The Reason for the Season

I hope everyone is having a fantastic (and relaxing?) Christmas break!

I felt so blessed and refreshed by the carolling outing last night, and I hope all of you did as well. As we move into the New Year, I want to thank you all for extending such a warm welcome to my husband and I. We are so happy and blessed to have the opportunity to know everyone at Farmington UMC -- in worship, in service, in play, and in work. I'm working on plans for 2010, and it's going to be a fantastic year. I can't wait to get to know you all even better and to grow with you in our faith and understanding.

As we move through this holiday season, take a moment to remember the reason for the season. We are all so blessed to know Jesus, and when we take the time to celebrate the joy He brings us through the miracle of His birth, we can get to know Him even more. Take a moment, also, to say "thank you" for all that you have. Especially in these economic times, it is easy to focus on all of the things we wish we had. Remember all of the blessings God has sent you this year -- in your families, your friends, your experiences -- and say THANK YOU!!!

Peace,
Amanda

December 20th Meeting Reminders

Our December 20th meeting will be the last meeting of 2009! Here are some reminders:

1. We will be eating dinner at youth group on the 20th. I am asking that each family bring a casserole or other dish to share. We plan to eat around 6.

2. We will be carolling at Peachtree with Alan and his group.

3. We will not be finished until a little later than usual -- I'm guessing around 7:30 or 8.

4. No meeting on December 27th!

Holiday Announcements

Hey, guys! As we approach the Holidays, I wanted to share a couple of things with you all.

First, we took some great pictures at the last youth group meeting. You can look at all of them by clicking on the thumbnails displayed in the right hand toolbar. While you're looking at the toolbar, don't forget to enter your email into the subscribe box so you'll always be up to date on what's going on with youth group!

Second, we are headed into some scheduling changes that I wanted to make sure everyone was aware of. My husband and I will be travelling to Kansas to spend some time with my family for Christmas, so we won't have youth group on December 27th. Also, when we resume normal meetings on January 3rd, we'll be meeting at a new time -- Sunday afternoons from 3 - 5. I am hoping that this earlier time will give everyone a better chance to enjoy Sunday dinner with your families, and it should also give the youth more time to work on homework on Sunday evening. I know some may have scheduling conflicts with the earlier time, but hopefully this will end up working out for the best.

So hopefully I'll see everybody this evening, and I can remind you all, but I wanted to give you a chance to get it on your calendar before too long had passed. Hope you're having a fantastic holiday season so far!

Peace,

Amanda

Let's Say "Thank You!"

Hey, guys! So this is a really cool (and pretty simple) bit of mission we can do from the comfort of our computer chairs. :)

Xerox is saying, "Thank you," to our soldiers who are serving this holiday season in Iraq. If you go to www.LetsSayThanks.com, you can pick out a thank you card for Xerox to print and send to a soldier. Although you don't get to choose who it will be sent to, I'm sure it will really brighten someone's day, which is one of the best kinds of mission work, in my opinion!

Okay, so I am challenging you all not only to send a card, but also to tell your friends and family to send one. Better yet -- direct them to this blog so that you can spread the word about youth group (and what you're doing in your church community) AND encourage them to participate in this cool project.

Peace,
Amanda

Great Deal on Christian Gifts

Pssst -- Moms and Dads --

I just spotted this great deal on Christian gifts. It's on one of my favorite Northwest Arkansas blogs, so I'm going to just direct you straight over to Heather. Enjoy!

http://nwadeals.net/2009/12/family-christian-stores-25-off-your-entire-purchase/

Tis the Season

This being a season for fun, family, and festivities, Farmington Youth have quite a few activities in the works. I'll list them below (especially for parents -- here's a heads up!), but be on the look-out for more information on each of these in the weeks to come!

1. FUMC Christmas Parade Open House
Although this isn't an official youth group activity (we didn't really get to talk about it in the meeting last week), it's a fun activity if you're looking for something to do tomorrow night. Plan to arrive around 7pm, and dress in "festive colors" if you want. Casey has mentioned needing some youth to help with the "Pictures with Santa" zone, but we can also just be generally friendly, smiling faces!

2. Children's Program
Patty has asked that we help out the children and serve refreshments after their program on Sunday. We'll just do this at the end of the regular youth group meeting, so plan to eat before the meeting so that we don't have to messy up the multi-purpose room with dinner.

3. Salvation Army Bell Ringing
We will be ringing bells to help with the collection pots for Salvation Army sometime this month. Parents, if you can let me know dates that you will be traveling, it would be much appreciated. Otherwise, I'm planning to see when they need us and go for it. I'd like to do this in small groups, so that it's more fun/safe for our youth. More info to come!

4. New Years Eve Lock-In
Fun, fun, fun! Youth who regularly attend Farmington UMC are invited to a safe and fun gathering to ring in the new year! We will have games and snacks and tons of fun! More to come on this -- but we are planning for the event to run from 10pm until 6am at the church.

So lots to do this month! Hopefully we'll keep you busy during your time off from school, and hopefully we'll keep you in the true spirit of the season with Christ in your heart and service on your mind!!!

Amanda
Youth Director
Farmington UMC

The Online Log for a Great Group of People

Welcome! If you're reading this, you're probably either a member of our fantastic youth group, a parent of a member, or considering joining. Whatever the case may be, we're glad you're here!!

I'm hoping this can be an online home base for our little family, where I can post the goings-on and news to keep you up-to-date on everything you need to know. Check back often (or better yet, subscribe) so that you won't miss a single entry. I'm hoping this will be especially helpful when we have an event coming up for which you need specifics, so I plan to put details for most every event we are planning.

So thanks for stopping by! Hopefully we'll "see" you here (or better yet, at youth group -- Sunday nights from 5 - 7) again soon!

Amanda
Youth Director
Farmington UMC