[[Why Thankfulness Should Characterize Me Today]]

"We are creatures and our Creator was not bound or obligated to give us anything - not life or health and anything. He gives, he takes, and he does us no injustice. And besides being creatures with no claim on our Creator, we are sinners. We have fallen short of his glory. We have ignored him and disobeyed him and failed to love him and trust him. The wrath of his justice is kindled against us. All we deserve from him is judgment. Therefore every breath we take, every time our heart beats, every day that the sun rises, every moment we see with our eyes or hear with our ears or speak with our mouths or walk with our legs is free and undeserved gift to sinners who deserve only judgment. And who bought these gifts for us? Jesus Christ. And how did he purchase them? By his blood.
Every
gift
is
a
blood-bought
gift."
-John Piper, "Boasting Only in the Cross"

Light of the World: Junior's Summer Camp 2011

(Our theme song for camp...At camp we sang Seeds songs...which are verses set to melodies and that come with accompanying hand motions. The kids really get into them, and they are a great way of teaching/memorizing Scripture. Here is the Seeds "founder"/head musician, Jason Houser, leading families in worship at my church a year ago...and thus a little taste of worship times at camp! So precious to hear little voices lifted in praise.)

Despite the lack of sleep...the heat...and a busy 4 day schedule, I absolutely loved being apart of this year's Juniors (4th-6th grade) summer camp.

I joined Junior's staff last year and was a winter camp counselor, but I enjoyed the experience even more this year as I was better adjusted to being on staff, and as I had 3/4ths of the girls I had at winter camp, back in my cabin.

TUESDAY...
Suzanne Deshong and I kicked off heading to camp by buying WAY too many goodies for our munchkins at Dollar Tree and Walmart: glowsticks, glownecklaces, a paper lantern, glow in the dark stars, gum drops, orange soda, mints, lip balm, a pedicure set, a notebook/pen, water bottles, nail polish...you get the idea. ;)

THURSDAY...
The first day the girls were overflowing with energy. After getting to camp and finding our cabin, we immediately started to decorate, turning our cabin into a little galaxy (trying to capitalize on the "Light of the World" theme), hoping to win "Best Decorated Cabin." We didn't. :( But that's OK. Because we had a fun time bonding while decorating! That night, after dinner (pasta and side dishes), we heard a briefing on camp rules in the outdoor auditorium, sang Seeds songs with the band, and played games. One of our games paired staff members and children and involved plastic rings and cones. The other game involved a staffer getting covered in whipcream, and the kids throwing Cheetos on the staffer, to see how many of the Cheetos would stick to the whipcream. I got nominated for the second game...surprise, surprise ;)

FRIDAY...
The next morning, we had a staff meeting at the early hour of 6:45. After getting a little food and caffeine in our systems and going over the day's schedule, it was time to wake our cabins and prepare them for breakfast/cabin inspections.
After breakfast, we got to enjoy Tom Patton's first message. Tom's messages were FANTASTIC: focusing on the difference between light and darkness, aka the life of a believer vs. the life of an unbeliever. I thought it was perfect subject material for 4th-6th graders, especially considering the majority of the kids in Juniors have spent their entire lives at Grace and come from solid, Christian homes. Tom was dynamic, engaging, passionate, and best of all, gave us God's Word directly. We examined a lot of verses from 1 John, looked at the life of Paul, discussed Nicodemus, what it means to have evidences of spiritual fruit, etc. There were so many convicting points that resonated with the girls and myself, but the best analogy that Tom gave, that really burned a compelling image in my mind all weekend was that of...
a pirate.
He said, "Just like pirates used to wear eye patches- so one eye was accustomed to darkness and one eye was accustomed to light, and so they could adjust from being on top deck to going beneath the hull easily--that is how many of us live our lives. As hypocrites: going back and forth between the darkness and the light. BUT you are either a child of Satan or a child of God. An "in-between" lifestyle really just reveals that you are a child of darkness." --Paraphrase--
After the message, we had small groups. For almost every small group, I compiled a series of questions to get the girls engaged, and to get them to break down the messages on a practical level. Each question made them look up verses, and sounded something like: "Do you see a genuine brokenness over your sin, like the publican had?" "Is Christianity simply doing a bunch of 'good activities,'?" etc. My goal was to get them to interact and to really examine their lives: not just robotically spit out answers like they are sometimes accustomed to doing. After small groups it was time for lunch. And after a few group games---water balloon catch and a indoor building with random items game---it was free time. One of my favorite times of the day! During freetime, the kids could go do whatever they wanted to do, and the counselors could have some downtime. A real blessing! My first "freetime" was spent with Suzanne Deshong, chatting over a Starbucks frappucino. Then she convinced me to do "Isaiah's Perch," a 40 foot tall pole that you can climb up, and that a counselor can complete in order to get points for his/her team. SCARIEST THING EVER! Totally glad I did it, but a wobbly pole, wobbly legs, and wobbly handles/foot holds coupled with having to mount the very small platform on the top of the pole= one VERY nerve-wracking experience. After downtime chatting with my fellow counselors and watching other brave souls' climb up "Isaiah's Perch," I hopped into the pool with my girls and oversaw many diving/jumping competitions. :) Next, it was time to get ready for dinner. After a meal of fried chicken, corn, and mashed potatoes, we headed to Session #2 with Pastor Patton. And after the session concluded, it was time for another small group, where the girls and I finished answering the questions I had given them that morning. After small groups concluded, we made sure the cabin was sparkling clean--as the next day there would be judging for "Cleanest Cabin."

SATURDAY...
After another lovely 6:45 meeting ;) I got the girls going and we finished tidying up the last little corners of our cabin. Which ended up not being a wasted effort, as our cabin took CLEANEST CABIN for the girls. =) Then it was time for another hot breakfast and Session #3 with Pastor Patton. After morning small groups, we headed to a pizza lunch and then got to enjoy a very fun thing: (drumroll) games in the pool! The Juniors' interns did a great job organizing these games. I enjoyed cheering and watching orange, red, green, and blue all pitted against each other in an innertube relay race, an intense game of water polo, and a jumping-across-rafts-while-simultaneously-being-pommeled-by-guys-with-water-guns game. It was fun getting to know Raquel Pagar, also an orange team leader- whose fellow competitive streak immediately caused us to bond (we cheered very enthusiastically and loudly and came up with many cheers/ways to get the orange team points all weekend long). After the pool games ended, it was free time again! After watching a few counselors climb up "Isaiah's Perch," I helped Raquel hunt for "Monkey Moe" (a stuffed animal that some of the "junior staffers" hide, and that once found, earns your team points!) The orange team did succeed in finding the elusive "Monkey Moe" twice on Saturday! After all of this, I headed to my cabin for a little bit of downtime, which ended up becoming a counseling session with one of my dear girls about a bit of drama that had been going on :) Then it was back to dinner for nachos, and back to the auditorium for worship and a q&a with Pastor Patton! After a final evening small group with the girls and helping them get all packed up, I told them goodnight and caught the last half hour of 6th grade night out. They were playing a complicated version of "tag" in a foggy room with about a hundred glowsticks. After 6th grade night out concluded around 6ish, it was time to IMMEDIATELY hit the sack, as the next day's meeting was moved up 15 minutes earlier than the other mornings,in order to accommodate packing up.

SUNDAY...
After the meeting, I got the girls all packed up, and then we had to quickly jet to the mess hall for KP (kitchen patrol). After an eggs and bacon dish, we headed to our final session with Pastor Patton. He concluded spiritedly, begging the kids to not delay in coming to Christ. After one last small group- this time outdoors in the sunny auditorium- we had ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch and found out that the orange team was, in fact, the JUNIORS 2011 SUMMER CAMP WINNERS. Then it was time to wait for the buses, which of course took off late, as one bus showed up very last-minute.
And so we arrived back to good old GCC...I made sure the girls had everything and were safely deposited back into the arms of their parents...and Juniors Summer Camp 2011 concluded. See you, most likely, next year, Angeles Crest Christian Camp!

Things I am thankful for:
-Great talks with the girls: about how they know if they are saved, how Christ is both God and the Son of God, about the End Times, about Pharisees, about how the prophets communicated directly with God, etc.
-Great bonding time with my fellow staff members: I felt like I got to know some really great people and shattered some wrong first impressions I had originally formulated. I feel that much more apart of Grace Community Church's Juniors ministry now.
-I had a sweet girl with diabetes, who was very on top of taking her insulin, and no accidents happened.
-My girls were all very sweet and fun and I didn't have any big discipline issues.
-The Word of God was preached and the Lord used this vessel of mercy to aid in that process. It is a privilege to be used in equipping the next generation of leaders in the church.

"What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building."
-1 Corinthians 3:5-9

Resolved 2011

As always, Resolved was a great kick-start to my summer: AMAZING convicting messages that exposed my lack of devotion to the Lord and awakened more of a desire in my heart for the things of the Lord, incredible, Christ-exalting worship, sweet fellowship with dear friends and family, delicious meals in Palm Springs, and several fun trips to Starbucks/the pool/the shops in Palm Springs, etc. Some of the highlights from this year, was our belated Father's Day lunch with dad at a Mexican restaurant in town, my annual Brooke and Mama Lucy sleepover (our third year in a row!), and having my cousin Augusta ("Gussie") fly in for the conference from Napa Valley.

I call Resolved a "tiny piece of heaven." It is always a bit sad returning to the "real world" after such a refreshing, 4 days away spent with like-minded believers.

I am excited for tomorrow, since Crossroad's first Superstudy of the summer will feature a parting sermon by Rick Holland :) It's like a little taste of Resolved all over again!

But in the meantime, here were some of my favorite points from the sermons I got to hear at Resolved (my family and I unfortunately missed Al Mohler's and CJ Mahaney's last messages on Monday night, as we headed home Monday afternoon).

If you would like to listen to the Resolved 2011 messages firsthand, go here: http://www.resolved.org/media/

SESSION 1: RICK HOLLAND: HEBREWS 12:

"Can you identify the sin that so easily trips you up and entangles you? Satan feeds the opportunity for this sin, at every angle."

"Unless you are running the race, you won't know what's tripping you up."

"Postponed obedience= simple disobedience."

"You cannot look to Jesus and the world simultaneously for very long."

"He is where your faith must rest, not behavior modification or more activities."

"What is between you and Jesus?"

"Christ Jesus is the life of all the graces and comforts of a Christian in this world...without Him, these graces would die, or to speak more properly, they would have no existence." -John Fawcett

SESSION 2: JOHN MACARTHUR: PSALM 19:

"Endeavor to live each and every day- so that whatever God wills to do with our lives, will have its fullest expression."

"True joy is tied to obedience."

"Resolve from the Word of God: this is the way of joy, and this is the way I will walk- by the grace of God."

"When you can see clarity in horror [trials], the Word of God has captured your heart."

"Worship is theological, or produced by truth. You can only worship to the level that you comprehend the glory of God."

"The Word of God is our greatest pleasure, our greatest protector, our greatest provider, our greatest reward, and our greatest purifier."

"The Word keeps you back from sin that dominates you."

SESSION 3: AL MOHLER: ROMANS 12:

"If we believe God's will is perfect, than we will believe it is superior to any other will for our lives- we won't want anything else."

It is God's will for...

-You to be born
-For you to die
-You to grow
-You to be the gender that you are
-You to believe in Christ
-You to follow Christ as His disciple
-You to trust and obey the Scriptures
-You to respect and obey all authorities
-You to be married, Genesis 2
-You to be faithful to marriage and children
-You to be deeply involved in the local church
-You to lead
-You to evangelize
-You to do everything to the glory of God

"Are we known more for who we are, or who we follow?"

"Marriage calls out in you the very best of Christian virtues, it conforms you to Christlikeness and holiness."

"There are lives that will be less holy, if you do not use the giftedness and leadership roles the Lord has given you."

"Following God's will, is not trying to figure it all out, but faithfully obeying all that He has revealed."

SESSION FOUR: JOHN MACARTHUR: ISAIAH 6:

"What kind of a person is God looking for in a time of crisis? Someone who has a clear vision of His divine sovreignty and a vision of his own sinfulness."

"God's not looking for perfect people. He's looking for penitent people."

"This is all that God ever asks for, 'Let me be holy enough to be useful.'"

SESSION FIVE: ALL SPEAKERS: Q&A:

"God has never used any man who has a low view of God." -Steve Lawson

"The Gospel dismantles self-reliance and self-understanding." -Rick Holland

"We don't need mental correction, we need redemption." -Al Mohler

"Are you desiring something holy and good? Then GET IT. This generation of Christians is indecisive." -Al Mohler

SESSION 6: CJ MAHANEY: JUDE 22:

"Our remaining sin isn't passive, it's active."

"I richly deserve wrath for eternity, but I have become an object of His mercy. Mercy that was on full display at the cross. 'In my place, condemned He stood.'"

"Mercy properly understood, should have a humbling effect on us."

"Do you have a theology of suffering, to prepare you for suffering? 'When you cannot trace His hand, you must learn to trust His heart, Spurgeon."

"Feel the Father's FIXED grip. He's not letting go."

SESSION 7: STEVE LAWSON: EPHESIANS 1

"To have Christ is to have everything. 'In Him the fullness of His riches dwells.'"

"God chose us- not because of us- but in spite of us."

"Every molecule in this universe was prescripted by this eternal will of God."

"He has overriden our fallen will, and chosen a people to be His posession forever."

"He did not die for an anonymous, nameless group of people. He died for those He predestined before the foundation of the world: you and me."

"The higher our view of God, the higher our worship should be."

"The predestined can never fall away from or out of saving and enabling grace sealed shut eternally in Christ."

SESSION 7: RICK HOLLAND: LAMENTATIONS 3:

"Define your success by faithfulness- not results. Those belong to God."

"Either you believe God is COMPLETELY sovreign or you believe in a God with problems and limitations."

"God will never pursue His glory and purposes at the extent of the good of His people."

"Satan is not the captain of hell- he is the chief captive of hell. He too is subject to the will of God."

"Man's dislike of God's sovreignty, arises from his suspicion of God's heart."

"God's sovreignty is either your greatest comfort or your worst nightmare."

"The problem of evil is the cry of the soul for heaven...'there's a better place to be than here.'"

"Thy Maker will be my Husband and the Father to our children." -Mary Love, in a letter to her husband, before he died

"All things here below are but dung and dross- in comparison to things in heaven." -Mary Love

SESSION 8: STEVE LAWSON: EPHESIANS 5:

"God does not accomodate to our culture: we must raise to His standard of holiness."

"There are only two families in this world: Satan and God."

"The direction of our walk, is the trajectory of our walk!"

"Believers are confessors and repenters, because we are children of light."

"If your religion hasn't changed your life, you need to change your religion."

"If you please God, it does not matter whom you displease. And if you displease God, it does not matter whom you please."