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Showing posts from January, 2012

Monday Funday—Surviving Driver's Ed (Again): A True Story

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I picked up my fifteen year old son from school. When he got into the car, he announced, "I can drive now." Having been through this with his older sister, I saw the teachable moment and tried to lean into it. "Just because the state of Illinois gives you a permit and says you can now start driving with your parents in no way means that you can actually drive." Unrelenting, my son spit back, "I'm a great driver." Just as unrelenting, I shot back, "Driving the riding lawn mower at home in the yard and driving a car between the lines without actually hitting another car, stationary object, or a person are two different things." "But I took a test in Driver's Ed today and passed. See, I'm a great driver," he affirmed waving a piece of paper in his hands. "Passing a written driving test in a classroom in no way whatsoever means that you can actually drive a real car on a real road with other real cars a

Girl Scout Cookies: Coincidence or Satanic Conspiracy?

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Good news! You've lost weight in January! Bad news! In February, sweet little girls are looking you expectantly in the face and asking you to purchase Girl Scout cookies. Coincidence or Satanic conspiracy? You decide.

Get Equipped in Central, IL!

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This par-tay is gonna be C-R-A-Z-Y… and you won't want to miss it… especially if you volunteer in any capacity at your church! People from all over the state… and all the surrounding states will be there. I kid you not. What am I talking about?  I'm talking about… It's all going down on February 24-25 at Peoria Christian School. Complete details here .   But first, here's WHY you should attend Equip this year . Here's what Cadre Ministries is bringing for encouragement and equipping for the two days: Friday: Turning Pew Potatoes Into Passionate Participators by Bill Allison, 9:15 AM, Choir Room About 20% of churchgoers volunteer their time and talents in their church. That means about 80% of the people in our churches are pew potatoes. This is not only unhealthy, it's unbiblical. How can we cooperate with God in turning pew potatoes into passionate participators? Come and find out. Disciplemaking Is Relationships by Bill Allison, 10:45 AM, Choir R

Monday Funday

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I told my family I never want to depend on a machine and fluids to keep me alive… that's when they took away my computer and coffee maker. (From Mikey's Funnies )

God, You, Us—How much fun is this?

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"My relationship with God just wasn't happening and the harder I tried the more…." The rest of this story is here below…. click any image below to enlarge for reading. For a two page PDF, go here . We can't do Cadre without friends like you who love, pray, and give. For more information about how you can partner with God, the Allisons, and Cadre Ministries,  go here . To make a secure online tax-deductible donation,  go here .  Cadre Ministries is a recognized 501(c)3 ministry. Get blog posts from Cup O' Joe in your email inbox! You'll hear from me 1-2x a week. Email addresses are never shared with anyone and you can unsubscribe at anytime.  Subscribe to Cup O' Joe with Bill by Email . Thanks for letting us keep in touch with you. 

Cadre Missionary Adventures...

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Sometimes as missionaries, God makes it possible for us to take Jesus-like disciplemaking encouragement and training to potentially hazardous places. This is the story of how God took us… Behind the Cheddar Curtain Last weekend, I had the honor of being a small part of the student ministries conference for the Evangelical Free Church in WI. (Pictured below: Rob and Nancy Weise, along with lots of well coordinated volunteers, make this student ministries conference happen… and happen well.) Cadre brought training and coaching to some of the 3,800 students and youth leaders who attended. Did I mention the conference was in Green Bay? Yeah, that's where the Packers play. I felt alone… so alone behind the Cheddar Curtain. And then the first of many miracles happened…. I found another Bears fan!  It's true: God has his people everywhere… even behind the Cheddar Curtain.  (Note: I have this same jersey, but I didn't have the guts to wear it to Green Bay… especially THIS year.