Teachable Moments

               

             The weather this past week has been something else. It has been about 50 degrees in the morning and up to 95 degrees in the afternoon. Today it is supposed to reach close to 100. The mornings have been pleasant. I have enjoyed waking up to the cool mountain air as opposed to the hot, humid Alabama weather.

                God has been teaching me things on a daily basis. The first lesson this week was in provisions. God provides all we need and more. We went on a camp out on Tuesday night. We were warned that it would be an unusually cold night/morning. That night I got in my hammock, ready for the cold weather, in my nice 40degree sleeping bag. At about 2am I woke up and found I couldn’t go back to sleep. In the hammock next to me I heard one of my campers crying. He only had a blanket and was cold and had been unable to go to sleep.  I was content in my own hammock and sleep bag, warm and comfortable. So… I traded with him. I gave him my sleeping bag and took his blanket. He slept great that night… I, on the other hand, got about 4 hours of sleep that night. God calls us to serve him to also serve and provide for those in need. That may mean some discomfort to us, but God will provide and take care of his good and faithful servants.

                This year I have the privilege of teaching the Bible study skill with our Camp Pastor. I have enjoyed being able to lead campers in bible study, but I have also found an unexpected reward for myself. In leading bible study, I have found a new thirst for reading more of the bible and discovering what is inside of it. I have always been fairly comfortable with the New Testament. I have found in leading bible study that there is so much more to the bible that I don’t know about and my desire to learn more has greatly increased.

                Over the past few weeks and even today on my day off, I have found challenges along the way. I have found that drawing my strength from Christ to overcome those challenges is important. Sometimes I have also asked why I have found myself in the middle of certain situations. I have come to believe that God allows me to be placed in certain situations because he wants to work through me to resolve those situations. If we allow God to control all aspects of our life, he will work though us for his greater purpose. When we are able to see that, it’s something amazing.

                We have one more week left in this second session. I have a very energetic cabin to say the least, but they are a blast to hang out with. I ask that you join me in prayer for the work that will be done this coming week. As we finish up this second session, pray that campers will come to know Jesus and develop a thirst to drink from the one well that can bring lasting peace and eternal life through Christ Jesus our Savior and Lord.

Confirmation

“Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.”  Proverbs 11:24 ESV

                Session 1A for 2012 is in the books. It is hard to believe how quickly the session has gone by.  This is my fourth summer at camp and this past session has been the most spiritually, physically, mentally and emotionally draining session that I have ever had. During the first week, there were two things that I struggled to understand and find God’s goodness in. Two campers in different situations, both heartbreaking and both leaving me with little that I could do to help fix the problem.  It was through these two situations that I was drained. By the end of the week, I was empty.

                This past week though, God has refueled me. A few days ago, we were walking down from the Chapel from Bible Study skill. I had gone to get the car to take the camp pastor to the grocery store to get some supplies for staff bible study lunch. As I pulled up, Tori, the camp pastor, was sitting on the ground in the front of the lake lodge with one of my campers from bible study. I walked over and sat down. In that moment, my camper accepted Christ. Right there in front of everyone we kneeled down to pray together. That night, my camper shared his testimony with the whole cabin. The next day another camper accepted Christ for the first time and a third camper recommitted his life to Christ.

                I have been learning over the last year that following Jesus is difficult, but it is what he calls us to do as Christians. This past week I have learned that God will put us in situations that will bring us to our knees. BUT, if we turn to him, he will give us that perseverance to push on and to carry out his work. If we are faithful to that, then he will give us little boosts of energy when we need it the most.

                Doing God’s work is difficult at times, but it can also be rewarding. God knows how to give us just enough to keep going but we have to continue to draw from His well to get replenished. We cannot rely on the desires of the flesh to quench our thirst. We must draw from the well. Our theme for this summer is “The Well”. We are talking this summer about how we must draw from God’s well and that is the only well that we can draw from that will truly satisfy our thirst.

                This past session has given me the confirmation that I needed that this is where I was supposed to be this summer. It has reminded me that the work we do here at camp is important, whether we see results or not. It has reminded me that God’s work is continuous, that there is always something to be done. This is where I was meant to be, this where God has called me to be and this is where I want to be. Nothing else is more important now that the work set before me this summer. I can’t wait to see the challenges that are awaiting me this summer and how God will work through me this summer!

Only Through the Power of Christ within us....

It has been a fantastic first week at camp. Session 1A is well under way here at camp, and we have a really good group of campers this session. This Summer I am in the Choctaw Tribe, which is the 12-13 year olds and the largest tribe in camp with 80 kids. This first week has been fun, especially since I am in a new tribe this summer, but it’s also been difficult. There have been some really difficult conversations with campers this session in my cabin. I ask that you pray for one camper in particular. He is dealing with some pretty difficult stuff. For me it’s been emotionally, spiritually, and mentally draining. It has also been a reminder though that the work that God calls us to will be difficult at times. It is even more important that when we are doing God’s work that we lean on him and seek guidance from him when things get difficult. We can do nothing on our own. We can only do things through the guidance and direction of Christ.

This first week has also been a powerful reminder of why I am here this summer.  It has qualified the calling that God has placed in my life to be here. There is so much work to be done here. The doubts and concerns that I had before coming to camp this summer are slowly beginning to disappear. I can confidently say this is where God has called me. I hope that I will be here next summer, but I know that through all I have learned it is taken one step at a time.

Today... Not Tomorrow....

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34

It has been a long week. There has been a lot on my mind. I arrived at Camp on Thursday, May 24^th. The next day I left for Seattle, WA. I returned to camp the following Tuesday. I began staff training that night and kids arrive on Sunday, June 10^th. This week there have been several things on my mind. School work has been one of them. I am entering my final week of class, taking four classes, trying to keep up. It’s an uphill climb to the end, but I am pushing towards that end to get finished. Then there has been staff week.

This week I have been thinking a lot about why I’m here. Why did I choose to come back for a fourth summer? Why did I choose to say no to other opportunities, opportunities that would take me away from camp? What is going to happen after this summer? Will this be my last summer here? I have found that the more I focus on what’s ahead, the more I become distracted from what’s happening now.

My goal this summer is to work hard, and stay in the moment. Not to worry about what will happen at the end of the summer, this fall, or beyond. Focus on the here and now so that I don’t let a moment go by. Matthew 6:34 is a good reminder of this. The kids have arrived and it will be a good summer!