Our night on the town

So, to continue my story from last night...


We arrived at the church, dance shoes in hand, and stepped into a beautiful fellowship hall that seemed just made for dancing! A nice smooth floor, beautiful woodwork ceilings, little cafe tables in the corner, and a disco ball all complemented the ballroom atmosphere.

We joined a group of people in the center of the floor just in time for the instructor to begin her lesson. This is the point at which everything began to fall apart. To spare you the gory details, let's just say that when you hire a dance teacher at the recommendation of a senior center (who as we found out later, usually only teaches private lessons and never in groups), and you hire a DJ that uses MIX TAPES(!), well, you're gonna face some challenges. Like, half the people may leave.

Fortunately Gary and I are not such party poopers, and we had a ton of fun just being there. The small crowd made it easy to get to know everyone: there was a group of Christian high school kids (cute as could be), a sweet German lady (she was 66 yrs old but looked 50!), a nice blonde with a husband from Africa (still kicking myself that I didn't get to chat more with them), the pastor of the church, her husband (yes, that's right), and a gaggle of church grannies (I SO would have taken Thelma home with me!).

It's strange... In many social situations I can feel really awkward. I usually dread having to make small talk. But last night, my hidden extrovert unexpectedly popped out of hibernation, and I just had a blast going around and meeting everyone (why oh why can't I do this on command???)!


At one point the DJ accidentally played a song that was west-coast swing-able (I think it was supposed to be a cha-cha), so Gary and I took the opportunity to dance our favorite dance. (West Coast Swing also happens to be the official state dance of California, FYI) Immediately, the entire ballroom stopped to watch us. It was crazy! Though I felt very flattered by the attention, I was somewhat conflicted - I wanted to do my best for them, since they were taking the time to watch me, but I didn't want to be a "show-off"! (hmm, that was an internal struggle I didn't consider when I was a competition dancer in college!)

Anyways, all that to say that even though we may not have been at the hippest nightspot in the East Bay, Gary and I had more fun than we've had in a long time. Yeah, I'm out of shape and my moves are totally rusty. I don't have the energy to dance every single song. But, I made some new friends. I got some good exercise (swing dancing totally beats the treadmill). And Gary and I got to revisit a part of our relationship that we'd almost forgotten about. So was it worth it? Yeah.

I think I'll be back.

No Baptist Jokes, Please.

After a two year hiatus, Gary and I have returned... to the ballroom dancing scene!


Well, sort of.

A few weeks ago, I received a postcard in the mail announcing a new "Friday Night Dance Club" right here in Concord. As I looked closer, I saw that it was actually a ballroom dance, with lessons and a dj, hosted at a local church. Gary and I talked about going to check it out, and tonight we finally made it over there.

Those of you who know us may remember that Gary and I have danced quite a bit of ballroom together. Before we had ever dated, we were competition partners on the USC Ballroom & Latin Dance Team (affectionately known as the USCBLT). Dancing was seriously my life and identity. But then life changed, as it is apt to do. We got married and moved to Sacramento, and dancing just wasn't the same. It became less and less a part of our lives until I began to feel guilty when people would refer to us as "dancers".

Anyways, since Gary has become a full-time youth pastor, what was once our former hobby has now become our whole life, and though we LOVE youth ministry, we do miss having other things to talk about! So, with a new opportunity at hand, we decided to give the ballroom dancing another whirl. (haha)

We dusted off the old dance shoes. We donned our gay apparel. (ok, I was just wondering if you were still reading... actually we just changed out of our jeans). We googled our directions and OFF WE WENT!

To be continued...

By His Hands

'HAPPY FALL TO YOU'

A woman was asked by a coworker, “What is it like to be a Christian?”

The coworker replied,

“It is like being a pumpkin.

God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off of you.

He then cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff.

He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, and greed.

Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see.”

Biggest Cookie Ever

Sunday night, Max treated us with a home-made specialty dessert for the HS small group meeting. Yay for giant cookies!

Why do YOU visit "Feed My Sheep"?

Check it out: I've finally performed a long-overdue update to our blog.

-You can now see what we're actually reading, not what we read 3 months ago.
-You can enjoy a featured photo if you scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page.
-I've added a list of my favorite posts.
-And last but not least, I am now taking advantage of a new feature that allows bloggers to design their own polls!

So with that, take a minute to fill out the first poll on the right hand side, "Why do you visit "Feed My Sheep"?

Calling my prayer warriors

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 (NIV)


When things are good and life has been going well, it's easy to forget that we have an enemy. Like a lion, he conceals himself and prowls around until the right time to attack.

As Christians, we shouldn't be surprised when these attacks come. We can't be lulled into a comfortable sleepy faith that leaves us unprepared for an enemy that would like to see us devoured. That's why Peter says "be self-controlled and alert" (this is the area I am most trying to grow, to be more disciplined in my faith).

The reason I bring this up is that we (at Fair Oaks) are on the verge of several new things (Retool Kit, Youth Worship Night, Women's Bible Study, among others) that have great opportunity to advance the kingdom of God. While we rejoice over God's blessings, we must not let our guard down. We should be more alert than ever, knowing that the enemy will try and devour, disrupt or distract us before these things successfully get off the ground.

We are in a special and dangerous time, and I humbly beg for your devoted prayers throughout this coming week.

PLEASE PRAY

-for wisdom and direction for our church leaders
-for God's protection and blessing on our church families
-for saints willing to step up and lead in our children's (Sunday school) and youth (midweek small groups) ministries
-for God's love to flow through us, to heal the hurting around us

Youth Worship Night

For those of you who didn't get a chance to peruse the latest Oakleaf, here's a reprint of Gary's description of our upcoming new youth worship night. Please pray that the Holy Spirit would guide as we prepare for the first one.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship.
-- Romans 12:1

In the previous issue of the Oakleaf, I talked about the changes we're making in the way we do youth Sunday School. Many of you who saw my article have taken the time to give me your feedback, and the feedback has been very positive. Some people have approached me with an idea for a class, or a desire to help by teaching a class, which encourages me greatly. The new structure begins on September 16th, so please pray for God's blessing on this new endeavor.

This time, I'd like to talk about another new addition to the Fair Oaks Youth Ministry landscape this fall. God has put in on my heart to start a Youth Worship Night.

Imagine it with me for a moment.

It's a Saturday evening. Students have been gathering at the church for the last hour or so. Some are in the gym playing basketball, some are up in the game room playing pool, and others are just hanging out talking with their friends. You can hear the student worship team upstairs in the high school room warming up, and there's a feeling of anticipation in the air.

Then, when the time comes, we all head up to the high school room. The worship team, made up of students of various ages and grade levels, leads us in a couple of songs. Next, a junior higher rises to her feet to give an Opening Reading of Scripture. A group of high school students present a short drama they have created and prepared, just for tonight, as an offering to God. Then a young man comes forward to teach a devotion on the goodness of God, preparing the hearts of his hearers for communion.

And as all this is happening, you get the very real sense that this is not a program. It's not a show, or a performance of any kind. It is a group of people who love Jesus, coming together to give Him a gift of worship, to give Him their very best.

That is what I believe this Youth Worship Night is intended to be, and here are just some of the benefits:

Equipping: I believe that the primary role of youth ministry is to come alongside students to help them become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. Part of that job is teaching them how to use the gifts and talents God has given them for his glory. We must give our students opportunities to "try their gifts out," to develop them, and to see God move in them. Youth Worship Night will be one such opportunity.

Community: Imagine all the students of Fair Oaks - junior high, high school, and college - coming together to worship our Lord with the gifts and talents He gave them. By breaking out of our isolated programs and coming together in worship, we demonstrate that we are one body, one family, unified in our love for God.

Culture of Worship: Far too often, we in the church come into a worship service on Sunday morning looking for what we can get out of it. We begin to put ourselves at the center, and take away God's rightful place as the worship service's audience. Youth Worship Night is an effort to create a different kind of culture, a culture that sees worship as a service to God instead of man, a culture that comes to church looking to give rather than to get.

On September 29th, we will have the first of what I hope will be many Youth Worship Nights. Everyone is welcome at this gathering, so feel free to join us if you'd like. Please pray for the ongoing preparations and the students who will participate. Most of all, please pray that our efforts would be pleasing to God.

Thanks again for your support.

In His Service,
Pastor Gary Weston

Content to Rent

While walking Billy this morning, I passed a 'House For Sale' sign, down at the end of our street. I couldn't resist checking out the flyer, if only to confirm to myself that I won't be moving anytime soon. Guess how much they want for the house. Guess.

(hint: Curb appeal: great. Lawn: lush and green. Backyard: very nice - I believe they even have a pool.)

Have you guessed yet?

They're asking $950,000.

Nine hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

Oh. My. Gosh.

I know it's the Bay area, but c'mon. That is a loooooot of money. Especially for our neighborhood! (On second thought, maybe word has already gotten out about the cute kids that come around picking up trash on Sunday mornings!)

I guess I should start reading: