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Ramblings — 06/30/2008:  Whoa!  That’s all I can say about that storm that rolled through the area last Friday.  I am sure, like many of you, I was completely not expecting a storm of that magnitude.  When I arrived back at my apartment after running some errands, I noticed a rather vicious looking set of clouds.  The sirens sounded, indicating that those clouds did indeed harbor something vicious.  I grabbed the plants off my deck and stuck them in my apartment.  The temperature dropped while stowing away the peppers.  I paused to look at the clouds.  They were moving fast and churning.  I needed to find the key to the apartment basement and my rain jacket, but I kept watching the clouds.  The clouds let out some of their wind.  Time to get back to what I was doing.  I grabbed the basement key, but couldn’t find that rain jacket.  While looking for the jacket, Channel 6 disappeared, along with the lights.  Where was that coat?

I found another jacket, grabbed a battery-powered radio, said a prayer, then opened the apartment door.  Bad idea.  Sheets of rain were moving off the adjacent apartment roof like ghosts and I could hardly stand.  Back inside.  After shutting the door, I began to hear hail hit it.  Mind you, I live on the third floor and have a 12 foot overhang.  The hail was moving horizontally.  I waited for the hail to stop.  I hopped back outside, locked the door behind me and sprinted to the apartment basement.  Never have I stood ankle-deep in water in my apartment parking lot.  Once I made it to the basement, I found a young couple plus a father with his child.  We sat and talked for a while, occasionally listening to the weather guy on the radio.  Eventually, we stopped hearing noise from upstairs.  I climbed the stairs and walked out.  Two retired women were sweeping leaves off their porches.

Fortunately, the power was quickly restored to my apartment, around 3:00 AM on that Saturday.  I know some of our congregation members are still without power.  I don’t remember anything quite like this happening for a long time.  The only thing that comes to mind is the October 1997 snow storm.  The church, like most things around here, affected by the storm.  The picture to the left is from the church parking lot.

High school hike day was fun.  I am extremely excited about this backpacking trip.  Our group also discovered that all this wet weather has not been nice to the camp, since a number of trails had been washed out over the past couple of weeks.

Due to a scheduling conflict, the Confirmation mini-golf outing has been made one day earlier.  It is now on July 25th, as opposed to July 26th.  I hope this does not inconvenience anyone.  We will now be meeting there on the 25th at 7:00 PM, rather than on the 26th at 1:00 PM.

Also, please don’t forget about the Photo Scavenger Hunt.  Please see the details below.

JoshPepper01.jpg (97679 bytes)Ramblings — 06/23/2008:  So I have a garden in my apartment.  Yes, an apartment garden.  No, it’s not actually in my apartment, it’s outside, on my deck.  Anyhow, among other things, I am growing some bell peppers.  I noticed yesterday that the plant is finally starting to bear fruit.  It looks something like this.  Now, to some of you, that’s no big deal.  To me, though, it is.  Part of that is because I picked up this hobby recently.  I wasn’t sure the garden would work.  The other part is that I have been fascinated by watching nature in action.  The most humble of plants can leave be bemused.  My hope is that others can find this same sense of wonder, not necessarialy of plants, but of life in general.  That sense of wonder helps us to see God at work in our world and in our lives.  That sense of wonder helps remind us that God is not far away and intangible, but that our God is close, active in our lives, and cares for us much more than we can imagine.

I have been working on developing lots of events for the confirmation and high school groups.  Please look at the bottom of the page for more info.  

Ramblings — 06/19/2008:  OK, so I know I usually update on every Monday, but I was simply too busy get this week’s update in!

Thanks to all the people involved with the First Lutheran/Morning Star Confirmation lock-in.  You all made it great!  I would like to do more of these lock-ins throughout the year.  I would love to have more late nights filled with hiding in the church, discussing an awesome Bible study, and making towers out of cookies.

Weather permitting, the next Summer Celebration session will be June 25th.  I hope you all can make it this time.  The first session was disrupted by a series of tornados.

The Lutheran Student Center at the University of Nebraska — Lincoln is having a bunch of special events in September.  The high school youth and I will be attending their grill out and frisbee golf competition on September 7th.  All high school youth are encouraged to come to this, but I strongly recommend all high school juniors and seniors attend.  This is a wonderful snapshot of UNL campus life and campus ministry.

Ramblings — 06/09/2008:  Well, I’m back in the swing of things after my wedding.  In case you all missed it, Rachel and I are now married.  Like most weddings, it was a real fun time.  It was bizarre, though.  Friends and family that I normally don’t see simultaneously were all in the same room.  It was a rare event, like when all the planets are in alignment.  Everything went off without a hitch – or should that be only one hitch?

Anyhow, Summer Celebration starts the day after tomorrow.  I hope you can be there for it.  And don’t forget about the confirmation lock-in as well.

New high school event posted below.  Photo scavenger hunt through Westroads mall.  Think you can find everything on the list.  The winner(s) will receive a prize of undisclosed value.

High School Youth Events

Please note that the default time and location for High School youth outings is every second and fourth Sunday of the month at 7:00 PM at the church.  If the time and place for the outing is different than usual, we'll post it here.
 
bullet6/29/2008 — High School Hike
Have you ever been to Signature Rock?  Or have you ever stumbled upon a beaver dam?  Because August third, the beginning of the high school backpacking trip, is drawing closer, we will be meeting with the Outdoor Program Coordinator out at Camp Carol Joy Holling on June 29th at 1:10 PM, then going for a hike out there.   We will first meet at Morning Star at 12:30 PM, then carpool out to the camp.  All high school youth are encouraged to join us on this excursion through the trees and over the hills.  If you are going on the backpacking trip this summer, you are required to attend.  We should be done around 5:00 PM.
bullet7/12/2008 — Photo Scavenger hunt.
Starting at 2:00 PM, the high school youth will be having a photo scavenger hunt.  Youth will scour Westroads Mall, looking for objects and landmarks.  Each item will have a point value.  The team with the most points will win a prize of undisclosed value.  Make sure to bring your digital camera or camera phone.  We’ll be done around 5:00 PM.
bullet08/03-10/2008 — Backpacking trip
The high school youth will be wandering through the Indian Peaks National Wilderness with counselors from Nebraska Lutheran Outdoor Ministries.  As many people in the Bible have done (Jesus and Moses, most notably), we go into the wilderness to listen for God.  This time is set aside for exploring nature, growing in faith, and growing closer as a youth group.  Expect to see pictures.
bullet08/24/2008 — Meet the incoming freshmen
By August, the people who were once in 8th grade will now be in 9th grade.  On August 24th, we will welcome them into the high school youth group by eating an early dinner at Tas’s Thai Pepper (12775 Q St Omaha).  Then we will go to Boulder Creek (14208 S St Omaha. In Millard) for fun and games.  This event will last from 4:45 PM to 8:00 PM.  If you live close to the church, we will meet here at 4:45, then carpool out.  If you live in west O/ Millard, we will meet you at the restaurant at 5:00 PM.  Parents will be notified if we will be finishing early/late.
 
bullet09/07/2008 — Trip to Lutheran Student Center at UNL
September is Campus Ministry month. As such, the Morning Star high school youth have been invited to a cook out at the Lutheran Student Center at UNL on September 7th.  We will attend worship there at 10:30 AM, eat some excellent grilled food, then play Frisbee golf with the members of the Lutheran Student Center.  We will first meet here at Morning Star on September 7th at 9:20 AM, then carpool out to Lincoln.  Please don’t be late for the carpool.  Also, please sign up at least one week before the trip so we can tell LSC how many people we are bringing.  PARENTS:  we may need an extra driver or 2 for this trip.  Please contact me if your are interested in doing this.

Confirmation Youth Events

bullet07/25/2008 — Mini Golf Night
My putting skills are a bit inconsistent.  Are you any better?  Come find out on Friday, July 25th at 7:00 PM.  We will be meeting at Putting Plus (9216 Maple St., Omaha).  We’ll be playing all 36 holes.  Please sign up in the church welcome area before Thursday, July 24th, if you plan on attending.  By signing up, I can see if we qualify for the group rate to putt ($5.50 for 36 holes).  We should be done playing around 9 PM.  Parents are welcome to putt as well.  Please bring $10 to insure plenty of mini-golf can be played.
bullet08/27/2008 — Confirmation Social Evening
Details are still being worked out for this event.  Please stay tuned.
 

“Big Gulps, huh? Allright!  Well, see ya later.”

Questions?   or call Josh Feala at 393-5553.

 

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Last modified: March 15, 2008