subtle deception

last week the youth group went on a field trip to Anoka High School to see 

the Maze.

if you haven't seen it - i wish that i could describe it.

my mind was blown.

that's all i got for you.  haha  but really - the guy is an illusionist with an INSANE story.  Jesus is just ALLLLLLL over it.  and he is just using his gifts of story telling and being able to do these illusions to share it in a way that people will never forget.

truly incredible.

one of my favorite parts was when he did kind of a spoken word piece while he did one of his tricks.

the idea behind the whole thing is that we're in this "maze" of life.  and he looks at different ways we try to find our way out of it.

one of them?

religion.  or rather - rationalization.

and this is a clip of the show (not the one we went to, but one of them).

just a glimpse at how the world tends to see religion or spirituality...

and how it so quickly and subtley can be twisted and changed to something that doesn't the truth anymore, but everyone keeps justifying it and explaining it to death until we lose sight of why we believed what we did in the first place... and we can be deceived without even noticing.

what starts out harmless builds and finds its way in until we are so far in that we don't see where we were anymore...

its an incredibly important message - 

it should cause us to stop and THINK about what we believe.  about what we're doing, what we're fighting for, what we think...

and make sure that we are so grounded in TRUTH.  so that we KNOW what we believe... and can't be swayed from it.  because there will be questions... there WILL be other opinions.

but there is only one truth.

and its to important to get it wrong.

this is a powerful visual for a powerful message.

i LOVE seeing different ways that people share what God is teaching them...

so many creative things out there, the possibilities seem to be endless.

so let God inspire you!

-ALIVE

some things you should know if you are going to hang out with us...

last thursday we got back to a semi-normal schedule with ALIVE :)
it was a little bit more of an "informational week" - but now  we should be good to go!
we had lots of new faces :)  so fun!
so if you didn't make it last week but would still like to check it out - please still do.

if you WEREN'T there but would like to be... i'm about to make it so much easier for you.
you are welcome.
;)
on this front page here, there is a calendar.  if you look to the right side of the page, in the middle-ish you will see it.  you really cannot miss it.
you can look there to see what is going on for every thursday :)
it IS subject to change... but it should be pretty accurate.

in case it isn't SUPER clear what it all means, here is your key;

Art Night:  there will be approx one of these each month.  it is a night that anyone and everyone is invited to - we will be hanging out in the dungeon (see below for further clarification) and doing SOME sort of arting (painting, drawing, splattering, paper antiquing, etc.).  it doesn't matter if you are a master or if you have never heard the word art before - if you want to come art with us, you are welcome.

Productiveness:____: if you see this on a thursday night, it means that we are working on something specific.  whether it be a drama or a video or whatever - you will know ahead of time if you need to be at this night and it will more often than not be in the mirror room.  however, that being said - if you are not scheduled to be at one of these nights, you are still welcome to come and hang out... just know that if you get bored - we warned you ;)

Gathering Night O' Creativity: this one i feel is pretty self-explanatory... but in case its not - basically this is a night when everyone is invited to come and we will be doing SOMETHING creative.  maybe improv games, maybe dramas, maybe team arting, maybe eating - something.  it'll be time that we will just spend as a team all together.  there will be approx one of these each month as well.  this will most likely be in the studio or in the mirror room.


meeting places.............

Dungeon:  the dungeon sounds scary... but its not.  it is the room that is located directly below the worship center aka the "worship arts storage" room on the lower level.  (but i don't know who gave it such an impersonal and cold sounding name)  so we refer to it as the dungeon.  it has cement floors - so anyting "arting" will happen there.

Mirror Room:  is off the gym in the fellowship hall.  it is also used as the Roots room or you may know it as the old SWAP room.  either way - it got its incredibly original name because there is a wall of mirrors in the room.  any dance and/or drama practice will be done in that room.

the Studio: the studio is in the children's area, its the room with the stage.  this is where we play improv games, and other random things.


other notes.....

Dining Room: if you hear us refer to the dining room - it means that we are meeting in the lobby.

Living Room: "meet in the living room" means that we will meet on the stairs leading up to the stage in the worship center.  obviously.


now that you are all caught up and fluent in ALIVE geography and scheduling - we will be seeing you! :)

also - if there is something that you would LIKE to try or be a part of... like if you would love to be in a drama or if you just want to try dancing or if you have some hidden talent in art -
LET ME KNOW.
our passion as leaders of ALIVE is to create the opportunities for you to find your gifts, practice them and USE them and we can't do that unless you tell us........................
or unless we just decide for you.  which we can do.
:)

that is all i have for now!
but come hang out with us :)
check out the calendar... but we will see you at 730pm.

be blessed!

-ALIVE

see you there?

THURSDAY!

this coming thursday, September 13th, 730 pm - we are starting our meetings up again.

so if you have never joined us but have wanted to, 

this is a great time to do it!

we're starting a new structure and we'll be introducing it and talking about what we have planned in the next few months :)

and if that sounds super boring (which it won't be ;) ) - there MAY be some other things going on too...

so if you are someone who likes dance, painting, drawing, acting, writing, or anything like that - 

or if you would like to try anything like that,

this is probably a good place for you :)

there will be lots of no-pressure opportunities to try some different things coming up, 

or - if you are a master of everything already - then we've got opportunities for you too :)

please let us know (you can either facebook us or use the "contact us" tab at the top) if you have any questions,

and if you want to see what we're up to - there is a calendar you can check out further down the page!

(if it doesn't make any sense to you - then i will plan on seeing you on thursday where it will be further explained ;) ).

long story short?

we look forward to working with you!

:)

-ALIVE

angels & demons

Fall Kickoff for SWAP!!!

:)

we got things started of tonight with games, worship, laughter, good words and a drama!

its been awhile since we've had to orchestrate a practice, 

squeeze in a last minute practice,

and do 6 people's make-up quick...

:)

but i remembered how fun it is.

and how great it is to see people working together,

having fun,

and just putting their whole selves into sharing a message that God has put together in a visual way.

i LOVE it :)

and well, if you get to wear glitter in the process?  well... so be it.

thank you to the awesome group who performed Angels and Demons tonight!  and were willing to put this on on a week's notice :)

its actually the same group that performed it in Jamaica a few weeks ago!

so it was so fun to work together again.

i just love the picture of how satan is so relentless in trying to get us to fall, to keep us from God - 

but he CANT WIN if we don't let him.  and whats even greater - is that God and His warriors are fighting FOR us!  trust Him.  satan will decieve.  God is working for our good.

who are we going to follow?

God has blessed me with some extremely easy-going people.

its an amazing thing.

and amazing what God can do when we are willing to show up and do His work!

ALIVE will be starting back up NEXT thursday - september 13th at 730.

we are going to re-introduce it,

give an idea of what it all is for the people who haven't heard,

and lay out what its going to look like this year.

so if you have ever been interested in checking it out?

this is your chance! :)

so we'll see you there ;)

-ALIVE

ARTISTS...

artists -

if you are reading this

and you are near Edinbrook Church

and are planning to be at Before the Throne on saturday...

AND

you have artwork you might like to share/ display -

let me know ASAP!!!

thanks :)

jillian

-ALIVE