This is usually the first question that I get about my blog: Where did you get the name?

The name of the blog sort of has a double meaning. On the surface, it means exactly what you think. I used to think that youth leaders (specifically my parents) were crazy to work with middle and high schoolers. I thought that hanging around them would make you “loose your marbles,” (which is somewhat true. Teenagers are a crazy bunch.)

But there is another side to it. I shamelessly pulled the name from the title of a sermon series I heard at my church that had a huge impact on me. The series focused on using time wisely when investing in the next generation, whether you were a parent or youth leader.

My pastor used a visual of a jar full of marbles, one for each week you have with a child from birth to turning graduating high school. Each week you take one marble out. At first it doesn’t look like much after the first few weeks, months, even years, but by age 9, half of the marbles are already gone.

It really puts into perspective how precious our time is with our youth. I work with high schoolers so I only have a very small fraction of all of those marbles with my students. This series really shaped how I view my time with them, and I try to make every second count in building relationships with them.