I’m writing this as I’m just closing up the day from our annual summer float trip. What a great day! Despite some lunches that we left behind (oops!) and a whole lot of heat, I had a blast. First of all, a hot day is perfect to be in cold water. I don’t think the Meramac was ever so refreshing. Also, it was great to have a little time to hang out and goof off with so many of our teens and Core Team. Even better, it was nice to watch you having such a good time with each other. Great job to all who floated the day away. Special thanks to the Core Team who were great and resourcesful as usual, as well as thanks to Jim and Marsha Bathe who hosted all 46 of us for a lakeside BBQ after the float was over. Several lessons come to mind after today that I thought I’d like to share with you all:
you can never have too much sunscreen
you can never have too much cold water
the water cannons were a blast
always check twice to make sure you have all the coolers
you are never safe from a sneak attack and a sudden plunge into the water

I’d love to hear your lessons from the day or any of your favorite parts of it as well.

Again, thanks to all who floated.

Peace.

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As I type this, I’m currently uploading cletusyouth.net’s first ever online photo gallery! Fr. Jeff supplied me with 120+ pictures he took while on this summer’s Appalachia trip. This makes me wonder if he really did any work down there at all! (:

Anyways, through the magic of iPhoto and Photoshop, I bring to you today “Appalachia 2005.” Just click on the multimedia tab and then click pictures. This is where you’ll find this album as well as any future albums that are updated.

If you want to save any of the pictures, you can always right-click on them and go to some “save picture as” dialog box.

It is my hope that we’ll be able to have many more albums up there for you guys to peruse and remember all the awesome events. If you have any albums of SCYM: Lifeteen events that you want published on the site, talk to me or Fr. Jeff and we’ll see what we can do! Thanks a lot guys!

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I’ve had the chance in the last couple of days to spend time with a few people I like to call “my family.” Between Father’s Day and helping clean out my dad’s basement for a garage sale, I’ve been with my those people a lot lately.

I noticed then that it had been far too long since I’d spent any real time with them. My family is very much a part of who I am. When I don’t get to see them as often, I don’t feel whole. There’s a particular love that God gives to each of my family members through only me, and when I’m not around to give them that love, I feel different. When I’m not able to recieve the love that God has through me in each of the unique ways through each of my family members, I’m not whole.

It seems that you never realize how important anything is, until you have to do without it for awhile. Then, when you do have it, you’re able to appreciate it that much more.

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St. Cletus Youth Ministry’s annual float trip is right around the corner. Are you gonna be there? If so, you better check out the etc. page for all the information and the permission slip. Don’t miss out on this wet and wild activity!

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About three weeks ago, my friend emailed me and said, “Hey, man, have you heard that new Nelly song, “Fly Away?” It’s awesome, dude. I think you should check out. I think you’d like it.” But, since he sent the email at work, and I can’t download stuff there, I just kinda brushed it aside and told him I’d get it “next time.”

Well, next time turned into the time after that, and the time after that, and suddenly, two weeks later, I still hadn’t downloaded it. I finally made it around to finding the song about a week ago, when I was typing about how I seemed to be stuck at that stoplight, and the light wouldn’t turn. At the time, the rationale was something like, “Well, I’m not doing anything, so I might as well download that song so Kevin’ll stop asking me about it.”

I haven’t stopped listening to the song since. In fact, I told Kevin, “Next time you find a song, you gotta tell me, ‘Chris, it’s better than that Nelly song’ and I’ll be sure to listen to you.”

I find it interesting how sometimes my friends know better than I do what I want or need or like. It’s like they have an answer to a question I haven’t even posed. It’s these little things- having a friend know you so well that he can tell you how much you’d love a song- that turn into bigger things.

Maybe I’m stuck at that stoplight, not because the light won’t turn, but because I don’t know which way to go. But perhaps my friends have already been at that stoplight. And perhaps they do know the way to where I want to go.

I should ask.

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