For the next few weeks, we want to spend some time giving to the less fortunate in our world. Operation Christmas Child is a program that collects shoeboxes filled with presents from all around the country and then redistributes them around the world to children who don't usually get any presents at all. We'd like to help them accomplish this goal. For the next few weeks, we're asking you and the members of the congregation to bring in items and a shoebox so we can pack them up and send them out to needy children.

Some suggestions for items you could donate:

Tell your friends at school- we want to help as many kids as we can!


For more information, call or e-mail Kevin.

Just a reminder that this Sunday we're having a Sr. High Pumpkin Carving here at church, from 5:30 to 7:30. We've got sandwiches, soda, and of course - pumpkins! So come on over Sunday evening and have some food and fun as we impress each other with our design and pumpkin-gutting/cutting skills!

Embarrassing story #7

So, for a reason that's escaping me at the moment, I ended my last embarrassing story with a promise to share a story about myself and girls. The story I had in mind happened in August of '95, so I think I was thinking, "Hmm, it was just August, and I remember a story from August, so I'll share that in October."

And so it's October, and time for me to share that story.

The story takes place at camp. I spent a week there in '95, like I had for the previous several summers. I was still relatively young, and so didn't really appreciate camp for all that it could provide; spiritual growth and renewal, etc... Mostly, I went to camp for the fast friendships that would develop in such a tight-knit community.

I also went because, well, there were girls there. Cute girls.

...and so, over the week at camp I had developed several crushes. How could you not? I was geeky (as has been previously documented on this blog), and a lot of these girls were so carefree and open, and would actually talk to me as if I was a real person! This was big news. The even bigger news, though, was that there was going to be a dance at the end of the week, on Thursday night. Thursday night. The last night at camp. The night when you hoped to get to talk to the girl you had a crush on. So finally, Thursday night came, and with it, The Dance. The Dance was in full swing, and the group of us guys were right in the thick of things.

Well... not exactly. Unless if you take "in the thick of things" to mean "against the wall afraid to dance or even talk with any of the girls we admired." We were scared of rejection, I guess. At any rate, there were some of us that would keep going outside to get some fresh air and hang out and talk about how nervous we were. One time when we were all outside, this one girl came up to me and asked if she could talk to me.

I think I was so nervous that I almost threw up in my mouth. ....but luckily, that didn't happen. What did happen was that she said that one of her friends wanted to dance with one of my friends, and asked if I could help prod him to ask her if she wanted to dance. So I did. He was really reluctant. I can't say I blamed him. After all, he had a crush on her all week too, and was scared that she didn't like him. I tried to convince him that she must, otherwise this girl wouldn't have come to me. So I talked to the girl again and said that I thought he was going to ask her friend to dance. Well, he didn't. What did happen was that the girl came and asked him to dance. He glanced over and me, and I wordlessly urged him to. He did. I felt so good that they we were going to dance, and that I had done something to help, even though it was small. So I go outside and just look up at the stars, when I hear a voice behind me.

It was the girl that had asked me to talk to my friend on behalf of her friend. She said how nice it was that they finally got to dance, and I said that yeah, it was. Then, she... she held out her hand and asked if I wanted to dance.

....whoa. No way. Me? Dance? Nonononononono.... not me. She couldn't be serious, could she? But she was. I was so caught off guard, I didn't know what to do. So what did I do?

I mumbled something about not being able to dance.

She persisted, and said that she didn't really know how either. She kept her hand out there and asked again if I wanted to dance.

...but, embarrassingly, I mumbled once again how I didn't know how to dance. And she went inside. And that was that.

So you see, I am truly someone that goes out of his way to embarrass himself. What was there to lose from dancing with this girl? Nothing. But did I do it? Heck no! It was stupid, and it was embarrassing because I didn't feel like I could even look at her the rest of the night & Friday without feeling shame.

Girls and I haven't always mixed, that's for sure. But hopefully you can learn from my mistakes.


Check back next month for another embarrassing story - "In Which I Get Scared And, With Help, Scare Others"