Lessons from a Relationship Status

Jessica, Rachel, Susanna and Me

I had the privilege of spending my day with these lovely ladies and the rest of the Ditto family. During our lunch conversation, we started talking about relationship statuses on Facebook. We wondered who would cause the most buzz by changing their status. Of course there was only one way to find out so we all changed our single status to in a relationship.

Being the competitive people that we are, we made it a contest, but it didn't stay that way for long. Shortly after the texts, phone calls, comments and messages started showing up, we noticed some interesting trends. Forget the friendly competition! We had a little social experiment on our hands. There were some interesting and disappointing observations.

• People who we haven't spoken with in YEARS want to know every thing about your life.
• People who we've tried to connect with but never have the time suddenly seem to have an abundance of it.
• It was interesting to note the people who took the time to call or text instead of just leaving a comment. A majority of those people are ones who have been intentional about staying connected not matter what.
• The people closests to us, flat out ignored it or called us out because they know there was no way it was true. This was my favorite response!
• We have a handful of smart friends who actually noticed all of our statuses changed at the same time and we were spending the day together. Well they're either smart or spend way to much time on Facebook.

Probably the biggest thing we learned for these shenanigans was just how much attention a change in your relationship status can draw. I scrolled back on my wall for months looking for a status update the caused more individuals to respond than a relationship update. I couldn't find one!!! We all found that more people responded to this than almost every other subject we've ever posted about.

More people were interested in who the guy was we were dating than updates about family members, school, work, ministry or even things God was teaching us. And that last one was the thing that bothered me the most. More people called and text in one day to find out details about a relationship with a boy than have ever asked about how THE most important relationship I will ever have. That made me ask myself some tough questions today.

Am I doing what I can to encourage those in my life to pursue Christ?
Do I know how to pray for my friends and am I doing it?
Am I creating space in my life to listen to what is going on in the lives of those around me?



Okay, you can all start whining and complaining about being tricked and how unfair it is. And may be this does sound a bit harsh. Say what you want. It's my blog and my Facebook account. Deal with it!

Reflections on Blogging

During a conversation with a group of GSM students after Journey Class tonight, I referenced an old blog post. When I got home tonight I decided to find it. In the process I read several old posts, many about teaching. I laughed. I cried. Teaching was such an adventure.

Now I'm sitting here wondering what my excuse is for not blogging. I have NONE! I enjoyed blogging. I'm glad I was able to capture the stories and emotions of the last few years. I THINK about blogging often. Obviously it rarely happens.

Maybe I'll get back to blogging on a regular basis. Maybe I won't. I guess time will tell.

Summer So Far - July Version

July kicked off with some thing our family doesn't do often, a trip to the beach We went to Tunnel Park in Holland and had a picnic, went swimming, build some sandcastles and of course played some Frisbee. It was a blast!

Somehow I managed to not take a single picture of High School week at RLCA. However I stole this from picture from my friend Caiti because she is awesome. This was one of the most interesting weeks I've ever been a part of at Rock Lake. I've never had a group of high school student be as honest and open as the students were during this week. They took huge steps and have huge dreams of building the kingdom.

A few days after camp, my brother's foster boys went back to their birth mother. I had already made plans to hang out with my friend, Chris, who was in town but he was gracious enough to make a surprise visit with me so I could to see them one last time. We played Apples to Apples and watch the kids ride bikes. I already miss these boys a ton. I pray if they remember nothing else from their time with our family, they remember how much God loves them. I probably told them that a hundred times that night.

Since I've been able to spend more time at home this month, it was time for a party. So the Impact gang came over to eat lots of sandwiches and play some games. Scum was the big game of the night and some how Nicole spent lots of time sitting on the king's throne and I spent a lot of time sitting on the floor in the scum of the earth spot. Oh well it was a very fun night with some amazing friends!

Since most of the time I've had with my family this summer has been tied to trips for Impact, I decided to take a weekend and spent it in Vestaburg with my parents. That weekend started with the annual Lugnuts baseball game with the church. I use to babysit for all the boys in this picture. I've seen them a few times this summer and it was exciting to hear some of their stories about what God is teaching them.

Part of that weekend at home included a day trip to Indy for the Boehm-Sheese Summer Party. It was VERY hot but it was great to see part of the family we only get to see once or twice a year.

July has been full of exciting conversations. Some over a picnic meal on ND's campus. Some in an empty Burger King restaurant. Some over a cup of coffee or a simple glass of water. I really enjoy just hanging out and talking with friends. Hearing the stories of how God is moving and leading His people never gets old.

Summer So Far - June Version

I know it is still July but if you are an educator or in student ministry you know that the school year is quickly approaching. Since I haven't blogged much this summer I thought I would share a few thoughts from the summer so far.

June started with a trip to my parent's house to do some work around the house with Anna and Ryan. We did some landscaping and assembled a swing set. After all that hard work we spent plenty of time eating and playing game. One of my new favorites, bocce ball!

A couple weeks later it was back to Vestaburg to lead worship for Vacation Bible School and share more about Impact's ministry. VBS week is always a bit crazy but I had the chance to have some really good conversations with my nieces and nephews about how much God loves them. And I get to tell all the students how awesome camp is!

Then it was off to MCSC for Deeper Life, a high school week of camp. This year was probably one of my favorite weeks I've done with this team. It was a powerful week of digging into what it means to BE. My highlight was watching my friend Jonathan (one of our Impact students) have the opportunity to baptize one of his campers.

It's been too long

It has been far too long since I've been to the beach. In fact I can't really remember the last time I went to a beach. I forgot how much fun you can have there. Today I met part of my family at Tunnel Park in Holland, MI. A picnic, swimming, sand castles, Frisbee and lots of laughs make for a great day!