Camp week and of course, Paisley!

After the 4th of July passes, Summer Games camp is always waiting for us. This year only I (kyle) could go since Bethany did not have enough vacation time and someone needed to be with Paisley. So while Bethany worked we had some great people step in to watch Paisley during the day-thanks Katie, Laura, Chelsea and Kathy! I was nervous/anxious about how she would do with all these new people but from what I heard she did great each day. She stuck to the schedule/routine that we've had her on pretty well and probably slept better for them than she does for me. By the end of the week I was ready to see her and Bethany again so it was great when they came to visit camp on Friday. Bethany did a great job handling her job and taking care of Paisley on her own for the week, which allowed me to participate in Summer Games.

This camp holds a special place in Bethany's family since they have been doing it for over 20 years with her mom leading the way! So I am always honored to be a part of it.  As in the past I was an adult counselor which means I'm part of a group of 8-10 adults that oversee the camp activities, organize games, in charge of the cabins and were also just there for the kids who need prayer, advice, etc. I like to see it as us adults are like the 'elders' of the camp. The program is fairly simple but it provides a safe environment for kids to play games, learn new songs and learn what it means to believe and follow Jesus. We find that kids thrive in this safe environment since they know that they won't be made fun of and they can ask questions and receive help without being judged. The schedule is basically the same each day: breakfast, morning devotions, games (various sports with little twists), worship/teaching, lunch, pool time, showers, nap/cabin time, dinner, evening activity, worship/teaching, cabin devotions, lights out. Thursday night is always special as we do a reenactment of the crucifixion, which is powerful for the young adults to be a part of and for the kids to witness. In my cabin this year I had 6th-7th grade boys and some high schoolers. I had some of the same kids as last year so it was great to reconnect with them.

This year the theme was 'throw the old man away and let the new man live'. With the songs and the teachings there were some deep concepts that many of us adults struggle with so I was curious to see how much the kids would grasp. As we taught and listened to truth, God was faithful as there was a consistent theme through it all even with several different speakers. We learned that we have an old man (adam nature, sinful nature) that has to be dealt with. This old man/nature has to be thrown away, cut off, crucified in order for the new man to live. And that new man is filled with the very life of Jesus, God's Holy Spirit. When we operate in our new man, God can now relate to us and we can have a relationship with Him. In our old man, we could not relate to God and we were condemned. This new man throws off the things of the world and we learned that this involves surrendering our dreams to God to allow Him to reshape them. Once we allow this new man to live, we produce the fruit of the Spirit since God's Spirit lives in us and our lives begin to look like Jesus. It was powerful stuff that challenged the kids as they wrestled with ideas like giving up their old ways and letting God take over.

I had one boy who didn't want to give up all of the 'fun' he was having, which involved playing video games 8 hours/day. He felt that once he gave his life to God he wasn't going to be able to have fun anymore. I told him that there are things that we are called to give up when we follow Jesus-there is a cost, but many of those things become less fulfilling and less 'fun' as we come to know God more. As he allows God to take over that new life, those video games will loose their appeal and the things of this world will fade away as he keeps his eyes on Jesus. I appreciated how serious he was taking this decision and he went home wanting to learn and grow more. Overall it was a great week to focus less on myself, be challenged in many ways and witness lives being changed through God's grace on the cross.

Finally, we have to share some pictures of Paisley who is getting bigger and more active each week. She now grabs at everything and puts most things in her mouth. She also loves to look at herself in the mirror and has begun to enjoy this door jumper we have.

Paisley at 4 months with her teddy

Enjoying her saucer

First day trying out the door jumper 

My personal favorite, her 5 month picture with teddy (they're really starting to like each other)