HSE Young Life Siblings Club, "No way, you only take 4 showers a week."

We brought back one of our craziest Young Life Club themes tonight-- Siblings Club. The last time we did this, our Seniors were only 8th graders and coming as the younger Siblings. Tonight we had a couple siblings come back from college, a whole gang of Wyld Life siblings and a rather large army of elementary aged siblings.

We played Musical Disappearing Tape Shapes...

Sibling Forehead Cracker Stack and Cookie Tower...

Ran all over the first floor collecting about 2,000 hidden Q-tips...

Played the How Well Do You Know Your Sibling Game...
What's their favorite food?
What's their favorite holiday?
What's their shoe size?
How many showers do they take a week?
What do the two of you fight about most often?

It was awesome not only to have all our regular Young Life friends at Club tonight, but to get to meet all of these siblings too. 

p.s. We sold over 30 donated YL shirts at the start of the night and still have about 30 left to sell at our first Wyld Life Club!

"Sarah, you crazy."

Highs of the Day:

1. I met my running goal that I set when the school year began. I was exhausted when I finished, but thanks to the Greatest Showman soundtrack it happened. 

2. Justin took me to the Indians Game for a Wendsdate. It was $1 concessions night so we loaded up--- hotdogs, nachos, popcorn, a giant Sprite and Cracker Jacks. My favorite part of sports is the food. 

3. We were about to head out of the park when I heard, "Sarah?! Is that you?!" and turned around to see Raiona. She's 21 now and living in North Carolina, but she started at Tecumseh when she was 8 and was a CILT when she was 16. We were so excited to see each other and I was so excited for her to meet Justin.

4. Quality time-- after such a crazy summer I'm thankful for time to sit and talk with Justin. He's just the greatest.

Wyld Life Leader Placement Night

We. Are. So. Excited.
Tonight our Wyld Life leadership team gathered together for the very first time. Before jumping in with 7th and 8th graders, we wanted to share vision for the year, get organized so we can pursue as many kids as possible and just celebrate together all the good that God has planned for us. We can't wait to be part of it. 

High Expectations & High Grace-- WL leaders are called to sacrifice. They sacrifice their time to show up at YL events, church, WL events, discipleship and contact work. They sacrifice their energy to invest in the lives of these kids. They sacrifice what some of their friends may be doing so they can be role models. But all that sacrifice is extremely life-giving. And we want to show one another high grace. We're imperfect people and we're all doing our best. This is a community of celebration and grace, not one of condemnation.

Discipleship & Training-- Each HS leader has a specific adult mentor on our team. We want every single leader to be seen and known and pushed to grow in their faith and their specific giftings. Adult mentors meet with their HS team of leaders bi-weekly to pour into their lives. All 7 teams are starting the year by reading Alongside, a new YL resource from Drew Hill, together.

Going where kids are-- More than ever before, we hope HSE WL leaders will go where kids are, rather than waiting for them to show up at our events. Before we even have our first Club, teams are each going to show up at an event at their school. We'll keep on loving kids we already know, but we can't wait to meet new kids this year too.

The WL Teams

8th Grade Guys-- Brad and Justin will be co-leading our Senior HS guys Gavin, Sam, Jack, Henry, Troy and Dante.

7th Grade Guys-- JD and Ian will be co-leading our Junior HS guys Hunter, Casey, MJ, Jack, Cam and Sam.

7th Grade FCJH Girls-- Caitlin will be leading Allie, Jayla, Sophie, Sophia, Elise, Yashi and Marni.

8th Grade HIJH Girls-- Megan will be leading Elyse, Cassidy, Mia, Silvana, Shannon and Erica.

7th Grade HIJH Girls-- Johnna will be leading Izzy, Jordan, Mack, Taylor, Caroline and Maddie.

Riverside and Fishers JH Girls-- Kathryn will be leading Taylor, Mer, Megan, Natalie, Brooke, Maddie and Rebecca.

8th Grade FCJH Girls-- I get to lead Mayson, Maddie, Hannah, Meric, Grace, Olivia and Wash. 

I'm so thankful I've got one more year with Wash, Maddie and Meric to live life to the full. I've been with them since they were 7th graders and I like to think I'm one of their very biggest fans.

I'm so excited for Mayson, Grace, Hannah and Olivia to join this team. Hannah was in my cabin two summers ago, I had Grace and Mayson in class years ago and loved them ever since and I've been Olivia's leader the past two summers. I can't wait to see how they'll grow in this new role.

Oh man, it's going to be so much fun. 

To top it all off, it's Grace Tully's birthday. We got to celebrate the Birthday Queen in our team and make her feel extra loved. 

p.s. On a totally unrelated note, my desk at school got an aesthetic update today. New prints of pictures from the summer arrived, frames got swapped, old signs got taken down or moved around. It's feeling fresh and clean and like I never want to leave this little corner. Thankful for my favorite humans and all my favorite things that I get to pour into. 

"I have my first gray hair. I got it because of my dog."

Overlap started years ago because I wanted to write about the people my life overlapped with. This weekend was my first full weekend back in Indy and I got to spend time with so many of the most wonderful people. 

Friday right after school I got to hang out with my friends Rachel and Emily and their babies. I'm so thankful we live close by and want to take advantage of the proximity to hang out more often. 

Saturday mornings first stop was cross country-- the greatest sport ever. I came with Young Life girls to share on our friends Brooke and Fudge and Marni and Ellie and Lulu and Claire and Caroline and Maggie and the rest of the team. Their first meet was the Hokum Karem-- a two person relay with 1 mile laps where each person runs a total of 3 miles and they want the fastest time for their combined 6 miles. It's awesome and so much fun to watch.

Next our girl gang hit up the Fisher's Farmer's Market. It was my first time and I was so excited for a Walking Waffle and to find some fresh flowers to take home. Our group also collected blueberry crumble, sweet corn, acia bowls and egg rolls. We ran into so many familiar faces and got to hang out with Johnna for awhile.

Justin and I lived this weekend well-- more organizing of the house and garage (while simultaneously filling boxes for Goodwill), a date at the site of our very first date (which was just over two years ago), running, going to Bethlehem United Methodist Church for the first time, grocery shopping and making sushi. I'm so thankful for this guy.

Here's to loving the weekend and having a week that you can't wait to jump into.

Partner Pairings meets Wyld Life

Without question, the most anticipated, the most exciting, the most high-energy moment at every Staff Training is Partner Pairings. Over 100 counselors have already spent several days together getting ready for campers, but this is a turning point. During Partner Pairings every single counselor finds out their partner, their cabin and their unit for the summer ahead. 

Counselors go from being one out of an army of staff to becoming someone's partner. They become the counselor of a specific cabin. They have a Unit of counselors to belong to who will soon become their family. They belong. Suddenly a very large group seems much smaller.

I wish I could bottle up all of the smiles and screams and fist pumps and hugs and jumps from Partner Pairings and sprinkle it out the whole rest of the year. The emotions are incredible. Ask any Tecumseh counselor and they'll be able to tell you every detail of the morning of Partner Pairings-- it's unforgettable.

I think the best ideas are often borrowed ideas, so I'm going to borrow Partner Pairings.

This year our Wyld Life leadership team consists of 7 adult leaders and 45 HS Juniors and Seniors. FORTY-FIVE HIGH SCHOOLERS. That's exciting and just so dang many and kind of intimidating all at once.

So WL Leadership is going to have it's own Partner Pairings on Monday night.

We're going to organize our leaders into specific teams this year-- suddenly a very large group will seem much smaller. Every HS leader has their own adult mentor, a specific group of kids to get to know and a small group of other HS leaders to grow with.

On Monday night they might find out they're on Caitlin's team, leading 7th grade girls at Fall Creek Junior High with six of their best friends. They have a place to belong.

I can't wait to celebrate with all of our leaders on Monday night at our own version of Partner Pairings. Perhaps we'll create the kind of energy and excitement and fun that we'll want to bottle up for the whole year.

"I spy a man with a ponytail, a crying child, a nurse, a pink hat, a neck tattoo."

The Indiana State Fair. The mecca of fried food and advanced people watching. Every August I anticipate the one night that I will get to walk the loop past the food stands, the Dairy Barn, Coliseum, rides, hot tubs for sale, Pioneer Cabins and DNR building. You can always count on the State Fair. 

State Fair Pro Moves:

1. Bring your own water bottle and keep refilling it so you never have to buy overpriced water

2. Go on $2 Tuesday so you get in for $2 instead of $13 and take advantage of all the $2 food deals instead of picking the full priced ones

3. Wear comfortable shoes

Best find of 2018-- the Dairy Barn's Inside Out Grilled Cheese. I'm not exactly sure what it was, but it was delicious. Imagine a grilled cheese made with garlic bread and extra cheese and just the right balance of crunchy and gooey. 

More proof that Mondays are actually the best

High of the Day: Cass, alumni cadet teacher extraordinaire, showed up at school this morning with an extra vanilla latte for me. I sure am going to miss having her here with me every single day. 

High of the Day: Picnic in the park. Cass leaves for Ball State on Wednesday and we wanted to have one last adventure. We gathered friends at Geist Park, brought pizza and fruit, spread out a quilt and hung up hammocks. If you know Cass at all, you know this setting is her very favorite thing. Her story is one of my favorites and she has had such a positive impact on all of us. She'll be so missed.

High of the Day: Hugs and reunions. As leaders showed up early and then kids rolled in, I was so happy to see all of these people I've missed all summer. I screamed when I saw Johnna and then nearly cried when KCraig jumped out of her car. These are some of the best humans I know. It's a privilege to call them my friends.

High of the Day: Campaigners is back. The start of school year is a return to routine and Campaigners on Monday nights is one of my favorite rhythms to the week. Ryan left HSE YL this summer and he will be so missed-- but the good news is that new people are stepping up the plate and using their gifts and talents. Ian is our new Area Director and I'm pumped to have him leading this team. Tonight Cooper and six girls led us in worship and it was so, so good.

Brooke Wyatt shared her testimony tonight and let us all see how God has been at work in her life. She told us, "I didn't know when I was younger that I could turn to Christ. But Sophomore year I started realizing that He really was with me. I recently went to Clearwater Cove and it was at camp that I accepted Christ into my life. I loved camp this year not just because of my friends but because of how much more I got to know God. I'm walking with Him now and it's the best feeling. I'm seeing things with a new perspective."

High of the Day: Small Group with my girls. At the end of the day, Young Life is all about relationships. There were over 100 people there tonight, but hopefully every kid had a handful of friends that they got to connect with and a leader who is right there with them. Even though there are so many people who love YL we want it to still feel small and personal.
We all squeezed onto a trailer out side tonight and caught up. We had alumni Cass and Kegley, Seniors Gidget and Meric, and a whole slew of Juniors, Sophomores and Freshmen. We're all about new friends and learning from each other and growing together. This is the dream.

 "Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes." Matthew 6: 34