Youth Pastor's Life

 As I sit typing this morning, my oldest - 22 months old - is growling at her Bible because she see a lion. I have grown to find Joy and Excitement in the strangest places and of the strangest things that would have never brought those emotions before motherhood. Let me list just a few things:  Poop. Big Beds. Sitting on a potty but not going. Words. Messy House. Each has brought its own excitement as well as dread at times. I'll explain the lessons I have learned in the past 2 years with each.  Poop. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought this would bring excitement and joy. Let me tell ya though, when you almost 8 week old son doesn't have a bowel movement in almost 3 days, concern and irrational thoughts begin flooding a moms brain. All the what is wrong with him. Will I end up in a Children's Hospital room again? So when 2 blowouts happen in a day - plus more - it is very welcomed and joy erupts in text messages to dad and friends. Big Beds. Hearing my daught...

I may be their youth pastor but these students challenge me to become the best version of myself. This past week, we finished with a challenge of stepping out in faith and building a boat by using God's recipe. Sounds strange or complicated?!?! Let me explain! The week before school kicked off (I have said it each year) I told the students "this is your mission field for the next 36 weeks". So I challenged them to pray for 1 classmate each week. Not to hard to do, right? For most of the students, this is very much outside of their comfort zones and a step of faith to pray for those who may have hurt them in the past. Just like Noah who had to step out in faith to build a boat that seemed to be the most absurd thing to do and the one thing Noah had to rely on was the instructions that God had given him. God asks us to step out of our comfort zones to do what seems crazy to those around us but He will always help us navigate those times. God gave us a recipe book - th...