Exciting weekend

November is always a great time here at the HOREB. Not because of Thanksgiving or youth ministry winding down, but because of Youth Specialties conference. Literally thousands of youth workers from all over the US come to 4 different locations for a kind of pep rally. Ours happens to be in Charlotte this year and promises to be a very exciting time. Who all is attending from the HOREB you might ask... Well I'll tell you. In attendance will be, Wade Joye, Trevor Miller, Nick Cunningham, Meghan Barnes, Rachel Olshine and Ferris Joye. The Rabbi will be there as well, but he will have his hands full due to the fact that he is speaking at the conference as well. So the weekend ahead is full of bands like Leeland and speakers like Mark Oestricher. So onward to Thursday morning and we will be see Lexington again on Sunday night.

Nick and I have decided to memorize the book of 1 John. It has gone very well and I have noticed such a difference just putting scripture inside of me and always having it available. A lot of me is like... Why didn't I think of this earlier!

ciao
Trevor

Taking my spiritual pulse

A few events in my recent past (ie- Adrian Despres, Confirmation sunday... etc.) have caused me to put my fingers to my wrists and find my pulse again. It seems it has been too long since I last evaluated where I was in my spiritual walk. I believe this is a healthy activity to take part in every once in a while and I needed it.

I discovered I am not where I want to be. I really do want to do and go wherever God would lead. I have no problem desiring that end, but when it comes down to it I do a pretty poor job of living my life in a way that would give itself to that kind of devotion. I am sick of being mediocre at so many important areas of my walk. I am tired of being able to quote 2 or 3 Bible verses... petty? I don't think so... I want to value His word so highly it is ingrained into my heart and life. I am tired of praying whenever it is convenient for me... I forget that it should be like breathing. I am tired of compromise... which I do so often because my let my guard down. My only hope is that I still, even today, want Jesus more than I want anything else in my life. I want to make that longing translate from just a thought to a way of life.

If this sounds familiar... GOOD. I want this to be a constant evaluation. If this sounds cheesy... SORRY. This is where I am... this is what I want. So as I sit in this Columbia, SC airport to fly to Indiana for the Thanksgiving holiday... I feel a bit of hope of where I might be next time I decide to take my spiritual pulse.

DEAL!

So tonight was deal or no deal at the Fuse (middle school ministry). It went just like we wanted. Between the student involvement and adult leadership it was just a really fun night. We had 92 students and 16 leaders. God is continuing to bless the things that are going on at the Horeb. Tonight was a night where I was just so excited to be a part of the things that were going on and the students that were there. Next week we have no fuse because of Thanksgiving and that will be a welcomed break as I fly home to spend the holiday with family.

We focused on the passage from Luke 18 where Jesus speaks to the rich young ruler and asks him to give up his wealth to follow Him. It is such a sad passage because the man walks away sad... unwilling to give this one thing up for Christ. I so do not want to live this way. I really don't want to allow anything to become more valuable to me than Jesus. It's a day to day struggle, but tonight I value Jesus highly! God continue to keep us chasing after you and reevaluating our dedication to you. AMEN.

night
T

Things I've learned today.

1.) Gyros at Main Street deli might be the first world currency.
2.) Setting up can lights on the youth room lighting rack was not as hard as first anticipated.
3.) I don't pray enough.
4.) Living in South Carolina during the month of November is way better than living in Indiana in the month of November.
5.) After you don't run for a long time and suddenly you run a lot... it hurts.
6.) A best friend is worth their weight in Gold. Sometimes that is a lot of Gold.
7.) I don't pray enough.
8.) I wear sandals 98.7% of the time.
9.) God is very very real. (I learn this over and over again)
10.) Today does not have to be like yesterday.

Thanks for reading. Like they say... you learn something everyday.

(hand waving goodbye)
T

Nov. 6th

The November 6th of this year is far different than the Nov. 6th of 2004. I am a much different person today than I was 2 years ago. Perfect?? HA! Perfection is far from a reality on this November day... but I am a bit closer than I was. I live with me everyday of my life, actually I AM me everday of my life so it is hard to see any kind of progress at all. But when I sit back and zoom out a bit I actually see a glimmer, a hint, a speck of progress. To me it seems progress should be quicker and look like something else, but no... it is this 3 steps forward 2 steps back. I hate some of the places I have been and some of the people I have been... it sickens me, but I would not be the person I am today. I desperately want to continue this progress... maybe even speed it up a bit and start taking 3 steps toward Jesus and 0 steps back. Pure progress... no ice... not watered down... straight up. So thank you Jesus for being patient with me... would you help put one foot in front of the other on this journey... this goal that is Glory.

Tonight we filmed a video for this Wednesday night's Fuse. It was a spin off of the Messin with Sasquatch commercial for Jack Links. We had 9 middle school guys sneak into my house and duck tape me to a chair and pour water on my head. May not sound funny to you, but middle schoolers will love it!

GOOD NIGHT!
Trevor

Cadbury 2.0

So I was thinking last night while working at my second job (Stornghold climbing gym), Halloween candy really pales in comparison to Easter candy really for one reason and one reason alone... Cadbury creme eggs. I mean you could throw all the candy corn and gummi brains and worms you want in and they still would be burnt toast when held up to the prowess of the Cadbury creme egg. Now I want to be VERY clear here. I DO NOT consider the cadbury carmel egg or chocolate egg to be in the same category as their predecessor. So nice try Halloween, but you have not won me over.

So my thought was that if Cadbury wanted to take my advice and truly become a world (holiday) dominating power they would come up with some kind of cadbury creme bug or pumpkin. I'm telling you it's money in the bank.

On a more serious note I had an amazing conversation with a guy at the gym last night about hiw experience in high school in YL (young life). He spoke so highly of his experiences at YL camp and of his leader Paul Rhiner (The Don). It made me smile. This 19 year old student at USC who saw a glimpse of Jesus through his YL leader... I am so greatful for guys like Paul who keep loving Jesus and being patient with high schoolers and middle schoolers who seem to be unwilling to get their heads out of their pockets and get their lves straight. So thank you Paul and those like you!