COOKIES!!! Nom nom nom nom nom.

The Second Annual Christmas Cookie Cookoff was great! There were so many entries - lots and lots of really good cookies.

So naturally, we need to announce the winners. That way you know which people to see to order cookies :).

First Day of School Classic (chocolate chip cookies) - Jen
Italian Bakery Knockoff - Rachel G. (red velvet creme filled cookie yumminess)
Hey, That's Not a Cookie - Bekki (tiny cupcakes - they were gluten free too!)
Best Overall - Taron (lemon delish cookies. I don't know what they are officially called, but they were lemon. And they were delicious)

Thank you all of you who made cookies. And thanks to everyone who didn't but did a great job of judging and eating. Seriously, I had a great time!

The extra cookies (and there were a LOT of extra cookies) will be going to the Nativity. So, naturally, I'm going to include a Nativity plug. This weekend, Dec 18, 19 & 20, is the LAST weekend of the Nativity for 2009. The next one won't be for another whole year! So come join us 5-8pm. Or better yet, you can come help out and be in a scene.

~Jen

College Christmas Bash - More Info!

December 22, 8pm
1640 Church Road
Southampton, NJ 08088

The bulletin said it's at the church. ITS NOT! There is Celebrate Recovery that night, so we aren't using the church building. We'll be at the Roberts'.

There will be Christmas-themed food, activities, and other fun stuff.

This event is to welcome home all the college students. All of YAM is invited to help welcome them! We love our college students!

College Christmas Bash!

2nd Annual Christmas Cookie Cookoff

Are you ready to RUMBLLLLLLLEEEEE!!!

Okay, so we have this really nice, concise upcoming events section on this page. But what DO these events entail?!?! I will tell you.

November 11 - SUNDAY LUNCH (at the church). You may be thinking "Jen, this is totally self-explanatory." And you are mostly right. However! Make sure that if you have any friends that are around that don't know about it, you let them know. Because seriously, free food pretty much rocks socks. And it's in the Common Grounds cafe at church (the triple room beyond the nursery).

December 13 - SUNDAY LUNCH (at a restaurant). I think we may be going to Applebee's, but who knows for sure. It's a way to get together and get to know each other over a nice plate of your choosing. It's nativity time, so off-site works way better. Join us, and bring some moolah, as YAM can't cover everything.

December 15 - CHRISTMAS COOKIE COOK-OFF!! This was so much fun last year. It'll be in place of our normal Bible Study, so it's at the Candys and at 7:30pm (and it's a Tuesday night). Bring your favorite cookie - or at least the one you are the greatest at making. The categories are chocolate chip cookies, Italian bakery knock-off, and not-technically a cookie (or something along those lines). Prizes for the winners.

December 22 - COLLEGE CHRISTMAS BASH! Every year, college students migrate back home for the holidays. And since we only see them occasionally, we might as well celebrate when we do! So, this party is primarily for the college kids, because we love them! If you don't fit into the description of "college student" but still want to come, you can, but remember! Our purpose is to make the college students feel welcome and loved. Because really, we love them.

January 3 (2010 - eek!) - ICESKATING IN PHILADELPHIA - We'll be going over to a rink in Philly to enjoy some ice skating. We'll have more details later - time, cost, etc - so look for those to come. And after skating, we'll find a nice place to eat something warm and yummy.

Back to Marlton!

The Candys are officially ready to have us back for Tuesday Night Bible Study! We've been other various places while they've been renovating their house. So, if you are interested in joining us for a time of fellowship and learning more about who Jesus is (as we study the Gospel of Mark), we'll be at
105 Evans Road
Marlton, NJ 08053

And please park at the school a couple spots down from the Candys. Otherwise, things get a little congested.

Thanks! and hope to see you there!

Because a real update is necessary now and then

As far as specifically YAM activities, September has been reasonably quiet. However, with other various ministries and school (for some) starting back up and people getting married (congrats Mike and Jo!) it has been pretty busy. But enough about that.

We've started a new study on the book of Mark. Personally, I'm super excited about it. It's amazing to me how I've read Mark multiple times, but it's really coming alive now. Mark doesn't spend a lot of time on what Jesus said, but rather what he did. It's action-packed. So, all that was to say, if you haven't come out to Bible study in a while, or at all, I strongly encourage you to come. It's going to be a sweet ride!

Temporary Change of Location

We've been temporarily displaced for Bible Study while the Candys do some renovations on their home.

For the next few weeks, we'll be meeting Tuesdays at 7:30pm for Bible Study at

1640 Church Rd
Southampton, NJ 08088

Feel free to park on the grass!

Jump, Jive, and a Big High Five!

I do believe my body had finally recovered from the Dance Marathon! For those of you who weren't able to make it, this is quite the accomplishment.

But it was worth it! We were able to raise around $2,500 for people in the church who are in need of a little financial assistance.

The dancing adventure began at the church outside under the big white tent. Here's the thing about the tent, though. It is up for the entire summer, which means grass does a fairly lousy job of growing for a few months because of two things: lack of sunlight and lack of rain. The former - no biggy. The latter - not so much. Dust. There was lots and lots of dust.

And it was humid (summer in Jersey - no surprise there). So shortly after we began our super fun dancing adventure, we were sweaty (ew) and covered in dust (or more like mud - double ew). My feet were super dirty, and I was not the only one.
I was impressed by the enthusiasm of all the participants. Mike and Joanna had pretty spectacular outfits (I'll post pictures later this week), and Lizette and Erik definitely held their own in that department.
At 10:30pm we moved inside to the air-conditioned gym and danced under the disco ball. Or, I guess to be technically correct, the mirror ball (but that really doesn't sound as cool). We lasted until about 2am. At that point, most of us were pretty much dead on our feet, although the couple that won looked like they could go for hours. All the young people though - not so much. We had one person already sound asleep on the couch and it appeared as though more were to follow.

It was a fantastic time, though. And special thanks to Linda (for food) and Mr. Candy (yay DJ!). And thanks to all of you who participated or sponsored!

Upcoming Activities!

Let us keep you up to date!!!

This FRIDAY!! July 31st, there is a Riversharks game. If you are interested in going, just email us at fbcyam@gmail.com. It's $12 and we'll be leaving the church at 6:15pm.

August 5th (next Wednesday) is the Phillies game! Again, email us if you want to go. The cost is $18. Should be a good time!

August 14th. Okay, this one I'm really excited about. It's the first ever fbc yam sponsored (or fbc anything) DANCE MARATHON! Email us or visit us at the table on Sunday for more information and to sign up. It's going to be sweet, and all the proceeds will go to families in need at Fellowship. Even if you aren't a fan of dancing, there will be other ways to get involved, so come see us!

So, two months isn't that long, is it?

Oops. Things have been a little hectic around here, so the blog has been lacking update. So, here it goes.

June:
We had out luau! It was super fun and the weather was beautiful! Which wouldn't be that impressive, except the rest of June was pretty lousy and we have a lot of other events get rained on. We did some limbo and volleyball and ate some great Hawaiian themed food.

VBS happened at Fellowship, and the animals looked awesome! Thanks again to all the young adult women that came out and helped work on them.

July:
Sunday Lunch! We enjoyed this one under the super spectacular tent in the backyard of the church. Again, it was a beautiful day! (because God is very gracious like that). We ate some Wawa hoagies (yum) and other various foods.

Frisbee/Disc Golf. There is nothing quite like going into a sports game knowing full well that you are going to be bad at it. BUT! It was a lot of fun and I didn't do nearly as badly as I thought. Actually, I did pretty good (for me at least). We are definitely going to have to go more often. Fairmont Park is a lot nicer than I ever thought it would be.

Overall, it hasn't been a super busy 2 months for YAM activities, although it seems that everyone is always busy doing something. I guess that's what summers are for...I guess.

We've switched locations for a little while for Bible study. The Candys are doing some renovations so we are meeting at the Lindows (1104 Warren Ave, Cherry Hill). We've been able to meet outside for a lot of it, which has been interesting (I want to take this time to thank the inventor of citronella candles), but very enjoyable. Some of us have even taken advantage of the pool they have.

Saf-ar-eeee

Okay, so the giraffe is still lacking a head, but is coming along nicely. However, since a safari isn't made up of just giraffes, the women of yam banded together to paint more creatures. This time our task included a zebra and gazelle.

We quickly realized that zebras' stripes are more intense and difficult to paint that a giraffe's spots. A lot more. But we managed, and it was fun.

No safari is complete without some gracefully gallivanting gazelles, so that was another task on our plate. It's amazing what one (or three in this case) can do with a few different paints and a target deer.

Overall, it was a lot of fun. It's been great to be able to help out with VBS prep and fellowship together at the same time.

Herdy Gerdy Gerdy

It's definitely been a while. April was a fairly quiet month as far as YAM activities. We did, however, have another Girls Night Out, which included a giraffe named Gerdy.

So, here's a little back story:

This year, our church is doing a Safari-themed Vacation Bible School. And since Safaris are in the Serengeti, and the Serengeti has many awesome animals, a Safari VBS wouldn't be complete without awesome animals.

Oh, and my mother (who is in charge of VBS) absolutely loves giraffes.

The plan was to build a 14-foot giraffe in our barn. Some 2x4s, 1x3s, chicken wire, and about a gazillion and a half screws and staples later, the frame of a giraffe stood in the middle of the barn...headless. Then the whole thing was covered in an off-white canvas, which doesn't sound weird, but the thing looked downright freaky.

End of backstory.

The lovely ladies of YAM were then commissioned to paint the spots on it. So, we set up some scaffolding and poured some paint, and were on our way to making the most beautiful fake giraffe you've ever seen. We could immediately (immediately meaning after about 10 minutes) tell that Gerdy (the affectionately named giraffe) was going to be pretty much awesome. Four hours after that, our job was done. She was a thing of beauty - I'll post pictures once I get them.

The turnout was small, but those that did join in had a great time. We'll be doing another VBS help night on May 18th (this upcoming Monday). Not sure exactly what we'll be doing this next time, but it's always a good time.

Staring contests and lighter fluid

Last Thursday night, a group of us went to Buca di Bepo in Cherry Hill for some marvelous Italian dining. It was quite the experience, and I had never realized how educational getting Italian could really be. I've compiled a list of a few of my learnings.

1. You will lose a staring contest with the Pope if you try. He never blinks.
2. Some jobs should require a singing audition when you apply.
3. It's very hard to sing a (very) familiar song when ther person leading is incredibly tone deaf
4. You can you get lasagna in the form of a log
5. Lasagna in the form of a log is delicious
6. Sitting the "Queen's Chair" provides an incredible feeling of power
7. Feeling powerful and actualling being powerful are two different things
8. When one says, "If I were a nun, I'd be like that", one needs to be very clear on what piece of art you are pointing at.


That's it for that. It was a great time of just chilling and chatting it up. Speaking of things like that:

Saturday night we had a bonfire. It was a time to just sit around and catch up with each other. I thoroughly enjoyed being able to just "stop" and connect with friends, some of which I don't get to see very often. And once I got over Deb not wanting to douse the wood with lighter fluid, I enjoyed the fire too. Seriously, lighter fluid is a lot of fun...

The Hands and Feet of Jesus

On February 28th, a group of yam members went over to Camden to help out with a ministry there. They passed out clothes and food to those in need, and were able to talk with some of the people there. Deb wrote a bit about it in her monthly newsletter, and this is an excerpt from that:

"This weekend I was able to deliver the quilts (from Quilts of Love) to Brenda and had the opportunity to meet two of the prostitutes she is working hard to get off the streets. As I sat talking with them, my spirit ached for them. They were both coming down off crack and were in desperate need of a long sleep and hot shower. The described the place where they live: a drug house that just got hit by some 'stick-em-up boys' (thugs that hold up drug houses to steal all the cash). One of the girls had been raped the night before, and the other hasn't seen her 4-year-old twin boys in over 2 years. Both had been disowned by their respective families.

"After they ate breakfast, one of them said to me, 'Why would you come down here and do this for us?' I told her that it was only by God's grace I wasn't in her shoes and that I wanted her to know how much He loves her. That she matters to Him. She let me paint her fingernails and pray for her."As we were leaving, I stood on the curb with them as Brenda had to physically hold one of the girls upright. I began to wonder if Jesus did that for Mary Magdalene. I am so thankful to serve a Master who made friends with prostitutes and touched lepers. The religious elite were not for Him....He had very little time for their rubbish. But the sinners...that's where His heart was! What a joy to know we have a God who doesn't just love the pretty ones!

"In my version of the story, when all those little children came running toward Jesus, He spotted the most un-cute of them all and hugged that one first. So if you get the chance, find a way to put your faith into action. Remember, you don't have to go to Africa to find yourself a leper to love!"

Pass the gluestick

Last night was the third Girls Night Out. Our assignment: make encouragement cards for the Ladies Retreat. We didn't need to write out encouragements, but rather make cards that the ladies would use to encourage each other.

Our tools: fancy shmancy scissors, stamps, paper, and glue.

Doesn't sound too complicated. And really, it wasn't, although the first card a little rough. I learned a quick lesson. Stamp last. Otherwise, in the gluing process one can end up with an awful lot of ink on one's hand. I also discovered that I love the combination of blue and white. Simple, yet sophisticated. Most of the cards I made consisted of those colors. And it was so fun to see each person's individual style. Such creative people!

It was a really great time to get together, fellowship, and help out a fellow ministry in the church. Between the 6 or 7 of us, we made 170 cards. Other people are making more cards, but I thought that was a great amount for the number of people and hours involved.

If you are of the female persuasion and a young adult, please come to our next Girls Night Out. It is a fantastic time! The next one is March 11 (Wednesday, not Thursday). We would love to see you there!

~Jen

PHANTOM'S GAME!!

Tonight is the last night to sign up for the Phantom's game!

Monday, February 16 (President's Day)

If you want to carpool, meet at the church at 4pm.

$25 - includes a meal option

Watching the tube....

The last couple weeks have been reasonably quiet as far as yam events go. The LOST premiere party was on Jan 21st, and man! It was crazy! I really don't know what I would do if every few minutes I jumped in time - backwards or forwards. I'm thinking I would rather go backwards, because at least that way you know what's coming.

Anyway, January ended and February came in (and although it's snowing now, the first two days of the month were rather spring-like). We watched Groundhog Day at Lee's last night. I think that was the first time I'd ever seen it all the way through. When I was younger, I would watch movies on tv on Sunday afternoons. Unfortunately, I would either miss the beginning and only see the end, or watch the beginning and miss the end because of Awana (I've watched the middle of Dances with Wolves innumerable times). All that's to say, Groundhog Day was one of those movies. It was nice to see the whole thing through, and without any commercials!

Sunday (Feb 8th) is our next Sunday Lunch. Remember: 12:30-2:30 in the Common Grounds!

~Jen

Who woulda thunk...

The Girls Night out was a ton of fun on the 15th. Thirteen of us worked together to cut about 200 squares for making quilts for My Father's Hands ministry in Camden. Being raised in between two boys and prone to tomboyish behavior, quilting was not really up my alley.

But it was really fun! Of course, there wasn't any sewing involved, which is probably a good thing considering my sewing skills (or lack thereof). And the rotary cutters are sweet! It's like a glorified pizza cutter, only waaaaaaaay sharper. Perhaps lethally sharp. Fortunately, no one was injured, and I was only concerned for the safety of a few girls a couple times throughout the evening. Usually the risk was due to high levels of laughter and thus a slight loss of control over one's appendages.

It was nice to be able to get together with friends (and meet some new people to) and serve in such a tangible way. Looking at the example of Christ, we see that he didn't just go into ministry and meet people's spiritual needs. He also met their physical needs (feeding the 5000, healing people). Quilts will meet a physical need and open the door for addressing the spiritual. I'm very excited to see how God uses this for His kingdom and thankful for how He has already used it to teach us.


~Jen

Oh, and the apples and caramel dip were delightful.

Rest in Peace, Mexicana Rose...

On Friday, Deb, Mike and I went to lunch after running some errands. We drove by this little Mexican restaurant. Having previously gone to said restaurant, I blurted out (in a very excited manner), "They have all-you-can-eat tacos on Mondays!" Which got us thinking, wouldn't it be great to go there for YAM? Because seriously, young adults tend to like things like all-you-can-eat Mexican food.

Then I went on a retreat.

I returned and watched the end of the Eagles game at a friends house (yay Eagles!), and lo and behold, Deb was there! And she had made some fabulous little flyers about our forthcoming taco adventures. I asked her a simple question, "Did anyone check to see if they do in fact serve all-you-can-eat tacos on Mondays still?" No. No one had. The nasty monster we call doubt barged into the room.

Hmm...investigation into the taco situation would be necessary. And then the Eagles won, Rock Band ensued, and the potential taco predicament was nearly forgotten.

There was no further investigation until the following afternoon. I was in the area, so I drove by the place. Few signs are dreaded more than the one I saw in the restaurant window. "Space Available."

No. It couldn't be. We drove by it on Friday. This was MONDAY! How, how could this happen?!?

Unlit cactus and sombrero lights still hung from the overhang and posts. Salt and pepper shakers could still be seen waiting patiently for the next customer.

But the next customer would never come. The Mexicana Rose Cantina was no more.

Well, this called for a backup plan. We didn't know who all was planning on attending the dinner, so there was little choice but to meet up there and then head somewhere else. Not too bad of a plan, except it was like 2 degrees outside (at least it felt like that. I think the actual temperature was 26 degrees warmer). We waited and waited. Three people came and went ahead to plan B- the wings place down the street. A few more minutes pasted.

Deb's phone rang.

The wings place - closed. I haven't done any further investigation into that situation, but I sincerely hope it was just closed for the night (although it was only 6:15ish), because I really like that place.

Plan C - The Rustic Grill.

We piled into the car and headed across the street. As we passed the front of the Grill, I breathed a sigh of relief. The sign was lit up. The lights were on inside. And people were there! Now, we did realize the possibility of people only being there because it was the only thing open in the area. But finally, a place to eat (we were all very hungry by this time).

I tried their Smoked Capri Panini. It was deeee-lish.

And it ended up being about the same price as the all-you-can-eat tacos that we didn't get to have.

Moral of the Story? If you are going to plan a spontaneous eating-out experience, try to do it when it is warm, because waiting in the cold in front of a closed restaurant isn't as much fun as you might think. And you look kind of shady just standing there, waiting.

~Jen

"Check out my triple salchow!"

Anyone who knows anything about ice skating would know that my "triple salchow" was no where near the real thing. And to include that quote, I had to look up how to spell it, and found out what it actually was by doing so. My "salchow" was missing the jump, triple spin, and anything else that would make it resemble what the pros do. But I had a blast skating on New Years Day. We went to the River Rink in Philly at Penns landing. Was it cold? Yes. What is worth it? Definitely.

About 24ish people went, which was a great turn-out. Thanks to everyone who came! And I'm almost positive that no one was seriously injured. There were, however, a few bruised knees. I guess they have that "no playing tag" rule for a reason....

It was awesome to see some new faces there and to spend time with people that are home for break! We also have Sunday lunch this weekend, so join us in the Common Grounds Cafe after the 11 o'clock service. Yay lasagna time!

~Jen

The Triple Salchow: