Real Life Pics: Monday

Real Life Day 2

Day 2 is really day 1 with yesterday being a travel day.  Most first days on site with a missions trip is spent in training and preparing for the week ahead, but not this week.  We hit the ground running this morning.  We got to Real Life Children's Ranch (rlcr.org) and started in the chapel with a time of prayer and devotion.  It was a sweet time as the students not only prayer for themselves and the week but for each other as well.  We then divided into team and took on three projects.  One team is sodding the front yard of one of the houses at the ranch, another one is pulling up carpet at a house, and then the other team is clearing a tree line on the property.  Each team worked really hard and got more done today than expected.  It was hot and dirty work but we pressed through and did what needed to be done.

We knocked off a little before 5pm and got ready for dinner.  After dinner and clean up we set up a big screen movie and hung out with the kids of Real Life.  We gave them candy, laughed and connected with them.  As the movie finished the fun moved outside to the playground and basketball courts.  You could sense the presence of God as you heard the laughing and playing of the kids.  Several had to fight back tears as we understood what God was doing in that moment.  In that moment no one cared about Foster Care or wounds or scares, all we cared about was right there.  No one was worried about where they had been or what tomorrow held.  It was beautiful!

So very proud of our team today.  When they were tired and worn out from working in the hot sun, it did not matter, as soon as those kids came in they came to life.  You heard our students connecting with kids not whining about be tired and dirty.  You heard laughter, not grumbling about being ready to leave.  We actually had to force them into the vans at 9pm after being there for 12 hours.  

Tomorrow holds more projects and a slip n slide.  It is going to be awesome.

Thrive Parent Email July 9

Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Cookout Thrive will have a cookout this Sunday night (July 15th) at 5pm at Eric & Paige's house.  We will be grilling burgers and hotdogs, playing games, and hanging out.  Cost is $5.  Call Eric for directions and more information. Tubing Trip Thrive is going to be hanging out in Helen, GA July 27th to go to the Helen Water Park and tube down the Chattahoochee River.  Cost for the trip is $25 and it will cover gas, tubing, water park, and two meals.  We will leave the church at 8 am on that Friday and return at 9pm that evening. Your student must sign up to go. Water War Wednesday night, July 18th, is a night no one will want to miss.  We will have a slip n slide, play tons of water games, cook out, and a lot more.  Students need to bring a towel, clothes they can get soaked in like a t shirt and shorts (no  bathing suits please) and get ready to have a blast. Missions Trip Over 20 Thrive Students and Leaders are down at the Real Life Children's Ranch in Okeechobee, FL working and serving this week.  Please keep them in your prayers.  If you would like to keep up with the trip or follow along with the devotions they are doing, check out thriveyouthchurch.blogspot.com.  There will still be a Thrive Service this Wednesday. Parent Text Updates If you would like to receive text updates from Thrive on a regular basis, please text the word "parents" to (404) 996-1894. Website Down Our online home, thriveyouthchurch.com is down right now because of host issues.  We are going to have it back up soon.  You can keep up with us online at thriveyouthchurch.blogspot.com Contact Us  Stockbridge Assembly of God (770) 474-8352 stockbridgeag.com Pastor Eric (404) 803-9471 eric@stockbridgeag.com  follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend  Copyright © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* *|LIST:COMPANY|*, All rights reserved. *|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|* *|LIST:DESCRIPTION|* Our mailing address is: *|HTML:LIST_ADDRESS_HTML|**|END:IF|* *|IF:REWARDS|* *|HTML:REWARDS|* *|END:IF|*  unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences

Real Devotion: Real Servanthood

Matthew 23:11

Philippians 2:1-4

Acts 20:35

Nehemiah 1:11

The greatest call of a Christian is to serve.  A servant never looks for attention or recognition but always looks for ways to help.  A servant is not looking at how hard something is to do, they are looking for ways to show God’s love in every area.  This week you will be asked to do things you do not want to.  Do them without complaining or whining.  Follow the example Jesus set by going to the cross to serve others.  Will you be a servant today?  Will you follow Christ through your work and attitude?

Real Life Day 1

Every missions trip starts with travel and today was no different. 10 hours on the road to be exact. Let me brag on some of the most awesome students in the world for a minute. I didn't hear anyone complain or grumble. Everyone laughed and had a good time. Even when we had to pull over and change a tire around Lake City because I felt one of them was about to blowout. All of our guys jumped in to help. Between the photo bombs and lots of laughing there will be a lot of inside jokes. Tomorrow we go to work. If today was and indication of what lies ahead I am excited,this team can handle it.

Real Devotion: Real Friendship

Proverbs 17:7

1 Corinthians 15:33-34

Ephesians 4:32

This week new friendships will be made and old ones will be tested.  With the amount of time that you will spend with people on our team, nerves will be tested and patience will be tried.  The key is to remember the secret to friendship, it is not about you.  It is about sacrificing to make someone else’s life better.  How will you do that today?  What do you need to do to become selfless in your relationships?

Real Devotion: Real Prayer-2

Luke 11:1-12

Hebrews 4:16

Psalm 139:23-24

The most important prayer we could pray is for God to search our hearts.  For Him to bring to our attention things that should not be in our lives.  To ask Him for His help in removing those things.  This is how we prepare to do what God has called us to do.  How are you preparing for this trip?  What is in your heart?  What needs to be removed?