Girl Drama at Bible Camp

By Hally Franz –

Oh, to be a kid in 2013! Without going into sad speeches about the summers of yesteryear, I will simply say that today’s kids have access to countless exciting activities to fill their summers. There is no reason for boredom when our communities and churches offer so many things to do. Even elementary students attending summer school enjoy specially-designed curriculum to offer as much fun as they do study. Every class and camp has a theme; every adventure and outing is designed to please.

It is at this time each year that I finalize summer calendars for my own kids. My son, now in high school, has an agenda of his own, but my daughter still works with mom to decide what she’ll do over break.

When I mentioned Bible camp to her recently, she reminded me about the girl drama she had at camp two years ago. Those don’t seem to go together, do they? Girl drama at Bible camp? I remembered my sister and I arriving to pick up my niece and daughter, and I recalled the reports from the cabin counselors.

Our girls had become friends with two other girls, who were unrelated BFF’s. The four paired off throughout the week and were doing well. Until, something triggered a conflict. I don’t recall the issue, except that it was insignificant. Soon the foursome split according to their original loyalties, and a verbal brawl ensued. The teen counselors relayed the events to us, and we were mortified. We scolded our girls, but they seemed to be beyond the ordeal by then.

I know this particular camp is a great program, and Roz may well attend this year. I believe that most of the kids attending camp are from Christian families, and they are all probably fine children. However, I also had to recognize that they are little girl humans. That means they are immature and haven’t entirely figured out how to behave yet. They are girls, and they just like a little drama now and then (That may be precisely why I was reminded of this event when the issue came up). And, they are human – fallible and sinful humans.

Perhaps, Bible camp is exactly what Roz needs this year. Now, two years later, she is more mature and may get along perfectly.

Now, what shall we do about drama camp?

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, help me to choose for my children activities and endeavors that will enrich their lives, causing them to be educated and involved citizens, loyal and loving friends, and faithful followers and witnesses for You.

“Dear brothers and sisters, don’t be childish in your understanding of these things. Be innocent as babies when it comes to evil, but be mature in understanding matters of this kind” (1 Corinthians 14:20 NLT).

Rabbit on a Swim Team

By Charlotte Riegel –

Years ago I read a story about forest animals deciding to begin a school for animals to attend. It was determined that all the animals would take all the courses. It reminded me of our public schools.

In this story the rabbit started at the top of his class in running, but developed a nervous twitch in his leg muscles because of so much make-up work in swimming. The eagle was a problem child and severely disciplined for being a nonconformist when insisting on getting to the top of the tree his way, flying instead of climbing. The duck was excellent in swimming and very poor in running. The squirrel encountered constant frustration in flying because he was forced to start from the ground up instead of from the tree top down.

I did not excel in foreign language studies, saw little use for studying history, and enjoyed English studies as long as I was allowed to do it ‘my way’, i.e. read and write stories, but became frustrated and discouraged when I was forced to interpret poetry according to the instructor’s protocol.

As my children wound their way through the school system it became obvious that each had their own ‘bent’ and excelled when taught and guided in their areas of natural proficiency. One of my boys was, and still is, a gifted musician, however most of his schooling offered little instruction in music. He took private lessons but was unable to spend much time practicing because his regular schooling and homework took up so much of his time. I feared he would quite high school before graduating because of his boredom and frustrations. Thankfully he didn’t.

Now as I watch grandchildren fighting their way through that same system it is apparent we are still a long way from understanding the uniqueness with which we are all created. David reminds us in Psalm 139:13 how God created each of us from the inside out before we ever took our first breath of oxygen.

In Ephesians 2:10 Paul encourages us to recognize that we are God’s handiwork. Pastor Tony Evans encourages us to recognize that we are ‘custom-made’, not manufactured on an assembly line.

Prayer: “God, help me to recognize the uniqueness of others and grant me the grace to avoid attempting to make them fill a mold they were never created to fit.”

Quote: “When you or someone you know doesn’t fit society’s mold, it’s okay to make a new one” (Fairchild, Lori. Chicken Soup for the Soul: Hooked on Hockey/What Hockey Taught Us).

The Setting Sun Rises

By Peter Lundell –

The jet took off as the last sliver of the setting sun dipped below the horizon, perfect timing to witness a rare sight. A moment later the gray sky and dark line of the earth was pierced by the same sliver of sun that seemed to push back up. Then a layer of clouds blocked the sun, but behind them the sky grew brighter in hues of orange and blue. As we continued to climb above the stratus clouds, the sun emerged bigger than before. High, wispy cirrus clouds veiled it in a dreamy skyscape, and as the plane continued to rise, the orange ball seemed to ascend with us.

The plane reached its cruising altitude of 36,000 feet, and after a full half- hour in flight, this sun, which had fully set at our moment of takeoff, had risen back up into a full round ball. Nature had gone in reverse.

Of course it was an optical illusion of our rising in altitude, which made the setting sun appear to rise. But still weird.

I wondered about mysteries of the natural world that defy our normal thinking. And I wondered about the supernatural, what we call the miraculous or impossible. From God’s perspective it may all be natural.

In God’s dimension, the Trinity is natural. So is being outside of time and existing in what we call the spiritual world. Probably the strangest thing on earth, Quantum Physics, must be normal to God.

Educated Westerners are probably the most answer-oriented logic-mongers on earth. We don’t like mystery unless we can solve it. But God is full of mystery because He is so beyond us. And sometimes the setting sun rises.

How have you experienced mysteries of God or His creation?

“Lord, open my heart as wide as my eyes. Let me see beyond my sight. Let me embrace the mysteries of Your world and appreciate them as mystery, appreciate You as mystery, for You are infinitely beyond me.”

“Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish” (Isaiah 29:14 NIV).

What a Friend We Have in Garmin

By Kim Stokely –

I have a confession. I am directionally challenged. If there’s only one way to get to a location, I’ll still manage to take a wrong turn. I’ve accidently gone to another state. Even with that handicap, I’m one of the only people I know who doesn’t have a GPS device in the car. I don’t think I ever will either.

The one time I tried using one was in a friend’s car. We were on our way to a retreat and plugged in our destination. I’d been told it would take us an hour to get to the center. An hour later, my friend and I were lost in some rural town with no name out in the middle of nowhere. Her Garmin kept telling us to turn right which would have sent us into a cornfield. The disembodied voice seemed quite put out that we wouldn’t obey her command. Every time we tried to find our way back to the main road I could hear Garmin sigh as she told us she was, “recalculating.” If she’d been a real woman, I know she would have crossed her arms and tapped her foot with impatience. We finally turned off the GPS and called someone we knew was already at the retreat center to help us find our way. I have no idea where the GPS wanted to send us, but it certainly wasn’t the place we wanted to go.

Others have had similar trials. One friend told me their GPS led them to the edge of a lake before ordering, “Find a way to the other side.” Sounds pretty much like Garmin was telling her to go “jump in the lake” to me! Another friend was trying to find an ice skating rink and instead ended up in a cemetery. Fortunately, he’s not paranoid. Me? I would have been convinced Garmin was trying to tell me something.

Give me a plain old map. I love to unfold the colorful accordion of paper and locate my destination. My fingers enjoy tracing the route. My brain likes to read the different towns along the way. And, I admit with a small amount of pride, I can usually re-fold the map into its original slim rectangle without a problem.

I feel the same way about my Bible. It is God’s map for us. It’s the same today as it was thousands of years ago. Although it never changes, it is new every time we read it. I know there are fancier ways to read scripture (apps on Smart phones and I pads) but I like to crack open the pages of my leather bound Bible. My fingers like to follow along certain passages and I love to mark out new “routes” that I discover along the way. Whether you choose an old-fashioned Bible or an electronic app, make sure to be in God’s word daily. As Psalm 119:105 says, it truly is “a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path” (ESV) and will keep you from getting lost in the rural cornfields of life.

Spring Cleaning of the Heart

By Cindy Martin –

Often times when we’ve been battered by the inevitable hard stuff of life, not only are our minds and bodies affected but also our spirits. Bitterness, hardness, harshness and cynicism can easily take root during an extended season of trial and pain. As a result our demeanor is changed without us even recognizing the slow fade that takes place.

I believe that David recognized that fade in his own life when he made peace with God after his incident with Bathsheba. He had hardened his heart towards God and even became angry when the prophet Nathan confronted him with his sin.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10 ESV). In his deeply heartfelt prayer of repentance, David asks that God would not only create within him a clean heart but also that he would renew a right spirit within him. He wanted God to not only forgive him for the sin he had committed but also to remove the residue it had left on the intangible part of his being. He knew that his heart was not naturally bent towards God – he had proved that by his actions. Yet he also knew that he needed God’s forgiveness AND His power in his life to soften his heart and “bend” it back towards his Savior.

Not always is this a quick or easy transformation. In fact it is often the exact opposite. Yet it’s this process of softening that provides the clearest opportunity for God’s transforming power to shine through us. I liken it to being in the sun – you don’t often recognize the glow the sun’s rays bring to your skin until after you’ve spent time in its presence. Likewise, spending time in God’s presence changes an intangible part of our being that is clearly reflected in our demeanor.

Prayer: Lord God, thank You that You not only want to forgive my sin, You also desire to renew a right spirit within me. Grant me the grace to linger in your presence that I may reflect the radiance of Your transforming power.

Verse: “A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit” (Proverbs 15:13 NIV).

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