Merry Christmas. December 25th, Entry #53.

Sara:  I won't say much today.  I just wanted to share 2 great things with you that we have come across that I think are great and just darn Christmasy.  Merry Jesusday and never forget the reason for the season.


#1  This video was forwarded to us from Mr. Ogilvie....Aaron's dad, not actually Aaron himself.  Jesus has gone high-tech.

   

#2  And this one...well...let's just say that I am glad to claim Mikey for Kansas City and the Archdiocese.

       

Hide and Seek. December 21st, Entry #52.

Sara:  So, Erica and Sara came and visited Aaron and I in the office today.  We just hung out and chatted for a bit.  First they finished finals (woohoo), then they went to Starbucks and then they went to Target and then they went to Erica's house to give Erica's mom her coffee from Starbucks because she didn't like it.....it tasted too much like coffee, but that tends to happen when you put a shot of ESPRESSO in your drink....and then they came and hung out with us.  Well really, they came to give us gum.  I know, right, kind of weird.  But Sara gave me a piece of gum and then I made her feel bad about not giving Aaron one. so she did, that was nice.  And at the end of our little adventure they decided to hide 2 more pieces of gum in my office for me to find later.  And find them I did...I am quite the detective.

The first one was in my printer.

 And the second one was in my desk drawer.

Sherlock Holmes don't have nothing on me!!

Fun with Escalators. December 10th, Entry #51.

Sara:  boys + escalators = laughs for everyone else.

Try to guess who will trip and fall down: Mikey or Kyle.

So, so, so proud to get to work with this guy.

Youth Ministry Draft. December 10th, Entry #50.

Sara: I would like to share with you one of the funniest conversations about youth ministry that I have ever heard.  At the NCCYM conference we were sitting around one evening hanging out, chatting and laughing while in the background there was a Sports Center baseball story about who has been traded to whom and for how much and how long their contracts were, etc.  Now, I don't remember who exactly said what, but I do remember the gist of the story and I'm pretty sure that Mikey started it.

"What if there was a news story about youth ministers getting traded to another parish?"
"Chris Walters has just been traded to Holy Trinity with a 7 year contract for 1.4 thousand a year!"
"Oh man!  He's making a fortune!"
"What minor league parish did he come from?"
"Man, Holy Trinity, he's making it big in the majors."
"What if there was a Youth Minister draft?"
"We've got a new graduate from Benedictine with a major in theology and 2 years experience working at camp AND he can play the guitar...he ought to be in the top 5 drafts picks for sure."
"Even better...we could have a fantasy league!"

And then we sent a step further and decided that we should extend this to seminarians.

"This year Sacred Heart is going to make a strong start with their rookie out of Kenrick Glennon Seminary."
"And then we could have trading cards for each of the seminarians."
"And kids could try and collect them all"
"Hey look, I just got a Jeff Lamont!"
"Yeah? I've got Archbishop Naumann!  Beat that!"
"Ha!  Pope card!  I win!!"

seewhatididthere? December 10th, Entry #49.

Sara: While I blog a lot about Kyle and Chris, there is another YM that'd I like to highlight....Mr. Mikey Needleman.  You all know him, most of you love him, he's half the reason that my kiddos want to go to rallies and retreats.... "oh, Mikey's playing, we have to go!"....this is not an exaggeration.  But, I will admit, I just haven't ever known him very well.  This is probably due to the fact that he's an up-and-coming celebrity and therefore really busy and I'm just awkward and lame.  I think that sums it up pretty well.

However, I got to spend a lot of time with Mikey this past week and let me just say...he is totally worth all the hype.  Here are a few things I learned about Mikey: he is half Puerto Rican, he has a great story about how he started dating his girlfriend, he is ridiculously hilarious, he would have stayed up until 3am every night if we had let him, he can rock the sweater vest and the boy knows his stuff!  He is one solid Catholic dude.

Well, our dear friend Mikey led a breakout session at this conference entitled "Effectively creating and maintaining a choir/band".  And of course we all had to attend his session and support him even though I have absolutely nothing to do with music in our church.

See, doesn't he rock the sweater vest? 
And he looks so professional!

Now, I did mention that Mikey is hilarious....and not only is Mikey hilarious, he is up for anything.  So, when we decided at lunch (1 hour before his session) that we were going to come up with a list of 10 things that Mikey needed to somehow slip into his presentation...he was totally up for it.  And, if he got at least 5 out of the 10, he would get one giant group hug from us....I know, right, how lucky was he! 

Here is the list and the ones that he succeeded in saying

X  Stapler
    Toaster
    I like to skateboard!
X  SeewhatIdidthere?
    Sweater vests
    Doodie Burger (thanks Kyle for this very mature phrase)
    Whoop! Whoop! Whoop!
X  Party in the USA
X  Light the Fire
X  Beef and Cheese

Impressive.  Very impressive.

Also, Mikey had a knack for shortening words that really didn't need to be shortened...so we all enjoyed giving him a hard time about that later.  For instance:
"Here are some obvies to play for an opening song"  Actual word: obvious
"Here are some suggests for Advent"  Actual word: suggestions
And, my favorite phrase of the session: let's pray it out.  Yeah team, we got a big mass coming up, we got to play for Jesus, we got to stay focused, we got to win the gold, "LET'S PRAY IT OUT!".

Shaky Face. December 11th, Entry #48.

Sara: You know the game...I first learned it from Hope Piernick on a trip to Omaha...you know you've played...and if you haven't, you're going to want to after you see these pictures.

It's a simple premise....you shake your face, I take a picture in the middle of it.  See how talented and gorgeous your Johnson County Youth Ministers (and a few random people along the way) are.

Doesn't it look like Kyle is smashed up against a window right now?

Really bad mug shot.

I like Kyle creepin' in the background.  Sorry Chels.

Cdub wasn't very good at this game.  He always looked down.

Sonie, our waitress.  Somehow she looks like a model in this shot.  Not fair.

The eyes rolling back into the head...favorite part.

Mike Debus....our famous artist friend.  BEST lips out of everyone!

Jackie Francois.  She didn't know what she was getting into
when she became friends with us.

Thank you, Shawn, for the tongue.  Love it.

There is absolutely NO WAY to do shaky face and look attractive.

Mikey looks like a horse.

Tonya, our waitress at the restaurant at the airport.



McKabe, new friends we made at the airport.

  

Heather, our other friend from the airport.

I loved that we would meet people and within 10 minutes of talking to them we got them to do shaky face.  You can't stop the magic of shaky face.  Embrace it.  Share the love.  Spread the shaky face.

NCCYM. December 8th, Entry #47.

Sara:  So, just a preface....there are about to be numerous blog posts about one awesome week that we just spent in New Orleans.  I say numerous because there were just too many awesome things that happened/were said/made us laugh/made us think/made us laugh some more.  And for the sake of your eyes and the sake of my poor little fingers, I am not going to try and put them into one giant post.  So, sit back, relax and partake of our fabulous week.

So, first up...the details.  Aaron and I traveled to New Orleans to attend the National Conference on Catholic Youth Ministry....NCCYM for short.  We partied with 2,500 other YMs from around the country...we even met some from Canada! (America's hat)  And we were fortunate enough to be with about a dozen awesome people from our own Archdiocese....Chris Walters, Chelsea Schmidt, Dana, Debbie and Mary Eloise Nearmyer, Mike Debus, Mikey Needleman, Kyle Kuckleman, Rick Cheek, Joe Peterson, and even though he just moved and is no longer in our diocese but I'm going to count him anyways, Shawn Madden.  Totally awesome, right??  Right.

We got to hob-nob with Catholic youth minister type celebrities.  We got to be part of a flash mob dance. (down below, we're in the background, look for us)  We learned more about each other than we probably ever wanted to know.  We toured New Orleans.  We teased Kyle when he was star struck with these Catholic YM celebrities.  We ate a lot of Cajun food.  I got to reconnect with old friends that I have met at other conferences. I literally laughed until my face hurt.  We were challenged and inspired by people such as Mark Hart and Fr. Larry Richards.  We talked a lot about poop (you spend that much time with more boys than girls and it's bound to happen).  All in all I'd say it was a pretty great week.

Oregon Trail. December 1st, Entry #46.

Sara: Just a quote from AP FLOCK last night.  Not much introduction I need to give this one.

Jane: my sister has a Mrs. Claus bonnet.
Joe: a bonnet?  Did she wear it on the Oregon Trail?
Aaron: Nice 90's computer game reference!!
Aaron: Dang it!  I died of dysentery!
Joe: My son got hit by a wagon!

I flippin' loved this game when I was in elementary school!  Long live the Oregon Trail!

Back to where it all began. November 16th, Entry #45.

Sara:  Today we played Whirlyball.  It. Was. Epic.  This is where it all began.  And by "it", I mean this blog.  It was at Power Play 3 months ago that C-dub, Kyle, Aaron and myself threw our laser guns into the center of our huddle and shouted on 3 "best job ever!!".  After we had epic amounts of fun that day we decided we needed to return to this haven of fun with more youth ministers to play Whirlyball...possibly the best game ever invented.  After weeks of messing with everyone's schedules we finally decided on a day that lots of us could make.  We got very excited.  Aaron started practicing.  On game day C-dub emailed us all that we couldn't play.  Alas, someone else had booked the whirlyball courts from 1pm-10pm that day.  (i mean really...who is playing that much whirlyball on a school day anyways??)  But, we did not lose hope.  The manager was excited that a bunch of youth ministers wanted to play whirlyball (she figured we were coming to see if we would want to bring our own youth groups soon...we let her keep thinking that) so she said that we could come back next week and play for free.  And play we did.  We played and we played...we played through broken throwers, broken whiffle balls, bloody fingers, whiplash, pent-up aggression towards each other, really bad aim, bruised knees, sweaty tushes and carts that would sometimes stop working for no apparent reason.  But the game must go on.

Our whole group.  Don't we look intimidating?  No?  Ok, I'll just settle for good looking.



Kyle was really excited to play.  He was taking video before we even stated playing.



Chelsea halfway through our game....this is an exhausting game.  It really is.

The Red group.  They were good, just not as good as my group!



I actually drew blood from Chris!  I broke skin!  He was not very happy with me. 
I felt really bad, but....you've got to do what it takes to win!



Yup, even with me and Joe's horrible aim and ridiculous amounts of missed shots,
we still managed to be victorious!



Ex-FLOCKers. November 22nd, Entry #43.

Sara:  There is one thing that no one ever warned me about in this job...that when your kiddos go off to college they don't just disappear.  You're still going to have a relationship with them...a relationship that will continue to grow.  I did not think of this 6 years ago when I started this job.  And then my first group of seniors graduated...and we still talked, and they still emailed and called me with questions and for advice.  Huh.  Didn't see that one coming.  But it has been a great blessing over the years to watch these awesome kiddos go out on their own, grow, struggle, grow some more, question, make good choices, make bad choices, grow even more and then become awesome young adults.  It is very rewarding.

And I say this because some fabulous ex-FLOCKers are back in town for Thanksgiving break right now.  And I had the very fortunate pleasure to chat with one of them for 2 hours yesterday.  My dearest Kaitlin Long....I mean, c'mon, who doesn't love Kaitlin??  This girl has the biggest and best heart EVER!  She's beautiful in EVERY sense of the word, she lights up any room she enters and she makes everyone she knows feel like the most important person in the world.  If you know her, you know I am not making any of this up.  It was great to hear about college, her classes, her new friends, her house, challenges, struggles, excitements, her joy.  We've been in touch ever since she left, sharing cool quotes we've come across, really cool blogs, dumb boy stories, good boy stories and equally giving advice.

Because not only do I still have a relationship with these kiddos, but now we also have an adult relationship.  It's not just mentor/mentee anymore....it's equal.  Kaitlin was one of the first people that I told about a cool personal development in my life, she's my friend, I wanted to tell her.  It's just neat.  Neat to watch the growth and development.  It makes me excited for the future.  It makes me that much more aware that I have the best job ever.

Duties as Assigned. November 23rd, Entry #44.

Sara:  I spent 2 hours this morning tying yarn to paper Christmas tree ornaments.  You might be wondering, how does this fit into your job description?  I feel that I must enlighten you to a particular phrase that was included in my job description and contract: duties as assigned.  This phrase is the bane of my youth minister existence.  This phrase has led me to tasks such as but not limited to: sticking plastic pockets to the back covers of the hymnals (check for them the next time you are at mass), folding 750 Triduum booklets, collecting said Triduumm booklets after the Easter Vigil, setting up 500 chairs for mass...in heels, taking 1900 letters to the post office, removing paint from rocks with nail polish remover, buying 1000 ice cream bars, stopping gushing toilets, cutting hundreds of strips of fabric to line the book holders in the pews (check the pews), ordering toy plastic shovels from Japan, burning the ends of thousands of strings for rosary making (and burning our fingers a lot too), and yes, tying string to paper ornaments. 

Just in case you don't believe me:

My boss is one clever lady.  You throw something like this in at the bottom of a contract, get the sucker (namely me) to sign it and then they can never complain about having to do menial, random and totally unrelated tasks.  Darn it...she is always one step ahead of me.

And just in case anyone forgot:

Yes, I do have a college degree actually.  And you see that gold sticker at the bottom, it says "with honors".  Yes, I graduated with honors. It takes someone extra smart to tie yarn.  Don't you be forgetting that.

Cashardy or No Fortune. November 21st, Entry #42.

Sara:  I love game show nights at FLOCK!!  I'm just a sucker for trivia in general so I love to share the love!  We've done these before, probably once a year....but I think everyone would agree that this was the most epic one yet.  Why do a regular ol' game show when you can combine ALL the awesome things about your favorite game shows??  So, that is exactly what we did.

Cash Cab + Jeopardy + Deal or No Deal + Wheel of Fortune = Cashardy or No Fortune.

We had video bonus questions like in Cash Cab.
We had a game board and Daily Doubles like in Jeopardy.
We had boxes (suitcases) that teams could swap for other boxes...but you didn't know what was in them so it was all a risk like in Deal or No Deal.
And we had a spinner to earn extra points like in Wheel of Fortune.

I think our favorite new feature to the game show night were the video questions.  We had 3 video bonus questions using videos of some fun FLOCK events this year.  BUT, we also videoed 4 other youth ministers asking questions about themselves.  Would you like to know what happens when you put youth ministers in front of a camera?  I know you do....so look below.

Kyle - just thought we should let you know that the first group that answered guessed 19!  Hahahaha...19.  It must be the youthful glow...and maybe the faux hawk.

Cdub.  Cdubsalot.  Cdubsawholelot.  Cdubwithgoodhair.  Cdubsinthemorning.  Cdubsintheafternoon.  Cdubsafterdinner.

(Really Kyle...picking the nose?  really?  and you wonder why they guessed 19?)

Such a wonderful bromance.
(PS - Aaron's laugh in the background=favorite thing!)

And, let's not forget a shout out to the Orange team.  It's like the old saying "if life gives you lemons, make lemonade".  But, this one goes something like this: "if your youth minister gives you toilet paper as a prize, TP her office."  I think that is totally legit and I would expect nothing less.  Thank you Orange Team, I have trained you well.

New logo. November 17th, Entry #41.

Sara:  Thanks to Kyle Kuckleman for making my day.  So, check out the possibilities for the new logo here at St. Michael.  I think they all show a breadth of depth and honesty to the image of our defender of the faith.  The question is....which one shows the real St. Michael the Archangel??

So, which one is it going to be??

For other delightfully funny and pretty much accurate depictions of our faith, check out Deacon Eddie Dwyer's artwork.  I just love being Catholic.

2 Photos. November 11th, Entry #40

Sara:  I just wanted to share 2 photos with you that I thought were particularly telling of why my job is awesome.

Don't judge us.  It was for the kids.  Either way, I think we are pretty darn good looking.  Aaron's going to be mad that I posted this picture.  Oh well.  Good thing he's such a pretty lady.

So, this is my desk.  And it normally looks like this...covered in all sorts of crud.  But I noticed some pretty cool things about my desk that you just don't see at other jobs.

#1 - The bible laying open.  Yeah, part of my job is to read the bible.

#2 The Veggie Tales video.  Yup, just doing research for FLOCK.

#3 The hand carved Mary statue.  One of my kiddos had her grandfather carve it for me. 

#4  The St. James Academy cup.  It's just my water cup, but it's pretty great.

#5 The quote taped to my computer: "Know Him. Be known. Be loved. Be Holy."

Ahhh....just another day at the office.

Seven. November 6th, Entry #39

Sara: Things I loved about the High School Rally "Seven":

My girls:
* The party starts when they show up.  I'm not even kidding.  We get to the rally, I tell them to head for the front row (you always have more fun in the front).  By the time I sign everyone in and get there they are dancing to the Mikey Needleman Band and literally getting the rest of the group off their feet and dancing along.  Every time.  We bring the party.
* The humility to go to confession.  It's not easy. Way to rock.
* Their welcoming and inclusive attitude.  We had lunch with kids I didn't even know b/c they invited them.
* Their athleticism.  We played one epic game of ultimate frisbee.  All of them played and we outnumbered the boys, but we could hold our own.  And, the server at Sonic also noticed their athleticism...even though it was kind of creepy.  We won't talk about that anymore.

The Mikey Needleman Band:
* I mean, c'mon, who doesn't love them?!
* All the Matt Maher they played....and how the crowd went wild for "Hold us Together".  Of course.
* Party in the U-S-A.  The only dudes I know who can rock that song and make it look cool.
* Telling the high schoolers that they should know "Don't stop believing" b/c it was on Glee.

Fr. Rob Spaulding:
* When he talked, you could hear a pin drop. I think talked for over an hour the first time and everyone was still attentive.  That man can engage.
* His courage to tell his story.  To be honest.  To change the hearts of a lot of kids with his message.
* For his priesthood.  That he is  able to bless the world with his gifts due to the forgiveness and compassion of 2 amazing families.

My frisbee:
* R.I.P my dear UPA approved, 175 gram disc.  I hope you rest eternally on the roof of the Sonic.

Matty and Jared:
* We love you.  We miss you.  We pray for you and to you.  We will see you at the altar.

Don't be mad that we picked the better job. November 4th, Entry #38.

Sara:  There is a running joke between Aaron and I and the rest of the Christian Ed staff here at SMTA.  Sometimes they come upon Aaron and I doing things that seemingly are not work related...but you have to remember that a) we have the best job ever and b) we are youth ministers.  So, when you come into my office and we are coloring pages out of a Halloween coloring book, this is totally normal, it's a mail surprise for some college students, of course.  When you come upon us tapping a beach ball back and forth to each other to see how long we can keep it in the air, we are just doing research for FLOCK.  And when our boss comes into the copy room to find us tracing life size cut-outs of Aaron, this is just prep for FLOCK.  And when the rest of the Christan Ed staff is baffled that we are participating in these fun tasks, we simply respond.... "Don't be mad that we picked the better job".

Just so you can see that the seemingly unrelated tasks, are in fact, work related, see the following task from start to finish.

Step 1 - Locate model.

Step 2 - Trace said model. (and try not to get marker on the model's shirt, he does not appreciate that)

Step 3 - Begin cutting out process.

Step 4 - Admire handiwork.  Attach to wall with magnets.  Let kids throw wet sponges at handiwork.  Connect to David beating Goliath.  Job accomplished.

Just another day in Paradise.

Joe's Hero. November 3rd, Entry #37

Sara:  Ok, so I have 2 thoughts from yesterday at AP FLOCK.

#1 - I need to apologize to Aaron.  Let's just say that I made a joke about his friend...and Brian and Joe WOULD not let it die.  Later in the evening Joe decided to tell a story about his hero...so he just retold Aaron's story about his friend and changed some of the details.  We all got one major ab workout from laughing soooo hard....Aaron was literally rolling on the ground laughing.  I love it when Aaron laughs...like really, really laughs.  Let's just say that if you are ever in New York with a friend and he wants to buy socks...at the Gucci store....RUN AWAY!!  I would tell you the story but it is so wildly inappropriate that we shouldn't even have had it.  Yup, that's what we do at AP FLOCK....be totally inappropriate.

#2 - What do you think about true masculinity and true femininity??  This is a thought/concept that has been on my mind and heart for the last 2 weeks.  So, I have been bringing it up to certain kiddos to see what they think.  Annelise and I have been having a 3 day conversation about it.  We talk about it, think about it and come back to it at the end of the day and talk some more.  Last night Aaron and Jordan and I had some good thoughts about it after AP FLOCK.  I don't really have any answers...but I am very intrigued by this idea right now.  What it really means to be masculine and feminine but not in the way our culture sees it...in the way that it is meant to be, in the way that God created it.  If you have any thoughts we'd love to hear them.

Sock Hop. November 3rd, Entry #36

Sara: Last night was crazy sock night at GIFT.  And, since I don't think we write very often about GIFT, I thought we should give all those j-hiers a shout out.  I'm not going to lie....I really do like high schoolers better.  I enjoy being able to have deep conversations, use sarcasm and not worry about when they showered last.  But, I need to remember what I have always LOVED about j-hiers...their enthusiasm, excitement and willingness to be silly.  It's so fun watching them feel comfortable and then letting their hair down, really being themselves.  That's what I enjoy most about j-hiers.

But, enough about that, check out my favorite socks from the night.

What would a crazy sock night be without toe socks??

Ok, so these aren't socks....but you guys know
how much I love anything cowboy.

Loving the miss-match.

This was my favorite.  He is wearing his brother's socks.
His brother is 6.  Sam always gets so clever with the themes!

I look good.  Don't you forget it.

Umm...he didn't know it was crazy sock night...this is his normal sock. 
 I'm still not sure if it is supposed to be grey.



Matt Maher makes me pee my pants. October 30th, Entry #35

Sara: Last night we saw Matt Maher.  ASKGFKHSKHFLJAOYRKCNASLJJCNAP!!  There isn't a word in the English language that can describe how much I HEART Matt Maher.  Even as I sit here listening to him right now, I cannot come up with words to write because I am just ALHLWHLNCVOL with him.

Ok, let me tell you why I HEART Matt Maher so much.  I don't typically care for Christian music because it usually isn't good music...the lyrics are fine, but the music itself is basic.  But Matt, he nails it.  His music is GOOD.  As for the lyrics....profound, really.  I think this comes from his understanding of his Catholic faith.  His music is grounded in the sacraments, the scripture and God's revelation to us.  His latest album, Alive Again, is broken down to cover Christ's journey to us and for us, namely (1) his Revelation of himself to us, (2) his Incarnation, (3) his Communion with our humanity and (4) his Restoration of our lives through his sacrifice.  I have goosebumps a little.  Brilliant.

Highlights from the night:

#1 I should preface that Matt Maher was just an opening band for Tenth Ave. North.  But, when he came on stage, we went NUTS!!  People around us were looking at us weird because they had never even heard of him.  You're welcome Open Door Baptist Church....we are happy to share the love.

#2 My arm is sore from all the fist pumping at "you called and you SHOUTED!" (well that and the Frisbee golf I played that afternoon)

#3 He's "one of us".  Yup, he's a Catholic.  We just loved that.  There aren't a lot of Catholic Christian artists that are rocking it.  We're proud to call him one of our own.

#4 Evelyn and Olivia were having SUCH a good time (dancing, singing and generally rocking it) that the 2 ladies next to them switched spots.  Ha!  I think their enthusiasm scared them just a bit.

#5 My girls.  I took 9 girls to this show.  Last minute.  I just threw it out there that Matt was in town and we should go.  They dropped what they were doing to come.  Evelyn came from her State Cross Country Meet and then an Art show, didn't even have time to shower, but jumped in the van, excited.  Mackenzie came straight back from a college visit so she wouldn't miss it. Hailey didn't even know she was going until the day of.  You girls are awesome.   

#6 Check out this shirt.  Super sweet.  The girls all agreed to wear them to school on Monday.  Love the witness.

#7 We got a shout out from the 2nd band.  She was so overwhelmed by the excitement of the crowd.  And then she pointed to a group of guys on the side and said "these guys are having their own dance party over there.  They need to hook up with those girls back there who keep yelling and dancing".  Yup,  that was us.  What up??

#8 Clifford.  I got to drive a 15 passenger van.  Clifford, the big red van.  I felt like I was driving a bus!  Check that off the bucket list.

I guess I should also point out that the other 2 bands were awesome too.  You should check them out: Addison Road and Tenth Avenue North.  You really should.

The lead singers of all the bands for the encore.

Ok, I could write tons more about MM, but let's be honest, this post is already long enough. :)

Perspective. October 28th, Entry #34.

Sara: I love perspective...it makes you look at things in a different way, or, in this case, it made me realize something I had never thought of before.

I was having a 1-on-1 with one of my fab high schooler leaders this afternoon, we'll call her Jordan (mostly b/c that's her actual name).  We were talking about college and she was worried that she won't be able to pick one because, so far, she has liked all the ones she has visited.  Then I told her that she's just going to have to sit back and listen to God...he'll make sure she picks the right one.

Then I recounted the divine intervention that sent me to KU.  And I told her how God must have had a hand in that because if I'd gone somewhere else I probably wouldn't have gotten involved in a campus center, or found my faith, or learned about my faith and there was NO WAY I would have the job I do now.  Wow, my life would be so much different!

And then Jordan spoke...and kind of rocked my world.  She said, "Do you know how many OTHER people's lives would be different?  How many people's lives you've touched and changed?"  And Jordan, I don't know if you realized this, but I had a serious mouth-hanging open moment.  I'd never thought of that.  I've really never sat down and thought about how other people's live might be different.  I just think about getting from one Sunday to the next and not embarrassing myself or sending any kids home with broken bones.

I'm hard on myself in this job and I just haven't ever thought that I might be making a difference in someone else's life.  I mean, what could I possibly do or say that could affect someone?  Yeah, of course the other Youth Ministers around town are changing kids' lives...they're awesome at their jobs.  But me....ehh, I'm just getting though. 

And while I am still going to be hard on myself, thank you Jordan for the persepctive, if even for the afternoon.  Thanks for helping me remember what's important. :)

This really is the greatest job ever.

Hail to the Chief. October 28th, Entry #33

Sara: One of my favorite things about Fall at St. Michael are the president pumpkins.  You read that right.  In an attempt to make learning about the presidents fun, the 3rd graders get to create president look-alikes from pumpkins.  I get to walk by them every day on my way into and out of the building and each time, I try not to laugh a little....because well, they are ridiculous. 

I would like to share with you my favorite creations this year, and just for history's sake, let's go in order.

President #1 - George Washington.  Not a bad depiction, the cotton balls do nicely to reconstruct the powdered wig.  But my favorite part....the president pumpkin has a candy pumpkin for a nose....pumpkin on pumpkin...love it!



President #3 - Thomas Jefferson.  Am I the only one who thinks this one looks like my grandma?  The hair is a nice touch, but it reminds of the bouffant style of the old ladies at church.  And the Declaration of Independence scroll...nice touch, but it makes me think of my grandma trying to swat away us naughty grandkids when we stole cookie batter.

President #16 - Abraham Lincoln.  Honest Abe is the most pumpkinized of all the presidents....why?...because it's easy.  Stick a top hat made from construction paper and a black beard on a pumpkin and BAM! Done.  But this one was my favorite Lincoln.  Look at that luscious beard that covers 3/4 of the face.  Is that real fur?  I want to touch it and find out but I'm afraid that it might actually be cat hair.  Yuck.

President #32 - William Howard Taft.  I don't know anything about this president.  But all I can say about this pumpkin....best use of Q-tips and a shower cap I have ever seen!!  "Mom, I need some cotton balls to make a mustache".  "Well, we're out of cotton balls....your brother used them all to make a powdered wig for G-dub....use some Q-tips, that's close enough".

President #32 - Franklin D. Roosevelt.  Love it.  All I've got to say is some 3rd grader's little sister is really ticked right now because she can't find her doll stroller.  And when she gets it back she going to be even angrier because it's not pink anymore.



President # 38 - Gerald Ford.  RUDY! RUDY! RUDY!  Oh wait, my bad.  I think this kid forgot about this project until the morning of.  And he sat there holding a pumpkin and a football helmet and thought, "well shoot....I think that one president guy played football in college...guess this is going to have to be enough".

President #40 - Ronald Reagan.  Oh my.  I didn't know they gave out crowns in Hollywood.  But I must say, that is the most delicious crown I have ever seen!  And while this student obviously focused on the pre-presidency life of Ronnie, I enjoy how they threw in a last minute nod to his presidential acts. Gorbachev...Tear Down this Wall...and I'll give you some jelly beans!