To the Bible Quizzing Family,

It was an interesting day of quizzing with so many people absent. The storm to our south prevented all of the Iowa quizzers from coming, and we had a noticeably smaller gathering as a result. I’m thankful for all who came, and I totally respect the decision of those who didn’t because of the weather conditions. It was a good day of quizzing, and I appreciate the uplifting spirit which you all bring to the table as we compete together.

(This would be a good spot to mention our league policy regarding quizzers who are unable to attend the quiz meet because of weather conditions. When that happens, the affected quizzers and teams are credited with their average number of points from previous quiz meets, towards their cumulative point totals. No policy would seem to be perfect, but this seems to be reasonably fair).

Thanks to Amy and Elizabeth Cook for leading our worship time with some Christmas carols, and to Amy for sharing about her missions trip to Peru. She will be heading back to Peru early in 2008 for a follow-up missions trip, and will be taking various items to give to the people living in the shanty-town where she’ll be ministering. If you would like to help with this project, please bring any of the following kinds of items to our January quiz meet and give them to Amy: toothpaste & toothbrushes (unopened), small shampoos, soap, new washcloths, wide-tooth combs, crayons, small note tablets, granola bars, and gallon sized zip-loc baggies. If you would like more information about Amy’s trip, you can visit her blog at http://happylittlecookie.wordpress.com/category/peru/.

I think the worship/devotional time we’ve added to our quiz meets is a very good thing to help us focus on why we’re there, and I appreciate those who have help to lead us in that. Right now we have openings for leading in worship (preferably quizzers) and in bringing a short devotional, for both our January and March quizzes. Please, seriously consider helping in this way and contact me to volunteer. Thanks much!

At the Coaches Meeting we discussed the problem of noise in the halls disturbing quizzes that are still in progress. I know it is easy to not give it a thought, but please do your best to keep the hall noise to a minimum, and to gather in the open areas to hang-out between quizzes.

The Crown College tournament is January 11-12. Those quizzers and adults who are going to the tournament will need to meet together at the January quiz to make final arrangements. There shouldn’t be much left to do except to make sure we’ve got all the money, waivers, and travel arrangements in place. But there is one thing that needs attention, and we really need to deal with that before the January quiz. There are two B-division teams going which do not have coaches yet. If you would consider going as the coach of one of those teams, please talk to me about it. One way or another, we need two volunteers.

At this point we’re already half-way through the quizzing season and about half-way through the material. So keep up the good work! It is always tough to study over the Christmas holidays, and the January quiz sneaks up on us before we’re aware of it, so do your best to stay on top of it.

Our next quiz is coming up January 5, at 1:00 pm at Emmanuel Baptist Church. The A/B League will be quizzing over Ephesians 6 and Philippians 1-2, and the Little League over Ephesians 6 and Philippians 1:1-11. Points earned at the quiz will be multiplied by 160% when accumulated for the year.

Have a blessed Christmas season, and I'll see you at the January quiz!

Karl Kirkman