Christmas Traditions

I hope you all enjoy this Christmas blog post written by leader Dan Perotta. For more information about Amp'd Youth Ministries and Mount Airy Bible Church please visit us at www.youth.mabcmd.org or Facebook

Around mid-October, I start to get more and more excited for Christmas approaching.  I get excited for our family’s multiple traditions.  It all begins by putting the tree up on Thanksgiving weekend, coupled with nonstop Christmas music.  Our Christmas tree is a ginormous, ten foot tall, pre-lit tree.  Once our tree is up, we will spend the next week adding ornaments. We have over 400 ornaments, and much like other families, some ornaments have more meaning than others.  We have ornaments that mark our childhood, first year of marriage, our children’s births and adoptions, vacations and special occasions, and ornaments from loved ones.  My absolute favorite ornament is one that my grandmother gave to me from 1942.  It is called a Depression Ball.  During World War Two, almost all the metal the country had was going into producing materials for the war effort. So they used a little bit of tin, balled it up, and made it into Christmas balls to hang on their tree. This little tin ball is 70 years old, and without a doubt, our most precious ornament.
Then come the lights; both outside and in.  I go nuts when it comes to lighting the house.  So much so, that Mrs. P. calls me Clark Griswold, which is in reference to Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.  One year I counted the number of lights that I had put up and it was a little over 3500 lights.  Next we start decorating the inside of the house with Christmas decorations that we have collected since the beginning of our marriage. Another decorating tradition is putting a Christmas tree in our children’s bedrooms.  I love to walk by their room at night, as see the glow of their tree, as they are sleeping.  The absolute last bit of decorating is our nativity scene.  We set it up in a table, just as you enter our house.  Everything is there; Joseph and Mary, barn animals, shepherds, and an empty manger.  Of course, Christmas morning, the manger is occupied by baby Jesus!
On December 23, we always try to get over to church to celebrate and hear the good news through the Christmas program.  This year will be no exception.  Then, onto Christmas Eve.  Most of the day is spent relaxing, but when the evening comes, we like to have an Italian dinner, filled with homemade pasta.  Some years we will watch a Christmas movie as a family.  The Polar Express, Elf, and The Christmas Story are favorites.  Next we will gather near the tree and read about the birth of Jesus.  Maybe this year, I will have my children read it to us.  After we talk about God’s greatest gift to us, we all open one gift.  No secret here, we know what it will be…new pajamas!  A little dessert, then off to bed!
December 25, Christmas is finally here!  The day that I have waited for, for 364 days.  It starts by sleeping in.  And when I mean sleeping in, I mean sleeping in till 5:00 am.  My wife and I will try and spend the next few hours telling the kids to go back to sleep for a little longer.  But normally by 7:30, we are up and ready for the day.  Every year we will have one of the kids organizes everyone’s presents into their own sections.  Then we start with the youngest to the oldest, opening their presents one by one.  My wife and I never really liked having the kids just tear into all the gifts all at once.  We want them to appreciate each gift, and the thought then went into someone getting it for them.  We also try to take a picture of each present being opened.  Can’t forget to see what’s in our stockings.  Most years, it is loaded with little or practical items.  Such as batteries, packs of gum, oranges, etc.  When all the gifts are opened, my wife starts making our Christmas breakfast.  I don’t know about your home, but this may be our biggest and best breakfast of the year.  Eggs, bacon, Scrapple, hash browns, toast, fruit, and our newest addition, pancakes.  Funny story; a few years ago the only Christmas present our son was asking for, was pancakes.  So, under the tree he unwrapped a large box of Bisquick pancake mix.  The boy went nuts!  So my wife started making pancakes.  We decided to keep making them, if he was going to keep eating them.  When he was finally done eating, he had devoured 13 pancakes!  Now, pancakes are a staple to our Christmas breakfast.  After breakfast, we all clean up together, put our presents away, and get ready to go to one of the grandparents’ homes for Christmas dinner.  When we get there, we start the gift exchange then onto dinner and desserts.  The next day, we try and spend it with the other set of grandparents and have a second Christmas dinner with them.
Our Christmas celebrations don’t end there though.  My wife and I try to keep the lights on, the tree up, and decorations out as long as possible.  Even when we do take down everything, my wife and I try and keep the Christmas feeling living in our hearts.  This is easy to do if we hold tight to the fact that the excitement of Christmas is based completely around the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ!  We need to remember that He isn't Wonderful, Counselor, our Mighty God and Prince of Peace just on the day that we celebrate His birth.  He is all of those things on every day of the year!  We can celebrate like its Christmas all year long, even if we have to take down the tree.

ALIVE

Grains of Sand: Reflections from the MS Youth Conference in Ocean City MD

 

 

 

Every time I see the ocean, I get an overwhelming sense of the sublime.  It is a reminder of just how awesome God is and how small and humble I am.  When standing on the dunes, you can only see for only a few mere miles but it feels so vast.  Think about it- God created the entire ocean! 

The Psalmist describes these truths:

Psalm 139

¹ You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
² You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.

…
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.

…
¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts,^[a] God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸ Were I to count them,
    they would outnumber the grains of sand—
    when I awake, I am still with you.

…

 

Amp’d middle schoolers recently gathered in Ocean City, MD with to participate in the ALIVE Conference with other youth groups in the region.  When we stepped onto the beach, I had this same sense of how great our God is and how much he cares about each and every one of us.  There were so many grains of sand on our beach front (and stuck in our shoes afterwards!) that it would be impossible to count.  Yet even so, God’s thoughts for us outnumber the grains of sand in the entire world!

The ALIVE Conference was an excellent reminder of these same truths. With a super hero theme, messages proclaimed that God is our superhero.  Often times we try to be our own superhero and make things for in our own lives.  We cannot do it on our own and we need Jesus in our lives to come and rescue us.  HE is the real superhero.

Proberbs 30:4-5 lists just some of his super powers:

“…Who has gone up to heaven and come down?
    Whose hands have gathered up the wind?
Who has wrapped up the waters in a cloak?
    Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name, and what is the name of his son?
    Surely you know!

⁵ “Every word of God is flawless;
    he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

 

Not only is God our shield, but as Christians He empowers us and has chosen us to serve and honor him.  My favorite part concluding the conference is when the speaker reminded the middle schoolers that no matter how you feel, what you think or what you may have done, “You are worth it, you are worth It, YOU ARE WORTH IT!”  The creator God of the vast ocean says that we are His wonderful creation whom He is thinking of at all times and we are worth it!

 

 

 

 

 

Worship, it's all about Him!

This week's blog is written by high school youth leader, Jana Patrick. For more information about Amp'd Youth Ministries and Mount Airy Bible Church please visit us at www.youth.mabcmd.org or Facebook

What is worship to you? What is your definition of worship? How do you worship?

All summer these were questions that I feel God was laying on my heart. I didn't not have a right thinking of worship. I got stuck in a rut! I started viewing worship as only the singing portion of a church service. That all changed during a message at my parent's church in Houston (Woodsedge Community Church) in which the pastor preached about communion. You're probably thinking, how does communion convict someone's heart about their attitude toward worship? Well, let me tell you. Woodsedge chooses to take part in communion weekly. It is not as formal and structured as Mount Airy Bible Church, but Pastor Jeff made a HUGE point that there is no right or wrong way to take communion. As long as you have put your faith in Christ and partake with the right attitude there is no wrong or right.

The thoughts I kept having were, am I making worship about me? Am I focusing so much on what I've done wrong and forgetting about all the things that God has done right? Before taking communion we are to "set right" all the ways that we have wronged God, but it is also a time for us to acknowledge, praise and WORSHIP all that God is, all that He has done and all that He has yet to do.

So, where am I headed with this?

I had turned worship inward instead of God-ward. I was focusing so much on what can I do to worship instead of actually worshipping. I was "worshipping" only while singing at church. I had forgotten that every time I use the talents God has given me in service to him, I'm worshipping. Every time I look at Asher and am thankful I have him, I'm worshipping. When I rise, when I lie down, when I eat, when I pray, when I (fill in the blank) I can be worshipping.

I absolutely am not perfect at this. I still sometimes wonder what the person next to me in church is thinking as I raise my hands while singing, or do they think I have a horrible voice. I still go to work some days just to get a paycheck instead of using my talents to worship. BUT, I'm getting better at it everyday. So my challenge for you is to evaluate how, when, where and what you are worshipping.

1 Corinthians 10:31

³¹ So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

Whom Shall I Fear

This week's leader blog post comes from Mary Edwards (Pastor Carl's wife). Mary is a new mommy (Yay!) and a middle school leader.  For more information about Amp'd Youth Ministries and Mount Airy Bible Church please visit us at www.youth.mabcmd.org or Facebook

If you have not yet heard Chris Tomlin's son "Whom Shall I Fear", I suggest you keep an ear open for it or look it up on YouTube!

 The chorus says "I know who goes before me, I know who stands behind. The God of angel armies is always by my side. The one who reigns forever, He is a friend of mine. The God of angel armies is always by my side."

A few weeks ago this song came on the radio while Pastor Carl and I were out running errands, he told me how this was one of his favorite songs so I immediately tuned in. Then when we were traveling to the hospital to have our baby girl, Macklyn, this song again came on the radio but this time I felt as though God was speaking truth to me through the lyrics. I admit to being a little bit afraid of the unknown as we were traveling to the hospital for Macklyn's birth, but listening to words of how God is not only with me but He goes before me (He knows what will happen), He stands behind me (He supports me), and that He would be with us through the whole process brought peace to my heart. I like how this song refers to how powerful God is, He is not some passive bystander just watching our lives but He is actively involved and desiring to journey with us. Our strength truly is in His name, He will deliver us and victory is ours through Him. What have we to fear? He is faithful and we can stand firm on His promises found in the Bible. Is there something in your life where you are facing fear? How will you respond? Victory, strength and peace can and will be found in Jesus Christ. We can trust Him, His word is true "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5). We are not alone in our journeys and we have no reason to fear, God is always by our side.

You Lead, I Follow

This week's blog post was written my one of our Amp'd youth. Claire Crossman is a junior and attends Mount Airy Christian Academy. For more information about Amp'd Youth Ministries and Mount Airy Bible Church please visit us at www.youth.mabcmd.org or Facebook

 

A psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,

he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with

oil; my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

 

Psalm 23:1-5

 

This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible. It helps me remember that God is

leading me in the path that I should go, and that he never leaves my side. Sometimes

during hard times, I feel so alone, like I don't have anyone that I can talk to, and God

feels far away. This is because I push him away, not because he abandoned me. The

great thing about God is that, no matter how many times I push him away, he will

always come back to me if I ask Him too.

When you follow God and let him lead you, he will bless you. This isn't to say that

nothing bad will ever happen to you, the Christian life is full of trials that will test your

faith so that it will become stronger, but God will never allow trials to come into your life

that you won't be able to bear. When you lean on God and seek comfort in Him, you can

get through anything that comes your way, even if you don't think you can make it

through. Look to God and he will show you the way through.

God Bless,

Claire Crossman

Social Media: What’s In It for Us?

Meet Sevgi Buisch, a middle school youth leader. Sevgi is "Social Media Coordinator". She markets and advertises in different social media channels to promote business for the company she works for.
For more information about Amp'd Youth Ministries and Mount Airy Bible Church visit our website www.youth.mabcmd.org or Facebook. Enjoy!

 

 

Last week in youth group, after the overly-confident Leaders were brutally defeated by the Youth, in a game of Family Feud, Ben Colvard continued our How To... series by teaching about "How to Use Social Media". He encouraged us to really think about what we post online and how we present ourselves to others on social media sites. He challenged us to use these "weapons of distraction" as means of evangelizing.

Have you ever thought about how often we use social media? Just in the last 24 hours, I took a picture with my phone and emailed it to a friend, "Skyped" my parents who live in Turkey, repinned a recipe on Pinterest, read the news on the Internet, and shared a verse on Facebook. I have to admit, whether I like it or not, social media has become an inseparable part of my life. I have been blessed with the opportunity to use these resources which help me stay in touch with my friends and family half way around the world, at the same time, connect with millions of people that I normally wouldn't be able to meet face to face and learn from them. 

Last week, Facebook reached a billion users-- that's 1 of every 7 people in the world. With its population increasing by day, it is becoming a near-essential tool for families, businesses, and churches. How can we use this powerful tool to our advantage? 1 Corinthians 10:31 says "...whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." How can we use Facebook to bring glory to God? One of Facebook's benefits for us as believers is that it lets us stay connected to each other even though we are at different stages of life, in different circle of friends, or even different parts of the world. Among other things, it enhances our relationships within the body of Christ; it helps us encourage each other, it makes us laugh at each other's jokes, it reminds us to pray for whoever needs prayer, it gets us singing the same songs. It also opens a door to our unsaved friends who might be intimidated to ask us about our faith. But after seeing our uplifting posts they might feel safer to approach us to find out about the source of our joy.

The ways Facebook can help us minister to others is endless. Let’s use this weapon of distraction as a challenge to spread the good news, instead of adding one more picture of food, one more video of kittens, or one more personal-to-do list to the endless chatter. Ephesians 4:29 commands us to "…not let any unwholesome talk come out of our mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." Today, let’s take a moment to think about how we can steer each other toward God by our behavior online.

 How have you used Facebook to minister to others today?

 

Bad Company Corrupt Good Habits

Meet Mr. P (Dan Perotta). He's a high school youth leader and the games master! As always, to learn more about Amp'd Youth Ministries and Mount Airy Bible Church please visit our website (http://youth.mabcmd.org/) or Facebook.

 

Last week during our Wednesday AMP’D gathering, we were all treated to a message from Pastor Keith (PK). But it wasn’t like a usual message from him. No, PK started out by telling us some of the craziest stories and moments from his young life with his friends. For example, PK and a friend once thought it was a good idea to throw rocks at each other, until he got hit in the mouth and broke one of his teeth. Or the one, when PK thought it would be funny to put his cat in the mailbox and leave it there until the mailman arrived. PK never forgot it, and I am sure the mailman will never forget it either. Let me share with you a couple of stories from my own life. My best friend and I once thought it was a good idea to go sledding backwards, moments later I ran into a house bleeding from my head. Or the time that all my friends got together and my brother decided to shoot an arrow straight up in the air, to see what would happen. I have never seen that many kids run so fast, in so many different directions! Thank the Lord the arrow only landed on top of our roof. We were a special group of kids.

But the message just wasn’t about the dumb things we do with our friends, it was about how we should go about picking our friends or better yet, how we act with our friends. How do others see us when we are with our friends? Do they look at us and think, “that person has Jesus in their life”, or do they think, “that person needs Jesus in their life.” Which one would you rather they say of you?

Having fun with our friends is one thing, but having fun at the expense of our relationship with Jesus is another. This is the “big idea” that PK was trying to get across to us last Wednesday, and many of us (leaders and kids) have been meditating on for the last week. It is my prayer that many more will continue to meditate on this and hopefully we will make wiser choices in the friendships we keep.

 

Mr. P with one of his childhood friends.

                                          

Purpose: as Christians our purpose is to be active for Christ

Hello again! This week our blog is written by high school youth leader, Rebekah Lennington. Hope you enjoy hearing from how God is working and speaking to her. To find out more about Amp'd Youth Ministries and Mount Airy Bible Church visit our website at youth.mabcmd.org or on Facebook.

 

 

Do you ever feel like life is a waiting room? You wait to grow up. You wait to drive.

You wait to get your first car, first job and even to have a purpose. God clearly states in
His word that once we are redeemed, we have a purpose in existing. Isaiah 43:1 says,
"But now, this is what the LORD says--he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed
you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you
are mine."

While we are to wait on His plan and follow his direction, we are not to be stagnant in following Him in the mean time. In Genesis, God gives Abraham the promise of an incredible future, but when the waiting gets difficult, Abraham follows the culture around

him and takes matters into his own hands (Genesis 16:1-6). This one act, while it may have seemed small, resulted in centuries of death. Don't ever sell your actions short. Our actions can do so much for Christ. How can your actions promoting Christ?

 

 

"Live Out LOUD"

 

Get Ready for a Crazy, Amp’d Up Year!

Hi everyone and welcome to the Amp’d Live Out Loud blog! I hope you’ll enjoy journeying with us as we (both leaders and students) share our hearts with you. This first blog is written by a middle school leader, Ms. Laura Shambaugh. For more information on Amp’d Youth Ministries or Mount Airy Bible Church visit us at http://youth.mabcmd.org/ or check us out on Facebook

I am so excited to officially kick of this new year of Amp’d Youth Group this week!  Each week, teens will gather, energized to learn more about Jesus. 

One of my favorite aspects of youth group is all of the ridiculous, silly events that occur as we grow spiritually in Christ and encourage on another.  Above is a photo from one such event from when I was in youth group—boy to we look crazy!

Our Amp’d Wednesday night gatherings are a place where everyone is included and welcomed, no matter where you come from or who you are.  Everyone is accepted and loved.  As a leader, I love pointing students to Christ and helping them realize that God has a purpose for their life, including all of our “crazy” qualities for His good. 

Paul writes, “I once thought all these things were so very important, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.  Yes everything else is worthless when compared to the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Philippians 6:7-8a.  If our identities are rooted solid in Christ, the worldly standards of appearance, possessions, athleticism, talent, intelligence fade away and become worthless.  This is huge for teens today.  It is exciting to see teens (especially Amp’d teens J) grow more towards Him each week and seek His understanding for their lives.  In the end, nothing else matters when compared to knowing Christ.