Fashion – home decor – accents and attitudes – different ways of expressing ourselves. We call it style and we all have one. Even the way we draw near to God has a style. Quiet – loud – outside – within – in word or deed. Our expressions of worship can be as varied as we are, but which way is the right way? The answers may surprise you!
To take the Sacred Pathways online profile to determine your “style” in walking with God – please click here
Hello Married people. Who doesn’t like to play games? Not like those “mind games” but just fun, enjoyable games. We have provided another fun “guide” for your dating enjoyment. Simple click on the link below – print it out – follow the conversation topics and enjoy the date.
OK Married People…the car is all gassed up and the tunes are ready to crank. All you need is a map. That’s where this month’s DATE GUIDE comes in. Click the link below to download a copy or pick one up when you drop your kids off tomorrow (Friday) night at Studio 4:12 for FREE CHILDCARE from 6:30-9pm. Should be another great night! See you then…
It’s that time again married people! Due to OrangeXplosion earlier this month, DATE NIGHT has been moved from it’s usual 3rd Friday perch to this Friday night. And since it is Labor Day Weekend, we thought some of you might want/need to “take this thing on the road”. For that reason we designed this date around a “road trip” theme. Don’t worry, you can still complete this date within the confines of our lovely little community, but if you are indeed bound for the open road this weekend then this Date Night is the perfect one for you. So fill the tank, download some travelling tunes, grab your keys, a map, some lip balm and your honey, and check back on Thursday to print off this month’s date guide. Those staying in town can still drop the kids off with us if you need to (we’ll be here from 6:30 – 9pm on Friday night). Hope to see you all then!
…apparently He’s on eBay. Yes, one of our OX families found this Jesus action figure, complete with “poseable arms and gliding action”, on eBay and sent the link in to earn an extra entry into our fabulous prize drawings, which will take place tomorrow. So take this as your reminder to read back over the past two weeks of blog entries and make sure your family has done everything possible to maximize your chances of taking home a prize. And then be sure to join us tomorrow night at 6:15 for our End-of-OX Family Fun Night Party (where everyone is a winner cause the prize is FREE family fun!). We’ll start off with a brief program inside and then move outside for the party, so don’t forget to bring your bathing suits and towels, your biggest smiles (for our family-sized photo booth) and any other families you might know who could use a great night out with some great company. Should be a great time. Until then - 3…2…1…EXPLODE!
Hello OX Families,
Hope you are all recovering from reminiscing about a great time of family fun last night. I’m just now starting to regain my senses after being slammed in the face a couple dozen times and thought I’d fill you in on our official OrangeXplosion 2.0 Off-Day Challenges. Though we think spending time with your family and/or serving others is it’s own reward, for every challenge that you complete, we will also add another entry for your family into our fabulous prize drawings. Here are the challenges:
1) We talked last night about Family Traditions, like a game night or certain dinner, car ride or bedtime routines, that help build the parent-child relationship and create lasting memories. What, if any, traditions does your family have that other families might like to incorporate into their daily or weekly routines to promote such healthy family interactions? Write your family tradition in the comment section, so that everyone can see it.
2) One of the things that brings a family closer is serving others together. The Cypress Family is actively involved in serving others in Kenya, in Haiti, and in our own backyard (Clearwater). Currently our downtown street ministry has a great need for men’s clothing and the Springs of Hope orphanage in Kenya has a need for underwear, pajamas, and shoes for kids ages 2-13 (you can check out the specific type of shoes that work best by clicking here). We will have an area set up on Wednesday and Friday night to receive any of these items if you are able to donate. For those families who may be looking for a larger challenge, the Cypress Family also are currently raising funds to sponsor 300 students at our sister church and school in St. Louis du Nord, Haiti. You can find out more about this endeavor and/or sponsor a child by clicking here.
3) One of the “apps” that we will be talking about this week is the “eBay” app. We are hoping to find pictures of some of the silliest things that people try to sell on eBay. Take a look as a family and see what silly things you can find. Then send us the link(s) using this contact form and the subject heading “OX eBay Challenge”.
4) If you have not yet done so, you can also still earn an extra entry for your family by “liking” our Families at Cypress Facebook page.
That’s all for now. Until tomorrow – 3…2…1…EXPLODE!
Hey Families,
We are now less than 24 hours from the 1st night of OrangeXplosion 2.0! Just a few last minute tips for you as you prepare for some FREE family fun -
>If you haven’t registered yet, please do. Not only does it let us know you are coming, but it also enters you in a drawing for some fabulous prizes – you can register for FREE by clicking here.
>Be sure to read back over the past week or two’s posts on the official OrangeXplosion blog to get all the inside info on this year’s OX event, including how to better your chances of winning those fabulous prizes.
>Invite other families to join you for this FREE family-friendly event. The more the merrier.
>Grab your family’s favorite board or card game(s) and plan to stay for our first OX Family Game Night.
>Throw on your most fashionable orange duds and meet us here at Cypress at 6:15pm ready to have some serious fun (note: the orange duds are optional – the fun, however, is not)
See you there!
Until then – 3…2…1…EXPLODE!
In addition to providing parents with ideas that we, the Family Ministries Team, think are helpful to parents in passing their faith on to their children in fun, effective ways, we also want to capitilize on another strength of OX events – community. You see, we believe that some of the best parenting ideas that we be present at OX2.0 will not be onstage, but will be sitting next to you at your table in the form of other families’ traditions, habits, and experiences. That’s why we have always ended OrangeXplosion events with some sort of social activity that allows families to interact with one another and this year we want to be even more intentional about this. For this reason, we’d like to announce our first ever OX Family Game Night immediately following the conclusion of our first night of OX2.0 on Monday, August 13th. We believe that a regularly scheduled time of having fun together as a family at home is critical to the parent-child relationship and so we are inviting every family to bring their favorite family-friendly game(s) to share. We’ll pop some popcorn, have lots of fun, and hopefully walk away with both a sense of the importance of such practices and some fun, new game ideas to boot. Just be sure to mark any games you bring with you clearly, so we can be sure to get them back to you when we are done. Should be a great time. Hope to see you all there!
With a lot of new names showing up in registration lately, we figured that there might be some new visitors to this blog who don’t have the first idea about what OrangeXplosion is, as they have not previously attended one of our events. So for the uninitiated, below is a brief rundown of things you might want to know:
What – OrangeXplosion (or OX for short) events are family-friendly events (designed for elementary-aged children and their families, though all ages are welcome) that combine high-energy worship, games, videos, teaching and more in a competition-style format. Families previously were divided into color-themed teams and competed to earn points in various ways as they tried to guide their respective ”colors” to victory. In a new twist this year, we are replacing the traditional color teams with a focus on individual families (and the other families they choose to form alliances with, of course - you didn’t watch all those episodes of “Survivor” for nothing, right?). After each session, there is always a fun after-activity that provides additional opportunities to meet and hang out with other families from the community. This year we will also have an extra-big after-OX party on the final night that you won’t want to miss.
Where – Cypress Meadows Community Church (2180 N. McMullen Booth Rd. Clearwater, FL 33759)
When - OX2.0 is our summer, week-long edition of OrangeXplosion and will run on the evenings of August 13th, 15th, and 17th. On the first two nights, the program will start in the auditorium at 6:15pm before moving to an after-activity around 8pm. On the 17th, we will have an abbreviated indoor program and then move right into our extra-big after-OX party. (Oh, did we mention that already? Sorry, we’re just excited).
Why – We subscribe to the Orange Philosophy for reaching the next generation. You can read about the Orange Philosophy on our website by clicking here.
How - Just click here to register. It is completely FREE. Then keep checking back to this blog as new info will be added each day until, and during, OX2.0 that will enhance both your enjoyment of OrangeXplosion and your family’s chances of winning a fabulous prize.
Hope to see you all there. Until then…
3…2…1…EXPLODE!
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. If that’s true, then here is a small novel about our end-of-OX party happening next Friday night, August 17th. Should be the perfect ending to a fantastic week of FREE family fun. You won’t want to miss it, so be sure to register your family today!
