"How do you do this every summer? There's too much oxygen here--I can't breath. I need Instagram or something."

This week I'm back at my favorite place in the world with all of the HSJH 7th graders. Once a year, we get to take a field trip to Tecumseh. Our school is so big that we take 1/2 the kids Monday-Wednesday and then the second 1/2 Wednesday-Thursday. Each crew comes with about 50 parents, 10 teachers and 54 HS counselors. It's a party to say the least.

We use baby food jars to collect water samples at the lake. Then the groups look at the lake water under a microscope. We needed more baby food jars so I made a Wal-Mart run and picked out a range of flavors. Instead of just dumping all of the food out, I got this study group of kids to help me taste test each one. We agreed that peas and squash are disgusting but we love the apple blueberry and apple cherry.

One of my favorite parts of the whole week is getting to spend time with and see the HS counselors in action. I had Rachel as a student in both 7th and 8th grade. She's a wacko and I love every bit of the kid. I think her kids won the lottery by being in her group but they probably think she's insane.

On the first night of camp after dinner all of the kids and counselors are split into 4 teams to play Capture the Flag in Main Field. It's organized chaos as everyone runs around trying to get the white buckets and get them back to their own team's treasure chest.

I make laps around the field so I can see how each team is doing and see fun 7th graders like Kim and Hannah while they police the border.

One of my students told me he was surprised by how fun these counselors are. He expected them to be boring but that's the last word I would use to describe people like Rachel. She has been making me laugh since she was in 7th grade and I'm so glad she's here this week as a counselor.

Our kids work on their lessons all morning and afternoon but at night they get to run and around and go nuts. I love this opportunity to encourage them to be a little crazy.

One of my favorite parts has to be the Just Dance competition. Half of the group comes into the CAC to have 4-way dance off. For each round you can earn 1 point for the winner with the control and 2 points for the team that is the most in sync in both choreography, spirit, singing and facial expressions.

**Blog Title Honorable Mention: "The counselors are a lot different than I expected. I thought they'd be ye old pioneers."

"When I was in the American Girl doll fashion show I cried because they wouldn't let me be Kit. I just didn't understand. I get it now. They made me be Josephina and Kaya because I wasn't black enough to be Addy."

This weekend I was talking to a friend about describing life as full rather than busy. Being "busy" has such a negative connotation and I often feel like people use it to rationalize that their life has meaning and purpose and they're giving more effort than the next guy. But aren't we all busy? Isn't there more to life than that?

Instead, I want to live a life that's full. I want my days to be packed with friendships and creativity and time to breath as well as time for adventure. I was to spot joy in each day and to work on things I care about. This weekend was full. 

Friday morning started early with this group of rock star 8th grade girls. I love that this is a regular routine in our lives together.

It was a half day for the kids but I was at school for 3 hours of meetings and then 3 hours of finishing Camp T prep-- that time felt a lot more like busy than full.

Friday night I got to hang out with Katy, Hope, Abby, Cecilia, Jules and Natalie as we ate good food, made best friend necklaces and bracelets and watched movies.

Saturday morning I got to meet with KCraig and some of our HS Wyld Life leaders for bible study at Mama Bear's. I'm so thankful for this time together.

It was KCraig's birthday so it was extra special that we all got to be together. This woman is one of my favorite people from her ridiculously loud laugh to her ability to go with the flow in the middle of the craziest situations. She's my friendship-braceleting, Diet-Coke-drinking, Young-Life-leading, Jesus-loving partner in crime. 

 

Krafty was in town just for the weekend to surprise his dad for his birthday party and his sister hosted a lunch so that he could see a ton of his friends. He lives out in Montana these days so it was so good to see him, talk about YL and play with his nieces Cam and Bella.

Saturday night I went back to Mama Bear's for a Team Luke concert. The whole Andritsch fam was there which was good because it's also Grace's birthday! She may just be a Junior in HS but Grace is someone that I so admire and respect. I love her heart and the way she leaks Jesus in all that she does.

I got a phone call from screaming girls in the middle of the afternoon and then heard the news repeated several more times from Audrey that, "WE WON STATE! WE'RE STATE CHAMPIONS!" The Jr High girls cross country team won state that morning and they couldn't be more thrilled.

I also got to hang out with Katy and Hope for the second night this weekend which was totally fine with me.

Sunday morning I picked up Cook, Chloe and Kayla to go to iTown church. It's super hipster and trendy and I had to come see what it was all about. I loved that Nat Rat was driving one of the golf cart shuttles and that we saw Audrey, Lisa, Kocher, Chad, Jacob, JD and Muntch inside. 

I ran into Grace Gregor, CILT session 1, at Target which was such a treat. I'm such a fan of this girl. Can't wait to see all my Cathedral girls at the football game Friday.

I got to see Rhys, a Tecumseh rock star, at her birthday party at Sky Zone this afternoon. We've been pen pals for awhile now and I got a birthday invite in the mail from her a couple weeks ago. I loved getting to see her and have so much fun jumping around and playing dodge ball.

GIRLS RULE! BOYS DROOL!

Today the three HSE Junior High cross country teams competed-- Riverside, Fishers and HSJH. They conveniently ran right beside the HSE HS so I got to cheer on my HSE kids and Lily from Riverside. Maggie, Maddy, Pidgeon and I were some of the cheerleaders that cris-crossed the field so that we could keep yelling for our friends. 

Lulu and Lilly rocked it, Audrey destroyed her PR and Elise matched her best time of the season. It was a great race. I hurried over to the Barn for my first Wyld Life event of the school year. Oh holy have I missed hanging out with this crew.

I'm beyond thankful for our HS leaders-- Audrey, Marie, Alyssa, Hannah, Alli Bell, Jenna, Katie, Natty B, Grace, Blaire, Nat Rat, Rachel, BGrad, Brock, Brannt, Jacob and Tristan-- that show up and love our kids. It's pretty phenomenal to see them grow in their faith this year as they willingly serve, attend church, take part in our bible study and strive to live out all that they're learning and believe. 

Their enthusiasm is contagious and they bring so much life to what we're doing. KCraig and I are already talking about how much we love these Seniors and how it'll be rough when they head off to college next year. For now, we're going to spend as much time as we can with these homies.

Grace, Audrey, Natalie, Blaire and Haleigh are all part of my cloud of witnesses-- people that are following God and pointing me back to Christ. We're not perfect and we don't have it all figured out yet, but we're pushing on to the goal and living life to the full.

We were ready and amped when our Junior High kids started to show up. Natalie, Cecilia and Alaina were as hyper as ever.

Maddy and Maggie made a pit stop for pink shirts after the cross country race and made it to club with time to spare. It was their first time to the Barn so I gave them a tour which included scrunching into the cubbies.

I was so excited to see Lucy, Sydney, Julia and Rachel all show up. I've been living life with the 8th graders for a year now through class, bible studies and camp. They're my homies and I'm such a fan of all of them.

Before Club officially started the HS leaders played some Little Sally Walker in the field and had a keep-the-balloon-up-in-the-air competition.

Junior High is pretty darn special. How could you not want to hang out with these crazies?

We sang screamed some Shake It Off and Don't Stop Believing at the start of Club. There were dozens of pink and blue balloons around the room that were consistently being popped. Alaina and the Cefalis yelled on the microphones. Classic Wyld Life.

We played some Lover's Leap. In the Boys v Girls Relay Race participants traded off applying make up, shaving a balloon, putting on a dress and heels and shooting a free throw. The girls were victorious.

In you case you hadn't heard yet, KCraig is now the Wyld Life director for HSE. She's fantastic. I can't tell you how thankful I am for her guidance, enthusiasm, relational heart, desire to serve, prayers and willingness to be real with people. This program has already grown in depth and width this year because of her heart and work.

Tim Buck and Tim Buck 2 (aka BFizzle and TGold) came out next for the premier of their skit.These two are a riot.

I'm Tim Buck, and I'm Tim Buck 2.
And we say, "How do you do?"
We live in the Hawthorne's by Hole 7. Our tree house in the woods is our own piece of heaven.
We fish in the retention pond and we shoot like James Bond.
Roudin' up the squirrels is our passion and rockin' these Jordans is our fashion.
Yo, we straight cashin.
Skies out, thighs out. #blessedbaconbits

I'm excited for this skit to continue all year and to add in our villains BGrad and Jenna in the coming weeks.

Tim Buck and Tim Buck 2 pulled up their friends Isaiah, MJ, Lucy and Meredith to spit some worms to bring them back to life. The first three kids all spit gummy worms and then MJ had a real live one that Tim Buck 2 dug up out in the yard. It was the live worm that spit the furthest.

Our last song of the night was Prince of Peace and you better believe all the Camp T kids in the crowd were belting it out. It made me camp sick for the Green Cathedral.

I got to give the Club Talk tonight and shared about running the race with Christ and what that looks like. I told them about other people who inspire me in my race and how we're all in this together.

Isaiah 40:31 

But they who wait for the Lord will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not be weary.

Philippians 3:13-14

 I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.

Hebrews 12:1

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

I'm so thankful for all of these kids and that we get to live this adventure together. I'm glad that the 8th graders like Lucy Trede, Julia, Liza and Lucy Collins love Wyld Life so much and that Sarah and Sydney are just getting into it. You can't have a bad night at Wyld Life Club.