You've cat to be kitten me right meow.

With our third two-hour delay of the week, our Love Does girls got to sleep in before we met this morning. They are crazy, hyper group of girls and sometimes it's hard to stay on task. But I'm so thankful for the chance to get to know them better, to learn from Bob's stories and build this foundation of faith. 

It's #ponybraidfriday again in the HSJH and I got to rock my favorite Patagonia to make today even more fun. KCraig is the bomb and she's just about the craziest person I know. I love when I walk in and find her in my classroom. I love her crazy ideas, her huge heart and her laugh that you can hear all the way down the hall.

Julia Patras is pretty incredible, and not just because she looks so good with a side pony braid. I already miss having her in class so much and wish I could have kept her the whole year. I'm thankful that she comes to visit my classroom and that she comes to Wyld Life to hang out.

After our snow cancellation last week, we finally got to have WYLD LIFE CAT CLUB! We've been pumped about this theme for weeks and couldn't wait to have some purrrfectly good fun. I was thrilled when Julia, Audrey and Elyse were three of the first to arrive.

There were cat ears, drawn on whiskers, cat t-shirts, cat sweatshirts, cat stuffed animals, cat posters and even cat leggings.

A whole crew of fun 7th and 8th graders showed up for Cat Club tonight along with our Wyld Life leaders Mariah, Hayley and Natty B. Wyld Life is always a blast and they couldn't wait to head downstairs to really start club.

First we watched the old school YouTube sensation, "Kittens Inspired By Kittens!" and sang One Direction's "Story of My Life."

We invited Adam, Maggie and Lukas upfront to play the Kitty Litter game. Once the music started the kids put their face into the tray filled with kitty litter (aka rice krispies) and pulled out the cat poop (aka Charleston Chews) and spit them in the empty tray.

I met Adam for the first time at lunch today while I was walking around. I invited him to Wyld Life and was so excited when he walked through the door. Maggie is always at Club and tonight she was so excited to play a game and be crazy intense. Lukas stepped up to the plate with a cheering section of friends right behind him.

We played team Hiss, Lick, Purr. We huddled to figure out which cat-ism we would throw and then faced off. The winners chased the losers and tried to tag them so that they would have to switch teams.

Oh goodness, people look really good when they're acting like cats.

The raffle prizes tonight consisted of six fantastic cat shirts. Did you know that Walmart sold this many cat shirt variations?

Everyone broke up into teams to try to identify a whole grid of famous cats. Do you think you'd know Garfield, Hobbs, Sylvester, Milo, Simba, Salem, Hello Kitty, Nyon Cat and more?

We watched Phoebe's performance of "Smelly Cat" in the Central Perk before we sang "We Won't Be Shaken" with Ryan.  Trulock gave the Club Talk tonight about our calling and purpose. She told us about her story and how for so long she had no idea what she wanted to do. Then along the way she realized that God had a calling for her life.

I got to sit in the stairwell with these seven girls and dive deeper into the idea that God has a plan for our lives. They may be only thirteen years old but these girls are wise and I've got so much respect for them. Audrey told us that when people ask her what she wants to be when she grows up she's going to say, "Whatever God wants me to be."

I love that I got to spend my Friday night with these kids acting like cats and being silly and weird. Afterwards I was texting with a couple of girls that are Freshmen now, but just last year they were sitting with me in a small group at the bottom of these stairs. Our ministry here will continue to shift and change and grow every single year. I'm so glad that I get a front row seat for all of that.

"A Letter To A Person On Their First Day Here." -Kid President

*This post is the transcript of the Kid President video A Letter To A Person On Their First Day Here and are the words of Kid President and Brad.  Whenever I watch one of their videos I always wish I had every word written down so I could remember it later or make a billboard with their message or write their ideas in a note to my friend. Their videos just make the world more awesome. Here is their latest great work.

There's a lot that the kids need to know. A letter to a person on their first day here. Today over 360,00 babies will be born. And you are one of them. Welcome! This is the world. It's a pretty cool place. There's lots to see, smell. There's corn dogs. Uh, I'm getting ahead of myself. There's just so much to do-- singing, dancing, oh and laughing. Laughing's the best. Especially great when you laugh and milk comes out of your nose. But only if you just had milk. Otherwise it's just gross.

Some days gross things will happen. Some days awesome things will happen. Some days you'll get ice-cream. Some days you won't. Some days your kite will fly high. Some days it gets stuck in a tree. That's just how it is here.

There's plenty of reasons to dance. You just got to look for them. Don't worry though. You won't be doing this alone. You're gonna meet lots of people here. Some of them will be really nice and some won't be. It's not that they can't be... Maybe they're just having a bad day.

Being a person is hard sometimes. You should give people high 5s just for getting out of bed. Oh, high 5s! I forgot to explain that. How do I explain this? It's kind of like hitting someone who is your friend. Uh, that's really bad...

Just treat everybody like it's their birthday. Even if they don't deserve it. Because we all mess up sometimes. The biggest mess up? Not forgiving each other's mess ups.

Maybe you'll be a teacher. Maybe you'll be President. Maybe you'll cure every disease ever. You might even see the Grand Canyon, swim in the ocean. Oh this is so, so much. It's a lot. Try this, take a breath... Isn't that amazing? It's called breathing! You're going to do it a lot. But nobody knows exactly how much. So enjoy it.

 

Pay attention. Take brain pictures. "Click" Because amazing things will happen every day. You're going to do so much. But it's not about what you do. It's about who you are.

You? You're awesome. You were made that way. You were made from love, to be love, to spread love. Love is always louder. No matter what. Even if hate has a bullhorn. Love is louder. So let your life be loud. Let's shout to the world. "THINGS CAN BE BETTER! IT'S OK ABOUT ALL THE MESS UPS! CORN DOGS RULE!" Sorry, I just keep bringing that up.

I don't think I told you this yet, We're really glad you're here. We don't say that enough to each other here. Because, well, life gets busy.

You're going to be important. And you're going to do a lot. And you're going to smell great. But don't get too busy.

Remember to let everybody know you're glad they're here. You don't have to remember all of this right now. You're going to need a pep talk sometimes. And that's ok.

For now, remember this: You're awake. You're awesome. Live like it.

"High 5s are like... hitting someone who is your friend."

We had our second two hour delay of the week this morning. I sure could get used to school not starting till 9:30 each day. A whole crew of FBC girls showed up early to take our picture for the yearbook. I was telling Mrs. Wheeler, the photographer, that I didn't know who to expect since any one can buy a sweatshirt and any one can show up from week to week. The team of girls showed up dressed for the occasion in their FBC and prettiest faces. Now I just have to convince Mrs. Wheeler to use this funny picture in the yearbook instead of the normal smiling one.

 

 

Megan Hignight invited me to eat lunch with her table of 8th grade friends today. I got my tray of taco triangles and applesauce and pulled up a seat at the end of their lunch table. A few minutes later KCraig and Trulock joined us too. Lunch was a riot. For 32 minutes we laughed and talked and maybe screamed a little bit right there in the middle of the cafeteria.

 

KCraig, Trulock and I just kept hanging out together when we all showed up at the Junior High basketball games tonight. I'm such a fan of the boys on both the 7th and 8th grade teams. They're fantastic kids and I've loved having them in class, seeing them in the hall, talking to them at lunch and playing at Wyld Life. Of course we wanted to support them on the court. We got to hang out with YL kids like Colton and Genna in the stands, see the crowds of Junior High kids and cheer on the cheerleaders. HSJH seriously rocks. I love our school.

 

My friend Maggie is one of the greatest people I've ever met. I don't know any one that loves, listens, celebrates, welcomes and encourages quite like her. I love when she asks me to Skype and it feels like we just get to hang out for a little while. I wish that we lived a whole heck of a lot closer but I'm so glad that she makes time for me and keeps me in the loop of her life.

Kid President has a new video that came out today. It's the one year anniversary of the pep talk so they're doing something big. "Letter to a Person on their First Day Here" is fantastic. I can't wait to show it to my students tomorrow at the end of class.   

Brad and Robby, aka the creators of Kid President, have a way with language that connects with people. They make their words matter. One second you're laughing and the next you're just like, "Uh, yes, I totally feel that way. I know what you mean."

"Is it weird that when I shower in the morning I blow dry my bracelets?"

"The decision to be positive is not one that disregards or belittles the sadness that exists. It is rather a concious choice to focus on the good and to cultivate happiness, geuine happiness. Happiness is not a limited resource. We do have the power to tap into our own happiness and when you apply that, you can increase your happiness during things that are difficult." - Chris Aiff

 

Highs of the day:

1. My students were rockstars and really fun during class today. I'm still pumped about this new semester.

2. Lunches are all mixed up because of testing so there were some new faces when I walked around during B lunch.

3. No Pants Wednesday is a party.

4. I hung out with Rachel, Hope and Katy after school-- one of our favorite weekly routines. They're weird and smart and goofy and creative and I just love them.

5. In El Rodeo a mom brought over her 5-year-old daughter to look at the friendship bracelet I was working on. The little girl, Mia was shy, but her mom told us about how she's an expert finger-knitter and has made scarves for everyone they know and all of her stuffed animals. I showed Mia a potholder headband and she's going to start making those next. I told her someday when she grows up she can be in the FBC with me.

 

 

6. I got a letter in the mail from the one and only Carolyn O'Neil. The child is incredible and something of a camp T legend. She's been making the world more awesome her whole life.

7. The anticipation for tomorrow--our FBC yearbook photo, the YL spirit jerseys should be coming in and a new Kid President video.

8. Snapchats from Julia, Brookie, Odle and Sophie keep me entertained.

9. We found out early that we have a two hour delay tomorrow so I could keep watching Netflix without worrying about being tired tomorrow.

10. Reminders that God is good and that God has a plan for each one of us, even when things seem so messed up. We keep holding on, keep praying and keep taking care of each other. Living life with our God gives me hope for all of us.

"Wanna come over and play?"

Back when I was a kid at Hillcrest Elementary, recess was the time when my friends and I would leave behind our classwork and run all over the blacktop and playground. I played airplanes with Evan and Chad in 3rd grade. The girls owned the monkey bars and created spinning-swinging-flipping routines. There were afternoons of the Capture the Bottle and pumping so hard on the swings that we were sure we would actually flip over the top. Recess was the best wasn't it?

 

Last week I was making a collage for Julia's birthday and found the words, "Recess is Back" in an advertisement. I ripped out the page right away so I could use it. Recess in back. I love the idea that recess is more than just 45 minutes during your day in elementary school. What if recess is the way we look at our free time? What if recess is our attitude?

When my class and I graduated to Delphi Middle School recess disappeared from our schedule. We started "hanging out" with people instead of "playing." I think everyone gets to that point when they start acting like a grown up, whatever that means. They lose a part of the kid who used to run around chasing their friends all over the playground while playing Cartoon Tag. Suddenly recess and fun and make believe are frivolous things that no one has time for anymore.

Tonight Milly laughed when I said something about playing with Young Life girls instead of just saying that we were hanging out. I think it's important that we play. If we want to be about whimsy, about dance parties and taking opportunities, about bringing more color and more flavor and more adventure to this life then we have got to play. We have to bring back recess, even if it's just for five minutes in our day.

It'll look a little different than when we formed secret clubs in the highest tower of the playground. Today playing looked like showing up at Julia Plant's swim meet, hugging Rachel and Anna, and cheering on the swimmers with Milly and Julia. Tonight we played by laughing at dinner and starting new bracelets for friends who really, really want them. Recess can still be the best part of the day even when you're all grown up. Recess is back for good.

"Maybe just a, 'Thanks. That was nice. You rock.' would be cool once in awhile."

Planned days off are glorious. Sleeping in. No work. Play dates. Beautiful weather. This is the good stuff.

 

Grace Andritsch is one of my favorite people in the entire world. Just last week I was with a couple girls and one said, "I think the only person in our whole school that I've never heard someone talk badly about is Grace Andritsch." I told Grace about that compliment and she just beamed and said, "Oh good. I just love everyone." This girl has the most kind, genuine, joyful heart and I want to be more like her when I grow up.

 

Today we had a breakfast at Panera. The Andritsch family goes there so often that the employees know all of the kids by name and have the families phone number memorized for their My Panera card. Grace has a very specific way of making her tea-- half a cup of ice, unsweetened, plus three sugars, a squirt of regular tea and one lemon slice.

I never get tired of talking to Grace and hearing her stories about friends and family and perspective on life. On the way home we spotted this... thing... and had to pullover to check it out. Made by elementary school students, we're not really sure what it is but we really like it a lot.

I've finished a new batch of friendship bracelets, trying out some new patterns this time too. Multi-tasking is the answer to how I get so many finished and I'm definitely well on my way to being prepared for summer in June. Along the way a lot of Young Life girls will be getting new bracelets too.

Brookie and I got to go to lunch this afternoon at Steak n' Shake, our fav place, since both of our schools were off for the day. She may make me feel really awkward when she secretly takes pictures and videos of me, but other than that I just love this kid. I'm thankful for her goofy, quirkiness and that she'll also be totally honest with me about stuff that matters.

Even though we didn't have school today, Young Life Campaigners was definitely still a go. I got to hang out with Abby, Abby, KCraig and Kocher before we started. These women are hilarious and dedicated and I'm lucky that I get to work alongside each of them.

Friends gather in the basement gym and we're all just nuts for a little while. The boys shoot basketball and do this thing where they bank it off the wall and hope that it ricochets miraculously into the basket. Mostly, their game just freaks me out. Brookie rode around on this scooter, we all loved Julia's new Patagonia, we told Nat Rat happy belated birthday and caught up with our friends.

 

Malena got to come for this first time in such a long time and I was ecstatic to have her there. I love getting to see Marie, a sophomore from my YL cabin, here every week. I'm thankful for her consistency and her heart.

We often start Campaigners off with a crazy game to get everyone mixed up and laughing before we dive in. Today KCraig split everyone into groups and had us form a circle around one person. They were the tosser of marshmallows for their team. Each team member had to successfully catch a marshmallow in their mouth before the tosser could go on to the next person. Whether you won or loss, it was really fun. We ended up playing twice because it was such a good time.

Tonight we watched a Rob Bell video titled Trees. It was about the idea that there is good and evil in this world and that we have a choice. We continually choose whether to live that life that God created for us or to live the life that we want to live. In our group we discussed ways that we can partner with God in this world and why that makes life easier or more difficult.

Working with HS kids is hilarious and rewarding and often unpredictable. In just our 45 minute conversation we had insightful comments, off-topic stories, fits of laughter, awkward silences and words of affirmation. All of it is good.

Getting to witness the stories of YL kids, Tecumseh campers, students and friends is one of the greatest gifts. I don't take it lightly when someone is willing to share what's going on in their world with me. In the last couple days I've been invited in to the stories of some of my girls who are going through some really tough stuff. All of their stories are different but they all remind me of some things that I know are true.

We need one another for support and community. Even more than we need each other, we need to turn to God who loves us and wants the best for us. Our choices matter. There is always hope. Your worth is not measured by what you've done. You are loved. We all need to be a little kinder than is necessary.