"We're gonna die"

This video was of Matt and I going down the hill together on a snow tube. We didn't really fit very well in this tube, but we tried it anyway. Sorry for the camera going all over the place, but I was concerned first with not flipping...not having the best footage.

By the way, that is Liz and Katie that we pass by at the end of the video.

Sledding video

I got these videos backwards in order. This is Andrew going down the "side" hill after Caleb, only Andrew went down on a board on his stomach, and he didn't fair too bad.

Snow tubing video

This is Caleb going down a "side" hill of the big hill. This hill was a bit more dangerous and had a few more bumps.

Sorry about the purple hue to the video.

Snow Tubing at Oakhurst

Most people reading this blog know that I am from the South. In the South we don't have much snow that we have to deal with in our lives, even during the winter months.

One of the things we were looking forward to when moving to IL, was that we would have more snow, because when you live in the South most of your life and don't have it regularly, you want to experience it more.

So far this year we have had a good deal of snow, but until last Monday, we didn't have any good accumulation sitting on the ground that would be good for our Sr. High Snow Day that I had planned for this past Saturday. But, alas, God provided us with a good deal of snow through the week, and we were able to go through with our Snow Day activity and go sledding and tubing at Oakhurst.

This was the first snow trip that I have taken our group on since I have been here, and in fact I have only been sledding or tubing a few times in my life. In addition to the first snow trip we have been on, this was also the first trip that we used the church bus to transport our youth.

After dressing warmly and packing all of our gear and people onto the bus, we headed off for Oakhurst. Oakhurst is a hill at a Forest Preserve. There are no lifts or anything like that. It is just a public hill that people go sledding on. There is no fee, no personel on hand to make sure you don't do stupid things, just a hill with snow and lots of people wanting to sled. I had been told that this hill was big, but I had never seen it. So when we drove up to it, I realized that this was a pretty nice sledding hill and should be a fun day of excitement.

What I didn't realize was how tired I was going to be just walking to the top of this hill. Then after you sled down, you have to walk back up again. It wasn't very long, actually probably about 30 minutes after we got there that someone (I won't mention any names) asked me when we were going to leave and go eat dinner. However, we endured. Actually, the day was perfect. The week before, we had seen literally sub zero temps during the day (not just wind chill - actual temps). Saturday though was around 30 degrees. It was a bit windy at the top of the hill, but not too much to bear.

Jess walking back up the hill after tubing down

Our group at the top of the hill on the rock

Jakob and Andrew racing down the hill

Jess and Kathleen making snow angels at the bottom

After multiple trips up and down the hill (and some other trips down the side of the hill by certain dare devils), we were exhausted. So we headed down to the bottom for a game of snow football (for some). That game didn't last too long as we were all pretty tired.

So when you are tired, hungry, and cold the best thing to do is eat....ice cream. We went to Culvers for dinner. Not too many people actually had Culvers frozen custard, but a few did and even when it is cold outside, Culvers custard is still good to eat....when you are warm and inside.

After Culvers we headed back to church to unload, have a devotion, and head home. All in all I would say it was a pretty good trip and one we may repeat in the years to come. And the bus did great...and the bus driver not too bad (except for one major oversight which I won't list here...actually 2 come to think of it).

Until next time...

Flyin' High

Well since this took place at the end of September, I should have posted about this quite a while back, but I failed to....so, now I am going to try and make up for the lost time as best I can. Prepare yourself...this is a doozy!

Some of you are familiar with the fact that Answers in Genesis, headed up by the familiar name of Ken Ham, has recently built a museum in Kentucky - the Creation Museum. If you want more information about Answers in Genesis or the Creation Museum visit their websites by clicking on their names.

So I had been thinking that taking our youth to this museum would be a great trip. But with the museum being about a 6 hour drive, this would have to be a weekend trip...or would it? While the thought of this trip had crossed my mind, it was not anywhere in my mind that Sunday morning in August when Mr. Scharbert (affectionately known by some as "Poppi Don") approached me at church with a great surprise. He wanted to take the youth to the Creation Museum...and he wanted to take them via a private jet. WHAT!? Are you kidding me!? Are you serious!? (These statements of course didn't come out of my mouth, but they were taking place in my mind). Of course the answer would be YES!, but first we had to work out the logistics.

The plane only held 9 people...our group consists of a few more than 9. How would we narrow this down in a fair way? Well, for the past year and a half now we have been having what we call "Worldview Nights" at CBC. At times (and currently) we have used DVD curriculum from Answers in Genesis for these worldview nights. So, we thought it would be good to use this trip as a reward for those who had been attending worldview nights - since this was kind of a worldview trip. So we looked at our Sr. High group (which we had already decided this trip would be for) and saw that we had 11 Sr. Highers who had been coming to Worldview Nights. But we also found out that 4 of these kids were going to be in Cincinnati (very close to the museum) at the end of September with their families for the season ending Cub series against the Reds. So after some planning, we worked it out so that we would be going on this trip that same weekend. The remaining 7 plus Mr. Scharbert and I made the the number on the plane 9.

Our Falcon!

All smiles and ready to fly!

Our 9 on the plane met up with the other 4 and their families at the museum and we all went through together. That Saturday, the museum was packed!

After watching the opening film, we headed off through the museum. The museuem covers the 7 C's of History - Creation, Corruption, Catastrophe, Confusion, Christ, Cross, and Consummation. The museum does a great job showing how the Biblical interpretation of science is supported by the evidence, and how we can trust the Bible in often debated issues such as what is says concerning the creation of the earth and a global flood. The museum walks us through the Biblical account of Genesis 1-11 with great life like looking figures and animatronics. But the great focus of Answers in Genesis and the museum is that when individuals come to realize the Bible can be trusted in areas like a literal 6 day creation and a real global catastrophic flood, it can also be trusted when it says that all men are sinners and that Jesus Christ died for our sins. It can be trusted when it says that salvation comes by grace through faith.

Today the authority of the Word of God is being attacked. A huge part of this attack is undermining the history of the Bible. Many today laugh at those who believe the earth is only 6-10,000 years old. Many laugh at those who believe God created everything out of nothing by speaking everything into existence. What about the dinosaurs? What about the Grand Canyon? How do you explain this or that? This museum helps to give solid answers to many of these questions and therefore helps equip believers to defend their faith as well as giving answers to unbelievers to show them the truth of the Bible. The musuem doesn't just deal with Genesis but also gives a clear gospel presentation explaining to each visitor their need for a Savior.

Methuselah - the oldest man to ever live - 969!
And boy does he look it!

A model of the ark

The sign Jess is touching reads, "Thou Shalt Not Touch".
Hmmm...I wonder if Rachel read that sign?

Obviously not...wherever do these kids learn to act like this?

Never mind!!

There was a lot of walking and reading involved...but it was great. We also got to visit the planetarium at the museum which was also phenomenal. I think our teens had a great time visiting the museum and being spoiled with the private jet ride. I would definitely recommend the museum to everyone and encourage you to try and go. I would like to get back myself.

Tired after a long day!

Thanks, Mr. Scharbert for an unforgettable day!