YC Alberta - 2011

This past weekend - May 27-29 - Brendan and I took 12 youth to YC in Edmonton. A number of people have asked me how it was, I always respond with LOUD! seriously it's crazy how loud the whole weekend was.

But it wasn't only loud, it was great to see the kids interacting, listening to what speakers had to say, enjoying the numerous concerts that there were to attend and debriefing at the end of the day. Throughout the week I asked youth, what was life impacting today? I love hearing their answers, it's neat that each of us are impacted by different things, that different things touch our hearts or make us think.

The theme of the weekend was "Hear the Sound" - hear the sound of what God has to say to you, of what he wants you to learn. I believe that it was an impacting week for some of the youth on the trip, I believe some of them truly believe that their lives need to change, so i will be praying for them, that now that they are home they will still be listening to what God has to say to them, that they wont just turn back to their old ways.

It was a good weekend (below is a picture from a Tenth Avenue North concert I attended - one of my favorite parts of the weekend) but I am pretty glad to be back to normal life in lower decibels :)

Just Fishin'

Trace Adkins has a new song on the radio - Just Fishin' - maybe you have heard it. If not here are just some of the Lyrics - you can read all the lyrics here

Me and my dad Fishin'!

I’m lost in her there holdin’ that pink rod and reel  

She’s doin’ almost everything but sittin’ still 

Talkin’ ‘bout her ballet shoes and training wheels And her kittens 

And she thinks we’re just fishin’ 

I say, “Daddy loves you, baby” one more time 

She says, “I know. I think I got a bite.” 

And all this laughin’, cryin, smilin’ 

dyin’ here inside’s What I call, livin’ 

And she thinks we’re just fishin’ 

on the riverside Throwin’ back what we could fry 

Drownin’ worms and killin’ time 

Nothin’ too ambitious 

She ain’t even thinkin’ ‘bout 

What’s really goin’ on right now 

But I guarantee this memory’s a big’in 

And she thinks we’re just fishin’ 

Yeah, aww, she thinks we’re just fishin’ 

We ain’t only fishin’ 

(This ain’t about fishin’) 

When I heard this song on the radio last night it made me think about what I do spending time with youth. I don't want to sound like I have a hidden agenda, I really don't. At the same time what I do isn't about having coffee or lunch, it isn't about sorting bottles or going for a walk. It's about what those things accomplish, about the space those times create. When I do those things it's so that I can build relationship with kids, so there is a time created where we can talk about life and God and what's good and what's hard.

I'm sure that parent's are familiar with this, creating space to connect with their kids, to build relationship. Making time to do something "fun" that creates space for real life conversation. I love how honest this song is about why this dad too his little girl fishing, it's because he wants to be invested in her life. I want to be deeply invested in the lives of the youth I meet with, I want the things we do together to create space for relationship and trust.

It's a great song that really got me thinking! hopefully it makes you think too.

WooHoo

I want to praise God for his faithfulness, Today I got to remove TWO numbers from my ONE to FIFTY fundraising Campaign. 5 and 50 have both been taken. That means I am $55 closer to my needed goal. I praise God for his faithfulness and encouragement to me in this way. I know that nothing of what I do, including fundraising would be possible without God going before me and making a way.

(If you want to check out the details of my ONE to FIFTY campaign just click here)

On another note last night I had my credentialing meeting (All YFC staff go through a process called credentialing to make sure that we are the kind of people that YFC wants to be associated with. They give us training and assignments, test us on our theology and give recommendations for further growth - It's a 2 year process - once that process is completed we get credentialed). I don't get the official certificate until next month but I feel like a WOOHOO is in order as I will soon be an officially credentialed staff person with Youth Unlimited. I praise God for this as well.

Friendship . . .

This past weekend me and Brendan headed up to Grande Prairie to visit some friends. In a weird way I always feel a little at home when I'm there because of the 3 years I spent there for school.

I got to spend my whole Saturday with some very good friends of mine. You know those friends that you can just pick up where you left off, be totally honest together and laugh really hard with. That's what these friends are like for me. So we spent the whole day walking around the park and catching up since the last time we had been together, we went to Petland to play with the animals and then went back to the park for a picnic. We ended the day by getting together for coffee with another friend. It was one of those days that totally refueled me. Not once during the day did I feel like I had to pretend or fake who i was, I could be totally serious and the next second totally silly and it was totally awesome.

It's these rare friendships that make me think of Jesus, I think we could be that comfortable with Jesus if we pictured him to truly be our friend. Sometimes I forget that he wants me to be personal with him. It was  a good reminder this weekend of what a real friendship looks like and how comfortable I can be around those I know love me for me. I am so thankful for friends, and I already look forward to the next time I will get to see these friends in particular.

I suppose i should share . . .

Now that I have joined this world of blogging, I am plagued with the question "about what should I blog" . . . what a weird word anyways, blog. I don't want to overblog . . . that's not interesting, but only one thing on a wall isn't so interesting either. So blog I will.

Today at our staff meeting we were talking about "wondering", it was an interesting conversation for me. See i am a very Black and White person, there is wrong there is right, there is yes and no, there is my opinion and the wrong opinion (just kidding, I try not to let that be true). But we talked about the importance of wondering, about the importance of not needing to have the answer, or even an answer all the time and the space this creates in relationship. A space where people feel safe to ask questions, to journey with you. I hope I can grow to be a person who allows wonderment, that when I am with youth I don't need to have all the answers, but that together we can journey, together we can question and wonder. I think that would be a great place to be with kids.

So right away some girls are going to come hang out with me for my Elevate program, it's a new group and I'm interested to see where it will go, but I hope that together we can wonder about some important stuff.

(also a shout out to my first two followers - I checked all day to see if anyone would be interested in my blog - thanks for following)

I'm New to this . . .

Well, I am certainly new to blogging, I'm not convinced I will have the longevity required to "blog" well but I'm going to give it a shot. My desire is that through this blog I can share with you (whoever you are that may be reading this) my journey through ministry. I love what I do, for those of you who don't know, what I do is work with kids, all though the "work" looks an awful lot like play sometimes. My job is to hang out with kids, let them know I think they are important, because they are, share my life with them, give them a chance to share their lives with me and in some way hope to minister to their soul. It's a great job. However I have come to the realization that I am not always so great at communicating with those around me about what I do, why it's worthwhile and how others can be a part of it. So that's it, I hope this can be a tool that helps me step forward in better communication.