No longer a coach

It has kinda been a crazy couple of weeks. Over the past year or so, my mind has been going back and forth on this whole idea of getting more involved in youth ministry. I didn't really know what the thoughts were or why I had them but most of the time, I just pushed them back in my head knowing that as a teacher, I had to coach. The reality of being a coach meant that I didn't have time to get more involved in this whole picture of ministry. Over the past three months, I felt like the pressure to move away from coaching was put hard on my heart. There have been some big things that helped me realize the time has come to hang up the coaching hat and open the door to a little different road. I will begin my journey in youth ministry this week and to be honest, I am pretty nervous. It all seems so surreal. I have prayed about it for so long but I never actually thought something would happen.

A bitter sweet week. My past five years of coaching have been absolutely amazing. I have met some amazing young women and have been a part of a great team and program. I have learned a lot from the girls, other coaches and I hope in the process, I was able to plant a seed in their lives as well. It will be tough to watch from the outfield this spring but I know without a doubt that I am following the path that God has asked me to follow.

The greatest feeling

Today I had one of those moments in life I will treasure forever. There were about twenty people standing outside the church waiting to enter for my nieces baptism. I was surrounded by the grandparents, great-grandparents and others aunts and uncles to my nieces and nephews. When my brother and sister-in-law walked in with the kids, Mikayla and David looked around the room, laid eyes on me and came running into my arms screaming "Aunt Debbie!" There was something about being the one they ran too that was the best feeling in the world. I swept them up into my arms and gave them the biggest hug. I told Mikayla how beautiful she looked and made sure David knew that he looked handsome and was getting so big.
I wonder if God gets that same sense of the chills when we come running back into his arms?

A must see

So the time has officially come to head back to school. In less than three days, I will say goodbye to the summer days and jump back into the "real world." I was feeling a lack of excitement for the year so I headed over to blockbuster tonight to see what I could find. I came across the movie Pride. After watching it, I must say that that I highly recommend it. I have to admit, I am kinda a sucker for the underdog sports movie. It is a great movie that puts life back into perspective and reminds me why I am heading back to the classroom on Monday. Watch it, let me know what you think.