Oh What a Night!

Last night Couples in Christ had our third annual Christmas Party!
Here are some pictures for you to see the fun we had.

We started with some fantastic Mexican food.

Then, it was off for the scaenger hunt. People ran to their cars to see who

would be the winner of the trophy this year.

In first place it was the Green team!

Keith, Betty, Daylynn, Joseph and Joanna
(and by the way, this would be the second year the Stephens won the scavengar hunt!)

In second place, we have the very unhappy (well at least unhappy Buddy) Red team.

J.D., Roza, Buddy, Jen and Brad

And strolling in at third place the Blue team or Blaine, Crystal, Delia and Van.

Now we were back, it was time to celebrate......the winners...




......but most importantly the reason for the season! Christ

After singing it was time to get dirty and play DIRTY Santa

Delia had the first gift of the giving.

Then it was the table for the Phillips...
no, for the Smiths.....
Nope...the Phillips



Now the Smiths got a box that kept on giving..


actually, the Phillips got that box......

As for the rest of us, Crystal got a very "unactive" jersey

Delia got a "cha cha cha chachia!" (How do you spell that?)

Ashley got a very "interesting" frame

Keith was so very happy to get his Santa cookie jar...but not for long....

The real winners of the night were the Smiths who went home with their own signed picture of Betty and Keith in their Young and the Restless stage of life.....

Ya'll Are Bringing It!

Van did a wonderful job Sunday, as usual! He taught about Jacob and Rebecca in one of those stories where we learn a lot about what not to do. Yet, as I sat there Sunday it wasn't Jacob or Rebecca that ministered to me, but you. I am so thankful for God giving us the Bible His record of miracles He has performed, but it is also so wonderful to hear you give testimonies of how He is performing miracles among us today.

We started this class as a way to minister to people's marriages. I don't think we were prepared for how much the enemy would attack those marriages. Yet, as in everything, God just used those trials to flat out show off! In our Sunday School class you are sitting in the midst of some miraculous marriages and some faithful people who allowed God to break them and use them.

I love each of you so much. It's funny to me that I started out in this class to be a "teacher" and instead I have been incredibly blessed to learn from you. So, here is my plea (yes, I'm begging you here people): I don't think we will ever know this side of Heaven how we can touch other people with our testimonies. I can't tell how I was moved by early morning neighbors and wrong phone numbers Sunday. Please share with us when you see God moving in your lives or the lives of others. You can leave a comment or e-mail Me, Betty, Kyla, or Jen with your stories and we'll post them here. These can be things that happened in the past which you can see in hindsight or things that are happening right now. Most importantly, please know they can be big or small! God may have saved you from being squished by a falling piano, but it's just as important to share when he helped you get through a tough day at work.

I'm begging you to share because we all know we all at one time or the other walk in a valley where we can't seem to see God, and we as a family need to constantly be affirming with each other that He's alive and well and working for the good of those who love Him.

So, let's get it going people. Let this blog become God's bragging board! He deserves it and we all need it!

Our Olympic Game Room

I think we get the GOLD for Best Game Room EVER!

Thank you to all that made the awesome decorations, worked it, and cleaned up after all the festivities! Looking forward to it next year!

Join US

As we start a new series this Sunday November 2nd, 2008.

Our class, being we are a Couples N Christ Class, is diving into the Old Testament and studying the Couples of the Old Testament. This Sunday we will start at the beginning, in Genesis per se, with Adam and Eve.

Hope to see many smiling friends old and new with us as we together see a fresh new perspective on how the Couples of the Bible do very much relate to us in the modern day world.

Cory Short's Book of the Month Club

Money, Possessions and Eternity

written by Randy Alcorn

A very good read from a man using The Bible and God's perspective on

money matters and where all of it fits into our daily lives.

Baby Preacher

Couple of the Week...

THE COOKS!!!!!!

As most of you know, Jon and Max have been best friends since 3rd grade. Then I joined the group in high school and the three of us spent our weekends playing pool at Snookers and watching Bugs Bunny (which we can almost quote every episode of, our favorite being the buzzard). We were thrilled when Max started dating Mistey because we immediately felt like she was the "ONE" for Max. Since then we have been proven right as together they have become amazing parents and sincere Chrisitians. We are thrilled to even have them living in the county, and blown away that God has placed them in our Sunday School class! We love both of them and know that all of you feel the same way about this sweet couple!

5 Fun Facts:

1. Mistey can run circles around most of us (we should make she and Betty race at our next class social!).
2. Their oldest is an exact replica of her dad!
3. Their wedding had a Disney princess theme- so sweet!
4. Max was a drummer (maybe still is?)
5. They met and fell in love while co-workers at Primus.

Kudos for Apples...

Does anyone else want a snack, but I digress.

I want to go on record saying that the Apples did an amazing job Sunday. They were teaching on Achan, not a story most of us were familiar with, about one man's sin effecting a community. Kyla, you have competition because they even had color coded handouts! I really enjoyed Sunday, and missed those of you who weren't there. Thanks again Keith and Betty!

Question...

OK, this is only fun if everyone leaves a comment.

Question: What was your favorite Bible story as a child and what is your favorite Bible story now?

You can leave a simple answer or get philisophical. Come on guys- only ladies have commented so far. It's not that hard!!!!

Couple of the Week

Joseph and Joanna Stephens are our featured couple this week. Look at the way they shine holding their...wait..... someone else's baby!

We love Joseph and Joanna's servent hearts. They are always willing to teach when needed and bring us yummy parfaits from McDonald's!

We love you guys. Thanks for being such a huge part of our class!

Moses in 30...

Yes, that's right the poor Phillips got the task of teaching on Moses, one of the most written about characters in the Bible, in a 30 minute lesson! I can't wait to see how fast Brad and Jen can talk! Luckily, they will be focusing on one passage Exodus 2:11-25. So, read up on some Moses tonight and join us for fellowship and fun and a great lesson!

"So Abram Left"

If you missed Sunday you missed a great kick-off to a wonderful new study of characters of the Old Testament. Jon and I taught on chapter 12 where God calls Abram to leave everything behind and go where He calls him to go. This is the 3rd time we have taught on this chapter, and I learn soemthing new every time. We were hurrying to get through all the insights from this chapter in our short 30 minutes. One of the main things I enjoyed were the 3 words "So Abram left". It was as simple as that. God called him and he went. Oh, to be that obedient!

Of course, we also saw how 6 short verses later after suffering through a famine, Abram stumbles and tries to take matters into his own hands. It means so much to me that God allowed HIs word to include the times His people mess up too. That makes me have hope because I know I'm going to mess up time and again! Abram was called to go through a desert as was Jesus during HIs temptation and as many of us have been and will be again. We need to learn to rest on God's promises and not try to help Him out!

I thought I learned so much studying and researching this lesson to teach, but when I got to class I learned so much from each of you and your insights into scripture. That is how God designed it to be, I believe, for us to feed each other!

We missed those of you who were unable to be with us and hope to see you soon.In order to encourage you not to miss next week's exciting meeting, here's a teaser:

If you missed class this week you missed:
-Me single handedly starting a crime spree!
-Learning that Nico, the Apples' youngest, can pick locks already!
-Abram was thought to be as crazy as Ray Consella (?) when he plowed under his cornfield.
-Abram basically sold his wife for some goats which really upset Kyla!
-Brad found his promised land in Oregon.
-Chris really likes sausage casserole.

See what you missed? See you Sunday!

Cardboard Testimonies

After you watch this video, leave a comment telling us which one was your favorite. Mine was the MS one and the infertile couple. Enjoy:

This Week's Lesson...

This week we will start our study of the Old Testament characters with Abraham. Please read the chapters in Genisis that cover his life 11-25. We will be focusing mostly on chapter 12 if you only have time for one. We're really looking forward to diving into THE book with you!

Here is the Bible study guide that our great Kyla found for us to use. You can order it for $8 or buy it at Lifeway for $7. If you do buy the book be aware that we are not going in the order the book but will be going in the order of when they occurred in the Bible. However, unless you are teaching you don't neccessarily need to buy it because, remember as a class we decided our main book would be

In order to get us as a class to get into the Word, I'll be posting what scriptures we will be studying that week so you can study it before class. This should be something everyone should be able to do. You can do a little by just reading the focus chapter or you can really get into it and read all the chapters dealing with the character we are studying or even the entire book of the Bible! I think we'll all be blessed by diving into God's Word, and I'm really excited about it!

We are the Champions...

I'm sure you have all read about our class vs class kick ball game in the papers by now, but I thought I would give you the inside scoop!

All the local celebrities came out in their finest... Some found it more exciting than others...

The afternoon began with some worship led by none other than Joel. Followed by a class meeting (more to come about that later)...

There was a baby wrangling competition, but who could compete with this poor man?

After some great food and fellowship with the Sojourners class, we headed to the field and the gloves came off...

The crowd was siked, mostly by their crackers and not so much the game...

We even got a great shot of the team stagety meeting (did you get the Bugs Bunny term MC?)...

The game was pretty intense and the team was really concentrating, even while in the dugout...

Some didn't like having their concentration interrupted by the paparazzi...

But as always, we were meek, quiet and unassuming competitors...
*On a side note, after posting that picture I (Tonya) am now looking for a new best friend bc/ my former one is probably not going to speak to me again!

The intensity and strategy worked because we won 4 to 1!!!

Here is the proud team posing with the trophy...

Here is the captain of the loosing team presenting the trophy to a "humble" Chris...

And then there is the player who literally got down and dirty on a slide (seriously? a slide in kickball?). In honor of the Stanley Cup tradition Keith is proudly drinking from our new trophy!
Next, it was the kids' turn and what a bunch of them there were!
As usual, it was so much fun getting together! Please come back later for a posting of ministry opportunities in our class. If you haven't gotten to get your hand on the trophy yet, I'm sure it will be humbly on display in class Sunday!

Wordless Wednesday...

Just some fun pictures

We LOVE Keith and Betty

Here is our couple of the week! Keith and Betty Apple are AWESOME! Not only do they plan our fun events, send out prayer requests, but last week they stepped in for Chris and Kyla and TAUGHT the class! We love you guys!