Things at Church

Our pastor/small group leader clued me in that he was going to use our family as an example during the morning services. We didn't realize, we'd be worked into all of the announcements with different stories :) We got a shout out for having named our daughter the same as his, for buying him a beard kit for Christmas, for being part of his small group (and their enthusiastic recruiting of us on small group intro night :), his complete misunderstanding of our last name (including the new one he made up for us and has used ever since), and a bunch of other things that had our kids and his kids laughing. 

Buck couldn't be at church that morning, so he asked me to take a picture of us on the screen . . . I said, "How would he have a picture of us?" Buck, said, "I bet he will." So, Buck was correct, and I awkwardly took a picture of ourselves on the screen for my husband. Then shoved my phone back into my purse as quickly as possible, ha!


Later that night, the church held a small group gathering to help new people find groups at good times and in good geographical locations for themselves and/or their families. Our small group is anything but small. We top out at 60 easily . . . not small! (lots of kids). So, while everyone else had homemade cookies, bars, bowls of candy, flowing curtains of fall color, cozy arrangements of pumpkins and other snazzy displays on their tables . . . we had this . . .


Lol! Nothing. Not even the time we meet. Those books you see aren't even for our small group, they are for an upcoming school class at the church. The bracelets and frisbee came from the youth table to our right, because I think we looked so empty they felt they should share with us. Our aforementioned pastor/leader said, "We really don't need any more people in our group, unless they are wanting to learn the ropes and multiply out in a few months." We're at capacity! 

So . . . we told a lot of people about the upcoming school, and we talked to a lot of people about student ministry. We might have scared a few people off, when they cheerfully said, "What does your group do for outreach?" and we would say (imagine a nefarious, theatrical vocal presentation), "We work with MIDDLE schoolers EVERY week. HIGH SCHOOLers, too, mwhahahaha!!!" Okay, maybe not quite that dramatic, but we sure had a lot scurry by to find a better fit. Lol :) Our youth group is blessed with an abundance of volunteers. It's pretty awesome!

That day our girls not only covered Sunday school classes for a couple of no-shows (and my NGF needed a break), but they also provided childcare that evening for the small group event. That's a lot of kid care!

And speaking of youth group . . . if your kid plays football in the dark (with the light up football he and his brother bought, that had to be returned because the light was worn out during shipping, and then a replacement was sent, and so far seems to be lasting longer), he might come home looking like this!



Eeek!! This is why I keep a doctor kit in my purse. I've handed out Band-Aids across the country. I kid you not. That night, there was an audience of kids surrounding B's ribcage as I fixed up his bleed in the sanctuary.

And when Graysen's and his sporty, professional-looking youth leader turns out to be an unexplainably huge fan of High School Musical (allegedly knows all the lyrics and choreography) . . . it only makes sense to check out what all the fuss is about (approximately a decade after the movie's release). I realized I've never actually seen the entire movie, but the kids loved it! We had an impromptu dance party in the living room and the songs have been on the vocal playlist of random lyrics at our house ever since :)