BTLN 3739 ALUMNI 2012

 

 

Another awesome Btln Alumni Night! We started the night with Handball, it was a best of five series.(three goal games) My team took the first game only to lose the next two to fall behind 2-1 in the series. In the fourth game we were down 2-0 but were able to fight back and win 3-2. The fifth and deciding game started the same as the fourth, my team was again down 2-0 and just like the fourth game we were able to battle back for the 3-2 win! Jeremy's team had two chances to finish us off and were unable to!(it was amazing!)
After handball we played murderball, this time a best of seven series. Murderball followed almost exactly the same pattern as handball, Jeremy's team was up 3-2 with two chances to finish us off but were unable to do so. We battled back to win murderball 4-3!(The season series is now Jeremy 6 and the Captain 6)
Next we gave Justin Thompson his jersey in our "One Forward and One Back" Sergeant Jersey program. Ryley presented Justin with his jersey. It is always important to remember our past and be proud of those who have made an impact in Battalion. This is one of the reasons we have the "One forward and One back program. It is also important to look to the future and see all of the guys that are loaded with potential!
Bulldog is never easy, but at Alumni things are taken to a different level. Zach was in the middle to start and it was obvious that it was not going to be easy! Ben Jepsen has had a history of winning just about everything at Battalion and he added one more win to his legacy, pulling out a win in Alumni Bulldog! Congrats Bent!
After Bulldog the party moved to Ben's place. More good memories. Love sitting around visiting, some of us stayed until Ben kicked us out!

Almost forgot, Parker and Bent both tried the 45 second challenge(You have to eat a mama burger in 45 seconds.) and both failed!

Thanks to Bent for hosting the after party! Thanks to everyone who came out, it was a lot of fun!

THE CAPTAIN

BTLN ALUMNI TONIGHT!

Tonight at the gym and then over to Ben's afterwards!

7:00 p.m. at the gym!

THE CAPTAIN

P-DUB, CHRISTMAS

 

I was reading the Christmas story and was amazed at the life lessons that could be learned from the Wise Men(Magi).
(Matthew 2:1-12)The first thing that struck me was the fact that the Magi must have studied God's word and would have understood some of the prophecies of the Old Testament. Daniel(Daniel 9:20-27) had given a time line to the arrival of the Messiah and in Numbers(Numbers 24:17) Moses had predicted the star.

2 Timothy 2:15, Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

The Magi were ready and waiting!

Titus 2:11-13, For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ.

2 Timothy 4:7-8, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

The Magi gave of their time(They put their lives on hold to go and see the Messiah! If they came from Babylon like some think, that would have been a long journey by camel.)and money!(They brought expensive gifts.)

1 Corinthians 15:58, Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

2 Corinthians 9:7, Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

The Magi worshipped the the Saviour!

Romans 12:1, Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship.

Psalm 95:6-7a, Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God.

I pray that we will all study God's word, give to our Saviour, worship him and be ready and waiting for the glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ just like the Magi!

Merry Christmas!

THE CAPTAIN

WINSTON STANDINGS - THE FIRST HALF

 

 

Now that the first half of the 2011/12 Btln 3739 Season is over it is time again for a Winston Standings update.
Zach was the story of the first half, he won the Belly Flop Competition, The Royal Rumble and The Btln Olympics! The questions for the second half are (1) can Zach be stopped and (2) will Zach beat the record of 6 Helmets in a single season set by Sam Schiesser and tied by Chris Henderson?
Jordan, Nathan and John are only two Helmets behind Zach, can they catch him? Only time and a lot of Bulldog can answer these questions!

WINSTON STANDINGS
ZACH GOBBETT - 4 Helmets and 2 Majors
NATHAN KLASSEN - 2 Helmets
JORDAN HAMMETT - 2 Helmets
JOHN VAN - 2 Helmets
STEPHEN LAWRENCE - 1 Helmet
GERRALD NICHOLSON - 1 Helmet
DARTAGNAN BUTCHER - 1 Helmet
LUKE BOSCHMAN - 1 Helmet
DANIEL TRESHAM - 1 Helmet

THE CAPTAIN

DR. BEKKER

 

 

 

Today the Bekker family said goodbye to Jacob Bekker.(One day they will get to see him again!) Jake was one of the original leaders of Christian Service Brigade in Grand Forks(3739)and was also one of the founding fathers of the Pines Bible Camp. Jake was truly a "Reliable Man of God" and his Godly example has made a difference in his family,(Justin Bekker, the 14th Sergeant of Btln 3739 is his grandson.)the Gospel Chapel and in Grand Forks.

2 Timothy 2:1-3 You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

Jake is now in the arms of his Saviour!

THE CAPTAIN

BATTALION 3739 ALUMNI NIGHT

 

That's right, it is almost time again for Alumni Night! Can't believe that this will be the sixth time! Like in years past we will be meeting at the church to play some Murderball and Bulldog. It is always good to see the guys together again! Can't wait!

Who is invited? If you are in grade eleven or twelve or if you are a Btln Alumni member.

December 27th at 7:00 p.m. in the church gym.

THE CAPTAIN

BTLN UPDATE - THE 3 B's!

 

 

 

The Three B's is always a very different night and I guess that is why it is so much fun! We started the night with Burgers, Beans, Bacon and Barq's and a few games then moved outside for Bulldog(The guys were a little unsure at first But By the end were Begging for more!) John Van outlasted and out muscled everyone to win his second Helmet of the season! Congrats John! We then moved Back downstairs to make the draw for the iPod! We had eleven names Before Wednesday night and then Aaron Friesen showed up Bumping our number up to twelve! The first name we pulled was Josh Ridsdale But he was unaBle to prove to us that he had seen 60,000 so we pulled a second name and Aaron was our first runner up. We are going to give Josh a chance to prove that he saw 60,000 and if he cannot then we will give the iPod to Aaron.(Next time we will ask for proof Before the names go into the draw.)
After the draw it was time for the Bonuts and once again they were amazing! Eighty Bonuts disappeared real quick! Before we knew it the night was over and time to go home! It was another amazing night at Battalion 3739!

Thanks to Jeremy, Kerri, Julie and Mom for all the help with the food!
Thanks to everyone who helped clean up, your help does not go unnoticed!

Next up on the Btln agenda, the sixth annual Btln Alumni Night on DecemBer 27th!

THE CAPTAIN

BTLN PREVIEW - BARBECUE AT THE THREE B'S

 

 

That's right, it's time again for the Three B's! What are the Three B's? They could Be any of the following, BarBecue, Burgers, Bacon, Beans, Barq's, Bulldog, Battalion, Ben Jepsen and Bonuts! Any three of these would make for a party!(Especially Ben Jepsen!) If you are unsure of what Bonuts are then you had better be there Wednesday night to find out!

RememBer, Battalion is like Heaven, there is always room for one more! So Bring a friend!

"Come hungry, leave happy!"(Dan.D)

THE CAPTAIN

BTLN UPDATE

 

With the blog reaching 60,000 visitors this update is late, a good problem to have! First off, Congrats to Hammett on his second Helmet of the season! Few have taken a bigger beating to win the Helmet! Jordan was so out of it after Bulldog that he didn't even realize that he had won! (The pain isn't as bad after a win!)
The guys started the night with some floor hockey which is unusual at Battalion, but is nice for a change. Harley was playing hockey and he turned his stick into a Box Hockey stick the hard way.(He broke the blade when the stick hit the wall and had the but end of the stick in his gut! It knocked the wind out him!)
This week in the Bible Study we read the Christmas story.(Luke 2:1-20) This gave us a chance to look at our Saviour in our series "Entrust to Reliable Men".
It is interesting to look at Jesus' humble beginning. He was born in Bethlehem instead of in Jerusalem(The Royal City.)was born in a barn, first slept in a trough, and had his birth announcement given to shepherds rather than to priests or kings. Why would God do this? He wanted to give up absolutely everything for us!

Hebrews 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

He was made a little lower than the angels but is now crowned with glory and honor! He is no longer the baby in the manger! When Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus his(Jesus')glory blinded Paul!(Acts 26:12-15)

Philippians 2:5-11 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

This passage is a perfect summary of Jesus' life. His humble life began in the manger and ended in his death on the cross. His glory began at the cross when he defeated sin and death and continues with his exalted position in the heaven!

Switching gears now, Murderball was long overdue so we finally got our chance this week! Jeremy and Joe's team destroyed Ben's team. The final score was 5-2 I believe? I was on Ben's team, it feels like it has been a while since I have won, getting tired of losing!(The score is now Jeremy 6 and The Captain 4)

Next week is the final night of 2011, The Three B's!!!

THE CAPTAIN

60,000!

 

It looks like we are going to have the biggest draw for an iPod that we have ever had! So far I have heard from 11 guys that saw 60,000! That's huge! It shows the support that you guys have given over the years, it is truly overwhelming! We will hold the draw this Wednesday at the Three B's. Thanks again for all of the support!

Names in the draw

Luke Boschman
Blake Chursinoff
Tim Feenstra
Cody Harp
Ryley Heppner
Nate Klassen
Nathan Klassen(The Klaw)
Joe Kraftchick
Maxwell Nicholson
GeRRald Nicholson
Josh Ridsdale

Good luck to all!

THE CAPTAIN

60,000 VISITORS FOR THE BLOG?

 

 

The blog is at 59,830 visitors as I write this post, only 170 away from 60,000! Who would have thunk it? The blog was started in September 2006 by our own Ben Jepsen and now a little over five years later we are about to top 60,000! Amazing!
Like we have written on here before, we would like to thank everyone who supports the blog! Thanks to everyone who visits the blog!
As a thank you we will again be giving away a 8GB iPod Nano! How can you win the iPod? If you are a member of the Btln 3739 Nation and you see 60,000 visitors on the counter on the blog and you can prove it(Take a picture.) then your name will be entered into a draw for the iPod. There might be only one person that will see 60,000 or it could be a few guys. All of the guys that see 60,000 and can prove it will have their names entered in the draw. (The counter is either on the side of the page or on the very bottom of the page, depending on which web browser you are using.)

By the way this could happen real quick!

Battalion Headquarters History
September 20 2006 - Blog is started by Ben.
April 18 2008 - Blog hits 10,000 visitors.
February 3 2009 - Blog hits 20,000 visitors.
November 3 2009 - Blog hits 30,000 visitors.
May 20 2010 - Blog hits 40,000 visitors.
February 10 2011 - Blog hits 50,000 visitors.

Good luck to all!

THE CAPTAIN

SWITCHFOOT AT CREATION 2012!

 

I checked the Creation 2012 web site and Switchfoot will be there again this year! Definitely one of my favourite bands! Creation now has Switchfoot and Newsboys for 2012!

Only 224 days until Creation 2012! Can't wait!

THE CAPTAIN

BTLN BIRTHDAYS - DECEMBER

 

December is the month that we celebrate the birth of our Saviour! This makes December extra special for a lot of people. Even better when you also have a birthday in December! This month I figured we could use a passage that predicted Jesus' birth.

Isaiah 9:6 - For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

MIKE TRAINER - December 4
KEVIN HAYASHI - December 9
DEVIN CHURSINOFF - December 10
DANIEL TRESHAM - December 18
DYLAN ZORN - December 19
LUKE BOSCHMAN - December 19
CALVIN PETERS - December 21
STEPHEN LAWRENCE - December 23
JEREMY MARTENS - December 28
ZANE LAWSON - December 31

Happy Birthday and may God bless you again this year!

THE CAPTAIN

17TH BATTALION OLYMPICS

 

 

 

 

The Battalion Olympics have always been one of my favourites and tonight I was again reminded why it is such a good event! The guys all moving from one event to another, the strategy and the good competition make the Olympics amazing! Adding Bench Wrestling(It is a Btln classic like Box Hockey!) to the original four events was a good idea, it changed strategy and added a little uncertainty.
Tristan, GeRRald, Harley and Zach were all close halfway through the night but in the end it was Zach winning his second career Battalion Olympics! (Zach joins Courtney Friesen, Aaron Friesen, Justin Bekker and Ben Jepsen as two time winners of the Btln Olympics!)Congrats Zach! I will never forget Zach's reaction after he was announced as the winner, it was classic! (He was pumped and rightly so! It reminded me of Jason Hayashi's reaction in 2006 when he won the Royal Rumble.) Thanks to everyone who came out and competed! Thanks also goes out to everyone who helped set up and tear down!

17TH BATTALION OLYMPICS Final Standings
Zach - 22 (#1)
Tristan - 19 (#2)
GeRRald - 18 (#3)
Cody - 17
Daniel - 16
Nathan - 16
Harley - 15
Josh - 14
Ben - 14
Dylan - 13
Dartagnan - 13
Max - 12
Landon - 12
Luke - 11
John - 11
Jonathan - 11
Nate - 11
Skyler - 10
David - 10
Mitch - 10

ARM WRESTLING CHAMPION
Zach Gobbett

BASKETBALL CHAMPION
Luke Boschman

BENCH WRESTLING CHAMPION
Cody Harp

BOX HOCKEY CHAMPION
Zach Gobbett

FOOTBALL TOSS CHAMPION
Daniel Tresham

Congratulations to all of the winners!

THE CAPTAIN

BTLN OLYMPIC PREVIEW

 

 

 

 

This is a look back at last years results(2010/11), just to give you an idea who might be the favourites for this years Battalion Olympics. Dalton and Chris are both gone but Zach(2009/10 Btln Olympic Champion) and Jordan are both still here. This year we have added a new event, bringing the number of events up to five. The new event is Bench Wrestling, it is a Btln 3739 classic that goes back to the Perley school days and possibly even back to when Battalion was at Hutton.(Not many guys can remember that far back!) A fifth event could change the strategy of winning the Battalion Olympics! A new chapter in the Battalion Olympics begins!

Good luck to all!

THE CAPTAIN

BTLN UPDATE

 

Congrats Nathan! This is Nathan's second Helmet of year!
This week we played S*A*M, it is optically trippy.(I love it!) Murderballs that glow, glow sticks on the center and back lines and every guy in the gym wearing a glow stick, it is awesome!(Thanks Sam!) Ben's team took it to Joe and Owen's team beating them 3-1.(It was an old fashioned beat down!)(Thanks to Jeremy who was rotating the balls in and out of the game charging them up with the black light.)
In our continuing series "Entrust to reliable men" We shifted our focus to David and the story of David and Goliath.
(1 Samuel 17:1-51) It is amazing to think that even though Goliath was over nine feet tall and was carrying a spear with a spear head that weighed fifteen pounds that David was not afraid!(David was a teenager!) David did not challenge Goliath because he wanted the King's reward, he challenged Goliath because he had defied God.(1 Samuel 17:45) David's confidence came not because he had killed lions and bears but because he had God on his side.

1 Samuel 17:36,37 - "Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine."

Our confidence should always come from knowing that we have God on our side!

Philippians 4:13 - I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

1 John 4:4 - You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

We also read Psalm 51, David's response to God's rebuke after David sinned with Bathsheba. We are all sinners saved by grace, it is how we respond after we have made a mistake that determines what kind of man we are.

Psalm 51:4 - Against you, you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

Psalm 51:12 - Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

David knew that he had not lost his salvation, he had lost the joy that came from God's salvation because of the sin in his life. He needed God to restore that joy!

GeRRald was in the middle for Bulldog and he had this attack strategy. GeRRald didn't wait for the guys to run to him, he ran at them and took them down.(It worked well!) In the end it was Zach and Nathan. Zach was trying to take his fourth Helmet of the season and a three Helmet lead into the Btln Olympics but Nathan prevailed taking his second Helmet of the season! Again congrats Nathan!

Next week is the 17th Battalion Olympics! Make sure that you are early!

THE CAPTAIN

BTLN PREVIEW - S*A*M

 

That's right we will be playing S*A*M at Battalion this week! S*A*M is visually amazing and a whole lot of fun to play! S*A*M, that's entertainment!

Btln 3739 more fun than you can handle all on your own!(So share it with a friend!)

THE CAPTAIN

CREATION 2004 PICS!

 

Both Owen and Ben found pictures from Creation 2004 and brought them to me on Sunday! These pictures are Golden! I love finding pictures that we figured were lost! We had some of these pics but others I have never seen before. Creation 2004 was the beginning for Btln 3739 at Creationfest. I count myself fortunate to have been a part of that trip, good music, good friends and good memories!

Creation 2012 is only 209 days away!

Just went to the new Creation web site and they haven't announced any artists but they have videos from some artists. It is an interesting list. (They may be adding Third Day and losing Switchfoot.)

Skillet - Hero
TobyMac - Tonight
Third Day - Lift up your face
Newsboys - Born again
Chris Tomlin - I will rise
Red - Death of Me
Tenth Avenue North - Love is here
Family Force 5 - Dance or die
Brandon Heath - Give me your eyes

Creation East has the same list only it also has Owl City - Fireflies

THE CAPTAIN

BTLN UPDATE

 

 

Week eleven of the 2011/12 Btln season is in the books! First off, Congrats to GeRRald on his first Helmet of the season!
This week we started the night with a game of fumble, it is always good for a few laughs. George had a couple Red Bulls to start the evening and let me tell you, it did not help his reflexes, he fumbled the ball more than anyone.(Not that I can say much, I was nearly as bad as George!)
Later in the evening we played a game of Handball. We were going to play the Btln Trifecta but Handball took so long that we decided to leave the Trifecta for another night. Joe's team had a 6-4 lead but let Ben's team come back and win 7-6! (I was playing on Joe's team and Jeremy was on Ben's team. The score is Jeremy 5 and The Captain 4.)(We also played a round of Fire-Fever-Flood)

Joe had the Bible study this week and he had us looking at Moses in our year long series "Entrust to Reliable Men".(All of these O.T. characters that we have been looking at are right up Joe's alley!) (Exodus 2:1-25, Exodus 3:1-22, Exodus 4:1-31)(Where do you stop with the story of Moses?)

Joe pointed out how God had a plan for Moses' life beginning when he preserved his life as a baby right through to the end of his life when God buried his body! Joe told us that God also has a plan for our lives! Who else would you want to plan your life? He will never make a mistake or forget anything in his planning!

Joe also talked about how even though Moses wasn't perfect God used him in a mighty way!(In the beginning Moses didn't think that God could or should use him. (Exodus 4:10 Moses said to the Lord, "O Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.") God will use us even though we don't have it all together.(Just like Moses!) In the end after Moses' life was over God's word says this about Moses,

Deuteronomy 34:10 Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, who did all those miraculous signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Egypt-to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.

Hebrews 11:24-27 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.

The night ended the way it always ends, with Bulldog! Luke started in the middle and he battled hard to take down the guys! After some help from the bigger guys everyone was down and out except GeRRald! Nice work GeRRald!

THE CAPTAIN