Come play dodge-ball with us!

 Come get to know our group and play some dodge ball. Its totally free! Click here for directions, bring your friends to make a team! See you in the GYM

O, Here’s whats going on!!!

Oh, hello! Fancy meeting you here

So a few weeks ago Melissa had us (and by us I mean Doug, Ben, her and me) do this little exercise. We all had to spread out and do something called “downward facing dog.” Just kidding, it wasn’t a physical exercise. It was a mental one that turned into a spiritual one real quick. She had each of us fill out a timeline for 2011 using major events over the course of the year as markers. We were then encouraged to sum up our year into a single word idea. This exercise was incredibly valuable. It forced me to look back over the most difficult year of my life and recognize God’s hand in every season. Amazingly, this caused me to be thankful for the trial, for even in them our God is beautiful, generous, kind, and merciful.

He is never changing and the redemption He has for me is constantly renewing my heart. To this I have clung.

I encourage you to look back over 2011 and sum it up in one word. Look beyond the hurt or the happy and see the Christ of it all.
My word is endurance. Christ’s endurance in His endless pursuit of my heart caused me to endure the seemingly endless hurt that the world had for me. It gave me light when I felt like there was none, provided comfort in the loneliest of places, and brought about joy even when all felt lost.

So, think about your word, find God in 2011 and recognize Him for it. Thank Him for His sovereignty and blessings and redemption. Share your word with us! Put it on Facebook, respond in a comment on this post, tell some one tonight at EDL. Whatever you do, share your heart with your friends and let them know how God was working in your life in 2011.

I fully anticipate you all continuing on in your typical fashion of awesomeness.
–Katie Mansfield
(I have a song in my heart… it’s probably sung by Celine Dion.)

Merry Christmas!

We pray that over the Christmas break you get lots of rest and have a ton of fun!

Here is what is coming up in High School Group when you get back!

January 4th at 7:00pm

We are going to do some sweet 80s roller skating. Its at Holiday Skate Center in orange click below for a map. Wear your sweet 80s outfit and come bust a move. Bring your friends who don’t know about our group!

<<DIRECTIONS>>

 January 8th

We will be starting a new series!

A series where we look at what worship songs and hymns can teach us about God. We are really excited about this new series come learn and worship with us every Sunday and Wednesday starting January 8th

Chance has never had chili, no no… never had chili.

Now that this is stuck in your head, see you tonight!!

A thought that occurs to me quite often: Ya know, giving blood is great because you save 3 lives and all that jazz but more importantly… the snack spread is FANTASTIC.

–Katie

(good at everything)

Hey everyone I hope your videos are going good! Hare are some guidelines to remember, have fun!

Confession time: I am not what some would call a “prayer warrior”. I tell people that I will pray for them and then I forget about it. It isn’t because I hate people or don’t care or anything dramatic like that, I do care! I am just kinda scattered brained I guess. How wrong is that?When I tell people that I am going to pray for them I want to actually pray for them. I cannot be the only one that this happens to! I’m a common gal surrounded by other common folks, so I am empowering the masses by admitting to this flaw and hoping that if anyone else shares in it, they will choose to move forward in action with me. Melissa sent me this link and I think it’s pretty neat! It’s a program that allows you to log who you need to pray for and what specifically they are in need of. Then it sends you reminders to pray for them. So I’m imagining that I will be out Christmas shopping and I will get an email to my phone telling me to pray for Josh Smoldeypants (who I met last week) because he is trying to decide where to go to college, in India or Australia! And right then and there I can pray for him. So, while Josh Smoldeypants isn’t a real person and I don’t know anyone currently trying to decide between college in India or Australia, I do have people with real lives and real needs who I’ve committed to pray for. So, click the link below and sign up with me. I need an accountability partner on this one, won’t ya be my neighbor? (Mr. Rogers… anyone?)

click here

I hope your day is brilliant. May your onions be grilled and your mushrooms sauteed.

–Katie

(semi-pro harpsichordist)