Youth Sunday!

Today was Youth Sunday at Northside and it went very very well for my first one ever. We opened with a skit titled, "The Backpack". I had a boy and a girl do this skit. (I don't ever mention names of my kids for security purposes, if you haven't noticed yet.) The whole thing was silent. The girl came upon a backpack sitting in the middle of the floor. She kinda poked and peered at it with curiosity for a while. She lightly kicked it, then dropped it. Then, the boy, dressed as Jesus, came along, picked it up, slung it around his shoulder showing the word SIN, and walked her out. It turned out pretty cute! They did great! Then, I welcomed everyone, professed my love for Tobymac (as a joke because I enjoy making people laugh), and led the girls in a special. One of my girls sang Amazing Grace My Chains Are Gone by Chris Tomlin while three other girls signed the song. I sat in front of them and signed it too so they could watch me. That way, they wouldn't get lost and feel embarrassed. I could tell they were nervous, but they did a great job! Then, we led the congragation in song. We did many of our youth's favorites: I'll Fly Away, Peace Like a River, Mighty to Save, and Jesus Paid it All. One of my boys worked the slide show and the whole thing went very smooth. They really did awesome. I was so proud!

Tonight is the finale for vacation bible school. All this week we have been singing, dancing, moving kids from station to station, and having a great time. The theme was Crocodile Dock and we had a very enthusiastic group of kiddos! Last year, nobody really got into the music, but this year, they were all over it! It was awesome! Tonight, we're singing our songs one last time, having cookies and homemade ice cream, and pelting Carl with water balloons. We raised more than $600 for our missions this year! The money will be split up evenly among five local organizations: Caring and Sharing, Food Pantry, Coats for Kids, Tools for School, and Our Place. The whole thing went very well!

With my older kids, I've been talking about a poetry slam that we're going to do. I assigned either a sin or a fruit of the Spirit to each kid in Sunday School today so that we can get started on that. We'll do the slam coffee house style with coffee, doughnuts, dim lights, and snapping. The kids aren't too thrilled about having homework during their summer break, but I think they'll end up enjoying it. For now, I'm glad most of this stuff is over with and we can slow down a bit. I'm getting worn out!

Preparation

Last night, instead of having a lesson on the next Deadly Sin, the kids and I discussed more about what we are doing for Youth Sunday on the 31st. We chose our songs, assigned people to positions, and decided on two skits that we will be performing. I'm super excited about the skits! If all goes well, they will be very cool. So, hopefully, my skit volunteers have some acting experience. We also will be signing (as in American Sign Language) Amazing Grace My Chains Are Gone by Chris Tomlin. They all were eager to learn how to sign it! We got through a bit of the song and they caught on quick! The boys will be ushering for Communion and Offering and a few of my girls and I will be greeters. One of my girls even asked to work the sound system! So, we're really going to be running the show that Sunday! I'm excited, and I know that the board members are looking forward to seeing what we're going to do too. I just pray that God's light shines through us in perhaps a different way than usual that day. Everyone learns different and different things hit people in different ways. So, my hope is that we just touch lives as we do our crazy, young thing.

I chose to prepare Youth Sunday plans last night not only because I couldn't think of a lesson, but because preparation has been a big topic for me lately. I tend to go by the phrase, "go big or go home", which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I just sometimes bite off more than I can chew. The Six Flags trip is an excellent example of this. I didn't realize at first that taking 16 kids to Six Flags St. Louis was somewhat of a huge deal. It ended up being a great trip; but, I know now that I did not do enough preparation for it. Well, I took it as a learning experience. It got me down in some ways, but I have had tons of support regardless. My church family and I know that I am still very new at this job and some things I will inevitably discover the hard way. And it'll be ok because I have a God who is bigger than any setback I may encounter!

Gung-Ho and Ready to Go!

On Saturday, we all got up bright and early for the much anticipated trip to Six Flags St. Louis. Everyone was wearing their new, brightly colored NCC shirts (except for two or three who forgot) and were practically bubbling over with excitement. We had a short meeting, went to the bathroom, assigned people to vehicles, prayed, and hit the road. I had never driven through St. Louis before, so it was a nervous trip for me, but mom kept me calm and helped keep the kids in the back from screaming. Upon arrival to the park, we gave them our parking vouchers, parked in a place that everyone complained about (because of the distance from the park), and grabbed our swimming suits and towels for the waterpark. We spent the morning in the waterpark and split up into groups. The older kids went with mom and Tiffany because they could take them on rides that I couldn't do, so I had a few of the younger kiddos. I am currently seeing a chiropractor to fix my neck and back problems, so riding anything that could give me whip lash was out of the question. I ended up being sore enough just from all the walking! Anyway, we all had a great time at the waterpark, then, we met up and went back to the van for a packed lunch. It was much cheaper to feed everyone on sandwich stuff from Aldi than it would have been to feed everyone in the park for $15+ a pop. Granted, everyone got an extra $20 for spending money from the fundraisers, but I tell you what, just about every penny was spent. Everything there is outrageously expensive! So, we finished our lunch and headed back to enjoy the rest of the park. We split off into groups again and spent hours riding rides, getting airbrush and henna tattoos, buying soda, playing games, and just having a great time. We had a check-in every two hours or so at the front gate where we could switch groups and keep everyone accounted for. At the second check-in, I was flabergasted when a lady came up to our group and asked us if we wanted the eight extra concert tickets she had for Tobymac. I couldn't get any tickets online ahead of time because they were sold out, so this offer was a God thing for sure! Of course, we had more than eight people, but hey, I'll send eight kids in to see Tobymac without question. This trip was for them, and I wanted them to enjoy every bit of it. Well, later, I was able to get my hands on even more tickets and the majority of our group got to go in and watch the concert! It was awesome! There were a few of the high school kids who chose to ride rides instead since we didn't actually have enough tickets; however, it ended up that they could have gotten in anyway, but they were having a good time regardless. When the concert was finished, I bought a Tobymac shirt and we all had just enough time for one more ride before we left for home. I took two of my younger kids and two of my older kids to the Scooby Doo ride. That was one of the few things I could actually ride! They were so excited to go on it too. The older kids and the other chaperones went to some of the bigger rides. We met up at 9:30 and headed back to the parking lot. The fireworks started as we were walking back, so we got to see them before we left. Thankfully, we had a safe trip home. Later, I got to thinking about the things I'm doing because I've been absolutely exhausted since the trip. I came into this leadership position gung-ho and ready to go full speed; but, now I just want to take a nap! I'm learning what my limits are, and I think I'm about to the end of my rope. Leave it to me to start with a huge trip to Six Flags. I think our plans will be a bit smaller from now on. I have to catch up with myself!

Self-Control....Do You Have It?

Wednesday night was the night where we found out who is and who isn't kind and gentle. Only a fraction of the kids brought back their eggs unharmed. Some were forgotten, some were broken by friends, and others were smashed on the very first day. Well, as I promised, there was a reward for bringing back an undamaged egg. Each of them got an Air Head candy. Of course I had a bunch left, so I incorporated it into my lesson, which was Self-Control. I said "self control...who has it?" then I threw the candy in the middle of the group. After a moment's hesitation, most everyone made a dive for their favorite colored Air Head. I was prepared for this, so I asked if anyone didn't dive for a piece of candy. There were four or five who didn't, so they got an even better prize: a bouncy balloon on a rubber band. (I know that sounds ridiculous, but everyone else was envious, so my point was made.) The point was that if we control ourselves, perhaps we won't get immediate gratification; but, eventually we will get an even better reward for our behavior. Like, say you are a student in elementary school, and if you have perfect attendence, you get to go on a field trip at the end of the year. But, one day in the middle of the school year, you feel like taking a day off to play or do whatever you want. Which would be better? Having the one day to do something fun now? Or having a better day to do something even more fun later? To get the better reward, you would have to have the self-control to not skip school. We can compare this to our salvation with Jesus. Though our good works are not what get us into Heaven, our reward for having self-control over our sins is an eternity with Jesus Christ. So, again I ask you; which would be better? The temporary satisfaction that comes from a sinful behavior? Or an eternity in Heaven with our Lord and Savior? It doesn't get much more simple than that.

The real reason behind the lesson on self-control was the upcoming trip to Six Flags. I knew that everyone was very excited for the trip, including myself; but, I wanted to make it clear that everyone needed to behave themselves when we got there. As a group, we represented followers of Jesus Christ, and it was important to behave in ways that represented how we, as Christians, are supposed to live.

Being Greedy is Bad

On Sunday night, we talked about our next sin: greed. I didn't write out a formal lesson plan like I have been because I've been having a hard time finding time to get to the computer to print things out in time. I'm only posting this now because I'm visiting my family at Dad's house. (I don't have internet access at home at the moment...it costs money that I haven't made yet.) Anyway, to begin the lesson, I dropped a 20 dollar bill in the middle of our circle and sat down without a word. They all just kind of looked at it and only one of my kids made a jump for it. I just smiled at him and he asked if he could really keep it. I didn't answer him and someone else asked if it was part of my lesson and I said that it was. Then, I confirmed that no, he couldn't keep it. It was part of the money raised for the Six Flags trip. Which, by the way, we met our goal for! That's the good news for that trip. The bad news is that I didn't order the tickets early enough and the tobymac concert is sold out. I was devistated about that, so I spread the word along to see if everyone still wanted to go anyway or wait until September when we could see Switchfoot in concert. The majority voted to go anyway. So, Saturday, I, 4 other adults, and 16 kids will be headed to Six Flags St. Louis. I know we all are very excited about it! When I found out that the concert was sold out, I was definitely upset, though I feel like now (four days before the trip) I shouldn't be surprised that tobymac is sold out. Well, I'm lucky for my church family because they all jumped right to my side to help support and encourage me. Les even prayed with me over the phone. I'd never done that before, but I thought that was pretty awesome!

Anyway, the lesson Sunday was about greed. We talked about different scenerios for a while and we all decided that we are greedy sometimes. After a while, one of my kids asked me what "my wisdom" for the day was. I told him that we shouldn't be greedy because it's bad. You can quote me on that if you'd like. We had some hilarious conversation and talked about the Six Flags trip. We are all very excited about it, and I'd like to ask you to pray for us for safe travels!

We're Headed to Six Flags! Woo Hoo!

Since the last post, the kids and I have had a Question and Answer night, a laid-back plan night, and a missionary program night. The Q&A night was pretty successful. I actually had to tell some of them to hold off their questions so that some of the adults could get theirs in. What I mean by "laid-back plan night" is that I ended up not having many kids, so we talked about Youth Sunday and made signs for the carwash fundraiser. Then, on Wednesday night, I had a very successful lesson. It was rather short because our missionaries from India came to give a presentation and I wanted the kids to see it. The lesson was on two Fruits of the Spirit: Kindness and Gentleness. For our activity, I gave everyone an egg. I ended up giving out more than one to some to make up for accidents, but we used two dozen eggs for this activity. I had more kids that day than I ever had! It was awesome! Well, I had everyone poke holes in the top and bottom of their eggs and blow out all of the insides. Many broke at this point and had to start over, but luckily, I had plenty of eggs. Then, we wiped all of the goo off and drew faces on them. I informed them that they all had just "had a baby" and their assignment for the week was to be kind and gentle with their babies. To know that they have been, I gave them all some paper as their journals so they could document each kind thing they did for it. The question they gave me was, "What kind thing could I possibly do for an egg?" I told them that they could make a bed for it, read it a story, take it to the park, or anything really. Some eggs broke before the night was even over, but they really seemed excited about the activity! I told them that if they brought their egg back undamaged and with a full journal, they would be rewarded. I'm anxious to see how many of them completed it. After that, we listened to our guests from India talk about their missions and we watched movies that depicted what life is like for Christians in India. The kids kept asking me if it was real and I assured them that it was. At the end, most of them said they wanted to take a mission trip to India to help them. And one of my girls asked me why they all (meaning all of the people in India) didn't come to America with our missionaries.They were so precious.

Recently, we also had our carwash fundraiser. I had several kids come out to help and we washed quite a few cars! We ended up making about $400! This being about half of what we need for our trip to Six Flags. We have 27 kids and adults interested in going! I'm so excited! We're spending the morning at the water park, then having a picnic lunch that we're bringing, and spending the rest of the day/night in the "dry" part of the park riding rides, playing games, and watching tobyMac! I also want to get an Old Western Photoshoot in there somewhere for the whole group! I can't wait! Anyway, so, last minute, Tiff and I came up with an emergency fundraiser. On Sunday and Monday, we will be having a bake sale at Walmart. We're selling baked goods and lemon shake-ups. I think it'll be a good time. And I'm sure it will be successful, because lemon shake-ups sound fabulous when the weather is as hot as it was today. Now, I'm off to make bake sale and lemon shake-up signs.