youth - It's a Vivas Thing!

Jul 13 2010

Camp, Day 2

Day 2 of camp was probably one of , my favorite days. It was our first official full day, so we really didn't know what to expect. There were however, two things, that would happen this day. The first was that it was one of our girl's birthday; the second was it was water day at rec…and we were told to be prepared to get soaked.

Ok then!

At breakfast, birthday girl needed a little glamour to get the day going. In order to get her day started out the right way, we announced her birthday to the dining room and had a combined effort of singing, "Happy Birthday!" We also made sure her birthday was announced in front of the 1900 teens attending worship, although they did say her last name wrong. (I'm sorry for laughing, dear.)

And then there was recreation. Not sure what to expect, we threw on some shorts and t-shirts and headed over.

Our youth group was split into two family groups. We still did everything together, but for recreation, we were on opposite teams. It'd probably be a good thing to know that we are all pretty competitive. I'll also state, that as a leader, I have the option of not participating, (instead delegating) if I don't want to. Yeah, well, ok.

Our first game was holding a thick pvc pipe full of holes over a bucket. We had to work as a team to cover the holes while other's poured cups of water down the pipe. First one to fill the bucket wins. We didn't do too bad and I managed to stay completely dry.

I may get them a bit jumbled as we went quickly from one game to the next. I'll say this: for the first two or three games, I stayed dry. And then it happened.

We came to a game where we had to run to a trash can and fill our hair with water, then run to our bucket and ring it out. The first team to fill their bucket wins. Ah ha! Birthday Girl has long, thick, hair! She'd also just stubbed her toe and wasn't really up to running back and forth. (She did anyway!) We had another girl who had long hair, so she was up for the challenge, too. Our other family group's team was a bunch of shorter hair, so I thought we had it in the bag. But then, things started to really become well, um, competitive…and before I knew it, I was ducking my long hair into the trash and rining it into the bucket, too! And I was, um, well, rather wet. And laughing.

And we headed to the next game. Which involved a trash can full of water, a bowl, a sponge, and a bucket. Rules: line up up in an assembly. One at bucket, one with sponge, one with bowl. Person with bowl runs to trash can, fills up bowl. Throws bowl of water from designated spot to person with sponge at designated spot. Person with sponge catches water from bowl with sponge. Sponge person then throws sponge at person with bucket. If sponge lands in bucket, person with bucket rings out sponge and they all move forward a spot. If sponge misses, person with bucket rings sponge over head, then moves on. Object: fill the bucket.

I'm sure it all started innocently enough. Our two family groups were standing on the same side, next to each other. In order to get to the trash can of water, we had to pass by each other. And it was a race, after all. And we were wet. And hot. And did I mention competitive?

Somehow, someone's bowl of water was, I'm sure of it, mistakenly bumped into. And then, somehow as we were running back and forth, we just kept spilling each other's water. And then somehow, we all ended up soaked and lost track of what we were supposed to be doing. And then somehow, we were in the absolute best waterfight that we've ever been in! (I felt sorry for the poor referee who gave up on us.) And somehow, we were in fits of hysterical laughter. And boy, did we have fun!

We moved on to the other games and followed the rules. We played water dodge ball and other stuff, and then it ended. And we headed over to the tree to listen to our Red Rumble leader share the Word with us.

And I won't say who, but one of those trouble making teens of ours thought it was funny to toss a bucket of water unexpectly over my head!

Later, we talked about our fun and agreed while it was a great bonding moment, we definately would set the example and follow all the rules the rest of the week.

And much later, we ended the day with hostess cupcakes, hearts, and laughter to celebrate the birthday. And we laughed and laughed at pillows and popping cupcakes and a near food fight.

Yeah, these types of days are just a little part of what makes camp so fun!

Jun 06 2010

Living the Good Life

This weekend was the kind I like to have. Friday was spent by the pool (I can play in private pools now…yippee!) of a good friend. Some of took advantage and just wallowed relaxed.

Others practiced their air jumps!

While others were more about being cool…in more ways then one!

Mostly, it was about having fun!

Friday night, was spent playing laser tag with our high school youth and then hanging at In and Out, because their cheeseburgers are awesome! I didn't get any pictures of that though, because I was too busy trying to avoid being hit make sure I hit everyone there.

Saturday morning was spent making blueberry pancakes and turkey bacon….and having the teens to clean it all up. They just love me that way! (I'm sure it probably had something to do with playing Hearts, but we'll pretend it's because they just adore me.) We spent several hour playing Hearts (something we do on a regular basis.) We had a new girl join us, but we made sure to let her know newbies don't get special treatment…we play serious Hearts. (It's a good thing she already new how to play!) We thought we were finished with the game when a certain friend of my eldest son scored 100 points even! That made the game continue on for another hour…as well as making her extremely happy because instead of last place, she game in tied for 1st!

When all were gone, I managed to do a pretty decent job of grooming our pups. I'm getting better at it! And then, we went to visit some dear friends while the kids played in their pool with their grandchildren for a while.

Today after church, we plan to have chili dogs for family lunch. (Thinking over this weekend, I'm going to have to detox from the junk food I ate, but anyway……….)

This is the best kind of weekend to have. Family, friends, fun….it doesn't get better than that!

May 24 2010

Making a Difference

Have you ever noticed how when you're focused on how much your life is…well…not going so well, God shows you someone's whose is worse?

Last night, as we were cleaning up after youth, I felt an urge to take the last six homeless ministry bags with me. But I ignored the urge, thinking I still had one in the van and that I'd grab some more next weekend. These bags have juice/water, snacks, hygiene items (like soap and mouthwash), and a personal note of encouragement in them. The idea is to carry them in your vehicle, and then when you pass a homeless person on the street, you can hand them a bag of encouragement. I knew I had one bag left, so I ignored that urge.

Fast forward to today. I had to run a couple of errands. Today didn't start out too great and I've had a lot on my mind. One of which is trying really hard to know what God is trying to say to me and listening when He says it. I was waiting in the deli line with an older gentleman. We waited for quite a while, and finally someone noticed and came over and asked who was first in line. I replied that the gentleman was.

He replies, "And the first will come last and the last will come first."

I simply smiled, yet was reminded of this scripture:

"So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but
few chosen."

Matthew 20:16

As I was pulling out of the store parking lot, I had to stop at the light. Next to me was a homeless woman, with a sign that said,

"I have no home or food. Please help."

I rolled down my window and handed her the bag as she quickly said "thank you."

And then I noticed several other homeless people all around me. I had no more bags to give and instantly thought of last night, when I had the *urge* to take the remaining bags with me. But I didn't. I wish I had listened to that still, small voice.

Lately, God has been speaking to me about something in particular. It's not something I'm comfortable with, but I'm trying hard to listen. I think today was a little reminder; perhaps a test. I didn't do so well.

What I can say is this. I would urge all of my readers to make up their own bags to pass out. If you're local and you attend our church, I'd encourage you to bring in items so that we can make up more bags as we are getting low. We fill the bags with juice or water, snacks (like granola bars), small bottles of hygiene items (such as mouthwash, tooth paste, body soap). We place a note card inside, with a note of encouragement from our youth. And we keep them in our vehicles for those street corners, when we wish we'd had something but didn't. Now you can.

And if you are feeling a bit sorry for yourself today, I'd suggest you open up your eyes and take a look around. Make a difference. You might just find yourself feeling a bit better about your own circumstances!

For more information on this ministry, you can read this: B-boo

⁴⁰"The King will reply,

'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these
brothers of mine, you did for me.'"

Matthew 25:40

May 16 2010

A Blog Worthy Post

I blog a lot about my family and friends; of course! With being so sick over the past few months, there is another piece of my life that has been missing. I haven't been able to be part of the youth ministry that I love so much! A few have come over here and there, but it isn't the same as being there week after week. This weekend was our church's D-Now weekend. (Disciple Now) And although I am still not allowed to do much, and most certainly am exhausted from it, I had a blast being part of it and taking lots and lots of pictures!

I had to smile Friday night when a group of them were talking about my blog. A lot of them read it. So when the question came up of what will it take to get on my blog, I simply answered, it has to be good…and worth blogging about! You gotta love the passion!

For instance, to be part of my blogging about teens when there's a variety of stuff to choose from, you have to be willing to fight for it!

You have to be a good friend (after all, this weekend was all about building great relationships!) and be willing to force a helmet on someone with hair like this!

So that they can turn around and do something like this!

You have to be tough!

B-boo was the only girl left!

But she was also smart…when pastor offered to pay the boys $20 each to
get her into the trash can, she quickly bowed out of the game and let
the boys duke it out!

You have to be willing to laugh at yourself! This one was supposed to be blowing the feather to keep it in the air…not biting catching it between his teeth!

You have to show kindness. The boy in the back recently had a 12 hour surgery to correct severe scoliosis. He wasn't able to participate in the games. But the teen in the front made sure to play safely so that he wouldn't get hurt, but have some fun in the day!