slaps 4 life

To the left, please meet seven of my youngest friends (l-r): Kevin, Haughton, Puckett, Victor, Travis, Selig and Andrew. Thanks to these 8th graders my Wednesday nights are, to say the least, an adventure. They are members of a LIFE Group I lead that they have affectionately named "Slaps 4 Life" in honor of the card game we regularly play. Each Wednesday we go to Chick-fil-A for dinner and then motor on over to the church for our meeting where no subject is off limits. I've been meeting with them since they were 7th graders and I have to come to enjoy this group more than I would ever have expected. I really love these guys. It's a pretty eclectic group and it's been great seeing them grow in so many ways.

This past Friday we had our 2nd (what now appears to be annual) lock-in at church. We stayed up all night playing video games, air hockey, ping-pong, and Capture the Flag. This would explain why some of them don't look particularly alert in the picture. My highlight of the evening was the sleeping bag races. (Note to self: Be sure to take socks off before you begin to run at full speed on wood paneling.)

We ended the night by watching Signs and what would happen at the end of the movie was worrying me. I knew we had to set up tables and chairs for a meeting that was starting shortly after we left and we had to clean up the mess we had made over the night. These guys aren't fans of even cleaning off the table at Chick-fil-A, so I didn't think getting them to help clean was going to be any better at 7am after being up all night. I prepared myself for moaning, groaning and for Kevin to say, "This is stupid. I quit." But something amazing happened. I told them what we had to get done and they just did it. No complaining, no nothing. I was so happy to be wrong and so thankful for these guys.

Each time someone has asked me how the lock-in went, I can only think of what a fun night it was. They couldn't have been an easier group to stay up all night with. They had so much fun doing the simplest things. One of the reasons I wanted to lead a group like this one was because I wanted to be a part of something that gave kids significant relationships. By no means is this group perfect and I am certainly not the perfect leader, but I can't help but think that God is doing something great in this group. There are certainly times when some of them get on my last nerve, but that's okay. I know that God has blessed me richly by allowing these teenagers to be a part of my life. I only hope they're getting as much out of it as I am.