to my past and present EASM family..

Hey y'all!

If youre reading this, that means you are either a blogging friend, or you have personally walked with me through my journey in Edgewater Alliance Student Ministries, either way, know that I am thankful to have you visit my site and read my thoughts :)

Well.. its 11:30 on my final Wednesday night at youth group with EASM, other then when I come home to visit, which know, I WILL be coming to visit! I cannot express what the past 9 years have meant to me. I have grown up with you guys. You have not only been true friends, but a loyal family as well. And I truly (yes, even you who I often pick on) love you all. I know I will not even come close to thanking all of you by simply writing this, but I sure am going to try my hardest.

This goes out to my past and present lifeguards and staff..
Wow, 9 years.. I know some of you can still imagine what I was like in 6th grade.. and can I just say, thank you for not killing me!

When I think about my middle school years, I think about the family who took me in every Wednesday afternoon, fed me dinner, and loved me as if I was one of their own. They took me on family vacations, and allowed me to spend (probably way too many) nights keeping their daughter up late! You were the ones who first showed me TobyMac, and RelientK.. still two of my favorites. I look back and laugh (almost to tears) at the car rids to Orlando where a certain friend told us about an interesting punishment his parents enforced. You were the very beginning of my EAC family, and you taught me how to love like Jesus, even when the person you are loving is a crazy middle school girl.

To my middle school leaders.. again.. thanks for not killing me!!
seriously, I was obnoxious! But hey.. I LOVE Jesus and I learned that from you guys! Thank you for the many sleepless nights you spent on the floor of a church during conference weekends.. and not taking pictures of all of us trying to fit on the kid size seesaw :) Seriously though, I can look at middle school, and remember one of you praying with me at Planet Wisdom after I decided to give my life to Christ. I had NO idea what that meant, but you prayed with me, and that will be a memory for the rest of my life. I had no idea how hard it was to love middle schoolers until I was the one having to do it!! And let me say, as much as you may have questioned yourselves, you loved me so well, and I love all of you!

High school leaders..
wow, I think I was even more of a mess in high school then I was in middle school!! So thanks to you guys, too, for not killing me.. though I did hear about you wanting to quite a few times.
I may have accepted Christ in middle school, but its because you guys that I grew to be more than that. Thank you for enduring late night phone calls and texts when I thought my life was falling apart, and thanks for telling me it was going to be okay, I can specifically remember that. Thank you for the sleepovers watching scary movies (that kept a friend and I up TERRIFIED). Thank you for not laughing, too hard anyway, when we asked for a night light. Thank you for the late nights spent at Dennys, even though I always felt ill after, it was worth it. Thanks for letting a crazy teenage girl hang with your kids and family. Thank you for the dinners, and every other meal, you invited me to. One big thank you for not letting me off easy, yep I said it.. thank you for calling me out on my crap, even when I hated you for it. Thanks for the 13 hour road trip you endured with 4 teenage girls and a pregnant wife (you are brave!) Thanks for not rolling your eyes too hard when I gushed over my latest crush, or cried over a fight with a friend. Thank you for verbally slapping me about my grades. Thank you for cheering me on, as I cheered (Cheer-ception?) on the football team. Thank you for making me go to Detroit, and showing me how to love deeply. That barely touches on everything you did for me. I love you all very much!!

To my friends and students (present and past)
Golly, some of us have spent 9 years together!! I owe you guys a ton. Thank you for late night conversations, and for also telling me life was going to be okay. Thank you for enduring black Friday in Orlando with me! Thanks for the shopping trips, bible studies, and movie marathons I made you do! Thank you for showing me grace and love when I screwed up (which was and IS a lot of the time) Thanks for the nights we stayed away in the dark talking for hours. The leaders taught me, but you held me accountable. Even if we lost touch since our days in the easm gang, know that I love you, and you will always have a special place in my heart, and if you ever need me one more time for a 3am phone call, im in:) If you have been one of my students the past few years, thanks for dealing with me! I know I wasn't prepared for group as well as I could have been most days.. but I did love you guys! Thanks for acting just like I did, giving me a taste of what it was like for my leaders to love me with grace and mercy. Thanks for teaching me to forgive like Jesus. Thank you for not rolling your eyes (to my face anyway) when I made you listen to another song, because it was perfect for the lesson. Thank you for accepting me as a leader and always (usually) showing me respect. You crazy students have taught me SO much, do I even need to leave for school?? Thanks for the crazy car rides, and for always leaving me a visual trail of where in my car you were :)



I know its not much, but guys, there's just no way I could thank all of you for everything you have done for me. I will always consider you guys my friends and family, as long as its okay with you ;)

okay.. enough of this mushy sappy stuff. You know its not my thing.

I have 3 months of summer left with you crazy people!!! :)

Im going to bold it because its important..
please comment, or let me know you read this, I would love to hear some of the memories you have with me! Even if they are embarrassing! Bring it on!