Time Travel

Have you ever wanted to travel back in time? Wouldn't it be cool to invent a time machine and be able to just go wherever you wanted, whenever you wanted...literally, when-ever you wanted?

Well, I can't quite promise you that much freedom of choice where and when to go, but I can offer you a trip back in time to a pretty interesting place I've taken students to before which we all really enjoyed. It's a trip back in time to the early to mid-1900's here in the Appalachian Mountains where bluegrass and gospel music came of age and people from all over came together to have a good 'ole time flatfoot dancing. It's a veritable cultural experience that takes place every Friday night in Floyd, VA, just 45 minutes from Blacksburg, in The Floyd Country Store which is 100 years old this year! It's hard to describe just how much fun you are going to have if you go, but almost everybody that does always ends up pleasantly surprised how much fun they end up having regardless of how they felt about bluegrass music before they went. You just can't help but smile within minutes of walking in the door, and after that it's pretty near impossible to wipe the grin off your face, although I don't know why you would want to.

If you're ready to join us on this adventure, meet at the campus house at 5pm this Friday. We will carpool to the quaint little town of Floyd, VA and get to the Country Store early so we can get some great seats and enjoy some delicious dessert before the concert. They have all kinds of ice cream, milk shakes, pies, cakes, and other desserts, and old fashioned candy to buy. (You'll need to eat supper on your own before meeting at the campus house, though. They have a lunch menu, but I'm not sure if those sandwiches are available on Friday nights.) Tickets for the Jamboree (concert) are just $4.

So that's 5:00pm Friday at the campus house. Eat supper before you come, but save room for dessert. And bring $4 for admission.

I really hope you can join us. It'll be an experience you won't soon forget. We'll have a "toe tappin' good time".

Steve

Spring Game

Hey everybody,

If you are interested in going to the Spring Game this Saturday in Lane Stadium, we are meeting at the campus house at a little after 11:30am to walk over together early so we can get some great seats. The scrimmage doesn't start until 2pm, so we will be waiting over there a long time, but if you love football and hanging out with friends, then it will be worth it.

Hope you can join us.

Steve

Cookout Tonight!

Hey, everybody. Hope you are having a great day today -- enjoying the day off classes and the fantastic weather, while respectfully remembering the events of April 16 three years ago and praying for the families of those lost and the survivors.

Here at CCVT we are going to celebrate the hope we have in Christ, and the strength we can draw from one another, by having a Cookout together tonight (Friday) at 6pm at the campus house.

We already have people lined up to bring all the food, so all you need to bring is yourself, and maybe some friends. You can bring some food to share if you want to, but it's not necessary.

We will have the volleyball net set up for anyone who wants to play some volleyball, too.

If you are planning on going to the candlelight vigil on the Drillfield after sunset, you will certainly be able to do that. Maybe some others will want to go with you, too. I'm thinking about going myself.

Hope to see you tonight.

Steve

Camping this Weekend

CCVT is planning a camping trip for this Saturday night, April 10, and you are invited to come with us. The rain is forecast to stop late tonight, and things will dry out Friday and Saturday. The forecast looks good for camping Saturday night -- 0% chance of rain.

The campsite we have in mind (Horseshoe Hollow) is only about 20 minutes away and is FREE. We will be meeting at the campus house at 4:45pm Saturday to carpool to the site. We will be heading back to campus early enough Sunday morning for everyone to make it to church.

We have plenty of cars going so we have plenty of extra seats. Come join us, and bring some friends. Just make sure you have enough tents and sleeping bags for yourselves, that's the only thing we don't have a lot of extras of. You can rent some at very reasonable prices from VT's Venture Out office.

We will have everything we need for a campfire, and to make some delicious hot dogs and smores together! However, please eat some supper before meeting at the campus house because the food at the camp is intended to be more like a big snack than a full meal. Of course, you can bring some more food along for yourself, or to share, if you want.

Also, this is a Bring Your Own Breakfast event. So pack some pop tarts or granola bars or something to eat for breakfast in the morning.

Here are some suggestions of other things to pack:
besides tents and sleeping bags,
sleeping pad
pillow
flashlight
water bottle full of water
pocket knife
warm clothes, including coats for cold weather at night time
maybe some insect repellant, a camping lantern, and other camping equipment you might have.

Hope you can join us!

Remember, meet at the campus house between 4:30 and 4:45pm, Saturday.

Steve

A Truly Eventful Day

Lend me your imagination for a moment. Imagine you are suddenly able to cross space and time and you mysteriously find yourself in a casual conversation with Jesus. Jesus says, "Hey, how you doin'? What have you been up to since this time yesterday?"

You say something like, "Well, last night I worked all night on my group project until 2am, but it was worth it because I think it is going to be really good -- I think we'll get a really good grade on it. And then I got up at 7 and went to classes until noon, and ate lunch at Owens, but then the weather was so awesome today I decided I couldn't pass it up, so me and some friends played Ultimate Frisbee on the Drillfield for a couple hours, and then made a drink run to 7-11 for Slurpees, and then went over to one of my friends' apartment to hang out for a while, and then we decided to top off this awesome day by going out to Olive Garden for supper. We ate soo much. It was so good! How about you?"

Remember, you have mysteriously crossed space and, most significantly, time. So based on this particular day in Jesus' life that he has just completed, he answers, "Well, last night I fed 5000 with 5 loaves of bread and two fish, and then hiked up a mountain to pray until 2am, but it was worth it because it really helped prepare me for what I had to do the rest of the day. Next I walked down the mountain and across the lake on water until I caught up with my disciples in their boat. At first they were scared, but then I told them it was me, so they let me in the boat and I teleported the whole boatload of people to shore (literally, including the boat). Then I went from the peak of my popularity to possibly my lowest ever "approval rating" by purposefully alienating the crowd that was chasing me everywhere I went by telling them that 'unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.' They thought I was advocating cannibalism. But I had told them, 'you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life.' They needed to shift their focus from the things of this life, to the things that lead to eternal life."

You say, "Oh....wow." That's all you say, because what else is there to say after hearing that? You thought you had a pretty eventful day until hearing about Jesus' day. Then yours kind of paled by comparison. You walk away from the conversation not quite knowing what to think, but you vaguely feel that hearing about Jesus' day has definitely caused you to see your own day from a different perspective. And you wonder, how much of MY focus has been on "the things of this life", and how much has been on "the things that lead to eternal life".

Tonight at Oasis we'll be studying John chapter 6 which covers the one day in Jesus' life which you just got done talking to him about in your imagination. Please come take just an hour or two with us to focus on "the things that lead to eternal life".

We start at 7:30pm at the campus house. If you need directions, they are right over in the right sidebar.

Hope to see you tonight.

Steve