i love my job
i just want to brag on God for a while. AND talk about my amazing job.
the TA fall retreat is by far the most fun, challenging, time consuming thing i do all year. but i love it. it is worth every sleepless night, nervous eye twitch, rant, tear and annoying repetitive question inevitably asked my parents and teens!
this year we wised up and started the retreat 2 hours early. i've never set my alarm on a retreat and had 7 hours of sleep ahead of me.
running 14 miles the morning of the first day...probably not my smartest move.
the drive up was so fun. gabe was fantastic. he never once complained. what a cool kid.
he loved the retreat. i LOVED watching students love on him. he was always being held and played with by TAs. sometimes (just confessing...) i wasn't even sure who was holding him (i dont know all 150 TAs yet!) but i did keep my eye on him.
he had no shame. he'd get in his little walker thing and run all over that place. he'd walk right into the middle of TAs and look in their book bags. it was awesome.
bad mom = i left his suitcase at home. well done kaci. i had his cowboy boots & hat ready for the square dance too!! boooooo. so i sent jay to walmart. hence the alabama outfit in the pictures.
the weekend was fabulous. of course my small groups didn't always work out perfectly. STOP backing out last minute TAs!!!!!!!!! but it always works out.
thank you dee dee for helping me with small groups during break time sunday! she ate 5 pieces of cake before we worked. hilarious.
will hawk did a phenomenal job speaking, of course. i never get tired of hearing him. if he ever starts a church or becomes a pastor i may have to split my time between CCC and will. sorry keefee.
jonathan & lisa are the best. worship on the TA retreat is so special. jonathan also keeps my coffee cup filled which keeps me going. thanks JMo!
favorite moments: sam webb = johnny yolo, tevin screaming like a girl, watching masks be taken off, rocks in the lake, watching the TA staff rock at their jobs! having jay and gabe with me the entire time. being able to spend the weekend with fabulous adult volunteers, i mean fabulous! and chas, i love chas.
the sunday before the retreat we ask the students to fill out a form called "write your heart out." we ask them to write about things going on in their lives. wow. those forms break my heart. these students look so happy and put together but oh my gosh the crap they are dealing with is intense.
reading these forms reminds me of why i do what i do. what a privilege it is to be able to love on, encourage and speak TRUTH into the lives of these students. i am so thankful that God is bigger than their problems. i am thankful that HE is in control, that He has a plan and that He is faithful.
it makes me sad that people can be so negative about teenagers. i think they are amazing. they are pushing through some hard, hard times in high school (and middle school!) i pray we'll remember that. sure they can be dramatic and mean sometimes! but i pray that we'll remember to love them anyway. just listen, smile, encourage, and pray for them. they need it.
i couldn't love a group of students more. what an awesome job i have. thank you Lord!
i'm attaching JUST OF FEW the hurts the students wrote about. how can you not pray!? they need YOU.
It’s only been a few months since I last cut myself. I want to cut
everyday. No one knows about my self-harm and I don’t think they’d care if they
did.
i hate the devil. but LOVE that God is bigger, better, stronger and capable.
the TA fall retreat is by far the most fun, challenging, time consuming thing i do all year. but i love it. it is worth every sleepless night, nervous eye twitch, rant, tear and annoying repetitive question inevitably asked my parents and teens!
this year we wised up and started the retreat 2 hours early. i've never set my alarm on a retreat and had 7 hours of sleep ahead of me.
running 14 miles the morning of the first day...probably not my smartest move.
the drive up was so fun. gabe was fantastic. he never once complained. what a cool kid.
he loved the retreat. i LOVED watching students love on him. he was always being held and played with by TAs. sometimes (just confessing...) i wasn't even sure who was holding him (i dont know all 150 TAs yet!) but i did keep my eye on him.
he had no shame. he'd get in his little walker thing and run all over that place. he'd walk right into the middle of TAs and look in their book bags. it was awesome.
bad mom = i left his suitcase at home. well done kaci. i had his cowboy boots & hat ready for the square dance too!! boooooo. so i sent jay to walmart. hence the alabama outfit in the pictures.
the weekend was fabulous. of course my small groups didn't always work out perfectly. STOP backing out last minute TAs!!!!!!!!! but it always works out.
thank you dee dee for helping me with small groups during break time sunday! she ate 5 pieces of cake before we worked. hilarious.
will hawk did a phenomenal job speaking, of course. i never get tired of hearing him. if he ever starts a church or becomes a pastor i may have to split my time between CCC and will. sorry keefee.
jonathan & lisa are the best. worship on the TA retreat is so special. jonathan also keeps my coffee cup filled which keeps me going. thanks JMo!
favorite moments: sam webb = johnny yolo, tevin screaming like a girl, watching masks be taken off, rocks in the lake, watching the TA staff rock at their jobs! having jay and gabe with me the entire time. being able to spend the weekend with fabulous adult volunteers, i mean fabulous! and chas, i love chas.
the sunday before the retreat we ask the students to fill out a form called "write your heart out." we ask them to write about things going on in their lives. wow. those forms break my heart. these students look so happy and put together but oh my gosh the crap they are dealing with is intense.
reading these forms reminds me of why i do what i do. what a privilege it is to be able to love on, encourage and speak TRUTH into the lives of these students. i am so thankful that God is bigger than their problems. i am thankful that HE is in control, that He has a plan and that He is faithful.
it makes me sad that people can be so negative about teenagers. i think they are amazing. they are pushing through some hard, hard times in high school (and middle school!) i pray we'll remember that. sure they can be dramatic and mean sometimes! but i pray that we'll remember to love them anyway. just listen, smile, encourage, and pray for them. they need it.
i couldn't love a group of students more. what an awesome job i have. thank you Lord!
i'm attaching JUST OF FEW the hurts the students wrote about. how can you not pray!? they need YOU.
My depression is
really bad right now. There’s a darkness I cant get out of. It hurts my parents
and I hate myself for hurting them.
I’m always
worried about keeping my grades up bc I don’t want to disappoint my parents.
My dad is an
alcoholic. He’s been in & out of jail. He tried committing suicide. It’s
not really fair for me to keep giving him chances but I really miss my old dad.
I feel very
unneeded, unwanted and unattractive.
I feel like my
mom doesn’t care for me at all.
I don’t value
myself.
It’s difficult
feeling unloved by your own father.
I am the girl
everyone gossips about.
I’ve always felt
unworthy of love and have a hard time trying to feel better cause it seems I
cant find people who accept me.
I am no longer a virgin and I have a shattered
heart. I just want to know that God loves me no matter what I’ve done.
so glad God has you loving on teenagers. Sounds like you are great at it! :)
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