It's Addicting

Dates with my hubby?  Without a doubt

Hugs from my kids?  Can change a day

Chocolate? Absolutely

Teenagers?  They make me laugh

Yes, I confess.  I am addicted to teenagers.   You will remember from previous posts that we help out with our junior high kids at church.  And came about it in an interesting way. (You can read about it right here.) 

Well, we are still hanging in there with them.  And this was also part of our crazy busy summer.  One week in particular.  My addiction to them is the only reason why I would wake up early, tote them all over our great ctiy, and work outside with them in the worst heat this city has seen in a long time. 

Instead of going away to serve other communities, our group stays here for our "missions trip".  The kids stay at our church all week, dividing up into various groups to serve several different ministries throughout our city.  It has been a great way to get these kids aware of the world around them, just down the road.

Since we have a child old enough to be on this trip, we shipped her off to the church for a week.  But, never fear, she got to see me and her siblings all week.  She felt blessed, I'm sure. :)  Really, it was only for a few minutes each morning, and maybe a hug in the afternoon if she was lucky.

For most of the week, Jake, Katie, and I woke up at the crack of dawn, packed some lunches and were at the church by 7:45 am.  From there, we heard a devotional before loading up our van as full as it could get and heading to a local ministry to put on a vacation Bible school.  Jake helped and Katie got to participate, and say Bible verses for candy.   After lunch, we loaded up and went to another ministry to do yard and maintenance work.   I sort of floated a bit, having done this trip before, so a couple of days I dropped those two off (with a car full of teenagers),  left them there (yes, there were adults too),
and went to help out somewhere else.

 . 

Oh, yes.  That was the week that the heat index was 121.  Nice.

But I loved every minute of it.

Why?  Cause they are really great kids, my three included.   They make me laugh, make me worry, make my think I am going to pull my hair out if they leave their garbage on the table one more time, make me wonder if they will ever make it out the other side.  They yell "Moose" randomly at each other, hit each other with pool noodles, love to be crazy, love to eat, taught me how to play buck-buck, force me to stay sleep deprived whenever I am with them for more than a few hours. 

But most of all - they need to know they are loved - by God and by those around them. 

 That's what it's all about. 

Making relationships to bring them closer to Christ. 

 That's what keeps me coming back.

I'm addicted.