J High Boys

oh boy oh boy oh boy....This weekend was a trip to Pine Lake Christian Camp with junior highers. I ate a little healthier, and laughed a lot harder. I'm not typically amused with stories of flatulence and bowel movements, but a little while into the un-ending debate over the best bathroom story, I just couldn't help but laugh. Let me give you a little taste of a few of the conversations (I've made up names to protect the future hire-ability of these boys)...

JACK: Hey Tony, I gotta tell you about the paper I'm writing for my english
class. It starts with 'I sat on the toilet and a horrible smell filled the room.'
CARI: Are you serious, Jack?!? You really wrote this in a paper? And you're going to turn this in to your teacher? Aren't you afraid you'll fail???!?
JACK: No, I already told my teacher what it's about. She just told me not to make it too detailed. Anyways, the next line is, 'I felt the log drop into the bowl and water splash my cheeks.
CARI: Jack, I hope you are joking. This is RIDICULOUS! You're teacher will be furious.
JACK: Nah, it's not a big deal. The next part is...then I felt a long one coming....
CARI: Ok, ENOUGH! I think we get it.

I feel a little rude for even sharing these conversations in a public forum, but my current state of disbelief leaves me needing to write these down to believe just how crazy our life with junior highers can be.

Another junior high boy, we'll call him Zach, felt the need to top Jack's story and shared the following one.

Zach: Tony, Tony, Tony you've got to hear this.
Tony: What's up, Zach?
Zach: You'll never believe what me and my cousin did to our girl cousin. We
took a piece of poop and tricked her into thinking it was a Snickers bar.
Cari: Zach, that is not true. You're making this up.
Zach: No, I'm dead serious. We wrote on it with a Sharpie marker and put it
in a wrapper and she took a bite of it.
Cari: Zach, she did not eat it. And, you could not write on that with a
Sharpie marker.
Zach: Uh, huh. I'm dead serious.

...I think you get the point.

I fell into the role of human lie detector often this weekend as I tried to remind these crazy boys that it's so important to be honest. Even exagerrating ridiculous stories is dishonest, and not a wise choice of words.

Aside from the crazy, inappropriate stories, we had a beautiful weekend for a Fall Retreat. The Lord uses Pine Lake in incredible ways to quiet minds and speak into hearts. Our small group discussions with girls and boys were honest and inspiring. We studied 2 Corinthians 5 and challenged one another to be Christ's ambassadors, and to allow Christ's love to control us. We were challenged to clean up areas of our lives that don't represent Him well, and encouraged to add to our lives the fruits of the Spirit that help us share Christ with others. I'm always amazed at the miracle God works when he shifts a conversation and train of thought from what was written about above into a meaningful spiritual dialogue among brothers and sisters in Christ.

Thank you Lord for blessing our hearts, for refreshing us with your Word, and for allowing us to crack up at the craziness!