Wrap-up of the day

It's really early in the morning or late at night, depending on how you look at it. I've been away from the hotel a full 15 hours. There was a lot packed into that time. Here's just a glimpse:

• Heard from 3 young people who have started groups that give to others or are taking a stand on issues. Very, very impressive, enlightening, encouraging and cool. Just cool.
• Worshipped with a children's choir from Africa. If I can get the video, church on Sunday will be worshipping with them as well. I'm making an executive decision as the worship leader...so there.
• Watched an amazing performer bring a story to life that left the whole room in tears. And that was all within two hours.
• Had lunch at the ESPNzone and watched the 49ers lose in the last seconds of the game...but had a yummy salad.
• Participated in a workshop focusing on how we connect with God throughout the day in the moments that we have...good stuff. Did you know that chocolate and prayer go together? They do.
• Enjoyed a caramel frappacino that tasted like caramel corn. Yum.
• Listened to a discussion about youth revolutionizing the world. It was co-led by a guy who was an atheist, has come to Christianity while working in DC. He has worked for some pretty high mucky-mucks including the Obama campaign. There are a lot of things that I still need to review from that session. I thought I was going to walk away from the conference without buying any cd's or DVD's...not gonna happen.
• Had dinner with other Presbyterian Youth Workers, including someone that I had gone to a class with a couple year ago. Good conversation and I came away with some new resources, plus after the expensive meals in this town, it was nice to have a free dinner! Thanks PC(USA)!
• Tonight we heard from the woman the Lifetime movie, Homeless to Harvard, was based on. I appreciated hearing her perspective on life...it made me think about what I take for granted and what I assume.
• And then, Jon-boy and I hung out and listened to Todd T.'s favorite band in the whole wide world...Lost and Found. Slinky! We also laughed until we couldn't breathe with the Skit Guys. A long but good day.

I've got a bunch of questions running through my head but I also have this little rant that must come out right now. Walking by the hand-out table, where all the extra hand-outs from the workshops wind up, I found this beauty called the Pure Freedom Fashion Challenge. I read through it, it makes sense. I don't like seeing bra straps, shorts that are to short, pants that are too low, I get it. However, it's really frustrating to hear people say "the youth shouldn't wear x, y or z" and then turn around to see the youth workers wearing x, y and z. Where do we think they get it from? It's just annoying. All weekend I've been hearing "youth look up to you!"...so why don't we get that they look at everything? Okay, rant over for now. It's time to sleep! More tomorrow!