2 Reasons Why I Enjoy Wednesdays

Although Wednesday is one of my busiest days, it is also one that I really enjoy. Right now, I especially enjoy it for 2 reasons:

Shepherding a Child's Heart - Over the past several years, I have not had the opportunity to lead a small group Bible study, but in the past few weeks I have enjoyed the opportunity to go through this study. Shawna and I are in a group of about 20 parents who are seeking to train their children to love God with all their hearts. The study has been challenging, but rewarding. I wanted to gain better parenting skills, but God has revealed a lot in my heart (beyond my parenting) that needs work. It's not too much fun to see areas where you fall short, but it is awesome to be on the receiving end of God's grace that helps you please Him.

Transit - Last week, we started up transit, a worship service geared for college students. I was pretty amazed by the crowd. We had 35-40 students there, and had a great time of worship (small band, nothing extravagant, but very passionate). I felt led to share something about Jesus from Hebrews 1. It really was just encouraging to think about the greatness of Jesus Christ. Sometimes, we (especially me) really fall short in giving him the praise he deserves. We get started each week at the BX at about 8:30p with some food (which is not the ideal time for Chili's Chips and Salsa or Little Caesars Pizza, if you ask me...but no one asked me!), and then we move into The Loft for our service. It's a good time, that I only hope gets better over the semester.

God is doing great things all over the place at BBC, but those 2 things are special to me, because I get to witness it first hand.

--Curtis

Movie Night at the BX

We had a wonderful turn out for our Movie Night last Friday. We watched "Facing the Giants", and we had about 200-225 people come and watch this movie. We had popcorn, and all different kinds of candy, and the room was filled with bean-bag chairs, blankets, and foldable chairs. It was a wonderful environment and setting for the movie. Our pray is that the movie "Facing the Giants" will stir the hearts of those individuals who may not know the Lord who attended. We were very encouraged to see a big crowd and are excited to plan for another Movie Night soon! Check at the BX for local times and listings.

--Ryan

A Women's Retreat Survival Guide (for dads)

Every year, I get an opportunity to "bond" with Canaan. That is when Shawna and her friends go away on our annual Women's Retreat. As he has gotten older, it has become simpler (no 3 page checklist this year). But there are some things that never change...

Frozen Pizza(s) - this ranks above mac and cheese, and Hamburger Helper. No mess, Canaan loves it. This is a no-brainer. It's too easy, and you can't mess it up. I stopped by Wal-Mart and got 3 just to make sure I was covered.


Doughnuts for breakfast - although it should be noted that Dunkin Donuts are my favorites, Krispy Kreme will have to do (no Dunkin Donuts within 50 miles). Nothing like a nutritious breakfast to get the morning started. By the way, if the "Hot Doughnuts Now" sign is not blinking, I keep driving.


Cars - I bought this today. Great movie, and Canaan enjoys it (at least the first 20 minutes until he's on to other things). Some other good ideas for toddler entertainment can also be found here, and here.


ESPN - I observe bedtime at 8:00 sharp. That gives plenty of time to watch SportsCenter 100 times that would bore Shawna to tears (although she really is a trooper when it comes to my sports viewing). I may even watch one of my old golf videos. Other options are to watch Hoosiers or Remember the Titans for the 533rd time.

Golden Arches - when in doubt, go to "Old MacDonalds" as Canaan calls it. It's hard to mess up there. Chicken nuggets, play-land, happy meals, cheap toys, and a milk shake. Although this is last resort, it should not be underappreciated!

46 hours until mommy gets home,
--Curtis

Welcome to the Blog

Let me officially welcome you to the BBC Blog. I believe our jump into the blogosphere could be a great way for you to get to know your staff better and allow us another way to communicate with you.

If you're new to the whole blog-thing, welcome. I look forward to using this media to discuss church, faith, and life issues with you.

Collin

That Summertime Feeling!

In an effort to bring a little sunshine into our lives during the colds days of January, we're having a big Bar-b-q dinner this Sunday night! That's right, we've been slow-smoking Boston butts and stocking up on wetwipes for a week now getting ready for this weekend.

If you haven't heard, this Sunday night at 6p.m. we're meeting at the BX for the kick-off of our Faith for 5,000 campaign. There will be free Bar-b-q for the first 2,000 people and big-band music for all. I can't wait to hear the UPtown Band jammin' on some great big-band tunes (you may even hear a bit of "Chattanooga Choo Choo"...).

I know around 60 ladies will just be getting back from the Retreat so men, treat your wife to dinner so she won't have to cook right away, bring her to the BX at 6:00 (just don't tell her the Bar-b-q is free!)

See ya there!

Collin

Welcome to theBBCblog

We are glad you found the blog. We thought we would try to communicate in a new format with people connected to Brainerd. In our entries we hope to have a little fun, but also give you a glimpse into things at BBC, such as:

• a closer look at what was taught on Sunday with some additional points that may not have been made
• a deeper explanation of events that are coming than we can give in a few seconds of announcements on Sunday
• a review of some of the great events at Brainerd
• a glimpse into some of the interests and personal life of the staff at Brainerd
  

By sharing some of this with you, we hope it will help you stay even more connected to Brainerd Baptist.

-Your Staff at Brainerd

Add'l thoughts from Sunday Morning's Message (January 21)

I really appreciated the opportunity to speak on Sunday. I just wanted to reassure our church family that I think our pastor has sufficiently recovered from his daughter's wedding! He is back in the office today, and will be back in the pulpit on Sunday. By the way, the wedding was awesome, and if you missed it, you missed something special.

I shared some thoughts from a book that I would like to point you to. It is The Cross Centered Life by C.J. Mahaney. Another book (that covers a lot of the same things) by Mahaney is Living the Cross Centered Life. Both are awesome and clarify what I shared about being under no condemnation from Romans 8. I hope the fact that God does not "mark our iniquities" (Ps. 130) has encouraged you and challenged you to live free this week.

If I had more time, I wanted to share one more thing with BBC. I want us to realize that God uses our guilt to point us to Jesus Christ. So, in some ways, I think we can almost be grateful for the guilt we feel. But, that guilt should push us to recognize what Jesus has done. If we let our guilt linger, that's when we pile up the baggage. But if we let our guilt point us to Jesus, it can actually become a good thing.

By the way, Canaan picked up his Elmo suitcase from my office today. It is now safe at home where he thinks it should belong!

--Curtis