The Rebelution Conference 4

The Rebelution Sessions.
Session 2
Do Hard Things

-Brett Harris

Brett began his session with this story. It's definitely worth reading.

"I still remember my first shower. It was a horrible experience. I was eight years old and all I had ever known was baths. Baths were neat and tidy ordeals where the water flowed in from below my head and – provided I didn’t splash too much – stayed below my head.

I found showers to be an entirely different beast. The water, rather than flowing as a solid stream that was easily visible and avoidable, sprayed out as nearly invisible and unavoidable droplets that seemed to have a magnetic attraction to my eyes."

click here to read the rest

Here are just some notes that took at the conference of this session. The subject was Do Hard Things (duh) and one of the things that really stuck with me was an example Brett used. He asked why is that when you are a growing child you are expected to learn to talk, to tie your shoes, to learn to read, and how to use the potty. Basically, you're expected to grow when you're young. But, for some reason, when we become teenagers, we're expected to stop growing and are allowed to use lame excuses for our laziness.

For example, it's excepted for a teenager to say something like- "I'm just not a math person" or "Grammar just isn't my thing" or "I'm just not a music person"; whereas if a toddler told us- "I'm just not a toilet person" or "Shoe laces just don't go well with me", we would laugh and say give me a break. It's absurd. But what seems absurd for toddlers is now excepted for teenagers. The cultures expectations of us teens has slowly gone down over the last century.

So how does that apply to "Do Hard Things"?

As teenagers, we should not let the culture set our standards for us. We should continually be pressing onward to greater and harder works. And all these hard things should be done for the glory of God.
I can't really go in depth right now about all the things behind "Do Hards Things" but if you go to the Rebelution and read a lot of their articles, you'll get a better understanding what Alex and Brett are all about. They have an awesome vision to reform todays youth to be about greater things than the next X-box or Game cube. I pray that God would bless their work and make it fruitful.

Here are some wonderful pictures of our trip to Sacramento and the conference. Enjoy!

Updates

Lake of the Woods campsite.

Well, here I am, after not posting for nearly a week! I'm surprised Destiny hasn't popped yet! BWAHAHAHA!!! OOoooh...*sigh*...Ok. That was mean. I'm sorry.

Anyway, we've done alot of things in the last week which y'all have probly missed out on. Well, after boating last Monday we continued our regular school through Friday. On Friday, mom and I finished all the stuff you have to do to get a passport.
You see, I'm goin' to China in October with my grandma. For 2 weeks. And one of the places we're going to stay will be just like the Bahamas. Yup. Don't be too jealous, because I'm gonna miss 2 weeks of school during that time. *Schucks* So while you're sitting there, at your desk, with writers block, your pencil in your mouth, looking out the window, I'll be enjoying a nice cold glass of lemonade and a straw, with my shades on, rocking in a hammock, on the beach, under the shade of some coconut trees, sighing contentedly that I'm not doing any school. AAaawww.......It'll be wonderful. heehee. ;)

On Saturday, Nathan and I did a bunch of Sleaddventures packaging and so forth. We got around 30 ziplines packaged! (I was going to post about that sometime. Remind me later.) It took us about all morning and afternoon. Then, at 4, we went to a small party for Steven Sommerfeld because his chemo-therapy was over. There was football, volley-ball, and....(can ya guess?...)..... Ultimate Frisbee!!! There was also pizza and Mountain Dew. It was at Riverside Park.

Then, on Sunday, we went to Church early to set up as usual. Except that there were some other people who were doing worship. They did a great job.
I love doing worship for church(drums) or just singing worship while other people play. When I'm not playing I can just focus on singing and sometimes I'll raise my hands. When I am playing I can still sing and have a blast doing the music. I must say, drums add a lot to music. They add power, variations in the dynamics, and they keep the band together. I love 'em! I think Davy(a fellow drummer) would have to agree with me. :)
We had alot of visitors at church and dad preached on revelation. I was joking with dad that all the visitors came to see him preach. He smiled.
Next Sunday we're doing worship for Bear Creek Church (a sister church to Coram Deo).
So after church, we went to the Quaids for a leisurely afternoon. But after awhile we got a little hyper and I started a water fight. We got pretty wet but it was worth it. We rode their moped and scooters up and down their driveway.

And then today, I've been studying the Holiness of God for apologetics. It is very humbling and exciting to learn about our magnificent and awesome God.
God has been soo good to me. I wouldn't want to be anyone else then what God has created me to be. He's given me a wonderful family, great friends, a free country, a laptop, church, talents, music, His infinite Grace, His mercy, and countless more blessings; but most of all, He's given me eternal life through the sacrifice of His only Son, Jesus Christ.
And all we can do is worship Him.

I was thinking maybe I should post a homeschooling speech I wrote awhile ago. Remind about that later, too. :)

At Coos Bay almost a year ago

Memorial Day

Howdy everyone! I thought maybe you were wondering what's been happening in my life recently. Namely, yesterday right? Well, whether or not you are dying to know what I did yesterday, I will still tell you. :-)

We did mostly chores and outdoor work yesterday (Memorial day). It was a beautiful day, despite the fact that we were pretty tired from the weekend.
A quick summary of the weekend- Saturday was spent preparing for a big party for the home-school graduates; and then the party itself at 4pm. We got home about 11pm that night with a ton of leftover hot-dogs and buns and other food. (We Sleadds are great at that type of clean-up. We'll eat almost anything, especially leftover dessert; and lots of it.) So what have we been eating for the past 2 days? You guessed it! Hot dogs!
So, then on Sunday we went to Church (Coram Deo Church*) and dad led worship (generally all of us Sleadd kids do worship with dad but this week we got a break.). It was very good. I love church and God's family. Especially worship time. Sometimes I can't help but lift up my hands even though I stick out a little when I do it.Coram Deo Church was founded about a year and a half ago. We're still fairly small, (about 20-50 people each Sunday) with sort of like a core group of families. Sometimes it's disheartening when only a few people come and they don't seem to be committed. Of course, it's all in God's hands. Our job is to serve Him faithfully and humbly. He has certainly blessed us through "Coram Deo" thus far.

Sunday's message was about Propitiation. Christ's blood as propitiation for our sins. Pastor Dale Meador used the analogy of a sponge when describing propitiation. When Christ was hanging on that cross, He was absorbing the perfect and holy wrath of God that you and I justly deserve. "...he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!" (Phil. 2:8)
"...and [we] are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith."
At the end of his message, Pastor Dale tied Christ's propitiation in with the sacrifice many soldiers and service-men have made to secure the freedom that we enjoy today; thus fitting in with Memorial Weekend. Pastor Dale has deep gratitude for America's service men, he was nearly in tears by the end of his sermon.
After church we went to Ultimate Frisbee and got tired all over again. Then we had hot dogs, went to bed, and woke up the next morning.

Oh my! This was supposed to be a quick summary!...oh well. That's alright.



So, back to Memorial Monday. We did lots of weeding around the driveway, mowing, and outdoor work. I got slightly sunburned on my back, too. We then went to a small BBQ/Party at the Petty's at 4. It was very relaxing and enjoyable. Generally, whenever we go to parties we already know everyone there, fairly well. Whereas at this BBQ we were able to meet new people; different people. It was fun making new friends and having good conversations.

*Coram Deo means "Before God", as in to stand before God.

Graduates

As I'm sure all of you know, the school year is coming to a close for the summer. And many young people are graduating. Among them are my brother Nathan Sleadd, Victoria Emmons, and Colleen McMurray. 3 of the greatest people on this planet.

Colleen McMurray(left) is a very godly young woman who has a passion for the Word of God and for sharing the gospel with unbelievers. She is so vibrant and encouraging, despite the suffering her and her family are going through with the sickness of their youngest, Calvin. She is like a big, older sister to me. Colleen is a mighty warrior of God.

Nathan Sleadd(middle) is my older brother and it's hard to imagine how life would be without him. He is also a very godly young person who has the Word of God embedded in his heart. He puts up with my gooniness and teasing and sets a great example as a godly young leader in a culture that expects mediocrity from their teenagers. He is my brother and my best friend. Nathan is a mighty warrior of God.

Victoria Emmons(right) is also a very godly young woman who has a humble servant's heart. She loves the Word of God and has a passion for children and orphans. She gives all glory to God, rather than herself. She is a wonderful sister in Christ. Victoria is a mighty warrior of God.

1 Timothy 4:12
Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.

At their graduation ceremony, each of the graduates gave a speech and the theme was kind of like changing the world. They were so awesome. I love each of these people and hope that someday I can be as humble and God-glorifying as they are.

P.S. They hosted and planned one of the best graduation parties I have ever been to! There were around 100 people there, most of which I knew and were good friends with. God has blessed me so much with so many beautiful friends and family!
There was 5 full hours of games, food, worship, prayer, and dancing. That's right! It was a blast!!! Mr. Kruse directed the calls for the line dancing and he did an excellent job. He's really funny too; just like the rest of the Kruses.
It's hard to pick out my favorite part, but I would have to say the Swing dancing was the best. Either that or the worship time. Both were wonderful.
Alexa and I had been practicing a little bit of swing dancing the evenings before, so we were ready. We know the basic steps really well, but only a few extra moves. We'll have to learn some more moves sometime soon. That's always fun.
We didn't get any of our own pictures of the party, but there were others who, I believe, did. If I am able to get any pictures from the party, I will post them later.

Pictures

Here are some pictures of me and life.

My brother Nathan and I. Christmas 2005. He is the best older brother I could ever have.

Playing my drums at a CBFM family barn dance. Drums are the best. :)

Playing at the Medford Jazz Jubilee with the family. Jazz is the best.

Me and my Grandpa's hand on my shoulder. 2007.

Dressed for battle.

Me and my gun.

OH NO!
Caleb's been hit!
(we dug a small hole for Caleb to sit in. Then we covered his waist with dirt and leaves and he played dead. Then we took a picture)


Macy, our bestest dog.

...and Jacque, our long lost bunny.


...and to end with a happy note....Me.
Winter 2007.
Pretending to eat a thick chunk of ice.
It snowed really good this winter so we went on a sledding trip around the neighborhood. As we were walking along in the snow, we heard the cracking sound of ice beneath the snow and our feet. We stepped back and found this ice; about an inch and a half.
So here I am pretending to eat it.

Well, that's all for now folks! Feel free to comment!

I'm an Uncle!

Well, as many of you probably already know, I am an uncle. My sister Naomi was married last June (2006) and now has her first child. He is a little over a week old now. I haven't been able to hold him yet but I probably will be able to later today. I'm driving mom to Medford today for a doctor's appointment and to visit the Phillips.
Here are some pictures of my nephew.

"Whoa. What's that?"


"This blanket tastes pretty good."


"Teehee."
(He's probably grinning because his diaper needs to be changed again. :)

"I've had enough of this camera stuff!"
(One week and he's already practicing the part of a rebellious teenager...

...or maybe he's just tired. :)

Would you believe it?! He's almost as cute as me!

....OK....maybe not....he's way cuter...

-Uncle Aaron or Ron or Ronnie

Yard Work

Today we did mostly chores for the morning and afternoon.

We are having a large baby shower for my sister Naomi. She is due to give birth around May 3. We are expecting maybe 20 cars for the shower so we had to clear up space in our gravel driveway and RV park.
We first got rid of all the ashes from our fireplace that is up in the RV park. Then we moved all the stones, logs and debris away and weed-whacked the.......weeds. (I guess thats kinda obvious.)

Nathan and I also moved a row of firewood from the driveway into the carport. Last year we cut down about 10 of our biggest trees so we ended up with about 15 cords of firewood (tons of wood, as much or more then in this picture). We stacked it all to the side of the driveway to season during the summer.
The stack is about 7 ft by 20ft by 7 ft. There were also left-over logs which we split by hand (with a maul you see). While we were stacking wood in the carport we listened to Rascal Flatts and Avalon on Nathan's boom-box. It was good hard work.
Next I mowed the back lawn.



Then I did some raking.
Whoops. Wrong rake.


Here's the right rake.

It was a beautiful day; perfect for out-door work. The sun was out and there was a slight breeze which kept us cool while we worked. The best part, though, was re-stacking and splitting the firewood. I love the smell of fresh, cut wood. I like it even better than roses and flowers. I still like the smell of roses and flowers, though.

Eggs and Toast

This is Aaron.
Aaron likes eggs and toast.
Aaron likes scrambled eggs ON his toast.
See Aaron eat his eggs and toast.

Aaron takes big bites.

Can Aaron eat all his eggs and toast?







Yes, he can.

Aaron washes his food down with a glass of milk.

Aaron has good manners.
He wipes his face after eating.

Aaron obviously has too much time on his hands to waste.

A Poem

I stubbed my toe today,
In a most unpleasant way,

A wooden chair, I was moving,
And my grip, it was losing,

So it landed on my toe,
And the pain, I sure did show,

Through many expletives*,
Which I hope, the Lord forgives.

So for my toes, I'm thankful,
And for my feet, I am grateful.

I stubbed my toe today,
But now, I am OK.

*Just so you know, I didn't speak any expletives. I simply added that for the sake of the poem :)

Yesterday's Happenings

This whole week has been spring break for us because dad doesn't have to go to work. So its been pretty relaxed. Yesterday I did some gardening for mom and then we drove to piano lessons in the afternoon.
I've been learning piano for about a year a half.....maybe less, and I'm not really that good. Right now I'm learning a really hard Jazz song called "Twilight". Its hard because of the huge unpredictable chords that are full of sharps and flats. While Alexa and Caleb were getting their lessons, that's when I did my first post. (I have a portable laptop, you see, with a wireless connection which is convenient for when I have go somewhere).

Afterward we went to the Grange Co-op and I bought 2 bags of chicken feed (I own 15 egg machines, you see) and 2 dried pig ears. The pig ears tasted reeeeaaallllly good!.....at least for our dog, Macy. She loves me now. I wonder why.


After that we went home and Mom finished the other half of my haircut. You see.....2 days ago Alexa (my younger sister) started cutting my hair (It had gotten kinda long) and gave up (shes a good hair cutter but she doesn't think so) so Mom continued where she left off. And Mom made a few mistakes so it was kinda choppy and uneven. That was on Thursday, so Mom finished it yesterday. Then we went to a wedding after dinner.

Joshua Oliveri and Rachel Owen got married.It was a very nice wedding....with lots of food. We and some other families helped with the clean-up afterward. And we also got a bunch of extra left-over cake. Three platters full in fact.It was lots of fun and we got home about 11:30 pm.