The last Friday of the school year...

Solid crew for the last day of school!

Today was the last day of school for Ladera Ranch Middle School. 

For some of the WyldLife kids, this was their last day of middle school. 

Matt, some middle school friends, and a selfie stick.

We kept things very mellow this morning. There was no game, just frisbees, a football, spike-ball, and slam disc. I wanted to have today be focused on kids and leaders just hanging out and hopefully making connections that will last into the summer.

The 8th graders.

We did have the chance to celebrate both the 8th graders, and Grant.

We celebrated the 8th graders by having them all stand up on a picnic table, and then a few of the leaders prayed for them as they journey into high school. It was really cool to see some of the kids that I first met last year standing there, so much bigger and more mature than they were last year. It was great to reflect on the adventures we have had, and how we have gotten the chance to become friends.

It was also great to tell them about Young Life, and how we will be doing something VERY SIMILAR to WyldLife for them while they are in high school. I am excited about what lies ahead for them in high school, and about having them be a part of South County Young Life. We will be focusing on San Juan Hills and Tesoro High Schools, but anyone from any high school in the area is invited to participate for sure! Matt Wright and I, with a few new leaders, and some of the original SJH leaders are excited to get things going again next year in Young Life.

We celebrated Grant because it was his birthday today, and he is awesome.

Happy birthday Grant!!

I didn't give a long message today, but just reminded them that no matter what, Jesus will never leave them, and no matter what, Jesus will never stop loving them.

In the first book of the New Testament, Matthew, the very last sentence Jesus speaks to his disciples is, "And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Jesus wanted them to be sure that he was never going to leave them, never going to forsake them. Just like when Jesus forgave Peter and made sure Peter knew he was still a part of the inner group, Jesus wants to make sure we know he will never leave us either. We will make mistakes. We will make some shameful decisions. We will do things we hope no one else knows about. We might be publicly humiliated or even shunned… but Jesus will never stop loving us and never leave us. 

I hope that through this year, those of you who have read these blogs have come to know the love of Jesus more. I hope that you have been drawn to Jesus. I hope that I have done a good job putting Jesus on display in truth, because in truth, Jesus is the single most attractive person that has ever walked the earth. He loved more, cared more, healed more, served more, gave himself up more, and fought for humanity more than any other human being has in the history of the earth. 

I pray that if you started reading these skeptical of Jesus or the church, that you are now a bit more curious. Churches have done some things that just don't reflect Jesus well, and if you have been hurt by them, I am deeply sorry, but Jesus is so much bigger than that, and even when churches screw it up, he never changes, he never hurts, and he always restores death to life.  

See you guys this summer!