This past weekend, we took our church youth group to the Atlanta area. We rented a cabin in Ellijay, GA, went to a Braves game Friday night, went to Six Flags on Saturday, and visited a nearby church Sunday morning before heading back to Pickens. Needless to say, it was fun but exhausting! I thought you might like to hear a little about it.

1. Three and a half hours in any vehicle with 8 people is bound to be a little irritating for everyone.
2. Rained-out baseball games are no fun.
3. No matter how warm the day is, getting soaked and then having to stay in those wet clothes for nearly two hours will cool you off. (Still referring to the baseball game.)
4. It is impossible to sleep when people are playing pool in the game room which is located just outside your bedroom.
5. Four hours of sleep is NOT enough sleep!
6. Preparing breakfast for 20 people in a cabin that wasn't as "fully stocked" as we had thought was truly an interesting task.
7. Six Flags is busy on Saturdays!
8. I understand how the roller coaster "Goliath" got its name. I didn't think we'd ever get to the top of that first hill. But, wow! What a blast!
9. For those who are little "iffy" about riding roller coasters, it's not a good idea to start with the scariest one. We had a few that wouldn't ride another roller coaster after Goliath.
10. If there's a long line for Batman, skip it. It's a fun ride, but REALLY not worth an hour-long wait.
11. On the water tube ride, when they say, "You might get wet," they are lying to you. You WILL get wet!!!!! If the raging river doesn't soak you, the water cannons will!
12. Acrophobia is really, really, REALLY high and can literally scare you to the point where it takes several minutes before you can walk again because your legs are shaking so bad. (We even had one poor girl in tears. No, it wasn't me, but I was close.)
13. Superman is totally awesome. I never thought I would like a ride where you look straight down most of the time, but it was fun! I giggled the entire time.
14. The car ride back to the cabin was much quieter since everyone was sound asleep except for Jason and me.
15. Sharing one bathroom with seven guys was. . . well, I just can't find a word for that one.
16. Sunday morning was crazy, and I'll just leave it at that.
17. The church we visited was very lively. The guest preacher preached until 12:00, but then the invitation went on until 12:35. I don't really mind that except that the last people to leave the altar were done at 12:05. I have no idea how many verses of "Just As I Am" we sang.
18. Changing clothes in the bathroom at Wendy's is not very pleasant.
19. A car filled with very tired people makes for a trip full of laughter and silliness.
20. No, I didn't fall asleep in church last night, but I did sleep until after 10:00 this morning.

It is a joy and privilege to have the opportunity to get together with other Christians and have a good time. I know a lot of people in the world think that Christianity is boring and that we aren't allowed to have fun, but if those people had gone with us, they would see differently. God's people should be the happiest people in the world. We should relish the times we get to go on outings with other believers. There's such sweet fellowship (most of the time). We had a really good time this weekend, and I am very proud of our youth group for the Godly examples they were.