My poor neglected blog....

It has been a long time since I have posted anything (does anyone still read this after such a long hiatus?) so let me give you a quick update of my summer...
1 overnighter, mission trip, messy game night, beach trip, drive-in movie night, family camping trip, youth camping trip, boys night, an upcoming paintball event, and a partridge in a pear tree. *whew* that does not even cover all the things I did in my personal life like girls night, a wedding (not mine), anniversary party at the lake, and so forth.

The good news is I am still standing after all of that with only one bruise (my own fault) and the gym is finally clean from messy game night. Maybe sometime soon I will actually tell you more about some of these events I have been up to.

Sitting in Texas

I have been up since 3:15am, took two flights, and now I am sitting here in Austin, Texas wondering what the heck have I gotten into. It was suggested to me that I do some continuing education for work so I boarded a plane to take a class at Seminary of the Southwest. So far we have not done much but there is only one other person (besides my co-worker) who is not from Texas at this 5 day class. Everyone else has gone through this once before and seem to know each other well. All things I can get over. Just kind of wondering what the rest of the week is going to be like. There is 4 books I am supposed to read but I am 0nly part way through finishing them (guess I should do some reading tonight) but beyond that I do not know what we are going to do. The syllabus just says instruction time. Hmmm that could go many different ways. The professor is nice and should be interesting to listen to. She did not come from the states originally but since again I have been up since 3:15am I cannot seem to remember what country she is from. All in all I think it will be a good week. At least that is what I am hoping and praying for.

Alleluia Christ is Risen!

I love holidays like Easter. The music is always good, the sermons picked with care, people put on their holiday best and best of all Jesus is the focus. Not to say the other holidays are all bad but anytime we focus on Jesus is a good thing. Plus the energy at church is always so much more electric. I mean who doesn't want to go to church when people are more alive in their worship? And Easter this year did not disappoint. People sang heartily to "I am the Bread of Life", my brother played his trombone beautifully, and we got our Alleluia's back for the Lord has risen indeed!

Half full or Half empty?

Are you a half full or half empty kind of person? Or maybe are you someone who can swing either way depending on the situation. If it is happening to someone else is it half full? But half empty if it is happening to you? I like to think of myself as a half full type of person but I know I have my days. My moments where it is definitely not half full. It might not even be half empty, it might be 3/4 empty. Recently I got into a situation where no matter what I said to someone their glass was half empty. Just when I thought I had said something they could not argue and twist to be a downer they would. There was always a way to make that glass half empty. Pretty soon I found myself joining in. Almost one upping the person on this whole half empty thing. Then it hit me. Why??? Why do I need to compete to be the one whose glass is the most empty? Life is not always what you expect but that does not make it all bad. What if Jesus was like that. Wondering around being pissed off about having to be crucified??? Not to say he was unhappy about how he had to die, that I will leave to you to decide. But really what if? How would things have turned out. Would he then died for our sins? Or would he have walked away from it all. "Sorry God but this stinks so I am not going to be crucified today". No Jesus did die on that cross. He died for our sins so our glass could be half full. Or better yet more than half full. He died for our sins! Yours, mine, everyone's personally. Just for you and me. What better gift can you get than that??? So while my the person I was talking to might not be there yet, I am choosing today to have a glass half full because Jesus died so that I can.

It has been a long time...

As my wonderful friend pointed out the other day it has been a long time since I have blogged. So for you Sarah I am blogging. I would like to think that this is going to be the blog to end all blogs. That nothing else will compare but since I just read the most touching, well written, blog from someone else that is not going to be the case. Not that I am comparing ; )

So what has been going on in my neck of the woods? A lot! From fundraisers to conferences to normal work stuff I have been kept going and going. I will say though one of my most favorite things I have done recently though is when I went to a friends and helped organize her kitchen. Yep I helped someone organize and it was a blast! Not so specifically that we were organizing but the company I was with and the conversations we had. It felt good to reconnect with her. Sometimes I can get so caught up in my busy life that I forget to stop and just reconnect. There was tons of laughter, a few moments of seriousness, and a whole lot more laughter. Especially when you start telling tupperware to behave! Life is almost always going to feel crazy. Things to do, people to see and never enough time to do it all in. But as long as you take the time to reconnect with those you love, those who make you laugh, and those you truly care about life will be OK.
P.S. If your tupperware ever gives you trouble I have a friend that is good at telling them to behave!

Melody of Love

What do you get when you combine musically talented youth, a good cook, and a church gym? You get Melody of Love! Last weekend my youth held a fundraiser where people bought tickets to have a wonderful meal complete with live music from the youth. We decked out the gym as best we could, set-up the tables as fancy as we could (we even used champagne flutes), and had hostesses that seated people as they came into the gym. It was perfect. The youth picked their own songs, rehearsed on their own, found their own accompaniment, and were amazing! The food was amazing too. A three course meal that included a roll, ceasar salad, green beans with almonds, twice baked potatoes, chicken cordon blue, and chocolate heart cups (that we made) filled with no-bake cheesecake and a raspberry topping. It was delicious! Wish I could have that sort of meal made for me everyday. The best part about all of this is that I have only heard good things about the night. People loved being served, being sang to, and having a good meal with their neighbors. Can't wait till next year!

Oh the joys of planning....

It seems that no matter how hard you work to be totally organized, keep people in the loop, etc., etc. things still go haywire. Like my mission trip. I was feeling pretty good about it. Had the week picked out. The location picked out. Going with a company that I used several times now and liked. And what happens? They call me to say that the site I had reserved was no longer being offered! I had to chose a new site! A new site??? Really? There was a reason I chose what I choose and now I have to rethink this all over again? The representative who was talking to me wanted me to choose right after she told me. She had the list of mission trips all pulled up and ready to go. Wait what? I need to choose right now? While I am still processing all of this??? I had to politely tell her that after talking with my boss and few other people I would let her know. the good news is that I have picked a new site and most people are still happy. But hmmm...what will be next?

Little did they know...

When they hired me little did they know that not only am I accident prone but I seem to bring that out in other people. Usually I have pretty good humor about it all but the other day 3 people, count them 3 people got hurt, essentially at the same time. And none of them were in the same place when they were getting hurt at the same time! It can be a little frustrating at times but I have to keep reminding myself that it is not my fault. But just so you all can get a full grasp of my accident proneness that I seem to bring to the table, here is a list of things that my youth and I have either broken or the injuries we have caused in a year and a half:

3 holes in the walls

Gouges in the drywall

2 broken lights

1 broken paper towel holder

1 broken chair

1 door frame that came off

1 dog bite

1 broken finger

2 black and blue toes

1 sprained foot

1 sprained ankle

1 concussion

And I think that completes my list but you never know. With a list like that I may have missed a thing or two.

Fundraisers anyone?

This year for the HS mission trip we are going to Las Vegas. Yes you read that correctly we are going to Las Vegas. Before you get your nickers in a bunch we are not doing the whole strip thing and there is a need for help there too. In order to make this trip we will need to raise about $4,500. How do you raise that much money you ask? Well you fundraise... and fundraise, and fundraise, and fundraise. And then when you are done with that you fundraise some more. I have decided the hardest part of all of these fundraisers is the volunteers you work with. They are lovely people and it is amazing that they are so giving of their time. It is trying to coordinate all them without hurting anyone's feelings, letting all of their ideas be heard (and hopefully you can put that idea into action), and meanwhile still pulling off a successful fundraiser. Last year it was bingo, this year a valentines dinner with live music, and childcare provided. Holey moley this is going to be a wild ride.

Advent is over and Christmas is here

The presents have all been opened, we enjoyed our stockings, and Christmas dinner was delicious. Now we can all relax right? Nothing more to do right? Nothing except enjoying in the wondrous thing of Jesus's birth! For whatever reason we seem to lose that in all of this. We get so focused on other things that after all the gifts have been opened, stockings delighted in, we seem to sit back and sigh as if it is all over now. Isn't this really the time we should be celebrating? Now that Jesus has been born? (albeit many years ago but we are celebrating it now anyway) I think it is party time myself! Now is the time to bring out the egg nog and light up the lights. For without our saviors birth and his ultimate sacrifice (that is a story for another time) he gave us we would not have the joy we have today.

Blessings

Just when you are not sure of things God always seems to provide you with many blessings. Sometimes it comes in ways that are not what you would expect either. Before I took my current job as a youth director I had some serious debate on if I could do this. Would I be good at it? Would I be able to do all the stuff I had not been doing as a volunteer? Is this really where I was being called? Then one night on a mission trip a really good friend of mine stayed up chatting with me. She told me that God was not asking me to jump off a cliff but to step off a curb. I took those words to heart and stepped off the curb. It was after thinking on those words that I decided that I would become the next youth leader at my church if they chose to hire me. Fortunately they did.

When you are in the throws of your job there are times that you question what you are doing. Am I making a difference in their lives? Am I reaching anyone? Are those looks of boredom or are they just tired? Are they whining out of love? That and so much more will go rambling through my head. And sometimes it feels like no matter how hard you pray you still feel like you are walking alone. That is when God smacks ya with the blessings that have been right under your nose the whole time. Sometimes I think he has to smack ya in order to get your attention. He has to kind make you realize that yes indeed he has been walking with you the whole time. That you should always keep your faith. And that those looks of boredom really are looks of boredom but that they still love you. Youth can be way more forgiving than we sometimes give them credit for. Good golly I have a great job and to top it off I have a great God who loves and cares for us all!

Shocking

A funny thing about me is I tend to be full of static electricity. And it especially seems worse in the winter time. So every day I sit in my office unknowingly building up static charge. Then when I least expect it I will touch something metal and wowzer! I get quite a shock. It is especially bad when I turn off my lights. I have seen a blue spark fly when I do that. If anyone out there knows of a way to stop this from happening I would be eternally grateful. But until then I hope that I do not shock myself to hard.

Games, games, and more games....

Some days I feel like I have the coolest job in the world. Where else can you play with the most random things and have everyone leave with a smile. Today I gave teams of youth random objects and told them they had to create a game for everyone. One group I gave plastic hockey sticks, a couple of nerf footballs, and they could use any folding chairs in the gym. When all was said and done they had chairs stacked two high, hockey sticks stretched across them to make hurdles, and we played a very interesting version of hockey. You have not lived until you try to make a nerf football work like a hockey puck. The youth played that game for quite a while. I should let them make up their own games every week. One less thing for me to plan ; )

Little did they know...

When my church hired me they had no idea what they were getting. I look like a mild mannered person but really deep down I am as accident prone as the best of them. Since being hired I have managed, with the help of the youth, to put three holes in the wall (4 if you count where I gouged the wall), broke two lights, and gave myself two possible broken toes that looked oh so lovely. All of which happened at work. And ohh I managed to put a cut in the linoleum. The crazy part is I have only been there for a year and a couple of months. The good news is they keep letting me come back. So at this moment I have been accident free for about 2 days, 22 hours : )

Ahhh the church kitchen

So anyone who has spent anytime in a church kitchen understands how strange and interesting it is. Don't deny it you know what I mean. What is even crazier is the church fridge. Where else can you find a giant tub of mayo along with about 10 other containers of mayo. Now if you are like me every time you open that fridge you go through a debate. Do you toss some of those old containers of mayo and risk making the ladies of the church mad or do you leave them in there even though no one is going to even come close to touching them because who knows how long they have been there? But in case you ever decide to chance one of those containers of mayo to make a sandwich, well you are in luck because there is just as many mustard containers to go with your mayo. Then there is the mysterious jars of jam, string cheese from who knows how long ago, and the one giant tub of butter that seems to be never ending.

Today I thought I would be brave and toss out the opened block of cheese that had been there for about a month. Unfortunately someone saw the cheese in the trash and questioned my tossing it out. I tried explaining how old it was, that it had been opened and not covered but it seem to fall on deaf ears. Oh well it is all part of being a church.

The bigger debate is how to wash the dishes. We have a sanitizer. Not a dishwasher. And while that might not seem like there is anything to debate but ohhh you have not lived until you have listened to people debate on how to clean dishes with a sanitizer. Do you wash it with soap first? Do you just have to get all of the food off? Do you add soap to the sanitizer? And if you run out of powdered dish detergent can you still run the dishes through the sanitizer and get the dishes clean? These are things that I think keeps some people awake at night. I know it has caused me a great deal of consternation at times ; )

While I may not understand the mysterious of the church kitchen I know that it will always provide me with endless hours of fascination.

They grow up so fast...

It is still hard for me to believe but my nephew is 12! 12 I tell you! I still remember him being 3 and doing things like eating dental floss (a story for another time). And not he is in middle school. 6th grade! eeek. If he lived here in town with me he would be in my youth group. That is a scary thought. Probably better that he does not live here because this way he can an experience without his Auntie Meg at youth group with him.

Unlike my brother who has always had his sis at youth group with him. He two has gotten older on me. 17 going on 18 and graduating. Ugh all of this also means that I am getting older. Guess that is part of life. The crazy thing is my brother is graduating from the same HS I did only 12 years later. Who would have thought that to happen? Not I that is for certain. But I love him and am proud of him.

There will be many graduating from youth group this year. I will miss them all but at the same time wish them all the blessings God has to offer them as the move forward in life.

Messy games are fun!

When I was a youth one thing that we did every now and then were messy games. Usually they ended up being pretty funny as well as messy. Now it is my turn to make messes with the youth and laugh at the silly things they do. Like shaving cream hair that you have to stick fruit loops to. Or cracking an egg from the balcony. I have to admit though that I am nicer than the previous youth leaders. They would have someone lay down and then someone try to crack an egg from above and have it land on their face. And this was a raw egg too. For me while the evil youth leader side of me is half tempted to do it I chose to have them crack it and try to make it land in a container. It is just a little bit more sanitary. And still funny to watch them try. Plus the youth love being able to say such things and I put shaving cream on someone and cracked eggs from the balcony. Oh how I love having a gym to play such games in. Who knows what I will do the next time. : )

The Joys of Being the Leader

There are times when I really love being the leader. Tonight was one of those nights. Part of the joys of my job is getting to plan wacky games that others have to play while I watch. The first activity required them to take pictures of themselves doing various activities. It was a picture scavenger hunt. One group managed to take all of their pictures in the girls bathroom.

The next game required people to run through the church, someone to walk around blindfolded, and someone to have to drink sugar water colored with food coloring. The kicker was the person who had to drink the sugar water was fed the water by someone else. They could not use their hands. It was hilarious.

What was even better is when I had them write down questions they wanted answered and as a group they discussed what they thought the answer was. I just got to sit back (although I did add my two cents here and there) and listen to them discuss such matters as how do we know Christianity is the right religion vs other religions. It is so cool to watch them grow and learn with each other. Life is such a wonderful blessing sometimes. So is being the leader : )

Tennis Shoes vs Flip Flops

Top Five Reasons to wear Tennis shoes vs Flip Flops to Youth Group:
5. It is easier to run when playing games
4. If you have not clipped your toe nails in a while no one will know
3. No one has to smell your feet unless you take off your shoes
2. It is not as easy for anyone to try to take your shoes
And the Number One reason to wear Tennis Shoes vs Flip Flops to youth group is....

1. When you and are another person are both going for a Frisbee and their shoe runs into your toe you are less likely to have a black and blue, swollen, possibly broken toe!

Danger Will Robinson

Whew so much has been going on. Yesterday was the HS kick off and Wednesday is the MS kick off. And just last week we added a new youth service on Wednesdays. Plus add a parish picnic and planning a 3 day conference for the whole diocese I am feeling a little bit on overload. A good overload but overloaded none the less. Ohh wait as if I did not have enough on my plate I am now officially the head of the Youth Ministry Commission (YMC). Maybe that is why I felt the need to stick my face in a pie at our parish picnic.

At least I have people watching out for me at church. I have gotten a gold star from the front desk for my ability to sign in and out on the sign board. Someone else has taken on making sure people are not wearing high heels that are to high... Yes you read correctly the height of peoples shoes are of debate among some people. Then there was the nice parishioner that found the boxes of condoms in the kitchen that removed them before any of my youth could find them. So many nice people so little time to get out all of my thank you's. It has been a fun couple of weeks and I know it is only going to get crazier, busier, and a whole heck of a lot more fun.