Kerm, sorry for noticing this three months late, but to access the photos I take, just go here, www.flickr.com/photos/mrmettle

Superbowl Party

My Address;
6818 E 73rd St

Go to 71st and Sheridan, going S on Sheridan, turn East (L) onto 73rd St. and follow the street past 68th St. I am the second house on the right. If you make it to the tee you have gone to far.

hey friends! does anybody know how to access fusion photos on flickr? i am flickr illiterate, but Aaron told me it's much better to print photos off flickr than silly pixelly facebook. so is there like a password or a group name or somethin like that? thanks fam,
kerm

You know what would be nice? If we posted the adress rather than directions so that people who are being driven by their incredibly forgetful father's don't have to write down the directions every time we have echo.

Hey Fusion!

I just wanted to say thank you for an incredible week at camp. I cannot tell you how much it meant to me to be able to spend that week with all of you.

You are in my thoughts and prayers. May the LORD bless you and keep you throughout this next school year.

LOVE ALWAYS,
jason jackson

Hullo everyone. A new school year approaches. It was just yesteryear that Grant and I were stunned to discover that we indeed were upperclassmen. And you may be shocked to find that we indeed still are. We and a good few others are now upperclassmen. This means a whole new level of responsibility. We now choose summer hotspots (EH!). We now get to find out what happens when the leaders have special secretive meetings with the seniors at retreats and camps. We get a special picture on the hill at Camp Takatoka near the most prominent cross (insert "Zinger!" here). We get a special dinner at the end of the year. This is looking to be a great year. Oh and there's that whole discipling the underclassmen too... Did I mention that we get to choose hotspots? EH!
In all seriousness though, this Sunday is the upcoming 9th graders last Fusion 78 service. Which means that after camp they come up to the big leagues. The big, scary, mature Wednesday service. We're talking about the orange circle in the emblem. The biggest circle. (It is orange, right?) I remember not knowing many people when I first moved up. Grant and I knew each other. It was pretty scary other than that. I was surrounded by older, bigger people with their own friends and inside jokes and laughter... It was terrifying.
Although we may not feel like big, old people right now , I think that the big, old people back then (or whenever you joined Fusion) didn't think they were to us either. I hope that sentence made sense. What I'm saying is that we are scary people to the 9th graders coming up, and in two weeks when they join us I think we should be ready to accept them and sit by them and talk to them and if need be even... disciple them. I know that when you are prepped to meet someone new who is under you in some sense, it's hard not to hob-nob (or is it hob-Knob?). Either way if your nobbing or knobbing, I think we should try and show genuine interest in their lives. Maybe as cool upperclassmen with cars and slightly larger budgets we can afford to have some lunch with them this school year. Find out what's going on in their 9th grade lives. Impart some of the little wisdom we have. Because though it may feel like we have very little to offer, time is enough for some of them. The fact that you care about them enough to eat lunch with them once a month or once a week just might overshadow some 9th grade insecurities.
We talk about it in Echo and we say that a crucial part of being discipled is discipling someone else, so let's go do it. These guys and gals are the future of Fusion. More importantly they are God's children like we are. They are probably more influenced by media and culture than we are and that is a very scary thought. Let's set the example and just be good friends. We're not perfect, but no 9th grader is looking for a perfect senior to make them feel even more insignificant. Perhaps the most impactful thing we could do is to show them that not only did we struggle with the same things they are, but we're STILL struggling with them, and it's OK to doubt and to struggle. It matters that we struggle well and alongside each other. Faith was never meant to be done alone.
Camp is a grand opportunity to meet some of the new 9th graders. Let them know some familiar faces come 9th grade welcome.
I thoroughly believe that God is the god of right now. We were never meant to focus on what will be or "If only this would happen." We were given the lives we have right now for a reason and we were put with the people we are with right now for a reason, family, friends, workmates, and underclassmen alike. We're not in Fusion with them for no reason. Let's not assume that someone will come along next year and be the big changing factor in their lives. Maybe we were meant to be the instruments God uses. And if not the big instruments than the seed planters or the seed waterers. God makes it grow.
Finally I will say that this won't really be easy. It will be in some aspects and it won't be in others. We are still teenagers ourselves and we are still quite self-centered (to be all stereo-typing and all). When the middle of the school year hits and we're stressed and don't want to care about a 9th grader let's not fall away. Let's make commitments before the school year to stick to it no matter what and let's keep each other accountable. And when I say no matter what, I mean no matter what. That's what a commitment is. So if you don't think you can handle it then don't. There will only be minimal judging. In fact you will probably only be frowned upon, not actually judged. Seriously though. Maybe to help we team up and take two upper to one under. That way if one can't make it the other can, and we can do it together sometimes and check up and keep it real. By making a commitment, perhaps we will learn the meaning of sacrifice and selflessness in the middle of a stress-filled school year. Maybe when we least want to, we'll honor our commitments and learn how very little following God is about feelings. Just some things to think about.
To close (a second time), I would urge you to think about someone who mentored you and the difference it made. Or if need be think about how someone didn't mentor you till later and how you wish they had. Anger can be used for good.

Faith was never meant to be done alone.
Grace and peace.

This fairly new book by William P. Young has swept through my little corner of the world like wildfire. I was told that "everyone should read this book" which made me think - great, another christian book that my mom likes... But seriously, this book is like pilgrim's progress in it's symbolism, a conversation in it's friendliness, a healing wound in it's openness, and painful in it's truthfulness. This man spends a weekend in a shack with G-D and it changes him. Reading it changed me. I recommend.

so, how many superhero movies are there going to be this summer? It's pretty crazy. At least there's not a Fantastic Four coming out.
Actually, I've enjoyed all of the Superhero movies I've seen so far. (As long as we're not counting Indiana Jones as a superhero!) Not that they've been phenomenal or ground-breaking or anything, but entertaining.
My favorite so far is Hellboy II. I know, who knew? A couple times when I was watching it, I just imagined how my parents would never have let me watch this as a kid. I mean the hero is a demon (or something like that) and the new character (Johann Krauss) is called ectoplasma (which I think means he's a ghost or a spirit). Yeah, no way I'm allowed to watch that as a kid. But, as an adult, it was a good, clean movie. It didn't have anything too profane and had a good story even if del Toro (the director) did take some creative license and stole some characters from his Pan's Labyrinth. Either way, yeah to Leslie's uncle, Doug Jones (Abe, the merman) who has a huge part in this movie!
What's your favorite superhero movie of the summer so far? (We all know The Dark Knight will be all of our favorites, so besides that one!)