Ten Dollars

by Daron Butler

In my duties as a pastor I get to meet people who walk in our church looking for help.  This week I got to meet Jay (name changed for anonymity). 

He shared his story.  I could not relate as he painfully regurgitated how hard his life has been.  Both parents died.  His wife wants to leave him.  He is unemployed because he had to leave his job to try to make things right with his estranged wife.  He needs meds to regulate his condition. In his words, “I’m just trying to keep it together.”

He needed money to buy gas, dress clothes, and a haircut for a job interview the next day.  I know that our church helps those who need food.  Jay had a job prospect, housing with a friend, and had access to food.  Many who come for help don’t have any food.  Still, his needs were great.

So God prompted me to give ten dollars for gas money to use a friend’s car to get to the job interview.  The job interview was a done deal, or so he said. 

Now you may feel cynical like I did. But I got to thinking as I summarized his situation.  He needed help.  He had no one.  He had no family.  He only had one friend. 

I was a stranger to Jay.  Yet God brought him into the church and into my office.  So I gave him my money and prayed for him. I also prepared a bag of dress clothes for him to pick up.  Whether he comes to pick the clothes up or not, I want to do what God prompts. 

When God prompts you to help, you must offer aid.  When the Holy Spirit moves you to act, you must engage.  When the Lord brings the person back to your mind, then you must be fully devoted to Him and give.

My challenge to you is to follow God’s promptings and see what God does through you.  Anyone can minister.  Be courageous!  Step out in faith and watch God work.  You will never be the same as you discover how good God is and how he provides for you.   

My favorite things to do during the Christmas season...

by Ben Framstad

Okay, I'll start the list, but you need to comment and add your favorite thing to do, too...






1) Caroling to people's houses that will be especially suprised by the visit. Then ending the night with a some great coffee/hot chocolate.

Now it's your turn! If you read this, you need to contribute :)

Ever Feel Alone?

by Ben Framstad

This week I met with a student who felt alone. This person was so brave to talk about doubt. I took both of us to some great scripture passages about how we can never be seperated by the love of Christ. Then I showed this student this music video. Hopefully you will be blessed by it :)

http://www.vimeo.com/2504892

Picture from the Student Ministry office staff Christmas Party

Yay for Christmas!

Question Cards

by Josh Atkins

We just recently instituted "Question Cards" where students can write down questions that they have and I (someone) will answer their questions on Sunday morning (our main program). Here is the first question I received...

"My friend used to go to a strong Christian church. Then about a year ago, her family started attending a Universal Unitarian Church. She is convinced that we are all evolved from apes. I know she doesn't believe the whole Bible is true. I don't even think she believes there is a God that I tell her about. What should I say to her? Should I try to convince her otherwise?"

My Initial thoughts/responses:

- I'm pretty sure that a girl wrote this question. Mostly because of the handwriting...and because middle school guys don't have too many friends that are girls (or was that just me?).

- I need to do some research on the Unitarian Church. While I've heard different things about them, I don't want to say something about them that I haven't first read for myself.

- Is this really where I want to open the Creation vs. Evolution can? I'm thinking maybe a series as opposed to a 5-7 "element" in our service.

- The Bible's validity is being called into question. And if this friend doesn't believe that the Bible is true, no amount of proof-texts are going to show her that it is true. It might be time to get out the "Evidence that Demands a Verdict" book.

- She is already sharing her faith with this friend. She talks about God and says, "that I tell her about." The relationship is there and the groundwork is already being laid. She is doing exactly what she should be doing.

Any thoughts/responses from your end?

Christmas Time at the Clevelands

by Ben Framstad

Last night the entire Student Ministries paid staff and their families met at the Cleveland's for our annual Christmas party. Nick and Vicki were great hosts (I think I can die happy after eating the meatball dish Vicki made). Most memorable of all was our game called "Loaded Questions." One person would read a question on a card and everyone would write down their answers. Then another person would read off everybody's answers annonymously, while the reader of the question would have to guess who said what. Some of the favorite answers of the night were:

Q: At what protest would someone spot you at?
A:"The million man march."

Q: What are you a self-proclaimed expert about?
A:"Toliet Obstructions"

Q: If you could be the author of any book, what would it be?
A:"The Final Workout: Darker Days of the Richard Simmons Career"

Q: The most irresistable quality about me is...
A:"My Communist Tendencies"

Yikes! What a fun time. Our sides hurt from laughing. Merry Christmas!

Get Fired Up!

by Nick Cleveland

Students who are learning what it means to live for Jesus in front of their friends gets me fired up! We have many students at Grace who get me fired up. One such student took it upon herself to encourage friends at school this fall by dropping scripture notes in their lockers. That’s where God got in the mix and in His sovereignty began working in the heart of one of her friends. Then she sends me this message over facebook…

“hey there. so right now im actually shaking as im writing this. soo cool lol. anyway so tonight at soccer practice, me and my friend and I were passing the ball and talking for like 10 minutes. and she just randomly brought up church. she said "so dude i wanna come to church again and to small groups" i said "okay sweet if you ever need a ride we could take you" she said "do you like church? is it fun?" i said "Oh yeah i love it. so much fun dude. cause at church you meet so many new people and make soo many new friends that you can trust and talk about anything with them so its pretty sweet." she said "oh thats cool. like i know people who hate church. but i wanna get in the habit of going cause when i get married and have kids i wanna take them to church and stuff. my parents dont take me and my sister at all but i really want to go." i said "aww yeah thats soo cool that you actually wanna go. yeah me and god are like tight" she said "ha ha sweet" i said "are you and god 'tight'" and she said "ummm no well im not really sure" - signed a 10th grader at Grace.

There you have it. On the field friend-evangelism. Reaching the normal with the message of the super-normal! If that story doesn’t get you fired up…

Thanksgiving

by Ben Framstad

Man oh man - what a holiday. I'm so thankful for a period of rest where I was able to rest and spend time with family. On Tuesday, I left Wooster to drive to my hometown, Fremont, OH. Back in Fremont, I didn't do anything particularly out of the ordinary but hang out at home. But here's a look at every day.

Tuesday night - Got home, decided to start a puzzle (it seemed like the right "holiday" thing to do). My dad and worked on it for a half hour or so only to realize that we were missing pieces. We couldn't even get the outter rim of the puzzle done. How disappointing. We scrapped the puzzle and watched a movie.

Wednesday - I hung around the house mostly, but got to go to Grace Community Church (http://www.gracecom.net/) for their Thanksgiving service. There I got hugs from people I haven't seen in a while and caught up on life. After the service I went over to my brother and sister-in-law's house for their annual "cereal party". All their friends brought a box and we ate cereal and played some wii. It was most enjoyable.

Thursday- This was really relaxed. Both my brothers had Thanksgiving with their wife's families. My parents and I watched the parade and ate postroast.

Friday - Bring on the Turkey! My brothers and their families came over to the house and we spent some good time goofing off. Nearing the end of the day, my parents and I went over to my brothers house to watch "Get Smart" on his flat screen. Apart from the few parts, the movie was quite enjoyable. Finally, I went to a friends house and had a short Fremont friend reunion. We played this game called "Boxers or Briefs." Thankfully, it involved no underwear. Wait - that came out wrong...

Saturday - Drove back to Wooster and showed my other brother and his family my house and the church. Now they have a picture of where I live and what I do so when I talk with me on the phone, they can visualize how life is going.

So what am I doing this weekend? Wouldn't you like to know... :)

Holiday Extravaganza

by Cathy Simms


On Monday and Tuesday night, November 10 & 11, our church opened its doors to 1000 women from our church and community for its 10th year of Holiday Extravaganza. What an exciting time it was to have the halls full of women, but even more exciting was the great group of high school girls who volunteered to help serve both nights. There were 22 girls that helped between the two nights and they each did an amazing job of keeping the buffet going on Monday and serving the ladies at their tables on Tuesday. It was a neat sight Tuesday to see the girls dressed in black and white proceed in a line into the gym to deliver the cookie trays to the tables. They did an excellent job, were very personable, and reflected Christ to the ladies they served! I appreciated their willingness to help do whatever was needed with several always asking, "What can I do next?". You can be very proud of the great group of young ladies who represented Wooster Student Ministries for this event!

ACTion Projects

Wooster Grace Student ministries wants to know:

"So what did your small group do to take ACTion for Jesus in the lives of others?

Do Two Things

by Ben Framstad

#1) Read the previous post about "Wii ministry"

#2) Then watch this video. Wii ministry is not just for students apparently!

Wii Ministry?

by Nick Cleveland

Sitting in my office I couldn’t get him to open up at all. Not about sports. Not about girls. Not about family. Not about God. Nothing. A disconnected student who has no real point of relationship in our ministry. So what can a pastor do to enter into the life of a student who just isn’t interested in sharing anything? I was at the end of ideas…until one popped into my head. I said, “hey, let’s go down to the student center!” So he begrudgingly traveled with me to this remarkable new facility. Honestly I didn’t have a plan once we arrived there, but then I saw the Nintendo Wii’s.

His reaction to playing the Wii was unlike any non verbal I received in my office. So together we bowled with the Nintendo Wii. So what’s so significant with that? For 45 minutes he talked to me about everything…no really everything! I sat in amazement and wonder, thanking God for the opportunity. I would ask a question and he would answer almost like he didn’t know he was sharing.

But the best part is the result…the result of this young man getting connected to a loving and caring adult leader and 7-8 friends in a small group at Grace. Now he is growing through being connected. All because of the Nintendo Wii and the Spirit of God!

A Student's Take On Trick-or-Treating

by Jesse Sansom
We can be a blessing and show the love of Christ to our neighbors through trick-or-treating. My family and I do this in four different ways.

The first way is easy; we pass out the best candy we can find to the trick-or-treaters. We try to get candy that we know will be the favorite, like Reese’s and Kit Kats and pretty much anything by Hershey’s or Willie Wonka. And we start buying the candy in August (we usually need a lot of candy!) so that we will have a good variety and a good quantity of it.


The next way we show Christ’s love is by handing out Adventures in Odyssey CDs. Adventures in Odyssey is a Christian children’s radio show that is produced by Focus on the Family. The kids are always excited to get the CDs, and we know that God’s Word will be brought into their homes in a neat and fun way.


Another way we try to be a blessing is through hot chocolate. About a half hour before trick-or-treating begins we make a large batch of homemade hot chocolate. Then we put it in a crock pot so that it stays warm. Mostly, we give the hot chocolate to the parents. They have always expressed how nice it is to have something to keep them warm against the cold October wind. (And it is nice to have a cup or two while we’re sitting there ourselves!)


The last and most important way we try to be a blessing is through prayer. I’ve come up with a habit of trying to pray for each family that goes by. I just simply ask God to bless the trick-or-treaters and their families, and if they got an Adventures in Odyssey CD, that He would open their hearts to the message on that CD. Prayer can have a huge impact on the lives of our neighbors!



Trick-or-treating has become one of my favorite events of the year—from seeing the gratitude of the people around us, to just having fun serving with my family! Bringing Grace to the Neighborhood can be as easy as participating in this yearly neighborhood event.

Chips and Salsa Anyone?

by Rachel Snyder

Open Café Extended!

If you missed last Monday, you missed a ton of fun…But no worries, the Student Center Café will be open every Monday in November too (back by request!). If you haven’t been there before, come and check it out! We start at 2:30 (right after school) and kick you out around 5:30 (so you can go home and eat with your family). Come and bring your friends! If you’re lucky, we may even bring the hoops down and get the ping pong tables out in the Student Worship Center.

I'm Not Good at This, Really!

By David Lawson

You who are reading this are reading a long-overdue entry. What I mean is that the Student Ministries staff passed on to me, probably over a week ago, the responsibility to write an entry to be posted “within the next day or two.” Well, that didn’t happen. And as I looked at the blog today, I can see that they have graciously taken up the slack.

You see, my failure to write the blog was not due to the usual reasons or excuses. Though I’m busy and have had a lot of responsibilities, meetings, planning, teaching preparation, and family duties over the last week or so, it hasn’t been unlike any other week. (Although acquiring a facebook account has given yet one more thing to do and check. If you were to look at my page, you’d see I haven’t done much there either.) It’s not that I forgot. How could I? I have this rolling pin on my desk that serves as a constant, nagging reminder of the responsibility I’ve been shirking over these past several days. I’m not opposed to writing a blog. Actually, I think it’s a good idea – so that’s not the reason, either.

You see, the real reason is that I have nothing to say. It’s not that I don’t have a lot of thoughts. I do. But I can’t seem to get past questions like, “Why would anyone want to know what I’m thinking?” “People have enough trouble keeping up with their own lives, why should I think they’d want to keep up with mine?”

In fact, if I were to list all the things I’ve thought about and prayed about, things I’m concerned about, dreams I’ve dreamed, grief and sorrow I’ve felt – just this morning, no blog could contain them. However, probably because of my personality and perhaps because of my age, I just don’t care to write them down. I don’t seem to have the blogger mentality. Who knows, maybe this is my breakout moment!

However I do know of some thoughts worth hearing:

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
They would outnumber the grains of sand. (Psalm 139:17-18)

And it occurred to me this morning, as I was trying to fulfill my blogging duty, that if we were to blog the love of God, it would be kind of like this:

Could we with ink the ocean fill,

And were the skies of parchment made,

Were every stalk on earth a quill,

And every man a scribe by trade,

To write the love of God above,

Would drain the ocean dry.

Nor could the scroll contain the whole,

Though stretched from sky to sky.

From The Love of God, by Fredrick M. Lehman

Grace College

by Ben Framstad

On Tuesday, Nick, Rachel, and I hopped in a tiny Ford Focus at 6:30am and headed for Grace College. Nick was teaching a class for the youth ministry department and Rachel and I were helping. We also had high hopes to chart out the 

remaining school year and dream big about what God might be leading us to in 

High School Ministries. 

When we arrived to Grace, we unloaded our things at the Philemon Center, a house for guests and missionaries, and soon went over to teach the class. 

At one point on Tuesday, we had to go buy food at the grocery store to hold us over for the next couple days. Since we had skipped lunch by accident, we shopped on an empty stomach. We bought some funny stuff. Our favorite impulse buy was 1 and 1/2 pound of american cheese. The guy behind the deli counter was SO arrogant about his cheeses. Nick asked for american cheese and he aggressively asks, "Which kind? Orange or White...Bet you didn't know we had TWO kinds." Then he got fussy about how thin to slice the cheese, so when Nick said "thin" he went overboard and sliced it into a sliver so skinny that it was transparent. We corrected our order but man - the guy cut a lot of cheese! 

...and he had a beard net, which was gross.

Another part of our week included Steph Lawson's volleyball game on Wednesday night. The Grace Lancers played hard and won two games out of the five. Steph was a warrior out there. The game was complete with pep band, half time challenge where anyone could go on court and serve a ball, consession stand, and cheer team. Wow, it was fun :)

Now we're back, tired but refreshed. Praise God!

Greatest Earthly Relationship

by Nick Cleveland

Opportunities come in a variety of ways to us. Today I had the chance to meet 19 great students at Smithville High School. These students are in the Family Planning class taught by Birdie Weckesser. Birdie invited me to share with the class about what premarital counseling entails and what a successful marriage might look like. I had a blast hanging out with these students. It also reminded me of the gravity of what I do every day. There is so much at stake with the coming generations. This generation has a hard time identifying successful relationships and what a calling to introduce them to a relationship with Jesus (the only one who will never fail them).

It also reminded me of the greatest earthly relationship I have…with Vicki. Vicki is a wife who has learned to love me the way I want to receive love. She seeks to connect with me in special ways and enjoy the things I enjoy. I’m not sure my wife enjoys watching the Cleveland Browns at all…but on Monday I know she tuned it because I was there and it was important to me. I am so grateful to God that I can wake up every day next to my best friend and love. My hope is that I could be nearly as great of a husband and friend to my wife as she has been to me! I love you, Vicki. My wife helps me to become a better man of God and follower of Jesus Christ. Thanks, Vicki, I love you!

Open Cafe

by Rachel Snyder

Did you guys know that the SMC is open every Monday in October right after school for what we call Open Café Time til 5:30PM? We had so much fun this week playing games, Wii and eating Bagel Bites…Take a look at these awesome pics! Hope to see you there next Monday!

Pearce Perry

Hey what is up this is Pearce Perry. Today I am job shadowing are awesome youth Pastor Nick Cleveland. I figure while everybody is visiting Peter Kern, who just chopped off his finger, that it would be a good idea to “blog” my day to you guys! So today my mom took me to the church offices and right when I get here Nick says that were going on a hospital visit. So I was like well gezze I get here and right off the back I’m going to the hospital to go pray for this guy. Get in there, Nick does the thing he does. We head back to the church and right away he shows me the offices. Now I’ve been going here for like 3 months and to see how many pastors there are for ONE church you guys have a lot, which is cool and all there just a lot of pastors here. So Ben says that we have to find big boxes for Sunday for the new series “SoWhat about…?” Well see it really hard to find boxes for the sermon. So than they say I have to search the World Wide Web for power point slides and I have to find you ready…….200 of them. That is A LOT! But is that bad actually. Now I have to ask questions to Pastor Nick and I have no clue what I’M going to do after lunch. Well I got to get some homework done. Later

It's good!

by Ben Framstad

So, if you read the last post, you knew I was hoping for an incredible game. Well, we got it - RAD, Nick, Josh, and I saw one of the best Browns games in the last couple of decades. Browns, the underdog (let's be honest - everyone was expecting them to loose), smashed their opponents, the Giants - last year's superbowl champs, and they did it on televised Monday night football. The stadium was packed, loud, and crazy the whole night. Here's some pictures:

Yeah - it was GREAT. Go Brownies!

Cleveland Browns Game

by Ben Framstad

Tonight, I'm going to my first NFL football game ever. It will be the Browns vs. the Giants. I think I already know who will win. It doesn't matter who wins for me, to be honest. I'm just stoaked to go and hang out for the night. I love sitting with sports fans. Everyone's excited to be there and though people don't know each other, you feel a sense of camaraderie among people because everyone's rooting for the team together.

Though I've never been to an NFL game, I've been to a handful of Major and Minor League baseball games. There was this one time when I was sitting in stands just beyond 1st base. You know how you always wish for them to hit a ball into your section, so you can catch it? Well, that was my ambition for that game, as it was for everyone else in my section. You see, the section near 1st base gets a lot of foul balls hit into it. Anyway, my wish came true...sort of.

This one player hit a screamer right into my section - right at ME! I remember seeing the ball go from being really small and far away to steadily and quickly getting bigger and bigger. I ducked (as well as everyone around me) and the ball shot past my head and hit the guy behind me in the butt (he had stood up and turned around to protect himself). The ball rebounded and landed in a group of cub scouts 20-30 feet away. Boy were THEY excited! I was just thankful for my life. My face would have been forever changed had I taken that ball to the head. There was a lady a few rows back that had a panic attack because of that ball. 

So...I guess if the NFL game is anything like that experience, I'll have a good time. 

FALL PARTY!!!!!!

by Clint Gasser

I came with Georgia. we talked with friends and ate. then we listened to Judgement Come. then we went to hear collision. they were cool. then Jeremy Kingsley talked to us about Jesus being our Savior and forgiving our sins. he was awesome. alot of kids got saved. then we hung out with friends and i got to do this.

It's coming!

by Ben Framstad

That's right. It's coming. Student Ministry Weekend that is. Actually, it's already upon us. Later tonight there's going to be a big blow out party at the Student Ministry Center (SMC). We're going to have local bands like "Judgement Come" and "The Collision" there as well as a speaker, Jeremy Kingsley. We're planning to have free time in the mix, too. There are, after all, couches and games and food. We gotta have some of that, don't we.

If you think the excitement ends there, you're wrong. Tomorrow, we are having the whole Sunday morning being geared toward telling what God is doing in student ministries at Wooster Grace. We're having an art show in the Student Worship Center, an open house, Lerch's donuts, a student led church service in the gym, Jeremy Kingsley's speaking again...a lot of stuff if you catch my drift.

Anyway, hope to see you this weekend. It's going to be a blast!

The world would be a better place if...

by Josh Atkins

On our registration cards when someone new comes (thanks Mark), rather than just putting the usual contact info stuff (which we do put on there), we also put other things as well. One of the questions is more of a "Finish the Phrase" and starts out: The World Would be a Better Place If...
Here are some of the responses from my 7th and 8th graders. Each quote is from a different student; unaltered. I've taken the liberty of loosely categorizing them to show that just because students are in 7th and 8th grade, doesn't mean they don't know or don't care about what's going on in the world.



The War: “There were peace”; “There was no war”; "The war in Iraq would end"; "There was no war"; "World peace, and no school"; "There was no war"; “No fighting/no war”; "There was no war"; “There was peace”; “There was no war”; “No war”; “The war was over”; “There were no wars going on”; "There was no war"



Economics: “I was a billionaire”; “There was more money”; “There was no poverty”; “There was no high gas prices”; “Wii’s were cheaper”



Environment: “There were only solar powered cars”; “There was no global warming”; “No one littered”; “People could keep it clean”; “Global warming would stop”; “No pollution or killing”



Religion/Spiritual: “Everyone knew Jesus”; “No sin”; “Everyone knew God”; “Every one could worship any religion any time”; “People believed”; “Everyone were Christian”; “I don’t know…everyone believed in Jesus”; “There wasn’t sin”



Biological: “There wasn’t spiders”; “Praying mantises, sharks, and crickets didn’t exist”



Sociological: “People could put aside racial differences”; “There were no bullies”; “There was no hate”; “Everyone was nice”; “We could all get along”; “People didn’t fight”; “People didn’t shoot other people”; “People were nicer”; “Everyone was treated equally”; “We all got along/were friends. Speak one language. Everyone knows Christ.”



World: “No world hunger”; "No one would be starving"



Politics: “I was president”; “We had a better president”



Health: “You could eat without getting fat”; “No drugs”; “No more smoking”; “No drugs”



Personal: “Everyone loved me”; “People stopped swearing”; “People didn’t overreact”; “Animals could talk”



Did any of these surprise you? They surprised me. So what about you? What do YOU think would make the world a better place?

You Are Forgiven

by Ben Framstad

This Sunday was powerful. We talked about forgiveness for the Christian. We sometimes think when we come to Christ, we'll never have to ask for forgiveness again. Part of that is true - he forgave all our past, present, and future sins on the cross once and for all. To ask for more forgiveness would be to ask him to die again on the cross. I don't know about you, but I think I read somewhere that Jesus only had to die once to "put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." (Hebrews 9:25, 26). So yes, asking for forgiveness again seems silly.

At the same time, we sometimes need to see where we've strayed and been rebellious and come running back to Jesus. It is only then that we can truly know Him, worship Him, fellowship with him, and fully appreciate the sacrifice that he made. In this sense, we do seek forgiveness on a regular basis, and THAT is what happened yesterday in the Sunday morning student service.

Nick brought the Word and God spoke through him to us. What a lot of us were covering up in our hearts, God was only getting ready to uncover. Yet if we were willing to uncover the sin ourselves that morning, God would be faithful to "cover" that offense with His grace. 

Finally, the message was capped off by a drama where one individual came on stage and danced to a song of forgiveness. This person first uncovered a broken mirror which had the word "SIN" smeared on it in red paint. It is only when we look at the mirror of our lives and take a good look at ourselves that we find ourselves broken in our sin. Then the individual went to another part of the stage and yanked off the drop cloth covering the cross. The cross is enough. Forgiveness is here. Wow, what a morning.

I hope everyone was able to look in the mirror yesterday and see what they needed to give to God. If you passed up the opportunity, it's never too late. Take time now, and then tell someone close the step that you made.

See You At The Pole

by Josh Atkins

If you didn’t know, today was “See You @ the Pole” and provided our students (and yours) with a chance to take a stand for Jesus. The last 3 days I have been pushing it to parents and students, but it’s been harder than I remember. It’s hard for me, being a middle school guy, to get kids there since they are at the mercy of their parents for a ride.

But as I was talking to parents and to students, I found myself saying the same things, just over and over again. I thought I would share with you my reasons for pushing and promoting something like “See You @ the Pole.”

- It’s a chance to be seen praying and representing Jesus. The beauty of the “pole” part is that it’s usually in a very visible spot and students that are praying there or even just circled around it will no doubt be seen by many students that are just arriving to school.

- It’s a chance to explain to their parents why they need to come early. In my work with Middle School students, I’ve found that parents are willing to take their students places. And I totally believe that our parents will (and did) make the effort for students that are excited about Jesus. (Thanks parents!)

- It’s a chance for students to interact with those friends that saw them during the day and answer questions about why they were there and what they were doing. Students will no doubt be met with questions like, “What’s up with the flag pole thing?” or “What were you guys doing?” and be given an oppourtunity to share their faith.

For me, See You @ the Pole is a no brainer. Anybody have a story about the day? What was your experience like?

My House

by Ben Framstad

Today, I vacuumed my whole house, cleaned the kitchen, washed all my clothes, cleaned the bathroom... And there's still more to do. So this is what it's like to live on my own.

I live in a two story house with two other guys who share rent. We're close to the college of Wooster, and my neighborhood is pretty nice. We have this fantastic old couple named Paul and Tuck. Every once in a while, I shoot the breeze with Tuck and hear how things are going. She's a nice lady.

The worst thing about the place is that I have to take care of two cats. One has short hair and usually stays away from me, so that's good. The other has long hair and an evil eye. When it meows, it sounds like it's possessed.

The best thing about the place is that we have a fireplace. It doesn't work, but it has a candle stand with about nine candles. Sometimes I turn off the lights and read by candlelight. Sometimes a play my guitar, too.

And that's all I have to say...

Accountability

By: Rachel J. Snyder

"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

~ Proverbs 27:17

Throughout High School I really struggled staying current with my accountability partner. Mind you, I did have an Adult Leader that offered to mentor me my senior year and she kept me accountable (which was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had).

But, just couple of weeks ago I was reminded how important it is to have friends that not only believe the same things you do, but want to help you get to the next level of your faith. I have felt compelled to begin reading my Bible not just at night when I usually do, but also in the morning when I get up. I just felt like I needed to start my day out right.

The first few days of this commitment were great! I woke up about 15 minutes early and read a chapter before I rolled out of bed. But as the next few weeks rolled around, I started slippin’ already. But just two weeks ago, I woke up to a text that said, “Good morning Rachel, read John 14 if you get a chance, it’s really good.”

Just a short txt to a friend can help them start their day off right. If you have an accountability partner, remember that sometimes the smallest reminders are the most powerful. If you don’t have an accountability partner and you want to grow in your faith, get one, it’s the only way. And if you see me around, ask me how my morning devos are going..I’ll try and be ready.

Love

by Nick Cleveland

God is love. Love is not just something God does…it’s part of his fabric and part of all He does. I was stilled to silence this week in pondering that and re-discovering this verse.

Zephaniah 3:17

“The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."

Stop and think about the implications for your life when you realize God’s love for you.

The line in the sand

by Ben Framstad

Yesterday, I got to see someone come to know Jesus. It was clearly by divine appointment that I was there to see it.

In the late Thursday afternoon, I was talking to a student in the Student Ministry Center about God, but he had already made up his mind: He wanted to change. He told me that though he wasn't a bad person, he wasn't good either. Something was missing, and the loss of whatever it was gnawed at his soul.

What he was really experiencing was the conviction of the Holy Spirit. I just knew it when I saw it in him. It is one of the most beautiful things in the whole wide world - a lost person being pushed by God to come to terms with his sin. John 16:8 says, "When [the Holy Spirit] comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment." That was what God was doing yesterday, because He desperately loved this guy.

I showed him scripture that talked about how each of us are sinners and that Jesus, who is God, came to earth to take the punishment for our sins. Now, he offers us the gift of forgiveness if only we'll take it. When we take it, we're choosing to turn 180 degrees in the opposite direction away from our sin. The point is that we don't just give our heart of Jesus, we give our whole life to him. That's what this student realized yesterday. Jesus wanted everything: his time, his school activities, his family, his possessions - everything.

At the end, I told him that it was his time to "draw the line in the sand" so to speak and cross over to follow Jesus. He didn't need convincing. He made that decision and now he knows Jesus as his LORD and SAVIOR. Hallelujah!

Jesus always has and always will astound me. He delighted me yesterday by allowing me to watch as he drew someone to himself.

And Then Everything Changed

by Josh Atkins

I was 18 and I just started my freshman year in college. I had just finished my fitness test in Lancer Gym (RIP) for my Healthy Lifestyles class at Grace College. I finished early and went back to my dorm to get ready for chapel. I threw my stuff on the ground (where else would I put it?) and hopped on IM (does anybody still use this?). I ended up talking to my friend Ben, who I knew from high school and he said, “Can you believe it?” Confused, I responded, “Believe what?” He said, “Open up the internet, you’ll see.” It was 9:15 AM, I opened up Yahoo, and then everything changed.

I saw that planes had hit the World Trade Center and so I went down to the lobby to catch it on the news. There were already about 8 guys watching it and catching me up on everything I missed. I stood there stunned and not really sure what I was looking at. And then, since I was a freshman and didn’t know any better, I went back to my room, got ready, and went to chapel.
I sat by myself to the right of the sound booth in McClain Auditorium a few rows from the back. Jack Rants (our Chaplain) caught everybody up with what had happened, and then we proceeded to try and have chapel. Periodically throughout the rest of the service, he would come up and give us updates about what had happened.

Another plane has crashed into the Pentagon in Washington D.C.

The South Tower has collapsed.

Another plane has crashed in rural Pennsylvania.

The North Tower has collapsed.

It was impossible to focus. We were led in a prayer time, and given a two hour “break” from classes and they would resume at that time. I went back to the dorm, along with a bunch of other guys on my hall, and we just watched the news unravel on tv; trying to make sense of it all.
It’s been 7 years, but I can still put myself in the chair in chapel as they gave us the updates. Where were you? Do you remember what you were doing? Let’s remember the families of those who lost loved ones today and pray that their pursuit of peace would lead them to a relationship with the only one who can truly bring peace, Jesus Christ.

College Drop Off

by Michelle Ream

So, now I know how it feels to go through the college process and drive away leaving your kid standing in his dorm room door. Yes, as unbelievable as it seems, last weekend was my turn to drop my firstborn off to begin his next phase of life at Grace College. So many mixed emotions go into it! So many praises at the end of the weekend!

It all began with a year full of scholarship searching, applications to fill out, visits to campus, and of course those crazy financial aid papers. Then came the awards ceremonies at school, preparing for graduation, throw in a trip to Germany for him, and the finale of it all- The Graduation Party! Immediately, it was on to organizing, shopping, packing, shopping, packing some more, and did I mention shopping? WOW! So much goes in to getting ready for college. Why didn’t someone tell me!

Before I knew it, the summer was winding down, we were packing the SUV, grandparents and younger siblings were saying their goodbyes, and on the road we were- College Road Trip (a little surprised there was room for the student).

As we pull into campus, the hustle and bustle is evident! Smiling faces and a flurry of activity greet us at registration. What a process! Then it’s move-in time. Will it be on the first or third floor? Will we ruin our backs in the moving process? As we pull up to Beta, we are a little overwhelmed by the mass of students standing around the front door. A girl chases us down, “Pull up to the front door and we’ll take it from there!” she says with a smile. WOW! In a matter of 5 minutes, they moved him in with not a single item touched by my son, my husband, or me. Amazing!

The time on campus that weekend was filled with meals, meetings, chapel, welcomes, and so much more. Everyone expected me to cry, and of course a few tears were shed over the course of the 2 days there, but there was something else. I was so amazed at the sense of thankfulness that filled my spirit.

As God spoke to me that weekend, my level of thankfulness grew and grew. How did we get here, at a place like Grace? What did we do to deserve the chance to experience this kind of environment? Why do I feel more overwhelmed by that than by the fact that I’m leaving my kid?

GRACE! Something I’m learning a lot about over the last few years. GRACE! In our everyday lives, given to us from our Father on a day to day basis. GRACE! Not just a place, like my son’s college, but something God offers to us freely everyday. GRACE! Thanks to Him for that wonderful gift! GRACE! Extend it to others today!

The Wayne County Fair

by Ben Framstad

Oh, the fair. On Sunday, I got the fair at 8:30am, got my Lerch's donut, and started helping the team set up for Fair Church. By the time the service started, things were running pretty smooth. I can't believe that it was standing room only in there. So cool.

I got to walk around a bit during the afternoon. I watched part of the kiddy tractor pull, saw some walking bacon, and indulged in a great pork loin sandwhich. I also helped with our church fair booth. We were taking people's pictures and putting the Ohio State Buckeye stadium in the background (we had a green screen). It's amazing how many people passed by and shied away from stopping in, even when we said it was free. 

I guess nothing is truly free these days. Nothing, that is, but Jesus.

I’m kind of a commercial junky. I owe this to my brother, who is worse than I am. He spends hours carousing youtube watching years and years of commercials that he remembers from when he was a child. I’m not quite that bad, but I do love to find and watch my favorite commercials on youtube after they’ve been posted. Here’s a list of a few of my favorites (in no particular order)…Do you have any favs you want to add to the list?

Bird and Jordan McDonalds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oACRt-Qp-s

Axe Deodorant BomChickaWowWow

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ds_HXfc4VE&NR=1

Clearasil May Cause Confidence

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTUkAJYEm64

1990s Pippen and Barkly Coca Cola

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJ16fT-ESIg

AIG +8 Laughing Ethan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXIfU-87TZo

Bird and Jordan McDonalds

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oACRt-Qp-s

Michael Jordan “I love this Game”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9y83ivS7veg&feature=related

Mending and Fixing

by Nick Cleveland

So yesterday a student came into my office and met with me. It was just a check up on how she was doing spiritually. She had an agenda with three things she wanted to talk about. The second one was so encouraging I just had to share it. She was on one of our summer trips and had shared with our group about a broken friendship and some of the pain and struggle associated with it. She told me this week that she so badly wanted to make it right after the mission trip, but didn’t. Then she went on the Strongsville trip two weeks ago and on Sunday, when she returned home, was determined to finally do something about this broken friendship. She called her friend (also in our group) and they had dinner. This girl proceeded to tell me that she apologized for all the pain she had caused her friend (and was embarrassed at how she wasn’t even able to recall all the things she had done). The other girl accepted the apology and then went on to apologize for her pain she had caused in the friendship.

Sounds like a typical restoration, right? Not so fast, my friend. You see they didn’t get up from dinner and go back to being BFF’s. Instead they made what I thought was a mature decision. It was the decision to live at peace together, but not try to become best friends…at least not right now. Maybe down the road, but not right now. It encouraged me that students would follow the conviction and prompting of the Holy Spirit of God to “live at peace” and let others know we know Him by our love!

That’s our message anyway isn’t it? Restored relationships – a restored relationship with God and others!

Food, Glorious Food!

by Ben Framstad

"Food, glorious food!
We're anxious to try it.
Three banquets a day
Our favourite diet!"
~from the musical "Oliver!"

Yesterday, I was invited over to a Adam's house last night for supper. Adam is a guy in our student ministry. He runs cross country, which earns him major points in my book because I ran cross country in high school, too. Check this out - on Tuesday, the guy ran 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) in 19:17 minutes!!! You try doing that. Not too many normal people can.

Anyway, his mom made this amazing GLORIOUS meal. We had grilled chicken, green beans, croissants and jam, cheesy potatoes, salad, and watermelon. Everything tasted perfect. To add to this spread, Adam's mom brought out for desert chocolate zucunni cake, with cream cheese frosting and chocolate chips on top. I'm protecting Adam's full identity so that everyone who reads this post doesn't show up tomorrow for dinner. Seriously, it was a great meal, and I was really blessed.

I can't believe how hospitable people can be sometimes. Isn't that what Jesus told us to do, though? He said that the two greatest commandments ever are to #1) "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength" and to #2) "love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these" (Mark 12:30, 31). Yesterday, true love was demonstrated to me and I'm amazed. A family, who loves the Lord with all their being, took time out of their day to love me.

Donuts

by Rachel Snyder

Wow, did you know that THE Wayne County Fair will be here in 10 days?? Everyone that is from Wayne County knows how sweet the fair is…a day off school, Lerch’s Donuts, French fries, the Square Dance on Sunday night and of course the Demo Derby on Thursday. And if there is one thing I know about, it’s Lerch’s Donuts. So, to enlighten you, I thought I’d share some interesting Lerch’s Donut Facts. :)

This Wayne County Fair marks my tenth year of making Lerch’s Donuts.
Lerch’s Donuts has the capacity to make 500 dozen AN HOUR at the Wayne County Fair.
We have 12 TONS of donut flour delivered to the fair grounds during the week of the fair (for those of you that can’t figure that out….12 tons = 24,000 lbs.
We have a coffee machine in the Wayne County Fair booth that brews 3 gallons of coffee in 7 minutes.
Each of the 6 days at the fair we sell thousands of dozens of donuts.

Who knew?

Life Changing Moments

by Josh Atkins

One of my favorite blogs to read is by a pastor at Granger named Tim Stevens. I dig his unique look at culture and its interactions with the church. And most recently, he had a post that had reflected a conversation that my wife and I were having with a couple of friends on the way home from a little jet-skiing. We talked about “Turning Points” in our lives that shaped who we are today, and then I recently read Tim’s blog post with the title “Life Changing Moments” which was along the same lines.


So here are some of my “Life-Changing Moments”



1982 - I was born. Changed my life.



1987 (5 years old) - Through lessons at church and talks (you don’t have “conversations” when you’re 4) with my parents, I accept Jesus Christ into my life.



1994 (12 years old) - After 6 years of piano lessons, my parents get me a pair of drumsticks and an oversized hockey puck (drum pad) and the rest is, well, history.



1995 (13 years old) - After spending my entire life in a Christian school, I begin 7th grade at Lexington Junior High School and begin the slow process of fading into the crowd and letting my relationship with Christ sit, untouched for 3 years.



1998 (16 years old) - My dad takes the youth pastor job at Wooster Grace and I move to Wooster in between my 9th and 10th grade year. This move, I believe, single-handedly saved my life. It got me connected with some great guys in the youth group and ultimately changed the whole trajectory of my life.



2002 (20 years old) - I finally pull the trigger and change my major from Biblical Studies with a Missions minor to Health and Physical education. I see God build in me a heart for students that would carry me through the rest of my college career (including my extra year, thank you very much.)



2003 (21 years old) - As a leader at Grace College, my faith becomes my own as I struggle with my own philosophy of ministry and what is important in my life. But working with great leaders like Jack Rants and Scott Feather, I’m brought to a greater understanding of my own heart as a leader. I also meet a freshman named Amber who I begin to date in April (2004) and would marry 3 years later (Giddeyup!).



2005 (23 years old) - While student teaching at Madison Elementary School and Edgewood Middle School in Warsaw, Indiana, I realize that my heart is truly with students and look forward to having a job that would let me spend lots of time with them.



2006 (24 years old) - After much prompting from the people around me, I apply for the Junior High position at Wooster Grace and return to the place where my heart for God, ministry, and people was developed and encouraged by leaders and peers. I return to my heart in hopes that God can use me in the same way to ignite 7th and 8th graders with a passion for Him, serving, and of course, people.



2007 (25 years old) - Amber and I get married. What can I say? It has been, is, and will be amazing getting to know her and I look forward to the many years of life and ministry that we will have. I love you, lady!



So what are some Life-Changing Moments in your life? How have you seen God use circumstances to guide you and lead you to the place you are now? Think about it. It’s a great exercise and I promise, once you do it, you’ll have a greater appreciation for God’s hand and His providence. What a great God we serve!

STRONGSVILLE: A Review

by Nick Cleveland

I was spending some time with my family last week. One of my son’s favorite places to go is Toyrifix in Smithville by the Barn Restaurant. He loves to go in there and just play! As he was playing I was investigating all of the cool toys they have there. I made my way back to the scrap booking area of the store and found some stamps. One of the stamps jumped out to me. That morning I had been preparing for the Strongsville mission trip and what I might share with students and landed on Philippians 1:21. This stamp virtually paraphrased the passage. The quote said, “Dream as though you’ll live forever…live as though you’ll die today!”

Now we know that if we know Christ we will live forever, but what if you and I lived our lives like we were to die today? What kind of urgency would we live like if there was no tomorrow? I think our students displayed the kind of on-mission living we would want to live like if there was no tomorrow. This weekend 75+ students participated in at least one part of our ministry weekend. We had students serving in so many ways and living to make Jesus famous in the moment! Here’s a taste of what students of Grace did this weekend:

- painted at the new building,
- organized a hope closet at Wayne County Children’s Services,
- handed out water on W. 130th & Royalton Road in Strongsville (inviting people to come to church),
- mulching the Oaks Family Center (a pregnancy care center in Strongsville),
- blazing a trail at the Christian Children’s Home in Wooster,
- helped a family at Grace move into their nursery,
- connected with children at Sowing Hope,
- participated in the bucket brigade (walked up to random businesses in Strongsville and offered to wash their windows & bathrooms free of charge to display God’s love),
- collected wheel borrows full of canned goods to give to the less fortunate through the ministry of Village Grace in Cleveland,
- Cleaned a nursing home and visited with the residents interviewing them (asking their greatest and worst moments in life),
- launched into our new Student Ministry Center by commissioning the space (we prayed for each chair and couch in the building and then prayed the same prayer, “God help me to reach” and filled in the blanks with names of people we want to see come to know Christ!),
- and then on Sunday took the bucket brigade to the north end of Wooster and blessed many of the businesses on the north end.

While there were so many neat stories we could share from the weekend, let me share the result of intentionally blessing someone. On Sunday we had to order pizza for 100 students and it was a demanding order for Dominoes. Knowing they would deliver it to a church representing Jesus we wanted to make sure we tipped them well for their hard work. The delivery man was so amazed at how he was treated and tipped he returned to Dominoes telling his co-workers about it and shared the tip with all of them!

Seriously, if you think students are the next generation you might have missed it! Paul’s challenge to live each day like there’s no tomorrow was modeled this weekend by our high school students. I am so proud to be their pastor! They lived the reminder… "Dream as though you’ll live forever…live as though you’ll die today!”