Youth Ministry is random

Today I folded towels. Yesterday, I washed dishes. Yep, youth ministry is very random. I recently had this conversation with my husband's cousin Kevin about serving in ministry. It's so very hard. Something I never would have guessed in college. Fresh out the gates with my diploma in hand I was ready to evangelize and pumped up about leading teens to Christ.

Reality sets in. Paper work to fill out. Kids to seek out. And continue to seek. And seek some more. Pizza parties, guitar hero nights, youth Mass with lively worship music, movies...it sounds like a walk in the park, right? Indeed this work is not as easy at it would sound. And I am in the thick of it all, raising 3 small kids, trying to start youth groups literally from the ground up, and seeing what the devil wants me to perceive as "failure."

The summer months tend to be my time to "wind down and regroup" for the coming year and no doubt this year has been full of grace and growth for me as well as the youth. This is when conciously take extra time to reflect and pray about the closing year as well as the future.

Last night I had the awesome opportunity to have a good friend of our's over for dinner who's studying for the priesthood in Rome. He spoke some unbelieveable words that reminded me that not being able to see the outcome in ministry work allows you to become more virtuous as a person. He's so right. And that's another random thing about this job. You may never see the finished product and that's sooo hard!

If you're reading this and you're just getting started in ministry, don't be frightened! The blessings of this "job" far outweigh the low moments. And they come in abundace. They come when you need them the most to pick you up and give you the strength to continue on. They come just as Jesus calmed the storm. When in your heart you are freaking out because you have no idea what to do. Your faith has been shaken and well, your trust in God tested. When you get to be apart of even just one teen's experience of Christ that awakens their heart and they find true conversion that is more worth it than 20 angry parents (PS I never had 20 parents upset at me, but have had a few over the years...and they really weren't made at ME persay!).

The most random thing about youth ministry is how much it has taught me about humilty. It's not about me at all. It's all about Jesus!

"Trust in God is a preparation for the blessedness of the poor. They shall see God." [Catechism of the Catholif Church 2547]

Bring the Rain

Blessed is a man (or WOMAN in this case :)) who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. James 1:12

Bring the rain is my favorite song by Mercy Me. If you've never heard it, youTube or godTube it right now! In fact, I'm listening to it as I blog right now.

It is exactly describes what I am feeling about life at the moment.

On Tuesday Cayden had a clinic visit for a CF study we are enrolling him in. Needless to say, it was a lot of information to take in, never mind it took 3 hours and 3 kids to get the info! I feel so confident in doing our part in CF research that it seemed like a no-brainer, but after the appointment I started having doubts about how we'll get through the next 38 days of poop samples, food diaries, and 2 more clinic visits to Madison.

If the study wasn't enough to take in that day, Cayden's regular doc "Dr. Green" paid us a visit to talk about Cayden's recent throat swab, a routine procedure at our CF visits. The results: Cayden is growing a type of pseudomonas. Translation for a CF kid-not good news. Psudomonas bacteria are resistant to antibiotics and may be permanent in Cayden's lungs. Not good. There are a few drugs that it may be susceptible to, but they also come with a large price tag. Dr. Green wants us to give the drug "Collistin" a try to see if we can beat this thing. Of course, it's not easy process either. Given nebulized means we'll be mixing sodium chloride, sterile water, and collistin each day with needled syringes. This is given twice a day in addition to his other neb., Pulmozyme. For those keeping score at home, that's 3 nebulizers every day for at least 30 days. If the treatment shows improvement in Cayden's cough or the bacteria is eradicated (gone) we'll be able to stop treatment sooner. If not, repeat.

Now all the above would be just about all one could handle, except we have Trinity to also be worried about. No kisses on the lips, no sharing food or utensils, good hand washing, and limiting Cayden's contact with her are just a few of the precautions we're taking in our household.

The silver lining? I haven't quite found it yet since Chris and I are also worried about the job market considering they are nearly plum out of work. His employers have promised to be super helpful if he's laid off since Chris holds our insurance and it's our only saving grace at this point. If and when he goes back to work he will be heading north (6.5 hours to be exact) and living out of a hotel room for 2 weeks at a time. Something I am NOT SO MUCH looking forward to.
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain!

Bring the Rain lyrics
I can count a million times
People asking me how I
Can praise You with all that I've gone through
The question just amazes me
Can circumstances possibly
Change who I forever am in You
Maybe since my life was changed
Long before these rainy days
It's never really ever crossed my mind
To turn my back on you, oh Lord
My only shelter from the storm
But instead I draw closer through these times
So I pray

Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain

I am Yours regardless of
The dark clouds that may loom above
Because You are much greater than my pain
You who made a way for me
By suffering Your destiny
So tell me what's a little rain
So I pray

Holy, holy, holy
Is the Lord God Almighty

Enjoy the Journey

+I love this picture of Cayden! The bandana he's wearing says "Eliminate deltaF508" This is the cf mutation he has.

4 years ago today, my entire life changed. Chris and I live our life by the motto: "Not better, not worse, but different." Well, 4 years ago I thought my life was worse. It was today 4 years ago that I heard the words "Your son does have cystic fibrosis." 4 years ago that for the first time in my life I questioned God's presence in my life. For the first time in my life, I was angry at God. I had lost my house in a fire 6 months earlier, but nothing seemed more devastating than this. There were so many questions, so many left unanswered. "How are we going to do this?" "Are we going to have more kids?" We were completely numb.

Chris and I were thrown into a whirl wind of information and never really looked back since that day. We began the enormous task of "enjoying the journey" and finally understanding what we said "I do" to on our wedding day. Our wedding vows rang in my head..."for better, for WORSE."

And as I think back to 4 years ago, I realize that I have become a better, stronger person. I have accepted imperfection in my life and I'm ok with that. It has become now my second conversion of faith. I know now more than ever that God did know what He was doing (ok, so I need to work on the virtue of humility) and that He very much had a plan.

Chris and I have worked so hard to cure CF (and have raised over $75,000 in the process) in just 4 years. We will never ever know what could have been or what if. But I know in my heart that CF will be cured and soon. I promised Cayden to never stop fighting, to never let CF take him away. And I will hold true to that promise. And we will look back and thank God for allowing CF to be part of who we are as a family. So that another family may one day not have to experience what we had to. I love you Cayden!


Today, this is my prayer. I surrender all to you, Lord.

Send us to Steubenville!

This is my testmimoy for Mass on Saturday night about our upcoming youth trip to the Steubenville Conference in St. Paul, MN.


Hello! For those of you who don’t know me my name is Tiffany Topel and I serve as the youth minister here at St. John the Baptist and St. Lawrence. I am here tonight to tell you a little about the youth conference 36 teens and 4 young adults will be experiencing in a few short weeks. Last year St. John’s took a group of 20 to the Steubenville North Conference which began in Steubenville OH at Franciscan University. It quickly grew and thus, the Steubenville Conference emerged. There are conferences held in Florida, California, Colorado, and Minnesota to name a few. Our group attends “Steubenville North” in St. Paul MN and joins more than 2,000 other high school students to celebrate our Catholic faith through Mass, praise and worship Music, and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. I personally feel invested in this program because of what I witnessed at last year’s conference and I feel very blessed (and humbled) to be able to share some of them with you.



Saturday night during adoration our young people had the
opportunity to stand in commitment to beginning a relationship with Jesus. It was a humbling experience to watch as every single one of our parish’s youth stood up. When asked to share their experience at the conference our youth said things like: ‘adoration was amazing’ ‘I wish all the youth in our parish could experience this’ ‘steubenville changed my life’. This year for the first in many, St. John’s was able to have a high school youth group meet once a week to pray, play and build community with one another.

And so our youth come to you again this year to ask for your support. Next weekend at Masses we will be in the church parking lot on north street washing cars and selling baked goods to help pay for our transportation to the conference. If you would like your car washed during Mass please park on the left side of the parking lot. In exchange we would ask for a donation in any amount. If you would like to give a monetary donation, please make checks payable to SJB.



It means a lot to know that our youth are supported by our parish family. Please keep our young people in your prayers as we prepare for the retreat and pray for the grace of the Holy Spirit to bless us. It is an amazing thing to know that as we leave, our youth will never return the same people that left St. John’s. They will return to you empowered and strengthened to live out their baptismal call and be great leaders of the church. I thank you on behalf of our group for your generosity especially during this time of difficulty for our country and local community. We are eternally grateful for your sacrifice and love.

I'm Glad There's a Drug for That!

Last night, a commercial came on during "Here Comes the Newlyweds" (the only new reality series I can stand that actually has decent morals) for a eyelash prescription. My reaction: "I'm glad there's a drug for that!" Seriously. We have diseases like CYSTIC FIBROSIS, cancer, diabetes, parkinson's alzheimer's, etc. BUT we have a NEW drug to cure thinning eyelashes. I am very excited. Now I will have fuller, darker eyelashes.

Cayden is visiting his grandma in Fennimore this week so I have nearly a "medicine-free" week other than Trinity's therapy and medicines. I feel like I might get a whole lot accomplished with an extra hour a day on my plate. We had a great 4th of July and celebrated Cayden's third birthday. It has been 4 years on July 13th that we learned Cayden had cystic fibrosis. And I will never forget the quote on our Mother Theresa calendar I read that very morning before learning the diagnosis: "Sacrifice, to be real, must cost; it must hurt, it must empty us of self."

In church work I'm wrapping up details on this summer's youth trip to St. Paul, MN for the Steubenville North Conference. I am much in need of a retreat myself!



Happy Feast Day to St. Maria Goretti
patron saint of youth and especially for purity
Maria died at the young age of 12 after refusing to give in to sexual advances from her neighbor. She is a beautiful witness of the strength to overcome temptation especially for young women and men in today's culture.

St. Maria, pray for us.

Happy Birthday America!

Today is a momentous day. Not only is it the day before the 4th (that would be the 3rd) of July, it is also the day I broke open a blog. I am probably overwhelmed with e-mail and facebook already, but I felt "Holy Spirit" inspired to begin this blog. I am crazy in love with my family and job and I wanted to share how important faith is in my struggles on this journey to holiness. I am no ordinary youth minister or mom. Add the two together and welcome to what I call "unorganized chaos." Just for the record chaos can be organized (true statement). And so begins my blog. Public venting is probably more the word for it. The lyrics to a popular Christian song come to mind:

I got a couple dents in my fender
Got a couple rips in my jeans
Try to fit the pieces together
But perfection is my enemy
And on my own I'm so clumsy
But on Your shoulders I can see
I'm free to be me