Holiday and Winter Happenings

November

• Tuesday November 25 Anti-Thanksgiving Dinner 6:30 PM Jones House

Not that we are anti-THanksgiving, we are having the opposite of the traditional turkey dinner, breakfast for dinner! Afterall, you will have enough turkey at Grandma's house. Stay for our regular Bible study continuing in the Gospel of John.

• Sunday November 30 Decorate the Jones House for Christmas 12:30 PM Jones House

Stay after the morning service and kick-off the Christmas season! Bring a few dollars for lunch, an ornamant for the tree and any other decor you would like to donate to the Jones House!

December

• Sunday December 14 Christmas Adoration Gathering 5:30 PM SMIC

You won't want to miss the very special Christmas Adoration! The guys (and Ashley) have great music and creative media planned, so come and bring a friend who may not know the true meaning of the holiday.

• Tuesday December 16 College Group Christmas Party 6:30 PM Jones House

We will not have regular Bible study, but spend time together fellowshipping, eating and giving to a cause to help the last and least of those at this holiday season. Details to come about the cuase we will support this year!

• Tuesday December 23 No College Group: Merry Christmas

January

• January 1-4 College Winter Retreat

Get this on your calendars!! Location and price TBD...details to follow!!

Winter Calendar Coming Soon!!

I know it's been a while, but we will be posting a Winter Calendar soon, here and on Facebook!
We have retreats, parties and other Fun Stuff!

Field Trip!

We are going to down to hang out with catch up with everyone down at the University of Montevallo! So if you are at Montevallo and want to hang out, meet us at The Eclipse Thursday night for coffee!
If you are a B'ham student and want to come with us, let us know by tomorrow afternoon. We can take 3 others with us in our car, 5 would be pushing it, so any more than that and someone else will have to drive.

We can't wait to see ya'll that have been away for a few weeks now!

Small Groups!

We are starting up our small groups for the fall, so if you are interested, email/Facebook Scott or me. We need to know your contact info and days of the week and/or times that you are available, or if you are super-busy, the days and/or times you are NOT available.

The main goal of our small groups this year will be to dig in and really learn and cultivate what it means to "Live to Love" God. Our desire is for you to treasure Christ in your heart as highest and best (as we stumble along attempting to do the same!) We do this by praying through Scripture and daily seeking God in His Word.

Small groups will be small, probably just 2-4 people, but if you have a friend that you want to be in a group with, just let us know that as well. The groups will meet according to everyone's availability, either once a week or once every other week.

Oh yeah, side note, Shades Mountain Independent has a new website:

www.smic.org

so check it out! Sermons are available on podcast, there's a calendar of church-wide events, listing of staff, etc. There's also a nifty thing for official members to sign in and create their very own profile for the church site, kinda like a mini-Facebook for our church. If you are a member, sign up!

And, side note #2: Don't forget about Adoration this Sunday and the time change to 5:30 PM!

We also could use some help in set-up/tear-down, so if you are available Sunday afternoon and/or after the service, contact Jarrod at jarrod@jarrodjones.com.

Road Trip Itinerary

Here's the plan (I think we might be crazy)

Sunday: be ready to leave right after the church service. Have your luggage in your car, or bring it into the Jones House during Sunday school hour.

Driving to Akron, OH, to stay the night with the Owen's. About a 10 hour drive.

Monday: Up early to drive to Toronto. About a 4 hour drive. See Toronto sights all Monday afternoon/evening.
We are spending the night in Toronto at a Super 8 Motel (that's actually super-nice) in the Chinatown district, near U of T.

Tuesday: up early to drive into Niagara Falls, about 1.5 hours drive. See the Falls. Take pictures of the Falls. Leave the Falls.
Drive about 30 minutes to Buffalo, NY to eat lunch at the birthplace of Buffalo wings, the Anchor Bar. (Yum)
Drive to Storrs, CT, to Lauren E.'s place where she is generously housing us. About an 8 hour drive. Lauren goes to U Conn, so maybe we can drive around campus too!

Wednesday: Up early yo catch a train in to Boston. All day in Boston. Meet up with Rachel and Josh and Amanda in Boston.
Spend the night again at Lauren's.

Thursday: Up early to drive into New York City. About a 4 hour drive. Scott will probably drop us all off in the city at the apartment we are renting, then drive the van into Rutherford, NJ, where we like to park. Heather's place comes in around 1PM, so some of us need to go meet her at LaGuardia.

Friday: Ann Marie flys home. More NYC.

Saturday: Leave NYC for home. About a 22 hour drive. Just pray you survive...

Road Trip: What To Bring (and a few things maybe NOT to pack)

OK, here's a list of things that you DEFINITELY need to bring with you:

1. Bath towel/washcloth (we will be staying a few nights in places that do not provide such things like hotels do)
2. Rain jacket/poncho (you WILL get wet at Niagara Falls! And it might rain when we are out and about)
3. Drivers Licence AND Passport OR a copy of your Birth Certificate (to get into Canada) If you have a Passport, that will be the easiest.
4. Pillow (for reasons like #1) (and for the many hours we'll be on the road)
5. Sleeping Bag OR blanket (not everyone HAS to have this, but I am suggesting, just in case. We are taking several air mattresses)

Things you might need to leave at home this time:
1. Laptop
2. Playstation/DVD player/etc
3. Large suitcases

Things to keep in mind when packing:
1.Pack light, cool clothing, but pack a sweatshirt/jacket too. Nights can be cool where we are going.
2. Pack in something that YOU can manage carrying/rolling. You might have to take your bags on trains/subways, so be prepared. Pack as light as possible!

Call me or Scott this week if you have any questions!

Boston Too???

Maybe...feel free to post a comment on your thoughts on whether we should make an extra stop in Boston on the road trip...

Here's the "original" itinerary:
Sunday: Leave Bham and go as far as Akron, Ohio (12 hour drive) and stay the night with Herb and Marilyn. Jonathan will be hitching a ride with us too!
Monday morning: Drive to Buffalo, NY (4 hour drive) in time to eat lunch at the Anchor Bar=chicken wings
Monday Afternoon: Visist Niagara Falls
Monday evening: be in Toronto, ON
Tuesday: Toronto sights
Wednesday morning: drive to NYC (6 or so hours drive)
Thursday, Friday: NYC
Saturday: drive to Blacksburg, VA and stay with Gretch's mom
Sunday: home from VA

So, as it is, there's a lot of car-time...if we add in Boston, we would cut a day out of New York City.

However, Boston is supposed to be very cool, we have a FREE place to stay at Lauren E's condo in Conneticut, AND we would most likely get to see Josh and Manda (they live about 45 minutes outside of Boston).

Vote, let us know how you feel about that option...

Get Excited! It's coming!

The Annual Roadtrip will be great this year! (We just won't talk about last year)
Plans are coming together (Yep, a whole month in advance!)
Details will be posted very soon! Get ready...

Beach Pics!

Beach Update!

Ok, here's the plan:

~Ann Marie will be taking a group around lunch to get down there, check in, hopefully catch some sun, and do the groccery shopping. Email her at teagirl79@yahoo.com if you want to be included in this 1st group ASAP!

~Scott will bring everyone else as soon as they get off work/camp, so be at church as close to 5 PM as you can. Email him at scottleveille@smic.com to give him the heads up if you are joining him.

**Don't forget your linens/sleeping bags/pillows/towels!!**

Beach Trip!

Yippee! Time for a quick trip to Panama City Beach!

Here's the details:

Dates:

Friday June 20-Sunday June 22

Laguna Beach Christian Retreat Center

Cottage Unit #36

Cost:

$50, includes meals except for dinner out Saturday night

Group 1 leaving SMIC Friday at 7 AM with Scott and Ree

Group 2 leaving SMIC Friday at 5 PM with Heather and Rachel

Returning Sunday night sometime

What to Bring:

Bed linens/sleeping bag

Bath/beach towels

Bible/notebook

Snacks (we have our own kitchen)

Beach gear-chairs/umbrellas/floats/etc.

RSVP on the Facebook event as soon as possible so we can work out transportation!

Welcome to College Ministry

On this blog we will attempt to post things about the college ministry at SMIC. Calendars, announcements, pictures, etc.