Tonight I began a journey: an 8 week training to become a Young Life leader, hopefully for middle school aged kids in a program called Wyldlife! Hayden is a team leader in College Station for one Jane Long Wyldlife team (he's a big deal...) and kind of convinced me that it would be a great way to invest in relationships with some really awkward middle schoolers. I am really excited to begin this training, because I know I am going to meet some great people and build lasting relationships with kids and leaders alike. I wasn't a big fan of Young Life in high school. I have a great deal of respect for the leaders for Tyler because of how hard they worked to impact the lives of some of my fellow classmates. YL was a big social gathering in Tyler, one where people interrupted (often) the messages that were given. This lack of respect irked me, so the times I went were limited. But I am excited to take on this challenge and see what an amazing mission YL has.

Our message before training started tonight was geared towards what we should get out of Young Life, about creating a lifelong journey rather than one that only lasts in college. Our speaker tonight's main focus was that of God's word. He said that the biggest regret he had as a team leader in 1973(!) was that he never fully took in the importance of the word. One of my favorite things he said was this:

"We have copies of the Bible available to us every way we turn, in our own Bibles, even on an "app" on our iPhones and iPads. We have more access to the Bible than has ever been in the history of the world, yet we probably know it the least. Some people in the world would die for just a copy of the Book of John. A copy to pour their lives into live out."

I know this isn't a revolutionary thought, but it was thought provoking and powerful to me. My challenge to myself is take in the word and not just read it, but meditate on it and absorb it. To become a sponge for the word, and for it to guide me in my life.