Youth Room Construction, Entry #78, May 31

Aaron: So, we are finally starting construction on the youth room! in the coming weeks we will be updating with photos and any other exciting information that may be happening.  We are both beyond excited about this, this has been many years in the making and we know it will be amazing when it's all finished!


The work being completed now is pretty much all demolition, tearing out walls, cabinets, sinks, etc etc...
We have pretty much picked out everything that will be going into the room with wall colors, carpet colors, cabinets, counter tops, furniture, all that fun stuff!

So, here are the pics of the demo so far, let us know what you think!

                                                                  old, stained carpet...

                                                       Last GIFT ever in the old room!!!

                                                                      no more wall....

Well, that's about it for now, check back soon for more updates!!!!

L is for the way you look at me. Entry # 77, May 15th.

Sara:  So, Sunday was Sex and Dating night at FLOCK.  Rad, I know.  Our topic for the night was love.  Just love.  We were made for love.  Seems kind of broad, I know, but it's where my heart was at and since I'm in charge I get to talk about what I want.  I love being in charge.

Anyways, it was a great night, much better than I anticipated it to turn out.  I just didn't feel that I  had everything together...more like a bunch of thoughts instead of a well-put-together plan.  But, well-put-together plans leave no room for the Holy Spirit to work....and the Holy Spirit definitely came through on this one.  It was a simple message, but really all I wanted the kiddos to get out of it was that #1 God is love and #2 Love is a choice, to desire and choose the good of another.  So simple.  So huge.  So missing in our culture.

Just a few thank yous. 

To high schoolers that are not too cool to play "Honey if you love me".  That might have been one of the most epic rounds of that game I have ever seen.  I thought you all might think it was a bit too cheesy for you and not want to play.  Thanks for proving me wrong. 

Brian, thanks for scandalizing a few of us.  Even with the "Brian rule" for this game, you still managed to be extra creepy....especially with the southern accent.

Jane.....I can't believe you didn't crack at all!!  So proud.

Kevin, your excitement for the faith and you desire to "get it" is so stinkin' cool!  You hit the nail right on the head when you said right away that love is sacrifice.  Holy cow man, well done.  I wish you weren't leaving FLOCK so soon after starting.  But I'm excited to see where your new faith takes you.

Justin...I still can't believe you came to FLOCK the day of your graduation.  You are a superstar.  Always have been.

Favorite quote of the night. (thank you Jane)
We were talking about the 4 Fs of authentic love. (free, full, faithful, fruitful).

Sara: love has to be freely given.  It can't be forced. Like back in the day when people were forced into arranged marriage.
Jane: Yeah, when a girl was traded for a pig.
One of the boys: well, hopefully it was a really nice pig.

It's ok Jane, I think you're worth way more than a pig....I mean, at LEAST 3 pigs, really nice ones too.

And my favorite after-FLOCK comment.

Yesterday Mrs. McEntee told me what Jordan and Olivia said when they got home from FLOCK.
Jordan & Olivia: Sara and Michael are totally going to get married.  He took care of her all day on Saturday when she was sick.  They're totally going to get married.  And we're going to be the flower girls.

Really, 17-year-old flower girls??  This I cannot wait to see.  But don't worry, I've already picked out the dresses.

And I request that you skip down the aisle while tossing rose petals.  You're welcome.

Free Thugs. April 27th, Entry # 76.

Sara:  You know, I'm not going to lie....I've said in this blog before that sometimes middle schoolers drive me nuts, make me want to pull my hair, and make me that much more thankful for high schoolers.  But lately it's been the other way around.  Some of my high schoolers are going through some tough stuff, dealing with some real issues and bringing the drama....so these little middle schoolers, they're kind of a nice break.  The ones that are GIFT regulars are just fun and light-hearted and make me laugh with their delightful immaturity and innocence.  I am loving it.  (who knows if I'll be singing this same tune next month!)

Last week at GIFT it was game night.  Aaron told the kiddos that we weren't actually going to have a game night this week, but that he really felt called to talk to them about the obstacles in their lives.  But really he was just messing with them.....we went into the gym after that to build giant obstacle courses.  Ha.  Seewhatididthere??  But it was a fun night all around.  See below for some examples.

Before we got started we were just talking about our favorite TV shows so Aaron decided to make a list.  If you ever wondered what middle schoolers, 1 high school leader and 2 youth ministers like on TV:

Quotes of the night:
Aaron to David: you're the only dude here....well, 'cept me.

Becca: I'm allergic to Bieber Fever.  It's a deadly disease.

Erin: I want a shirt that says "I'm so fabulous I fart glitter".  (I am not making this up)


David wanted to give away free hugs.  He and I practiced Virtus appropriate hugging such as the side-hug and the tush-out hug.  Then Aaron went and gave it a whole new spin.

Aaron's not very good at hula-hooping.  But he's much better than me.

Part of our sweet obstacle course.  I think my favorite part was where they had to maneuver over the "dead body" (Erin laying in an awkward position) and they couldn't touch it or else they would get leprosy.  Not making this up.

Oh middle schoolers....thanks for being awesome lately.  Keep it up.