"My first thought was, I want to be someone who helps with the rehabilitation of falcons."

This is awesome. Once again, Smoon is the queen of finding the best reads.  Read the full article here if you love camp, are a kid, know a kid or were once a kid.

Just this excerpt makes me so excited to go back to Tecumseh because the work we're doing there really matters:

"The only way children can grow into independence is to have their parents open the door and let them walk out. That’s what makes camp such a life-changing experience for children.”

So, yes, Ms. Tiger Mom, I am letting my children walk out the door and make useless lanyards for two months.

They might not have anything “constructive” to place on their college application, but they will reflect, unwind, think and laugh. They will explore, perform skits they wrote themselves and make those endless friendship bracelets to tie onto the wrists of lifelong friends.

The result will be that when they come back through our door, we’re pretty sure that, in addition to having gobs of creativity and independence, they’ll be more comfortable with who they are as people."

Tonight was an extra night at Young Life for a couple reasons--

8TH GRADERS! Now that we're nearing the finish line of the school year our 8th grade friends are officially welcome to start coming to Young Life. They get a picture of what it looks like with all of these older kids before things slow down during the summer. It was so exciting to have this crew of girls at Campaigners tonight.

KATIE TIMMONS! She's home from Bama for the summer and was so ready to be at Young Life (one of her favorite places). I'm so thankful that our lives will overlap for a couple weeks before I love for the summer. She's got so much enthusiasm, energy and a presence that we've missed.

 

MY GAL PALS! I get to see Kegs, Genna, Hools (and Samone and Erin) nearly every week at Young Life but that doesn't make it any less special. I'm consistently thankful for this crew, their friendship and the role that I get to play in their lives. Whether we're laughing to the point of tears, talking about hard stuff, volunteering at Wyld Life or they're driving me nuts-- I'm always a fan of them.

Our small group at Campaigners with Kylie and Emily Paxton tonight was quite the crew of friends. With 8th graders, Juniors and a college Freshmen in the same room there was so much to share. I love when we come together with different experiences, different perspectives, different stories and grow together.

These words are gold. Maybe this is what you need to hear today.

If you're not sure what your thing is, maybe now is the time to figure out. God wants to partner with us as we go after our passions. Love does.

Honorable Mention Blog Titles:
"Yeah! He should be a sherpa!"
"How awesome would it be if we got to heaven and got to meet aliens?"
"Freshmen year's gonna do me dirty."