ABLAZE will be here in no time at all.  It is less than 4 weeks away.  Are you ready?  Are you registered?  If not then you really need to get signed up.  Today is the last day for the early bird discount.  After today the price is $200 per person.  Which really is actually still a great deal if you think about it.  Imagine... transportation by charter bus, 3 all you can eat meals per day, air conditioned room, beach, pool, and much more!

Just in case you haven't already caught this information, did you know that this year ABLAZE is just for Jr and Sr High?  There will not be a Kidz camp happening along side our camp.  We are not sharing space with the younger kids, which means lots more room for us.  This year the center of the lakeside building will be our own personal lounge to hang out in.  You'll be able to go there and chill or play rock band, wii, or just hang out with friends.  If you thought last year was epic, wait till you see the revolution!!

Hosted By:
Next Level Youth Ministries

When:
Monday, July 27, 2009

Where:
Lake Williamson
Carlinville

Description:
ABLAZE 2009 - Revolution - A youth camp for anyone who will be entering 6th through 12th grade this fall.

Click Here To View Event

Hosted By:
Next Level Youth Ministries

When:
Monday, July 27, 2009

Where:
Lake Williamson
Carlinville

Description:
ABLAZE 2009 - Revolution - A youth camp for anyone who will be entering 6th through 12th grade this fall.

Click Here To View Event

Hey I was just wondering what everyone thought about the lock.in?  If you missed it...well...there's always next year.  Shoot me back a comment on this blog and let me know what you though.  See you Wednesday!

Right now we are in the planning stages for this year's annual New Year's Eve Lock-In. If you have never been to one of our lock-in's...Oh MY GOSH!! you have really been missing out. They are so off the chain that you can't even see the chain anymore.

Seriously, I can't think of anything else that comes close to this event for you to do on New Year's Eve. We have a blast and it's really cheap...just $5 bucks.

Well guess what? You have the chance to help shape this year's bash. Tell us what you think would make this event even better. Post your comments on this blog and tell us what things we can do at this year's lock-in to take it off the charts.

As I mentioned on my last myspace blog, I have a brand new blogsite where I'm posting blogs much more often then I did here on myspace.  Today on my blog, I need your help.  I have asked a question and I'm looking to get as many comments as I can on this question.

http://donknoup.com/2008/08/27/the-perfect-church/

Here is the link to question on my blogsite.  Please feel free to visit my site anytime at http://www.donknoup.com

-Don

For those of you who like to read my blogs here on myspace (or even if you don't like to read my blogs here on myspace)...I am excited to announce that I have a brand new blog website.  If you're interested please check it out.  I plan on posting more frequently on the new site.  It will be the same bad jokes and witty insights on life...just more of them. LOL

http://www.donknoup.com

You can click the link above to check it out.  Don't forget to leave comments to let me know what you think.

Have you ever thought about the weight of one piece of paper?  We don't really think about it do we?  A piece of paper weighs so little that it's almost insignificant.  We don't normally think of paper as being something that is heavy. 

Unless of course you're in a situation like I was in yesterday.  I had to carry a large box of paper.  And while the weight of one piece might be insignificant, when you begin to stack it up that changes.  It actually made my arms a little bit tired just lugging it around.

Sin is sort of like a single piece of paper.  We see one little sin in our life and we think it's so insignificant as though it doesn't matter.  But what we need to realize is that sin when it piles up can become an enormous weight on us.

The good news is that the bible says that if we confess our sin that God is faithful to forgive us our sins.  Don't let your sin pile up.  Take it to God and get rid of it.

-----I hope you all are as excited as I am about ABLAZE.  In case you are reading this and have no idea what that it is, ABLAZE is our Youth Camp that happens in Carlinville, IL.  I'm totally stoked about it.  This year's camp is going to be our biggest yet.  We already have a lot more registrations then last year turned in and they are still coming in!

-Pastor Don

I was playing chess the other day with my brother.  Yeah, I know chess is a nerd game.  I'm a nerd and I'm OK with that.  We were playing on a computer so we were actually able to save the game at a specific spot.  David had a tough choice to make between 2 moves.  He chose one and we finished the game and I won.  In fact I won pretty easily after that move.  He wanted to see how the outcome would have changed had he made the other choice.  So we went back to where we saved the game and we played it out to the end.  This time the game played out completely the opposite.  Instead of an easy win for me, it went down hill fast and David destroyed me.

It's amazing how one choice can affect the entire game.  Making the wrong choice cost him the game, but making the right choice put him on top.  Life is the same way.  Good choices can make a huge difference in the direction of your life and what happens to you along the way.  Likewise, bad choices will have the opposite affect.  And it's amazing how far and how deep the consequences of bad choices can reach.

Deuteronomy 30:19 says, "I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.

We need to consider our choices and choose the blessings.  We need to choose to follow after God in all that we do.  Those choices will outlast our lifetime.

God Bless,
Pastor Don

Communication may seem simple enough at first glance, and yet it always seems to get so complicated.  Perhaps that's why it starts with "com", just like the word complicated.  Actually why don't we see if we can't break this word down?

First we have "commun"...like common.

Next we have "ic"....like icky or something that is gross.

Finally we have "ation"....like Asian or something that comes from Asia.

Hey we may have this figured out.  So communication is really a common icky thing from Asia.  So I guess we could say communication is like the Asian Beetle.  It invades your house and smells bad when you kill it.

OK, you're right that makes no sense whatsoever.  I'm gonna have to work on that one.  But then again I guess that maybe that is the real secret to communication.  It's just something we have to work on.

-Pastor Don

Hosted By: Don Knoup
When: Monday Jul 28, 2008
at 12:00 PM
Where: Lake Williamson
Carlinville, Illinois|14 62626
United States
Description:
Don Knoup

Click Here To View Event

Hey, I would love to hear from everyone who is planning on attending this year's ABLAZE camp. Go to the event link and be sure to leave your RSVP. Let us know you'll be there!!!

-Pastor Don