Monday, September 13, 2010

Sundae Sunday

At the church picnic yesterday, I asked a student if she was going to be able to come to youth group that night. She simply and matter-of-factly said, "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

She brought a cake to youth group that she had carefully baked and frosted herself. It said "Pilgrim Youth 2010" in blue squiggly letters and was framed with two brown crosses.

I wouldn't have missed last night for the world either.

Five students, two volunteers, and one youth leader gathered together in the fellowship hall to celebrate God and one another.

We ate ice cream sundaes that a friend had to build for us.

We played medic marshmallow dodgeball, which was a blast. It is always a good sign when the girls are asking, "Can we play again?" even though they are getting pelted with marshmallows.

We talked about David and Jonathan's friendship. I am looking forward to see the friendships in the group continue to grow and pray that as the year continues I see the students become more comfortable with sharing their hearts with one another.

We signed youth group covenants and I laid out a few guidelines for behavior. That was a tricky thing to do. I tried really hard not to make eye contact with anyone, but of course, after I finished the most likely candidate to have behavioral issues said, "Why did you look at me when you got to the remove part?"

I explained that I was trying not to make eye contact and that I didn't expect to have to use pause, move, or remove, but thought I would put it out there anyway. It does tell me that the student was listening, right?

The volunteers helped me clean up and sent me home with a container full of cupcakes. They had even brought cherries with them to put on top of the whipped cream. I drove home, thanking the Lord for great volunteers, great students, and a great job.

Monday, August 30, 2010

Have you seen the commercial for the Werther's not-orginal?

A woman in her 30-somethings is sitting on the sofa talking about how incredible, how unexpected and surprising the new morsel is. As you may recall, the Werther's originals are hard caramel candies that you can suck on until it gets small and sharp. The kind that you find in little bowls at the chiropractor's office. The new Werther's are covered in chocolate and have a soft caramel center.

The lady on the commercial bites ever so slowly and the gooey caramel oozes out from the center. She sits, savoring the softness. For an entire thirty seconds you watch the commercial, you think that you have to go out and buy a bag of these.

No, I have not been given any commission money from the Werther's company.

Rather, I want to propose that we read and talk about Scripture more like the lady from the Werther's commercial.

What if we began to savor Scripture? To be surprised by Scripture? To truly enjoy it? To pick up one verse at a time and dwell on it and let it stay on our tongue?

Tucked away in the tiny book of James is a verse I read this morning.

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
James 1:5

If any of you lacks wisdom.

This verse arrives in the middle of James' exhortations to persevere through trials. Wisdom is part of maturity.

As I try to figure out how to be a 23 year-old in the world of youth ministry, I feel like I lack wisdom everyday. And yet, I read James and am reminded that God will give wisdom to those who ask.

And so, I am going to take this verse and let it sit on my tongue for a while. I am going to ask God surprise me with his Word.



Thursday, August 19, 2010

I found a parking spot. Pulled in. Walked down the street to the light. As I was walking across the street to the coffee shop, a creeper with a bald head and a smile that was half-knocked out, called out from his van, "You have a pretty smile. You have a good day young lady." Thanks mom and dad for the thousands of dollars you spent on braces. Worth it.

I made it to the coffee shop, walked in, and began analyzing. Paint color: green. Soft, organic green. Point. Went up to look at the menu. Coffee that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. Point. Ordered. The barista asked if I wanted medium or dark. Point. Coffee is fair trade organic and comes in a glass mug. Point. I slipped into one of the natural wood and black chairs and began to write.

When I write, I process life. When I talk, I process life too. However, it never sounds as eloquent when it is spoken as it does when I am letting the letters onto a page.

When I am walking through life, I often narrate in my head as if I were in a book--or rather, as if I were writing a book about my life. In this way, I am observing everything around me. The aesthetics of my surroundings, the people I see, everything tactile about my experience.

For some reason, over the last year I have written less than I have in a long time. In some ways, I think I have been living numb. Nothing hurts too much if I don't think about it. And writing requires thinking about it.

Now, my life isn't in shambles or anything. And I am still thankful for so much. There have just been times over the last year when I have felt alone, unsure, and unmotivated.

Life is changing. And change is really difficult for me to swallow.

At first, I get really excited about it, like a kid on the side of the swimming pool about to jump in. A kid who has just spent an hour putting on sunblock, goggles, and orange arm floaties and thinks that the next thing is going to be the best part yet. And then she jumps in and finds out that water gets up her nose and the experience is fun, but involves more hardship than was expected.

You see, I am big on expectations. I can stay particularly positive about an experience for a very long time.

In the last few days, I have been thinking about a quote that someone said on my RA retreat in college on the grassy knoll at Mackinac Island.

"Don't have expectations. Be expectant."

May I be expectant as I look toward the fall and whatever the new season will bring.