and a prayer for 2:51 a.m.

Dear Lord,

Even if I'm not going to sleep, please find a way to let these girls sleep. The running up and down the stairs and the fear of crawly basement bugs... yeah... please let that stop.

Thanks for all the stuff you do.

Amen

Why I'm blogging at 2:14 AM on a Saturday morning instead of sleeping

So I'm smack dab in the middle of this year's Underground Overnight. The kids are asleep (or at least quiet enough that I don't need to go yell at them to get some sleep) and logically I should be, too. But I'm not. I guess this is insight into me as a Youth Ministry Director: I can't sleep at church overnights... ever.

At a lock-in, that's a given. With high school youth running around the church, I know that I'm responsible for making sure that they stay safe, out of trouble and follow rules. If they're awake, I'm awake. But an overnight is different in my head.

I keep correcting people when they call this a lock-in. Lock-in implies no sleep and this is an overnight because we're sleeping overnight at the church. They're sleeping. Sleep is on the schedule. I don't have the strength to stay awake all night programming this age group at the level they'd need to be programmed to stay out of trouble. True.

So if they're asleep, how come I'm not?

Adrenaline. I get so wired on the adrenaline of running something like this. No way could it be done without the help of volunteers (thank you Connie, Eric and Lori) but being the point person is just wide awake, crazy, anticipating problems, trying to fix problems. trying to calm down kids that are getting wild, evaluating the schedule, tweaking the schedule, making mental notes of what doesn't work, trying to remember what does work, thinking about things that I still need to get done sometime this week....

I guess the brain kicks in and this is unwinding time. It takes a few hours and once I'm unwound, it will be close enough to breakfast making time that I'll have to get up and start everything all over.

So here's blog from the middle of an all nighter. I think it's going well. The kids seem to be having fun. There haven't been any serious injuries (although when the clock fell off the wall and hit Jacob on the head, I was afraid it might be an omen.) We haven't broken anything (though to be fair, there are still six hours and a few minutes left... still time to break stuff.)I hope you are all resting peacefully and I'll catch some zzzzz's tomorrow.

Happy Overnight Night.

Pick one for your quote of the day

Michael: When do we get ice cream?
Sara: Nobody asked. We'll get it out now.
Michael: Oh, I don't want any. I just wondered if we could have some.


or...

Savana: What kind of ice cream is it?
Sara: Peppermint.
Savana: Ooh... do you think it will taste like peppermint?


or....

Alicea: This water tastes funny.
Sara: You can go upstairs and get some water from the drinking fountain if you want that instead.
Alicea: Is there a drinking fountain upstairs?


or... from the pre-school that meets in our building, earlier this week:

4 year old: I want to be a daddy when I grow up. Mom told me I have to wait, though. She's not ready to be a Grandma.

and our newest ordained elder is.... ERIN!

Erin became our new youth elder today in church. She was ordained and I was so excited. Erin went through confirmation two years ago and got stuck with me as her mentor. We traveled through Jim's confirmation class together and it was cool to see her come out a church member on the other side of all those worksheets and movie clips. Today was even cooler. She's got the heart, the head and the passion to be a good leader so I hope she speaks up at meetings and shares her unique view on things.

Way to go, Erin! Jesus loves you lots. Woohoo. :)

(And not to trivialize the ordination bit of the service, but when all those ordained elders come forward for the laying of the hands and the prayer time, it always makes me think of this for some reason. Is that wrong?)

technology

I bought myself a new phone this week and as I'm spending time learning how to use all the different features, I'm realizing just how much technology changes impact youth ministry. A few junior high kids have added me as friends on facebook the last few weeks and I'm amused as the next wave of youth explore facebook. The application requests they send are a bit much (I block most of the applications) but seeing their status updates and the pictures they choose to post is interesting. It's almost as if having a facebook page is a new milestone. They're also getting cell phones and sending text messages along with pictures and videos.

Some of this tears down boundaries between people. Communication is not limited to phone calls or in person interaction. It's not even confined to waking hours anymore. Then in other ways, I think it puts up boundaries between people. The difference between who has facebook and who doesn't, who can text and who can't text... that kind of thing.

And I'm suprised high schoolers aren't on twitter. Actually I'm surprised by how few real life friends of mine are on twitter. Twitter is a site where you periodically update your "status" with 140 characters or less. If you're curious, learn more about it here: www.twitter.com but do realize the best way to figure it out is to try to use it. I'm loving hearing the scoop on things before traditional media gets it out there. It's handy for local events and shows... that kind of thing.

Anyway, consider this a general encouragement... if the newish technology stuff is confusing to you, it's confusing to nearly everyone at first.

quotes of the day

Today at church we had a POTLUCK! Man oh man, do I love a good potluck. Some of that is because I love the variety of food but most of that is that I love the metaphor. I love that everyone brings something different and unique to the table and we share with each other. Yeah. Anyway, I sat at the kids table because I was enjoying the combination of Macy, Hannah, Sarah, Taylor and Erin.

Rae brought caramel brownies and they are amazing. So here are your quotes:

"This brownie is the best food here. I'm going to get another one." Taylor.

Then a few minutes later, Macy with all the cuteness of a kindergarten kid says in this totally serious voice, "This is the best brownie I have ever had in my entire life."

High praise. And totally truthful.



Oh, and during church I sat next to Austin. Church is always a good time when you sit next to Austin. Jim mentioned something about God having a ringtone and I asked Austin what ring tone suited God. Austin thought about it long enough that I thought he was ignoring me and then he said it would be Rock You Like a Hurricane starting at the part "Here I am..." He's right. And smart. High five to Austin.

quote of the day: Friday

This conversation totally just happened in the Underground:

kid a: "Sara! He just said F."

me: "F?"

kid a: "Yeah... you know... F!"

me to kid b: "Wait. like the letter F or a word that starts with F?"

kid b: "F. The letter."

me to kid a: "Dude, don't hate on the alphabet."

Parents rock

I just got off the phone with a parent. Insert scary music. Okay, scratch that. This parent isn't scary, although I don't doubt that he could be if the situation called for it. After talking with him for a bit, I'm remembering again just how important and awesome parents can be. I'm not one, but I certainly appreciate the work and love that go into raising kids.

I keep reminding myself that the youth I work with are not my kids. They have parents. And I pray that those parents would have wisdom at the right times and that their relationships with their kids would be beneficial to kids and adults.

The Iowa State Extension Office is gearing up for a program called Strengthening Families. It's aimed at 6th grade youth and their parents. The program is on Monday nights starting Monday, January 26 and it goes for 7 weeks. The program helps both parents and kids learn to communicate clearly with one another and I believe that it does what it says it will in its name: it does strengthen families. If you or someone you know is in 6th grade or is a parent or guardian for a 6th grader, take time to find out about this program. Meals are provided on those nights and there is also free childcare for younger siblings. More information is available from the Madison County Extension Office at 462-1001 and ask for Matt or Mollie.

UG-ON!

The UG-ON is coming up at the end of January. UG-ON is code for Underground Overnight. Last spring, I let the after school group trick me into having an overnight. Okay, maybe not trick... they earned it by saving up their Underground dollars. I was nervous about spending a night in the church with 3rd-7th graders, but it went really well. We all had a good time-- the youth AND the adults. Crazy, eh?

So the next overnight is coming up in a couple weeks. January 30th, to be exact. And I'll be planning the night this week. Dreaming up crazy games, trying to find a good balance of activities for the variety of kids. Three adults have already committed to spending the night. (I wonder if they would notice if I went home and slept there? Just kidding, of course.)

Anyway, I'm looking forward to it. I'll get the form done today so if you have a youth who wants to attend or if you're interested in chaperoning part or all of it, let me know.

LOCK-IN!!

Here is a snippet of the craziness that ensued at this year's winter lock-in. High school kids are awesome and this lock-in (no exaggeration) was my favorite overnight of any I've done as a youth or as a leader. It started with silly games:

They chewed gum as a team and then had to sculpt it into a Christmas sculpture. (gross!)






Then it was the old classic game of Alka-spew. How long can you hold an alkaseltzer in your mouth before you spew? These teens were hardcore. Color me impressed.



And last, it was the pudding/worm challenge. Fishing for worms in a bowl of pudding... with your FACE! Yeah, good times all around.









More pictures later, when I get the last round off my camera.

A new post for a new year

I don't know about you, but I always start the new year with lofty goals. This year, one of my work goals is to try to update this blog twice a week at least. I haven't done so well with the weekly updates, even, but hopefully I can start a new rhythm and then my loyal readers (both of them? lol) will have more to read and more pictures to see.

The holidays were great. I thought the Sunday School crew did great with their Christmas service in mid-December. The high school youth seemed to have a blast at their lock-in this past weekend. The after school bunch is looking forward to their overnight in the Underground at the end of January. So much coming up!

Today I made a list, or more of a map, of all the balls I'm juggling and all the things I'd like to see happen with youth here at First United Pres. The ideas seem limitless. Of course we're all bound by the limits of time, resources and people power. I'm excited to see what transpires through the next few months. I'm also eager to share this ministry with the church and community.

Happy New Year to you. Welcome to 2009.