Holiday Greetings

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! The semester has ended well for most of our students. We now wish you a nice long break from studies and the college life. We will look for your return to C/U on January 24. We will be giving you opportunity to get involved at the Philo Road Church of Christ during the spring semester. Please come back to us ready to serve Christ where you are planted. God Bless!

November 1

November 1...impossible! :) November holds a few great plans for Illini for Christ. We have a dinner devo planned for November 5 at Steve and Kathy Clarkson's. We have our church family meal each Wednesday in November except for the 24th. On that night we have a devotional at the church building at 7pm. If you are in town the week of Thanksgiving we hope that you will join us. Our study with Michael will come to an end this month. It is time to decide what we are going to do during the spring semester for our Wednesday night study. I would like to hear your ideas on this.

Weddings

I forgot to mention last week in this blog about weddings. October seems to be the perfect month for weddings. We have three that we are invited to. Two which I am blessed to officiate at. One is a friend of Ryan's from his High School days and the other is a "daughter" from the Kemp Church. Both are opportunites to connect with friends and family. This week we have a meal at 6pm at the church building with a Bible study to follow. Will we do anything after our Bible study? That is the question...it will be answered by those who are here for the Bible study. On Sunday we will be looking at the King of Kings. We are looking forward to a fun evening at the Burkybiles on October 22. Have a blessed week.

October - what a great month! Color, cooler, fun fall activities. We have a great meal planned for Wednesday at 6pm with a good Bible study to follow and maybe some card playing to follow that. There is opportunity for playing in the Illinois Christian Camp Golf Outing on Saturday. On Sunday morning we will be looking at the "Lamb of God". There is also a book reading group at noon on Sunday. We are reading the book "Mistaken Identity". If you want to join in lunch and discussion about this book you will be blessed. Got questions...e-mail me.

October 2010

Our last activity for September will be singing with Todd Horton on Wedensday night following our Bible Study. October 1 is Fry Guy Friday. Guys are invited to come to the building at 6 pm for all the fried food you can eat and care to imagine. There will be a bags tournament following dinner. There is an Illinois Christian Camp Golf Tournament that you can pariticpate in on October 9, A book read discussion of Mistaken Identity on October 10, a gathering of Illini for Christ at the Burkybiles on October 22nd and a Family Fall Festival on October 29. We would love to see all of our college students participating in a small group on Sunday nights. Enjoy the wonderful fall weather as the month of September becomes a memory.

Weekly

I have a goal of a weekly post. My world has been turned upside down. Three weeks have gone past since my last post and it has been a blur. We now have two teenagers living with us. They are wonderful children. I love them. But the goal of a weekly blog may be history. I have plans to do this blog on Mondays. This week my Monday was spent getting two teens enrolled in high school and tending to some of their other needs. Blogging never went through my mind. :) This week Illini for Christ is having dinner on Wednesday at 6 and will continue a study of difficult questions to answer. On Friday night we will be going to Alan & Barb Caspers for dinner at 6 and a swimming party. On Sunday we will have our study of names of Jesus and join in the assembly of the saints. If you need rides to any of these events please e-mail or call me.

Monday August 29

Wasn't yesterday an inspiring day? I thought our elders did an excellent job of challenging us and encouraging us to be all that God expects of us. We can love God, love others and live Christ. I am praying that Illini for Christ will catch this vision and that God will transform us as we strive to serve Him. This week we have dinner and study on Wednesday beginning at 6pm. At 7:30 we are going to find out what dictator, Tom Stone has in mind for us this week. I will be on campus on Thursday from 8:30 until 2 or 3:30. Right now I have three people that I am meeting and studying with. Do you want some time with me this week? Send me an e-mail and let me know what time works for you. This weekend is Labor Day weekend. Many of our students have told us that they will be out of town. Randy is going to start our college class at 9am on Sunday. My family is going to Springfield to hear my son preach and to celebrate my birthday. I was born in 1955...you do the math. :) I don't think it was on "labor" day. I don't even know if Labor Day has been around that long. Have a blessed week and join us for dinner and our studies.

Move in day is Thursday. Is anyone available to help some of our new students move in? Illini for Christ has a busy couple of weeks. Sunday, August 22 is quad day. Wednesday, August 25 we have dinner at the church building at 6pm. We will have a discussion about our fall semester after dinner. We'll be done at 7:30. Friday, August 27, Sam and Angie are going to feed us and show us a good time at their home. We will start at 6 and go until whenever. Sunday, August 29, we want everyone at the church building at 9am. Our four elders are going to be casting a vision for the future of the Philo Road Church of Christ. Following their presentation we will have a welcome back potluck for our students. If you like food...you are part of the right ministry. :) We will be transformed as we spend time together during the 2010 - 2011 school year. Looking forward to some good quality time together.

August 2010

Hey, it's August and we are ready for a new semester...well, getting ready might be a better way of putting it. :) Students return to campus the weekend of the 21st. Quad Day is Sunday, August 22. If we survive the Great Give-away on Saturday, August 21 we might visit the quad on Sunday. Wednesday night, August 25 will be a planning session for students who choose to come and eat at the church building at 6pm. Sam and Angie are welcoming everyone back to town on Friday, August 27 at their home. Sunday, August 29 is a big day at the Philo Road Church of Christ. You don't want to miss this! There will be a welcome back student potluck, with homemade ice cream. I am looking forward to seeing everyone and meeting some new people. We are going to be transformed this year as we study, pray and seek God's best for one another.

One month of summer break is about gone. I have been busy with church camp. We had a good week of Senior High Camp. This year we went from Friday to Friday. It made for a long week for this old man but the campers loved it. :) Illini for Christ is a bit quiet right now. Now that we are half way through June it is time to start thinking about this fall and start working on the calendar. It is pretty amazing how fast time can fly by during the summer months. We start VBS at Philo Road on Wednesday, June 23. We are glad to be giving prayer support to five of our members who are in Kenya for three weeks. We are looking forward to Summer Youth Series which begin on Monday, June 21st at the Clearlake Church of Christ .

Finals

I pray that everyone's finals are going well. We are moving out of the student center on Thursday at 6pm. We will have 3 or 4 pickups and we have 2 or 3 places that we are taking items too. We appreciate all the help. Thank you!

Winding down

As we enter the month of May we start winding down. We have one more activity at the student center. May 6, Reading Day, there will be snacks and visiting at the student center from 6:30 till whenever. God bless all our students as they prepare for and take finals.

We need to clean out the student center during the month of May. Everything has to go. We also need to clean. We turn in our keys by the end of the month. If you can help with this work please let Dick know what day(s) are best for you.

Laser Tag

How close to 40 can we get? Laser Tag is happening on Thursday night from 7 to 9 pm. This is taking place at Skateland in Savoy. It will be a fun time. Games take about 10 minutes. 12 people get to play at a time. I am told that there is about a 10 minute turnaround between games. I want to see this turnaround time happen in 5 minutes. :) That way we can get more games in. We'll learn some co-operation. We have time to visit and enjoy each other. It will be a nice break from the studying and work that everyone is doing. Please take a break and join us for a little Laser Tag.

One faith

We are looking at "one faith" tonight during our dinner / devotional. Ephesians 2:8 says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God." The one faith is a saving faith. We receive God's gift of grace through faith. What does that imply? This chapter in Ephesians tells us that we are dead in our sin. However, God out of his great love for us makes us alive in Christ. God shows us kindness in Christ and takes us from death to life. Are we alive to God? Do we agree with God that we are His workmanship? Are we engaged in the good works that God has prepared for us to do? Are you living the "one faith"?

What a week! Monday I came down with a "cold". I have been sick all week and only did about half of my usual work load. I tried to rest some each day. On Friday I went to the doctor and was put on an antibiotic and cough syrup. Monday evening we came home around 7pm to a sick dog. We took Turbo to the Emergency Room at the U of I. After a couple of hours we came home with meds and a plan to go see our vet on Tuesday morning. The visit to Vet. Med. Emergency Room was made much more enjoyable because Katy, Ryan and Megan went with us. Ryan used it as a learning opportunity. :) On Tuesday our vet didn't give us much hope. After spending an hour with him it was decided that the best thing for Turbo was for us to put him to sleep. It was hard and we are sad but we know this was best. We have received flowers from Ryan & Megan and Jon & Katy. We also have received notes from some in our Christian family. Thanks for your prayers.

Resurrection

I pray that everyone heard a good sermon yesterday on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This cornerstone truth of our Christianity is essential to our one hope. Those of you who were blessed to be home for Easter missed a good sermon here at Philo Road. Randy did an excellent job of showing the place of the resurrection in our walk with Jesus. The tomb is empty! May we live our life with resurrection hope for this is the one hope of Ephesians 4:4.

Illini for Christ will be hosting a Laser Tag event on April 29. We need 40 participants so start inviting friends. We will invite the teens and young marrieds at Philo Road to join us for the fun. Laser Tag will take place at Skateland in Savoy from 7 to 9 pm. It will be $10 a person.

"one faith" - Jesus tells the story of a persisitent widow in Luke 11:1-8. The point of this parable is stated clearly in verse 1; "You should always pray and not give up." At the end of the parable Jesus ask a question concerning the "one faith" that Illini for Christ are talking about on Thursday evenings. "However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" The evidence of having this "one faith" is prayer. How often do we teach people to pray? Is prayer a vital part of your walk with Christ? Do you know how to pray? Jesus wants us to excercise our faith by talking to the Father. He has given us access to the Creator, the one God and Father of all. Are you excercising your faith?

Illini For Christ welcome back to campus. I hope you had a wonderful break. We have a good week of activity planned. There are small groups on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday that you can take part in. We will be having dinner and a devotional on Thursday at the student center. The past week in Urbana / Champaign was a quiet one. Yes, I enjoyed that. I had the joy of meeting with a number of different individuals for coffee, lunch or just a visit. It was delightful! May God bless our week with opportunities to share his goodness with someone.

Blogging???That is a new idea. Troy Courson suggested that we try a blog. I do not know if I am disciplined enough for this or not. I love the idea but I am a little afraid that I will drop this ball. I have many friends enter the blogging world in the past and they last a few months or so but it is rare to see someone stay wtih it for a long time. I guess we will give this a try and see who responds and how it goes. May God use this blog to encourage and strengthen Illini For Christ. RAM