COME AND GET LOCKED IN!

Ground Zero is planning to have a "lock in" at Grace Life Church on Sunday, Dec. 27th. We will begin at 10:00 p.m. and will unlock the doors at 9:00 a.m. on Monday morning. We have not finished the planning, but so far it looks like pizza, karoke?, board games, a movie and some breakfast. We are still taking ideas for activities, so don't be shy if you have one! For those who need to crash, there will be an air mattress or two, if you need more, bring your own along with a pillow and a blanket.

Oh yea.....invite a friend!

GROUND ZERO HAS BEEN MOVED TO WEDNESDAY!

Because of prior commitments on Tuesday, Ground Zero will be meeting on Wednesday night this week at 7:00 pm Same place.....share this info with others and bring a friend onWednesday! Can't wait to see everyone!

THANK GOD THAT GOD IS GOD!

Have you ever wondered if anything you do is helping or making an impact or if you are just spinning your wheels? Sometimes we all feel that way. Sometimes, at camp this week that feeling has resurfaced. Well.....tonight God sort of shared with some that if it feels that way....it doesn't really matter....because we can do everything we can think of and fail, but God is still God and will finish what He wants to accomplish. Our best efforts from our own power, will most often fail and then (and usually, only then) can we see God at some of His finest work.

Our group of teens tonight, experienced an evening of worship that was straight from heaven. It was an impactful night that hopefully will follow them throughout the rest of their lives. Yes, we had some great fun on the beach and at the cookout at the park....but then....God's glory was so bright that each and everyone of these teens knew it and felt it there. How do you explain that to someone that wasn't there? How do you share that with anyone in a way that does it justice? I doubt that it can be done.......you will just need to join us next year. Because year after year, theme after theme that raises questions in our minds, God shows up at this camp in a big and mighty way.

The teens of Ground Zero want to thank everyone who helped make this trip to camp possible. You know who you are, and you have been just as much a part of this camp! Thanks!

WOW!

Can you believe it is ALREADY Wednesday morning (isn't it?) Our camp week is flying by and has been an amazing journey into each persons world. This theme of time is HUGE! It comes at you from every direction and then does a transformation into another form and returns again. I admire the camp for taking this on. It is a journey that takes a lot of TIME! (you get it?)

Our small group meetings have been amazing as well! Monday night we split into 3 groups and had some great discussions. Last night we stayed as the larger group which gives everyone an insight and thoughts on the same things. Everyone is still in the "processing" mode a lot of the time and it will be interesting to see how that all looks in a while.

Meanwhile, back at the beach (we MUST have beach pictures from Panama City) there have been crab hunts, relaxing times and making a swim/dive platform out of a kiddie pool. Plus the grand trip to Walmart! Today is the "get your own dinner" day and we are going to a local park for a cookout and mindless games. We wish you were all here with us, and are convinced that you wish you were too!

Enjoy the pictures.....and talk to you soon!

WE MADE IT!

The trip to Panama City Beach went so smoothly that we arrived earlier than we ever had. Abby handled the ride very well and we rejoiced when we got to the Boardwalk Beach Resort. Pizza for supper (as usual on the first nite) and then the "Big" meeting. It was great....we have a different emcee this year because many of the regulars of BigStuf are at a conference at Daytona Beach, but the group that they put in place for worship and messages is still top notch.

The theme for this year is "Time". Hmmmmm.....we wondered......what are they going to do with that? What angle will they take? It seems to be coming from different angles, and we have found that it really doesn't matter. ANY of them are teachable moments. After the "Big" meeting, we had our church group/small group time in which topics were discussed about giving back our time to God, what do they want their story to be over time, etc. It is just the beginning on an amazingly interesting topic! A few pictures are attached to show you a little bit of what is going on here.

Today we also had our "leaders" time while the youth had their own special programming. The leaders meeting was awesome. Isn't it great when God sends someone else to tell you that you are on the right path. That what we are doing is what others see is the thing that needs to be done!?!?!? The whole message that was given is hard to sum up, but it is basically that we have a young culture that is totally different. One that the older generation can't really be expected to enter in or understand.....BUT.....we do not have to join their culture, we just need to love them like Jesus and show them that they are loved no matter what, that they can trust God no matter what, and that God created them completely unique and special and because of that they are valuable and loved!

Meanwhile, back at the student meeting, Kaitlin Reeves won 2nd place (out of 1500 others) in the Simon Says Contest. She was awesome and the whole room had a great time with that! Congratulations Kaitlin.....you will have to show us the T-shirt that you won.

Well, we are off to tonight's Big Meeting! Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers!
Talk to you some more real soon!
Tracy

SOOOOOOOIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

The Pigs have started to return home to Ground Zero (where else would they go?). As you can see there were teens counting change for quite some time. The initial estimate of the first returnees is around $275.00 It is so great to see everyone working together to make it possible for every teen to get to get to go to camp that wants to!

We also had a great time talking about whether or not we are sinners (what do YOU think?) and how Independence Day with Christ is a brand new perspective on freedom. Freedom from sin...freedom from condemnation....freedom from judgement. It is so good to be free! And...if we can wrap our hearts around that, what an amazing reality is waiting for us!

Count down to camp.....12 days.

Let's Work on Getting Some Money!

Hi everyone! Our plans to have a spagetti dinner fundraiser are in motion. The date for the event is Saturday June 27th at 6:00 p.m. But we need plenty of items to help out with it. Soooo....this Saturday (June 6th) we will be meeting at Grace Life in Woodstock at 9:30 and heading out in groups to visit some local businesses who might help.

PLEASE come and help if you can, even if you don't plan to go to camp. This is going to be step 1 in the fun! Really! Bring your smile, your camera, your charm, and your sense of humor! The love of Jesus shines through you and guess what....you can't hide that! Hopefully we will get done pretty quickly and can go somewhere and get some brunch/lunch.

Please text me at 678-770-6245 if you can come and help! See ya Saturday morning!

VALUE......DO I HAVE ANY?

The topic this week was all about treasures and value. What treasure? What value? Do I have any of either? Where do I get it?

This all came together with the Parable of the Treasure and the Pearl. It seems that when we read over these parables, we assume that the treasure is Jesus and we can sell everything we have to purchase the treasure. Sweet! or......NOT! That is not the theme of the new covenant at all. Instead, trying looking at this with Jesus' eyes and wisdom and maybe we will see that WE are the treasure. WE have value to Jesus....so much so that He gave up everything HE had to come down here and purchase us with His blood. Pretty cool, huh!!!!

On the flip side, we also looked at the value of camp and the treasure we need to find to purchase that. So.....a car wash is in the planning. And so is a dinner and Karaoke night of some sort. The Planning Committee will meet Tuesday at 5:45....come on over if you want to help plan. AND THEN.....Ground Zero is going to be at Etowah High School this Tuesday to watch our fellow "GROUNDERS' perform in a concert. I hope everyone can come. If you are not in the planning meeting, just meet us at the Etowah Auditorium at 6:45.

Have a great week!

A FUND RAISING BRAIN STORM!

As camp approaches, we are looking for new ways to raise some money for those who need it. Lots of ideas flew by and are on the plate. One of our favorites is the "Recliner Revolution" in which we raffle off the opportunity to spend your Sunday morning at church in a recliner or sofa instead of the hard unforgiving chairs that are now there.

Many other ideas have come up, and we are selling note pad/stationary which are always a great thing to have...so sell on! The car wash idea is still out there....we could do it now, but because of water restrictions, we would have to finish by 10:00 a.m. Now that kind of puts a "drip" on a car wash. We will watch and wait for a better opportunity...it may even be after camp.
I will be making a list of the other ideas and seeing which one everyone is willing to do.

After we finished with money (do you ever finish with that?) we also discussed a possible Asylum for this summer. Anyone who is interested in that, please talk to Ms. Tracy or Sam and let us know....if you need more info on that, we can help you with that as well.

We then did an activity describing our relationship with God in conjunction with a candy bar. Each teen was given some type of candy (sweetarts, 100,000 bar, etc) and then shared how that candy can somehow describe how they think of God, or God them. It was a great thing and lots of fun!

Brochures for camp are going out this week, and we will need to know definitely who will be going...and don't forget the T-SHIRT competition. Send in your entry by May 26th in order to be chosen the official "T-shirt for camp".

In addition to our prayer request time, I have been specifically praying for some of you and will be watching to see if God has impacted your world a little more lately! As always, WATCH FOR GOD in your world.....let us know what you see!

How do YOU share Jesus with others?

That was sort of the topic tonight at Ground Zero. Spurned on by an article I read on one of my favorite Youth Leader web sites. (http://www.thesource4ym.com/archives/arc20090414.asp#TITLE1) Evangelism. Hmmmm.....what really works? How did you hear about and become aware of Jesus and what He did for you?

We discussed the pros and cons of street evangelism verses relationship evangelism and learned that when Jesus said "This is how they will know that you are my disciple, that you love one another" (John 13:35) that maybe He was telling us that THAT is the way to explain Him to others...by loving them.
This type of evangelism requires an investment from us in others (to have friends), but if we have Jesus in us, if we are Jesus walking and talking, this type of evangelism is not an effort or a plan, but a way of life. Others can see Jesus in us...whether we know it or not.....whether we try to or not....whether we like it or not.

Agree? Disagree? Post a comment and let us know!

We also want to thank Mr. Bob (Bob Cary) for joining us today! We are not sure if we helped him in his not-so-perfect day, but he is a great example of the topic of conversation in the way he revealed Jesus to us (without ever knowing it).

We had a great group tonight and hope that everyone can come back next week. If you find yourself "evangelising" this week and can invite someone to come with you, that would be awesome....dare I say....that would be God.

HAPPY SPRING BREAK!

Hello There! I hope everyone is having a great spring break! It has become apparent that many of you have been traveling to great sunny (and hopefully wamer) locations. Because of that, Ground Zero will be postoned until next week......it is just hard to compete with the beach, etc.

Does it look like this picture where you are? If it does, great for you! And give a big shout out to God for creating something so beautiful! But. . . don't forget, as fantastic as this creation is, YOU are his best work!

See you next week on April 14th!

Things Don't Always End up the Way They Start!

Have you ever played the "Telephone" game? It is the one where you whisper something to the first one in a circle and they whisper it to the next and so on and so on until it gets back to the original person. The chances of the "secret" being the same at the end of the game as it was in the beginning is very doubtful!

We played the paper telephone game tonight complete with descriptions and drawings and sure enough NONE ended up the way they started. Go figure. It was an illustration of how our concept of God starts out one way, and the world around us begins to twist it and redirect it until it becomes something totally different.

The bottom line is, God IS good. And God is love. When the world around us tells us something different, we must remember the truth. Not the deception.

Next week is Spring Break! Have a great one if you are traveling.....keep in touch to reschedule the volleyball games!


Thanks to Lacy and Samantha for their wisdom, guidance and their willingness to enter in these kids lives! And thanks to Karly and Timmy (pictured above) for being such good sports for all the Match Making going on.......right Beccca?!?!?!?

THIS TUESDAY AT HOBGOOD!

Remember those volleyball games on the beach at camp? Well......dejavu all over again! Weather permitting we will go to Hobgood Park for Ground Zero this Tuesday at 7:00p.m. for some volleyball practice, some food and some fun! Bring a friend with you.....and a volleyball if you have one.

If it is going to rain, we will have Ground Zero at the Sims house as we normally do.

COME AND JOIN US!

WHAT DOES YOUR GOD LOOK LIKE????

That was the topic of discussion tonight at Ground Zero! We are trying to get through our surface opinions on what we and the world think of when we think of God, and get a little deeper at what we truly think about this God of ours? Is He good? Is He forgiving or always ready to serve justice? Is He kind or is He handing out consequences for all our bad decisions? Where do we get these opinions and ideas? Which ones are really true?????

This was just night one of our view of God. It was a great start and an important one. It seems that the way we see God has a direct correlation to the way we see ourselves. And others.

When you think of God...what image to you see?????

We love you Ariel and Aaron!

We are all so sad to hear that Ariel's mom died this past week. She was a fantastic lady who loved her family so much! Our hearts grieve with Ariel and Aaron as they deal with this great loss! Please keep them in your prayers and give them a big hug when you see them!

Sorry that we couldn't have Ground Zero this week! I had to attend one of my favorite Aunt's funeral up in Michigan. We will be on as usual next week, but Ground Zero will be delayed after that until March 10th. More on that later!

Don't forget to bring in your camp deposit if you haven't! I am looking forward to seeing you all next Tuesday.

February 3, 2009 Go hunting for Bears and Ourselves!

Tonight was a great night at Ground Zero! We started out by reviewing how God was so very awesome in answering our prayers to find Ian's keys. He was AMAZING! in the way He revealed His power and glory with just a small set of keys! I am afraid, however, that we put God on the spot again by asking Him to show Matt where his $300.00 is. Now we realize that maybe God does not want Matt to know, and yet we are confident that He will bring some form of closure to the issue!

Acutally, that is not exactly true....we actually started out the night with 3 teens going on a "Bear Hunt" in which they were charged with hunting for 6 gummy bears in a bowl of whipped cream with only their teeth. It was fun, and when asked if there was some purpose...did it have any meaning to anything...the answer was no. But maybe it was an example of clean fun. Fun that does not need alcolhol, drugs, or sex. Just fun....and it was. (see video above)

We also talked about how well the Chili Cook-off went. As many great pots of chili that there were, one of our own...Matthew Preblick....won the contest and brought home the prize!!!! His chili was awesome! Ground Zero is proud of Matthew!!!! And....over $800.00 was raised for Big Stuf Camp this summer!!!! Our next fund raisers will be collecting spare change in our pigs (see picture above) and a yard sale at the Turner's house in March.

"It's in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free—signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This signet from God is the first installment on what's coming, a reminder that we'll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life." Ephesians 1:13-14.

These verses are a gentle reminder that it is our life entwined inside the life of Christ that sets us free and gives us a life that is greater and bigger than the life on this earth that we are surrounded and tormented by! And THANK GOD for that!!! This world is not our home! Inside the life of Christ is!!! And that my friends, is SO MUCH BETTER than even finding our keys or our $300.00!!!

We will be back next Tuesday for more of God sightings and great news of our new freedoms with Jesus! Hope to see you there!

January 27, 2009 Can you Keep From Saying "I"?

That was the game.......Everyone got a Blow Pop necklace and could keep it as long as they did not say the word "I' for thirty minutes. Everytime they used the word and someone heard it, they could take their necklace. Ian maintained his necklace just by not saying anything.....his girlfriend Rae, was the "I" police and won the contest by confiscating a total of 6 Blow Pop Necklaces. Congratulations Rae!

The picture at the top is Blake. Notice the t-shirt......the youth of today have found new and profound ways to make you see yourself in a better light........?

We are continuing to move into the book of Ephesians......a great place to languish! After we gave the "God challenge" to help with some keys.....we also challenged Him to reveal Himself more to these teens who are sometimes looking with their heads and not their hearts. It is admittingly a big challenge, but only if you are not God.

Also, we viewed the long lost Ground Zero personalized Big Stuf Camp video from 2006! Just recently located in an archaelogical dig, it was the first time ever viewed by it's stars. Cute and memorable for all!!!! Now......where is 2007 and 2008????????

Last, but not least......do not forget that the Chili Cook-off is this Sunday. Bring your best chili to enter into the contest (yes, there is a prize) and come hither all teens to help prepare and serve the rest of the meal. This is a fund raiser for camp, so the help of all teens is necessary...and yes, should we say......expected????? It is a fun job...but somebody's got to do it.

See you all Sunday.......until then be safe!!!!! And WATCH FOR GOD! And Ian...let us know when you find your keys!

January 20, 2009

We had a great night at Ground Zero. We didn't miss much to talk about......from everything to camp, chili, Michael Vick, a little about the inauguration (not too much politics though), school, work, the Asylum retreat, and then a brief portion of Ephesians chapter 1 describing how much God loves us and how He joyfully showers us with His gifts. You are important, worthy and valuable to Him! Don't think so? Ask Him!

See you next week. If you are interested in going to camp, fill out a registration form and drag in a few bucks for your deposit. I have to know who is hoping to go in order to have enough spaces for everyone!

Great to see you guys again!

Thanks for a great night tonight at Ground Zero.....remember to bring your deposit for camp next week! and also get ready to join us for the Chili Cook-off on Feb. 1st. Yes...it does seem to be super bowl Sunday as well, but we will have time for both. It is going to be a great day!

Enjoy these additional pictures from our Christmas party! Be safe, and I will see you next week to work through some more of the book of Ephesians.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year. Have you seen God? Well....remember when and share it with us this Tuesday at Ground Zero. We have missed having Ground Zero and I look forward to seeing you all this Tuesday.

P.S. Your first camp deposits are due......bring what you can to save your spot!!!!!!