BIBLE LESSONS...IN THE FLESH (or lack thereof)

Matthew 5:37 "Simply let your yes be yes and your no, no; anything beyond this comes from the evil one". AMEN on that one. This past spring, I was approached by our church softball coach (great guy) and asked if I would play softball. I informed him that I had retired from softball mainly because of my wife does not like my frequent, sports related, visits to the E/R (lip stitches, head injuries, ankle sprains, etc. You know, Go Big or Go Home stuff). He was very understanding and asked if he could put me on the roster anyway, just in case they didn't have enough players to play. As I look back now, THAT was the perfect time for me to use the biblical principle in Matthew 5:37. I should have just said thanks, but no. Instead, I elected to gamble a little. I asked, "How many players do you have"? He informed me that it looked like he would have 15, 16, or17. Good odds. So being the idiot that I am, I told him that I would play if he had a situation in which they would have for forfeit for lack of players. He said great and I went on my merry way. Flash forward to yesterday. The family and I spent my day off at The Beach Waterpark. When we left at 4:30, I had a voice mail. I had gotten "the call". Due to 3 injuries, vacations, and work schedules; we need you to play. Being a man of my word, to the game I went. The game started with a prayer and I was so thankful that the guy who prayed asked God for no injuries. We were up first and I was shocked to hear that I was batting fourth. Fourth? I have not swung a bat in two years....I should be batting 9th. It gets worse. Incredibly, my first time up, I hit a bullet to right field....base hit. I actually got on two times in a row. I'm not sure which one it was but at some point early on, I found myself rounding third and heading for home plate(you're excited, I can tell). The throw home was coming so it was inevitable that I was going to have to slide on that parking lot they call an infield. Down I went and safe I was. After I got up, I looked down and saw this (only caked with dirt and rocks, click the picture, it looks better up close)

Bible lesson...in the flesh.

NATATORIAL IMPACT

33 teens+9 adults+60 hot dogs+6 cases of soda+assorted baked goods+pool+rock band+camp fire=SOME SERIOUSLY GOOD TIMES.

In case you have no idea what natatorial means, HERE is some help. Last Sunday night, our youth group went on the road to our house for a Natatorial themed gathering. What a great time of fun, food, and fellowship. It was good to mingle with the kids. I saw many new faces and it make me very excited about our upcoming season in the student ministry. Here are some pics.

MY BROTHER RUINED MY LIFE

Well before my mom freaks out about the title of this, I guess I should explain. Several weeks ago, my brother made a purchase. He bought the video game "Rock Band" for his gaming system. He went on and on about how much fun it was but I really didn't get the fuss. I had played guitar hero before and it was fine but nothing major. I actually find humor in the people who get all worked up about that game and consider themselves a real musician if they can play a Metallica song on a plastic guitar with five buttons. When you can play it on a real one, call me. Well, last Friday, I went over to my brothers house to meet up with them for the fireworks at Miami Meadows Park. We had some time to kill so we played his new game Rock Band. Needless to say, they ended up having to basically drag me to the fireworks. If you have no idea what I am talking about, click HERE for a demonstration of some dudes playing the game. Some might say that that playing some video game with your brother is no big deal but it gets worse. In playing that game at his house, he planted a seed...we now have the game at our house (belated birthday present from Julie). I am addicted. Playing the game myself is fun, but the best part is watching other people struggle with the instruments, especially the drums (Nathan is hilarious). The faces that they make are priceless. I will post a video of the Ponchot family rock band when I get a chance. Now don't get me wrong, we do not play this game all day, every day. The boys play a little during the day and we usually play a song or two together after dinner. The problem is at night. Most people go to bed at ten or eleven o'clock, not me. I start playing at about 11:00pm (everyone else is in bed any way) and then wander off to bed at about 1:00am (2:15am is my latest). I blame my brother...he ruined my life (well, maybe not my life but my sleeping schedule for sure). Rock-On.

GOOD TIMES

It has been a fun past couple of weeks. Last week, we took a group of teens to the North American Christian (Teen) Convention. What a great time. I really enjoy spending time with our teens. They are great and crack me up constantly. Although we also spent most of our time on the teen side of the convention, it was neat to go over to the main convention and catch up with people I hadn't seen in years. Mostly old college buddies but there was also a slew (I can't believe I just used that word) of others that I have met in different times and places. I was surprised how quickly the names came back to me and the stories started flying. One of the cooliest things about the convention was that it was here in Cincinnati. It was neat because most of our kids have spent very little time downtown. One of the highlights of our time there was a trip to the top of the Carew tower. We all had a big time. There is really something special about seeing the whole city at once from such a beautiful view. I am so blessed to have such a great bunch of teens to spend time with. Special thanks goes out to Didi Back (adult sponsor) who took vacation time to go with us. THANK YOU DIDI!!!

I also had a great 4th of July. The day started out as a bummer (we had to postpone our traditional family/extended family 4th of July picnic until Saturday because of rain) but turned out great in the end. Julie took the boys down to Loveland to walk in the parade for our church while I took Kaitlin to the parade to watch. After the parade, we went with another family to eat some wings. We were able to sit out on the patio and had a perfect view to watch the fireworks from the restaurant. The postponed family picnic turned out great. It was a fun, relaxing time.

Good times...good times.

ATTENTION ALL JR/SR HIGH STUDENTS