will for me (Ask God for something) 

T – I Thank you for what you’ve done (Thank him for something)

(Stolen from Purpose Driven Group Resources)

Matthew 6:10-14   This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name,  Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.  For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

That's a Bad Way to Die!

So let's say your at home, eating some ice cream, contemplating what you might do with the remainder of your lovely school-free summer day... when suddenly, Washington is invaded by crazed, violent Canadians!!!  The crazy Canadians kill everybody in Washington except the smart, cute kids - and you, being rather intelligent and easy on the eyes - are taken captive...dragged off to be part of the court of the tyranical king of Canada!

Fast forward to a little later in life.  It turns out the king of Canada thinks your the best thing since Wayne Gretzky bobblehead dolls and so he puts you in charge of your own little province of Canada.  That makes the native Canadians jealous and his sick/twisted advisors come up with  a scheme to force the king to... FEED YOU TO LIONS!!!  But you, have a secret.  You (much like the guy named Daniel shown in the pic above) have an excellent reason to stroll around in the lion pit and casually wait for the sun to shine into the room in the morning.

What's the secret?!  Can you speak "lion"?  Are you a lion tamer?! Do the lions fear you!!  What could possibly make you safe when you're stuck in a pit with several half starved lions?!?!?!

Better show up this Sunday if you want to find out, eh?

Reading:
Monday - Daniel 1 | Tuesday - Daniel 2 | Wednesday - Daniel 3 | Thursday - Daniel 4 | Friday - Daniel 5 | Saturday - Daniel 6

Memory Verse:
Psalm 5:3
Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord.  Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.
 

Summer Camp 2007

Summer Camp 2007 - Daroga State Park - July 11-15

Water Baptisms

Summer Camp Pictures

Baptism Pictures

Summer Camp was amazing this year. Post a comment about your experience!

Note:High resolution pictures were uploaded to shutterfly so you can order prints of any of the pictures you see posted. They should come out great.

Uh...

Fish symbols stamped on every paintball...seriously.

Summer Camp 1993

Back in the previous century... when I was two days away from going to summer camp as a student, I was pretty excited!  I was excited to hang out with my friends...  I was excited to see if I could maintain my title as arm-wrestling and pitching speed champion (grr... argh!)...  I was excited to be out of my own house for that many days in a row...  I'm not sure how much I thought about the God side of things though - until I actually got to camp.

I came home from Summer Camp in 1993 absolutely in love with God!  I made some decisions about who I thought God wanted me to be that I still hold to today.

My point?  Now is not too early to decide who you are going to be!  If you're going to be a person who loves other people as much as you love yourself - 12 years old is a great time to start.  If you're going to be a person who spends time alone with God every day - start at 14... or 30 - whatever - just don't make excuses about all the crap that you've got to do before you can be who you know you are supposed to be.  You can do ANYTHING with God's help - even be EXACTLY who God wants you to be!

Reading Schedule:

Monday: Philippians 4:13 |  Tuesday:  1 Timothy 4:12 | Wednesday: Proverbs 21:1-3 | Thursday: Romans 6:12-14 | Friday: Galatians 2:20-21 | Saturday: John 8:34-36