Locked-In

Have you ever been locked into a huge building with 30 teenagers all night long?  It might look something like a never ending game of nine square....

  And a session of Catch Phrase at midnight.

  Youth group lock-ins mean a round of beach-ball relay....

And sucking down baby food peas....because this is simply what you do when you're in high school youth group.

 Some of my greatest memories from high school were from my times spent at youth group.  Playing games, singing with friends, doing Bible studies - just figuring out who I was and wanted to be.  My hope is to not only have impact as we sit and talk in small groups about the Word or our struggles or questions about our faith, but to be an example of a woman that lives and loves and plays.

Since last year I've been helping out with the youth group at our church.  I lead a small group with another gal my age for the Junior/Senior girls - and I love it.  Youth ministry is a place I definitely feel called to.

Especially when it means that blow up Sumo suits are nearby.....

And you get to watch this go down!

 I got to teach the kids one of my all-time favorite games from youth group called "Do you love your neighbor?"  A crazy game of running around and chair-stealing and neighbor-loving and many toe injuries from all of the chaos.  I felt like I was sixteen again.

 But then the creepy-in-the-middle-of-the-night games started and that's when my age and lack of sleep started to catch up to me and I remembered that I was so not sixteen anymore.

  I pooped out at around 1:30am - I did after all, have a baby and an almost four year old to tend to in the morning and needed something in me to wake up and be mommy in the morning.

 

All of it did make for an exciting Friday night.

 And next year, we will probably do it all over again!