List of Summer Camps

Ah, summer! For those of us living in North America, the time of year has finally returned to be filled with water sports and bright, sunny days! With school now extinct from kids' minds, many will flock toward nearby summer camps.

So if you are one of the many that will be attending a summer camp this year, here's a list of all the Adventist summer camps in North America:

http://www.plusline.org/article.php?id=4691

Adventist Lifestyle, a Fountain of Youth According to National Geographic Researcher

Source: Adventist News Network

New York Times best-selling author and researcher, Dan Buettner has found 5 pockets around the world where people live longer, healthier, and happier lives than the surrounding population. He calls these pockets, the Blue Zones, and has authored a National Geographic book, called "The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest" (National Geographic Books, 2008).

According to Buettner, Loma Linda, California is America's Blue Zone. The researcher found that the Adventist lifestyle in the southern California Adventist community is shown to increase longevity. He cited habits common among Adventists, such as the Sabbath rest and a plant-based diet.

Also finding a connection between healthier lives and God, Buettner states: "I can tell you that of the 200 plus centenarians I interviewed [for the book], 99 percent believed in God, so faith seems to factor fairly prominently."

Would you look at that! Turns out that our parents have been right when they've taught us about God, and made us to eat our veggies!

Learn more about the Loma Linda Blue Zone.

To learn more about Buettner's research and to take a life expectancy test visit www.bluezones.com.
You can also learn about the Adventist Health Studies by clicking here.

Adventist Review: The Role of MySpace

Adventist Review's¹ cover story recently featured MySpace and other social networking. Stephanie Kinsey and Tyler Kraft² try answering questions such as: "What roles do social networks play in the lives of Adventsts?" Are these interactive sites really witnessing tools? With many users living different lives online than the ones they portay in real life, how should Christians be like on these sites?

If you don't get Adventist Review, or can't find one lying around at your church, you can read the article online: Click here.

Also, according to Ground 7 News, the General Conference expects to have its own MySpace-like website by this summer.

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¹The Adventist Review is the Flagship journal of the Seventh-day Adventist Church

²Stephanie Kinsey is the communication director at the Northern California Conference Tyler Kraft is the communication assistant there.

Final "Let's Talk" Episode

Source: Adventist News Network

The 19th and final episode of "Let's Talk" will be airing live on the the church's Hope Channel and it's website at 5 p.m. local (10 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time). In this last episode of the series, the president Jan Paulsen will be in Bucharest, Romania taking questions directly from Adventist youth.

"Let's Talk" is a live, unscripted broadcast of dialogues between the Adventist world church president and Adventist youth. Over the course of five years, the church leader has met young Adventists from 30 countries in live forums in Africa, South America, Australia, Europe, Asia and North America.

Even though the TV series is ending, you can still ask the president questions and make comments at the "Let's Talk" website.

Paulsen is also scheduled to host a live, unscripted dialogue with pastors in Europe in the second installment of "Pastors: In Conversation." The broadcast is set for May 28 in London at 7 p.m. local time (2 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time).

You can read more about "Let's Talk" at their official website and at the Adventist News Network.

(More: "Let's Talk")

Army of Youth

Army of Youth is a new Adventist online community and resource website from Generation of Youth for Christ (GYC). According to their website, AOY provides "networking, resources, training, and ministry opportunities for young people who are serious about taking the three angels’ messages to the entire world."

Even though the website has been up for only a few months, it already has over 2,264 users from 70 countries around the world (as of May 2008).

We spoke with Joe Reeves, who is part of the team at Army of Youth on the success of the website and what it hopes to accomplish:

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A Sabbath Blog: Tell me a bit about Army of Youth. What are it's missions, it's goals. What do you hope to accomplish with AOY?

Joe Reeves: I, along with the others on this team, pray that this site will help bring Adventist youth together throughout the year from around the world, not based on entertainment, but based on a united interest of pleasing God in all things and working tirelessly to share the good news of Jesus Christ and His soon advent with this generation.

The Army of Youth website is designed to meet the needs of God fearing, mission driven Seventh-day Adventist young people. AOY seeks to enlist, connect, equip and deploy a movement of Adventist young people who will fully embrace the responsibility of carrying the three angels' messages to the world in this generation.

Thus the website is broken into four sections: enlist, connect, equip, and deploy. Young people must first enlist as a member of AOY before gaining access to all of the features of the website.

A Sabbath Blog: So why create a website specifically for youth?

Joe Reeves: That is an interesting question, and a good one. "Why have youth rallies? Why have youth Sabbath Schools? Why have youth summer camps?" Everyone doing youth programs has reasons why it's important.

Army of Youth has created this website because this is what our youth are looking for and need. And youth will be the quickest to use our services. We do not want to exclude any age group from this website. In fact, we welcome anybody regardless of age to join who thinks they can use the services of AOY or contribute to the purpose of AOY. Even the most popular social networking sites on the internet are open to all ages, but young people dominate these sites because they are more inclined to use this new technological method of socializing.

Typically, younger people are seeking a challenge, a mission; and they're also looking for identity and belonging. Army of Youth wants to give our youth the gospel commission and Godly living as a 21st century challenge, and give these youth identity and belonging as part of God's people within the Seventh-day Adventist church.


A Sabbath Blog: Who should join, or "enlist," in Army of Youth?

Joes Reeves: Anybody who accepts the Army of Youth challenge and agrees to the rules of engagement is welcome to enlist. The website was primarily designed to serve Seventh-day Adventist young people who take their beliefs and mission seriously. But we hope that all who could use the services of AOY or contribute to the purpose of AOY will join, including pastors, ministry representatives, speakers, and parents.

A Sabbath Blog: Why should someone switch from their MySpace or Facebook sites and join AOY?

Joes Reeves: MySpace and Facebook promote a worldly culture that revolves around self. You will never see nasty banner ads on AOY. These other sites are a good place to meet worldly friends, but AOY is a good place to meet the Christian friends you're looking for. AOY is a safe place where you are encouraged to express your faith, your struggles, your victories, and your dreams without feeling out of place or fighting peer pressure. The ungodly atmosphere of these other sites makes most users timid with their faith and bold in their display of doubtful content. AOY tends towards an opposite effect to that of Myspace or Facebook.

A Sabbath Blog: There has been talk about the need for an Adventist MySpace by the Youth Department at the General Conference. Is this that website?

Joe Reeves: I first heard about what the Youth Department of the General Conference is planning after we were nearing the public release of our site. Youth workers everywhere are recognizing the need for these types of services.

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You can learn more about Army of Youth and join at http://www.armyofyouth.org/. You can also add us to your platoon.

American Idol and Jesus

Here in the US, popular TV contest/reality show American Idol, had a special episode a few weeks ago. It was called "Idol Gives Back," in which the show raised funds to help certain people in need. Towards the end of the show, the contestants sang, "Shout to the Lord," which pleasantly surprised me, for this is more of a secular TV show.

American Idol has a viewing audience of somewhere over 30 million viewers. I don't expect someone out there to be impacted by singing a simple song we as Christians are so used to singing in church services and youth camps, but perhaps it did impacted someone out there. Maybe, maybe not.... we may find out one day! :)

- More Christian videos -

2009 Courage to Stand Camporee Promo

The 2009 Courage to Stand International Pathfinder Camporee. August 11-15, 2009

http://www.camporee.org/

- More Christian videos -

Flowers and Sparrows

A few days ago, I saw a group of little purple dots, scattered over a little patch of grass. I bent over to get a closer look, and discovered that those dots were actually really small flowers!

Seeing the small flowers reminded me of something comforting that Jesus said many years ago. Jesus was telling His people about God's love and how He will provide for our needs:

"Why worry about clothes? Look how the wild flowers grow. They don't work hard to make their clothes. But I tell you that Solomon with all his wealth wasn't as well clothed as one of them. God gives such beauty to everything that grows in the fields, even though it is here today and thrown into a fire tomorrow. He will surely do even more for you! Why do you have such little faith?" Matthew 6:28-30 (CEV)

And here's what Jesus had to say about those birds that fly over my head and land those really thin power lines:

"Look at the birds in the sky! They don't plant or harvest. They don't even store grain in barns. Yet your Father in heaven takes care of them. Aren't you worth more than birds?" Matthew 6:26 (CEV)

I have absolutely no idea what kind of flower I almost stepped on, but I can count that not only does my Heavenly Father know but He cares for me too!

Lights, Camera, Action!

Sabbath Tip #0005: "Lights, Camera, Action!"
by A Sabbath Blog

This week's idea is on making a Christian movie. Simply grab a video camera and start filming!

You can be as creative and as elaborate as you want. You could make a nature video, a Christian music video, a documentary on how your parents became Christians, a tour of your church, a Biblical reenactment, etc.....

Making a movie is a great way to get your message a cross to a large audience. After you've saved your movie, share your movie with your friends, neighborhood, Sabbath school, whoever! You might also want to upload it to the Internet. You can upload for free to websites such as YouTube, Guide Magazine, Insight Magazine, or A Sabbath Blog and have your film seen by people from around the world!*

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*Have your parents review your video for your safety. Obtain their permission and anyone in the video's permission before you upload it to the Internet!

Beanie Tunes

Beanie Tunes is a Christian comic strip series that can be found online at the Beanie Tunes website. It follows the adventures of characters at Beanston Junior High and Pike Elementary. These comics have Christian morals, having Bible verses through out the episodes. Though the editors of Beanie Tunes aren't payed to make the comics and do it on their free time, you can help them in their cause by purchasing special editions that aren't available on their website.

We wanted to learn more about the comics, so we chatted with the Beanie Tunes editors. Here are a few excerpts from the interview:

A Sabbath Blog: So, first off, tell me a little bit about these comics that you guys create...

Beanie Tunes: We lived most of our life in California, and it was there that the comics began. We had and still have a large collection of Beanie Babies, and the origins of Beanie Tunes lie in comics written about a core group of Beanies (Ty Beanie Babies) that we did every Sabbath at church or slightly afterward. They became quite popular and eventually were published in a local newspaper. Eventually, the comic expanded with new characters such as Scaly, a few more sharks, and many others, in addition to the creation of Season 2.

ASB: You have quite a few characters in your comics. Is there one main character, or are there a group of characters that are, indeed, the main characters?

BT: To answer your question, probably Hornsly, Mooch Junior, Rainbow, Inky, and Crunch are the main characters. There are [also] three central groups of characters at Beanston Junior High. One group is ‘Rainbow and Friends’, comprising of Rainbow, She-Rainbow, Iggy, and She-Iggy (Rainbow and She-Rainbow are not related; Iggy is She-Iggy’s older brother). ‘Hornsly and the Gang’ is another group, consisting of Hornsly, Tornsly, and Warnsly. ‘The Mooch Group’ stands in the middle of the conflict between Hornsly and Rainbow. We won’t mention the Pike Elementary groups yet because they haven’t been featured in the episodes. -- [ASB Note: You can read more about the characters here]

ASB: What do you hope to accomplish by having Beanie Tunes on the web?

BT: We hope to make them available to people through the Internet. By exposing the world to Christian values, we hope these comics will lead people accept Jesus Christ as their Saviour.

ASB: So, what's in store for Beanie Tunes (in the future)?

BT: It has been said that Beanie Tunes has seven seasons planned, although we will not confirm this. Odd seasons take place during the school year (in the comic), whereas even seasons happen in the summertime. Season Three will feature more underwater action at Pike Elementary (Inky and Crunch’s school).

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Here's an exclusive look at one of the special edition episodes of Beanie Tunes from the upcoming Season 3 (not yet released). Click on the image to enlarge. Enjoy!

"Crunch and Da' Bunch"

"Teacher Scaly's Bible Remedies: 'Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.' Mark 5:19 (NKJV)"

Click here to visit the Beanie Tunes Website

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If you or someone you know make comics or kinds of artwork to let others know more about God, let us know about it at asabbathblog@gmail.com