BYO

Last Friday we had a BYO at youth. We wanted to give the group a chance to bring what they like to the group. Ah….who am I kidding, the creative juices just weren’t flowing.

But it didn’t matter, They had a blast. It was hel-random, but we played soccer, truth or dare, had a 3-on-3 tourney, cooked spaghetti, played catchphrase, curled boys hair, chewed copious amounts of jawbreakers, jammed on stage, played sequins, laughed, burped, and played the Eukaleili.

I think that youth ministry sometimes co-exists with structured entertainment. We forget that we can just let these guys and gals hang out and they will have fun. We have labeled this the “Hang out Factor”. Not only is it cool to watch, but it initiates some leadership on their part as well.

Leaving Sucks

A couple of month ago my husband and I decided that we were stepping down from our youth ministry position. We currently live an hour away from the community that we do youth ministry in, which has become an issue (that is for next blog). We are also thinking of relocating.
Yesterday was the day we decided that we would tell our core group of teens. FRICK! While I stood there staring at gapping mouths and tear streaked cheeks, I came to this very profound conclusion: Leaving Sucks!
I dont know if there is actually an easy way to say it. Not only have we developed some pretty serious relationships with these kids, but they already have the Payton (OTH) approach to life “People always leave” and we just proved their theories right. Most of these kids come from broken homes, broken families or broken relationships. They are used to people walking out on them; they are used to feeling alone. We tried to be there for them and mend some of those wounds, and now…..all in vain.

Leaving Sucks!

Christians are to the World what Dwight is to the Office

Christians Are to the World As Dwight Is to The Office

You know what? Christians in the world are a little like Dwight!

Generosity

This past Friday the youth group that my husband and I lead in a little dinky rural town of 900 people, we had a fundraiser. It was a mystery dinner. Let me explain. We had a chef prepare some amazing food, but we made the menu names very mysterious and a tad bit risky. Diners at our restaurant had to order every detail of thier menu from cutlery to dessert. We had elders in our church eating spaghetti with a skewer and a soup ladel. It was absolutely hilarious.

We did this as a fundraiser to go to an up-comming youth conference in our area. Our goal was to raise $1000.00, which we thought was a bit high, but we really wanted to make a dent in our expenses. To make a long story short…we quadrupled our goal!

We worked really hard to prepare for this dinner, and the youth did a tremenous job of serving, hosting, cooking and cleaning up afterward. But the one thing that stuck out in my head when the night was over was “WOW, People are generous!”

Some of the people who came have never stepped foot in a church before…but they gave. Some people were born in that church….and they gave. Some people just sold a multi million dollar company…they gave. And some people smiled as they gave the last small change in thier wallet.

Why?

Was it the cause that people got excited about supporting? Was it the kids? Did people need a quick tax write-off? Were some people tired of being asked to help, so they decided to do thier good deed by donating?

I refuse to believe that anyone there gave out of guilt, pity or through gritted teeth. Each person left with a smile 4x the size they walked in with and no one was clutching their wallet as they ducked out the doors. The were truely cheerful givers.

That impresses me.

So, I guess my challange now is “how do we pay it forward?”

Any idea’s?

I’ve Been too Busy

In the past month and a half I have been running around like a rabbid kindergaden kid on acid. We had a great friend visiting us from Australia for 3 weeks in which we crammed in 5 different ski resorts and everything our great city has to offer…oh and there was Easter in there somewhere too. 

The day after he left we got a phone call from a my father-in-law explaining he was in the process of figuring out what the tumor on his brain was. We rushed to pick him up and have been in the hospital since then waiting in emergency, going through pre-op stuff, brain surgery, recovery, waiting, a lot of Dr. jargon, many many tests, rehabilitation, and horrible hospital food. At the same time we have been re-designing our home to be able to accommodate him when he gets out of the hospital.

In the midst of all of this hub-bub I have been trying to start my photography company and my very diligent and intelligent husband has started a small business as well. I don’t know why we really want to do this on top of our regular jobs… 

Oh, right. We are also doing youth ministry. In fact I think we both almost forgot that in the midst of all the hoopla! I started by whipping up a quick devotion on the way to the events but eventually led to a event completely flopping due to lack of preparation. But I think the worst of it was this past Sunday when I misplaced my Sunday School lesson sometime in the week that was a blur proceeding that Sunday. I thought I could wing it…and I think I did alright, except for one thing. I did not once refer to Gods word in my lesson.

For some people this might not be a huge deal, but it is Gigantic for me! I know I am not perfect, in fact I know I am outright stupid at times. And that is why I always try to teach from Gods word, rather than my own. Sure, I have some good advice…but look where it got me, lol. 

So, what do I do to fix this. Well, to address the problem I have been facebooking my entire crew an apology and further scripture to reference back to. But that wasn’t the root of the problem. The real issue is that I have “been to busy” to represent God. Ha! listen to how pathetic that sounds. I have had plenty of time to plan and throw my own pity party and somehow I havn’t had time to really get into Gods word. Sounds pretty weak to me. 

So here I go, starting today… yesterday actually Im off to a new start. Getting back into a routine and attempting to be 100% in all my positions in life, especially the ones that impact others.