Youth group retreat.

Some blogs post really beautiful pictures of the delicious food that the blogger has made for her husband. Some blogs document the lives of their children. My blog? An up and down rollercoaster of emotional posts about the intricate workings of life as I know it. The past 24 hours were some of my favorite of the week, I will start there. Little did I know that being a volunteer in my church's youth ministry program would bring me such deep joy. Truly, I am blessed. Every Tuesday we gather to play games, sing worship songs, read Scripture, and talk about how God wants to have a relationship with each one of us. Last night was our version of "summer retreat...revised twice." We were originally planning to take kids to a week-long camp that was on the pricey side of things, and was going to be far away....and I, a fearless leader, was not going to be able to go (because of my MN trip). Then we revised the summer retreat, and decided to do a Labor Day camping trip at Newport Beach. That also got revised for numerous reasons, and instead, we had an old school overnighter at church. I mean...who doesn't have super awesome memories of running around playing Sardines (or hide and go seek) in a darkened church building, right? Just the best. It was a pretty short night for this lady, but I didn't mind...the kids had a blast, and I only got pranked twice. Once by parents (!) who toilet-papered my car, and once in the middle of the night when one of my precious kiddos put their cell phone up to my ear and played a recording of a parent (!) mimicking the voice of the Wicked Witch of the West. Fun times. My alarm went of at 8am, and it was into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee and search for cooking supplies....which were VERY limited. Somehow the other leader (who also braved the overnight portion of the retreat....others went home after bowling...they have kids, so who can blame them?) and I scraped together enough cookware to make some eggs and bacon for our kiddos. While the kids were still sleeping, I was blessed by good conversation, lots of laughs, and coffee with the other leader. Do you know those people in your life who just make you laugh, and who encourage you, even when they aren't really trying? Their faith in God is just so evident and it washes over you, blessing you in so many ways? That is how I felt this morning. I guess ya had to be there, but all I am saying is that ya just never know when a conversation can truly bless another person. OK...I am rambling... Tonight my pal Brittany and I got coffee and then picked up our other pal from the train station in downtown Fullerton. What was supposed to be a quick pick up and drop off at home turned into a few hours of conversation, and ended with a pact to read a Beth Moore book together this year and prayer. Again, I guess you kind of had to be there, but let's just say I am so blessed to have faithful Christian women in my life who can speak into my soul. All that and I didn't even get to talk about my 4 days of teaching at school! Well, at least you got to hear about the most fun parts of my life as I know it. Until the next adventure.....