What an amazing weekend!

I am not sure where to start talking about this weekend.

It began with an absolutely fabulous Friday with my family. We had our home school outing Friday morning and early afternoon. Then my family and I spent the day together. The evening was an incredible date night with Michelle. We enjoyed a meal at Applebees and went to see Prince Caspian. It was a great night!

Saturday during the day was mostly spent at home working in the yard, playing with my son, and enjoying family time. The only bad part of Saturday was when I washed my cell phone in the laundry, but that's what insurance is for, right? That evening we went to the Rochester College Partnership dinner with Robin Roberts from Good Morning America. She came with no prepared notes and spoke from the heart.

She was amazing! She spoke about her life, her experiences, and her battle with breast cancer over the last year. Her faith was evident, her strength was incredible, and her humor was really funny. She spoke a phrase that is one of those that will stick with me for years to come: "Make your mess your message." Isn't that what following Jesus is all about? Robin's words echo the apostle Paul, who said, "Each time he said, 'My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.' So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults,
hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For
when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

Sunday was great from beginning to end. In the morning I taught my Parents of Teens class. I love the parents here at Rochester. They engage in class, ask good questions, and are serious about wanting to disciple their children. This was our second of three classes in a series titled, "I'm a Youth Minister?" Each of the three weeks we discuss how parents can be the youth ministers God made them to be. This week we discussed helping our teens to grow. The parents asked some good questions and made some great comments.

After class, I went upstairs for Mosaic service. Bob Russell, the recently retired pastor of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, was the guest speaker. He delivered an excellent sermon on "The Grace of Gratitude." As usual, the worship was great and family communion was a time of hugs, greetings, and encouragement. Patrick did manage to get a jab in on me and Chris Lindsey, our worship minister. Patrick began by saying he could spike his hair and be the worship minister. Then he said he could untuck his shirt and be the youth minister. It made me chuckle that the senior minister could make a joke about that from the pulpit, because at a previous church where I served, the elders scolded me for not dressing up enough at church. Life is funny if you just live it and enjoy it!

After lunch we went to the funeral home to visit a family who had lost a relative. While this was not necessarily fun, it was encouraging to minister to a family in need. After visiting with the family for a little while, their teenage daughter joined us and rode back to the church building with us for small groups.

Our small group time was a great ending to a great weekend. It was our last student small group gathering before the summer. Each group's leaders and members came up on stage and shared how small groups this year had impacted them. It was a testimony to the power of our small groups. It is obvious that God is at work in the lives of our leaders and students. A huge thank you to the adults who give up hours upon hours to minister to teenagers. They are making an eternal impact!

Well, that was my weekend in a nutshell. God is good!

shine!
Jason