Little Kids

So for the last few weekends, we have had 4th-6th graders at UCYC for winter camp. I love little kids! They are full of energy, life, excitement, curiosity, and just fun. Here are my top 5 kid camper moments from the past 2 weeks...

1. Watching a little boy drag a man-sized US Army bag (which he refused to let me touch) through the slush, mud, and snow all the way to his cabin and across the clean floor which quickly turned to a mud stained path.

2. Watching 230 kids standing on chairs singing Owl City and Miley!

3. Listening to a little girl explain to me why her dad is the smartest man in Phoenix. I guess that rules out my father-in-law, who was my vote. Shucks...

4. Super-Gluing Lindsey's (a 9 year old from Chandler) glasses back together, which were again snapped in half after a intense game of Dragon Dodge-Ball.

5. And reading the prayers of about 10 campers, from their quiet time books. Makes it all worth-while!

Little kids crack me up. I chose the picture of the girl on the bike because about a week ago, Jess and I were standing outside the Tweed's (my in-laws) house just enjoying a beautiful Sunday afternoon, when along rode 2 young girls on their bikes. The sisters stopped by our driveway and to say hey. Here's what I love. The big sister explains to us that she is riding her little sister's bike because she likes little bikes. Then the little sisters tells us how much she loves riding big bikes, so she sometimes rides her big sister's. This was funny, but then they took off and the little sister was having the hardest time keeping such a big bike upright. She was wobbling back and fourth like crazy and she just couldn't seem to keep her bike going 1 direction. This was the funniest thing to watch until she slowly began to head right into our Honda Accord. It was like she was destined to hit our car, which was parked along the sidewalk in the front of the house. It was like a magnet. She was fighting the wobbles, but just couldn't help. And before we could even get any words out...Crash!!! Right into the side of our car. And here's the funny part, she just get up, picks up her bike, looks at the car, turns around, wobbles back on the bike, and then peddles off. You gotta love kids. What do you do in a moment like that. My car is scratched and banged up and the little girl just keeps right on going. Now I'm not one to ruin a little girls day, but I just about did. Oh well, I guess I will fight against the innocence of a child another day!

A Good Reminder

http://www.catalystspace.com/content/read/public_passion_vs_private_devotion/

Hey All!

I just read this article this morning, What a good reminder for leaders and followers of Christ. Check it out...

What do you think?

Jarred

Updates on the Medlins

Hey everyone!

I thought I would put together a list (my favorite) of what is new in the life of Jess and Jarred...Check it out.

1. My mom and dad are coming to visit us all the way from Springfield, MO in about 5 days! I can't wait. My dad is one of my best friends.
2. Jessica just finished her AEPA exam. AKA- Arizona State Math test for all math teachers. She felt really good about it. In my book, she's crazy, cause math is hard!
3. Just finished our 1st Middle School Winter Camp. It was amazing! Grace was the theme and it was awesome to watch God use it for youth groups around Arizona.
4. My friend Dan is in a rehab clinic in Prescott. For those of you who don't know his story, he fell 50 feet last summer onto a rock! And lived. He is getting professional help to deal with this situation and its effects. He is now in week 3 of what could be between a 3-7 month program.
5. Jess and I just got amazing Sprint updates, which means we are now official Droid owners. Can't believe I have a phone that connects to the internet, tunes my guitar, has a GPS, holds the entire bible (in 25 versions), is equipped with Load Runner (an amazing game from my childhood), and has access to television. This just complicated my life.
6. Our church, Prescott Christian, just raised over 6 thousand dollars in one weekend to send to Haiti. So thankful to be a part of a church that is taking care of the widows, orphans, and outcasts.
7. I now have one 3 hour course left to complete before graduation in May! No words can explain this kind of releif.
8. UCYC is in the midst of some exciting property possibilities....ask me later
9. My dad says he has lost about 30 pounds over the last few months! I am so proud of him. God gave me an amazing dad. I know everyone doesn't have that, so I am incredibly thankful.
10. I'm getting ready to begin writing cirriculum for summer 2010 at UCYC. Should be exciting. Check out updates on United Christian Youth Camp's facebook page.
11. Younglife officially kicked off in Prescott last Monday. It was a great start, and we look forward to what God has in store in the upcoming months.

Well, I think that's about it for now. I will add to the list in a week or so. Have a great day!

Jarred

Not of this World

I have randomly seen like 12 of these stickers on cars the last few days and I recently found out from Jess what they mean....Not of This World. Hmm..... I guess this is another corny phrase that some Christians are using these days. It got me thinking....How am I not of this world?

Well here's a list. Cause I live by lists! Don't believe me, just look in my office!

• Jess and I gave away 3 boxes of donuts to high schoolers this morning at 7:30 am. And do this every Monday morning. Just something to get to know kids where they are and help brighten their Monday.
• Jess and I went to a high school girls basketball game last week, and are going again tonight. We are doing this to get to know students on the team and support them. That's not of this world if you know what I'm saying :) It was fun though, and Prescott is really good. Go watch them!
• I gave away 5 bucks to homeless guy last week, but I don't know if that counts. He had a crazy story though which was great to listen to.
• Jess and I are supporting Haiti through our local church, PCC.
• I sledded with summer staffers and little kids all afternoon last Friday. I dunno if that counts either, but it was fun.

Anyways, this is by no means a list of how good Jarred is. If anything it is disappointing to look at and think of how little I am actually doing. Guess I have a lot more to work on.

What have you done lately that is Not of this World?

Balance

Ok, for starters, this picture cracks me up because I have no idea what they made these figures out of, but it is weird. It still get the point across though.

Over the past few months, I have been thinking a lot about balance. Balance for me individually in areas such as marriage, friends, Young Life, man-time, working out, and recreation. But even more specifically, I have been thinking about balancing my faith in God. Now let me explain, so you immediately write me off as an emergent spiritual crazy person...

I keep thinking about balance as I try to define my theology or stance on what it means to believe and have faith in God. And what I mean by balance is that I struggle taking sides. There are a lot of theologies out there that draw hard lines and take firm stands on some highly debated biblical truths. For instance, Calvinism opposed to Open Theism. Calvinists are on one end of the spectrum with the beliefs such as total depravity, unconditional election or predestination, limited atonement (Jesus died only for the elect), irresistible grace (you cannot resist God's call if he chooses you), and finally the highly used phrase "once saved always saved." The most infamous belief the Calvinist's stand by is centered around that God's will is central and you don't choose God, He chooses you. At the other end of the spectrum, or teeter totter, are Open Theists who basically believe that God knows every possibility that each person has in life, but He doesn't choose for us. In essence, God gives you a choice about everything.

Now here's my take on issues such as these. I am so tired of getting stuck in these conversations. In the middle of these conversations or debates, I just want to hold up my picture of the weird teeter totter and say, "hey, you guys are like a bunch of little kids playing on a teeter totter during recess." You are more concerned about playing the Jesus game and winning, then living out the Gospel of Jesus.

Here's what I think. If you like to take sides in your theology, then eventually you are going to get shot off the teeter totter. The theology that I like to think about has everything to do with balance. I'm tired of trying to choose sides, because I honestly believe that both sides (mentioned earlier) are both right and wrong. They each have holes, and they don't seem to make since in all circumstances. So when someone invents a theology of balance, then count me in, because that seems to be a lot more Jesus-centered than the divisiveness of theology today.

Anyways, I'm gonna shoot for some balance in my life this year. Me, Jess, and my friend Will Heck starting working out this morning, and I look forward to the balance of working out 3 days a week at the local YMCA. I'm also doing a lot of other things to balance things out in my life, so you can look forward to at least one new blog each week for the future. I apologize for not being consistent in the past.

Until next time,
Jarred

ps...keep balancing

The One with Jess and the Wolf

Hey everyone! Here is a one of Jessica's latest greatest pictures. I love my wife because she makes me laugh constantly. I would be way to serious without her in my life!

On another note, Jess is trying to begin Student Staff for Young Life in Prescott this December. If you would be interested in supporting her (or if you know anyone who would) please let us know. Her email is tweed.medlin@gmail.com.

A New Perspective

On monday, a co-worker (Chris Holohan) and I left for Barnes and Noble to buy a book that had caught Chris's attention. Chris had seen this book online and watched several interviews of Ed Dobson to see what this book was all about. Since we were so interested, we decided to each buy one and see what we could learn from it.

Next summer, our middle school camps at United Christian Youth Camp will be taking a close look at the life of Jesus. The hope is that students would have a real, true, and authentic picture of who Jesus is, how he lived, why he died, and what that means for us.

Dobson's book has already began to challenge us and show us new things about the life of Jesus. In this book, Ed Dobson, a longtime pastor of Calvary Bible in Grand Rapids, Michigan, talks about an experiment he recently embarked upon. Dobson was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's Disease several years ago, and this led him to a journey of trying to live like Jesus for an entire year. Some of things he does is amazing to read about. A super-conservative pastor is challenged to break down many barriers and love people as Jesus did.

This is a great book so far, and maybe it will even challenge you! I know it has for me. Because of a challenge from this book, Chris and I will be reading the Gospels all the way through every week from now until summer. It is already a huge challenge. And it is only week 1. My biggest prayer is that it would not become a prideful, shallow, or meaningless homework assignment. My prayer is that God would renew my mind through reading about Jesus every day.