Emree's 1'st Modeling job

this job was sweet...daddy got free coffee and Emree got a free knitted dress. Isn't she flippin' beautiful. If you would like to book my daughter please contact...jk

What happened at GRIT 08

110 6th-9th graders, 24 students and 2 leaders were baptized, and 12 souls found salvation. Numbers don't say everything, but they seem to reflect the greatness of God during our week at GRIT. We knew we were in for a treat when the Lord allowed for us to reserve a spot at one of the best camps in the country. Island lake Camp, near Bremerton, WA sits on the edge of a small lake which gives the assumptionthat we were in for a nice relaxing and peaceful week. But far from peaceful, our students experienced many thingks for the very first time. I'm talking Moto Cross bikes, paintball, hight ropes challenge course, and the BLOB (a huge air mattress that sits on top of the water that allows us  to launch people 15-20 feet in the air landing in the lake)...just to name a few. We had a blast!

A normal day began by spending some personal time with GOd reading their Bibles and prayer and free time/dodgeball in the morning hours, activity (moto x, paintball, or high ropes) and some BLOBbing in the afternoon, team competition after dinner, and an experience of God that cannot be denied (worship, message, and small groups) in the evening until our bonfire which made for some great s'mores.

We jammed our days with fun, but it was the experiences that God allowed us to have of himself that will be remembered forever. Kainu spoke during the week on four different attributes of who God is (creative, personal, always there, and good). The goal of the weekend wasn't to produce a bunch of all-star christians who do everything right, but to honor God, experience him, and to get to know him better. That and more was accomplished.

God more that met our expectations...he blew us out of the water. My prayer before and trhoughout camp...and it will continue to be my prayer is Ephesians 1:17 "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you (our students and staff) the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better." So i ask that you would join me in prayer as we fight four our staff and middle school students here in Clark County.

7 Students Saved on Sunday

No pictures...but better than that is what happened on Sunday at FOCUS. We are in a series that is taking us through the story of the Bible (read more about it in my blog called "Sunday Series Update: The Story of the Bible). This Sunday (week 3) we finished up the Old Testament, and felt moved to start from the beginning and point out 4 or 5 ways that God, in his grace, has rescued his people despite their continual rejection and rebellion. I went on to explain that the entire Old Testament is pointing to Jesus...Noah's Ark=Jesus, Moses leading his people out of slavery=Jesus, etc... Again I felt moved by the Holy Spirit to pursue those who's hearts God was knocking, and explain the Gospel. We are messed up (more than we even know), Jesus was perfect and died a horrendous death, he rose 3 days later. And because of Jesus we can have a relationship with Him and live eternally in Heaven. I went on to ask the group of 55 students if any would like to, for the very first time, repent of their sin and follow Jesus. I asked them to make a bold statement by walking up front and stand next to me (I'm kinda tired of the "wussy" raise your hand thing, and people get lost, etc...). 1 student, 2 students, 4, and then on my last call the Holy Spirit moved 7 students forward to recieve a new life in Jesus (that's huge for a middle schooler...to come forward in front of a huge group of peers?!). I asked the 7, if they believed they have sinned, if they are sorry to Jesus for rebelling, if they would to their best to obey him and to read the bible, and pray to him as often as they could. they agreed and we prayed. Our students clapped (I think...I can't remember because I was so moved by what God was doing). 

I'm still lost in that moment 3 days later, but i thought it would be cool for you to know that God is moving in Summit View...and specifically in our middle school ministry. Please pray for the 7. Pray that they would connect intimately to Jesus. Pray that they would have great hunger for the Bible and prayer. Pray that they would connect also to our ministry and to a small group. Pray that they would love Jesus more than anything. And pray that we would do our part in loving these students toward Jesus. Thanks for praying...and sorry for the lack of pictures on this blog.

the new me...

So...what do you think? There was a small movement of people that spread the rumor, "if we raise $_________ at the auction, casey will shave his head." the thing is....I haven't cut my hair since December 19th 2006!!! that's a year and a half. So, Brandon Angelo made the announcement at the beginning of the Auction that if we raise $30,000...you know the rest. As my wife kept a running total, we looked to her for updates. As we worked our way closer to the end of the night, it seemed as if we weren't gonna come close to 30,000, so Dave Galanter started auctioning off swipes to my hair for $50 dollars. That wasn't awkward...it made my stomach hurt. i didn't want to lose my hair. We raised  nearly $500 extra dollars toward our goal, and at the end of the night...for everyone elses pleasure, the winners, along with a few of my students (which i was really glad) took turns at the death of my "mop." In just a few short minutes my hair was gone. 

 Before

First Swipe

After

As i was saddened by that moment, I have to say that it has been freeing to not have it in my face when I sleep or read a book. To use a dime sized amount of shampoo, instead of half the bottle. So, my conclusing is this. I was bummed in the moment, but today i stand tall not regretting for a minute the small sacrifice made for me.  I love all you bidders and you 8th graders who cleaned up the mess that we called my hair. 

Student Ministry Auction

This past Saturday night, May 31st, we held our 4th Annual auction. In past years, the auction has gone to support our high school ministry. This year our high school ministry and middle school ministry joined forces to make the auction, not only happen, but to be a huge success. The night started out with the normal silent auction and dinner. But to spice up the environment we dimmed the lights and had a live jazz band playing on stage. The food was great and the entertainment was...entertaining, and the testimonies grabbed our hearts. All in all, the night was a huge success. We had exactly 140 people attend, which is 60 more people than last year. We raised $10,000 dollars in scholarship funds, and...drum roll.........raised a grand total of $29,920. WOOOOOHOOOOO!!! It was a gigantic win. This dollar amount will be split down the middle between the high school and middle school ministries. As far as how much this lowered camp cost, this will be determined mid-week. I am excited about the turnout and the huge success that the night was. On behalf of our staff, student, and parents, thank you for your donations, support, and prayers for this event. God not only showed up, but he was the highlight of my night. On my way home, I could do nothing but worship my God for being so faithful and good to us. He is good. 

Are you a blogger?

Hey yall....I'm new to this thing called blogging and want to know if you have any tips for me? Maleea Miller gave me some great input on how to use this thing...so any pragmatic stuff as well as what you might like to see me blog about, or things that might be helpful...let me know. I want this page to be two things: personal and resourceful. I want to let you know what is going on in me (personally, spiritually, and ministry) in such a way that you might have a sneak peak into who Casey is. I also want this to be a resource for you and or your family as it pertains to FOCUSmsm. To fill you in on what is the happenings of FOCUS, what we are studying, upcoming events, what types of resources you need or would like, etc...

So, this is what I'm asking of you...in order that this can be personal and resourceful, how might I do it best for you. 

P.S. if your a blogger...I'd love it if you would leave your html so i might get to know you as well. love ya.

Emree's 1st pix

Emree Rose has been a huge blessing in Aimee's and my life. It's almost been 2 months since God allowed her to enter our world. there have obviously been nights where i have wanted my sleep more than I have wanted a daughter...but that just comes with being a dad. I love her sooooo much. She is beginning to smile all the time. She is one of the happiest little girls I know. She loves to swing, lay on mommy's shoulder and laugh at daddy. Being a dad is way cooler than I thought...even though we have only gotten to nurture and not parent as of yet. She has me wrapped around her finger...as you can see those beautiful blue eyes. But anyways...I thought you might enjoy the pictures. If you have any specific questions, don't hesitate to ask. love ya. 

GRIT 08: June 29th-July 3rd

Hola...GRIT is Here and God has been good to us this year...We are getting out of the 'Couve to celebrate who God is and what he has done in our midst this past year...the Overnighter Christmas Party (135 students), the level of leaders we have on board, our parent support, the 7 students getting saved at Snow What? (winter camp), the baptism at GRIT 07, the maturity of our 6th grade group, the development of the 4:12 Crew (student ministry team), and on and on and on... God has been faithful and graciously blessing us along the way. As we celebrate the year, at GRIT 08, we are going to study who God is.

GRIT is our attempt to honor The Feast of Booths (Leviticus 23:33-36)...and yes Leviticus is a book in the Bible...you should read it...it's fascinatingly bloody. Anyways...our goal for GRIT is to get away from the norm' and just celebrate God! Almost everything we do ends in application...not this! We just want to focus on God and his nature...seek him, and worship him. that's it...No application, just Jesus.

Ironically I'm about to direct us in application: I think we can all learn from Leviticus 23:33-36. How much of our life are we attempting to get stuff done...to grow personally or spiritually, or study the bible for this reason or that purpose. these things aren't bad...but if we don't slow down and focus on Jesus, just for Jesus...he will slow us down. 

So, that's what our graduating 5th-8th graders are doing...and hopefully they fall in love with Jesus, and it becomes a healthy habit in their lives...to focus on Jesus just for Jesus.

For more information or registration visit:

www.summitview.net/grit

To watch video or where we are going click:

www.summitview.net/islandlake

Sunday Series Update: The Story of the Bible (May 25-June 22)

How many of us really know the story of the bible? I mean the real story...from Genesis to Revelation. Ya, ya, ya...all of us know about Noah and his huge boat, Moses and the burning bush, and Jesus saving the world. Why is it significant that we know the story of the Bible? Answer=Because we are in the story. And if we don't know where we are in the story, we won't know what part to play or how critical our part is. Sundays between May 25 and June 22, we will be discussing and studying the story of the Bible. 

1. May 25- Beginning: Genesis: The beginning of human history and Israel, God's chosen nation
2. June 1-Chosen: Exodus-Ruth: Israel's journey to the promised land
3. June 8-Nation: 1 Samuel-Malachi: Settling in to the land of promise
4. June 15-Savior: Matthew-John: The life of Jesus
5. June 22-Kingdom: Acts-Revelation: The spread of God's Kingdom

My challenge for all our students is to memorize the "The Bible in 50 Words." It goes like this...

GOD MADE

ADAM BIT

NOAH ARKED

ABRAHAM SPLIT

JOSEPH RULED

JACOB FOOLED

BUSH TALKED

MOSES BALKED

PHARAOH PLAGUED

PEOPLE WALKED

SEA DIVIDED

TABLETS GUIDED

PROMISE LANDED

SAUL FREAKED

PAVID PEEKED

PROPHETS WARNED

JESUS BORN

GOD WALKED

LOVE TALKED

ANGER CRUCIFIED

HOPE DIED

LOVE ROSE

SPIRIT FLAMED

WORD SPREAD

GOD REMAINED

So that's our challenge out there for our middle schoolers...i thought it might be a cool competition between student and parent...whoever memorizes it first has to buy jamba juice or starbucks. If nothing else, it's fun and moments with your kid. love you...and good luck on your challenge!!

i dare you

God's Word, the Holy Bible, the Scriptures....it's changing my life. transforming who i was into who i will be. I can't really explain it, except that the more i "download" it, the more i thirst for it, more i satisfy that thirst, the more  I'm changed from the inside out (Romans 12). It's weird, i never thought I would be reading the bible as a source of joy, life, truth, direction, relationship, etc. There are times where will be reading or studying and I will be overwhelmed with the fact that I'm relying on a historic piece of literature, that I believe is co-authored by sinful, jacked up, selfish, prideful humans, that were inspired and directed by the Holy Spirit. It's this book that I and basing and surrounding my whole life around. It's forming the way I view the world, myself, humanity, Jesus...I'm crazy, right? Isn't it just a set of rules...so that if I might follow them, I can then convince myself to be a "good" person...by no means. It's my Father, writing to me his efforts to seek me, for i don't seek him; to love me, for i didn't love him first; to rescue me, I've only ran from him; to actually have relationship with me, when I've only betrayed him. He's looking out for me...revealing how I might have life "abundantly" (John 10:10). Full of love, joy, and peace (Galations 5:22)...and I find that God's Word does what it says it does...it is my source of true life, reality, and transformation. I dare you to read...It works...you will be changed. 

Bible Recourses: 

(besides the Bible)

www.biblegateway.com

www.dailyaudiobible.com

www.deliberatepeople.com

www.walkthru.org

www.ywspace.org (especially for students)