My good buddy Robby Olson and I eating a Cincinnati favourite - Skyline Chili. Who knew Cincinnati was famous for their chili? Not I. What I actually ate is this - the description comes straight from the Skyline Chili menu: 3-Way Chili: Our signature dish...steaming spaghetti, covered with our original, secret-recipe chili and topped with a mound of shredded cheddar cheese. My, oh my.
My new friend Ashley and I. Ashley met Jer in their Critical Concerns course and then Ashley and I had lunch and talked "women in youth ministry."
Jer and I at Outback with Mark. Mark's below . . .
Our Team Leader - Mark "the big dog" Janzen. I really love these guys (Mark and Jer). They continue to show me respect, make my gut hurt with big laughs, and warm my heart with their brotherly love for me and the kids/families we work with. Yay Team!
YS does it up big. This is the stage where we gathered for General Sessions at the Duke Energy Centre. And though YS does a lot of things big and loud, the conference gives a person plenty of ways to tailor the weekend just the way one needs it.
The big theme of my weekend was a continuation of the theme that I've been noticing in my life for the past 6 months - simple moments are charged with the deeply sacred. I found God in the small things more than the loud things at the YS conference: meeting with a mentor, Marv; hanging out with old and new friends; bumping into one of YS's spiritual directors that I spent some time with 2 years ago, Maggie; drawing out a prayer with crayons at a contemplative course . . . I LOVE YOUTH SPECIALTIES.
I also wrote a poem during weekend. It is about the moment I had catching up with Maggie, one of YS's spiritual directors. Here it is . . .
MAGGIE AND ME
I saw her
in attentive conversation
orange walls, orange ceiling
A hope rushed in as I rushed on
I wanted to be in her
incense presence
I turned and stepped on insecurity
down orange hallways
I was recognized and embraced
Toothy smile to toothy smile
a moment to reconnect and remember
--a commissioning
--a note passed, tacked to the fridge
--a breaking heart
--a shining countenance
Farewells of blessings and peace
woven in the sacred space between
two soul friends
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