Living In A Van Down By The River

Yesterday stunk.

I have this spyware thing that I've gotten moderately under control...but it took about 5 hours on Friday just to get it to that point. My reality is that I'm going to have to go back to the original configuration, therefore erasing my entire hard drive and going back to square one. And I needed that time today that I wasted just getting my laptop to function to get ahead in some areas.

Then I was short with my wife because of my frustration with my computer and I was preoccupied with my kids because I was short with my wife and didn't get ahead in some areas and was trying to make sure I got out of town with all the right stuff. I did, but the price of leaving with all the right stuff was getting out of town with my wife a bit miffed but mildly understanding (as a youth ministry wife of 16 years she doesn't take too much of that personally since she knows this drill, but it still rightly miffs her) and my kids I'm sure wondering why dad heard about a third of that sentence they just said. I'm writing run-on sentences just thinking about it.

Then I climbed into a van with 13 teenagers heading off to serve at Pine Cove Christian Camp where our middle schoolers are going to be this weekend. 13 teenagers giving up a chance to attend the big rivalry football game in our community to work in a kitchen to make sure camp costs stay low in order to allow more campers to attend.

Two hours in a van, listening to their young stories and their young music and their young enthusiasm, despite the persistent drizzle, well...

In youth ministry, that elixer cures whatever ails you.

It does for me, anyway.