The National Youth Ministry Conference (hosted by Group) took place in Columbus this weekend. Alex & Brett Harris were keynote speakers on Friday to the over 2,000 youth pastors and workers in attendance, sharing stories of the big, hard things young people – even the most unlikely of them – can accomplish for God. Everyone was really encouraged by their testimony and excited to take that mindset back to their uniquely challenging places of ministry.

I had the privilege of managing the Rebelution booth and it was neat to talk with people, answer questions, hear stories, and introduce this message that has personally impacted my life. The world of youth workers is unlike anything I’ve experienced before! Three days of great people and interesting conversations, with interludes for friends, photos, and flying leaps into sack chairs. It was an altogether exciting, exhausting, and stretching (of course it would be…) experience that I was blessed to be part of.

Photos:

NYMC 09 : Day 1

NYMC 09 : Day 2 & 3

video coming soon…

Special thanks to Matthew – my lifeline!! Also to Joseph P. for saving the day, and to the fab people at Group Publishing for being so welcoming and supportive. To Susan and Greg for being my buddies. And finally, to my bodyguards. You rock. =)

…one of your best friends

…meets a guy and gets engaged

…you cross the skies

…to meet him too.

…and make sure he plays fair. *evilglare* *wink*

Christopher just finished a promo video of the Wissmann family with some of the footage we shot last month…it’s so nice to see (and hear) some results of everyone’s hard work! Watch it on the front page here:

www.WissmannFamilyBranson.com

The first week of December my brother had a job out in Branson shooting a concert video for our friends the Wissmann Family who were doing a Christmas show there. My dad and I went along as “film crew” and I served as main assistant, doing all kinds of exciting things like labeling tapes and slapping the clapper and polishing my um, videography “skills” (some of my shots are so going in the DVD )…oh, and making friends with the cinnamon roll man. *grin* Have a look!

Mr. Dutton and Jonathon of the Dutton Family  (America’s Got Talent top ten finalists)

Supper & show at the Circle B Chuckwagon…best ever!!

Swept off my feet!

late night soundcheck

strange things occur after midnight…

(friends with private access, log in for more photos [first name plus password, leave me a note if you need it again])

Best friends. Birthdays. Families. And dominoes on the deck.

Speak no evil, Hear no evil, See no evil!

- brought to you by Doug, Hannah, & Ryan

I sat down with Alex & Brett for a brief recap after the conference…

‘Cause I have fans!!! They’re so amazing, they even hold signs when I’m not there! Celebrity life couldn’t get much better…

[special thanks to my friend Linda!]

Just when single life among me and my (likewise) single girlfriends seemed to be continuing on it’s ordinary, pleasant way this year…one of my dear friends goes and falls in love. Not that she actually did it on purpose, mind you. Sometimes these things have a way of sneaking up on you when you least expect it.

Love is a funny thing. I used to think I understood it… that I knew how it worked… that it could never take me by surprise. I was levelheaded, I was logical, I was cool, I was calm, I was collected. I was in no danger of falling. Yes, I certainly would have liked to, but I didn’t think I had what it took. I wasn’t among those so lucky.

But you know how God loves the unexpected…and I’m pretty sure he had his finger in this one. Wow.

I’ve been saying that a lot lately. Each time my friend has called – first to tell me of the beginning relationship, and the second time to tell me she was engaged – my first response was something akin to a series of wide-eyed “Wow”s. And when the wedding invitation with her name on it arrived in my mailbox this week…Wow again. If it’s this surreal for me I can’t imagine what she feels like!

As girls do, we often shared our dreams of the future “someone” together over wordy emails and late night chats. We encouraging each other to trust God and wait on His timing. But still we wondered… “Will it ever REALLY happen?”. Now that the fog  has suddenly cleared away and the dream really IS reality for my friend, it’s truly amazing. And SO HAPPY.

Things like this sure do prove God’s faithfulness – He has been oh so good! I am truly excited and blessed for Britt. Watching God write her beautiful story only affirms in my heart that He will do the same for me…and for YOU.

:: Read the rest of “Our Love Story” ::

Plenty of books, excellent speakers, and fun “reunions” with other homeschool alums!

(trivia: if you did Math-U-See, you have the dad of the tall dude to thank)

I bumped into Brett & Alex Harris, promoting their new book in the vendor hall

I tried to get a copy signed, but oddly enough they just stared right past me…it was so unlike them…

My nomination for cutest couple of the weekend – Woody & Gina Robertson. They had a session sharing their courtship story (www.woodylovesgina.com) and Woody also spoke on accelerated distance learning. Sweet people!

Best session moment:
HSLDA attorney Chris Klicka was relating a story about a truant officer making a call on a homeschool family. The dad answered the door and the truant officer informed him that he would have to place his children in public school. The dad replied, “Over my dead body.” Mr. Klicka continued the story with…”and the truant officer pulled out a gun and shot him.”

The entire auditorium, including myself, GASPED in horror!! (Nearly sucking Mr. Klicka out of the room in the process.) And then he said, “no, no, that didn’t happen!” It was hilarious! He had been so serious up to that point that we believed every word! (Truant officers don’t even carry guns.)

Long weekend? Find a friend (in this case “little bro” Sam) and a table to sit on…

It would seem that the blogging phase of my life has risen and…fallen. I don’t feel like I have much to offer in the way of meaningful posts these days. Apologies to all my friends who would rather I at least post a crazy picture or write something about local life instead of waiting for deep inspiration to hit.

So in that interest…the latest road trip of mine and my mom’s took us to Chicago for a couple nights. It was my first time in the popular town, which I found quite exciting…we won’t mention the stress of trying to figure out how to GET anywhere. I didn’t get to soak in as much of the city as I would’ve liked due to our rushed timetable, but I was able to do a few special things. And here’s the proof!

Entering downtown…

It took me 10 years, but I finally fulfilled my little girl wish!

the only place you’ll see one of these in the bathroom…

random downtown

with a friend after successfully completing another goal…

….eating deep dish Chicago style pizza! YummO!

ready for a night out with friends at the Navy Pier on Lake Michigan

inside the Navy Pier grand ballroom

special friends…

good Chicago memories!