Top Ten Campsites in WV (Continued)

# 7 - Seneca State Forest - Dunmore, WV

Seneca Campground was built by the CCC back in the 1930's. It makes a great base camp for exploring Pocahontas County, Cass Scenic Railroad, and Green Bank Observatory. We camped at Seneca in the summer of 2004 and found it to be one of the nicest state forest campgrounds we have seen. There are 10 large secluded sites, several of which are bordered by a small stream and have stone firepits. Within the state forest is a 4 acre lake stocked with bass, trout, and bluegill. If tent camping isn't your thing, there are several nice rustic cabins available to rent.

What's Wrong With the Mohigans?

Coming into the season, Morgantown High had won 28 straight games, 2 consecutive State Championships, and 4 out of the last 6 State Championships. There was a lot of buzz about them going for the state record of 36 consecutive wins (including playoffs). The first game of the year they got beat by H.D. Woodson out of Washington D.C. (alumni includes Byron Leftwich). Then last night, after falling behind 14-0 in the 1st quarter, they lost to championship contender Wheeling Park, 28-26.

With WVU recruits Charlie Russell (QB) and Junius Lewis (DE), I figured they had a good shot at running the table for one more year. Now at 4-2, they have a lot of work to do, and it looks like playoff games on the road are in our future.

So Pastor, How is Your Wife?

This is the title of Perry Noble's blog entry, a must read for all of us who pastor and lead churches. Check out the entry here.

Birthday Plans

On November 5th, StoneBridge will celebrate 3 years of ministry in Morgantown. Our staff met yesterday and brainstormed for the big day. To create buzz for the big day, we're going to serve pizza and drinks after the service, then rent out the theater to show a popular animated film after lunch. To get the word out, we're going to design a special invite card for the big day, send invitations to everyone on our mailing list and to former StoneBridgers who have moved away, and possibly advertise in the newspaper and on radio. We are planning to show video testimonies sharing the impact StoneBridge has had on people's lives, and also some video congratulations from our friends around the country.

We want this to be a huge day in the life of our church. To quote Mark Batterson, "The good news should make the news!".

Ryder Cup Getting Ugly

After two days of play, the Americans are down 10 to 6. Unbelievable. Wherefore art thou, Tiger and Phil? What happened to the days when America dominated everything? (i.e. basketball and the Ryder Cup)

Same Ryder Cup Woes

It's Ryder Cup time again, this year taking place this year at the K Club in Ireland. Once again our American boys are taking an early beating, trailing the Euros 5 to 3 after the first day of play. Two years ago the Americans took a record beating 18 1/2 to 9 1/2 at Oakland Hills, Michigan. For some reason, the European team always seems to have the upper hand in match play competition. I hoping we can keep it close tomorrow going into Sunday's singles matches.

Off and Running

Last night several StoneBridgers and I rode up to Washington PA to attend "An Evening at the Park", a Project Ecclesia gathering (Washington PA church plant). This was their first community outreach event after six weeks of small group meetings and it was a hit. Several new families and individuals attended from the community, along with their small group and well wishers from StoneBridge and two other church plants.

Being there brought back memories of our early days three years ago, when we were basically a house church in the fall of 2003. The Johnsons and their families are getting it done in the area of building relationships and I'm glad they are here, challenging us to raise the bar in Morgantown.

More from the Pastors Retreat

As mentioned in a previous post, our second Pastors' Retreat was a great success. I define success in terms of pastors coming, being refreshed, relaxing and having fun, and leaving ready to charge hell with a water pistol. We had 7 messages on the following topics: retreat, rest, remove, revive, refuel, remember, and redeploy. The bulk of our day on Friday was spent relaxing or pursuing adventure activities. I enjoyed spending time with my Dad, who flew in from Dallas, during the week. The only negative during the weekend was Pastor Billy Shepard falling and breaking his ankle on Friday night. He is facing upcoming surgery on his ankle so lift him up in your prayers. Here are some pics from the retreat...

A Great Start to the Day

I know its a great day when...I'm sitting at the Moose eating their portabello omelet with red peppers, onions, and feta cheese. Good stuff. Makes me ready to take on the world.

Back from Colorado

I spent last week in Loveland, Colorado attending the CityReach Board of Directors meeting. We spent our time reviewing CR06 and planning CR07 which will take place in Loveland CO. CityReach is basically a ministry camp experience designed for high school and college students, allowing them to participate in elective ministry tracts during the week that benefits a local church plant. We voted last week to officially go to Loveland next summer to help church planter John Sanders and Loveland Baptist Church.

There are some awesome things on the docket for CR07 including...staying at Colorado State University, a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park (snow in June), a Saturday block party at the church, Sports Camp, free car washes, Christian Opinion Polls, Pit Crew (construction), VBS, music by Two Copper Coins, and a speaker to be named later.

After pushing our pencils most of the afternoon, we arrived at a registration fee of $356, an increase of only $6 over last year, even though our costs at the university are up significantly from last year. I can't wait to head to Loveland next June, and I'm looking forward to taking several StoneBridgers with me.

Hiatus Explained

Reasons for my recent blog silence...We had a granddad doubleheader starting with Belinda's dad flying to WV over the Labor Day weekend. We had a great time, taking him to StoneBridge with us, and also camping on Canaan Mountain (43 degree night). I took him back to the airport and picked up my dad, who was flying in for a Pastors Retreat at Seneca Rocks, WV. I enjoyed my time with Dad, and our kids enjoyed their granddad double header. As previously stated, we headed to Seneca Rocks last Thursday for our 2nd annual Pastors Retreat, which Jason and I put together to give our fellow pastors an environment where they can relax, build relationships with one another, and get fed from the WORD. It was a great time, which I will blog about later. Yesterday morning I flew to Denver for a meeting this week in Loveland to plan CityReach 07. Today we will be visiting Colorado State University to pursue the possibility of making the school our headquarters for meals and lodging. I'm excited about visiting with John Sanders, who is planting a church here. He is a great friend, and I'm looking forward to seeing his city and meeting his people. More details coming soon.

Prediction

WVU 55 Marshall 7