It Can't Rain on Our Parade

Rain! Hail! Thunderstorms! Tornadoes! The severe weather just doesn't seem to want to let up! Well, that won't stop us from having Wednesday night dinner, Bible study, and youth group! Though our numbers were small and the view outside was intimidating, several of us still gathered for Wednesday night SHINE. I prepared a lesson on forgiveness beforehand; but, since there were only six of us, I chose to save the Forgiveness Plan and just have a hang out day. We talked about everything from the scary weather, to tobyMac, to monkeys in space. We played a few games including, Ninja and What Comes to Your Mind and avoided playing Duck Duck Goose at all costs! The activities I had planned will be more fun with more people. So, hopefully (weather permitting) we'll have a good-sized group on Sunday night so we can have a good time while actually learning something useful. Granted, the knowledge that monkies have flown around in the stratosphere could be useful in perhaps a game show; however, it won't teach you about the importance of forgiving your neighbor. Tune in next week for....FORIVENESS: Is it really necessary?

Doves and Olive Leaves

This Sunday, I spent the majority of the day at the church. At the morning service, we did a graduate recognition (WOO HOO!!!) and later that afternoon, I went back to prepare my lesson and clean up the teen room. That room was a disaster and a half, but now it's much more organized and less sticky.

The lesson was about how life is hard at times, but it gets better when we have Christ in our lives. I began with a Horoscope activity. I gave each student a "unique" horoscope based on his or her zodiac sign. In reality they were all the same. They read:

You have a certain amount of independent thinking and reasoning faculty. You have an unusual desire to succeed in the things that you set your mind to. You tend not to follow the path of conformity and have your own ideas of right and wrong. Oftentimes you are very stubborn, impulsive, and courageous; but, on the inside you fear rejection and being alone. Your recent conflicts have been heavy on your mind, but you know how to hide your ill feelings well because you do not want those around you to feel sad. You strive to create a happy environment even when you are toiling inside. This week, you will find piece of mind in a true friend.

After they had read them, almost all of them said that it applied to them 100%! Then, I had them trade with a friend so they could read each others'. They were surprised to find out that they were the same! The point was, for one, to show that these things are written in a way that you could apply it to anything. Also, to show that everyone has some kind of struggle that they are dealing with. All of the kids really seemed to enjoy it and one said, "I want mine back!" I laughed and reminded him that they are all the same and he said that his had "sentimental value". I died laughing!

Next we talked about the story of Noah and how he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded after so many days. When the dove brought back an olive leaf (in other translations it is an olive branch), Noah knew that there was dry land and that their new life was about to begin. We compared the story to how we have "rain" and "floods" in our lives, but then God sends us an "olive leaf" to remind us that we have new life with Him. For this reason, the article that I write for our newsletter, The Compass, will be called The Olive Leaf. I told the kids this and one said, "What?!?! Isn't that a national magazine?!" Those kids are priceless. I love my job!

Jumping in Head First

I titled this post with a cliché because it most accureately describes what we, as a youth group, are doing as of today. I've announced that I have been working on a long list of fun things we're going to do this year, but it wasn't until today that I really got the ball rolling. We spent the majority of the group time discussing future plans. I've come up with a Summer program: The 777 Program. It will include participation in at least:
                       
                        * 7 Service Projects
                        * 7 Fun Events
                        * 7 Worship Events
                   (7 is just a great number)

When 7 of each category are completed by each student, a prize will be awarded. And for those who complete all 21 (or more) will be awarded with a bigger prize.

Some service projects we will be doing include, but are not limited to:
                        * Trash-Pickups around town
                        * Visits to Long Term Care residents
                        * Volunteering at local businesses
                        * Yardwork
                        * Visits to Brookstone residents
                        * A Free Car Wash

Some fun events we will be doing include, but are not limited to:
                       * Serving a sit-down meal at the church
                       * A lock-in
                       * A week of our own church camp
                       * A talent show
                       * Bowling night
                       * Six Flags

Some Worship events we will be doing include, but are not limited to:
                       * Our church revival
                       * Question nights with members of the board
                       * Dramas/Skits
                       * Youth Sunday

We also discussed making new Shine T-Shirts. A lot of ideas were tossed around, but we didn't officially decide on anything specific. At the end, we had some time to spare, so we learned the first two verses of Amazing Grace in ASL (American Sign Language). We'll sing/sign Amazing Grace when we visit Long Term Care on Sunday. I was pleased with the interest in doing that. Discussing all of our plans was very tiring, for me anyway. I would love to have all the energy that teens have, but I guess I'm getting old quick because I am absolutely exhausted. We wrapped up the last fifteen minutes with a game and a prayer and called it a night. I took a couple of the girls home and kept thinking about all of the organizing I still have to do. I'm going to get my papers, notes, forms, and everything else together and organized in a binder. I also have to tear that teen room apart because it is an unorganized mess if I've ever seen one. I'm hoping to make it feel more like home; for me and for the kids as well.

Jello + Apples = Good Time!

Yesterday, I taught my very first Sunday night class as the official youth leader of Northside. I knew I had to kick it off with something spectacular, so after the lesson, I had a game planned to get everyone all kinds of messy. As for the lesson, I chose to start with a very basic topic; "What Makes us Christians?" It took a while to get to the point of the lesson because we kept getting sidetracked. I have a feeling that that will happen alot because I have a very talkative group this year; which is awesome! I remember having to practically beg my former class to give any kind of input on the topic, so as long as we can stay on topic, I think this group is going to be a very fun group to work with.

Unfortunately, our time was cut short because we only had 30 minutes to work with. Normally, we get an hour, but it was shorter this time as a result of the spring BBQ taking up most of the time. So, we were still getting through the lesson when parents and grandparents were coming in to snatch their kiddos away. I didn't want them to miss out on the fun game at the end, so I offered to take a couple of them home. We wrapped up with a prayer and headed out to the fellowship hall where we brought out two big punch bowls filled with jello and apple slices. The game was a race. We played boys against girls, boys having green jello and girls having red. The first team to remove all of their apple slices using only their teeth was the winner. Of course, the boys dove right in (quite literally) and the girls were more hesitant, so the boys won by a landslide. It was great to watch, and Carl and I took tons of pictures. They really seemed to enjoy it, but this is only the beginning. I have so much more planned for this summer! It's going to be a great time!