Retreat Week...

• A week of a million to-do's and never enough time...
• A week of excitement and exhaustion...
• A week of a stressed-out Type A youth pastor and a narcoleptic husband...
• A week of last minute practices and long car rides...
• A week of a stressed-out perfectionistic volunteer and an insomniac wife...
• A week of everything taking longer than your most educated estimates...
• A week of life-falshing-before-your-eyes car swerving to avoid a sauntering herd of deer, followed closely by a freakishly large fowl...
• A week of struggling to keep a good balance and a correct focus...
• A week of big disappointments and frustrations...
• A week of figurative curveballs and exercises in flexibility...

My list could go on and on and on... And I'm sure I could make an equally tiring list about the week after a retreat! (But, I'll probably be too tired! lol.) So - if its so crazy and hectic and exhausting... is it really worth it???

Undoubtably and unequivically ~ YES! I can't explain it all and my words would not give it justice. But, for us - we spend 3 days and 2 nights building into our teen-agers and sharing Jesus with them. The very kids that we cry for, pray over, celebrate with, and yell at on a regular basis. The kids that absorb our passion and zeal on a weekly basis. The kids and families that we have been called to shepherd spiritually and occasionally emotionally, physically, and mentally. These kids are the burden God has laid on our hearts and the reason we get out of bed in the morning.

Can't wait until tomorrow.