Category Archives: Keeping You in the Loop

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Josh & Debbie at Debbie’s brother’s wedding

We had a great summer!  A sure sign of a great summer is that it went by way to fast. It feels like school just let out and we were looking forward to spending time with friends and family, going to camp and a road trip out to Alberta.  Now we’re on the other side of summer looking back and wondering where all the time went.

As great as the summer was there is something about being back at home, putting clothes into a closet instead of a suitcase and getting into a rhythm of life again that is comfortable.

It takes a little bit for the comfort to set back in though when it’s also a new season of work/ministry.  Then it’s also a time to re-evaluate, make plans and get the troops organized.  I’m looking forward to a few things that are in the works presently.  Here’s a taste of what’s going on:

I met with the ISCF student leaders last week and we came up with some pretty good plans for this year.  As it stands right now we do not have a teacher adviser or a classroom to meet in but we’re taking advantage of that and will be meeting outside while it’s nice and thinking about our options.

We also planned a schedule for our discussions.  The first Wednesday of the month will be a prayer time for the school and each other.  Week two will be about current events, led by one of the students.  I will take the third week of the month answering some “What Does the Bible Say?” questions about God, Jesus, Heaven.  Basically a bit of Theology 101 (but the word Theology sounds scary to most people so I’ll try not to use it.)  The fourth week will be a Wild Card (led by the other student leader) which means it might be a game or a discussion or … well, anything!

Camp

There is nothing like being at camp that reminds me how valuable camp is to so many lives.

Junior Camp for me meant intense evangelism.  After each meal I led a small group through the salvation story: who God is, what sin is and what Jesus did to take our punishment.  Besides smashing eggs (as an object lesson), it was great to see how in every group there were at least a few kids who were totally engaged by the truths we were talking about.

Then in evening chapels I walked through parts of David’s life (being anointed, training in the field, killing Goliath, running from Saul, becoming king, good and bad parts of his reign) leading to the final night, talking about how David was not the perfect king but pointed to the Perfect King who would come.  On that night I shared the story of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and second coming.

It was a privilege to share with the kids how the wages of sin is death (separation from God) but Jesus died so we don’t have to.  All we have to do is ask Him to take our punishment for us.  He wants to!  Or we can pay for it ourselves and God will give us what we ask for…life without Him.

Several kids stayed behind after morning or evening chapel and I was able to chat with them.  One of the greatest conversations was with a little girl, who from what I had seen all week was in her own zone and not taking anything in really.  It was after the session where I talked about Jesus, especially of His pain physically and spiritually.  She said to me, “If Jesus loved us SO much that He would do that, we should think of Him all the time.”  A little later she said, “We might have pain in our lives but He had way more than we do.”  So cool to hear this girl “get it”!

Teen camp is always a little different.  The issues are no longer “My sister keeps poking me.”  Instead the building is filled with people who have been spoon fed all kinds of false ideas and half truths all year and are in the season of life where they are evaluating and choosing what they will accept.  I again led a small group after meals.  This time though, my focus was on why we should read the Bible and what it looks like to read the Bible.

I probably found it more meaningful than the kids did because as I was sharing with them I was reminded every time that life is so much bigger than getting up, going to work, going to bed.  We are involved in something cosmically bigger, with angels and demons  and God and our souls.  More than that, if that is true, God has given us a book to learn about Him, about us and about our place in the world.  Sure there are lots of things in the Bible that are hard to read through, but as we read it (especially after years of reading it) we start to think more like God does and start having answers to some of the tough questions that the Bible does not address specifically.  (ie. should I buy an ipod?)

I was glad I could talk about that with the campers because on the second last day I had both morning and evening chapel to talk about Biblical Sexuality.  We made it a bit less formal by letting them have hot drinks and I sat on a stool but a big part of what I talked about was “What does the Bible say about our sexuality.”  In the morning I talked about God’s ideal for marriage and sexuality, including gender roles.  In the evening I talked about boundaries, homosexuality, what Jesus says to those who have been sinned against and what Jesus did for those who have sinned (which would be all of us).

Some of what I said was strongly counter-cultural but I felt a need to speak truth in love.  My desire was to present what God says about these things in a way that also demonstrates love from God and His people.  I feel that too many times the church/Christians have spoken truth with no love and I feel that our culture speaks ‘love’ with no truth.  You can be praying for our teens as they are very confused about what truth is.

There were definitely exciting and encouraging things happening in some teens’ lives last week.   We had a young man come to camp who really knew nothing about the Bible, God or Jesus.  All week he was soaking up all he could learn and responded in belief by asking Jesus to save him.

They were two great but also tiring weeks.

After a couple days of recoup, Josh and I came to Dorion Bible Camp.  We have been here almost a full week and will be here for one more.  Our role is different here.  A lot less connection with campers.  But even in a different role the value of camp is still the same: kids hearing about Jesus and accepting Him as their Saviour!

Just Normal

As far as ministry goes these days it seems that there are no major highlights and no major discouragements.  Just carrying on as per usual.

Tonight is GIFT again.  Each of the teams have been doing really well.  It’s always exciting to see the musicians grow in ability and confidence as individuals and a blended whole as a team.  Next week I’ll be leading another workshop so I’m thinking about what topic to discuss now.  We’ve already covered playing as a team, playing with skill and becoming more physically expressive.

This month for our FYG event we did a progressive supper visiting each of our four supporting churches.  It was great to eat a lot of food, chat with different teens and leaders at each stop and hear the four pastors share about creation, fall, redemption and restoration.

For Deeper we just covered Judges.  Talk about some crazy stories!  I’ve probably said it before but going through this series (The Bible in 20) I keep thinking about how dysfunctional the ‘heroes’ and ‘Fathers of the faith’ and their families were!  Since we’re heading into the kings I know it’s not changing anytime soon!

For ISCF I did lead a discussion (or lecture?) about Homosexuality earlier this month.  Which went well from my perspective, mostly thanks to people praying about that I think. We talked about what the Bible says, what if you have a same sex attraction and what if your friend does.  I hope it was helpful.

One thing that’s been fun about ISCF is that before we get into a formal discussion or game there seems to be good conversation and connection which sometimes leads us into serious things we may not have talked about otherwise.

I continue to connect with different teen girls over coffee from time to time and with one girl in particular.  You can read about her blog here.   These visits are often encouraging.  And I know they must be meaningful for the girls too because twice in the last bit I got a call or text from a couple girls wanting to share exciting news they had.

Other than that I sometimes have camp on my mind, especially thinking about speaking for this summer.  We’ll see where that goes!

Desert

“All of my life, in every season, You are still God.  I have a reason to sing, I have a reason to worship.”  – Desert Song by Brooke Fraser

In my personal life the season has been a bit of a desert (“This is my prayer in the desert, when all that’s within me feels dry).  I go through seasons where I feel like I’m floating through life.  By that I don’t mean that I’m so excited that my feet are not touching the ground.  I mean that I’m reading my Bible in the morning and checking off my prayer list but without really enjoying fellowship with God in that time or at any point during the day.

A few things have been encouraging in the last few days.  One was reading 2 Corinthians 13:14 where it says, “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”  I’m thankful that these are not things I have to work for but rather things that are free for me to enjoy right now.

I was also encouraged when I was reminded by something I read that those who get to know God love him more and those who love him want to get to know Him.  On one hand this could be discouraging in a desert time because I don’t feel like I know Him or love Him!  However, it was encouraging because I realize that even though the time I spend in ‘devotions’ each day seems empty right now, I would desire God even LESS if I wasn’t doing that!

Hopefully those thoughts can be encouraging to some of you who also know what it’s like to ‘float’.

On a different note, we got to do a Flashmob McDonalds as a FYG Event!  I would post a video here but alas, I don’t have access to that.  And I’m not sure how good the actual dance was!  We did a song by Mandisa called “How Much”.  The emphasis of the song is that even if you feel unloved, or broken God’s love for us is huge.  Immeasurable, really.  We incorporated the Christmas message by having John 3:16 written on posters.

It was fabulous to see the shocked look on people’s faces as the music started and more and more of us started dancing!  Even more fabulous is that one of our leaders got to have a conversation with a lady who has been ‘away’ from God for a while as a result.  We also had a first time teen join us.  She responded really positively as well and we’ll probably be seeing more of her in the future.

Even in the desert God is still God and He’s still moving.

The 90 Day Challenge

The most exciting thing going on right now is that I just put up an event page for our new FYG challenge (The 90 Day Challenge) and already six people are ‘attending’!  Now, what is the 90 Day Challenge?  The challenge is to read the entire Bible cover to cover in 90 days.  I’ve been wanting to do this for a while and I thought I would invite others to join.

(If you are also interested you can get your reading plan here.  If that’s too crazy but you’re still interested, you can get your Tour of the Bible in 90 Days plan here.)

I want to do this because I’m feeling the need to get to know God better.  Even though I have read through the Bible cover to cover previously, I think it might be helpful to do again.  It’s a pretty rigorous reading program (you get through Leviticus in less than three days) but I’m hoping that reading the whole thing in a short time will bring out some big themes, some reminders of what God is like and how He interacts with His people.

This is also timely because this year for FYG Deeper we’re doing The Bible in 20.  Twenty sessions following the story line of the Bible from Creation to Revelation.  I’m excited to relearn and remember as I prep and teach some of the sessions.

So, care to join?

Looking Forward

It’s been about eight weeks of transition but I think we’re finally starting to feel a little bit settled.  The first week of summer holidays we packed up our house, then we went to Dorion for a week, then we were at my parents with my sister and her kids for a week, then camp for 2 weeks, then cleaning and painting our apartment and moving in, then 2 days in Dryden, then a week in Dorion and now back here.

With the apartment mostly in order Josh is starting to get plans ready for classes and I’m trying out a new bread recipe while getting bands organized for GIFT and planning out Deeper sessions.  My planning guide calendar is open and I’m looking at what all is coming up this year.

It is nice to have some time to think ahead.  It helps to be a little more intentional throughout the year rather than just jumping in and seeing where I end up.  I’m excited about some of the ideas I have for this year and am looking forward to implementing them.  I’m also looking forward to watching some young people take on new roles and helping them grow in those areas.  It should be a good year!

Looking to Jesus

After thinking and planning and praying since January camp is over already!  The weather was great (if a little bit hot), the staff were awesome and kids heard about Jesus.  I wasn’t a cabin leader at all this year so in some ways I was more removed from the campers than normal but I did have the privilege of having a program staff to train and work with for the first time, which was a lot of fun.

Our theme this year was UP-Looking to Jesus with Hebrews 12:2 as our theme verse: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus the author and perfector of our faith.”

For my talks I had an ‘up’ theme each day.

Light Up The story of Elijah calling a contest on Mount Carmel where God made fire fall from heaven and burn up a soaking wet sacrifice, including the stone altar.  The message?  There is only one true God.  A God who has power over everything so why not worship Him, the creator, rather than anything created?

Look Up The story of the Israelites in the desert when they complained and God sent snakes and then provided a way to be healed: they just needed to look at a bronze serpent on a pole.  The message?  All we have to do is look to Jesus and He heals us from our sin.  It’s so simple that some people ignore it but that’s all it is.

Grow Up The story of Samuel when he heard God speak and then he ‘grew’.  The message?  If we are Christians we’ve heard God’s voice too but there’s more!  We’re called to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Growing to know Jesus is a bit like getting to know a friend in that we get to know Him better by spending time with Him and other people who know Him.

Go Up Not really a story here…  I talked about heaven and what it will be like (as far as we can know) and what it might be like.  Pretty exciting!  The best part will be that Jesus is there and we will get to be with Him.  I also talked a bit about hell and how what makes it so bad is that Jesus isn’t there.  It was after this message that a boy who sat at our table said “I want to go to heaven, I want to go there!  I don’t want to go to hell!  I want Jesus in my heart!”  That night he talked to Jesus and asked him to come into his life.

Stand Up The story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego trusting God enough to refuse to compromise and end up in a furnace of fire where they were joined by another ‘man’.  The message?  No matter what your ‘furnace’ you are not alone if you have Jesus in your life.  He is with you so you can stand up.

I pray that these messages made some sense to the kids and that as a result they know God better and will be more likely to seek out spiritual support in their every day lives (church, kids programs, etc.).

Up

As it stands right now it appears that I am one of the speakers for junior camp for this year.  Last year was my first experience with this and I entered it with fear and trembling.  Apparently it wasn’t a complete disaster.

I have found at various times that I get energized from speaking (not always, but often) so I find myself actually looking forward to this summer.  I’m hoping to a take a more ‘story-teller’ approach this year, telling the story of the snakes biting the Israelites and the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego among some others.  I’m also hoping to talk/teach about heaven and hell.

So, I’m doing quite a bit of thinking and getting into some research.  If you’d keep me in your prayers during the process that would be great!  It’s a daunting task speaking the truth in love to eighty plus 8-12 year-olds so that they understand it and see a clearer picture of Jesus!

Little People and Such

I disappeared for a while.  Josh and I spent a great week in Alberta visiting family and friends as well as doing a couple things we’ve never done: snowboarding/skiing in the mountains and visiting West Edmonton Mall.  The view from the top of the mountain was amazing!  Worth going to the top, even if the descent was a little scary for someone who sticks to the ‘green’ slopes!

It was great to meet some of Josh’s family that I’ve heard about for a while now.  He has a great family, it’s just too bad that they live really far away.

As always a treat to see the little people too!  (My nephew and nieces)

As well as spending time with Karen & Skylar and Kevin playing games, watching a great movie, and playing some music too.

After almost finishing our great week Josh caught a nasty virus, landing him in emergency to get some fluids, which put us behind schedule coming back home and put us both out of commission for a couple days.

Last week I enjoyed a couple birthday celebrations and now we’re back into the swing of things!

These days I’m doing quite a bit of thinking about prayer since our church is doing a 40 day of prayer journey.  I’m also thinking about camp this summer.  And the usual, like the mystery dinner we’re doing for FYG this Friday and how to love my husband.  Maybe I’ll post some more thoughts on those in the future.