Camp ~ Waves of Grace

  The morning of the day between camps (Junior and Teen) I stood on the shore for a few moments of quiet, thinking of the week ahead and my lack of energy.  As I watched the waves and was praying for grace the phrase "waves of grace" came to mind.  Waves of Grace is a new organization (for lack of a better term) that is vision casting revival for Northern Minnesota/Northwestern Ontario.  (I’d give you a link to a website but it’s ‘coming soon.’)  As I thought on that I could help but wonder, is revival really going to come to our area?  "Yes."  Would it start that week of teen camp?  "Yes." 

  Waves often come in the form of gentle crashing.  Easily missed and overlooked but when noticed are riveting and awe inspiring.  So it is spiritually.  From the surface there was no huge crash of revival and it may even be said by some that spiritually it was an uneventful week.  Not so.  There were waves.  There were some teens who come from painful backgrounds that encountered Jesus for the first time and decided that they couldn’t live without Him.  During our sharing time on the last evening one girl had the courage to share that she had been assaulted and how that brought her closer to God.  Another young man shared a victory story about how he’s started studying his Bible.  One on one conversations with different campers as well as observing people showed that, whether they are aware of it or not, they have been growing in their faith this year.  They are more stable than they were last year.  There were individuals who consistently were meeting with God during the singing times. 

  At junior camp there were waves too.  We had a higher percentage of non-churched kids than normal.  Several of them stayed behind after chapel within the first few days.  I had the privilege of talking with one girl.  She’s only 8 but her face radiated a very real desire for God.  There were others whose faces were not lying that they were serious about God and meeting Jesus Christ.  And the questions they ask!  Beautiful kids. 

  So the long and short is that God moved in those two weeks.  Subtly perhaps but in undeniable ways.  I was blessed to be a part of it.  I praise God that He gave me grace and energy to be a part of it.  Rather than longing to get home to get some sleep, I felt like I was leaving home, a place of family.  The consolation is that God isn’t done working but will continue to work throughout the year.  I’m looking forward to seeing what He has done when we gather at Sunny Cove again next summer.

Frog Legs Anyone?

 

 

 

 

This little frog enjoyed the sun a little too much and was slowly fried to a crisp on our window sill.  He’s real but hard as rock.   

 

 

 

 

Today we found his counterpart, also fried to a crisp but with some added smooshing to start the process.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UPDATE: My mom found another cooked frog today.  Seriously….is it hot or what!?!??

Weather and Sovereignty

  This has been the driest year I have ever seen in my 22 years. I would say that it might be that my memory is bad or that I’m still really young but there are others who are twice my age who are saying similar things. We have not cut our lawn in probably over a month and it doesn’t look like we’ll need to cut it again this year. Forest fires are just waiting to happen. Right now it looks like rain but after a short mist it’s gone. For my African friends seeing these pictures probably doesn’t look too bad, but for those of you who have been to the Rainy River District you know that this is strange and abnormal.

  But one thing that extreme weather consistently reminds me of is the sovereignty of God. There are so many ways in our lives that we think we can control things but weather is not one of them. We just can’t. So as I look out over the dry, sun-burnt lawn that crunches when you walk on it, I have to say "The Lord knows that we need rain and yet He is choosing to not send it." Maybe to remind us that we’re actually not in control. Maybe to turned hardened hearts back to Him. Who knows. But it’s for His glory.