"" your grace is enough..""

doing: relaxing in my hotel room
where: Chicago, well-a suburb of Chicago.
feeling: worn out already. and ready to get this shin-dig going!


this week..... will be different. i am currently sitting in Techny Towers (www.technytowers.org) in Techny, IL. a suburb of Chicago. i am getting ready to attend the Institute for New Youth Ministers. since i just signed on for my 2nd year of Youth Minister at our church this turned out to be the perfect convention for me to attend.

honestly at this very moment my heart isnt in it. i know that once everything gets started God will tap me on the head and i'll get into it! but after the long trip to get here i'm happily just sitting on my bed!

i am, however, looking forward to it. this last year has been a huge adjustment for my family, for me and for the church. for my family because now i'm always doing either photography stuff or church stuff. and for most of the church stuff i'm asking for Matt to help me! for me because, well, i've never done this before! theres lots of expectations that i dont feel like i'm meeting and lots of things i feel like i need and should be doing. and for the church because they havent had a true Youth Minister for quite some time now - and our High School program hasnt been that great for a number of years, until just a few short years ago.

i'm looking forward to this conference because i know it will give me some more ideas and some different approaches and perspectives to look at things. i have a great group of people helping me, but i dont always want to be relying on them. i like to bounch my ideas off of people, but again-i dont always want to be doing that. so hopefully these 4 days will gear me up for a new year and fill my brain with new ideas. i'm hoping to get some ideas on how to get more kids involved in activities as well as our Sunday night gatherings.

i'm finally starting to hear people coming into rooms now. i was afraid i was the only one here! hehe! check in has starte(at noon) and i've had 2 poptarts today to eat. i might head on over there and check out the vending machines...yeah they dont start feeding us until tonight.

i'm already missing my Ethan. Matt will make fun of me but i dont care. i haven't ever been so far away from him for so long! sure Winter Convention is a Friday-Tuesday, but its only in Des Moines. i'm in Chicago now! i'm sure he'll be an angel for Matt(he usually is... then hes a monster for me). and i'm looking forward, already, to seeing his face when they come pick me up at the airport on Friday night! (see that Matt... SEE MY SON AT THE AIRPORT!!) ;)

i'm going to go see if i can meet some people!
adios!