I'm thankful for...

Today in class we watched this and this and read this. And then we all made lists of all the things we're thankful for. Thanksgiving-- we're so ready for you. 

1. Wednesday mornings with YL camp girls
2. Lunch with the English teachers
3. spicy sweet chili Doritos every day
4. the Gray Gang Instagram feed
5. Young House Love podcast
6. subway tile
7. Annie Downes obsessions with the Enneagram
8. when Katrina prays
9. how genuine Renee is
10. Maddie's ready-for-anything attitude
11. Ellie girl's relentless positivity
12. Having repeat students in 8th grade
13. Closing Campfire
14. Campaigners in the garage
15. Brookie's weird faces
16. decorated envelopes in the mail
17. silly letters from Maddie Flynn
18. passing the Canadian sugar packet with Smelko
19. relating to Smoon on everything
20. wooden name tags
21. best friend necklaces
22. Magic Kingdom
23. donuts
24. laughing with KCraig
25. dancing with KCraig
26. YL dance parties
27. walking down the stairs after leadership and seeing kids
28. YL cabin uniforms
29. scrunchie trends
30. tying your sweatshirt cross body
31. friendship bracelet lanyards
32. Taco and Burrito place chorizo tacos
33. knowing the T and B place employees
34. water bottles filled with stickers
35. favorite Patagonias
36. Chaco tan lines
37. funfetti cake
38. calling Mia Libby Grace
39. Crystal Mountain week with my family
40. finishing a to do list
41. singing at church
42. when everyone knows the words to the song that comes on
43. getting your first three choices of clinics
44. someone surprising you with one of your favorite things
45. stories from Wilderness
46. sleep outs 
47. Ellyn's willingness to help
48. Nike shorts
49. finishing a friendship bracelet
50. when someone just gets you
51. my page a day calender quotes
52. new letter board and making new messages every day
53. pizza from Lui Lui
54. remembering every detail of the proposal that Justin planned
55. pepperoni pizza
56. my Keep Exploring flag
57. quilts from my mom 
58. CILT Reunion every December
59. Ben Rector songs
60. Just Dance competitions
61. the Green Cathedral
62. Johnna and Brad Myers
63. Morgie's smile
64. dependability
65. efficiency
66. consistency
67. honesty
68. when Mallory plays guitar
69. people who stick to what they believe
70. asking Ryan about Straight No Chaser
71. my collage walls
72. taking really fun pictures
73. Happier podcast
74. reading YA books 
75. books that make me laugh or gasp out loud
76. friendship bracelet tan lines
77. swimming
78. running at Tecumseh
79. theme dinners
80. singing on your chair
81. getting strawberries and blueberries from the fruit bar
82. baked oatmeal
83. coffee dates
84. "vanilla lattes" at camp
85. The Wright Way
86. chicken round up
87. when Cass shows up for cadet teaching at 1:00
88. leading at YL camp with Haleigh Devoe
89. being friends with Sarah Battaglia forever
90. memories with Arielle
91. Rachel Phillip's gigle
92. Chloe Green being ridiculous
93. Lizzie's honesty
94. living in the Longhouse with 36 girls
95. writing letters to Fitzie in NY
96. Washington DC Field Trip weekend
97. riding the bus with Hodgin
98. Camp T cheers
99. Varsity FBC
100. Varsity projects
101. FBC shirts
102. Starbucks mobile orders
103. Pilot G2.07 pens
104. Saying hi to Kristen and Maria in the library every morning
105. Big Apple Bagel mornings with Maddie, Cass, Meric and Wash
106. teacher friends
107. hiking to the Gish
108. the bowl of apples at Tecumseh
109. the Party Room
110. the Longhouse Porch
111. Choctaw cabin
112. Empire and Plunder
113. finding a mutual love of a book or movie or TV show with a new friend
114. Grey's Anatomy
115. Olivia King's laugh
116. Erin, Erin, Quigley, Ella, Kendall and Liv at the end of the summer
117. Playing with Lincoln and Redford
118. Grace and Fudge time
119. cross country meets
120. personality profiles
121. greek yogurt in the morning
122. bagels with cream cheese
123. Instagram stories
124. Laser tag
125. My white noise app
126. fun calenders
127. Crayola markers
128. top 10 lists
129. "less stuff"
130. Finding a good home for my "less stuff"
131. pearl earrings
132. Chipotle burrito bowl with half chicken/half chorizo, white rice, pinto beans, cheese, pico, quac and chips on the side
133. Ethiopian adventures
134. the water slide at Michindoh
135. running into YL Club
136. reuniting with old friends
137. writing out my prayers
138. love tank notes
139. cheesy potato casserole
140. overalls
141. stacked rocks
142. rock notes
143. postcards
144. cool cards
145. hair clips

"She's pursuing the Lord. It's rad."

Sometimes things surprisingly work out for the better...

This morning when I got to school the internet didn't work in my classroom, so we got creative and did some things we weren't expecting to work on until 5th period when it started again. 

I was trying to get through my to-do list that required the use of the internet in the afternoon, and Cass showed up and surprised me with my favorite vanilla latte which gave me the boost I needed. 

Tonight we didn't have a musician to play songs at the start of Campaigners, so we had a dance party instead. 

We didn't have any one to "officially" lead us into the lesson, so Brenda Bowman stepped up and spoke about "rejoicing in all circumstances," reminded us that, "the Bible is THE TRUTH and if you want to hear God's VOICE then you need to look in the Bible because it's like opening God's MOUTH."

The girls I get together with during small groups are too numerous to meet in most spaces and the gym is too loud, so we started meeting in the garage instead and it's my favorite spot now. 

Usually people "expect" to be with everyone in their grade during small groups, but tonight we talked with some freshmen, juniors, a senior and three college freshmen and it was so good.  

p.s. Today's advice to myself. Maybe you need to be reminded of this today.

"I never want to completely figure you out. You'll change and grow and evolve and get better. I'm in it for the journey."

Thank goodness for the weekend. Don't you love the excitement and potential that inevitably comes with Friday afternoon? The next three days are yours and anything can happen. 

This Saturday I was so lucky to get to hang out with Hannah and Erin who were in town for a soccer tournament. I've known these girls from Tecumseh for years and I couldn't have been more excited or more thankful to see them. 

Saturday morning WL and YL leaders gathered for Upper Room, our monthly time together as leaders to grow and pray and be together. I think it's so valuable when we make the effort to be here together and unite as a team.

Saturday night Wyld Life went Denim for Club. I get so excited to hang out with the kids from the Clubhouse. These girls are some of the greats and I love getting to laugh and play and talk with them at Wyld Life.

I'm beyond thankful for adult leaders like Johnna and Megan who are committed to Jesus and committed to loving these kids. We couldn't do this without them.

At the same time, I'm so grateful for our HS leaders. Tonight I was talking to Kegley about the culture of this year's leaders. These Juniors and Seniors are kid focused and here because they're really growing friendships with one another, with these Junior High kids and their adult leader. This life of sacrifice and faith is life giving and they want more of it. I'm beyond proud of them and thankful for the creativity, energy and heart they bring to the table.

The boys showed up in full force Saturday night-- girls are always ready for a picture, but it took Max gathering everyone together to make this shot happen.

I love the community and family we've developed here. It changes every year to a degree, but it's always focused on the same things. I love these people.

 We amped up the chaos tonight with Human Ladder, 200 Clothespins and a Tennis Ball Relay.

We invited 8 kids to be part of an epic Lip Sync battle and they brought their all. These kids are hilarious and goofy and just so much fun. 

Johnna delivered the Club Talk and pointed us back to Jesus at the end of the night. "Jesus doesn't care about your condition. He wants to come to you no matter how you are. He loves us even when we're a mess. Then he comes to us and transforms our life immediately."

"If it's snowing I can't come. I'll have PTSD."

New Challenge: Change the letter board message every school day until Christmas Break. Game on. 

Thursdays are library days, nothing-to-wake-up-early-for-days, Friendship Bracelet Club days, spicy chicken salad days, almost-Friday days. 

This Thursday was also a hang out with Fudge and Wash day. The girls tried Portillo's for the first time-- we'll call Audrey's hot dog and Wash's chocolate cake shake a success. Then we walked through IKEA to see what all the excitement was about. I'm such a fan of this pair and how they both are making the world around them a better place. 

"He has a stutter. I thought it was so hot."

It's almost Thanksgiving and time to practice gratefulness:

Wednesday mornings with the TimberWolf Gang, this week featuring Maddie, Olivia and Gidget

Coffee

FBC tshirt orders and bracelets for the Varsity project
The first new message on my letter board from Smelko in time for the Outsiders test

Letters from Maddie and Carolyn in the mail
Justin and I got to have dinner with Hannah and Riley at their apartment downtown-- a fiesta, marriage and YL talk and a donut smorgasbord for dessert
Last minute sleepover with Ellen Awad

"Is there an economy in heaven?"

I'm thankful for...

Olivia King's enthusiasm to be a friendship bracelet-er

Seeing Washburn when I walked down from leadership and getting to just sit and talk to her

Fudge being a regular at Young Life

Spying Kibble across the gym, completely content with a bag of breadsticks

Mallory, Danielle, Alexis and Rebecca leading music
The announcement of our YL Camp trip to Clearwater Cove in July
Leaders like Joey and Kylie who share their story and give these kids a picture of what following Christ can look like

"Let the King of my heart be the wind in my sails, the anchor in the waves, oh he is my song." Grace Retreat 2017

First, KCraig and I were teachers together. 

Next, we were teachers and YL leaders together. 

Then, I was a teacher doing YL and she was on YL staff. 

Now, I'm still a teacher doing YL staff and she works for Grace Church. 

But through it all, we're good at figuring out how to do all of this together. 

This weekend KCraig invited me to bring a cabin of YL girls on the Grace Fall Retreat for Girls at Camp Tecumseh. 

Somehow we would up with this dynamic, joyful, quirky group of girls who represent all four grades and collectively are so much fun. We didn't all know each other well when we got on the bus Saturday morning, but by the time we returned home on Sunday afternoon we were all so much closer. 

KCraig taught during all of the sessions this weekend and killed it. This woman is a phenomenal speaker and teacher and I'm always learning new things from her. This weekend we talked about Saul's story, about spiritual numbness v. truly feeling and living, God bringing something beautiful from brokenness and the Japanese art of kintsugi. I so needed her words this weekend.

The music was incredible too and I can't stop listening to You Have My Surrender and King of my Heart on repeat.

During free time we made Cassidy's dream come true and hiked along the river to the Gish.

We noticed deer tracks, signs of the beavers, green leaves from the jungle, orange vines, giant rocks, forgotten crocs and more.

I'm so thankful for a weekend with Alex,

Olivia King,

Gidget,

Sophie,

Claire,

Caroline,

Mack,

Lauren,

and Cassidy.

We took a different way home and got to do some horse whispering   screaming.

It was a weekend of together-- eating together, laughing together, singing together, praying holding hands together, taking notes together, sitting in a circle talking together, taking communion together and dancing together. It was all the best things.

So incredibly thankful for my friendship with KCraig-- this woman who is all kinds of ridiculous, wise, hilarious, compassionate, knowledgeable and in it with me. She's the best.