Camp Cost 2010

Camp was UNBELIEVEABLE! I don't know why I expected any less. Maybe because I remembered my days as a youth and the drama that accompanies teenage girls but this past week sort of made me want to go back to high school. At least college. That very well could be the sleep deprivation talking.

God did a work in the hearts of the teens there and I pray He continues as they return to the "real world" once school starts. It's so hard to live it out in the valley once you've been to the mountain, you know? But that's life. I'm just so thankful that we're allowed those mountain top experiences here on Earth. I think it prepares us for Heaven. Although, I'm not sure if God allows drums quite like the ones I heard. Wow. I may need subtitles for the rest of my life. Interestingly enough everytime the band kicked up the volume, Esther Grace fell asleep. I asked if they had a CD I could buy to play in her room at night. I don't think they knew I was serious. I'm not sure if it was just sensory overload or if the vibrating furniture lulled her to sleep. The jury's still out on that one. Either way, she dozed throughout morning services just fine.

The week produced several revelations for me and Bear, which I'll probably recount throughout my blogging later, but one quite unexpected was that of a future worship leader.

I'm telling you, he loved every. single. minute. The bad thing is that now he thinks that he's 17 and doesn't understand why he can't take the car out to pick up "his boys". Jonah may need a good detoxing after an entire week spent with teens. The good thing is he saw boys he adores freely worship our Lord and it was sweet. An example was set for him to love God unashamedly and boldly not just by his parents, who now rank on the cool factor but not for long, but by boys he tries so hard to emulate. I'm so glad we took our kids. It was hard. It was exhausting. It was so rewarding.

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?"

Mark 8:34-36