Summer Camp

We are in full swing in getting ready for summer camp, and I realize that when it comes to planning a summer camp I have no idea what is going on. At Saddleback we went to a camp that did all the programming for us and ran everything. Where I am now at Journey we do it all. I am learning how to do this, but it has been a challenge. What are some Pro's and Con's of doing camps these 2 different ways?

SNYDER

Plugged in

We now have internet and television in our new home. It is so great. I really didn't mind not having internet, but I was missing TV. I had no idea what was going on in the world which may have been a good thing. I will be blogging more now that I can do i from home.

SNYDER

Youth Ministry in 2 totally different places

Being that I have lived and done ministry in both California and Oklahoma I have noticed some differences. I will be writing about those in the next few posts.
Oklahoma - Bible Belt
California - NOT in the Bible Belt

Being in the Bible belt and doing ministry is so much different than doing it in California. Students in the Bible Belt have the theological knowledge, and can talk the talk , but don't walk the walk.
In California they are more likely to be totally on fire for God and if they aren't they aren't afraid to tell you. It's a different world and it is a world that I am having to get use to.
The way you do ministry is differet. In the Bible Belt you have to minister to the students and people who have been around the Bible and kno, but don't necesarily live it. In Cali, they have to learn the Bible and then make up their minds whether or not they will follow Christ. I know this is kind of rambling and just a thought and my opinion from my experiences and may not be the same as some of what you have experienced but it is worth thinking about.

SNYDER

10 days...

....until I marry the most wonderful woman in the world. We are getting married May 4th in Aliso Viejo, California. For hose of you who don't know, I met her while I was an intern at Saddleback Church. We dated for a about a year and a half before we got engaged. She is originally form southern California. How I got her to move to Oklahoma is a great question. Anyways, I can't wait.

SNYDER

Seriously

'Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious' wins $25,000
NEW YORK (AP) -- OMG!

Thirteen-year-old Morgan Pozgar, of Claysburg, Pennsylvania, was crowned LG National Texting champion on Saturday after she typed "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" from "Mary Poppins" in 15 seconds.

"I'm going to go shopping and buy lots of clothes," the teen said after winning her $25,000 prize from the electronics company LG.

Morgan defeated nearly 200 other competitors at the Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan to become East Coast champion and then beat West Coast champion Eli Tirosh, 21, of Los Angeles, California.

She estimated that she sends more than 8,000 text messages a month to her friends and family.

Youth Ministry

So, I said I would post about my journey in youth ministry. I have been on the job as a junior high director for almost 3 months now. Let me tell you, it's a harder than I thought it would be, but it is so fun. Anyways, we are trying to figure out our small groups. We want our students to serve in the community once a month with their small group and then meet 3 other times a month for normal Bible study. I figure its time we start showing people what it is like to be a Christ Follower and not just tell people.

SNYDER

home renovation

So, I bought a house and it needed a little fixing up. A little turned in to a lot. Luckily it's not expensive just a lot of work. Scraping the ceilings and wall paper in just about every room. Good exercise, but not fun. The house is a mess, but it will look brand new when I am finished in the next week or so. It also has to be textured and I am still debating whether to have someone come do it or do it myself. What would you suggest? If you have textured before please let me know.

SNYDER

I'm Back

After a little blogging break I am back. I went to Mexico for a week. I came back for 3 days and then I went to California for 5 days. Let me just say that I never thought I would miss California when I first moved out there. I miss it a lot. Now that you know where I have been, over the next week I will share my journey of my first couple of months on the new job.

SNYDER

i apologize

I am so sorry. I have been out of the country all week. I will be posting again.

SNYDER

New house

I am officially an adult now and a homeowner. mariah and I bought a house. We close on April 5th. the day after my birthday. It is so crazy that I can buy a house in OK, and my mortgage is less than renting a 1 bedroom apartment in Cali. Hopefully I will have some pics ina few weeks. I leave for Mexico for a week on Sat.

SNYDER

crazy week

My fantastic fiance, Mariah, and my friend James were in town. It was great to see them both. May 4th is the big day. It can't get here soon enough. We did a lot this week. The few highlights were my nieces 5th birthday, the Big XII basketball tournament was in OKC for the first time ever. Oh yeah, and we bought a house. Very busy, but very awesome week. More info later.

SNYDER

What a great busy week: Here We Go

Monday: Putting my talk together for Wedneday night. It's my first time to speak at the new job
My fiance, Mariah, and one of my buddies, James, are coming to visit to day. It is also Mariah's birthday today.
Tuesday: Work. Father/Daughter date night at the mall. Mother/Son date night at the bowling alley
Wednesday: We start our series called "Words". The first week we will be covering the word disciple. It should be great. It is also my Nieces Birthday

Thursday: Work. The first day of the Big XII basketball tournament.
Friday: 2nd Day of Big XII basketball tourney. Also, neice's birthday.
Saturday: Mariah and James leave. Mexico meeting from 10 to noon. More Big XII tourney

As you can see it will be busy, but it will be awesome.

SNYDER

Wednesday

Wednesday's are crazy, but fun. I have 2 meetings this morning and tonight we have our junior high and high school experiences. This is the last week of our Chemistry series. The first week we talked about finding the ONE (Christ), the second week we talked about what to look for in the TWO (boyfriend or girlfriend). This week is about purity. It should be pretty great.

SNYDER

Facing the Facts

Last night we had an "Experience for Parents". The night was dedicated to informing parents about tenns and sex. We had about 40 parents there. The main goal was to inform parents. We gave lots of stats about teens and sex, had a video of some of our leaders talking about how important their parents interaction was with them. We didn't want to tell parents how to parent, but we challenged them to keep their children accountable. We had a lot of parents telling us they wanted us to do it again so they could tell more parents about it. So hopefully it will be even better next time.

SNYDER

Our engagement

So, I am getting married on May 4th to Mariah Miles. She is an unbelievable woman. I am so blessed to have her in my life. We got engaged in November. Here are some of the pics form the glorious day. I will put some of our engagement pics on here also.

SNYDER