Busy week

It's the middle of my week, and it feels like a lot on my plate. Youth Sunday is this weekend, and I'm the first of three speakers (Dan Pietrini, the other intern and Hannah Kircher, one of our students will be speaking as well). Last night was our "dry run" at youth group, and presenting our talk felt un-coordinated (on top of a very chaotic night). The youth band is playing Saturday night (at our one time a month Saturday eve Deep service) and then again on Sunday morning. So that's a lot of involvement for me this weekend. Plans for Dan and me to teach Kingdom Theology have been all but finalized, and if nothing comes up we'll be teaching in two weeks (the course will run for six weeks). I've also downloaded and printed my next to last section in my Theology studies course. It's hard to believe that within a month I could be done with something that felt (at times) like it wouldn't end. After that's done, I'm pretty much released to go from Vineyard Oak Park. I've been kind of emotional at times over this past week as I look ahead. This church has been my home and my family for the last five years, and now I am preparing to move on. It's exciting to think of all the possiblilities that lay ahead, but who wants to leave their roots? I've really come to love and respect a lot of people here, and I feel they have come to love and respect me as well. And while I feel deep in my heart that this is what I was made for (moving on and becoming a youth pastor somewhere else) it doesn't make leaving any easier. Chaotic weeks like this are probably a good thing, because I get to see first hand how it is to balance a heavy load of work as a pastor :-) I'm sure I'll fit in and find wonderful and amazing people at whatever location I land.