Mission Statement Making a difference in our community through Christian outreach in a fun and safe environment.

Purpose Statement Our primary purpose is to expand the knowledge of Christ among youth by setting a positive example and providing a safe place for recreation.

Vision Statement To be Washington's premier skatepark and recreational facility by providing each guest with a variety of activities in a friendly, affordable, Christian environment.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Messages From The Mountain - 8-27-12 (12+ Bible Session)


Messages from the Mountain
8-27-2012
Message 1
This past Saturday I was scheduled to climb Mt. St. Helens with my friend and three other women.  In the week leading up to the trip, I was not doing well.  I had not gotten in enough training, and on Sunday I strained my IT band once again.  I knew it was going to be a long shot for me to successfully make this climb, but because my friend Kristi had been the one to invite me, I knew I had to try.  I also knew God wanted me to go.  I began to pray that no matter what happened on this trip – whether I succeeded in the climb or failed – I prayed that we would be a good testimony on the mountain and that we would be a good witness for God.  The morning I left for Kristi’s house, I received an email from my mother who did not know how I had been praying.  Her email said, “Praying for strong legs and back and a clear testimony for those you are hiking with.”
I knew then this trip wasn’t about conquering a mountain but about sharing God’s love with those both in our group of 5 and with everyone we met on the mountain.  My mother and I were not physically together, but we were praying for the same thing. 
                        Matthew 18:19-20 Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.  For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”
Message 2
Friday morning, I drove to Kristi’s house where she, Deb and I loaded our stuff into the truck.  We drove to Laura’s house to pick her up and the four of us headed to Mt. St. Helens.  Our plan was to camp at the base and climb on Saturday.  Kristi’s daughter, Kelsey, was originally supposed to ride down with us, but she ended up having to work.  Because her car could not be trusted on such a long drive, her father, Jim, decided to drive her down that night after work.  They arrived at almost 10pm, and then Jim turned around and drove back to Brier.
Jim is a great dad, and it is totally awesome that he drove his daughter down to Mt. St. Helens to do the climb with us.  It reminded me of our heavenly Father.
Matthew 7:9-11 Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?  If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Message 3
I woke up several times during the night.  At 3:30 am, there was no chance of going back to sleep as some of the other climbers around us were closing car doors and packing for the trip up.  I did lay there for an hour trying to get back to sleep, but I finally gave up, went to the restroom, and came back to the tent to wait for the rest of my group to wake up at the appointed time of 5:00am.  While waiting I took my headlamp, flipped open my Bible and began to read wherever the Bible opened up.  It was a great half hour with God, and I loved the verses He showed me.
I was reminded of the verse in the Old Testament when David tells Solomon that if he seeks God he will find Him.  As I flipped open my Bible to “seek him” He was found.
I Chronicles 28:9 And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts.  If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.
Message 4
Saturday morning, we awoke to an amazing northwest day.  The night had been cold but not miserable, and it left the morning air clean and clear.  As we packed our tents and gear into the truck and prepared breakfast, I took a moment to share the scriptures that God had led me to that morning.
The first scripture God led me to in my “flip open the Bible” method was in Zechariah. God was talking about taking care of Judah.  When I read this verse to our group, we all thought it was pretty cool that God would give us a verse that included strengthening, which we all needed a little of that day.  The verse also says “in his name they will walk” which totally echoed what my mother and I had been praying about being a testimony on the trip!
                        Zechariah 10:12 I will strengthen them in the Lord and in his name they will walk,” declares the Lord.
The second scripture God showed me was in Psalms.  Here we are taught that first we need to know that God is happy with what we are doing.  If he is happy with what we are doing, He will help us and protect us.  Even if we stumble, we will not fall because the Lord will uphold us.
                        Psalm 37:23-24 If the Lord delights in a man’s way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.
Message 5
The climb went well.  Almost everyone in our group struggled at some point in the climb with an old or new injury, lack of conditioning or mental fatigue, but stayed positive, helped each other through the tough spots, spoke to tons of people, and represented Christ as best as we could along the way.  The weather was amazing, but at one point the wind was getting very strong!  It almost knocked a couple of us down, and I almost lost my hat.  I prayed out loud asking God to please calm the wind a bit and instantly the wind was cut in half. 

I think often we don’t get what we want or need from God, because we either fail to ask Him or we fail to believe He will do it.  I was reminded of the verses in Matthew when Christ tells his disciples that they could not cast out a demon, because they had so little faith, and if they had faith nothing would be impossible.

            Matthew 17:20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith.  I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move.  Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Message 6

Over and over again on this trip, we saw God’s hand on our lives and on this trip.  5 Christian women climbed a mountain, got to know each other, and got to know God better.  There is something quite amazing about tackling an obstacle with other Christians.  There is a unique bond, a sense of community, a togetherness that is difficult to find anywhere else.  We sang, we laughed, we cried, and we prayed our way up and down the 8365 foot hill that God planted in the middle of those trees.  And in the end, we knew that “nothing is impossible with God.”
Luke 1:37 For nothing is impossible with God.

September is just around the corner!

As we close out August, I want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who helped out this summer, provided meals, covered for us when we were short on laborers, and covered us in prayer.  A special thanks to Jeremy & Melody for stepping up at the last minute yesterday to help us out!  We could not have managed very well without you.

Next Monday is September 3rd, Labor Day!  We will not be having Skate & Rec Night.  Please enjoy this holiday with your family.

On Monday, September 10th, Ricki Jones will be providing dinner.  Thank you Ricki!

We are still in need of dinner on Monday, September 17th.  If you are available to provide dinner on the 17th, please email me at brett@madskates.com.  Thank you!

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Bible Session August 13th


WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT THE WORD OF GOD?



Introduction

I often tell you guys to read your Bibles, to get in God’s word, to get to know God through His word.  Today I want to look at bunch of Bible verses that talk about the word of God.  These are scriptures about the Bible, Christ and God.  We’ll do Bible Drill on each verse and look at what it says about “The Word of God.”





Bible Drill Scriptures

1.   2 Samuel 22:31 – God’s word is flawless

2.   Proverbs 30

a.   Vs 5 – God’s word is flawless

b.   Vs 6 – Do not add to God’s words.  His word is enough. Don’t change it.

3.   Psalm 119

a.   Vs 9 – Stay pure by living according to God’s word

b.   Vs 11 – Hide God’s word in your heart so you won’t sin

c.   Vs 105 – God’s word is a lamp and a light. It is a guide.  It makes your path visible.  What direction are you heading?  Can you see it?

d.   Vs 130 – The unfolding of God’s word gives light.  It brings clarity where there is confusion.

e.   Vs 160 – God’s word is true.

4.   John 1

a.   Vs 1 – Jesus is the Word in flesh and was with God in the beginning. 

b.   Vs 14 – The Word became flesh – Christ.

5.   2 Corinthians 2:17 – Don’t sell the word of God for a profit

6.   2 Corinthians 4:2 – Don’t distort the word of God

7.   Ephesians 6:17 – The armor of God includes the sword of the spirit – the word of God

8.   Colossians 3:16 – Let the word of Christ dwell in you.

9.   Hebrews 4:12 – The word of God is living and active, sharper than any double edged sword.  It divides soul and spirit and judges thoughts and actions.

10.               James 1:22 – Don’t just hear the word.  Do what it says!

11.               Deuteronomy 11:18 – Fix my words in your hearts and minds

12.               Matthew 24:35 – God’s word is eternal. 

13.               John 15:7 – If you remain in me and my word remains in you, ask and it will be given to you.  You have to do the first part first, remain in Christ and have his word in you, and then… you may ask.

Friday, August 10, 2012

Basketball Thursdays Cancelled

We will no longer be hosting basketball on Thursday afternoons.  If anyone is interested in trying this again at a later date, please contact me.  Thank you.

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Bible Session Notes - 8-6-12


Amazing Love

God is Love

I John 4:10 – This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

One of God’s greatest attributes is His love. 

None of us can love like God loves.  As much as I love my husband and son, it pales in comparison to how much God loves each one of us. 

I would die to save my husband and my son, but I would not sacrifice one of them to save anyone else on this planet.  God did that!  God gave his only son, Jesus Christ, to die for all of us.  Inconceivable love!

God Loves Us

Romans 5:7-8 – Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Adam and Eve sinned forever breaking the righteous bond between God and mankind.  By our sin nature we are not God’s friend but His enemy.  In order to restore that relationship and rebuild the bond between God and mankind, God did not die… he let his son die.  As a mother I can tell you, I would much rather die on a cross myself than give up my only son to die in any way let alone the cross.

I have heard people say that it wasn’t that hard for God to give Christ up to die for us, because he knew that Christ would rise again.  I will tell you as a parent, I would not want to see my son suffer the way Christ suffered even if I knew he would rise again.  Christ not only died the horrible death of the cross, but he took on all the sin of the world.  That means that in all of eternity he had never been separated from God the Father until that moment.  In that moment, when he took on all of your sins, and my sins, and the sins of the world, he was separated from his Father.  What Father would want to do that to his son whom he loved?  Only a Father who knew it had to be done to save the others he loved… you.

John 3:16 – God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Peace Through Love

The fact that God loves us so immensely should give us peace even when things aren’t looking so great.  God is all-powerful and loves us perfectly without any expectations or exceptions.  He is always looking at the big picture of our life, and what may seem like a bad thing at the moment we are living through it, will usually take us to a better place in our relationship with God and in our maturity as a human being.  We have a greater hope, because God’s love casts out fear,  nothing can separate us from the love of God, and we are his children.

Prayer

God who loves me more than you?  I am so glad I do not have to earn your love, because I’d never be able to do that.  Thank you for loving me the way I am and for giving me hope in the tough times.  Because you love me, I know I can press on.  Most of all, thank you for giving Jesus Christ to die for me, so I could know you and live with you forever. Amen.

Prayer Team and Meals

One of the Skate & Rec Night moms suggested I send out an informational notification regarding our Prayer Team and meals, so here goes!

Prayer Team:
We have a small Prayer Team currently made up of 4 people.  Each week participants of our Skate & Rec Night are given an opportunity to share prayer requests.  These prayer requests are then emailed to our Prayer Team who prays throughout the week.  If you are interested in joining the prayer team, please email me.  Be sure to provide me with the best email to use for this purpose.  Thank you.

Meals:
Each week dinner is provided for the youth.  Occasionally one or two of our volunteers will join in and eat dinner as well.  MAD Skates & Rec provides the soda pop each week as well as bowls/plates/cups/utensils.  Typically, meal providers bring a main course only.  Some choose to bring a side dish such as a salad or a fruit like watermelon and some have brought a dessert.  Once a month, on the last Monday of each month, MAD Skates & Rec buys pizza in lieu of having someone provide a meal.  Currently we are seeing about 10 kids in the summer and 15 in the fall.  We hope these numbers continue to rise.  While saying that, I know it does get expensive to provide dinner for so many hungry young people, so consider these options...  
  • Provide part of meal like just a salad, fruit, dessert, or part of a main course
  • Send money to help cover the pizza once a month
  • Team up with another person and buy tacos, burgers, pizza together
  • Team up with another person you  know and coordinate a meal
  • Get your church involved! See if anyone in your church is interested in providing a meal.
We are starting sign ups for the rest of the year for providing meals.  Call, text, or email me today to sign up. 

Brett Elizabeth Spore
206-423-0813
brett@madskates.com

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Bible Session Notes from July 23 - A little late :)


Perspectives on…  Prayer and Perseverance
7-23-12

Prayer
Louis’ Story:  I have a small bunny named Louis La’Bunny.  He weighs 2.5lbs and is fully grown.  The other night I made a HUGE mistake and left him in the exercise pen out in our yard instead of putting him back into his hutch for the night.  Please note we live in Bothell and have raccoons, a local eagle that visits fairly regularly, and a heron that steals koi from our neighbors’ pond.  Needless to say as I was reading to Isaac the next morning and realized what I’d done, I went straight into major panic mode.  I ran out to see if he was still in his exercise pen, and he was not. Gone.  Probably gone forever.  I ran back inside to wake up my husband, who instantly jumped out of bed and threw on some shoes and ran outside to help me look for Louis.  I stayed inside for a moment with our 2.5 year old son, Isaac to put shoes on and pray that Louis would come home.  When my husband ran outside, Louis was gone.  Not in his pen, not in his hutch, not in the yard.  I thought he might have gotten out of our fenced area and been hit by a car or something, so I stepped outside the gate to check.  There he was… in our neighbors’ driveway getting ready to run out into the street.  I ran along our fence and stepped into the road. My husband was trying to get something to catch Louis with when our son decided he had to go potty.  I’m on my own trying to keep an eye on Louis til Jason can come back out and help.  Louis starts to run.   Not into the street, but away from me.  He also does not run down the long driveway towards the neighbors’ backyard and pond, but he runs back towards our house, under our cars, through our fence and back into our yard.  He actually came home.  Now I could have prayed that we would find Louis.  I could have prayed that Louis was somehow not eaten by another animal.  Instead, I prayed that Louis would come home, and that’s exactly what he did.

Bible Verses:      I John 5:14-15 – This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him.
Philippians 4:6 – Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Mark 11:22-24 – “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the seas,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.  Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

Matthew 7:7-11 – “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.  Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?  If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”

Point: Be specific in what you ask God for when you want Him to do something.  Like any good Father, He wants to give you what you want as long as it is good for you.

Perseverance
Aquilante’s Story : This is a story from a secular venue… a non-Christian situation.  On Mother’s Day weekend, Brett Spaude and Andrew Aquilante were competing in a Continental Sports Car Challenge race.  Having taken Pole Position, they were excited for a good result at this race.  Brett Spaude handed the car over to Andrew Aquilante in good shape, but in the pit lanes Aquilante bump another competitor’s car resulting in a stop and go penalty.  This means he does his lap, comes back into pit lane, and has to come to complete stop before going again.  Aquilante tried to battle back but in another pit stop, he hit another competitor’s pit box on his way out and received yet another penalty.  He had to complete the lap and return for a stop and hold.  That means he had to sit in pit lane for 30 seconds.  That is a race killer right there.  He could have just given up.  He was in 12th place.  These were not car problems.  These were not crew problems. The fact that he went from Pole Position to 12th place was basically all his fault.  Instead of giving up, he continued to fight.  In the last nine laps of the race Aquilante took over the lead, held the lead, and won the race.

Bible Verses:                      Romans 5:3-4 – Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

Hebrews 12:1 – Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

James 1:12 – Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

Point:  It doesn’t matter how bleak the situation may look, press on, persevere, win with God on your side.