Getting Off the Mainland

This past weekend we had the pleasure of having Nora, Erin's sister, come to visit! We had an absolute blast hanging out and doing all sorts of fun stuff.

On Monday, we took the day and went down to Galveston Island to relax and do some sight-seeing. Below is a sampling of some of the fun that was had...

We spent time on the beach, collected sea shells, road on a ferry, played in a destroyer and toured a submarine! We also saw all sorts of great wild life. Sorry, not all are pictured, but among those we saw are dolphins, seagulls, pelicans, jellyfish, crabs, snails and shrimp (but Brian ate those!)

Hope you enjoy our little adventure...

Confirmation Continued

Just thought you may enjoy the pictures: a picture of me and my birthday buddies (we had to line up according to birthday...25th is me, they are 24th and 26th), a small group attempting to walk on trollies during a small group buiding activity, and an adult leader who's willing to get active with his students.

Who Do You Rub Shoulders With?

This past weekend was the Confirmation Retreat; a weekend away at Camp Lone Star to study Holy Baptism in detail. The pictures below show the first activity of the day. John, our DCE (Director of Christian Education), split the 96 people into four groups. He then asked them to open up all the newspapers so that everyone could scan them quickly. When everyone was ready...the competition began (a little competition is never a bad thing). John asked people to find an article of theft...murder...Islam...poverty...environmental issues...etc. The first team to find such an article received a point. This continued until a team had 7 points.

Immediately following the completion of the game, John asked each team to crumble up each piece of paper so that we could have a paper bomb war. Each team diligently wadded up paper and poised themselves for battle. John blew the whistle and off it went. Newspaper everywhere, the sin of our world tossed with real force through the air. It was a sight to see.

When the game had ended, John asked everybody to look at their hands. Stained with newsprint!! He made the point that rubbing shoulders with culture can rub off. We are to be in the world...not of it. In baptism, God sets us apart and calls us to live as fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. In baptism, God wipes away the stain!

Creative Costumes

Here's a quick look at some of the fun that was had at Trunk or Treat outside of our wonderful whale (see post below).



Everyone really got creative with costumes and booths. As you can see there were angels, cats, carebears, fish, candycorn, and more!

What were you for Halloween?

Jonah & the Whale

Christ the King hosts an event on Halloween Eve called Trunk or Treat. The idea is congregation members decorate their cars with a family friendly theme (i.e. no ghosts or goblins) and pass candy out to kids from their trunks. It's their way of providing an alternative to trick or treating door to door with and letting a bunch of strangers give your children candy.

Our Kairos group decided we would make a whale out of a car... a huge tail on the front bumper, a spout on the roof, a big pink tounge in the trunk with Jonah inside... pretty clever, eh? We thought so!

Anyhow, much to our dismay the 31st of October brought a torrental downpour and the whole event was moved inside. Good that the event would still happen, sad for our whale. Instead of a big fat whale (a car), we ended up with a somewhat puny little whale (a church table). But life goes on and we had a good time. We even had a little fishing pond for kids to "fish" in!

Hope you enjoy the pics!

Bar-b-que

Now that we're in Texas, we've come to realize that bar-b-que means something very different than what we thought. What does Bar-b-que mean where you are? This Saturday, I have the priviledge of attending a 14 hour Texas (the real bar-b-que...so I'm told) bar-b-que session. I'll make sure to get pictures for ya'll.

We'd Like You to Meet...Part 1

We've decided that it's important for you to meet some of our friends and colleagues so that you know who we may be talking about. A face with a name is always a good thing. So, below are our friends the Lexows. Chuck (Dad) is an oil guru and Tamara (Mom) is the director of Middle School Ministries at Christ the King. Shelby (the older of the two) and Seth rule the house. Chuck and Tamara have been incredible friends who have made us feel welcome and normal. We've enjoyed many a night of games and movies. They're pleased to meet you.

Picnic

There is nothing like the church picnic. I remember growing up and having potluck with the whole church. I thought this was heaven...everybody brings something they really enjoy and I get to eat it. Yeah, baby! I distinctly remember the green beans with onions on top, KFC, and of course, orange/red drink.

This past Sunday was the church picnic and while there was no potluck, there was enough Bar-b-que (we are in Texas, after all) for all who attended. There were plenty of games and activities for the children, plenty of meat for the men, and nothing but blue sky for all. Enjoy the pictures. (See post below for Brian in the dunk tank)