Week 7 2011

Day 2

Craft time at TC! This year the girls paint cans and decorate them with ribbon to place in their room or to use wherever they see fit. I am always amazed at the detail that most girls place in their can. They really want it to be beautiful. No so much for the eyes of others but for themselves.

I believe that God fashioned them in such a manner that he knit them in their mothers womb. He too with great patience has fashioned each one. Their beauty is known only to the one who created them. It is necessary for these young girls to see themselves as a work that God has done and to be satisfied in His ability to make them just as they are. Beauty is not something to search for or to adjust according to the eyes of men.

Day 1 Week 7.

Sometimes we would do well to just rest in the arms of a friend. The girls have fun playing a morning celebration game called "Knight Horse Chariot" which places them either in the arms, knees or back of another person. It is quite chaotic and allows them to see the difficulty of carrying another person. For the one who is attempting to bear the load, the weight becomes burdensome very quickly and most often they will drop even their closest friend given enough time. For the one who is jumping onto another, they can feel disappointed as they hit the ground time and time again.

A lesson is to be learned. We often attempt to place ourselves in the arms of other people when faced with life's difficult days. Even if that person is our closest of friends, family or even pastor they most likely when given enough time and circumstance will not be able to hold all of our worries and troubles.

So it is with those of us who try to bear the burdens of the world along with our own and those of our families. We will get tired eventually and not be able to juggle all the plates of compassion that come our way. So what do we do? There is only one who is capable to give you rest and at the same time stand up under the weight of any and all of mans problems. He alone is our only hope of salvation from the plague of sin that swarms like locust to devour our lives with worry, doubt and fear. His name is Jesus. Cast yourself upon him! "for when I am weak then I am strong"

Week 6 2011

Thank you Lord for another great week of sowing the seeds of your Gospel. It is a wonderful thing to see your good news as it lights the darkness and brings cleansing to the sinner, freedom to the slave and blessing to the cursed of humanity.

Week 5 2011

I need to apologize for the lack of blog during the first girls week of camp. It truly was an amazing week with many first time campers attending. Our Lord and God revealed himself in ways that stirred the hearts of young girls. Each year I wonder and sometimes worry about how the young girls will handle the week with the heat, bugs and schedule of camp. This year in particular I wondered how the girls would do in the mud pit. Would they get in? Would they just not touch it at all? It appeared that way at first and who could blame them. However, as you can see eventually they were covered from head to toe.

Week 4 Tuesday

A great thanks goes out to the Clarendon County Fire Department for bringing a fire truck each week of camp to hose off the kids with 1000 gallons of water. By the way, water is a mighty powerful thing when propelled by high pressure. A welcome activity to a day when the temp is above 100.

Week 4 2011

Week 4! Last week of boys for the year and we have a full week ahead. Last night we took a walk in the rain to the big oak and after getting a little wet we discussed the significance of the rain. How God is the provider of the much needed refreshment for the plants, the beast of the field, the birds of the air and of course for us as well. As the drops of water still fell from the leaves of the trees overhead we spoke of God's word and how it is like "cool water" for the soul. In the days and weeks prior we have had little to no rain and are very grateful when the Lord makes it His will to bless us with even a token amount. I have at least 4 copies of God's word available to me at any time to drink from His cup of wisdom. I have tasted and seen that it is good. So Good!

Genesis 3:8 "...and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord among the trees of the garden." The picture above is from earlier today at the paintball and Treyvon and Noah are hunkered down hiding behind the barrel to avoid the shots from the opposing team. Good reason to hide! For Adam and Eve, they chose to hide among the very trees that God had originally said was theirs for provision. Maybe we do a good job of hiding from God as well and just like Adam we might use His own provision to stand behind. Something to think about.

Week 3 2011

Day 2 Week 3

The Mcleod brothers, Gregory and Micah defend the fort in a game of paintball.

Jordan Adams out shot the field at skeet today hitting 3 of 3 on his first set of targets.

Day 1 Week 3

First night of Week 3 was wonderful! A full week of teenage boys and all the staff are expecting great things in the name of the Lord. It was nice to see so many seated under the "Big Oak" and to hear the voices of young men singing to God. I would imagine that by the end of the week the sound of that singing will be somewhat louder.

Kyle is singing "I can only Imagine" in this picture. A particular part of the song speaks of worshipping 'forever'. I was struck at the moment of even considering worshipping forever. I see that the flesh of man gets weak quite quickly in a worship setting whether at church or even at a camp. I "dont imagine" that there will be much distractedness around the throne of God.

The Word of God says in Revelation 4:8 that day and night the angels never cease to sing Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God almighty, who was and is and is to come!" It might sound odd but the opportunity to worship God forever sounds like an amazing thing to me! Would that we could worship now with our minds set on forever!

Week 2 2011

Day 3 Week 2

Day 2 Week 2
Mud pies, chicken w/rice and green beans sounds like a great day at camp!

We are swinging our way into week 2 at TC! All is well on on first full day. Campers enjoyed Rifle and survival skills today. It was a hot one today with the heat index reaching 105 so you can imagine how welcome the sound of going swimming was this afternoon. The rope swing is a favorite.

Reading in 2 Kings yesterday and learned of Ahaziah who sent some messengers to inquire of a false God called Baal of Ekron. You see, he had fallen in his house and evidently was injured bad enough in the fall that he feared he would die. In his anxiety he sent these messengers to travel and inquire of this false God as to what the future might hold. At the same time, the Lord spoke to Elijah and told him to intercept the messengers of Ahaziah and ask them "Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?". We encounter different struggles each week at camp. They can be as little as no breeze and 100 degree weather, a homesick camper, a scraped knee, or an a/c unit going out. I can hear the word of the Lord speaking to me when I try to handle even the smallest things without coming to him first. "Is it because there is no God at Tracy's Camp that you are trying to handle this on your own?" Why would we not go before the Lord? I stand convicted.

On Sunday evening as we headed to the "Big Oak" to worship the air was still and muggy. I thought of Ahaziah and the words that Elijah had spoken to him and thus to me. I prayed to the Lord for a breeze to break the heat as we would begin to worship. Just know that their is a God at Tracy's Camp! He indeed hears our prayers! Thank you Lord for such a cool breeze. You are so gracious.