Where is the love?

Ok, so the blog has been pretty quiet lately with the exceptions of a few faithful commenters. What's going on people? So in order to boost blog commenting, I am going to offer an incentive for this week and this week only. A comment wins a candy bar at the next Edge. It's a simple as that. Comment on a post and win a prize...sounds easy, right? Well, it is. Just make sure you comment using your name so we know who to give the prize to.

I hope you all have a great day!

Edge tomorrow...

Edge...you ever wonder why it's called edge?...well, first of all, it's just a cool name...second, you are on the edge of life right now. In junior high, you are right on the edge of something great, and best of all, you all are right at the edge of doing something great for God. The time is now. Tomorrow night is the very first Edge of the year. Don't miss it! We will do the first of our Time Machine series, play sweet games, eat delicious pizza, and worship with the Edge Band. I am pumped to get back into the swing of Edge...and I've got good news, Edge meets the first 3 Wednesdays of each month (that's pretty much most Wednesdays throughout the year) which is awesome! So if you miss this week, you only have to wait a week for the next one. I hope to see all of you there tomorrow night! By the way, we're going to try the Time Machine again...so don't miss it!

The Time Machine

I hope all of you had a great time last night at the Late Night! I know I did. It was so cool to watch you guys bring friends and fill the place with middle school students! I want to invite everyone back on Wednesday night at 7:00 PM to continue our Time Machine series. In it, we are going to travel back in time to experience God's story and how His story could be in lined with your story. We are also going to see if we can get the time machine up and running again on Wednesday so don't miss it!

If you had a good time at the Late Night, comment on this post. We want to hear from you!

Late Night: Part 5

TOMORROW, TOMORROW, I LOVE YOU, TOMORROW! YOUR ONLY A DAY AWAY!
The Late Night is TO-MOR-ROW! I hope to see all of you there! Invite a couple last minute friends tonight and tomorrow. There is one more thing I would like you to know about tomorrow. Have you ever wanted to travel through time? Tomorrow Night, you might witness the first ever successful time travel. Come to the Late Night if you want to see this.

SEE YOU TOMORROW!

Late Night: Part 4

Alright, 3 days from the main event! I hope everyone is getting ready! Time Machine flyers are going out, the word is getting out, and people all of the world (ok maybe northeast Ohio...ok maybe Hudson) are going crazy over the Late Night. Today's Late Night highlight is simple, but so very good. Did you know that there will be fire pits where you can toast your very marshmallows and make s'mores? Oh yes, right at the late night. So come with an appetite because that's just one of the dessert options for the night.

Invite some friends from school tomorrow! It will be great. You can send them right to the blog for details.

Late Night: Part 3

Ok guys, let's get serious here. We are only 5 days away from the big night! It's getting closer and I hope you are getting pumped. This night is going to rock your socks off! Keep inviting friends and remember, you could win Switchfoot tickets if you bring the most friends! Also, I wanted you to know that we are bringing back a classic this year. It's always a hit, and it's always larger than the life. You guessed it...it's the classic Iron Man obstacle course! It will not let you down. I know school is starting and that is a bummer for some, but get pumped because the Late Night is right around the corner!

so long sweet summer...

I cannot believe summer is almost over. I love how everyone turns things down a notch in the summer and relaxes a little more. What was the best thing you did over your break?

While I'm sad to see the warm days pass, this summer actually started out rough for me and stayed that way. When you go through hard times, you have the chance to learn so much more about God's love and the past three months were no exception for me. So,when I look back on the summer of '08, I am going to have to make a decision. I can either dwell on the pain of it or think of all the ways that God showed me how good He is.

No doubt that when I look back on this summer, I'm going to remember how hard it was. But, I more so want to focus on how good God was and how He provided everything I needed to get through it. Reminds me of some verses...

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8

I will remember the deeds of the LORD;
yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
I will meditate on all your works
and consider all your mighty deeds.
Your ways, O God, are holy.
What god is so great as our God?
Psalm 77:11-13

A Thrilling Day

Yesterday, capped off our summer of Thursday Thrills with a trip to Cedar Point. Let me just say, Cedar Point has some amazing rides! Top Thrill Dragster, Maverick, Millenium Force, Magnum, Raptor, just to name a few. Talk about thrills. I loved watching some of you take the risk of going on your first roller coaster. I love when middle school students take risks! And not just the risk of riding crazy rides, but the risk taking a stand for Christ. The risk of sharing Christ with your friends. The risk of loving someone who is not easy to love. When I see this stuff happnening, it's thrilling. I think being a follow of Christ takes risks. Jesus Christ was not a safe guy. Needless to say, I loved my time with all of you at Cedar Point. I hope you are recovering today.

By the way, my favorite ride was the Maverick...what was yours?

Late Night: part 2

Only 9 days left until the Late Night and I hope you are getting pumped about it. It's going to be a blast! One of the best parts about the night are the inflatables. Here is a picture to whet your appetite for more inflatable fun. Today's highlight of the Late Night is for all you rodeo lovers. Have a chance to ride the mechanical bull. We tried to get a real bull, but i guess there were some safety issues. Something about tossing 6th grade girls across the parking lot isn't a good idea. Anyway, see how long you can ride this thing...the longer it goes, the crazier the bull gets. It's gonna be great!

Tell a friend today about the Late Night!

COW

The comment of the week is undoubtedly given to Ben Paisley for his little story. Thanks for sharing that Ben. I heard about it too and think it's very cool and very odd at the same time. God really does work in strange ways, but it's awesome. Everyone enjoy the little story...it's a true on and it happened right here at our church. People's lives are changing because of Jesus Christ! Praise God!
Here it is...

ben paisley said...

all right heres a story

a mexican women met a man from puru, who went to a venezualin worship concert, where a german lead him to christ... God works in sometime odd ways

Sat Aug 16, 06:01:00 PM

LATE NIGHT: part 1

In just a little over 2 weeks, you will be having the time of your life at the 2008 Edge Late Night! This is the first of several Late Night previews that will give you some clues as to what is going to be happening at this crazy cool event. The countdown is on. There is now only 16 days until the Late Night. Who are you inviting? Are you getting the word out? Are you putting your band together? This is going to be the night of all nights and it's for you and your friends...lot's of friends. I also wanted to unveil the grand prize for the most friends contest so you an start getting pumped. The "most guests" contest winner will receive tickets for you and 3 friends to the Switchfoot concert on September 11th. So start inviting and don't stop...last year's winner brought 17 guests.

COW

The comment of the week this week goes to Niki! I loved her comment because she brought a friend to Edge. I actually got to talk to her friend a little bit afterward. I hope and pray that God worked in her friend's life at Edge and afterwards. Thanks for sharing that Niki! Because you did, you get comment of the week...
nikii said...

My two friends and I are bringing a friend who isn't really into church or anything of the sort, but we want to show her a great time! My other two friends called Todd to tell him, so hopefully the message sent across tonight will be great =] I'm very excited!

Thu Aug 07, 06:20:00 PM

Edge Leaders Weekend!

Right now, I am preparing for our student ministries leader's retreat this weekend for all of our adult leaders. I am pumped about this weekend because of what these adult leaders mean to Edge and mean to you. I get to hang out with other leaders who want to spend time hanging out with middle school students, helping them grow, and just being there for them when they need someone. If you guys think about it, pray for us this weekend as we talk about the year and get everyone ready for a great year in Edge.

In the meantime, if you are bored this weekend, the olympics are starting so check it out!

Have a great weekend!

Tonight!

Tonight is the last of our Thursday Thrills nights for this summer, excluding our Cedar Point trip which will take place 2 weeks from now. By the way, sign up right here online...see the side bar!
Tonight, we will wrap up Thursday Thrills with some team games, worship, and a message about the power tower...not to mention that we will declare a winner of our Thursday Thrills competition.
I hope to see all of you tonight for some summer time fun!

COW

The Comment of the Week this week goes to one of Leadertreks trip team members, Hayley Green. She had some great feedback from the trip and so I thought I would put it up so all could see it. Thanks Hayley! Here it is...

hayley said...

i did a devotion earlier today and it was talking about how simon was out catching fish and jesus came along. jesus said to simon "lower you fishing nets". simon didn't think anything good would come out of it, but he obeyed jesus and did as he was told. the nets got soo full that they started breaking. simon told jesus to back away for he was too great of a sinner to be in jesus' presence. but jesus said " do not be afraid; from now on you will catch men." i was so confused at what that meant until i asked my dad. it means from then on he would be a disciple for jesus and witness him to others to reel them into Him. that's what we did this week. we caught people and reeled them into God. i hope we made an impact, because christians can save people for eternity like ben said in an earlier post. and that to me is amazing.

Mon Aug 04, 12:52:00 PM

Leadertreks Mission Trip

If you were at Edge this morning then you heard all about our trip to Kentucky this past week. It was a great week with so many great things that God did IN and THROUGH students. "IN" meaning that God challenged students through his word and they grew. They learned how to love and how to serve and how to be a team. "THROUGH" meaning that students this past week were used to change the world. They saw the bigger picture of God's kingdom and realized that they don't have to wait until their an adult to make a difference. They were also used to love kids with the love of Christ through VBS.

One of our devotions one morning on the trip was from Luke 14:25-35 and it talks all about the cost of following Christ. I encourage you to read it if you have the chance. Following Christ isn't easy and it isn't safe, but it is the most amazing thing anyone could do. The students on this trip this week got a glimpse of it. I am so proud of our team and so pumped to see their excitement about Jesus and serving him with their lives!

AGoW!!!

Reflex is this week's Addicting Game of the week. It took me a while to figure out how to get by level 6, but then I was finally through. You gotta tell me how far you got. It's a ton of fun once you get the hang of it. Enjoy!

COW

Happy Tuesday everyone. This week's comment of the week belongs to Mr. Aaron Corpora for his response to Todd's post about the Kentucky Missions Trip, even though he won't read it till he gets back this Saturday. This is exactly the right attitude Aaron, great job.

Aaron Corpora said...

Todd, dude im so excited for the trip tommorrow its gonna be a blast and were gonna help people out and it'll be sooooo sweet!!!!!!!

Sat Jul 26, 06:38:00 PM

Oh, and if you guys think of it, please just take 10 seconds RIGHT NOW to pray for the Leadertreks Missions Team. It's so important to pray for each other, and this is an easy chance.

Kentucky Bound...

Tomorrow, there are 25 of us Edge people headed down to the sticks of Kentucky on a one week mission trip. We will be working at a church and another home doing light construction to improve these places. Also, in the afternoons, we will be running a VBS/Sports camp for kids. If you are not going on this trip, would you pray for our team this week? If I have an internet connection where we are at, I will be blogging on occassion about what is going on during the course of our week. I may even have one of the students blog. This is going to be a great week, and if you are around next Sunday for Edge, you will hear all about the trip from those who are going.

Thanks for your prayers!

AGoW!!!

Welcome to this week's Addicting Game of the Week! This week it's 'Plumber 2'. Make a pipe that will get liquid from the main water source to the overflow pipe. Somewhat frustrating, but definitely doable. Here's a Hint, you don't have to use all the pipes. Enjoy!

Summertime is Melting!

I love Summer. Just Love it. And one of my favorite things about summer is Ice Cream. Just fantastic stuff. I don't know who came up with it, but they seriously deserve some sort of award.

The thing about Ice Cream is, you really gotta get on with eating it. If you wait, it's gonna begin melting. And if you're eating in a cone (and if you're not, I really gotta ask, WHY NOT???), it's gonna drip all over you, which means less Ice Cream to eat. Which is Sad. There is a narrow window of opportunity with Ice Cream. If you don't get it to a manageable height before it begins melting, you are going to lose Ice Cream.

Life is like that sometimes. We have a tremendous opportunity in front of us, but we only have a specific window to get it done, and afterwards, it's not as good. All Summer long I've been trying to encourage you to really get out there and enjoy yourselves. Well, we're almost there guys. School starts (gulp) in a month. The Ice Cream that is Summer Vacation is Melting! It hasn't begun running yet, but the signs are all pointing to dirty, sticky hands.

However, it is not too late to get out there and make a difference this summer. Make sure you spend time with your family, with your siblings, with your friends. Read a book you enjoy, go out with a camera and a roll of film and just shoot some pictures. Grab a group of friends and have a sleep over or play a good game of tackle football.

Sure, you can do all these things during the school year, but you know what, it isn't as good. This is the time. So, get on to doing things. Today. Now. Stop Reading And Go!

And don't forget, we have Cedar point in about a month too. Man, that's gonna be so Awesome.

COW

It was a slow week of posting, except for the insatiable Ben Paisley ofcourse. So, I think we're bypassing this week's Comment of the Week Award and awarding NEXT week's winner a two week award. Gotta get a bigger variety of posts (and no Ben, that doesn't mean more posts about the stuff you're doing). Let's Get to Talking!!

Vintage Blogging

Hey, Guys! This Saturday I decided to bring back a post from a year a half ago! The only thing not vintage about this post is that I updated the picture of the baby...he's not a newborn anymore!

Happy Saturday! Do you guys love Saturday mornings? My friend Karrin has a "Happy Saturday" dance that she does because she loves them so much. Maybe it's a little extreme, but I can appreciate that she finds joy in the little things.

Speaking of little things...do you know what else I love? Babies! My parents are foster parents now, so they're taking care of someone else's child until that person can have their child back. So, two weeks ago, a little baby boy came to live at their house. As I like to say, he is extreme cuteness. He's only a month old and so little! I instantly loved him! (That's him in the picture.)

Having this new little guy around really has me thinking. First of all, I can't believe how fast his whole face can turn completely red. Beet red. His whole face. It's amazing. Two, how can one little person be so cute? And three, serving God can be hard. My parents are serving God by taking care of this baby, but it's not easy. My mom never gets any sleep and they don't get to go out and have fun very often. But, you know, it's totally worth it! In the end, a baby will be loved and nurtured and God is pleased. There is real joy in that, even though it didn't come easily. I hope that encourages you the next time God is calling you to serve Him.

AGOW

And here is your Addicting Game of the Week! It's called Worms! Enjoy :)

COW!

It's Comment of the Week Time, and this week's COW winner is Katie Peters! Katie, thanks for your warm welcome to our collective friendly Ben Paisley. And I totally agree, with Ben back, we can expect a lot more spamming of the Edge Blog.
Here is what Katie said:


katie peters said...

now we can have more post cuz with out u ben there is like no post. And cant wait until sunday sounds good.

Sat Jul 12, 05:30:00 PM

The Block

Alright, everyone, get ready! If you haven't heard yet, HCC is creating a brand new building just for middle school and high school students called THE BLOCK. It's located right across the street from the Hudson Cinemas in the old Callahan's Carpet building. We want to make it in to a space that students just like yourself can feel at home in. However, in order to make this happen, we are going to need prayer and money. It's going to cost a lot to renovate this place. THIS SUNDAY, right after the last service, starting at 12:45 PM, we are holding a dedication service at this building. You are all invited to come and check this place out. Bring your parents along! We will be talking about what this place could be, praying, and dedicating the building to the Lord. Just think about the students who have yet to know Christ. This place could be the place where they make the best decision of their life to follow Christ. I am pumped about how God could use this place, and I hope you all jump on board with me! It's gonna be great!

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Romans 12:18

I love Romans 12! It offers so much practical instruction for our lives. When I don't know where to turn in my Bible, Romans 12 is a chapter that I often go to. It brings me back to the basics in many ways and reminds how I'm meant to live. You should read it today.

The verse that I put at the top is an important one that I think we often forget. God says that we are live at peace with everyone as much as we can help it. Is there anyone you need to make peace with? Do you need to call someone up and apologize to them or someone that you need to forgive?

It's not an easy task to put away our pride, apologize, and forgive. But, it is a rewarding thing. I think when you have peace with others, you can find inner peace more readily. God's Word and commands aren't because God likes rules and wants to make life hard. His commands are truly the best thing for us and there is great blessing in following them...and the call to resolve conflict is included in that!

Origins

Have you ever looked around, not just at nature, but at your friends and family, and wondered how everything got started? Have you ever wondered about the first tree, the first animal, the first person? It seems natural to wonder about beginnings. Especially our own. It's easy to look at your parents and see where you came from, then look at your grandparents and see where YOUR parents came from, but most of the time, that's as far back as we can look. Some people have pictures and can go back further, but max, you can go back a couple of hundred years.

Well, this Sunday at Edge, we are going to begin answering these questions in a series we're calling 'Origins'. We'll go through the first chapter of Genesis, and talk about creation. We'll see what came first, what the world was like 'In the Beginning'. You will have the opportunity to look back THOUSANDS of years at your ultimate Grandfather and Grandmother. The parents of everyone. We'll see how they came about, and take a look at the world they lived in (hint, it's pretty different than the one we live in!).

So, enjoy your weekends, I hope you are all living it up on Summer Break, but come on Sunday, and let's dive into God's word and see how this, all of this, got started.

Ordinary People

If you take your Bible, and just open it up to a random page and start reading, you will read about people that God has used. Often times they are put in extraordinary situations and do amazing things to get out of them.

Two very comforting things to remember when we read those stories:

1. These are ordinary people(except for Jesus, he's a special case). Specifically, these people are sinners, just like you and me. There is nothing special about them. They also lived, fought, ate, drank, played, were selfish, were generous, misbehaved, talked back and got in trouble. The cool thing is...

2. The one thing about them that IS special is that they had the power of God moving in their lives. Just like we do. There is nothing that they did, that we cannot do. Or rather, nothing that God did through them that he cannot do through us.

We must always remember that it is God at work, not us. We are just his vessels, his tool to reach the word.

So, if you find yourself looking at the figures in the Bible and thinking that they are great, remember that you are Great too, not because of what you do, but Because you also have the Holy Spirit (God) in you, moving you. And remember that you are capable of doing Great Things for God!!!

AGOW!

Here's your AGOW! for this week:

Enjoy Shock Defense!

COW

This week's Comment of the Week goes to...Miss Emily Young for seeing through last week's post, and reading what I didn't write - that I had cut my hair. Way to snipe what I was getting at Emily, I didn't think anyone was going to figure out what I was writing about, but you were right there! Again, I say, well done!

emily young said...

I was just thinking about it.. and you got your hair cut didn't you!?

Beauty in Colors

You know what's cool about reading Genesis chapters 1 and 2? I like watching God's creativity come out.

I mean, it's easy for you or me to snap a picture of something beautiful, be it a sunset or a rainbow. Or we can paint something. But God's creation wasn't based on something, it all came from his head.

I can totally see God, sitting in the void all of a sudden deciding that His ideas were too beautiful for Him to NOT but them down, and so he begins painting all the colors of a oceanic sunset over a island full of trees. He mixes his Reds and Oranges of light over the Blues of the water, inserting the Greens and Browns of the island, with a little bit Navy Blue, some Yellow, Pink and Black thrown in to create the picture you see above you.

Only it's not just a picture, it's a 3-D image, that lives, moves and breathes. It sustains life, specifically, human life. And all just so we can look at the Sunset and be moved by it's beauty.

I admire artists so much, that they can take what they see infront of them and put down on paper, or copy it's majesty with a camera, but nothing is better than watching the orignial; God's own World that he gave for us to enjoy.

Do me a favor. Tonight, around...9:15 or 9:20, step outside and face west. Go somewhere without too many trees and just watching as the sun sinks down into the horizon. Watch how the colors blend and change. Watch the clouds, the sky, the shadows creeping on the ground. And then pray, and thank God for creating everything he did, from the simple beauty of a Sunset, to the Complex sophistication of You. Because you are the most beautiful creation that God ever made, and everything else He made, He made for you.

The new edge greeting...

Hey everyone, check out this brand new video made by Evan Burnham. Don't try this at home or Edge. This was done by a video making professional and no one was injured during the filming.

Brave, or Stupid?

I did something last night that I had been wanting to do for the past couple of monthes.

Well, kind of wanting to do. Have you ever wanted to do something in your mind, but you find yourself dragging your heels everytime you step up to do it? Perhaps some big project that you know you have to get done for school, and while you want it to be done, you don't really want to DO it.

Well, that's how it was with me. This is something that I wanted to do. Unfortunately it was a permanent change that I couldn't really undo, and I feared that once done, I wouldn't like it. So it took me like two whole monthes to finally work up the courage to do it. But, it's done. And, to be honest, so far I'm plelased with the changes!

God has stuff for us like that all the time. Stuff that we KNOW we ought to do, for our own good, but the devil gets in there, and makes us lazy or scared, so we end up NOT doing it, even though we know that this is something that, once done, will be great for us.

Today, I encourage you to not be afraid to take a leap of faith if one presents itself. If you have an opportunity today to take a chance, to risk it, but find yourself dragging your heels, even though you KNOW that the end result will be great for you, pull a Nike. Just Do It!

COW

Johnsey Erdmann has earned the comment of the week for her great comment to follow up Jillian's post. Johnsey is one of Ledge students (Edge leadership team). Thanks for writing some great things about the truth of God. We should all cling to these truths because we will need them when things get tough. Check it out...


Johnsey said...

That's a really cool thought, Jillian. It amazes me that God is the perfect amount of everything- He's just and merciful, loving and strong etc. and what's really amazing is that he's consistent. In this constantly changing world, He's the only thing that is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Sun Jun 29, 11:44:00 PM

One thing God has spoken,
two things have I heard:
that you, O God, are strong,
and that you, O Lord, are loving.
Psalm 62:11-12a

I love these verses, not just because they are beautiful and poetic, but because of the simple way they say something so amazing. God is both strong and loving. That might seem like a no-brainer to you, but I think it's worth thinking over. I've read these verses so many times - they are even highlighted in my Bible - but until yesterday I never let them sink in much.

What if God was loving, but wasn't strong? Then His love wouldn't mean much because He couldn't use it for our good. Or, what if God was strong, but not loving? Then He would be a God that we could only fear, never knowing what He might do with His power.

But the truth is that we serve an all powerful God who loves you so much He died for you. Wow! That means that we can have peace knowing that our God is in control and that He has a good plan for us!

AGOW!

Hey Everyone! Here's you're high-flying addicting game of the week!


Enjoy Skywire!

COW

The comment of the week this week is the first ever back to back comment of the week. When I saw this comment, I had to pick it. Noah Marshall, nice work, man! By the way, I think you meant to say "she." Check it out... (by the way, I post these exactly how they are written, I do not correct any spelling errors) Also, Noah, GO TRIBE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
noah marshall said...

congrats,and johnathan make shure he grows up a cardinal fan, I can't bear another indians fan.

Thu Jun 19, 10:52:00 PM

Congrats to the Claytor's...

on the birth of their daughter, Elise Renee Claytor! She weighs a whopping 6 lbs, 4 oz, and measures 19 inches long. She was born this morning at 5:06 AM. Jen and the baby are doing well. Congratulations to Jonathon and Jen!!!!



Don't forget! Thursday Thrills tonight! See you there!

COW

It's a little late in the day, but the comment of the week this week goes to Noah Marshall because he commented from his Wii. I thought that was just cool enough to get the COW! Nice work Noah and let's play Wii sometime man if you are bored. Who else out there owns a Wii and can I play it sometime?

Here it is...

Noah Marshall said...
it's only my first day off and I'm already bored. p.s. I am doing this on my wii.
Thu Jun 12, 02:32:00 PM

these hard times.

Yesterday evening, one of my brother's best friends died. He had a job as a bike courier in Cleveland and a truck hit him while he was working. And just like that, he was gone from us. After losing my friend Meredith a month a half ago, I can't explain to you the sadness I feel over this. I hate what Pat's family has to go through now and I hate that my brother has to grieve like this when he's only 21. So it seems that as the storm clouds moved in on Akron last night, they also moved in our lives again.

When I woke up this morning, I just laid there and thought about what I could possibly tell you on such a sad morning. And here it is: I can't do this life without Jesus. I just can't. I can't wake up and the face day and all the sadness it holds without Christ. I need to know that the God of the Universe loves me, that He has a plan for me, and that He has a plan for the world. I need to know that Pat is in heaven with the Jesus he loves. And I need to know that Christ is enough to get my brother Mike through the valley ahead. These are the truths that as Christ followers we must hold on to when things get tough.

Spend time with God today. Pray, read your Bible, and let God show you how much He loves you. You've got to start building a spiritual foundation in your heart so that when the storms of life come, you will stand strong.

Summa Summa Summa-Time!

So, Summer is upon us (or nearly so, sorry Hudson students). I used to really look forward to Summer Vacation. No more school, no more homework and tests and getting up early. Summer was my time to do whatever I wanted to do! I was the King of the World. I was Master of my Domain. I was Ruler of All I Surveyed.

The problem is, about two weeks into summer vacation I'd begin getting bored. I'd miss my friends a ton. I mean, listen, I had gotten used to seeing my friends at school everyday, and now I only really got to seem them 3 times a week or so. That' just awful! We would always try to plan together sneaky ways that we could see each other more. An easy way was Church. I began bringing my friends to Edge with me when we had it, and occasionally we'd have Saturday night sleep overs so they could come to church with me on Sunday.

It's something you ought to consider doing now that Summer has freed up your schedule. You can use Church as an excuse to get to see your friends more often. And hey, you know Thursday Thrills is gonna be a Rockin' Good Time what with the games, free pizza, Rocking Worship, and getting to see Me, your favorite Egyptian. And who knows, maybe your friends will learn something about the Love of God for them, and then you would have made a truly important and lasting impact in their lives.

Live it up guys, Summer Time is Your Time!

AGOW!

OK, this week's AGOW is stupid, but i bet you won't play just one level!

Enjoy Flying Furries!

COW

The comment of the week this week was not given comment of the week because of any impressive commenting, but this person was the first new 6th grader to post a comment on the blog and for that, she gets the coveted award of COMMENT OF THE WEEK! Thanks, Emily Young, for getting on the blog and commenting. Welcome to Edge! Welcome to all the new 6th graders who are joining us these days! Here it is...she is simply congratulating her older brother, Nathan...

Emily Young said...

Awesome quote Nathan!

Mon Jun 02, 10:13:00 PM

jesus and the people you don't like.

Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven...If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? ...And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?"

Here's the deal: I've noticed that a lot of middle schoolers who are Christians think it's okay to be mean to people they don't like or have wronged them in some way. They say, "He deserved it." "I'm just teaching her a lesson." "It's nothing compared to what they did to me."

When you know Christ, it is not your job to teach people lessons or give them what they deserve. If you got what you deserve, you would not have the joy of Christ's forgiveness or love. Your job is to show people the same grace that Christ showed you.

As Jesus said, if you only show love to your friends, how does that make you any different than people who don't know Jesus? Everybody can be nice to the people who are nice to them. It's loving the people that are hard to love that is the mark of Christ in you.

Thursday was Thrilling

This morning, I am recovering from an insane night of fun at Thursday Thrills. It was a great time of game playing, worshipping, and hanging out together. I hope that you guys learned a little bit more on the subject of Anger, and when we go to Cedar Point at the very end of the summer and you ride the mean streak, and it jerks you around, I hope you remember that you shouldn't be mean...especially to people who aren't Christians. Remember the 3 points about Anger from last night...

1. Anger can be used for good.
2. Quick Anger is Bad Anger
3. Don't be mean!

This summer, you will have plenty of chances to get angry at something or someone, but I hope that you will think before you react.

Psalm 86:15

But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

AGOW!

Hey Everyone, The addicting game this week is a twist on an old favorite...

Enjoy Bloons Tower Defense!

COW

Hey everyone, the comment of the week this week goes to Mr. Nathan Young for his great quote! That must have taken some research on his part. Nice work Nathan! Check out this great quote on prayer...

Nathan Young said...

"If we would pray aright, the first thing we should do is to see to it that we really get an audience with God, that we really get into His very presence. Before a word of petition is offered, we should have the definite consciousness that we are talking to God, and should believe that He is listening and is going to grant the thing that we ask of Him." -R.A. Torrey

I thought both that quote and Jillian's post were pretty cool.

Sat May 31, 09:28:00 PM

miracles and other extraordinary acts

When my friend Meredith died last month after her fight against cancer, I felt lots of things, but the one emotion that caught me off guard was this: surprise. I had prayed for her healing and for a miracle for so long that I really expected God to miraculously take Meredith's cancer away. So, the morning she died, I was surprised, even though I'd gone to say "goodbye" to her days before.

I started to think about how we should pray. Let me begin by saying this: Prayer is a mysterious thing. I don't know exactly how it works or why God decides to say yes to some of our prayers and no to others. But, I do know that our prayers matter.

The Bible says the prayer of a righteous person is "powerful and effective." And that we must pray believing and not doubting. And there are lots of examples of God responding to prayer. In 2 Chronicles, it says God was "moved" by Manasseh's prayers.

I also was thinking about how Jesus healed people of lots of illnesses when he was on earth and how the Bible says Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So if Jesus healed then, why not now?

Okay, here's my point: I think we should pray believing that our prayers can be answered in miraculous ways. When someone you know is dying of cancer, I think you can ask for complete healing. God is bigger than any disease we humans face and He is a God who heals, both body and soul. Ultimately, we should pray wanting God's will above all else, but I think part of His will is that we pray believing our prayers matter.

Long time, no Post

Sorry guys, it's been a while since anyone has posted on this blog for those of you who are daily visitors. It's been a busy week for me. Here are just a few things I have been working on this week...

Getting geared up for the start of Thursday Thrills next week, June 5th! We are excited to start this up. Get ready for tons of thrilling games, thrilling worship, and a thrilling message. By the way, the first Thursday Thrills night is called "Mean Streak." Come find out what that's all about.

I am taking a seminary class and it's due this week so I have been writing papers and reading books and such this week...not what I would call fun, but I guess I am learning.

Getting ready for our Leadertreks Trip to Kentucky this summer. We have a team of 25 of us headed down there in July and we have pre-trip meetings to prepare our team for the trip. KFC111 is our mission statement, made up by the students on the team. It stands for Keeping Focused on Christ 111%. Since we are going to Kentucky, the team thought it would be clever to use the intitials for Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Lastly, we started to plan our end of the summer trip to Cedar Point to cap off our Thursday Thrills series.

COW

Hey guys, it's Memorial Day and that means that we are supposed to remember those that have given their lives to defend our country. Giving your life for your country is one of the greatest things you can do, and so we take a whole day to remember that. Ben Paisley reminded us of the greatest thing that anyone can do for others in the COMMENT OF THE WEEK this week. Check it out...

Ben Paisley said...
To love your neighbor isn't to agree with him. You should lead to them to the lord. That is the greatest thing you can do for anyone. So if you are at stow or hudson, or even cvca, show Gods love to them.save a friend and show him Jesus Christ

P.S. cvca has 14 days until we are done forever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(this year)
Thu May 22, 08:30:00 PM

Love Your Neighbor

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

If you have been around Edge for a while now, you might remember our series that we did last year called "NUMBER 2." If you would like to watch the video from that series, CLICK HERE!

Loving your neighbor is the second greatest commandment and that is the reason for the series called "Number 2." We have to understand first how much Christ loves us. Once we do, we love him back with everything we have and part of loving him back is loving the same people that he loves, our neighbor. On the cross, Christ saw you and I as people who were worth dieing for. People who were worth it. So it's simple...we need to look at our neighbor, our friends, our family members and say, these are people that Christ thinks are worth dieing for so they are definitely worth loving. Start loving your neighbor...who knows what will happen? Start with your literal neighbor. How are you going to show love to your next door neighbor, today? It's obviously pretty important since it is the NUMBER 2 commandment!

Why Isn't It Summer Yet???

I love Summer. I love warm weather, and beaches, and picnics in open fields of wild flowers. I love the feel of the sand between my toes, the smell of burgers on the grill and the sight of pick up games of basketball.

Because of all that, I have a tendency to miss out on the Beauty of God's Creation on a day like today. Today is cold, that's true, but otherwise, it's a lovely day. The Sun is shining, peeking through the clouds like some many spotlights shining down as God shows off different aspects of his creation.

If you have not had a chance to really peek at the subtleties of the world around us, take some time to do that now. Look out of a window; or, better yet, find a ray of sunshine out in your yard and get down on the grass and watch how the sun hits the individual blades, and the shadow that their ragged edges casts on the ground. Watch how every individual blade of grass casts its own individual shadow, letting just the faintest glimmer of Sunshine filter down to the ground.

Then, once you've done that, take a moment to appreciate a God who puts some much detail into Grass, and imagine how much more detail He put into you. And how much He Loves you, and cares for you. And imagine how God gets down on his hands and knees, every day regardless of the weather, and looks at how the sunlight hits your face. And imagine God yelling back at his Angels, 'Hey, come look at how the Sunshine is hitting the eyelashes of my Daughter! Look at the shadows each individual eyelash casts on her beautiful face. Come look with me and be amazed.'

And once you can imagine the God of the Universe on his hands and knees admiring you individually, take some time to thank Him for loving you as much as he does.

AGOW!

You're AGOW! for this week is a World War 1 flight game called Dog Fight: The Great War.

use the up and down arrows to control your fighter. use the space bar to shoot!

Enjoy!

Check out the 08 Year in Review Video Anytime

If you missed the first time, or you'd just like to watch it over and over again, check out this year's "Year in Review Video" by clicking right HERE. You can also find it over on the side bar under "Videos"

Enjoy!

COW

Our comment of the week this week goes to, of course, an eighth grader! OLIVIA GOODYEAR! Congratulations! I am so glad that you had a good time on Friday and I hope you felt appreciated because that was the goal of the night. Also, glad you liked the video. Check it out below if you haven't seen it or want to watch it again. Here is Olivia's comment.

Olivia Goodyear said...

I really liked the video. My mom almost started to cry when I showed it to her.
I am also excited for the Pre-Porch Party on Tuesday.

Sat May 17, 11:35:00 PM

The only thing that counts.

Hey, Friends. On Friday, we celebrated the 8th graders that are moving on to tha porch. This is always a sad thing for me because I hate to say goodbye to the 8th grade girls I've grown close to. Change is hard. When you move into high school, you really start to define who you are and, as Todd said on Friday, the world will pull you a hundred different directions and try to make you something other than what God wants. Be popular. Be thinner. Be a jock. Loosen up. Date more people. Drink with us.

Here's an easy verse that change the way I live: "The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." (Galations 5:6) This is what pleases God and this is the best way to live. It is certainly the most rewarding. So, when you feel the pressure to lose a few pounds or lose the nerdy friend that follows you around, remember what really counts: faith expressed in love. Ask God to show you what that looks like in your life and enjoy the benefits of living for Him.

8th grade appreciation night

Tonight, as you know, is our last Friday Edge of the school year. It is also 8th grade appreciation night. I realize that many of you HMS 8th graders will miss tonight because of your Cedar Point trip. I am very sorry, but I have great news! You will have a chance to celebrate. This coming Tuesday, we are having a Pre-Porch Party for 8th graders only! Come at 6 PM and enjoy a cookout party. We are going eat, hang out, have fun, and then go to tha porch together to see what it is all about. We will be done at 8:30 PM. It's gonna be great! Also, if you are in 8th grade and you miss it tonight, we will give you your gift on Tuesday and your own copy of the 2007-2008 Edge year-in-review video. All others, I can't wait to hang out with you tonight!

Pleasing God!

I am a Sports ADDICT! I love Sports, specifically, Cleveland sports. I love the Buckeyes, the Browns, the Indians, and my current favorite (because they're in the play-offs) The Cavs! With the series tied 2-2 vs. the Boston Celtics (evil), I've been getting really excited about game 5 tonight. The way I figure it, if we can win this game, we'll be able to win the series. The most exciting thing about the games thus far is that we have been able to win without Lebron James having a great game. He's been able to just count on his team-mates to help him out, and together, as a team, they have beaten the Celtics. Which. Is. Awesome!!

The thing about Lebron is that he is an extremely gifted athlete. Once that man gets a full head of steam and starts charging towards the rim, there is NO stopping him, as you saw if you watched the fourth quarter of game 4 on Monday night when he posterized Kevin Garnett. Lebron is a natural talent. Being 6'8, and that fast is just amazing. God created him with this remarkable set of skills, that he has nurtured till now he is the best basketball player on the planet (I can't believe Kobe won the MVP. That is trash).

Imagine how God must feel everytime he watches Lebron on the court. He must be proud to know that his son has taken his God-Given skills, and developed them through hard work and practice. He honors God every time he preforms, putting on a show for us and for his Heavenly Father.

If you are a movie fan, you may have heard of an old classic movie called 'Chariots of Fire'. It is about a Christian runner from England. If you havn't seen it, I totally recommend it. In it, he makes a profound statement about the talent that God has gifted him with. "I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure." Eric Lidell understood that God had given him a talent, running, and when he ran he was running for God.

The awesome thing about this is that all of us have these talents. Some of us can draw just amazing things. I know I cannot, but I am always impressed at those of you who can. Everytime you draw, or paint or even just sketch, God is pleased as he watched you develop your specific talent. Some of you are great athletes and some of you are amazing musicians. Here at Edge we have Artist, Athletes, Musicians, Writers and Singers. And all of you bring Joy to God's heart when you just go out and...play or preform. You bring joy to the people around you by using your talent and you make God Proud of you.

So, your goal for today: Go out and just do something that you are good at. And know that when you do that, you make God Proud like a Father watching his young son in secret, smiling and just wishing someone was around so he could point at you and say, 'Look at what my Child is doing. Isn't he AMAZING! No one is as good as my Son!'. I think I'm going to make God proud through my amazing Wii skills now, so I gotta go!

AGOW!

Hey there everyone...it's Tuesday and Tuesday's are the day we unveil the Addicting Game of the Week!

this week's game is FISHY

use your arrows to avoid bigger fish and eat smaller fish in order to become a bigger fish!

Sound easy? it is! kind of...

take your time, there is no time limit! Grow as big as you can!

COW

Our comment of the week goes to Evan Burnham who may have a heart attack any second because of his McDonald's eating. Nice work, Evan, but you should probably steer clear of McDonald's for a little while to let everything digest properly. Here it is...

Evan B. said...Yeah nice job Haley!! Whoo Whoo!!!! Ok... now that I Congratulated Haley I want to share somethinng. for the past 6 days I have eaten at McDonalds 5 times for dinner which is kinda sick. I always order 2 crispy snack wraps (ranch) and I'm just starting to order the sweet tea a lot. Now tea is amazing, don't get me wrong but the sweet tea at Mickey D's is like pure sugar, the first time i had it I got a headache :( but now i'm starting to like it. Anyway, all the snakwraps come up to 9 or 10 so I'm starting to get kinda sick. I know a lot of peaople have seen that Supersize me video where the dude eats all McDonalds fo a month and I'm starting to see how he feels. I don't know why i just stop going... I guess it's sorta a love hate restraunt... You just can't stop. And the wierd thing is I don't think i've gained any weight but if I start to (I don't think 5 times is enough to) I'm gonna go to Subway and eat like Jared did and see if it works. Nice job Jared for losing 200 some pounds and keeping it off for 10 years!!! Whoo Whoo !!!

True Sacrifice

Hey, Guys and Girls. Here are some verses (Isaiah 58:3, 6-9) that speak to me daily. In these verses, Israel complains to God that He has not acknowledged their day of fasting, or sacrifice. Then God responds and tells them what kind of sacrifice He truly wants. I believe God asks the same things of our lives today. So, read and be inspired.

The "they" is Israel and the "I" is God...

"We have fasted before you!’ they say. ‘Why aren’t you impressed? We have been very hard on ourselves, and you don’t even notice it!’ “I will tell you why!” I (the Lord) respond. “It’s because you are fasting to please yourselves...Do you think this is the kind of fast day I'm after: a day to show off humility? To put on a pious long face and parade around solemnly in black? Do you call that fasting, a fast day that I, God, would like?

This is the kind of fast day I'm after: to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts.

What I'm interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food with the hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families.

Do this and the lights will turn on, and your lives will turn around at once. Your righteousness will pave your way. The God of glory will secure your passage. Then when you pray, God will answer. You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am.'"

What happens if I don't feel God?

Many people ask this question at many different times in life. They believe in God, but they don't understand why they don't feel God or why they don't hear God or see God like so many people say they do. I have felt this many times in my life. I thought more about it this morning when I dug this old CD out that I really like and was struck by the words to this one song. It's by a band called "Everybodyduck" and the song is called, "Because You Are."

"I can't feel you like others around. I don't feel like kneeling or closing my eyes. Is there something wrong with my heart that I can't see or do you feel love still when nobody cries. So I'll praise you if I never feel you. And I'll love you because I know you're there. And if you should choose I'm sure one day I'll feel it, but feeling good is never the reason I cared"

We don't love and serve God because of a feeling, although it does feel good much of the time. We should praise Him even if we don't feel him, because we trust that he is there and that His promises are true. I hope that is true in your life!

A Journey of a Thousand Miles Still Begins with One Step

Well hello there! As some of you may already know, this handsome fellow to my left here is Me, Sherif Mansour. I have the privilege of being the newest Intern here at Hudson Community Chapel. With this in mind, they have asked me to tell you a little about myself and how I ended up here at HCC, so that hopefully when you see the image to the left out and about, you are not frightened. I'm actually quite harmless!

I was born and raised in Cairo, Egypt. I was raised by my Mother and Grandmother because my Father had immigrated to the US before I was born. I lived in Egypt till I was almost 9, at which point my Mother and I moved to Akron, Ohio to be with my Dad.

The move was a hard one for me, being in a new country where I knew no one and didn't really speak the language, but God was very gracious to me and I quickly made some great friends. I went to Chapel Hill Christian School (North) through 6th grade, then went to Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy for the remainder of my Junior High and High School years. In CVCA I was a proud member of the Football, Tennis and Chess teams. Yeah, I'm pretty much a huge nerd.

After CVCA, I went to Taylor University, a small Christian college in Indiana, where I majored in History. I lived out in Indiana for almost 6 years, before coming back to civilization (Ohio) in January of '07. Since then, I have been working at Aladdin's in downtown Hudson.

Throughout my time in Ohio, I had attended HCC, having gone through the Edge and Porch respectively when I was in school (though I think they were both called 'Edge' back then). I am really excited to be back at Edge as a leader. The students who are here now are WAY cooler than the ones who were there when I was a student. Except for me of course. No one is cooler than me.

I look forward to being able to hang out more with you guys, as well as blog on here to share my coolness and wisdom with everyone :).

AGOW!

Here's your addicting game for this week!

Enjoy Cannon Blaster!

COW

The comment of the week this week goes to...drum roll please....rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr (you have to roll these "r's" to make the drum roll sound) rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...... HAYLEY GREEN!

Nice work, HAYLEY! Thanks for choosing Edge over the dance. I know we have had a lot of Edge's on dance nights, but it is just the way it has happened unfortunately. I hope that you all make the right decision like Hayley and choose Edge.

Here it is...

hayley said... mann, the last dance and the last edge are on the same day! but i'm coming to edge as far as i know

Sat May 03, 05:20:00 PM

Hollywood and Jesus

What is the last movie you saw? Did you notice any spiritual themes? Today, at Edge, we finished watching the movie Martian Child and we talked about how the movie has a great theme of a father's unconditional love of his adopted child. The theme helps us see a glimpse of the unconditional love of our heavenly Father. My favorite part is when the father has him and his adopted son smashing dishes on the ground to prove the point that there is nothing he can do to lose his love. That is exactly how God is with us. Jesus Christ took the punishment for our sins so that by the grace of God, we are saved. There are all kinds of movies out there that have these themes in them and I encourage all of you to look for them. We love movies that have themes of forgiveness, redemption, and sacrifice...that is why Hollywood makes them. If we just look, we will find that even the movies give us a glimpse of our God. What movies have you seen that have those themes? Watch for it...

...the old man is snoring.

Good afternoon! How are you this fine and rainy day? I hope you've enjoyed some time cozied up inside. I have!

Lately I've been thinking about the Bible story of Jesus and Lazarus' death. Do you remember it? Lazarus is really sick and his sisters send word to their friend, Jesus, to come quickly and heal him. But Jesus takes his time getting there and by the time he arrives, Lazarus is dead and buried. The sisters take Jesus to the tomb and everyone is standing there, sobbing and mourning. And then there comes that famous verse: "Jesus wept." Not cried or had some tears, but he was weeping. Then, Jesus goes to the tomb and calls Lazarus out. And Lazarus obeys...he is raised from the dead.

What really strikes me about Jesus weeping in front of the tomb is that he knew that in just minutes Lazarus we would be alive! It was His plan all along...to show His glory by bringing Lazarus back to life. So even though he knew the sadness of all those people was temporary and that they'd be throwing a party later that day, Jesus still wept. He still cared for them. Their pain mattered to Him.

I believe it's the same now. God knows that our pain and hardships on earth are short-lived. He knows that there is a plan that's way better than we could ever imagine! He sees everything and He knows that one day He will make it more than okay! But, even so, God still cares about your pain. I think that if Jesus were back on earth right now, He would still weep with us when our friends die. The Bible says He is close to the brokenhearted. What a wonderful and gracious God we have!

The God of the Universe, who put the stars in place and has power over death, cares about your pain and loves you. Think on that today, friends!

NO EDGE TOMORROW

Sorry everyone, no edge tomorrow. I am going to miss you all, but I hope you have a great time hanging out with your small groups. Tomorrow night is official small group hangout night. I hope you guys have a great time with your groups and those of you who usually come to edge and are not in a small group, I hope that you can join one next fall. The next and final Edge is coming on May 16th. Don't forget 2 things:

1. It's 8th grade appreciation night so if you are in 8th grade, you are not going to want to miss this night.

2. If you have all the KEY CARDS for the whole year, you will receive a prize for your commitment to edge and keeping all the KEY CARDS!

Can't wait to see everyone then!