"I used to have a crush on him, but then he told me he doesn't like Disney. That's a turn off."

Friday after school I got to visit Juniors Audrey and Lauren at Starbucks as they hung out with Wyld Life girls Sarah, Grace, Elise and Maggie. I found them all sitting around a table with their friendship bracelets tapped on the edge. I love that they're making time to spend together.

I spent most of the night with Grace, Hope and Katy. When I asked them how they wanted to spend the night they said, "Eat pizza and color!" That's my kind of people. 

We gathered at Katy's house to sing Wicked at the top of our lungs, eat pizza, color a mural and play Headbandz with Katy's little sister. Hope taught me the Sharkteeth pattern and Grace and I finished off the whole pan of cinnamon rolls. 

Saturday morning was devoted to Wyld Life leadership at KCraig's house and Saturday afternoon was all about Young Life leadership out at the barn. In both spaces we got to connect, plan, read the bible together and come up with new plans that we're excited about. I'm so thankful that I get to serve with both of these groups.

Sisters Grace and Audrey play on an indoor soccer team and I've been meaning to watch one of their games. This weekend I went to cheer them on and brought Lulu along to surprise Audrey and play as an alternate. I love Grace and Rachel's coaching from the box and getting to see Hokum Scarum dominate the field. Audrey got three goals aka 6 points for her team that led them to victory. 

Sunday morning I got to sit with the Dewolf family at Northview. The music was three of my favorite songs: Build Your Kingdom Here, One Thing Remains and Your Love Never Fails. In the sermon about partnering with God they celebrate the 10 year anniversary of Northview Kids, North Beach and Capstone. It's incredible to hear the story of how God continues to bless the people who are willing to step out in faith for Him.

*Post title honorable mention: "This morning I watched a video of Taylor Swift. And it was a Christmas song. And she was dancing with snow. And I was like, "Praise you!"

"Fires is catching! And if we burn, you burn with us!"

Making bracelets is a good time, but playing games after school with a group of 50 people might be even more fun. So today we played. We played the Airport Waiting Game. We played Shuffle Butts. We played Wink Tackle. We laughed. It was awesome. 

Then of course we also started some new bracelets. At lunch today another teacher asked me, "So what do the kids do with all of those bracelets?" Give them to their friends of course. you can never make too many bracelets. It's just not possible. So we learned the Railroad Tracks pattern and tied knots and sang along to High School Musical.

Soon after FBC, Julia, Hope, Katy P, Lulu, Audrey and I met up at Qdoba for an early dinner and a hot sauce initiation into the Mockingjay Club. This group of girls has become our movie premier group and this newest installment in the Hunger Games was one we weren't about to miss.

 Katniss Everdeen is the face of the revolution, young adult literature and girl power. She's a rock star. And tonight Mockingjay Part 1 was released. After Hunger Games and Catching Fire you can bet that we were in line two hours before it was scheduled to start rolling. I'm thankful for the time to just hang out with Audrey, Lulu, Katy, Hope and Julia. They're the kind of people I always want to spend more time with.

One of the best parts of movie premiers is that the theatres are packed and you run into so many other people that are there to watch it too. Tonight Jordan, a Senior Varsity volleyball player, and her sister and friend sat down in the row in front of us. After going to watch YL girls in volleyball games all Fall Jordan was a person that I wanted to be friends with because of her enthusiasm, kindness and spunk. Julia came right out and said, "Jordan! Miss Wright wants to be friends with you!" Luckily, she wasn't too weirded out and we were all friends a few minutes later. Now Jordan, Jen and Katie might even come to YL on Monday. 

The movie was fantastic. There were some differences from the book and I'm low key upset that we'll have to wait a year for Part 2, but you should definitely go see it.

"Jesus is my best friend. Know who my arm is around right now? Jesus. You just can't see him."

I started writing and posting stories years ago because I thought the people in my life were worth talking about. I think I'm incredibly lucky to overlap with such fantastic people and I do my best to hold on to the friendships I've created. Today I got to spend time with some great people.

Sarah and Grace-- 7th grade girls, best friends, incredibly adorable. At first they're both quiet and you might think they don't have a lot to say. But once you get to know them they're all smiles and they talk a mile a minute. I'm lucky enough to have them both in class right now and to get to be in their small group at Wyld Life or hang out with them at FBC.

Ayden-- 7th grade boy, hilarious. This kid is one of my saving graces every morning when I'm teaching in the middle of junior high chaos. This 12-year-old is one of the most helpful and respectful boys I've ever met and that's saying something. He volunteers to help kids that others might avoid, he always does his work on time (and often before it's due) and he always makes me laugh. Tonight when I told him that Sarah and Grace were "my girls" he was upset that he wasn't "my girl" too but then decided it was okay if he was a "homie" instead. 

Liz- freshmen girl, wise beyond her years, incredibly loyal. I got to have dinner with Liz tonight before I headed off to Wyld Life. I'm not usually a leader for freshmen this year but Liz and I have continued to meet together and hang out. Her commitment to her faith encourages me. When I find out about a Christian concert in the area she's always the first person I invite to go. I can't wait for her to be a Wyld Life leader in a couple years.

This past summer I spent a day gathering information to answer the question, "Which CILT Session has the most people currently on staff?" I surveyed Day Camp, Resident and Leadership staff to see whether 1, 2 or 3 as a whole had the most people still in polos and wooden nametags. Most of us were surprised to find that Session 1 ended up winning.

Today Smoon and I brainstormed some other camp related research topics that we would love to know the answers to.

1. What age counselors started coming to camp and what unit they primarily work with.
2. Percentage of grown-up Tecumseh campers actively involved in their faith.
3. Rating of how well counselors got along with their partners and then if they returned to work again the next summer.
4. The most signed-up for clinics by village.
5. The kid and counselor that have been paired together the most years in a row.
6. How many hours of sleep counselors get per night, by unit.
7. Average years of a camp career, including camper and counselor years.

What research topics would you add?

"All of those people really just got out to help the car stuck in the snow? That's so Young Life."

Young Life tonight was really great. Leadership was tiny, just five of us eating dinner together upstairs. It was cold and it was dark outside and it just felt like it was going to be a quiet night.

Little did we know that when we came downstairs we'd be greeted by 75 kids bursting with energy and so dang ready for some Campaigners. Ryan led us in a group prayer activity which was really cool before we broke up into small groups. I met with Sophomore and Senior girls in the cubby room and I wish our conversation could have lasted another hour or two. It was just really, really good. 

The first year that we started HSE Young Life Jon Houghton gave us some questions to have kids answer after we'd been meeting for about a semester. We got so much awesome feedback that I thought I'd try out those questions again. I can tell you that YL is awesome, but it's so much more effective to hear what our kids are saying.

How has Young Life impacted you?

YL has impacted me since the beginning of 8th grade. I am always relieved to know I have a group of kids and adults that are there for me 24/7, to know that I can rely on them at any time and that they will always be welcoming with open arms. -Sophomore girl

It's given me a second family. -Junior girl

Young Life has made me the person I am today. I used to go to church every now and then and hardly pay attention because I didn't understand very much. But in YL I understand everything and truly believe that I was made for this. -Sophomore girl

Young Life has impacted me in numerous ways. Not only in my relationship with Him but my relationship with leaders as well. I've met with leaders and had some deep, solid, heart to heart talks about Christ, my life and my journey to Christ. The leaders are there to listen and help you stay on the right path to Christ. YL has helped me go to church more and continue to strengthen my relationship with God. -Senior guy

Saying YL has impacted me would be an understatement. Before the summer going into 8th grade I would have claimed that I had a relationship with God. Looking back now I realize I would have only said that because every one else did. I've learned that God has put me on this earth with a purpose and knew me before I was ever alive. He created me. -Sophomore girl 

Young Life has impacted me in way that I can't explain. I came to YL looking for something to give me hope and a refuge from the dark place I was in. I've learned so many new things about myself and I've learned them through Christ. YL brought me to the reality that God has a plan for me and things are only going to get better. I've made amazing friends along the way and I'll never forget how much YL has shaped me into who I am today. -Senior girl

I have realized and seen how many different people can come together in fellowship and worship, despite the struggles that you, or the person sitting next to you, have been through. -Sophomore girl

It's changed me as a whole. I have created a family, I have found Christ and it's made me much happier. -Senior guy

Before YL I didn't really have a personal relationship with God. Going to church on Sundays was just something we did as a family. YL has made Jesus an important part of my life. -Sophomore girl 

It allows me to worship in a setting with my peers from school different from church. -Sophomore girl

What's something you've learned about Christ/God/yourself?

He's waiting for me all the time and he's always got my back even when I think he's left me. He's still there waiting for me to say I need him too. -Junior girl 

I'm learning more about my true self and who I want to be. YL opens my eyes to who God wants me to be. -Sophomore girl

Christ will always pursue me. I've learned that the road will not always be easy and my faith will often be questioned, but God has already blessed me with opportunities and blessings. It's just up to me to take advantage of them. -Senior guy

I have learned that God loves us all no matter what, unconditionally. -Sophomore girl 

God has a purpose for my life no matter what challenges he may throw my way. -Sophomore girl

God lives through people and it is beautiful. -Junior girl

Christ always has my back. When no one else is there he is and no one can tell me differently. -Sophomore girl

He saves people. -Senior guy

I now have a relationship with God. I don't think I would be in the place I am now if it wasn't for YL. I've been introduced to so many loving people that I care so much about. -Sophomore girl

Why do you keep coming back to Young Life?

I can't picture my life without going to the barn on Monday nights and worshiping God with all of my friends. -Sophomore girl

Every time I am there I am so happy. It comes from being surrounded by so many good people who spill their love for Jesus. -Senior girl

The people there have become a second family and I love seeing them. I love getting to have intelligent conversations about God and getting to ask questions. -Junior girl

YL is a fun way to start out my week. I love meeting new people and everyone there always has a positive attitude which makes me feel welcome. -Freshmen girl 

I have grown close to so many people and I feel like I continue to grow in my faith every week. When I come to YL I feel like I have no worries and it makes me so happy and grateful that I have it to look forward to every week. -Sophomore girl

I call it home. -Senior guy

I keep coming back to YL because it's such a positive light in my life. I continue to get to know Christ better as well as building lasting relationships with friends through him. -Sophomore girl 

The talks and lessons are all so easy to relate to. Sometimes in church it's hard to relate to and understand what the pastor is talking about. At YL I feel like I get it. It's an awesome environment to be in and I feel like I can trust people. -Freshmen girl 

I keep coming because it makes me happy, it makes me feel like home and it's the highlight of my week every week. -Sophomore girl

I think YL represents so much of what God pictures when He set the foundations for worship. Love, laughter, tears, song and His presence. It's all there and I love that. -Senior guy

I keep coming back because it's such a fun and laid back environment where I know I can say whatever and nobody will judge me or hold it against me. I love the people there and have built friendships with people I never thought I'd get to know. -Junior girl 

Whenever I go to YL I leave feeling renewed. I am reminded why I am here today by what we talk about and the amazing people around me. -Sophomore girl

I used to think ___________ but now I think ____________.

I used to think of God as a distant or unknown figure but now I think of God as a great friend. -Junior girl

I used to think Wyld Life was going to be about nature, but now I know it's about God. -Sophomore girl

I used to think that being open to people that I hardly knew was hard, but now I think that it doesn't matter what I share because every girl in my small group wants to listen. -Sophomore girl

I used to think YL was for partiers and first time Christians but now I think YL is for anyone who wants to be closer to God and the people in their community. -Junior girl

I used to think that Christ isn't anything special and I could believe what I wanted. Now I believe that he is in everything great and that I need him to survive. -Senior guy

I used to think I had to be perfect to follow Christ but now I think that he accepts all of my sins. -Sophomore girl

I used to think I didn't have time to go to YL and for God, but then I got my priorities straight. -Junior girl

I used to think God was boring, but now I think God is my life. -Senior guy

I used to think you had to do everything right to go to heaven and you couldn't mess up. But now I think you just have to really love Jesus. -Sophomore girl

I used to think that I was alone and didn't have anyone. But now I know that I have God and my YL family. -Sophomore girl

"Last night I was house wife training myself."

What if soccer tournaments are actually just CILT reunions in disguise? Devon's team came down from Lake Zurich, a city North of Chicago, to play in Westfield this weekend. Ellie, Grace, Kate, Ashley and I all showed up in the 20 degree weather with blankets and coffee to watch her play. Soccer is not the most climactic sport to watch, but you wouldn't have known that from listening to Ellie scream for Devon every few minutes at the top of their lungs. When they game finished the girls ran across the field to attack each other. 

I met Devon when she was just a tiny Blazer in River Village and through letters and seeing each other for one week each summer we stayed friends. This past summer I got to be one of Devon's CILT counselors for two weeks in the Longhouse. I loved getting to finally be one of her counselors and to get to live the dream together.

We all had lunch together and Sam met up with us too. I love when we all get to Overlap like this even if it's just for a little bit. We're all so excited for the CILT reunion that's just over a month away when all three sessions will be together at Tecumseh.

Because I see Wyld Life girls at school every day I usually save contact work for my HS girls. But this Saturday I had a collaging afternoon with some phenomenal 8th graders. Sophie, Lulu, Maggie, Elise, Audrey, Maddie and Maddy all came to cut up magazines, find quotes, get their fingers totally sticky with glue and create beautiful collages.

I love spending time with these girls. They're some of the sweetest, most appreciative, helpful, genuine and kind junior high kids I know. I've known them all for almost a year and a half now and I'm glad we still have so many years to come.

Today my inspiration came from the pages of J Crew and Patagonia--typical. But I just love these images of mountains and adventure and exploration. It makes me want to grab my backpack and go on Wilderness or some other grand trip. 

Smoon and I weren't in the same place this weekend but we practically watched Gilmore Girls together because we kept sending one another updates about it. Oh holy do we love Lorelai and Rory and Luke and Suuki and Lane and most of Stars Hollow.

Julia and I went to see the Nicholas Sparks movie Best of Me. We really wanted to love it and thought for most of the movie that we would be that ending. Jeesh. It really through me for a loop there. I was not prepared for that kind of plot twist that left me so angry. 

At the end of my weekend I got to spend time with my friends Rachel and Emily. They live in the Broad Ripple area but we make an effort to see each other on a semi-regular basis. I love that we've all been friends for nearly seven years at this point and have so much shared history. We talked about that history today and what is about camp friendships that makes them last for counselors longer than so many of our friendships from HS or college. 

"I don't wear gym clothes every day. At least once a week I wear those khakis, plot twist, through a curve ball at ya."

I needed a break by the end of 7th period today. It had been a long day and I needed to just not be a teacher for awhile. I loaded up the yellow box with all of the string, tape and scissors and met the FBC girls in the LGI room. It was a huge crowd this afternoon and we started things off with screaming and running around while they played Dominican Chaos. 

Dominican Chaos is one of my favorite games of all times. You learn a lot about emotions while you're playing this with your team. 

See Camdyn there with the white sweater and mis-matched socks? That's pure joy.

See Maddie in the purple Patty? That's rage.

Don't worry-- Maddie recovered just fine.

I've been having a lot of conversations about friendship lately and observing groups of friends in action. Friendship is hard. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not always the best friend to all of my people but I hope that I'll keep getting better at being trustworthy, genuine, kind and present.

I was talking with one of my Senior girls today about what she wished she could have told herself when she was in 8th grade. "You do you," she said, "You can't control how other people are going to act." She's right. There's no point in trying to change your friends if you don't like the way they're acting. You are in charge of yourself and only you.

KCraig and I were talking with one of our Junior High girls about having "fun" with her friends. We asked her what that meant and she told us that they get invited to all the cool parties every weekend but then they end up on their phones, getting into trouble or being stressed about not getting into trouble. When we asked her what would actually be fun she said, "Well I really like when we order pizza and watch funny movies like Clueless and we'll play ping pong and see how hard we can hit the ball." Option two sounds like a lot more fun to me. What kind of fun do you want to have? Find friends that want the same thing.

I thought the universal truth about friends was that they are supposed to be nice to you. But I'm finding out from students and campers and YL girls that I love that "being nice" isn't always on the list of friend qualities. And I think that's such a mistake. If you can't trust your friends, they make you do things for them, they intimidate you or make fun of you then I don't really see how they're your friends.

You deserve great friends. You really do. Don't keep investing in the people that aren't the kind of friends you want. There are more people out there who would love to be your friend if you just give them the chance.

"Do you ever wish you could control your best friends?"

One important thing that all of my time at Tecumseh has taught me is that anything can be fun. It just takes a little creativity and the right mindset. 

Over time I've learned that sometimes YL contact work is just inviting kids to join you in whatever you're already doing.

Today those important lessons combined and resulted in THE MOST FUN ERRANDS EVER.

Stop #1: Picking up Hope, Grace, Katy and Julia from school with our buy-one-get-one-free holiday drinks from Starbucks.

Stop #2: Old Navy so Hope could get new leggings. The rest of us had our dance party in the store while we waited.

Stop #3: Getting tickets for the Mockingjay premier next Thursday night so we can all be in the same theater.

Stop #4: Barnes and Noble to pick up Jesus Prom, a new book by Jon Weece that KCraig and I predict will be the next big thing. The girls spread out to give random, genuine compliments around the store to as many people as possible while I got the book.

Car Driving: We sang 99% of the time at the top of our lungs to everything from Bad Blood to Fergilicious. If someone didn't know the lyrics they pulled them up on their phone so they could sing along. A couple cool 8th graders taught me that trick.

Stop #4: Third Phase in Noblesville to drop off the 102.5 pairs of socks we collected in Socktober because of Kid President. The ladies inside were partially adorable and partially confused about our excitement to drop off all of these socks.

Stop #5: Hobby Lobby for friendship bracelet string. All of these girls are expert knot-tiers and we all needed to replenish our string supplies. I was down to red, orange and navy which wasn't a pretty sight. We also ran into a woman from Grace's church that offered to knit her a pair of knuckle gloves--Grace's day was made.

Stop #6: Dropping everyone off back at home again. This was easily the most fun I've ever had running errands.