The "thank you" journal

Q and I received a special surprise from the teens this past Sunday night at our last singspiration. I was still quite emotional about it yesterday, but I think I can now write this post to tell you about it.

As we were concluding our song and praise time, our Pastor interjected with words of praise to both of us for our years of service at the church and school. Then he said that the teens had something to give us. One of the graduates explained to us that they put together a journal that included a note and picture from each of the teens so that we can remember them for years to come. They also inserted a restaurant and Starbuck's gift card, which was great--but we loved the journal more.

I shed a few tears at Pastor's home as this gift was presented to us. The girls came up to me and gave me a hug with a few words of thanks. When we got home though, the tears came like a flood and we started reading through the journal. I told Q that I'd rather cry it all out then and there, so we read the entire thing that night. The first note was a general one from the entire youth group. Then as we turned each page, we laughed and cried at the pictures and notes the kids wrote.

They all said "thanks" in their own way, and some shared their favorite thing about youth group under Q's leadership. A few of them shared how they had fun in my class years ago (third grade), as well as in recent days in my choir these past two years. One of my favorite notes came from a young man who started attending our Christian school a couple years ago. He came from Korea and got saved last year! His note said, "I got saved because of you." WOW! All the praise goes to the Lord for that. There have been recent times that I've been discouraged, but this journal encouraged our hearts in so many ways! It came at the right time. God is good, isn't He?

Perhaps you're thinking of a way to show your appreciation to someone at your church. Whether they're staying or leaving, I think this "thank you" journal is a treasure that they'll keep for a lifetime.

By the way, I tried uploading pictures from camp, but was unsuccessful. Camp was a blessing and the teens made many decisions for the Lord! We were glad we were able to spend all last week with these kids that we've invested our lives in for several years. To God be the glory!