Chapter IV: Pace Yourself

Ever get to the beginning of a week and wonder what happened to the second half of the week before? Yeah...that's about where I'm at...

I had a pretty rad week that was spent hanging out with students and getting into the swing of things. I preformed at Founders again, bought a new TV, and spent the majority of my weekend with Alex. We got to spend Friday night roaming the streets of downtown Grand Rapids enjoying the sites and not enjoying the spiders. I also ate more pizza in the last three days than I have in the last three weeks...(not literally of course!)...and while I do enjoy JB's Pizza, there is something to be said for Jet's Sausage and Bacon Pizza.....

Our first official youth event went really well, and it was a great opportunity to hang out with the students, talk about the upcoming semester, and eat some amazing Jello cake. The youth ministry also met together to plan the fall semester, and come up with our ministry's vision statement:

Living the real life Together in Christ.

It's not all fun and games though...as this week as brought it's trials. Three of my friends are really struggling this week, I've had to make the first tough decision regarding my ministry, and I started to recognize the signs of burnout this weekend.

I've been spending a lot of time hanging out with youth, planning and sitting through meetings, and looking through calenders....It's all great stuff, but just like a giant cake cookie, too much of a good thing can be bad. So I started working towards having some down time and celebrated that at the beach yesterday. I walked away with a better understanding of myself and God's calling for this ministry, but I am also sporting a sweet one-sided sunburn. More importantly, I realized that while youth ministry is awesome work, I need to pace myself by setting personal boundaries to make sure I don't get burnt out.

Check out my other blog Reading Revelation for a more in depth look at burnout:
Reading Revelation: Love Affair

The LORD blessed us with good weather and turnout for our Sr. High Pool party and is continuing to provide for me here in Wyoming (I love living in Wyoming and Michigan at the same time!). For this week, I would ask that you continue to pray for our youth group, but also pray for my first Sunday leading the praise band at Olivet as well as a prayer retreat that Pastor Josh and I are taking on Tuesday....

Still learning,
-B

PS: Look into playing the game called Munchkin...I'm pretty much obsessed.

Chapter III: Moving Forward

Two weeks under my belt and I'm still loving the ministry the LORD has placed before me. Last week was filled with VBS (which was awesome by the way) and getting acquainted with some of the Sr. High youth group members. I also had a chance to share some music with the congregation on Sunday and lead worship for the consistory members.

As for the exploration of Grand Rapids, I made an amazing discovery on Tuesday night thanks to one of our church members. It's a place called Founders Brewery, and it has some of the most amazing tasting brews I've ever had. But what was really cool about this place was that is hosts an open mic night every Tuesday, so I got my first chance to play for Grand Rapids. The show went well, and even included the unveiling of a new original song called "Place to Start"


During the weekend, I was able to visit Chicago and reunite with my inner circle of friends, but this experience caused me to learn two very important lessons. The first being that I have been blessed with an amazing group of friends whom I love very dearly. The second is that visiting Chicago made me realize how much I like Grand Rapids and how much I feel at home here now.

This week I am planning on returning to Founders, wandering the downtown area on Friday, and finally visiting the lake on Saturday. Maybe I'll get around to the climbing gym again....

In the world of prayer requests, the LORD was definitely with us at VBS and He provided me with many opportunities to meet people. For this week, I would ask for prayer for our first Youth event on Wednesday and the continuing preparations for the fall semester.

All is well,
-B

Chapter II: Remember Your Training

The turtle you see here was a pleasant surprise I found while visiting Reed lake after a walk through East Grand Rapids. I also spent time in Byron Center and put in quite a few hours at Brewer Park throwing some discs. But the point of this update is that I survived (and maybe even thrived) as a youth pastor for a week. It was great. And like all things, it was way cooler than I expected it to be.

The LORD has really been grooming me for this position since that fateful September day so many years ago when I was born. Every church and ministry I have been a part of has brought me experiences that I am already drawing upon. Countless discussions with peers, pastors, and professors have given me knowledge and understanding for this one thing. It's like I've been doing a puzzle without the box and finally finished the edges.

I spent the majority of my week laying the foundations for relationships, orientating myself throughout the church, and I think I even caught myself extending my hand and saying "Hi I'm Brian" in my sleep. But through it all, the LORD has been there to support and guide me. Here are a few things that I have come to know about Michigan:

1) Turning left...works a little differently around here, but sidewalks are cool
2) Cans and bottles: RECYCLE!
3) When asked where they're favorite place is, 9 of 10 Michiganders will say something involving ice cream
4) We have "hallway monsters" (Just ask the little girl who lives next to me)

Again, the LORD has answered my prayers regarding a starting point for this ministry. He has provided me with ample volunteer help, and given me the tools to focus my vision for the job. My prayer requests for this week would be a petition for the VBS going on in the evenings, and more opportunities for me to get to meet, know, and understand the youth from my church.

Finally doing it,
-B