Sanctus Real

For those of you who were able to attend Hills Alive 2010 and see Sanctus Real you probably recall the lead singer Matthew talking about his baby boy Bowen who was to be born in September with a heart defect. I have not followed the story closely but heard an update on KSLT yesterday that little Bowen was on life support so I decided to look into what's been happening and it is truly amazing!
Bowen was born on September 9th and he, his parents and the doctors have been praying and working to sustain his life on this earth since that day. He has had surgeries and has been on life support. After watching a nurse sustain his life directly and the doctors go into surgery Matthew and his wife Sarah continued their prayer and shared this portion on their website: www.bowensheart.com "Father, if this is even a fraction of the pain that you felt when you gave us Your only Son…we thank You for letting Jesus die on the cross. Put into motion the redemptive and healing power of Your Son’s death to spare the life of ours.” Wow, what a prayer as you're watching your baby son fight for his life.
This prayer really spoke to me and made a tear run down my face but I love the comparison they give to their baby boy and the love they have for him in few short months compared to God's love for Jesus and for us and how he willing let Jesus suffer a horrible death so that we can live forever! How GREAT is our God!!!
Please pray for baby Bowen, Matthew, Sarah and their two daughters as they walk down this difficult road that God has placed them on.

Why We Do It?

Do you ever wonder why you come to youth group on Wednesdays? I know I wondered that in high school and realized that it was a place that I enjoyed going to because of the people and because of what I learned or how I was challenged. As I think of our Wednesday nights starting up again I have been pondering why do we do it? Why do we lead youth group? We can say that it started out of a necessity when Pastor Chris left but I can guarantee you it has not continued for that reason. I can truly say, I love doing it! For me Wednesdays, althought they require a commitment on my part (and Barry's) I love being around you guys and seeing what you have to say about your faith, about acting out your faith in public and seeing how you challenge both me and your peers in their faith.
There are times when I feel that I leave youth group on a Wednesday night having learned more than I feel I've taught and that's awesome. It's a great reminder that we're never to young or old to be a teacher or a learner and really we should strive to be both all the time. As we head into this year it is my prayer that you do question Why you do the things you do and that through questioning you come to a deeper understanding that includes because you love youth group, what we do, what we learn, and the people who are there each week!