it's on the way.........

Once again, it has been a while since the last post. I am in awe of you bloggers who can do this every day or even every week! I am lucky to get a post every month! I don't think that my life (or thoughts) are spectacular enough to post on the web with any regularity. Yet, since I see so many of you guys doing it well, I will perservere!

I have noticed a little trend in my yearly calender as a youth minister. It seems like the two or three weeks leading up to a summer tend to bring a lot of anxiety and frustration. A majority of my time is spent trying to get paperwork together and polishing off details for our camps and other trips. Also it seems like I am having to work harder and harder to keep these kids motivated and involved with what we are doing. I am not sure if I know the cause of this, but it seems to be the case.

Also lending to the frustration of these weeks is the sheer anticipation of what is to come. I think these weeks give me enough time to realize exactly what we are undertaking. We are charged with the spiritual and physical saftey of so many kids. There is so much pressure to do this job right. If any mistakes are made, they tend to be played out on a more public stage than some other jobs.

We are taking over fifty people to Mexico this summer. When I start to dwell on the reality of that, I want to freak. This mission trip has just exploded over the last two years. Our kids are so thrilled to go back to Matamoros to work. I think that trips like this force us control freaks to give our struggle over to God. I have failed to do that over the last few years and it shows. I never get the chance to really enjoy these trips because I am too busy making decisions and making sure everything is just right. Maybe that is my job, I don't know. Yet I feel like I am missing out on so much! I am going to try with all that I have to let go and trust. Pray for me.

Pray for all of us crazy folk that do this for a living. This indeed is our most taxing and demanding time of the year. So much is expected. So much is planned. So much sleep is lost. Encourage your local youth minister in these days. They could surely use it.

Love yall bunches.