That one time, in middle school...

...yes, I have been MIA for quite a while. I do have to admit, though, that I've been busy enjoying life and balancing the many hats I have found myself wearing lately - wife, friend, employee, volunteer, cook, cleaner, dog-walker, runner...

The one thing that I have really enjoyed as of late has been spending time with the young people at our church. I would encourage all people to give youth ministry a try - you don't have to be good at it, you just have to want to have fun, laugh a lot, and brush up on your herding-cats skills...

Two weeks ago the hubs and I went to Orlando for the weekend with the middle school ministry at church. I had so much fun with the students, and got embarrassingly dizzy/nauseous after riding a couple rides, but I put my big girl panties on and trucked through the rest of the day rode water rides and watched bags the rest of the day.

This past Sunday, we unveiled an awesomely disgusting hilarious game we have affectionately named "Honey Boo Boo Breath Challenge", taken from Honey Boo Boo's family game of "guess who's breath". Word on the street is our video has made it on a youth ministry website #youknowyouvemadeitwhen

I've found myself surrounded by middle schoolers in this stage of life, and I'm finding that I'm really ok with that. In fact, I'm kind of enjoying it! I don't remember much about being in middle school, but what I do remember is that my middle school years were filled with insecurities and questions about who I was and what I was made to do. I needed a lot of guidance then (and I still do), and I found comfort and happiness at church at youth group that lived life with me to figure it all out. Maybe that's why I got pulled to middle school ministry...who knows. But if there's anything I've learned lately, it's that I've been learning how to love innocently, how to pursue God earnestly, even when there is uncertainty. There's plenty to learn from middle schoolers, and I think that's pretty cool.