Saturday morning at 9:30, Alyssa and Suzanne ran in the Emma Creek Classic. It is the largest women's fitness event in Kansas. It is a 5k race here in Hesston. They had a record of over 1,000 women registered to run this year. That's a lot of ladies!
Alyssa and Suzanne did very well, with Alyssa beating Suzanne by 1 second! Alyssa finished her first 5k with exactly 43 minutes. Courtney, Emberlynn, and I waited at the finish line and cheered for everybody. After everybody finished, we ate a lot of donuts:)
In the afternoon the college offered $4 admission to all college students and their families. So, we took in an afternoon of lots animals at the Sedwick Zoo in Wichita. We really enjoyed this family time together. It is what memories are made of. The girls slept most of the way home.
Sunday afternoon brought the Puppets of Praise to Hesston Mennonite Church. The girls enjoyed the puppets singing and dancing, and the ice cream afterwards.
We finished out the evening with a visit to another PM'ers house to work on his computer and visit with the family.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Ministry opportunity - Please pray
I have been asked to consider a ministry opportunity for next year, during the school year. It would involve relating to a number of students and having weekly Bible Studies in a mod. Please pray for me that I would sense clearly if God is calling me to this for one year. This would be in addition to my class studies, Supervised Ministry Experience, and living a semi-sane life as Husband and Father.
If God impresses something on your heart that you should share with me, please contact me via email or phone. Email is slnolt7 at gmail dot com.
If God impresses something on your heart that you should share with me, please contact me via email or phone. Email is slnolt7 at gmail dot com.
Getting myself out of the way
I did it! Tonight I had my 3rd sermon in preaching class. The first two attempts were well written and theologically sound. They even had some humor and interesting illustrations. But the presentation was very boring and stiff. Well tonight I did it. I preached a sermon of which my wife was proud of. My professor was surprised and pleased by. My fellow students were excited for my presence and the volume of my delivery.
So what made the difference? I have been struggling for the last 2 years with getting myself out of the way. I have been overly conscious about myself in public situations, and I would compensate by trying to remove my personality and passion from what I was doing. I have been realizing this as the semester went on that in removing my personality, and trying not to be showy that I have been unauthentic to who I am as a minister. It has been counter productive. I have been so aware of myself that I have been absolutely boring.
I have been praying that God would free me; release me to be myself. And somehow still work through the imperfect and human me. Tonight I felt free, I moved around the pulpit at appropriate times, I spoke loudly and with feeling, I used hand gestures, I trusted myself to not use my notes too much, I didn't worry about saying things just right, and it felt really good.
Praise God!
So what made the difference? I have been struggling for the last 2 years with getting myself out of the way. I have been overly conscious about myself in public situations, and I would compensate by trying to remove my personality and passion from what I was doing. I have been realizing this as the semester went on that in removing my personality, and trying not to be showy that I have been unauthentic to who I am as a minister. It has been counter productive. I have been so aware of myself that I have been absolutely boring.
I have been praying that God would free me; release me to be myself. And somehow still work through the imperfect and human me. Tonight I felt free, I moved around the pulpit at appropriate times, I spoke loudly and with feeling, I used hand gestures, I trusted myself to not use my notes too much, I didn't worry about saying things just right, and it felt really good.
Praise God!
Friday, April 18, 2008
Good growth
Where has the time gone? One week of classes, and one week of finals. That's it, no more. I have a lot to accomplish yet in these 2 weeks, but yet it has gone so fast. I feel like I have learned a lot of things and that I have grown in helpful ways.
How about you? Have you learned anything in the last 4 months? Have you grown in helpful ways? I shouldn't have all the fun! We all need to grow as individuals. Just as importantly, if not more, we need to grow corporately. Have you grown as a church? Have you grown as a company? Have you grown as a team? Have you grown as a family?
In all healthy areas of our lives we need to grow. It is a proven fact in nature (water those plants), our bodies (eat), relationships (time, love, and forgiveness), and business (invest in people and tools) that we don't stay in the same state without energy expended. We either improve or we deteriorate. We can only stay in a stasis for a short period of time. Sometimes we fool ourselves into thinking that we have arrived and it will stay the same for eternity. That is when it starts to slip. Desire Growth!
Ouch! I am talking to myself too. I have grown in some areas, but their are other areas that I have neglected where I need growth too.
How about you? Have you learned anything in the last 4 months? Have you grown in helpful ways? I shouldn't have all the fun! We all need to grow as individuals. Just as importantly, if not more, we need to grow corporately. Have you grown as a church? Have you grown as a company? Have you grown as a team? Have you grown as a family?
In all healthy areas of our lives we need to grow. It is a proven fact in nature (water those plants), our bodies (eat), relationships (time, love, and forgiveness), and business (invest in people and tools) that we don't stay in the same state without energy expended. We either improve or we deteriorate. We can only stay in a stasis for a short period of time. Sometimes we fool ourselves into thinking that we have arrived and it will stay the same for eternity. That is when it starts to slip. Desire Growth!
Ouch! I am talking to myself too. I have grown in some areas, but their are other areas that I have neglected where I need growth too.
Monday, April 14, 2008
What do we do in Kansas for fun?
Here are some random pictures giving you a rare opportunity to see us in Kansas doing stuff:)
Here we are with some friends hanging out at one of the 5+ parks in Hesston.
This is a beautiful shot across the arboretum one evening. A place that we like to go for walks and duck and fish feeding, as you will see in some more pictures.
Anybody watch VeggieTales, do you remember the silly song of the Zebu? The first time I heard it was before we had any children of our own. We were "borrowing" 2 of Suzanne's sister's girls, and I thought to myself, "Is there really an animal called a Zebu?" Well, here is one at the free zoo in Hutchinson.
A fowl shot from when my parents were here, and we got to enjoy an afternoon with them at the free zoo.
One of our girls, wait a minute that would be a monkey in the free zoo. Emberlynn wanted to hold it. They wanted to take it home, and were telling us how they would take care of it:)
Hail from an 04-07-08 Kansas storm that brought wind gusts of 70mph, and sustained winds for about an hour of 40+mph. Needless to say, when the hail came the girls were in our bed. It was really loud up in their room. They didn't wake me though, I was already up working on finishing a paper:)
One of my favorite shots from the arboretum, when my parents were here. Let's just call it a Father-Son moment.
Alyssa contemplating the meaning of life in the arboretum.
Courtney hanging out at the park.
A cold, chaotic easter egg hunt that lasted 5 minutes, if you were lucky. If you got there late, you missed out.
This is Lake Vista, part of Showalter Villa Retirement center. Walking by the fountain at the far end will get you wet if the wind is blowing. I guess that would be always.
How to tell if it is garbage day in Hesston. Everybody has one of these blue barrels. They have a cool truck that pulls up, and an arm comes out and picks up the barrel, dumps it in the truck, sets the barrel down, and then they drive off. It is fun to watch.
Did I mention that sometimes it is windy in Kansas? These barrels are quite stable when it isn't windy. But how would we know that?
Oh, the arboretum. I will cherish these moments!
This is probably about the only time that they sit still even for a moment. I would call this photo tranquility or "Ready, set, ....."
Another fun photo of the arboretum. Memories.
Well that is it for this time. I hope you get something out of these. Even if you don't, I still enjoy writing them.
Here we are with some friends hanging out at one of the 5+ parks in Hesston.
This is a beautiful shot across the arboretum one evening. A place that we like to go for walks and duck and fish feeding, as you will see in some more pictures.
Anybody watch VeggieTales, do you remember the silly song of the Zebu? The first time I heard it was before we had any children of our own. We were "borrowing" 2 of Suzanne's sister's girls, and I thought to myself, "Is there really an animal called a Zebu?" Well, here is one at the free zoo in Hutchinson.
A fowl shot from when my parents were here, and we got to enjoy an afternoon with them at the free zoo.
One of our girls, wait a minute that would be a monkey in the free zoo. Emberlynn wanted to hold it. They wanted to take it home, and were telling us how they would take care of it:)
Hail from an 04-07-08 Kansas storm that brought wind gusts of 70mph, and sustained winds for about an hour of 40+mph. Needless to say, when the hail came the girls were in our bed. It was really loud up in their room. They didn't wake me though, I was already up working on finishing a paper:)
One of my favorite shots from the arboretum, when my parents were here. Let's just call it a Father-Son moment.
Alyssa contemplating the meaning of life in the arboretum.
Courtney hanging out at the park.
A cold, chaotic easter egg hunt that lasted 5 minutes, if you were lucky. If you got there late, you missed out.
This is Lake Vista, part of Showalter Villa Retirement center. Walking by the fountain at the far end will get you wet if the wind is blowing. I guess that would be always.
How to tell if it is garbage day in Hesston. Everybody has one of these blue barrels. They have a cool truck that pulls up, and an arm comes out and picks up the barrel, dumps it in the truck, sets the barrel down, and then they drive off. It is fun to watch.
Did I mention that sometimes it is windy in Kansas? These barrels are quite stable when it isn't windy. But how would we know that?
Oh, the arboretum. I will cherish these moments!
This is probably about the only time that they sit still even for a moment. I would call this photo tranquility or "Ready, set, ....."
Another fun photo of the arboretum. Memories.
Well that is it for this time. I hope you get something out of these. Even if you don't, I still enjoy writing them.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Kansas Relief Sale
We were at the Kansas Relief Sale on Saturday. It is held in Hutchinson at the State Fair grounds. They only use about 5 of the buildings. It was kind of interesting to note the different feel of the relief sale, when you don't know very many people. I really only knew people that were from the college. Back in Kidron, it is a lot of fun to go and see people that you haven't seen for a year or more. Well maybe some day we will get back there again.
Here are a couple pictures that we took, just to get a little picture of what things look like for those of you who are familiar with Ohio's relief sale:
First we have the "feeding of the multitude" area with random strangers. They did a real good job of moving people through this area. We got to enjoy Verenika with ham gravy, a sausage, and a bohne berrogi for desert. These were all new for us and really good.
Next we have a picture of the girls on Saturday morning waiting for me to finish the 5K race. I had a personal best, beating my time from 2002. I ran a 21:31 and it felt really good for 3 weeks of training.
Here I am finishing the race. It is a little smaller than the Ohio one. My time of 21:31 would have got me 35-40th place in Ohio. In Kansas it got me about 7th, but unfortunately my age group was well represented. I got fourth in my age group:)
This next shot is just one of the buildings, specifically the one that housed the Children's games and auction.
The awesome barrel train! The girls really enjoyed it. My girls are the three with their backs too me. I have tried to keep from posting pictures of our girls due to this being a public site, and they turned their heads at the same time without my prompting.
Here is a final picture of the awesome (and fast) feedbag slide that the girls and Suzanne just loved! I enjoyed it too. Random strangers again.
If you want to see more pictures from the official relief sale sight, check out this link.
Here are a couple pictures that we took, just to get a little picture of what things look like for those of you who are familiar with Ohio's relief sale:
First we have the "feeding of the multitude" area with random strangers. They did a real good job of moving people through this area. We got to enjoy Verenika with ham gravy, a sausage, and a bohne berrogi for desert. These were all new for us and really good.
Next we have a picture of the girls on Saturday morning waiting for me to finish the 5K race. I had a personal best, beating my time from 2002. I ran a 21:31 and it felt really good for 3 weeks of training.
Here I am finishing the race. It is a little smaller than the Ohio one. My time of 21:31 would have got me 35-40th place in Ohio. In Kansas it got me about 7th, but unfortunately my age group was well represented. I got fourth in my age group:)
This next shot is just one of the buildings, specifically the one that housed the Children's games and auction.
The awesome barrel train! The girls really enjoyed it. My girls are the three with their backs too me. I have tried to keep from posting pictures of our girls due to this being a public site, and they turned their heads at the same time without my prompting.
Here is a final picture of the awesome (and fast) feedbag slide that the girls and Suzanne just loved! I enjoyed it too. Random strangers again.
If you want to see more pictures from the official relief sale sight, check out this link.
Church Visit part 2
Our second visit for the day was very different at First Presbyterian Church in Wichita. This service was much more liturgical and for the head instead of the heart. The sermon was very much a teaching time entitled "The Heidelberg Catechism". It was interesting to learn about some of the pastor's perceived differences between Lutheran and Presbyterian beliefs surrounding the the Eucharist or Communion. The main difference being whether the bread and wine are symbols of the body and blood of Christ or if they actually become the body and blood of Christ.
The focal point, physically, audibly, and seemingly spiritually of the church service was the organ. It happened to be the day that they were dedicating organ enhancements as they moved from a complete pipe organ to a combined pipe (5) and digital or electrified organ. Rather interesting theology as they said the organ calls us to worship, leads us in worship, and sends us out into the world. The only thing that kept us safe was that they didn't say they worshiped the organ, but you could probably make a case for it by the applause and teary eyes as "Nimrod (Enigma Variations, Opus 36)" was played during the dedication:)
Although this was a very liturgical service it was a good learning experience, and the church building was very beautiful. The congregation was much older than the first church we visited, but they also seem to be very much involved in community ministry. Not necessarily focused on youth though.
The focal point, physically, audibly, and seemingly spiritually of the church service was the organ. It happened to be the day that they were dedicating organ enhancements as they moved from a complete pipe organ to a combined pipe (5) and digital or electrified organ. Rather interesting theology as they said the organ calls us to worship, leads us in worship, and sends us out into the world. The only thing that kept us safe was that they didn't say they worshiped the organ, but you could probably make a case for it by the applause and teary eyes as "Nimrod (Enigma Variations, Opus 36)" was played during the dedication:)
Although this was a very liturgical service it was a good learning experience, and the church building was very beautiful. The congregation was much older than the first church we visited, but they also seem to be very much involved in community ministry. Not necessarily focused on youth though.
Church Visit part 1
We did two more church visits today. The first one was a very growing and high class Westlink Christian Church in Wichita. They have a real focus on children, jr high, an Sr high schoolers. Their Children's area is huge, and colorful, and well staffed, and it has at least a half dozen gaming consoles. Their jr and sr high area looks like a bar and grill or trendy coffee shop and has at least 2 dozen gaming consoles, plus 4 wii's. I think their idea is to attract the students and then give them what they need. Just to give you an idea of their focus on youth. They are having a huge event at the end of this month called the Freedom Experience which includes a illusionist/escape artist, a professional skater, a bmx stunt team, and some pop and rock artists. The event will cost around $75,000 and they expect many teens to come and many commitments to Christ. We enjoyed the worship service which was very well done, and very worshipful. The pastor had a great sermon including stories and illustrations on possessing childlike:
humility
strength
honesty
love
faith
Great experience despite the overwhelming feeling of extravagance at every turn, and we had to boogie out of their right after the service and head for our second service of the day.
humility
strength
honesty
love
faith
Great experience despite the overwhelming feeling of extravagance at every turn, and we had to boogie out of their right after the service and head for our second service of the day.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Free Youth Ministry Materials
There is a website maintained through some Hesston College personnel that gives free youth ministry Bible study materials. It can be found here: http://ymroadtrip.org
One source of these materials is writers in a Christian Education class at Hesston College. I will have to tell you that these writers are really good. Disclaimer, I am one of the writers. But non-the-less, the other writers are really good. Michele Hershberger, the teacher of this class expects the very best. Please use these materials and pass on the link to every youth leader you know, especially those of an Anabaptist persuasion. The site is regularly updated with new lessons. My class specifically has done the "side roads" section.
If you really have to know, this one was mine. The other ones really are better:)
One source of these materials is writers in a Christian Education class at Hesston College. I will have to tell you that these writers are really good. Disclaimer, I am one of the writers. But non-the-less, the other writers are really good. Michele Hershberger, the teacher of this class expects the very best. Please use these materials and pass on the link to every youth leader you know, especially those of an Anabaptist persuasion. The site is regularly updated with new lessons. My class specifically has done the "side roads" section.
If you really have to know, this one was mine. The other ones really are better:)
Friday, April 4, 2008
Soccer Champs
Hey Venture Products, Soccer team, how is the season going? I hope you guys are enjoying yourselves again this year, and beating all the young teams:)
I played intramural soccer this year at Hesston College. Our team played really good together, and ended up winning both the season and the after season tournament. We went undefeated all year. Here is a picture of our proud team after winning the championship at 11pm. I really enjoyed playing with these people.
(front) Abenezer Daniel, Janell Maust, Kendall Landis, Amanda Yoder; (back) Shawn Nolt, Elliot Wilder, Kevin Wilder, Josh Boese, Tim Horn, Zach Fretz; (not pictured) Joseph Spory
You can also see this picture here: http://hesston.edu/academic/depts/physed/Intramurals/0708.htm
I played intramural soccer this year at Hesston College. Our team played really good together, and ended up winning both the season and the after season tournament. We went undefeated all year. Here is a picture of our proud team after winning the championship at 11pm. I really enjoyed playing with these people.
(front) Abenezer Daniel, Janell Maust, Kendall Landis, Amanda Yoder; (back) Shawn Nolt, Elliot Wilder, Kevin Wilder, Josh Boese, Tim Horn, Zach Fretz; (not pictured) Joseph Spory
You can also see this picture here: http://hesston.edu/academic/depts/physed/Intramurals/0708.htm
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