End of one, beginning to another...

2011 will end. There is nothing we can all do to stop time, it is inevitable that they year ends as we track it on the calendar. It not only will end, it will end in a little under 45 hours. These 45 hours will be spent doing millions of things, working, spending time with family and friends, sleeping, in the bathroom, and blogging on the Internet.

I am presently sitting in the basement of my house with my wife and we are spending time together awaiting a trip to Bellefonte, PA to visit friends for New Years. We will spend the remaining hours together with them and their son watching the ball drop in New York, watching time pass and 2011 become 2012.

Now, as years pass their is a tradition in place, that people will set resolutions for themselves. Maybe it is to eat better. To be a better person or parent or child. Maybe it is to exercise or do something good for you. It may be to take up a new hobby. However we all seem to set them.

In 2012, there is a movement online called 365 Days. It is intended for people to do something each day. Sometimes it is photos, journal, or making something. The most recent I saw was 365 days of Blogging and it is intended for people to not just blog everyday, but on some topic. Now, I am not claiming to be able to be able to keep up with 365 posts or some of them will be the equivalent of "HI"! What I am proposing is that this blog be updated every week at least.

Now the question is, "what do you write about for a year"? Not just that, but "how do we make it interesting"?

Well here is what I propose....YOU ALL CHECK IN JANUARY 1, 2012 and see what topic is chosen and see what youth have to say and what is on their minds on the topic.

See you in the NEW YEAR!

So this is Christmas

I began as the youth director at Upper Dublin Lutheran Church in 2004. Before I joined UDLC, in the Middle East, a war had been underway for a little over a year. A friend of mine, Chris had joined 1,000's of other men and women who went over seas to fight for his country.

Over the past, 7.5 years, I have seen men and women leave and come back. I have talked to and met some of these returning vets and seen what fighting can do to a person.

In the last year, I saw one of the students, who traveled with our group to multiple summer projects, who I worked with in catechism classes. I watched him then stand up and in front of the congregation announce that in the face of all the conflict world wide and after a year in college he was joining the Army. Not just join the Army, but the infantry. Not to just join the fight, but to be on the ground fighting. He was willing to put his life in harms way for his country.

Sam is not alone. Now, I don't mean joining the Army, but in looking beyond himself to see how he could help the greater good, the world, and serve his fellow man. Many times our students see things bigger than themselves. They see how the world needs them and they answer.

Now, not everyone is joining the military, but they hear a call. A call to serve with Chosen 300 or to travel down to the Appalachian Communities and meet the families and learn from them, work and serve with them. They take up causes, walk to raise money for charity or just offer a listening ear or hug when needed.

So this Christmas and what have you done? Another day is over and new one is, well beginning. What will you do before the year is out and what will you do next year? What will you do to make this world better?

People often talk about all the bad, but often we stop before we can look to the good and what good we can bring. So as we all open gifts, serve food, enjoy time together and take time to enjoy what we have this year, maybe find a way to bring that to others who may or may not have it.

• Open and hold a door for someone.
• Smile and say hello to a stranger (in appropriate situations)
• Carry bags to a car or the house for a neighbor or someone you can see who needs it.
• Take the time to ask and then listen to how someone's day is going.
• Use basic manners. Hello, thank you; You're Welcome will do more than you know to brighten people's spirits.

I opened this post with a video by John Lennon about War being over and now I leave you to ponder another song by Lennon and sung by someone it affected deeply.

Time for a break?

No, we are not going to stop updating the blog, it is more time for a break from the hustle and bustle of the season and crowds. We all need to take time to stop and take a break and remember why we as Christians celebrate Christmas. Not the secular Santa, Reindeer, decorations, and the like, but the birth of Jesus.

I found an interesting post by someone else and rather than go on about this, I think this sums it up nicely.

God is Love

Christmas is all about love

Christmas is thus about God and Love

Love is the key to peace among all mankind

Love is the key to peace and happiness within all creation

Love needs to be practiced - love needs to flow - love needs to make happy

Love starts with your partner, children, and friends and expands to all world

God bless

all mankind

Curveball

Sometimes life throws you a curveball. You get up to the plate, fully expecting to knock one out of the park, and instead you strike out. While the sports metaphor needs to end there, the sentiment holds true. Life, as a sentient entity (say that one ten times fast....), can sometimes hit you with something that makes you re-evaluate several other things in your life. Maybe you meet a handsome, successful stranger at a bus stop who turns out to be everything you need in your life, but there's just one thing you know a lot of your friends won't be able to look past. Maybe your knee gives out on you unexpectedly and your potentially limited years of unassisted movement flash through your mind. Maybe that class you needed to schedule is unavailable and you spend days thinking about other paths to take in life. In any case, that one event happens when you aren't expecting it, and it causes you to consider multiple other aspects of your life and how that event may or may not effect them. Will I be happy if ____ ? The mark of a strong individual, in my mind at least, is the ability to adapt to these so-called "curveball" situations, rather than letting them defeat you. It doesn't matter if you need friends, family, God, or nothing besides your thoughts to overcome them, as long as you do. It is the "Will I" or "Can I" be happy if's that often dictate how you handle a situation. So the class is unavailable, maybe you delay your original plans, pick a different route, or give up (not advised). Maybe it took teary eyed calls to mom, discussions in the arms of a loved on, or simply the logical portion of your brain... whatever the case, you reached a decision to overcome the most recent curveball life threw your way, and can now move on with you life.

Use the resources you have at hand (community, knowledge, music, etc) to face these situations and anything can be overcome. But always be prepared for the next pitch.

The Youth Band is practicing again....

For those of you who may not have heard them before...here are some examples....

Grenade Cover - Bruno Mars
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2r4JMlWV8c&feature=related

SWEET HOME UPPER DUBLIN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2r4JMlWV8c&feature=related

We have some surprises coming this January and for Choosen 300 in March.

Want to be a part of the Youth Band, come on out. We presently meet on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of the Month in the Sanctuary.

UDLC youth and adults climb a tree and jump out...KIND OF...

UDLC's Coffee House

UDLC's Coffee House
Saturday, November 5 6:30 - 8:30 PM
FELLOWSHIP HALL

The Youth of UDLC will be hosting a Coffee House for the COMMUNITY. We are looking for performers from all age ranges and performance levels.

Are you an adult who likes to perform as a hobby, GREAT! Let us know.

Are you a teen who wants to perform with friends? GREAT! Let us know.

We have had people ask, Do you want adults, do you want poets, do you want, singers. The answer is YES.

We want this to be of interest to the largest cross section of the Ambler and surrounding communities. We hope to have an audience of ALL AGES coming out for this.

If you have a desire to play or perform, please contact Ray Hopkins or Cheryl Rozinski. We can only make this a sucess if we performers for the community to come see.