So, my very first "Shout-out Saturday" blog is dedicated to the "20 Somethings" (so many quotes) of Fielder Road Baptist Church.
The "20 Somethings" ministry includes college, career, and couples... basically, people in all stages of their twenties. Last weekend, the ministry put on "Date Night- On the Line," a night out for couples in their twenties... and early thirties.
Tim and I were on the committee that planned the event, and I have to say, we had just as much fun planning it as we actually did attending.
"Date Night- On the Line" consisted of three of my very favorite things- line dancing, a chili cook-off, and a pie contest. When you start with three of life's staples, how could things go wrong?
The girls on the committee worked together on the decorations, and I think they did a fantastic job on a very small budget. Look what we did with a few hay bales and some bandanas:
I wish I had a picture of the tables, because they were really cute, too. We used paisley tablecloths, and used cowboy boots and mason jars (filled with pinto beans and candles) as centerpieces.
We also set up a fun photo area where couples could capture memories from the evening. Just look at Robby and Marissa... typical!
The huge Texas Star was borrowed from a neighbor, and we used Evan to help us hang it. We safely assumed he would be the tallest person in attendance and didn't want him banging his head while he was attempting to boot scoot.
We brought in a fun line dancing instructor from Waco, asked couples to bring their best chili and/or pie (which served as dinner and dessert for the affair), borrowed lots of fabulous decorations from some generous church members, and badda boom, badda bing, had all we needed for a fantastic evening.
We kicked-off the evening with the chili tasting.
Everyone came up with fun names for their dishes (ex: The Man Eater, Texas Tornado, etc).
Our Senior Pastor and Worship Pastor judged the chili and handed out some funny awards, which the guys on the committee came up with.
James' "Man Eater" chili won "The Assassin" award (please take note of the plunger/battle ax combination).
Nate won the "Crazy Scientist" award for his chili, which had the most obscure ingredient (Dr. Pepper). Nate just couldn't wait until he got home to play with his prize.
The guys even came up with award called "The Baby Maker." I didn't exactly understand the connection between baby making and chili, but since guys seem to have an incomprehensible love for all food containing beans, I figured there are some things I'll just never understand and let that one go.
After the chili feast, we dug into the delicious pie and cobbler. The Bourbon Pecan Pie took home the grand prize, and might I just say, it deserved all the acclaim it won, and then some. Stephen said he only used half the bourbon the recipe called for (we are baptists, after all). Oh. my. goodness. That was some pie! This reminds me, I still need to get the recipe from the Berrys...
After the chili and the pie (and the cornbread, and the fritos, and the cheese, and the sour cream), we got right down to dancing. We did line dancing, two stepping, five stepping, and all kinds of other stepping. Note: My boots are cute, but you really can't dance in them for more than a few hours without causing some permanent damage to the balls of your feet.
To say that Tim got into the dancing would be an understatement. I believe he kept his thumbs hooked in his belt loops almost the entire time. You learn a lot about a person when you watch them dance. It was fun to watch everyone throw away their inhibitions and just have a good time.
We met some really fun new couples that evening and enjoyed hanging out with the McGowens and the Myers, from our small group (we missed you, Hunters!)
Since we knew what a fun event this was going to be, we invited our friends Jason and Stephanie (who just happen to live two doors down from us) to join us. Normally, when you bring new friends into a situation with other friends, you expect to spend most of the time hanging out with the new friends and introducing them to other people. That wasn't the case at "Date Night." Everyone really reached out to Jason and Stephanie, and every time I turned around they were chatting with a new couple. I was so impressed (although not surprised) with how friendly and kind everyone was to our visitors.
I don't think the evening could have turned out any better. Our creative committee did a great job pulling things together, and everyone who attended seemed to really enjoy the event and the company. The evening reminded me of how blessed I am to be a part of our church family- full of truly wonderful people who love the Lord and love us (which I still can't figure out sometimes). So, shout out to our church family and all the twenty-somethings who bless us in more ways than we can count!
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