Happiness at work?!?

Sometimes it's really easy to vent about the things that are going wrong in your life. Especially at work. There's a funny pintrest quote that I've seen around that reads, "If I died and went to hell, it would take me a week to realize I wasn't at work anymore." Unfortunately that can seem true sometimes, but when times are frustrating at work, try to remember the positive things. In my experience, it's what gets you through the tough times, and it's a great way to stay positive for yourself and your co-workers.

Here are some tips for mixing things up and being happier at work:

· Remember to be energetic, patient, and positive through the changes. If others see our excitement, they are more willing to partake in our positive attitudes.

· At staff meetings, don't just ask questions or say that "nothing is new". Always say at least one positive thing that's going on in your program. For example, "Johnny is really comeing out of his shell this year. He's been helping more at Mass and has encouraged other students to participate in service projects. We are so proud of him!"

· If your office doesn't get any sunlight, take a walk around your office or building at least once a day. Or if you're planning a project that you don't have to be in your office for, go outside. Fresh air could do you some good!

· If you have a meeting with someone, meet for coffee or ice cream to change things up! Some of my most productive and enjoyable meetings have been over lunch or coffee. It's also a fun way to check out the new coffee shop in town and support local businesses. God broke bread with people while he was on earth...he's calling us to do the same!

· Take a break sometimes and also use your vacation days! That's what they're there for! Don't be afraid to ask your boss. What's the worst thing that could happen; they say "no”?  Popcorn/cake breaks as a whole staff are nice too!  I also try to make it to a retreat once a year. Not a retreat you plan or send kids to...one for you! I haven't been to one in a year and 6 months, and I can tell my spirit is in desperate need of the experience. Remember, on the 7th day God rested. And so should you.

· STAFF RETREAT!!!  Best idea ever!  This fall we started off the school year with a retreat with our whole staff.  We went to a cabin on a lake and spent the day.  We had some time for reflection on our ministries and also had a lot of fun.  I even got to go jet skiing.  Did I mention I got paid for this day?  So great.  I encourage all companies to take a staff day together. It’s a great way to see people in a different way and build community.  Remember when Jesus didn’t do his ministry alone?  He had a community of people!

· Networking! Ever get have a brain fart at work and can't think of any new ideas? Make friends with other people who are in your field who don't work with you. I can't tell you the amazing new ideas I get from other youth ministers around the country as well as the support they give during difficult times.  I love sharing with them as well.  We are all working towards building His Kingdom; let us help others by giving out the tools!

· Social Networking! We live in a world where we have blogs, twitter, facebook, pinterest, etc. Use these resources for your benefit. Follow a youth minster or priest on facebook or twitter, or perhaps read a Catholic blog once in a while. (I love Life Teen's blog.) Something I've been trying lately is twitter. It's really new to me and a little scary, but I think the benefits will be endless! I've also joined a facebook group for youth minsters in my diocese. It's very helpful!

· Play jokes.  I’m not very good at this one because I can get a little shy.  But for our priest’s bday party we played a couple jokes on him and it was great.  Who knew a whoopee cushion would be so funny even in our adult life?  Haha

· Don’t forget to ask for help.  I often try to do things myself because I try to be “Miss Independent” and I don’t want to bother people.  But people are usually very willing to help you out, especially if you work for a church.  I ask my assistant for a million things a day, and I couldn’t do my job without her!  This works both ways...if someone asks for help...don't complain about it, help them! 

· PRAY!  Prayer is vital to any successful youth ministry program.  Pray every day for your program and get others to pray for you too.  Students, parents, catechists, etc.  A lady at our church…that is her ministry, to pray for our program. We call her our “prayer warrior.” 

Hope this helps!  Sorry, I haven’t updated my blog in a while.  I’ve been really busy!  I should take my own advice and do more of these things!  I'm happy, I pray you're happy too!  God Bless! 

How to organize a YM's office?

If I knew the answer to this question, I would definitively blog about it.  But unfortunately, I don't.  I never know where to put things in my office.  I feel like as a youth minister, there's so many things that go into our job, it's hard to organize everything.  For example, in my office I have things from whoopee cushions to rosaries to papers that need to be filed to play dough.  I also have a ton of old files that should be organized and over a hundred books on the book shelves.  Where do I put all these things?  I feel like I need a toy box or something....or possibly a miracle.  

Also, I "wear many hats".  Meaning, youth ministry is just a small part of my job.  In my current occupation, I coordinate religious ed for 6-12 grades, teach 2 classes a week, am the sacrament of Confirmation coordinator, coordinate youth ministry, serve on the SOS committee, help with technology needs at the parish, sometimes cantor at Mass, update the announcements on the parish's TV screen, head up events for single young adults, and most recently...send all the bday cards for the staff to sign around the offices.  Like I said, I wear many hats.  It doesn't make sense to have the beach balls next to my brochures about survivors of suicide.

I have a very organized friend, whom I'm hoping will pay my office a visit some day soon, and help with what I like to call my "Office Emergency".  I'm totally open to suggestions on how to solve this problem!  :)

Grants! Who needs em? Wait...me.

Grant writing can be stressful!!!  Today is Thursday, and on Tuesday afternoon my boss gave me a grant application that I had to have completed by this evening before I left work.  It wasn't her fault or anything, neither of us knew that the grant was due by Friday morning, but it left us with both a lot of work.  She wrote 2 or 3 grants in the time frame, and I wrote one.  I couldn't work on the grant yesterday because I have students come on Wednesday nights, and this morning I had a staff meeting and a webinar I had to attend.  So...around 3:30pm, I started writing the grant.  I finally left work at 9:00p.m.

I wasn't writing that ENTIRE time, but it still took forever.  Don't let this happen to you!  lol.  Here are some suggestions to help you with grant writing...

1.  Know when grants are due.  Check out your diocese's website to find out about available grants, or talk to others in your field, and find out how you can apply.  Don't just assume someone will tell you about them; sometimes you need to search for them yourself.  If you think it's too late to send it...maybe you could fax it and it could be there on time?!?

2.  While writing your grant, any time you can quote a priest, bishop, pope, or Jesus go for it.  Also anytime you can quote something that was published is good too.  For example, my diocese did a study about young adult ministries and published their findings.  So, when I write a grant in a few weeks about a young adult program at our church, I will quote some of the statistics from their findings.  This will show you are educated on your topic, that you spent some time researching your ministry's needs, etc.

3.  If time allows, write it, save, but don't send it quite yet.  Let it soak in overnight, and come back to it the next day, and make changes to make it sound better.  Having a clear mind can make anything sound better.

4.  Make sure you are meeting all the criteria or qualifications of the grant.  Also make sure you read all the fine print.  Sometimes grants can be very picky, so before you spend a lot of time writing the grant, make sure you even qualify.  If you have questions about the grant, there is often a number or someone you can contact for more information.

5.   Have co-workers proofread it. Sometimes I don't always say things the way I want to say them, and it's nice for someone who knows our program to get their feedback on word choices and phrasing.

6.  Have a non-co-worker proofread it.  Best to have someone who is excellent at grammar.  This way they can double check for mistakes, and they will let you know if it makes sense to an outsider or someone who isn't that familiar to your program.  

7.  Be honest.  If your program is suffering because you lack the funds...tell them.  Don't beat around the bush.  They know you need money, that's why you're applying for the grant.  Tell them straight out answers.

I think that's all I got.  I hope this helps, and good luck!

Life is Wonderful

Life is Wonderful was the title of my middle school class last week.  We use the curriculum called Edge by Lifeteen and so that's the title they gave the lesson.  The night was about respecting the dignity of all human life, so I decided to teach it right before the 2012 March for Life in Washington, DC.

One of the things I added to the lesson was I read them the story Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Seuss.  The famous line from that story is,  "A person's a person, no matter how small".  The story says that line over and over again.  I thought it was a wonderful way to express the importance of life in a way adolescents could understand.  Even though this is a children's book, I thought my 6-8th graders enjoyed it.

The rest of the night included watching a scene from the movie It's a Wonderful Life, and talking about abortion, embryonic stem cell research, euthanasia, and the death penalty.  Just touching a little bit on each one.  Some of my students already have very strong opinions about these issues, and I was a little surprised by their negative remarks.  But in youth ministry I often have to remind myself, that I am not the one changing hearts, God is.  I'm just there to help.  If anything, it got them thinking.

I pray my students and the rest of the world will soon realize how wonderful life is, and how it is something we should defend and protect.    

Human Foosball

Tonight my students played Human Foosball with balloons.  The students sat in rows of chairs facing the direction of their goals.  We used balloons as the balls (1 balloon for every person), and students had to try to get the balloons in the opponent's goal.  Every other row was facing a different direction.  (The direction of their team's goal)  The teachers were the referees and they also helped keep the balloons in the area.  It went pretty well, but my students figured out that if the balloons touched the ceiling, they popped.  So they though that was cooler than getting the balloons in the goal, and most of them popped.  All in all I thought it was a pretty successful game, and the kids seemed to like it.  Good for a lot of students as long as your have enough room to do it.  You could play this game outside with beach balls too.