Supafly.com

Today I met with three companies who are competing to develop Version2 of Lifeteen.com. This website has been my project for the past two years, and everyone has let me down. Because of that, the site is still not up. But after five hours of meetings this afternoon, I think my dream will become a reality.

It was so invigorating to sit down and talk to people who are good at what they do. Every bit of me wants to run in my room and jump on my bed in joy. But I can’t get my hopes up because people have let me down before.

I hope things work this time.

I’ve spent most of this week designing two hooded sweatshirts and two summer camp logos for Life Teen. It’s so exciting to watch the artwork come to life on my computer. I never imagined I could do anything this cool.

When I was twelve, my Dad had a friend named Mike who was a graphic designer. Mom used to drop me off in our small downtown so I could skateboard with my friends. I would always go by and visit Mike at his office to see what new projects he was doing. It was a thrill to see all of his markers and tools, and his walls covered with his finished work. Later that year he bought me three huge graphic design books for Christmas.

Those books were my favorite possession all the way through school. I would flip through the glossy pages and get high on all the beautiful artwork. I cannot explain how much I loved looking at those glossy pages of bright graphics. I loved it!;

So it is so cool to be grown up now, and to be able to design cool graphics, just like I used to see in those books. This afternoon I presented my summer camp logos to the marketing staff, and they totally dug ‘em. I was so proud to show them my work, because I knew it was going to make our summer camps better. People are excited!

For my whole life, I’ve felt like there was always somebody else who could do a better job. I did what I could, but I knew there was a “professional” out there who could do a better job. Now I can design with confidence, knowing that I can do professional-grade design. I’m the real thing.

I can’t express how happy I am right now.; God given talents are meant to be given back to God. Only when you do that, do you really know what joy is.

Today was a Life Teen Board of Directors meeting up at our summer camp in Prescott, Arizona. It’s exciting to have the meeting at the camp, because for some of the Board, it’s the first time they’ve seen it.

I really enjoyed getting to know each person on the board. I love being around people that have their act together. During the meeting Pat Baron showed us pictures of the summer camp in St. Louis that he bought for Life Teen. That’s just really cool–to buy a summer camp and ask a youth ministry if they want to run it. It’s just a really exciting time to be involved in Life Teen. God is moving mountains.;

This fall we have a Life Teen tour called “Inspiration”, a one-day event at a theme park. We do the rides in the morning, have Mass in the afternoon, do more rides, then finish the day with praise and worship, prayer, and speakers. Yesterday was the second Inspiration, this time at Six Flags in St.; Louis.; I’ve been looking forward to this event for a long time, because my whole life I’ve known Six Flags to be the kingdom of cool.

In the Rural South, Six Flags was a miraculous palace where ordinary middle school students could become divinely cool. I knew this because I witnessed the transformation of my two older sisters. They may have left our town as ordinary girls, but they returned with glorious bounty:; matching airbrushed T-shirts, stuffed animals, half-eaten cotton candy, and a roll of film that would became a photo album. They told detailed stories of puke, ferris wheel kisses, and the person who got lost. I couldn’t wait to be cool. Soon, my time came.

My first trip to Six Flags did not unfold as I dreamed it would. We spent most of our time choosing which clique you wanted to stand in line with. This was not a simple choice, because you’d stand in line for at least an hour for even a boring ride. By midafternoon, we had only conquered three rides. It was hot as hell, so we went on a water ride to cool off. Five hours later, my socks were still wet and rotten.

I tried to redeem the day by winning stuffed animals for the pretty girls. But no matter how much money I spent, I didn’t get the prize–or the girls. I retreated into the arcade where my losses failures were less public. To my surprise, I dominated the drop-claw machine with five dollars in quarters. I had a pair of fuzzy dice to prove my athleticism to my peers as we loaded into the bus at the end of the day.

Someone found a prisoner’s shirt on their seat, complete with a number printed on the front and back. We were terrified and thrilled, looking under our seats for a naked prisoner. Deep down I knew a desperate kid bought that shirt at the mall and decided to wear it to Six Flags. His friends made fun of him, and he took it off and threw it through our window. But for the sake of having a cool story, we convinced ourselves there was a bare-backed murderer running through the 100 acre parking lot, looking for his next victim.

It didn’t matter how disappointing the day was, I was just thrilled to leave our town in the woods and be thrown into the insanity of the city. I’ll always remember Six Flags as a place where my imagination went wild, a place where I dreamed big about growing up.

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So anyway, I am always excited to go to Six Flags. We got to the park early and came in through the back with all the employees. Every weekend I pass through the thorough security at the airport. Here at Six Flags, it’s not as complicated. The metal detector is a door-frame standing in the middle of a sidewalk. The security guard used a stick to investigate our bags for explosives. Hung next to the security guard was a sign that read:;

How to have a Great Day:

Wear pants that fit.
Wear appropriate jewelry.
Wear your name tag.
Brush your hair.
Don’t chew gum.
Wear a smile.

By these standards, I was the only person in line ready to have a great day. This dream team of machine operators had some cleaning up to do.

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Last night at Six Flags was wonderful. It was so cool to see how quickly the teenagers ran into the theater for the night.; They were ready to go deep. The three of us speakers did well. Matt Maher and the band absolutely rocked. The whole; day was put together well. Because of good planning, those teenagers will always remember that day.;

I will too. This trip to Six Flags was a thrill, because I’ve grown up to become more; than I ever imagined as; a kid. I love my life; I love being me. I love that I get to come back for a day at Six Flags and lead 700 teenagers closer to God. I never would’ve imagined as a kid…

I am in the last hour of my flight from Phoenix to St. Louis. It’s been a long day at work, and I am really tired. I need to start paying more attention to when my plane takes off so I don’t get to the airport late and freak out. I’m to the point in my day where I have no emotion left. No energy. It’s been a crazy week, but I don’t think any of it is worth writing about.