This week, I have learned....

1. St. John's kids - "my kids" are so very cool. And funny! And lots of fun to hang out with.

2. My sense of direction sucks. Yeah, we knew that.

3. But my amazing, fabulous kids pick up the slack on that. See, they 'get' that we all have different gifts - and they totally called me on navigation not being one of mine. So they'll take over that and let me do what I do well. :)

3.5 Twitter rocks. Twitter helps us experience this as a community - and be in relationship - in a new way. It's like being able to lean over and listen to a whispered comment from EVERYONE at the Gathering.

4. New Orleans is HOT and HUMID. HOT and HUMID was pretty much everybody's low last night. "Air you can wear" is not something you want to hear in a weather report.

5. HOT and HUMID was everybody's low!! So...that means most other things about the day were a high!

6. Teenagers will be mortified (but I think secretly impressed although they'd never admit it) if their adult leader stands up in Cafe du Monde and prays at the top of her lungs.

7. Oh, the adult leader dancing to zydeco music with someone from Florida on Bourbon street will mortify the kids too.

8. But - we model what we want them to understand, right? When the Spirit moves you....

8.5 I can *kind of* do a slow jitterbug!

8.75 Worship can break out anywhere - even over beignets and cafe au lait thanks to a trumpeter playing When the Saints Go Marching In and The Doxology and other tunes.

9. I DO have it in me to stand up at Cafe du Monde with a few hundred other Lutherans and be the one to shout The Lord be with you! Let us pray! Who knew?

9.5 The few hundred Lutherans responding "And also with you" will knock you off your feet - almost literally. Wow.

10. Beignets are yummy.

10.5 So is gumbo.

11. My kids are AMAZING. And fun. Did I mention that already?

12. Christian music CAN rock the house. The bands at this Gathering have been out of this world! (no metaphor intended, but...)

13. We all hear the message we need to hear. While I was fascinated by Dr. Viola Vaughn last night, and her style was just what connected with me, others were equally entranced by Becca Stevens, who I just couldn't connect with. Kudos to the Gathering Planning Team for finding speakers to deliver the message in different ways!

14. 37,000 Lutherans leaving the Superdome are LOUD, like to play Marco Polo across the street, and take a looooong time to move back to the hotels.

15. If you want pizza after the Mass Gathering, order it at 4pm and pick it up.

16. Do NOT try to get on the elevator after the Mass Gathering and during Community Life. Just hang in the lobby. Really.

17. Carry laptop at all times to be able to access free internet in the lobby (while you're hanging out waiting for an elevator).

18. God's love abounds - keep your eyes open to see it EVERYWHERE!!!!!

19. Mules are smarter than horses. "Stubborn as a mule" refers to this - where a horse can be pushed so far past its limits that it's heart will burst, a mule works hard and loves to work, but when it reaches its physical limits, it won't work any more until it rests. Huh. There's a lesson in there for us, I just know it! :)

20. I won't mind being called "stubborn as a mule" anymore - taking care of myself is important!

20.5 I can do this - I can do this - I can do this - BUT NOT ALONE.

21. "If you don't love yourself, who's gonna love you?" - Viola Vaughn.

22. Read read read learn read learn read read learn. - Viola Vaughn

22.5 Agape (David Scherer - Google him) ROCKS DA HOUSE!!! So does Group1Crew. Cannot wait to hear more...

23. Our kids - all 37,000 of them - are pretty dadgum cool. So cool, in fact, that they were highly complimented by a group of businessmen behind me in line for the elevator. "They're so well-behaved, friendly, helpful...they aren't causing any problems at all. What do you Lutherans do that other churches don't do?"

24. While I don't think the Lutheran church has a monopoly on loving kids, I did trot out the "sinful and unclean to the core of our being" and "dependent on grace" for these gentlemen.

25. Explaining "sinful and unclean to the core of our being" and "dependent on grace" to gentlemen who were, shall we say, a bit lubricated, is....interesting.

26. Community grows best organically. I have watched this group bond and get to know each other in ways I didn't expect - it's fascinating and wonderful and amazing! (and jokes about the farmer spreading manure to help the plants grow...I don't think I'd like where that would go!)

26.5 God gives you a little lagniappe sometimes. Example: walking home from the Superdome in the heat and humidity and crowds is cranky-making. Then it started raining - just enough to cool us off, lift our spirits (I heard more than one kid say it was the Spirit raining down on us), and refresh us for the journey. Thank you Lord!

27. Our kids are amazing - did I mention that?

28. I think they like me too...they include me in their community and jokes and teasing and fun. And they listen when I talk with them.

29. I KNOW they love me. I KNOW they care about me.

30. I love these guys, I care about these guys - and I LIKE these guys.

31. I am blessed beyond description to be in this ministry. I am thankful beyond description for times like this - big moments and small ones - that remind me how blessed I am. God is good - ALL THE TIME!!!

32. I am learning more lessons every second of this trip. I hope to remember them long enough to add them to this.

Been hearing "better you than me" a lot this week. I must be a little crazy to work my butt off for a year with a bunch of teenagers, then get up at 4:30am to take a 30-hour bus ride to New Orleans-in the middle of the summer-with said teenagers.

Well, yes. Maybe a tad. But maybe that's one of my spiritual gifts-just the right kind of crazy to loooove ministry with these guys. Better me than you??? You better believe it!!!

Cuz you've got other spiritual gifts that I don't have, things you are called to do that have me shaking my head and saying, "better you than me."

So go on...do what you're called to do. Me? I'll be hangin' with the youth, doin' our ministry!

Catch 'em being good!

Teenagers constantly amaze me. This weekend, two things happened that were just...well, so very cool.

Number 1: you may have heard about a swim club in the Philly area that is being accused of institutional racism. I don't know much about the story, although I am paying more attention now. BUT - a group of young people from the area went to the club, intending to protest. When they got there, though, they took the bold step of meeting with the leadership of the swim club, ASKING for the other side of the story, LISTENING to what the leadership had to say, DISCERNING that truth was being told, and then PRAYING with the leadership about the situation. AMAZING!!!

Another little story that warmed my heart...I loaned a couple of books on Martin Luther to a young woman in my church to use as references in a school project. I then promptly forgot that I had done so (you know, lots on my mind, some things get pushed out.) Today, on my desk, were the books, wrapped in ribbon, with a little note thanking me for the loan, updating me on the project, and letting me know that she really appreciated my loaning her the resources. It was just so thoughtful!!!

And stuff like this happens all the time with the teenagers. They're so cool! Lots of times, I think we only hear about people (teenagers or otherwise) when there's a problem. (Frankly, this is why I don't watch the news - it's too depressing). We don't always stop to notice the positive things that are happening all the time around us - some big things, some small things, but all amazing things.

Catch 'em being good! Notice the positive! And don't keep it to yourself!

Where two or three are gathered....

...there am I. (said Jesus)

Social networking - it's all the craze lately. Yeah, I know, blinding flash of the obvious. Even the Lutheran Church - or at least SEPA Synod - is jumping on board!

Personally, I love it. Facebook, Twitter, Loopt, texting, blogs....I love them all. Some say I'm addicted, but I'm not sure that's the right word. Let's just say....I'm plugged in. That sounds better, anyway, right? :)

So why write about this? If you're reading this, you may have linked to it from my Facebook page. Or maybe you're a blog follower. Or maybe you're a friend who I sent the link to...the possibilities are nearly endless. But you must be linked in, too, right? Or you wouldn't be reading this.

Let's take a look at that word. "Linked." We are connected through this cyber-world where we don't have to see each other to communicate. Is that a good thing? Often, people think it's not. It takes away from face-to-face communication, it allows us to only have shallow relationships, it isolates us. What do you think?

I think that certainly CAN be true, but I don't think it HAS to be. I can only use myself as an example, but honestly, I think being linked in cyberspace has deepened my connections with many people. Friends from high school who I thought were lost for good, for example, have become better friends than ever. My grandparents in TX, who normally wouldn't get to read what I write, because I'm no good at handwriting letters, hear about what I'm doing, what I believe, and what I think because my mother takes them my emails. Heck, my whole family's on FB - I can have random little chats with my brother, sister, and mom (and hopefully soon dad) through the day without running up the phone bill!

But like anything else, it's a tool. That's what we need to remember. It's a tool for communication, a tool for friendship, and yes, a tool for ministry. Jesus said, where two or three are gathered, He's there. He didn't say HOW they gathered, just that we are in community with each other. Cyberspace can be just as vital a community as face-to-face time.

But always remember - it does not and should not REPLACE face-to-face time. Facebooking with your youth minister, pastor, confirmation class, or church friends cannot replace the worship experience - but it can make it richer and deeper.

And like any other tool, social networking needs to be learned. If you pick up a hammer for the first time and just start banging away without thinking about it, chances are you'll hurt yourself. The same is true with any of the social networking tools. We learn through trial and error, and sometimes through others' trials and errors. Here's some of what I've learned:

1. Social Networking is not scary. It seems very strange when you start it, I know, but really, you can just play around with things and learn what you like and don't like about it. You might totally screw up your FB homepage and have to start over, but you probably aren't going to blow up the world. LOL

2. But you DO need to be careful. Let me say this loud and clear - anything you choose to post on the internet, no matter how good your security measures are, is honestly fair game for somebody somewhere. So before you post that picture, write that comment, or put your name/phone number/email/whatever out there, THINK ABOUT IT.

3. Be yourself on social networking sites. Yes, you can be selective - and should be selective - about what you choose to share, but as with anything else, honesty is the best policy. A cliche, yes, but it's true. Don't pretend to be someone or something you're not. You are created unique and wonderful - please don't ever think that you're not. Share your thoughts, ideas, and opinions with your friends - that's why the tool is so wonderful! But be nice....remember, even though you're "just" typing, these are still real people with real feelings. And they're your friends, or you wouldn't be letting them see what you put out there.

4. But remember that other people aren't always themselves. Be careful about who you become friends with. Make sure you really know that person before you let the friendship grow deep. There are people out there who, for whatever reason, pretend. Sometimes maliciously, sometimes just because they're bored. You all know what I'm talking about - be careful.

5. But don't let all this scare you! Social networking can be a way to share God's love with others - like I said, a powerful ministry tool. I can't tell you how many times I've posted something and heard from the unlikeliest people that they agree, feel the same way, or like the same thing. It's fabulous! And I've made friends I never would have expected - from Patou in France to Matt right here in SEPA, who I met in person at FLY in 2009 and felt like I already knew. So much fun!

So get out there! Gather! But please, let Love be a part of your gathering. I view that Love as the Triune God...but I have friends who don't...so for all of you who may not see the world in the same way I do...insert your own word for that which is bigger than yourself. That's the Love that should be a part of all of our relationships - not to limit them to people who define that Love the same way we do, but to broaden them to embrace many ways of viewing that Love. After all, I truly believe that we are all - all - Loved.