DCCC Youth

Some good thoughts from Al Mohler on being good and the Gospel.

Why Moralism is Not the Gospel

I read this headline the other day:

Marmot at source of China plague: WHO (August 12, 2009, AFP)
A marmot was at the root of a pneumonic plague outbreak in northwest China, the World Health Organisation said Tuesday.

I couldn't believe my eyes!  I love marmots!  What is a marmot, you ask?  Marmots are large ground squirrels of the genus Marmota that dwell the worldwide.  Did you know that the common groundhog is a marmot?  I'm willing to wager that you did not.  There are many different species of marmot, including, but not limited to: the Yellow-bellied Marmot, Menzbier's Marmot, the Vancouver Island Marmot, and my personal favorite, the Hoary Marmot.  Would you like to help save the extremely endangered Vancouver Island Marmot?  Buy a plush marmot or adopt a  marmot. 

When I was in college we wrote a song about the Hoary Marmot.  For your listening pleasure: "Everybody is a Hoary Marmot" from our album Marmots May Bite.  Enjoy by clicking play! 

P.S.~Good luck figuring out the words...some of them are really...um........unusual.

While in West Virginia, I made a feeble attempt at growing a beard.  Things didn't work out so well between beardie and I (Rachel didn't approve), so we had to go our separate ways. 

Behold!  The shaving progression:

This post is a little late in coming, but oh well!

August 2-7 the DCCC Youth Group took a trip to West Virginia through Alpine Adventures, a ministry of Appalachian Bible College.  Good times were had by all.  Myself and six students spent a great week in the outdoors.

Day 1:  Caving
Our first day we explored a dry cave - EXTREMELY DUSTY!  We all had to wear masks so we didn't inhale too much dust.  A good time of walking/crawling/squeezing through tight spaces.  We emerged after a few hours squinting and very, very dusty.

Day 2:  High Ropes
Our second day we were scheduled for rappelling.  We were all the way out to our site when it started to thunder and rain, effectively ending that trip (bringing joy to one student who is very afraid of heights).  We headed back to campus and got to do their high ropes course instead.  It was a pretty good trade:  Instead of spending the afternoon rappelling down a 130 foot cliff, we spent it dangling 30 feet above ground walking across ropes, etc.  Not a favorite for those who are afraid of heights (which turned out to be most of our group.

Day 3:  Whitewater Duckies
On our third day, we went to the Upper New River and rafted it in duckies.  Duckies are small, two-person kayak-like rafts.  I spent the day lazily rowing around in one by myself while all of the teens tried to row together, usually resulting in them going around in circles or backward.  For them:  probably frustrating.  For me:  fun to watch.

Day 4.  Whitewater Rafting
On our last day, we rafted both the Upper and Lower New River.  By far the best day!  We all had an exhausting and exhilarating day on the rapids.  If you've never been rafting before, do it!  I can't really describe it very well:  it can only be experienced.  A picture is worth a thousand words:

Though most of our days were spent in our adventures, we spent our nights sleeping in tents and studying Psalm 34.  It was a great trip experiencing the outdoors as well as tasting and seeing that He is good!

All I seem to be posting lately is links, but I've run across a lot of good ones.  Here are some interesting thoughts on the Big Bang and scientific assumptions.

What Came Before the Big Bang?

Everyone, whether religious or scientific, eventually reaches a point where they need to put faith in something because they've reached the bounds of hard, proven facts.  I think this quote pretty well sums up some of the issues of scientific faith:

"And why did it happen at all? There is no sensible answer for the Big Bang unless you move over into the religious side and say, "Well, it began because God began it." That's why quite a lot of scientists are nervous about the Big Bang."

Anyone have any thoughts on this?  Please comment.

The Case for Early Marriage

Don't text while you drive.  See article below.

Don't Text and Drive

Here's a great blog post about the passage we talked about last Friday.  Enjoy!

Is There a Place to Repent?