BulletProof 08

We might be home from the BulletProof 08 retreat, but I hope it's not over. I hope the ministry that was started there, continues in the days ahead on Sunday mornings, Wednesday nights and thoughtout the rest of the week. The goal of this retreat was to encourage, challenge and help people take off the bulletproof vest they/we wear that prevents people from see who we really are ... our dreams, our pain, our struggles. Too often because we've been hurt, had our trust broken or whatever, we put on this vest of protection never to take it off again.

The top two pics are of my middle school girls SWAT group (yes, the girl in the middle is a middle school students, she's crazy tall and a brilliant 7th grader). The bottom picture is of the middle school students at the retreat ... we were about 42 strong of the 200+ there which is good, but not a jump from the fall retreat which kind of bites. Still good times were had by all. It's amazing what life transformation that can occur if you just shut off the tv, drive to a location that is a cellphone wasteland and get out into God's creation.

BulletProof 08

I'm reminded every retreat how much of a "big deal" they are around here. Every youth ministry has their annual "things" that they bring out the big guns for, where it's an "all hands on deck" kind of deal. At Granger, it was Camp Adventure. In Atlanta, it's the fall and spring retreats. Here's just a small piece of the evidence of what a big deal it is. Above are just the jackets (and the massive team that made them) for the rap outlines (discussion group questions) ... catch that ... just the jackets for the outlines, not the outline itself which is a whole nother deal complete with Grade A graphics. Memories that mark the moment ... love them.

I Will Praise You In The Storm

An MC student is going old skool in the office next to me with this Casting Crowns song. Heard it awhile ago and still love it.

Praise You in This Storm
words by Mark Hall/music by Mark Hall and Bernie Herms

I was sure by now,God, that You would have reached down and wiped our tears away,
stepped in and saved the day.
But once again, I say amen
and it's still raining
as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain,
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away.

Chorus:
And I'll praise you in this storm
and I will lift my hands
for You are who You are
no matter where I am
and every tear I've cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
and though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry to You
and raised me up again
my strength is almost gone how can I carry on
if I can't find You
and as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away

Chorus:
I lift my eyes onto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth
I lift my eyes onto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth

Chorus:

Source and Youth Leader's Coach

For some reason feltl pretty blogless the last couple of days.

Jeanne and I ate lunch at Ruby Tuesdays today. As we talked, I was reminded of exactly how brilliant she is. Here are a couple great lines I heard as I listened to the final version of Who's Your American Idol (Source) and What To Do While You're Waiting (Youth Leader's Coach)

Beware of undoing in a careless moment of disobedience the work that God's grace has taken much time to build.

People live the unedited version of your life (I've quoted that one before, but still love it).

The right choices eventually bring the right emotions.

Every time I listen to the resources I think how stupid I was when I received them though the mail and tossed them on the shelf. The good news is that I get to listen to them for free now ... over and over again.

Things Not To Do At Camp

Three of our Cadre Prestige from Michigan (Don Champion, Nick Nelson and Steve Royalty) had a little fun making a video. It was great seeing their faces.

What to do?

What do you do when you have so many things to do that you don't know where to start? I guess I'll just pick one.

Looking forward to putting my life in "park" for a week next month. The only decision now is to decide whether to do that in Indiana or on the beach.

The Little Girl That Captured My Heart

Usually on mission trips, I'm running around like a chicken with its head chopped off making sure everyone is ok, has something to do, is on course, etc. However, while I love them both, taking college-aged students on a missions trip is a little different than middle school students. I found that I had more time just to "be" vs. "do". So, on Friday, while I did some checking up to make sure everyone was ok, for the most part I hung out with Juanita, my little eating machine (she loves candy). She didn't like to swim like everyone else, so we hung out under the Palapa playing with crayons, playdough, necklaces, balloons and everything else under the sun. She stole my heart. I truly miss her.

Never Prouder

After helping to create, prep and provide some oversight to Cadre Legacy Reunion, leading 19 people on the Mexico missions tirp, an all-nighter prepping for Cadre Litmus, then two full days of Litmus I was wiped out. After making sure the MC gang got the Cadre to the airport for their 4 a.m. - 11 a.m. departures, I did nothing but sleep, do laundry, sleep some more, and do some more laundry and sleep some more until 7 p.m. tonight when I left for Oxygen.

I loved watching worship tonight. As I looked around the room, I saw all the Cadre Executive Team serving or worshipping their hearts out after putting in two really long days. Monday their day started at 7:30 a.m. and ended around midnight. On Tuesday, their day started at 7:30 a.m. and ended around 3 a.m. They were allowed to come to Master's Commission a little later than normal this morning, but not enough to compensate for their efforts. The fact that they were "all in" at 7:30 p.m. tonight is an indication of their character and commitment. I am so proud of them.

Tonight was an 02 small group night. We had a great time. Before moving into 02 groups, we worshipped and celebrated VIP night for those who had signed up and paid their deposit for the retreat (Bulletproof). It's hard to believe that we are nine short days away from our reteat. Sign up right now is right around the 200 mark.

Cadre Litmus

Got back from Mexico at 5 p.m. on Saturday and headed hard and fast into Cadre Litmus. I am gathered right now among greatness - people living in the trench fighting daily to stay creative, centered and connected to and for Jesus. Their stories of success bring tears to my eyes, their stories of struggle brings tears to my eyes as well. The battle is real and worth it. I really sense what we are giving them practically is making a difference, as well as the deposits we are making in their hearts.

Post #7- Mexico - Del Norte 2

Today we went back to Del Norte to work for a couple of hours before lunch. After lunch, we took the children back with us to the base for a pool party, some singing and crafts. They loved it. Juanita was my little girl for the day. I'm not going to lie. If I thought I could get away with packing her in my suit case I would. I think all the MC students thought the same way about the kids they were watching as well.

After the children left, they opened the market to purchase all the Mexico junk you typically find in the real market place. The good news is that all the proceeds help the education fund. We then moved into debriefing where we began as usual ... sharing our mental picture or snap shot of the day. We concluded our week with an ice cream party for the team and the families at the base. Good times were had by all.

My highlights of the week...
1. Watching Brian Mizell leading the team in made up, on the spot hand motions for Spanish songs I don't think he had much of a clue on what the words were. I'm not sure what Brian Mizell got on the plane with us, but it wasn't the same one we had in the ATL. No other words could describe him but ABSOLUTELY HILARIOUS. He made me laugh so much I thought for sure I was going to wet my pants on more than one occasion.
2. Witnessing Megan say yes to courage and no to insecurity and fear. Watching her jump from a 40' tree on the ropes course made me grin ear to ear.
3. I can honestly say I didn't expect much out of Julianna in the way of work because of her health, but I was totally ok with that. As I told her, I needed her to bring energizing and encouraging spirit more than anything. I got that and so much more. She worked like a beast. I wish her parents could have seen some of the places she's been this week ... jumping out of a 40' tree, on top of a 12' wall slapping buckets of cement into holes, pushing a 50 lb wheelbarrow, lugging around a 40 lb kid and the list goes on. Outside of the airport, she was in her wheelchair maybe a total of 15 minutes, probably more like 10. Watching her this week was a beautiful site to behold.
4. Speaking of encouragement, Lisa takes the prize. What a sweet spirit and such an encourager ... I had no idea ... it was absolutely wonderful.
5. Watching Amanda scurry up the tree and play with kids made me incredible grateful about the fact that she leads in our junior high program.
6. There only one word for what Alissa shared in the circle tonight ... WOW! I'm excited to see what the next six weeks have in store for her.
7. Watching Kayla in action was such a site to behold. I don't think she's ever met a stranger in all of her life. The joy she lives out before us has been an encouragement each and every day.
8. I will never forget Brandi scaling the scaffold two or three stories up to weather proof the wall. You can face your fears or run from it. I think long ago Brandi decided to face them.
9. Kat got a 24 hour flue bug a couple of days ago. She had a puke feast one night and I hung out with her on the bathroom floor. I've never seen anyone handle being sick so well. Once again, our choices make all the difference in the world.

Post #6 - Mexico - Del Norte

On Thursday, we went to yet another orphanage called Del Norte. Del Norte was founded by a lady named Martha. Martha's nickname could be persistent. She went to the officials every other day for two years trying to get the land to build the children's home on. Guess what? Persistence pays off ... they gave her usage of the land for 90 years.

As Gabo talked about Martha his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. You can tell he had total buy into her vision. It was my reminder ... "Where there is vision, people will follow and join the effort." Martha not only takes care of the babies, but will the mothers as well.

For Martha, we had the opportunity to help pour the cement for an indoor play area for the little ones to get out of the heat. I've never seen anyone more dirtier than what Garrett came out looking like today. One of his jobs was to man handle the 80 lb bags of cement into the mixer, along with a few other duties. I don't know if it was the cement or the dirt, but he came out dusted from head to toe.

Another group dug a trench for landscaping in a flower bed, still others painted the gates and crawled up scaffolding to weather coat a wall. Brandi and Alyssa climbed the scaffold with their cat-like abilities. I about had a heart attack watching them do it.

At the end of the day, we had the opportunity to play with the kids and buy pastries out of the bakery that helps fund the children's home. It was yet another amazing day. I'm sure the work that God is doing in the children is amazing, but what is exceeding my expectation is the work he is doing in the team ... more on that later.

Post #5 - Mexico - Wednesday - Cadereyta

I'm a day behind on my blogging, but I will catch up. On Wednesday, we went to the Cadereyta. The Cadereyta is composed of squatters by the Rio moved by the government. They were moved with the promise of better provision (building supplies, electricity and plumbing), which some have received. However, the government's generosity has run its course.

The Cadereyta is a few steps up from the Rio I visited three years ago, but it is definitely still a poverty stricken area. There is hope in the Cadereyta though. We helped a pastor who feels called to serve and live in the Cadereyta. We assisted in the cement work of the community/worship center they are building, along with an apartment upstairs for him and his family.

Afterwards, we held a worship service under tarps. The pastor had someone lead worship and spoke a short message. The team did their two cool songs for the kids and then a number of our students shared testimonies of what the Lord has done and is doing in their lives. At the conclusion our team handed out gift bags to the kids and this ginormous wafer like crackers with cream, cheese and salsa on top. They must of tasted better than they looked, given both kids and parents gobbled them up.

We left the Cadereyta and went to Pollo Locos (or something like that) for dinner where we meet up with Ruby and a number of students from the Hope Program. What an amazing day. MC Atlanta represented today, as well as in the previous days. I am so stickin' proud of our team, words cannot express.

Post #5 - Mexico - Wednesday - Cadereyta

Post #5 - Mexico - Wednesday - Cadereyta

Post #5 - Mexico - Wednesday - Cadereyta

Post #4 - Mexico - Can you say T-I-R-E-D

What an amazing day. We started with our normal breakfast of toast, Frosted Flakes and bananas, then John briefed us on the vision of the Hope program and the work plans for the day. We mixed cement, poured stairs and a larger patio area for Matt and the gazillion kids he has in his house.

The sweat rolled off of our faces, as some hurled water and cement into the mixer, while others rolled wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow to where they were working. It tested both our strength and endurance.

Afterwards there was just enough time for lunch and a deep breath before the kids from Casa Hogar Douglas came. It was supposed to be a pool party, but it wasn't warm enough, so instead we played sports, did crafts and a few other things. The kids came in two groups, first the younger and then the older. We definitely left everything on the field today. I'm not sure we could have given more of ourselves. Most of the MC students are down at the pool swimming while I write. Everyone kind of wanted to play volleyball, but I don' think they have it in them at this point. Floating in a pool is about as much strength as they can come up with.

Well that's day three in Monterrey, Mexico. Next time I need to remember to pack Ben Gay in the First Aid Kit, along with a message therapist.

Post #3 - Mexico - Warning: Great Day Ahead

Today we will spend on campus working on housing for the Hope Program. The Hope Program is for students from the Children's Homes once they are in 10th grade. Basically in Mexico, free education ends after ninth grade. Only one in ten ever graduate from high school. So, some of older students from the children's homes are invited to come and be a part of the Hope Program after 9th grade, where they will be able to continue their education and have it paid for while living with house parents. For some, this is their first experience ever living in a family environment, and for others this is the first time they have ever lived in a "healthy" family environment for sure.

I was talking to Juan yesterday and he and his wife are the house parents for eight boys. A couple of them are studying computers, graphics design and culinary arts. The Coopers have another group of boys (along with six of their own kids), Garcia's have girls and Couch's boys ... there are a few other house parents, but I haven't met them yet.

I love the vision for Back2Back. They not only share the love of Jesus, but do AMAZING things to impact the generations to come by breaking the cycle of poverty and lack of education.

Enough said, I'm off to pour cement. Later today we will have the 70 kids from the Casa Hogar Douglas over for a pool party and cook out.

Post #2 - Mexico - Day 2

Today I remembered why I absolutely love Back2Back. One word ... organized, organized, organized! At Back2Back, there's enough to do and tools for everyone to get the job done.

We started out today doing work at another children's home, El Retiro Juvenil. El Retiro has about 48 kids. The team kicked tail by working on the ropes course, clearing brush, hanging lights and moving gravel to level out an outdoor type hut's floor before the pouring of cement in a couple of weeks. The hut will be used by the children for meals and activities.

After lunch, we did team building exercises in the back wooded area of the children's home. Why does a children's home have a kickin' awesome ropes course.? Well, most of the homes are near the city and they support themselves by selling baked goods. However, El Retiro Juvenil is in a more remote area, so they built a ropes course in a effort to bring businesses out there for team building exercises. We had a blast and laughed a lot with Juan, Antonio, Jose and Saul.

After our ropes course extravaganza, we played with children at the home and ate dinner with them. A good time was had by all as we showed the love of Jesus through our actions, attitudes and smiles. Too sum up today ... we worked and played hard.

I'm up blogging but everyone else crashed hard tonight after debriefing. It was a great day.

My highlights...

1. Meagan taking a "Leap of Faith" by scurrying up 40' foot of a tree and jumping off. I was so proud. I had a great talk with her at dinner as she told me her story.













2. Julianna did everything today. She cleared brush, did all the ropes course elements and played with kids without the use of her wheel chair. She knocked it out of the park.













3. James was a beast and such a great leader on the ropes course.












4. I had a great conversation about life lessons learned over the last year with Ashley.

5. Kayla is a gifted leader in countless ways.












6. Missy and Adrian just make me laugh ... all the time. I need that.
7. It was easy to tell that Amanda has climbed a few trees in her lifetime.
8. I had no idea how funny Garrett is ... he worked like a machine with the wheelbarrow too!

More later, the team is amazing. I've got to get some sleep, but here are a couple more pics before I go...

Post #1 - Mexico - We arrived

Yesterday we arrived ... without incident ... we were on time, made it through customs and were met by my AMAZING friend, Ruby, and Tim. All of our luggage made it too ... well, almost all of it. They lost one of the small bags, but it arrived today.

We dropped our stuff off and hit the ground running. They took us to to our first orphanage, Casa Hogar Douglas where we hung out with kids and cooked them dinner. Casa Hogar Douglas has about 70 kids there. Immediately they captured the hearts of our team. We loved well.

The weather here is perfect, while they were in the 100's last week, so far it's been in the 80's. Keep praying my friends, more great days ahead.

The Mann Clan

On their way back from Florida, Corey, Debbie and Chloe met Loretta, Whitney, Kira, Scott, Mike and me at the infamous Fat Matts for some BBQ chicken and ribs. The Mann Clann are just fun to be around ... all day long. While we only had a few hours, we made the best of them ... a pic to come.

We Took The Mountain

Yesterday was gorgeous ... sunny and 80. So Loretta, Whitney, Kira and I took on Stone Mountain. I realized way too often I'm locked at my desk behind a computer. I've come to the conclusion sweating is good for the soul.

I came back for a mission team meeting at 7 p.m. After spending some significant time in prayer at the end, I feel like both my head and my heart are in the right place. I love our team.

Cadre Legacy

31 of my peeps were in town the last couple of days for the first ever Cadre Reunion. We had a great time and God was at work for sure. I've never seen anything like what happened right out of the gate. 31 people willing to be vulnerable, hungry for Jesus and in passionate pursuit of Him ... yet, at the same time, battered and bruised by the sometimes brutal church world. I'd tell you about it, but then the secret would be out and we would never be able to do what we did again. That would stink! Anyway, came in early this morning to knock out some work, taking the afternoon off to go to Stone Mountain with one of my best friends in the whole wide world and her daughters, then off to Oxygen tonight. I think I will sleep well tonight, but not before I watch Kite Runner and eat some Chinese. I heart "The" Cadre and "The" Iron Group.

It's Official I've Turned Into One Of Them

When I first came to Atlanta I blogged about how they were texting addicts around here ... it's official, I've turned into one of them. It's 8:40 a.m. and I've already sent a dozen.

...And Tonight We Celebrated

Tonight we celebrated the 2nd year students who are being asked back for a 3rd year. It was cool. They were all told that they were going to be a part of a scavenger hunt brainstorming team that we are doing for our spring retreat. They were to meet PJ in the board room to brainstorm. Instead, there was no PJ, just envelopes with puzzle pieces in them. Evidently, at Michael's you can buy blank puzzles. On which they put a poem, letting them know of their acceptance and that they were to then meet the staff, who would be waiting for them at PF Changs. It was a great night ... especially since it means I get to keep my current Administrative Assistant Cherry for another year or two. I'm living in a creative microwave when it comes to unique ideas.

Everyone Should Have Some 20-Somethings Around Them

Today, Cherry, Alissa and I went near and to the University of Georgia to scope out some places for a certain undisclosed event. We had a blast. When we went onto UGA's campus it was swarming with 20-somethings running, playing soccer and hanging out given the skies were blue and it was about 78 degrees. The great time I was having with the girls and seeing all of the others made me realize everyone should surround themselves with at least a handful of 20-somethings. They can take a great day and make it better with their laughter, hunger to learn and energy. It made me remember the Monday evenings back home I spent with Ruby, Jeanna, Jerica, Jermemy, Jason and Naomi. Great times!

Ben, Cherry and Alissa

It's 11:45 p.m. and Ben, Cherry and Alissa just raced out of my office to make curfew back at the apartments. Cherry is my administrative assistant and Alissa is Jeanne's. It was fun taking time out to talk and laugh with them. All three of them are amazing and could do just about anything in life they put their hand too. If you look at Ben you think of Mr. Basketball, if you listen to Alissa you think ridiculous amounts of wisdom/loyalty and if you look at Cherry you think both stunning and smart.

It wasn't too long before Cherry and Alissa got caught up in Alissa's wedding plans. It was cute. At which time, Ben grabbed a seat in my office and fired off some fun questions at me. He asked me something like, "When you meet Jesus, what will He say is the one thing He was really glad you did?" I told him, "loved them all the same - the five star, the average kid and the underdog." I then reversed the question and he said "loved the homeless." When Ben talked about the conversations he's had with the homeless, his eyes lit up like I hadn't seen before. In fact, it was interesting seeing this five star kid tear up when talking about a homeless man he met in Cincinnati at the Group conference.

He then asked me, "Judy what do you think your purpose is?" I told him "I don't know, I'm trying to work that out." I threw it back, "What do you think my purpose is?" I gave all three of them a shot. Ben said it was to do YLC and mentor MC students, Cherry said it was junior high and mentor MC students, and Alissa said it was to be an armor bearer of Jeanne. I thought all were interesting perspectives. I then tossed back to Ben and asked him "What he thought his purpose was?" We got back on the conversation of the homeless and I challenged him to pour some more fuel on that fire and see where God takes him. We went on to talk about Kurt Salierno and I let him read the story of Max.

Before I knew it, 11:45 p.m. was here. Have I said lately how much I love the Master's Commission students. I think they will keep me young for quite awhile.

Women's Ministry

Laurie was out of town yesterday, so I made the 6 a.m. Sunday morning airport run to pick up Jeanne. She did this whirlwind trip to Seattle, leaving Friday morning and flying back all throughout the night on Saturday.

On the way to her house she said she was tired (that was a first) and asked if I wanted to speak for her Sunday night at our church's women's ministry deal. I told her I could whip something up, "no problem." Inside, I was thinking "Judy, what in the world are you agreeing to?" Long story short, I actually had a great time. I spoke on "Who will fight for this generation?" The cool thing about adult ministry over youth ministry is they actually say "thank you." However, still would take youth ministry over it any day.

Southern Accent

While I'm trying ... I don't think I will ever get used to southern accents.

A Bee's Haven

When I got back from Easter I was telling Jeanne how it must of rained yellow dirt while I was gone ... my car was covered. She laughed and said that's not dirt, that's pollen. Glad I don't have allergies!

Never Saw That Before

I was working late and took a break to look out the window and walks by a FOX! Seen pictures, but never one upclose and personal. Don't know why I shared that, but a fox in the city seemed unique to me. Do foxes bite?

You Know You Are Tired When...

I'm one of those people who doesn't need much sleep ... in fact, one of the MC students introduced me to his mom this week saying this is "Judy, she's awesome...she's has this superpower that enables her to go without sleep." Anyway, while that was an exaggeration, it was funny this weekend. I pulled a really, really late nighter on Thursday night. So on Friday, I laid down to take a nap at 7 p.m., just needed to close my eyes for a few. When I woke up, it as 9 ... so my blurry vision thought, after a few seconds I realized it wasn't 9 p.m., but actually 6 a.m. So much for my superpower.

Source and Youth Leader's Coach

It's late and I got to get on home ... but Jeanne's Source, HOME SWEET HOME, and Youth Leaders's Coach, 15 THINGS TO DO WHEN YOU ARE BORED WITH YOUR OWN YOUTH SERVICE are ready for FED-EX!

An Encouraging Word Can Make Your Day Better!

It was just an "ok" day until I got this email from a friend I think the world of back home...

Just wanted to give you a shout out. Was going to comment on your blog (which, btw, I love), but decided to shoot you an email instead.

Sorry I missed you this weekend. Thought I might catch you after the noon service (hey, my spies are everywhere). I've been thinking a lot about how much of an impact you've had on my life. It seems like I'm constantly running into situations where I hear your words of wisdom echoing in my head!

The one that has really come into play a lot lately is "When kids come to us with a problem, they usually aren't looking for an answer. What they need from us is an ear, a hug, and a prayer."

Don't know if it's a coincidence, or if it's the direction God is taking my ministry, but it seems like lately I've had a lot of kids that have come to me with stuff going on in their life. That use to freak me out, because my default mode is to think I have to be the "Answer Guy" and solve the problem, which is just way too much to expect.

Now, though, I hear you saying that, and I just take a deep breath and focus on really hearing them and letting them know I'm there with them in that moment. It is amazing how much of a difference that seems to make for them. It makes me determined to be even more intentional about communicating that I have time for them, that I want to be there.

Anyways, I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate you and love you. You are a blessing! I was just talking to some kids this week and they were saying how much they miss you.

When you've made an impact on someones life, even in small ways, and see it ripple out further, it's a cool thing.

Thank you my dear friend for making my day!

Cadre Legacy Reunion and Randomness

Mind dump...

Jeanne and I spent time on the way home from lunch at the Atlanta Bread Company planning for Cadre Legacy's Reunion. So far, I've only been apart of pulling off what someone else has planned. This is my first opportunity to be on the brainstorming side. It's been good times. She's brilliant ... Dave's brilliant ... hopefully, one day too, I will become brilliant ... just kidding. We've got some pretty cool stuff planned. Pray for sunshine and the 25-30 youth pastors that will be apart of it, may it be refreshing to their souls.

One year from tonight, our NYLC conference will be history ... over, completo. I told Jeanne that we need to make sure we take time to do a victory dance the night afterwards and eat at PF Changs. Way too often, I finish one thing and rush onto the gazillion other things that piled up while I was doing the one thing. I'm absolutely horrible at taking the time to celebrate the win and give Jesus thanks. She texted back and said they took 3 days off after the conference in 05 and even ate at PF Changs ... score! Pray that we seal the deal on a few things so we can move forward in a couple of other areas so thousands of youth pastors will have the opportunity to be encouraged and trained. Pray that you and I both take the time to celebrate God grace, mercy and victories before moving onto the next thing.

I spent Easter weekend at home. GCC's glow stick viral weekend rocked. My sister and her husband spent hours sanding and refinishing their hardwood floors. Mental note to self: stick with carpet. It was fun watching them work together though. I got to see my great niece. She's the cutest. I miss her ... and, of course, the rest of my fam and friends too. Karen, Hilary, Wendy, Tammy, Blake, the amazing Ekema sisters and I made Easter Baskets for the YWCA again ... 42 of them and they were jammed packed. It's like the fourth year running. It reminded me of the importance of traditions. As I do youth ministry, I need to remember that more often ... traditions mark you, especially when they involve serving. I'm making some great new friends her in the ATL. It's been fun, but I forgot how long it takes for lasting friendship to take root. Pray for traditions in my family and yours.

It was a great night at Oxygen. Dave knocked it out of the park talking about amnesia ... our forgetfulness and need to remember. I sat with a 6th grade girl who lives at some kind of boarding school (I don't think it's necessarily the good kind). Her name was Holly. I wish you could hear some of the stories of the kids in this youth ministry, it'd rip you up. I love doing ministry here, but wish I had more time. In the next few days, I hope to take my Mexico mission team to downtown Atlanta to work with Church on the Street again. Pray that our hearts would not grow numb to the mental, emotional, physical and spiritual pain locally and globally.

It was just the home team tonight, MC is on Spring Break. I miss the "MC hallway dwellers" (that's what I call them at lunchtime when there are a bunch of them sitting in the hallway on their laptops). They really light up my days with smiles and laughter. I can't imagine this summer when we are going to have to do life without them. The good news is that there will be even more next year. Interviews are ahead for next year, pray the right ones are selected for whatever reason God might intend.

Looking forward to Friday. I'm going to spend some long needed qualtiy time with Jesus on Stone Mountain. I've got the itch to write again. It's supposed to be sunny and 77. Sun, Stone Mountain and 77 are good for my soul. Pray for the stuff swirling in my head.

Pray for the 20 I'm taking to Back2Back in Mexico in 2 1/2 weeks. We're going to serve the poor, but the reality is that a bunch of them are poor and finances are tight. In faith, I fronted some of the money ... pray that they work hard on their spring break and people are beyond generous.

This post is too long ... thanks for listening ... and praying!

People I'd Like to Meet ... Chet Cadieux

Chet Cadieux is the CEO of QuikTrip. I never even heard of him until today when I looked QT up on the internet, but he must have it going on. Every QuikTrip I go to here in Atlanta is packed out. The one by our church, in particular, is even busy at 3 a.m. The pumps are full, the parking spots are taken and the store always has people scurrying around in it. It can't just be that they have cheap fountain drinks that sets them apart. I do know their cashiers are lighting fast ... never seen anything like it ... ever! It's kind of funny though, they talk at the same rate of speed in which they cashier. I wonder if a pre-requisite for working there is that you have to drink a 64 oz Energy Drink before you go on duty. Nonetheless, I would love to interview the guy.

Fun QT facts:

1. They aren't all across the country ... yet.

2. They earned 5.86 billion in revenue in 2004, wonder what 2008 has in store?

3. They are listed in Fortune 500 as one of the 100 Best Companies To Work For

4. Their core values are...

... Be the Best
... Focus Long Term
... Do What's Right for QT
... Never Be Satisfied
... Do the Right Thing

Myspace And Facebook Tell All

Mark Beeson made a fantastic post entitled "Live Smart Young Friend! People Are Watching Us..." here. Thinking about it made me laugh out loud just a few moments ago. I'm looking over some resumes for a friend of mine in Indiana. So, I took the person's name applying for a position and ran a search on myspace. The first one I found shows the guy applying for the position flipping off the camera. Let's see ... I think we can toss that one ... don't ya think?

I Heart the Cadre

We just came off of three days of Cadre Prestige. They fly in on Sunday, spend Monday and Tuesday at Jeanne's house and fly out on Wednesday. It's a whirlwind! A friendship transformation has occurred from the fall to spring that was a cool sight to behold. I honestly believe some of these guys/girls will be lifelong friends. We ended last night at 4 a.m. ... yes, that is correct, 4 a.m. ... it made for early airport runs since the first pick up occurred at 4:45 a.m. (I'm so proud, I didn't have to cover for one MC student this round).

The next Cadre (Legacy) is in 18 days, Mexico the week after that, then another Cadre (Litmus) on it's heels (literally, it begins 18 hours after I land).
We had a great night of worship at Oxygen tonight and now I'm on to finishing up reviewing the edits of Source and Youth Leader's Coach.

Good times ... good times ... but I'm glad I'm taking a few days off this weekend.

Are you ok?

You know it's good to be loved ... no, let me correct that, it's great! I received a ton of phone calls and emails asking "Am I ok?" We've had some pretty wicked weather here in Atlanta, that's for sure. I would say that Indiana weather is slow and long (like when a snow storm sits on top of you FOREVER!) and Atlanta weather is fast. The storms in recent days raced through here! It hailed so hard last night that I thought my car was going to have new found dimples, but it weathered the storm (too bad it didn't weather the rock the semi shot at my window the night before on 285) .

It's been a tough couple of days. Today we had to let one of our MC student go for significant poor choices. She was one of my favorites and has leadership giftings oozing out of her. I got the chance to talk with her right before she left for home. I hope she heard me. She seemed to, but the days ahead will say for sure.

Then, tonight we cancelled our 02 event "Find Your Leader" because of weather. Thay take their weather a little more seriously than we do in Indiana. I did get to hang with my Mexico Back2Back team for a couple of hours today. We brainstormed stuff, cooked a Mexican lunch together, then watched August Rush for fun. I had a teach time deal I was going to do, but the meeting took place right after the MC student was let go, so the timing seemed off.

Well, that's been my weekend in a nutshell, along with Cadre prep.

Thoughts on Master's Commission Atlanta

Just came out of a missions team meeting for Back2Back in Mexico. We had an incredible time learning all about Back2Back (I made them read the booklet in groups of 3-4 and act out a couple of skits - the human soccerball and lice ones were particularly funny), diving into Lesson 1 of the devo and just laughing hystarically at Bacari translating it all into street language. I came away thinking how much I love this intern'ish like program we run for nearly 90 students. If fact, I think it's just about one of the coolest thing on earth ... but at the same time, ever so messy ... messy ... messy. It's a pretty ginormous undertaking, even at its finest. When you live up close to so many people, eventually who people "really are" surfaces. And when they surface, we have the oportunity to embrace, encourage, confront, correct and redirect, and all that good stuff. However, if you're not up for the Master's Level Course in Relationship Building 501, I don't suggest it. But, if you are, I don't think there is anything more rewarding. Some of our future business leaders, senior pastors and youth pastors are in our midst. I'm pretty much sold on the program.

The Hoosier Takes Them All

We had a great small group 02 night. We're still averaging 40 in our junior high group. While I love playing a significant role in the junior high ministry, I'm getting the itch to dive in deeper. We have AMAZING kids.

This weekend we're heading to the park to hang out, throw a football and other stuff on Friday. Then on Saturday, we're doing a "Find Your Leaders" hunt at the mall. I've never done the mall deal before, but it sounds like a total blast. Basically in a nutshell, the leaders of the group dress up in such a way that it makes it difficult for the kids to spot them. Then the students walk the mall looking for them. I don't know if they gather their signatures or what, but it should be a hoot.

One of the highlights of tonight was when some of the girls and big boys were playing knockout in the gym. With nothing but pure net, I took out the last guy in the line ... it was a beautiful sight to behold. This Hoosier's got skill ... maybe I should of warned them ... NOT!

Home for the Holiday

I'm not sad to say that I've been back home in Indiana about every 6-8 weeks since moving to Atlanta ... some for great reasons, others not so much. I'm looking forward to being home for Easter weekend soon. We've got a couple of great months ahead, but they have the potential to kick us in our tail. Here are just a few of the "big chunks" ...

March 17-18 ... Cadre Prestige Advance for about 40 youth pastors
April 7-8 ... Cadre Legacy Reunion for about 30 youth pastors
April 13-19 ... Back2Back Mission Trip in Monterray Mexico with 20 MC Students
April 21-22 ... Cadre Litmus Advance for about 35 youth pastors
May 2-3 ... Oxygen Spring Retreat for about 250 students and leaders
May 12-13 ... Cadre Epic Advance for about 40 youth pastors

That doesn't include any youth groups stuff, NYLC 2009 conference prep, product development, conference calls, web development, Source and YLC monthly resource production, staff oversight to the technical arts and accounting departments, etc. Does it sound like I'm whinning ... well, I think I might be! The goal in all of it is to stay sane, be fully present in each one, and maybe even celebrate a few moments before moving on to the next event. The good news is that I have AMAZING teammates all around.

Ten Secret Needs A Student Will Never Tell You They Have

1. I need to FEEL like you really WANT TO BE WITH ME.
2. I need ENCOURAGEMENT, probably more than I care to admit.
3. I need you to REMEMBER my name. It's my most valuable possession.
4. I need you to ask me about my HOPES, DREAMS, FAMILY AND LIFE.
5. I need SPRINKLINGS of WISDOM, but not too much. We are all educated way beyond our level of obedience.
6. I need you to CHALLENGE me to stay in the game.
7. When I mess up, I need you to not ABANDON me.
8. I need you to INVITE me to be a part of YOUR life.
9. I need you NOT to always have an AGENDA.
10. I need you to give me appropriate HUGS and tell me that you LOVE me ... A LOT!

It Felt Good To Come Up For Air

I just got back into town from Kansas City. Josh Mayo and I kicked back in the airport and talked middle school ministry, then Mike and I went to dinner and dreamed ministry God-size dreams.

This weekend, while I did some ministry stuff, it felt like I hit the pause button and took time to breathe. Words cannot even describe how busy life has been over the last eight weeks. I know when I hear myself say out loud, "I have to slow this thing down," I'm too busy. But this weekend, other than the two leader breakout sessions I did, I got to chill on the sidelines. I was able to laugh at the skitiots, stand in awe of the sand art guy, be wowed by the science guy, be a proud friend watching my pals do their thing on stage with excellence, and take advantage of my pathway to Jesus by entering into worship.

Sometimes, I forget how healthly it is to take a break now and then. It was good for my soul.

Stuck in the Middle Conference

Just finished up my leader breakout sessions at the Stuck in the Middle student conference in Kansas City. It was on "Redefining Success in Middle School Small Groups" I loved it, loved it, loved it and got a great response.

The Stuck conference is being put on by my good friend, Sean Meade. Sean and I got to know each other at the Summit a couple of years ago. He's doing an amazing job of creating a middle school conference that is both fun and spiritually engaging. The theme is the "The Story". I'm so looking forward to hearing Sean speak tonight.

I give five start ratings to...

***** Jason Raitz spoke for the first two general sessions. I met Jason at the Summit as well and have been looking forward to hearing him speak. He is an AMAZING storyteller and connected with the students.

***** Joe Castillo did this SAND ART stuff that rocked my world. Seriously, it was an art form that held the students captive and, most importantly, was all about telling the creation story of God.

***** Steven Jacobs (aka Jake the Science Guy) works for Discovery Network. Among other cool things, he blew up a balloon with some funky gases in it and created a explosion you could hear and feel in your chest. He tied all of his experiments to a teaching on the Holy Spirit, which was AWESOME.

The uniqueness of Jason with his storytelling, Joe with his sand art and Jake's display of crazy science experiments turned the head of this, somewhat jaded, conference goer.

Third time in as many weeks

Three times over the last three weeks I've been asked this question, "If you were hiring a middle school pastor, what is the one thing you would look for in that individual?" I couldn't come up one one, but landed on two...

1. Integrity and character above reproach.
2. An authentic love for middle school students.

Of course, skill set is up there, but I've come to the conclusion that a good chunk of that can be taught.

Zowee, what a week and it's only Wednesday

Let me have a moment to brag on my boss before I share nuggets of wisdom. Honestly, Jeanne is quite possible the hardest working person I've ever met (and one of the smartest ones too). I've walked with her through the last few days, not doing the half the hard stuff she's doing. Here's her week...

Sunday
Preached the Sunday morning servie
Did the church luncheon that moved into the Business Meeting
Entertained YLC board members coming into town

Monday and Tuesday
Knocked it out of the park running the board meeting that let's just say was very successful, but went from 9 a.m. until late in the evening.

Wednesday
Preached at Oxygen
Then, spoke with youth pastors/leaders of an Alabama church for over an hour
Then, went out with one of the students in Oxygen for a Coke around 11 p.m. ... can you say, still in the trenches?

Thursday
Among other things, will do do two 2-hour conference calls with youth pastors

This weekend
Is out of town speaking in Houston, then on to Colorado to brainstorm something

So, I know she's exhausted ... shoot, I'm exhausted ... but I sat in tonight on the time with the Alambama leaders. I think I took more note than they did. Here are just a few of the nuggets tossed to them...

One of the leaders asked what the hardest thing she's ever had to deal with. Jeanne went on to talk about her husband getting fired in Rockford. She gave this illustration of what transpired after that using the analogy of corn.

When a kernal of corn falls to the ground, this is what happens...
It becomes invisble in the dirt and, in time, the crusty exterior begins to soften. The starch mixes with the chemicals in the ground and turns it into sugar. From it, a sweetness begins to develop. A sweetness of yourself in Jesus begins to mature. You don't want to grow to fast above ground (that's what weed killer does ... causes it to grow too fast above ground to the point that the root structure can't sustain it). (Note: I totally destroyed that analogy so just read between the lines, you'll get it)

When you're in the spotlight your friends find you, when suddenly you're not, you find your friends.

Not everyone likes a hero but everyone likes someone who makes them feel like a hero.

Most people can't survive their own success. I just choose not to believe my own press reviews.

If you prepare the message and the messanger, God will open up the pulpits.

The largest pulpit is no more annointed than the smallest crowd. How faithful you are with three will detmine how faithful you'll be with 3,000. Success is found in your obedience not in your numbers. Too often we get more caught up in growing our own youth ministry than our own heart for Jesus. Do not despise the day of small beginnings.

My job is to make my leaders heroes.

History will be kind to me because I will write it!

Board Meeting #3

I've been a part of three board meetings in the last 2 1/2 weeks (not to be confused with the business meeting). Today and tomorrow is Youth Leader's Coach. I must admit that I've enjoyed all three ... but particularly this one! The people on Jeanne's board are AMAZING and I mean AMAZING men and women of God. We have four new board members joining us and they ROCK!

The dreams these businessmen and businesswomen have are INSPIRING and are going to catapult YLC into the future. What transpired in the board meeting was nothing less than a miracle ... it's every ministry leader's dream. Thank you Jesus!

Business Meeting

The church had it's annual business meeting after service today ... one word ... BORING! I know I'm not supposed to be negative on the good ol' blog, but oh my gosh! Thank you GCC for never having one of those.

On the bright side, our board members are the coolest of the cool. I'm looking forward to getting to know them more in the coming days. Plus, I serve a great church and senior pastor. However, even their coolness and the fact that this is a great church couldn't help that meeting.

I have VERY mixed emotions on the church members electing new board members I might add. You get the wrong one in there and OUCHY mama. Fortunately that's not going to be a problem for us this go around. While I understand the "why" behind the "what," I'm not diggin' the whole process. GCC I now know why you do what you do even more so than ever before.

Atlanta Today and Yesterday

Three Words ... Sunny and 70!

Source and Youth Leader's Coach

I just finished the edits of this month's Source, Dungeon of Depression, and Youth Leader's Coach, Building Something That Will Last, and it is off to reproduction. The content in the Source is amazing. Among other things, there are two short skits in it that are GOLDEN.

For my friends out there that don't know. They are both monthly resources. The Source contains the audio, notes, fill-ins, skits, discussion questions, stories, etc. of one of Jeanne's teach times each month. Youth Leader's Coach is 60-70 minutes brilliant words of wisdom from the master on leadership each month.

First Four and Many More to Come

When I was at Granger, my heart's desire was to create kickin' cool small group DVD curriculum complete with a 5-7 minute video intro, 5-7 minute video closing, discussion questions, graphics, postcards, etc. Unfortunately there was never time (although compared to my schedule now, I had all the time in the world).


When I came down to Atlanta, I pitched the idea to Jeanne and she had buy-in. So, we took the perfect script, her Uncensored book, and started making DVD curriculum. The first four (each with two videos a piece) came out for the Group Conference in Cinncinati. Honestly, while I'd give the material used for the DVD's an "A+++" rating, I'd only give the DVD's a "B" rating. But, as I told the guys, we're out of the gate. We'll take the next four a level higher with the simple use of a tri-pod, another camera and a little more editng time (with a gazillion things going on around here, we shot, edited and produced the eight videos in two weeks). In fact, Sterling is on his way to pick up a new camera for us now.


We showed a couple of the videos in Jeanne's workshop and they had buy-in too. We sold 140 videos. Evidently we hit a felt need. Below is the DVD cover all jacked up. For some reason instead of the vibrant black and red colors, it imported into my blog gray and blue ... go figure. I'm not a photoshop wizard to know how to fix it.

The Next 10 Days

Crazy busy, fun days. Here's what I'm looking at over the next 10 days...
* Prepare for and present youth leader workshop for Stuck in the Middle conference in Kansas City at my pal Sean's shindig. Can't wait.
* Do a two hour middle school conference call for 40 youth pastors. Love it.
* Help accounting department prepare for church business meeting and board meeting. Just ok.
* Help prepare for Youth Leader's Coach board meeting. Will be a party once the work is done.
* Ramp up for March 17-18 Prestige Advance. Fun stuff, worth the work, Jeanne's fun to watch in action. When we do the front end well, the event is a piece of cake.
* Ramp up for the next 8 videos for Uncensored.
* Work on a gazillion other product development ideas.

Group Conference Wrap Up

The last day and half of the Group Conference rocked, here were my highlights...

* Jeanne let me have the mic for about 15 minutes in one of her sessions to talk about middle school small groups. I felt like I got promoted for a game in the big leagues (especially when Jeanne took me to a gathering of the big dawgs) ... even if just for a few minutes, it was a blast.

* I stopped in at the PDYM gathering to see some old friends and stole some books. Went out with Josh and some other guys afterwards. I know I saw another female start out with us, but it must have been my imagination. It was a little awkward at first being the only female, but the guys were great and the conversations as well.

* Greg Stier is just plan the bomb. He tore it up Sunday night talking about "Challenging Conversations."

* While I had heard of him before, this seventh grade boy named Austin was priceless. He's already helped to build a school and medical clinic in Zambia. He's done more by the age of 13 than most people do in a lifetime. How did he do it you might ask? By creating a fundraising deal called "Hoops for Hope" where you shoot basketballs ... my kind of fundraiser.

* Ok, I can't remember the climber dudes name, but he was incredible. I loved the way they ended the conference this morning with some of his video stuff and reflective questions. It messed me up. It was a nice change from the speaker/worship leader one-two punch. I wonder if they did that every morning? (we were prepping during the morning session for the small group track, so this was the first morning session we hit)

* The interactive clickers used were awesome.

* There were a noticeable lack of laptop computers amongst the audience. What does that mean? During the evening session, Jeanne, Mike, Austin and I looked like freaks among the masses with the glow from the computers on our face.

* We busted it until 3:30 a.m. the day of the conference, then drove 7 hours, to get the DVD small group curriculum there by registration. It was so worth it. We sold 125 of the 140 copies. While we've got a lot of tweaking to do for the next set, I'm grateful Jeanne had buy-in when I pitched the idea to her back in July. My boss/friend is truly amazing, encouraging and empowering. I can't tell you how many times she "lent me her status" this weekend.

* I introduced Andrew to Kurt Johnston and Scott Rubin. I am continually amazed at Kurt and Scott's humility.

* Mike and I had a great ride on the way home. I hit him about five times while we were brainstorming what "our conference will look like one day." Ok, we were dreaming but we had such good ideas that I got overcome with the desire to hit something, so I chose him ... seriously, they were really great ideas.

* Jeanne is so stinkin' brilliant. She had the MC students call/text the people at each of their tables during the first lunch on Saturday. On the ride back, a couple of them texted Mike and thanked him for helping to make the session great. The other cool thing was watching the MC students make the finish line (or in this case starting line) deal where you cheer people on. So many of the youth leaders loved it, they went back out of the room just to re-enter it.