A week ago, I held a logistics meeting for our combined junior high and high school mission trip. This is an interesting trip because it's filled with a mix of students, some of whom are going on their first ever mission trip; Others who are...
Today, I'm linking up with Kate Motaung's Five Minute Friday. The rules: Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
This week's prompt: Protect
My pregnancy was fraught with complications.
After nearly...
Today, I'm linking up with Kate Motaung's Five Minute Friday. The rules: Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
This week's prompt: Rest.
I woke up with a migraine yesterday, the worst I've had in a long...
I love Jesus.
That's probably not surprising to you. As a youth worker, I'm guessing you love Jesus, too. What's more, I'm guessing you want the teens in your congregation to love Jesus. But what happens when they don't?
Because let's face it,...
I am in countdown mode. I leave for our intergenerational Peacemaking trip on Sunday, a mere three days from now. This will be the first time I've been away from my nearly 13-month old daughter for longer than a few hours since she was born. In...
Part of the “magic” of mission trips and events like the 30 Hour Famine is that they take place outside of the normal context of students’ lives. Often, they take place in a different location, away from teens’ family and friends. In so doing,...
What I'm Reading:
Fiction:
May was even more INSANE than April. Nevertheless, I still read three fiction books.
Best mystery: The Last Mile by David Baldacci.
Non-fiction:
I also read two non-fiction books during April: Colors of...
In a recent project for Arbor Research Group, a Bible teacher at a Christian school talked about the moment “when the lightbulb goes on” for the kids in his classes. In the weeks since, this phrase has echoed around my head.
As youth workers who...
What the book's about: Colors of Goodbye is a beautiful memoir about the life and death of September Vaudrey's 19-year old daughter, Katie. Using flashbacks as well as Katie's art, it's a story about grieving, choosing life after...
At a recent conference, I attended a workshop where, among other things, the presenter made the case for using gender-neutral pronouns to teach children and youth about God.
This is a debate that rages in a lot of circles. People fear that if we...