7&8 grade summer trip 2009 Day 2

Well the trip to West County Community Church and the St Louis Zoo is over and what a great time we had. We really got a chance to be a part of the body of Christ in a different place than NCBC. With the pastor almost doing a back flip off the stage it was quite an interesting message. Then the St. Louis Zoo was just awesome and very big. All of us (including me) really didn't know what we were stepping into but we had some great memories. Enjoy a little picture show by clicking here or on the picture above.

7&8 grade summer trip 2009 Day 1

Well the day has ended and the kids were just awesome. Some of the pics are of us having fun at Jellystone park (great place), on the road, & working in the gardens. Just click here or click on the picture above to see some of them. It was a great start of our trip.

The day before

It's the day before our summer trips. Got a lot fun filled days ahead with middle school kids - check this out.

4 days - 7&8 grade summer trip
3 days - 6th grade summer trip
6 days - family vacation
4 days - Kids camp

I'm starting to add pictures for the trips. Click here (or on the picture above) of some of the pre-trip stuff we have going on.

Here we go!

Blogging again

After a very long time I'm back at blogging again. For the 3 of you (hi mom) that are still reading this we have a number of posts coming. Summer trips are here and we will have a lot of pictures to put here for family to see. Be checking in regularly to see all the great pics.

Book Report - Breath - devotions for the youth worker's soul

This isn't really a book that I'm review but a devotional that GROUP put out for us youth workers. I found it very moving and gave me a lot of the things to reflect on and pray about. Breathe - devotions for the youth worker's soul was exactly what I needed to help with the time the LORD gives me to spend one-on-one with Him. I share my prayers in my last two Prayer and Review post (click here and here to read them) that I lifted up to the Lord this past two months that show how this devotional affected me. I would recommend it to any youth worker or parent who is spending regular time with teenagers. One little note: there is a CD that goes with the book which has some great background sounds/music to go with the devotionals. But some of the songs (like track 3) is used a little too much for my taste.

Prayers and Review of May 09

I was able to finish the Breathe Devos (from GROUP) this month. It was a wonderful time of reflecation and I think my prayers (see below) reflect that. I'm also getting close to finishing my review of key questions from my past 3 year devo time. The prayers I have put down really show to me how God has moved and changed me. I'm looking forward to what this next month will be like.

From the Breathe devos:
Lord, please keep pruning me so that I might be more and more like the Mark Eades you want me to be on this earth.

Lord, keep me humble, help me to love compassion, and keep me deep in your word so that I know what is right and how to share it clearly.

LORD you are my great daddy – you love me and you are proud of me. That gives me so much hope to keep moving ahead in everything that I do and go through. Thx Daddy

Lord, I have little doubt that you are going to do some incredible things in my MSers lives but I wonder about myself? I don’t want to become so engrossed with myself that I miss you but I also want to be the best Mark Eades there is – help me with my struggles.

Heavenly Father, everything is about and for you. Thank you that you are for me - that you are there when ministry is rich and satisfying and when it is not. Guide me through “good pastures” and keep me from fake “good pastures.”

Lord, I love you X3 and more. Help me to be faithful, to keep helping my family and ministry to “get it,” and to never stop trying to glorify you.

Lord, so often I let my fear of life take control of me and I feel so far from you. Lord, help me to constantly realize that there is nothing on this earth that can separate me from you.

Unity under You LORD is so important – may I help kids, parents, sponsors, my family, & even me move towards that always.

LORD, I feel so troubled so often, I’m so confused in what I should do, I feel like I’m hurting, and it seems every time I start to stand up I get knocked down again – HELP! I need you. Thanks for being there for me.

LORD, you can shine through anything – including my weaknesses. My I humbly come before you and allow you to mold me and reshape me – pls LORD.

Dear God, I know that you have a race all lined up for me and are asking me daily to run it with everything I can. I know also that by doing this you are doing things for me – thank you God and keep shining the light for me to take my next step forward.

Lord, may I open my spiritual eyes even more to see what you want me to see. May I be an instrument of “pray, care and share” in all that I do.

Lord, open your word to me and my I find you there as always. How faithful you are, may I become a faithful man and pastor to middle school kids.

Lord, I know that there is a prize awaiting me in heaven but I don’t often think about it. I think more about how I can honor you today with all I say and do – help me to keep that as my focus.

from my Personal devos:
Lord, may I live by faith and work hard for wisdom in my life.

Lord, I’m thinking through my relationship with my sister & how you say often in your word that we should treat wisdom like a sister – may I do that more and more.

Lord, may your wisdom be as a foundation to my life and ministry as pillars are to a strong building.

Lord, thank you for your sacrifice on the cross, help me to get to understand you better each day.

Lord, I want to become a faithful man, but I know I’m not – help me pls.

Lord, I am your child; help me to keep myself focused on only that.

Lord, it is a mystery how you communicate with your people, my I grow to understand that better and tell you I love you better.

Lord, thank you for being fully man on earth – may I be the Mark Eades you want me to be.

Lord, open my eyes to your ways in my life, may I sacrifice anything I have for your glory and to share your truth to others.

Lord, may I be all that you want me to be – so much so that others around me will notice and encounter you.

Lord, may I be useful for your glory until I’m used up here on the earth and then may I join you to praise you in heaven.

Thank you Lord for loving me - a great sinner.

Lord, I want my life to be about you – keep my eyes on you in all I say and do.

Mag report - GROUP (May-Jun 2009)

I really enjoy GROUP magazine and the may/jun09 one has some great ideas and thoughts in it:


What I liked: Doug Field's had another great interview - this time with Katie Edwards (who I've had a chance to meet a couple of times at different conferences - great gale). Katie shares about the importance of adult leaders in kid’s lives and how to keep them for the long haul of youth ministry. "I think recruiting and training are kind of one-moment things, but developing leaders is something that happens over time." Great thoughts and a great article - thx Katie and Doug

???: Interesting enough last report I shared a statement from Stephanie Caro in his article "Big Worship" that I really liked. This week in his short article "Your office image" he talks about cleaning it up - to be more presentable to adults we interact with. For most youth pastors I know their office is something between a storage room and janitor closet that they didn’t choose for themselves but was assigned to them. It's hard to have a good office image when you aren't allowed an office in the first place.

Key statement: Jeanne Mayo shared a great statement in her article "musings on the recession" - "But what teenagers remember most are gifts of time and the heart, not the wallet."

Something creative: I really liked Jessie Oliver's idea of a prayer photo calendar and plan on using that idea this coming 2009-2010 school year - thx Jessie

Simply Youth Ministry did what?

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Believe it or not Simply Youth Ministry decided to publish one of my articles. I know that sounds crazy from a C,D English student in high school and college. Thanks to my good friends Mark Forstrom and Kris Paulson you can click on the little icon in the left corner to read it. Mark & Kris are my editors who take my simple ideas and make them read well. Thanks Mark and Kris and thanks simply youth ministry for sharing these simple ideas.

Mag report - YOUTHWORKERS Journal May/Jun 2009

I usually get GROUP magazine in earlier than YOUTHWORKERS Journal but this time YOUTHWORKERS got to me first - so I’ve read through it. I have to say this was one of the best YOUTHWORKERS I’ve read yet. Here are some thoughts:

What I liked: I’ve been a big fan of Mark Oestreicher (Marko) for many years. He shares a passion I have for 11-14 year olds. His article “The Feedback Void” puts into words thoughts I’ve been wanting to express to my sponsors (our adult volunteers) here at NCBC. I’ll be using this article to help create a language we can use during our trainings – thx Marko.

???: I really like the info from Richard Flory and Donald E. Miller on Innovators, Appropriators, Resisters, and Reclaimers but I’m struggling to see much use in my ministry setting. I’m sure it is just me but after all the highlighting I did I really didn’t pull something from it and I really thought I would.

Key statement: “A video can’t take the place of a caring adult who knows the unique needs of the youth attending the study.” This was a great statement in the article “The curriculum challenge help in choosing the best tools for youth group” I’m glad YOUTHWORKER put it in there.

Something creative: As I said at the start of this post I really like the mar/apr journal & one big reason was the focus shared in many articles of creating questions for the kids to work through instead of just lecturing them. I’ve been trying to do some of that for a couple of years and now I have some more creative ideas that I’ve found in this magazine for me to try out.

Prayers and Review of April 09

As I said in my last prayer update post – I’ve been reading over some of my past journals to see what God has been doing in my life. Most of the prayers I have down are from that reading, but at the end of this prayer list I share some of my prayers from a different devo I’ve started. I’m going through GROUP's “Breathe – devotionals for the youth worker’s soul.” I haven’t done a book devo in almost 4 years and I’m curious and experimenting with this – time will tell what results will come from it.

Prayers from my personal prayer journal review:

Lord, may your refining begin soon.

Lord, may you never stop refining me – even when it hurts please do it.

Lord, I long for the day when you do the “great winnowing” but I pray that all those you have given me a chance to share life and your truth will be with me.

Lord, may I listen carefully and respond as my heart leads to you.

Lord – may my life be less and less about me and more and more about you.

Lord, thank you for helping me understand your word better – keep it up pls.

Lord, may I be ready always for you.

Lord, I need your guidance on balance between firm and humble – I don’t have a good one right now.

Lord, help me to see the difference between selfishness and honoring you.

Lord, to just think through and possible see how I have been transformed into your image more each day would be incredible.

Lord, it seems like no matter where I go people with power (even your people) get corrupted by it – don’t give me any power please.

Lord, help me see how to use your Word to discern life as Peter did.

Lord, I have so many questions and it seems every time I look for answers I get more questions than answers – is that ok?

Lord, may you keep getting stronger and may I keep humbly before you as this happens.

Lord, open my mind and my heart to your truth. Help me find the answers I’m searching for in your Word – Pls.

Lord, change me to be the best Mark Eades you want me to be.

Lord, open my eyes to your truth and may I not gainsay against it.


Prayers I’ve written based on the “Breathe” devo book:

LORD, you know how you made me and I want to be the Mark Eades you want me to be on this earth. May it be so – Amen!

Abby Father – you are my lord and savior – you have been molding my life into an instrument that can be maximized to impact others – but there is so much more to do – Lord keep molding me pls.

LORD, there are days that I feel warn out – help me to enjoy those days. There are days that I’m energized – may I use that energy up honoring you. Show me how to wear myself out for your glory.

LORD, thank you for making me – help me to see Mark Eades the way you see me and may I keep that image in my head so that I will think about the spiritual world more than the physical world.

LORD, help me to take the next step in my life – to honor you as a man, a husband, a father, and a middle school guy – show me the way LORD, pls.

Lord, I feel like I’m in a season of life that is so wonderful – I’m learning, growing, humbly coming before you asking nothing but for you to use me. May that be my prayer no matter how things change – you be glorified always.