Youth Group Love

We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to bring you, “Youth Group Love.”

Just in case you are a new reader to the blog… I have the amazing and awesome opportunity to be responsible for a group of wild & crazy teenagers!! I get to plan events for them, preach to them, pray for them, worship with them and generally watch God transform their hearts & lives. It. Is. AWESOME. Sometimes, it is insanity. But the rewards are innumerable. My heart leaps with joy when a youth testifies about something God revealed to them. I am nearly moved to tears when I listen to the earnest prayers of a young person. And sometimes, throughout the week, I smile just thinking about them. :)

We wanna give the youth group some love!!!

Preaching. I noticed a trend. In (almost) every sermon, there is included some random—usually violent—fact or news story. Me + Google = Weird information. Aaaaaand, I tend to tell at least one story about how I was inadvertently injured. Like on Wednesday, I talked about pacing and praying as a teenager, and walking into a shelf on the wall. Yeah, I happen to injure myself often, so I have a lot of stories…. Case-in-point, last night I drew blood twice and fell down the stairs twice. No blood from the falls, though I did ruin a pair of brand-new socks! Darn it! (congrats if you caught the pun)… Maybe stories for next week? :)

Talking. The Chatty Girl talks the most. The Sparkly Girls gets the most excited while talking. The Curly Girl smiles the most while everyone else talks. The Green-Eyed Girl does the unique “umm/laugh” combination that I do while I preach. Hmmm. Did I get it from her or did she get it from me? That is the question…

Uniqueness. It’s the quiet ones you gotta worry about. Like one guy is gonna major in Computer Security in college. A.k.a., anti-hacking. Makes me wonder what he does in his spare time… Kidding! Or the girl who raises sheep and one particular sheep gave birth to lamb triplets! And she informed me that if you wash a sheep, it does NOT shrink. Cuz I was wondering. :) Or the kid with the fixation with fairness. Hilarious because he walked around the church three times the other day, asking if anyone wanted the rest of a Tootsie Roll. Just eat it already! :)

Affection. One girl doesn’t like hugs. Yeah, I used to be like that, too—so I offer her a hug, just to see the look on her face! Classic! And the guys just beat each other up to express affection. At least, I’m hoping they are expressing affection and not animosity. :)

Besides the ever-present humor and hilarity, there is always a spiritual work going on in the youth. May God give them grace to lift a standard of holiness and radical faith in their generation!

"Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe."
1 Timothy 4:12