Insert Clever phrase here

It's been a while since I updated my blog and I apologize. There is just so much to do around the house, let alone with my job, it was easy to get distracted. We now have a praise band and are planning to play for the first time this sunday night. The youth group is having a Christmas party this week, then we are going skiing the next. Should be a fun two weeks. I'll be going home for Christmas, since if I didn't, I probably wouldn't get any presents. lol. This will be the first Christmas in a few years since my mom's side of the family will be getting together for Christmas. I know we didn't do anything last year and maybe not the year before, but I think it's due to my cousin's death. Anyway, it will be good to go home and I'll be taking the ferrets with me! I'm sure that my mom will not want me to, but I want to introduce them to each other. Plus, I hate leaving them at home with a sitter.

I'm still overwhelmed by the amount of bad habits that I have. I let the dishes pile up in the sink until they stink, my room is covered with clothes, and my house is all around messy. The only room that is clean is the ferret room! Go figure. I keep hearing about all these people who have finals and I just smile when I hear it. I've put in my time and I'm done with finals. It feels great to have that behind me. But I keep having dreams where I'm back in high school because I missed some class and always try to explain to the teacher that I have my own house, I can't be in high school! I hate those dreams. Heck, I hate dreams in general. Half the time, I'm not in control of what is happening in the dreams. It's like I'm on autopilot. Oh, and speaking of autopilot, I found a box of cereal in the fridge! Id don't remember putting it in there, but I opened it up and blamo! I must have put it back in with the milk or something. I laughed at myself.

Another ferret vid

So, I've had garrett for a few weeks now and I've been doing a lot of research on ferrets. I learned that ferrets can make a whole bunch of noises, but Garrett wasn't making any noise. So, after a while, I decided to buy a second ferret! I just got her yesterday and her name is gracie. I haven't decided on a spelling. It could be Gracy, Gracie, Gracey, or Graysee. Anyway, I've been trying to introduce them but they keep fighting. Here's a video of them fighting. It's pretty funny to see them running around.

Thanksgiving

I'm home for thanksgiving this week, so I have a lot of time to update le blog. It takes me 4 hours to get from Wheelersburg, OH to indiana. On this trip, I listened to all of the muse albums I have on my mp3 player. I also did not bring Garrett home with me. Garrett is really easy to take care of when I have a proper cage for him. However, moving the cage is not that easy. Plus, my parent's house is not very ferret friendly. So, I left him home and got a friend to ferret sit for me. I already miss him. I've also been thinking that I would get a second ferret. My cage is big enough for two (more like 4) and another ferret would be able to keep each other company while I'm gone.

Seeing as how it's thanksgiving, I think I'll list a few things I'm thankful for.

1.) My family. No ones family is perfect, but I don't have much to complain about at. We've never (at least from my perspective) felt in need of anything. I have good relationships with all my extended family and got to know my uncle (on my dads side) particularly well when I worked for him. Obviously, I had nothing to do with which family I was born into, so I have to tank God for that one.

2.) My health. In general, I've been pretty healthy throughout my life. In fact, when I had my tonsils removed, they grew back! I also have never had glasses, braces, or cavities. I know this has a lot more to do with my genes than my lifestyle, and once again, I can't affect my genes. So God gets the credit for keeping me healthy.

3.) My faith. I have no concept of what my life would be like if I wasn't a Christian. I wouldn't be living where I am now. I wouldn't have gone to a Christian college and I wouldn't have the same personality. Because of my faith, I have a deep rooted sense of joy and no longer fear death. And again, without the help of God the Holy Spirit, I wouldn't be a Christian. So, I have God to thank for Him drawing me to Himself.

4.) My new job/house. My new house is awesome. The sellers are so kind and my neighborhood is great. I got a great mortgage on my house and am saving a good amount of money. I don't have any college debt either which is really nice. Add to that my sweet new ferret and things are going great. The youth group is also going well and it seems like everyone is happy with the way the youth group is going. I think that this is all due to God helping me out and the training my parents gave me.

So, I am thankful to God. He is the giver of life and everything in it.

Mostly about garret

I have now had garret for a week and a half. It's been pretty interesting. I brought him home and promptly cleaned up his poop about 3 times. I quickly decided that I needed to get him litter trained asap. After some internet research, I discovered how to do that. See, ferrets like to do their business in corners, so I used up every corner in his cage. Bedding in one corner, food in another, water in the third, and litter box in the 4rth. After a few days, he had it down pat. So, with that in place, I kept improving his cage. I started off with this terrible purple bedding for him. It was in little pieces like when paper gets sent through the washer in your pocket. They got everywhere, so I vaccumed them all up and put a welcome mat down as his floor. Now, garret has a penthouse suite. There are two levels in his cage with three choices to sleep in. I also just ferret proofed my family room and have set up a way for him to walk right out of his cage into the room. So, now I can let him out more, since he's litter trained. I'm still having trouble with keeping him out from underneath the couches. Also, I've been putting this stuff in his water which is supposed to keep his waste from stinking. Well, it took one week to work. I'd come home from doing whatever and walk in to a great stinking house. Then one day, he just stopped stinking. It was great! I also fullfilled a life long dream and bought an ionic breeze. It covers any smell that sneaks through.

Switching now to youth group stuff, I started a series this week on how to study the Bible. This first week, we talked about how to study a narrative, or story passage of scripture. I gave em three steps for this:
1.) what does it say?
2.) What does it mean?
3.) what does it mean for you?

Next sunday, I think I'll talk about dialogue, or maybe the psalms/proverbs. We also had our first praise band practice on monday. We didn't do much playing, which was expected. We looked at what the band would look like, went over some logistics, and practiced setting up and tearing down the equipment. We won't actually be playing at youth group for several weeks, but I think we have a lot of potential. I'm working with two of the members personally too. One of em is just learning bass and the other just needs a little help on guitar. We should be able to sound really good, once we get up and running. Also, since I'm in charge of choosing weekly songs, I'll be sure to steer away from the fluff songs and to teach the youth why we sing what we do. Things are going well and we had a record 22 youth at the scene last sunday! We still have a long way to go, but everyone seems to be happy with the youth group.

Two things

Please watch the video first.


So, two things happened on Tuesday. The first is that I closed on my house. The process was painless. My first time home lender guy, Kevin Smith, was very helpful to me. I met with him and we walked down the block to a title company. They handled everything. They got all the papers together that I needed to sign, explained them all to me and pointed out the details I needed to be aware of. After sighing papers for about 30 mins, the Workmans came in and they signed their papers. And presto! I'm a homeowner! Also, I seemed to make money on the transaction. Well, technically I just got back my own money, but it still feels like I made money. See, I paid the workmans two months of rent and a down payment. After I closed on the house, all that money came back to me. Essentially, they let me live in their house for 1.25 months for just the cost of utilities. They are incredibly nice people and I'm going to try to stay in touch with them. I also got a check from the title company. Something about escrow. I don't understand where that money came from, but I figure it has to be money from the loan. so, I'm taking their check and putting it towards that loan anyway. I also think that if I can tighten my budget, I'll be able to make double payments on the mortage.

Then, after I was done with the closing, I went to the pet store. I had been in earlier looking at cats. They only had two, but the saleswoman pointed me toward the ferrets. For a while now, I've been a closet ferret fan. I never actually thought I would buy one. But, she sold me on the idea and there was also a sweet cage+everything you need deal. So, now I have my first pet: Garret the ferret. He's still too young to know anything. He sleeps alot, but when I take him out, he gets really energetic. If I try to hold him, he'll squirm and climb out. He doesn't respond to me either. But then again, I've only had him two days. I did get him to start using the litter box. That was a plus. Once he gets older and less scared of me, I'll try to train him. Either way, he's hilarious to watch.

Oh yea, I'm also a youth pastor.
I've pulled together all the members I need for the youth praise band. We have our first practice on monday. I also was able to pull together an entire sound system from left over parts from two of the churches. I was pretty proud of that one. It may be a powered mixer, but it comes complete with two monitors, 8 channels, and sweet digital effects which we'll never use! The only things missing are cables that are longer than 3 feet. That would make a crowded stage. So, I do have to go out and buy those, but they should be cheap. It should be really good once the band gets up and running. I've got a really solid lead guitarist and I'll be on piano, which will be the first time ever for praise and worship. Remember, I'm one of those "spend 6 months learning an 18 page song" kind of pianist. But I think I can manage. I've diversified my piano skills since those days. I'm also going to teach the band a theology of worship (thanks John for the idea, and ultimately, thanks Josh Lemons). Oh, and I'm starting a series on how to study the Bible (more kudos to John Bundick). John is more and more becoming my almost-kinda-mentor.

So, things are going well and I'm still single, despite the many grandmas who want to introduce me to their granddaughters. :-)

Life assesment

So, I still haven't closed on my house, but I'm almost a home owner. I did a little bit of life assessment. Here's what I found.

1.) Cooking skills-I'm terrible at cooking. Not because I fail at it, I just don't ever try. I'm sure I could be a great cook, but I'm so used to eating food on the go. You know, grabbing a quick bowl of cereal before running out the door. I'm slowly getting better.

2.) Time managment skills-Terrible. I've been playing too many video games and watching too much tv. Right now, my job is not too demanding. Why just this week, I asked my bosses for more work! In the mean time, I feel like I'm wasting my time just like I used to at home/school.

3.) Social skills-I seem to connect with people just fine, when I want to. I probably don't seek out people as much as I should, but when I do have encounters, they go well.

4.) Health-I've gained about 30 pounds since I was 21 years old, with a spike of 10 pounds when I moved to Ohio.

5.) Spiritual life-Bible reading frequency is improving, but could always be better. Prayer life is also much better, but not golden yet.

6.) Money-I'm doing really well on money. I'm saving money each month in a savings account and still have a lot of my paycheck left over. This is a good area in my life, lol and I have so little training in it.

At first, I was disappointed with where I was at. But then I realized that I have only lived here for one month. In that time, I have moved to a new state, pretty much bought a house on my own, gotten a job, met 300-400 people without even trying, preached the gospel to 15 people, kicked a video game addiction (God willing), begun working out again, and formed a youth led praise band (well, it's almost ready). I have plenty of faults, but the thing that makes me most happy just happened a few minutes ago.
I had made an on line friend through a game called World of Warcraft. It was just some guy that I would play with a lot and I wrote him an in-game letter (yes, the game has its own mail system) telling him that I was quitting video games. He sent me an email and I felt compelled to give him the gospel. I just felt like I needed to. so, I wrote him a long email where I laid out the gospel and pleaded with him to come to Christ for the forgiveness of sins. He sent back a quick and short reply which basically said, "I'm too tired, but I'll debunk your gospel tomorrow". When I saw that, I smiled and basically said, "Bring it on!" . I smile because God has trained me in this area more than any other.

I have plenty-o-problems in my life. Some big, some silly and small. But one thing God has done is He has made me an evangelist. Even when I get sucked into an addiction like video games, this gift overpowers that too! It has to be a spiritual gift. I can't wait for the guy to ask me more questions because that means we'll be talking about Jesus! Chances are, I've heard most of arguments he'll use, but that isn't really important. I'll be able to answer this guy's objections while always pointing him back to the cross. It also helps that right now, I'm listening to the new Muse album full of triumphant and epic music. I know that my life will be meaningful, even if I can't cook or get a wife. I can tell people about Jesus! Worth it

New location

So, it will be a new month this sunday and that means a new location for youth group. We've been meeting in the wheelersburg church for the last month and now we will meet in the sciotoville church for november. All our meetings have been going well. The games are fun, I'm getting to know the youth better, and the messages seem to be going well. However, it's time to start planning events. Each church have their own events which they are used to doing, so my first step will be to simply combine them into our calendar and make sure there are a good number of events that the youth can attend.

I moved 4 couches today into the sciotoville church. The room we are going to use for the scene has no youth stuff at all in it, so I'm starting from scratch with the room. It's really three rooms with those sliding dividers between each room. When they're open, one big room. This gives ample room for a praise band, but the permenancy of the room might be a problem. Other classes use these rooms and we can't just set up a youth room and leave it. So, that will be frustrating, but managable. It reminds of the importance of pushing the new building.

See, next door to the sciotoville church is a run down building which they own. It is perfect for youth ministry and community outreach. The trustees of the church decided to spend some money fixing the room and bricking up the windows. Once this is done, we can come in and do all the free fixup work that is possible. (by free, i mean not hiring a contractor). We can clean up the place, demo walls, lay carpet, even build a stage in this place. It will make a great permenant location, but that is a long way off. Currently, the room leaks and our insurance company won't let the youth into it. But, I did make a video walkthrough of the building where I talk about my ideas for using the building and it was received very well at my first youth board meeting. The board has people from all three churches on it and I gave them an update on what the youth group has been doing and where we're going. I also showed my video walkthrough and it seemed to make a lot of them excited about the possibilites. I have to also be willing to get my (and the youth's) hands dirty with this project, to really help see it get finished. But that is something exciting for the future and I know that the youth will somehow be involved, even if we don't get to use the building.

Here's a little bonus story: I was going to make some lunch today and thought I would finally make some hamburger helper. I had bought a pund of hamburger and decided to whip it up. So, I warmed up the skillet and opened the hamburger. The hamburger looked fine, but I immediatley smelled death. You know when you come upon a dead animal and you smell death? Well, that's what I smelled when I opened the package. Then I laughed, because it WAS A DEAD ANIMAL. I put it into the trash, then took the bag immediately outside to the trashcan. I didn't even want to give this thing a chance to stink up my house. So, I didn't make hamburger helper today :-(

Week three

So, tomorrow will be my third youth group meeting. I've technically been here for 5 sundays, but had two pre-planned events when I first arrived. I've already learned a lot about this whole youth pastor thing, but I have a long way to go. I began by giving a straight up lecture on the first night. It was probablly too much for the youth, since it was 30 mins long. I did get a little bit of interaction with them by asking them for the 10 commandments, but I quickly noticed that these youth needed something different than school on sunday night. So, at my 2nd meeting, I sat in the couches with them and talked with them. I asked some more questions than the first night, but there still wasnt a discussion. I think discussions are where a lot of progress can happen, so this sunday, we're having small group. We're all going to get our Bbiles out and read through a passage of Scripture. Then, we'll talk about it. I have a direction I want the discussion to go, but I am going to back off and let them work through the Word. I think it's a lot better that way and it also helps me to get to know them better.

That's also another thing I need to work on: being their friend. I don't expect to be their best friend, but I know I can do better. I just went to my first sporting event. It was a football game and was actually pretty fun to watch. I'm starting to try to make all of their games. That's one good way to befriend them, but we're also starting to plan events. This is where the pastors can help out. Between the 4 of us, there's no shortage of ideas and leads, I just need to grab their ideas and run with them. However, I am happy with the progress the youth group has made, I just need to make sure that we keep going.

I'm in the process of forming a youth praise band. I already have a 3 people who can help me with it. One plays both bass and guitar, another just guitar, and the third is on drums. So, if I play the piano, all we need are vocals. So, we're pretty close to having a praise band, and that instantly limits us on our location. Wheelersburg church has the ideal location for a praise band to perform, but the Sciotoville pastor wants me to have youthgroup at his church sometimes too. So, I don't really know how to deal with it. To have youth group there, I have to take over a large room that is not geared towards youth at all. I'd have to redecorate, bring in seating, a sound system, etc. This is all the more reason why we need our own building to have youth group in. More on that later

Better video tour

So, one of the pastors has a nice video camera which has become mine/the youth group's. So, I thought I would take a better video tour and show you the outside of my house.

We've had two youth group meetings now, and they are going fine. I make suer to preach the gospel at every meeting and have just been coming up with messages on my own. However, I've been looking at curriculum and trying to come up with a more long term lesson plan. We're starting pretty small and get about 13 high schoolers on sunday nights. We haven't done any kind of outreach yet, so it looks like I have a good core of students to start with. We have a whole lot of ideas for expansion and we're in the process of forming a praise team. But, mroe on that later. Enjoy your video and I'll give you another update soon

Some good news and some bad news

So, I have some good news and some bad news. Which would you like first? I'll give you the bad news first, since that's the way the gospel works. The bad news is that my cousin Jordan Noblitt died this week. The cause of death is unknown, but I suspect it is related to either past or present drug use. I didn't know Jordan too well, even though he was only one year younger than me. As I sat at his viewing tonight, I couldn't help noticing the ridiculously large number of people who knew Jordan, or his family and had come to pay their respects. The showing was scheduled from 4-8 and I left around midnight with people still waiting in line to pay their respects. It made me realize how connected we are to each other, even if we don't realize it. While this just happened a few hours ago, I can see how it could shape the way I conduct myself around others, the things I speak to them, and the urgency I feel for preaching the gospel. No one but God can know when a person is saved, but I honestly don't think Jordan had put his faith in Jesus. I had the same feelings at my grandmother's funeral. I know that there might be some reading this blogg who are offended by me "making judgements" of this nature. I am sorry to offend you, but my Christian convictions tell me that without faith in Christ's death on the cross, we will all be sent to Hell. That is why I feel an urgency to tell others and "pull them from the flame" as James says in the Bible. There is a big debate in Christianity about the way the gospel should be preached. Should we mention hell, sin, and righteousness? Or should we preach God's love. I do not intentionally set out to offend people. But I would rather give a clear and understandable gospel message to an unbeliever, than become too scared of offending them that I don't speak of the matter at all. So, I think Jordan's death will, among other things, cause me to be bold in preaching the gospel.

That leads to the good news. This past sunday, we had our first youth group. It went from 7-8:30pm and went really well. The fellowship at the beginning went well. I didn't have to do anything except listen to these kids tell their stories and just hang out. That part is easy and pretty natural to everyone. Of course, I'll try to make sure the shyer kids feel welcomed too. Then, we played a game called "signs". It's a hilarious game and the youth really seemed to like it. Maybe a little too much though. See, in the game, everyone has a sign that they send to other people when the "it" person's back is turned. It's really fun to see them try to sneak the signals past the "it" person, who stands in the middle of the circle and tries to catch the signs being sent. However, once I got up talk about Jesus, I think some of them were still sending signs when MY back was turned. So, it was really funny while we were playing and kinda funny while I was talking.

And the topic of my message that night was simply the gospel. I spent 30 mins telling them why and how to get saved. I used the 10 commandments to show them what sin was, then tried to explain how Jesus can complete that legal transaction for sin by dying. I definitely noticed a change in their demeanor as I got deeper into the 10 commandments. They stopped sending their signs. However, I did have the expected public speaking nerves. I know these will get better with time, but I also could have prepared for the message better. That also makes coming home for this funeral hard, since I had planned to finish my lesson plan on friday and practice it on sat. I think I'll be ok, but I'll have to work hard to be prepared.

Anyway, I'm in my columbus, IN home right now. We've got the funeral tomorrow and then I'll have to drive another 4 hours back to ohio. Things are going well though. Lots of cool prospects on the horizon. More on that and the weather at 11

1st actual work

Hey everyone, first off, I apologize for the crappy tour videos. I'll make another house tour during daylight hours and I'll use the youth group camera, which is much nicer! So the pastors gave me all of last week to get moved in. This week, I had to plan the first youth group meeting. It's going to be pretty simple, but the message should be really good. I'm basically goign to spend 30 mins talking about the gospel. I have a whole slew of volunteers who are willing to help me, but I won't need them for this meeting. I'm going to keep things simple and build from there. If you want to know the layout I'm using, it's 3 chunks of 30 mins. I've also convieniently named them all for alliteration's sake.

1.) Fellowship
2.) Fun
3.) Faith

In the fellowship part, we're just going to hang out. I've met alot of the youth, but don't know them very well, so 30 mins of hang out time will be good. I'm going to find some music cds that can play in the background and we'll have some snacks to munch on. We'll probably break out some cards and just play it by ear for this part. It's all about fellowship. Then, we'll get organized and play a game. I have no shortage of games at my disposal, what with my college and camp days under my belt. Plus, I received a whole bunch of activity books from my three churches, so no problem there. Then finally, we'll have our faith building part. Those of you who know me will know that I want to make sure that the teaching is the best attribute of this youth group. Of course, I want to make the kids feel welcome, accepted, and befriended, but I also want to make sure that they know how to get saved and how to follow Jesus more than anything. So, we'll see how things go. Meeting starts at 7:00 pm and I'd appreciate all the prayer I can get.

another vid

Video time!

Guys, my phone can take 3megapixel videos, so I made two new videos. One is a tour of my house and the other shows all the food that my churches gave me for my "pounding". No one did explain why it's called a pounding, but they basically gave me a whole bunch of food, gift certificates, and even some cold hard cash! So, enjoy the videos.

Contact Info

Hey guys, I received my new cell phone today, so I can now post my full contact info.


Alex Grayson
8013 Chester St.
Wheelersburg, OH 45694
Cell: 740-727-9587

I start work tomorrow!

Owning a house is a strange beast

I spent most of today getting my utilities transferred into my name. I tried yesterday around 3:00 pm and most of the offices had closed by then, which I thought was stupid. But today, I transferred all the utilities into my name, except water. They said since I was a renter, I would have to pay a $200 deposit that doesn't get refunded until the water is shut off. However, if I was an owner, there is no deposit. Well, I asked the seller if we could just keep the water in their name and have me pay them. They were totally cool with that and once again, made my life easier.

However, my neighborhood is by far, the coolest neighborhood I've ever seen. ( For some reason, my spell checker is defaulting to british spelling, so fyi if some of my words have too many "u"s in them). There are a bunch of younger kids, around 4-7 years old on the street and they like to play in the street every night. Don't worry, it's a low/no traffic street and their parents come outside to watch them. Most of those parents are within 10 years of me, some probably 3 years older than me, so that's a great way to go meet the neighbors. I just see the kids outside and can go up and talk to the parents. There is also a church member from the wheelersburg right accross the street. I also found a family who likes to watch house and they invited me over to watch with them. I think that's so cool, especially since I don't have cable yet :-)

There are lots of cats and dogs on the street who come out and play with the kids. Don't worry, none are strays. One dog in particular, a 1 year old golden retreiver named cooper likes to come and say hello whenever I come outside. I like that, since I never had a dog growing up.

I still haven't started working yet. The three pastors and I met on monday and I thought it would be a meeting about work. Not at all. They were just tryign to help me get set up in my house and wanted to help me anyway they could. There's a lot of support here for me and they are making my transition almost painless. We had one youth event on sunday which was planned before I got here. We saw a group called "team xtreme" do all kinds of strongman feats, like bending a frying pan with their bare hands! All throughout, they gave a gospel presentation and had an altar call at the end. Every one of the kids in my youth group went down for the altar call. If any of you know me, you know that I'm not a fan of altar calls. I don't think you can find them in the Bible, so I talked to a few of the kids afterwards. It seemed like most of them didn't know what it meant to be saved, they only had the catch phrases that team xtreme had given them. Don't get me wrong, team xtreme is awesome for what they did, I just felt like they left the kids a little confused about what really happened. So, I talked to two guys about how to get saved and what it means to follow Jesus. I don't think I'll use any names, just to protect the group's privacy, but it look like I'll have to start from square one with this group. I think they know a lot about God, but don't KNOW Him. But that's what my job is: to tell people about Jesus. After talking with those two guys, I was reminded of how much I love telling people about Jesus. It had been such a long time, especially with Christian college. So, things are going well and I've already been telling people about Jesus, even before starting my job!

Oh, and I have the whole week to unpack before I start. I don't really need that much time, but I'll take it. I'm getting to know my neighbors and some of the youth already. I'll try to keep you posted. Pictures might not be for a long time. I'm thinking of getting a camera, but I still need to make a budget. Thanks for reading!

House problems

So, let me fill you all in on my house. Currently, I'm renting it with the intention to buy when my loan finalizes. The owners are really cool about it and are doing me a great favor of letting me rent before I buy. That means that I don't have to move into an apartment for a month, then move into the house. I was stoked about that. So, after the sweet move in with help from the churches, we settled down to the business of making the house into a home. Special thanks have to go out to my mom, dad, and sister for all their help.

Mom helped me get my kitchen in order. (I moved a lot of stuff to different places after you left, mom!) Dad helped me with all the dad stuff, like leaky washser hoses and the like and sister Laura helped with pretty much everything. However, there was one huge problem with the house that my mom and sister discovered while Dad and I were out getting supplies.


My hot water smelled terrible and was pretty much black. Not good. Cold water was fine, but hot water made the whole house smell. Becuase of that, we deduced that there must be something wrong with the hot water heater. (Why not just call it a water heater?) So, we tried our best to flush out the tank by turning the heating unit off and turning the hot water on in the tub. Thus, I wasn't spending money to heat the water, just running it through the hot water tank. As of today, there is is still a smell present, but the color is normal. My first morning in the house, I took a completly cold water shower. This wasn't too bad, since I took hose showers at springhill all the time. Right now, I can use a lot of cold water mixed with just enough hot water to make a lukewarm shower. It's not the best, but it's better than it was and hasn't cost me anything (except water). So if you're praying for me, pray that my hot water won't stink anymore!

Moved in!

Hello everybody. This weekend has been a busy one and today is the first chance I've had to update the blog. Lemme give you an update of what has been happening. Most of last week was spent doing lazing packing. You know what I mean, when there isn't really a rush, so not alot of packing gets done. I started seriously packing on thursday. I loaded everything I could into my mom's minivan and my small toyota camry. Then on friday, I went and rented a Uhaul truck. It was 17' long and I thought that would be plenty, but it turned out to be barely big enough.

See, my parents had recently moved into a smaller house. Thus, they had alot of extra stuff that they gave to me. So, we filled up 1 uhaul truck, a minivan, and my camry. During the pack up at home, we had one person come and help us. It was a guy from my church and he was really helpful. However, it did take all day to get packed up and ready to leave. That was friday.

On saturday, we tried to leave at 8:00, but it took until 8:45 to get on the road. 4 hours later, we arrived at wheelersburg. As we pulled into the street, we saw welcome signs in the yard and over a dozen people ready to help me unpack. It was great! We completely unloaded all my stuff in 30 mins! I took some pictures of the place, but I can't get them into the computer yet. I'll keep working on that. That's all for now. I'm currently at the Wheelersburg church, since I don't have internet or cable yet. That is going to be installed on friday.

T-minus 4 days and counting

Hello everybody, I've been getting a myriad of questions regarding my new job, so I thought I would save some time and make a blog, so that you guys can stalk me without me knowing it! I'm going to try to make a schedule where I periodically update this blog, but that won't be for a while. Anyway, here are some things I'm sure you're all dying to know.

What is the job? I will technically be labeled as a "youth director". In laymans terms, I will be a youth pastor with a twist. There are three churches in the area who will be combining their youth groups into one. They will still worship separately on sundays, but the youthgroups will be combined into one MEGA YOUTH GROUP!! Current estimatets put youth attendance in the area of 30-35 youth. ("Youth" includes middle and high school students) They have not combined yet, so my job is to make that happen, then continue to grow the youthgroup. Long term goals laid out by the churches indicate that they want to eventually purchase a building outside of the three churches where youthgroup/building ministry can happen.

Where is the job? It's in south central Ohio, in Scioto county. I'll be living in Wheelersburg, OH. The churches are located in Wheelersburg, Sciotoville, and South Webster. The Wheelersburg and Sciotoville churches are within 5 mins of each other, while South Webster is about 15 mins away. Here's a poorly edited map to show you where it is.


What denominations are the churches? All three are United Methodists. While this is a different denomination than I grew up in, I got the impression that these churches were more insterested in studying the Bible than preaching methodism.

Are you renting an apparment? Nope! I'm actually buying a house! Turns out that it's a buyers market and there are alot of things that fell into place to make this happen. I was able to apply for a loan that would pay 100% of my costs with no down-payment. If you've never bought a house, that's really good. I also was able to graduate from college debt free, thanks to my parents/grandparents. Thanks guys! That puts me in with about 4% of students who leave college without debt. That alone makes buying a house alot more feasible. I'll post more info and pictures about the house once I've moved and taken some pics.


How can I contact you? Well, I will be buying a local cell phone, so once I get that, it will be my main phone. I'll post that online later. Also, you can email me at reallytightearmuffs@comcast.net. Finally, you can message me on facebook.


When are you moving? Saturday, the 26th of September, I become an adult. I'll be packing up a Uhaul on Friday the 25th starting at noon (help would be greatly appreciated!), then my family and I will be driving over on Saturday.

So, I've never blogged before, but I assume that you guys are able to post comments on each of my entries. So, if you have any questions, let me know and I 'll try to answer them. I'll keep you posted as things progress.