A couple of weeks ago we headed up to Sevierville, TN for the international Omegas Youth Conference. This was the first conference for Trevor and Aileen Reed. They are the new International Youth Directors. It was a great conference. I was battling the same symptoms Court had, that kept her out of school Monday and Tuesday. Fever, headache, cough, body aches. Not fun...but I went anyway. I seem to catch whatever she brings home from middle school and seems like she's catching everything that passes through this year. We took a few youth with us...girls from Westmoreland area. It was a fun weekend and the services were great.
We were in Kansas this past weekend. Always fun and always learn a new card game. Aunt Barb fed us well. I'm sure it costs a fortune to cook and feed their entire family plus us whenever we come in. We appreciate their hospitality and we always walk away a few pounds heavier. Trying to work that off this week. HA! Jeff's cousin Cindy took us to an art museum in Kansas City Friday. She was registering for a marathon there and we went along with her. The museum was great. Had a lot of awesome artwork. You would think I'd be more into the contemporary art...but...honestly...some of that stuff makes no sense to me. There was this huge room...HUGE...and inside that room were small piles of rice in rows taking up the entire room. In the center of the piles were 4 yellow pollen piles. By the description of the so called art, this was to be very spiritual and thought provoking. I didn't get it. Rows and rows of white rice in small piles about 5 inches in diameter and then some pollen in the middle? I had the urge to grab a leaf blower. Not a contemporary art fan. Kinda like these random indie bands that write lyrics that are so cryptic they make no sense. I'm probably just a shallow person. HA!
Sunday we went to church with Cody's mom and dad. They go to Life Church. It's a contemporary style church. Coffee area. Everyone dresses casual. Stadium seating. Very cutting edge. Many different ministries to plug into. The worship was very contemporary. I really liked it. They had a lot of out reach type projects. The message was practical, scriptural, and relevant. All types of people were there. I actually had forgotten to pack anything for church so I wore a t-shirt, blue jeans, and flip flops. I would never wear that to church on Sunday but no one looked at me funny when I rolled up in there. A lot of people were dressed very laid back. It was an awesome atmosphere for someone who would not normally set foot into a traditional church. No judgement. It was very inviting, yet the message was challenging and did not cater to fluffy feelings. It was piercing to the heart. I really liked their ministry.
One thing about the youth conference and about Life Church was the technology and their media presentation. More so Life Church than the youth conference. I am very interested in motion graphics. I ended up emailing Life Church through their website to see what applications they use. I had an idea but just wanted to see. ProPresenter which is Mac only software...presentation program. I've heard awesome reviews about it. Apple Final Cut Studio 7...their video editing software...with Motion 4...which creates 3D effects for logos and motion graphics in general. I am so ready to learn these applications. The announcements they ran at the church were so professional. Obviously...you don't need bells and whistles like motion graphics to make church. Fellowship...discipleship...evangelism...make up a body of believers. So I'm not saying in order to be relevant you have to be cutting edge. I'm saying it's something I enjoy learning and doing and that really stood out to me at Youth Conference and Life Church. I'd love to be able to offer that as a ministry. The total package for all the software is about $1400. Time to save the moola. :)
