Wonderful Wednesday 2-25-09

Once again we had a marvelous time at Gangway on Wednesday night! We played, laughed and learned together.

However, there was a point when things were getting just a bit crazy. The students were finding it a little hard to calm down and ended up being obnoxious and disrespectful. So, I sat them all down and discussed with them that there is a time to goof around and a time to be serious. This seemed to work for the remainder of the night, with a few exceptions. For this reason I am requesting 2 things from you as parents. 1 - please consider volunteering, even if it is only a couple times a month. 2 - please talk with your students about being respectful and obedient while at Gangway (much the same as they would in school). With your assistance I believe that we can make Wednesday nigh Gangway not only run smoother, but be more exciting as well!

As for this past Wednesday...

We opened the night with a hilarious game. We played "have you ever?" On pieces of paper I wrote random things that the students may or may not have done (i.e. - been snow skiing, fallen in a pool, etc.). Then on other pieces of paper I wrote random motions and movements (i.e. - 2 steps forward, turn "180 degrees", etc.). As I called out the "have you ever" part, if they had ever done that particular thing then they did the motion or whatever I called out next. The object was to be the first to reach the other side of the gym. It was hysterical!

After another quick game, we split up for the lesson. The guys and I talked about Proverbs 6:6-11. We discussed 2 aspects of laziness, physical and spiritual. We noted that in both areas we need to exercise discipline in order to keep from being overtaken by laziness. We used sports or playing an instrument as an example. We mentioned that to be good you need to practice and that takes discipline. The same goes for our spiritual lives; we need to practice it, work at it, be disciplined in it. So, I then asked the guys which is worse, being physically lazy or spiritually lazy? Everyone agreed that spiritual laziness is worse. So, being that all of them play sports or an instrument, I challenged them to ask themselves next time the get ready to practice, "have I practiced in my spiritual life yet today?" If the answer is "no", then they are really saying that physical laziness is worse and that is why they are putting all their efforts into that type of practice.

Please join with me in encouraging our students in the spiritual disciplines of bible reading, Scripture memory, prayer and fellowship. I pray that we would have some star athletes and performers of the spiritual life in our presence. Let us work together to both be an example of this disciplined life as well as teachers of it. For, these students are the future, let's not lose them.

For His Kingdom...