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Oh yeah that makes sense! The first step to freedom is recognizing the problem, but it’s not always an immediate fix. God is so patient with us, too. Sometimes it blows me away that He is still there waiting to pick me up again after I’ve fallen for the hundredth time. I think a majority of the things we struggle with ultimately stem from believing lies about who God is.
I have so many good camp memories, too! (Well, there were a few years where there was a bit of a clique that I was left out of, but aside from that…)
Overall I’ve learned that even while the spiritual highs from camp are awesome, they can’t sustain me throughout the rest of the year. I have to be intentional in creating space and time for God daily, and cultivating that relationship even in the mundane, because ultimately that’s what is going to sustain.
I’m not the most emotional person in the world, and especially when I was in middle school, I’d be at summer camp and see everyone around me crying and having these emotional encounters with God, and I would wonder what was wrong with me that I wasn’t “feeling” God like everyone else was. Then a counselor was talking to me one evening, and she said that she had to learn the hard way that you don’t have to be emotional to encounter God. (That’s not to discount any emotional experiences, because emotions do help us connect in a deeper way, but if you’re always looking for emotions, that’s also not healthy- it’s like a married couple saying they’re only in love when they feel it. Love is a choice, not just an emotion, and the same goes for our relationship with God) But anyway, that shifted my whole perspective, and once I stopped looking for the emotional encounters, I started to get so much more out of my camp experiences and I learned how to value just spending time with God and seek Him regardless of whether I felt Him or not. (And I have since then had emotional encounters, but ultimately that’s not an everyday thing and I don’t rely on them to fuel my faith)
Haha sorry this is getting so long, but as soon as you mentioned camp, it brought back a whole bunch of memories, lol.
I’ll add one more thing and then I’ll be done (for now). Probably one of the most impactful moments I had at summer camp was one evening after chapel (I think it was my sophomore year?). The room looked like it usually did after the message, with kids up front crying, encountering God, and others sitting with friends and having deep conversations. I didn’t have any close friends there that year, and I was sitting alone in one of the chairs, watching everyone else and wishing I had someone to talk to. Then all of a sudden, I felt an arm around my shoulders and turned to see who had sat down, but the chair next to me was empty. Whether it was Jesus Himself or an angel, I don’t know, but I do know that I felt an arm over my shoulders, and Jesus was communicating that He was there with me and I could talk to Him even if I didn’t have any close friends there.
Anywhoooo… that’s all for now lol.
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
I’m not the most emotional person in the world, and especially when I was in middle school, I’d be at summer camp and see everyone around me crying and having these emotional encounters with God, and I would wonder what was wrong with me that I wasn’t “feeling” God like everyone else was.
I completely relate to this! I’ve had emotional encounters with God, and they are so amazing! But the problem this year was that I wanted to just have one right then, because like you said, I wondered what was wrong with me that everyone else was having one, but I wasn’t!
That’s not to discount any emotional experiences, because emotions do help us connect in a deeper way, but if you’re always looking for emotions, that’s also not healthy- it’s like a married couple saying they’re only in love when they feel it. Love is a choice, not just an emotion, and the same goes for our relationship with God
Girl…you just blew my mind…that makes so much more sense now!!!! That’s like exactly what I needed to hear xD thank you!!!
Overall I’ve learned that even while the spiritual highs from camp are awesome, they can’t sustain me throughout the rest of the year. I have to be intentional in creating space and time for God daily, and cultivating that relationship even in the mundane, because ultimately that’s what is going to sustain.
Yeah, I’ve noticed that too! What I did this year, is I kind of decided that I want to take the spiritual high and closeness to God with me out of camp. So every day since (that I can) I’ve been spending time with Him and reading my Bible and it has been so amazing! I feel so much closer to Him and I can tell He’s been working in my heart. (:
Then all of a sudden, I felt an arm around my shoulders and turned to see who had sat down, but the chair next to me was empty. Whether it was Jesus Himself or an angel, I don’t know, but I do know that I felt an arm over my shoulders, and Jesus was communicating that He was there with me and I could talk to Him even if I didn’t have any close friends there.
That is so amazing! I love that <3
Lukas&Livia
#Lalbert
Sef&Chase
#HOTTOLINE
LEFSE FOREVER!!!!!! <333I completely relate to this! I’ve had emotional encounters with God, and they are so amazing! But the problem this year was that I wanted to just have one right then, because like you said, I wondered what was wrong with me that everyone else was having one, but I wasn’t!
Yeah, I think that’s where the enemy likes to trip us up, making us think we can’t experience God like everyone else. But the truth is, God is always speaking to us, and sometimes we just don’t recognize it because we’re locked into thinking He has to do it a certain way. Also, we’re all created uniquely and not everyone will hear God the same way. Some people get dreams all the time; some people just get impressions a lot; some people get pictures in their minds easily. And it’s not that God can’t ever speak to some of us that way, it’s just He created us with certain ways that we’re naturally more in tune with hearing Him. And sometimes when you’re used to hearing Him speak a certain way, God switches it up to get us out of our boxes and teach us how to expand our awareness of Him.
Girl…you just blew my mind…that makes so much more sense now!!!! That’s like exactly what I needed to hear xD thank you!!!
Aww I’m so glad! This is why I love sharing testimonies! I feel like this is something a lot of middle and high schoolers struggle with, because we’re so used to reacting to things based on what we feel. Our culture also tells us to follow our hearts, but it’s not healthy, because emotions are so up and down- they aren’t stable. I heard a pastor say this once: “Emotions are a great servant, but a terrible master.” They aren’t meant to lead and guide your life (only the firm foundation of God’s Truth should do that), but they are indicators of your heart and what’s going on inside, and God can use emotions to speak to you, but that’s not the only way He speaks.
Yeah, I’ve noticed that too! What I did this year, is I kind of decided that I want to take the spiritual high and closeness to God with me out of camp. So every day since (that I can) I’ve been spending time with Him and reading my Bible and it has been so amazing! I feel so much closer to Him and I can tell He’s been working in my heart. (:
Jeremiah 29:13 “You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.”
Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”
I’ve found that creating a habit of daily time with God is crucial, regardless of whether or not I feel like it. And you’re never really going to “find” time unless you make it a priority- you have to create the time. In middle school I started making a habit of getting up a little earlier every morning so I could read my Bible. Does this mean I spend the same amount of time every day reading my Bible, or that I have the same routine every day? No. I’ve learned to give myself grace when I miss a day, or if one day it only looks like reading one verse. Seasons change and my schedule looks different, but the key is keeping my time with Him a priority. When I was homeschooled and had a lot more time at home, I was able to spend a lot more time sitting in my room with worship music on, reading my Bible or journaling. I literally sometimes spent two or three hours at a time (not every day) doing that, and I miss those days. Last week I was on vacation, and my schedule was very inconsistent, but I prioritized getting up early and spending some time before breakfast. One day I sat out by the creek because being inside was too distracting; one day my dad and brother went out super early for a hike and my mom slept in, so I was able to sit in the kitchen for twenty minutes or so with God. One morning I tried reading my Bible and I just didn’t feel like I was getting anything out of it, but then later in the day I decided to sit down with God again and it ended up being really powerful for me. Give yourself grace on days when it doesn’t feel like you’re connecting with Him, but also don’t give up creating that time every single day. Be open to however He wants to connect with you, because ultimately it’s a relationship and not a routine, although having a routine is healthy in relationships.
Sorry that was a long spiel but I hope some of it is encouraging to you too!
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
And sometimes when you’re used to hearing Him speak a certain way, God switches it up to get us out of our boxes and teach us how to expand our awareness of Him.
Exactly!!
Our culture also tells us to follow our hearts, but it’s not healthy, because emotions are so up and down- they aren’t stable. I heard a pastor say this once: “Emotions are a great servant, but a terrible master.” They aren’t meant to lead and guide your life (only the firm foundation of God’s Truth should do that), but they are indicators of your heart and what’s going on inside, and God can use emotions to speak to you, but that’s not the only way He speaks.
That’s a great quote!! And good point 🙂
In middle school I started making a habit of getting up a little earlier every morning so I could read my Bible.
Yes! I did that too! I’m so glad I started making that a habit…because starting your morning with Jesus is better than anything else!!
When I was homeschooled and had a lot more time at home, I was able to spend a lot more time sitting in my room with worship music on, reading my Bible or journaling. I literally sometimes spent two or three hours at a time (not every day) doing that, and I miss those days.
Aww, yeah, I miss that too :/
Give yourself grace on days when it doesn’t feel like you’re connecting with Him, but also don’t give up creating that time every single day. Be open to however He wants to connect with you, because ultimately it’s a relationship and not a routine, although having a routine is healthy in relationships.
You should write devotionals or something…you have some really great advice!
Sorry that was a long spiel but I hope some of it is encouraging to you too!
You’re good (:
Lukas&Livia
#Lalbert
Sef&Chase
#HOTTOLINE
LEFSE FOREVER!!!!!! <333You should write devotionals or something…you have some really great advice!
Haha maybe I should try it sometime! I tend to ramble though so I’ll have to learn how to say things more clearly and concisely lol. I haven’t really seriously considered writing anything non-fiction before.
Yes! I did that too! I’m so glad I started making that a habit…because starting your morning with Jesus is better than anything else!!
Oh yeah I’m so glad I started that habit when I did because it would be so much harder to start it now! And I’ve noticed the days that I miss it are the days that usually end up with things not going well or I’m in a bad mental state or something.
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
And I’ve noticed the days that I miss it are the days that usually end up with things not going well or I’m in a bad mental state or something.
Me too!!!
Lukas&Livia
#Lalbert
Sef&Chase
#HOTTOLINE
LEFSE FOREVER!!!!!! <333@savannah_grace2009 @trailblazer
*sits in a bean bag chair contentedly watching your conversation with tea and cookies*
Write what should not be forgotten. — Isabel Allende
*also sitting in a bean bag chair across from you and Sara, but with lemonade instead of tea*
You can join the conversation if you want lol, I think it sort of reached a lull anyway.
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
Oh Sara- since we were talking about summer camps, I’d love to hear what your camp is like! One of the stories I’m working on currently started with two girls at summer camp who became friends and decided to be pen pals after they left… and the plot has sort of taken its own turns from there, lol!
But anyway, I don’t want it to be a complete copycat of my summer camp, and I’m struggling to come up with ideas of funny incidents that could happen. Hearing someone else’s camp experiences might help spark some creativity!
Idk how your camp works, but at mine, everyone is split into two teams that are competing all week for points. Within the two teams, we have smaller groups of about six or eight campers and a counselor, and each of the counselors have some type of role- so like each team has a king, queen, jester, flagbearer, etc. There are a whole bunch of ways to earn and lose points, which I can explain in more detail if you’re interested in hearing them, but ultimately at the end of the week, the winning team gets to pie members of the losing team.
Usually for us, a typical day looks like getting up for breakfast at eight, and then having two activities that campers chose from when they signed up for camp (ex- ceramics, horseback riding, challenge course, archery, moviemaking, Bible study, fishing/boating, etc, etc). After that everyone meets at the chapel for a session of worship and a teaching, and then we have lunch. After lunch we have about thirty minutes of devotions with our cabin group, followed by a third choice activity. Following that, we have either swim time or free time (girls and guys have separate swim times, so sometimes the girls have it first, sometimes the guys do). Then we all assemble at the dining hall to hand out the day’s mail and perform skits, and then we eat dinner. After dinner, we have organized games, and then our evening chapel session, and that pretty much wraps up the day.
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
Oh wow, your camp sounds so much fun! And wayyy different from ours lol!
Ours is kind of in the middle of nowhere…you’d never expect a camp to be there!
It depends on who is directing the camp that week what kind of teams we have, but normally we are split up into about four to six teams of different colors. Each team has about fifteen to twenty people on it, and you compete in camp games (like nine square, gaga ball, capture the flag, and various night games/other games the director comes up with) to get points. You can lose points, depending on the game, but most games you can’t lose points.
At teen week, normally the winners don’t get anything xD sometimes they get free camp gear, but that’s about it.
Every year is different, but this year I believe the schedule went something like this:
Breakfast was at 8:30, but all the girls in my cabin got up at 6:30 to curl their hair and do makeup xD
For meals, we all line up by cabin on the basketball court, and the cabin doing dishes goes first. The cabin cleaning up the dining hall goes last, and sometimes you can get the director to let your cabin go first by bribing them or doing impressive things (like singing a song, doing a human pyramid, doing the Church Clap, etc.)
Then we had our daily chores. Each cabin was assigned a morning chore, like picking up grounds, cleaning bathrooms, etc. When we finished those, we cleaned up our cabin for cabin inspection. The directors inspect the cabins and sometimes you get extra points for your team if your cabin is clean enough! Either that, or the cleanest cabin goes first in the lunch line.
Next we had our devotional, where we could read the bible as a cabin, or seperately.
After that we went to the chapel for a lesson (this year’s theme was about Faith/Works), and after that we competed in a group game.
After group games, we had lunch.
Next we had another group game, and then we went to the chapel for Missionary Time, where the missionary that comes for the week gives a teaching.
When Missionary Time got over, we had free time until dinner. Our camp has a Snack Shoppe, a pool, a zipline, a jungle swing (basically a gigantic swing, it’s kind of scary!!), archery, hatchet throwing, a huge building we call the Ark (it’s a huge building with a basketball court and nine-square and basically anything we need to do group games but inside a building!), gaga ball, laser tag…etc. You can do whatever you want during free time! This year, me and my friend did Bible studies in the cabin and then I hung out with some of the counselors.
After dinner, it was evening chapel, with worship and a sermon. Then the snack shoppe opened and you could buy candy or pop, or just hang out until the night game.
We have night games, where the teams compete…but it’s at night, so twice as fun! When it rains, we do night games in the Ark.
Lights out was at 11:30 or 12, I believe? Our camp doesn’t really enforce that…you just have to be in your cabin by then unless you’re at the bath house (some cabins don’t have bathrooms or running water, so you have to walk to the bath house.). On the last night we usually stay up late, and our cabin didn’t get to bed until like 1 am this year!
That’s basically it…
Anything else you need to know??
Sorry I went on kind of a ramble xD
Lukas&Livia
#Lalbert
Sef&Chase
#HOTTOLINE
LEFSE FOREVER!!!!!! <333That’s awesome! We don’t have chores to do our at ours, but we do get points for picking up any trash we find.
The directors inspect the cabins and sometimes you get extra points for your team if your cabin is clean enough! Either that, or the cleanest cabin goes first in the lunch line.
You have cabin inspection every day? We did it once during the week, but then we also have one day where we do cabin decorating- each cabin chooses a theme (Wild West, jungle, Star Wars… my cabin once did a Dad Joke theme and won lol) and then decorates accordingly, and then the directors decide which one was best and that’s one way to gain points. The messiest cabin gets the Piggie Awards, but I can’t remember if they lose points for that or not.
After dinner, it was evening chapel, with worship and a sermon. Then the snack shoppe opened and you could buy candy or pop, or just hang out until the night game.
We have a snack shop too, but that’s only open during the free time in the afternoon. Usually after the evening sermon campers are still hanging out in the chapel, encountering God or praying for each other, and then it’s late by the time we wrap up so we just go straight to the cabins. I think light’s out was 11:30 or 12, but we were technically supposed to be in the cabins by 10 or 10:30. Some of the newer cabins had bathrooms, but if you got stuck in an old one you had to use the bathhouse.
On the last night we usually stay up late, and our cabin didn’t get to bed until like 1 am this year!
Same!! The last night is always the dance party/junk food night and we’re never in bed before midnight. The one year a whole bunch of the girls went out and started dancing on the picnic tables by the dining hall until we heard the director’s golf cart coming and ran back to the cabins.
Usually all the group games we do in the evenings are very competitive because we’re all competing for points. One night is Cageball Dodgeball, which is dodgeball but there’s also a giant blow-up ball bigger than me that the directors roll around the field, so you have to watch out for that in addition to the normal dodgeballs. We also do tug-of-war slip-and-slide, which is pretty self-explanatory. Sometimes we’ve done charades if it rains and we have to do an indoor game. The last night is always water balloon capture-the-flag; basically capture-the-flag, but instead of tagging people, you hit them with water balloons.
At mealtimes, we also do challenges for points- someone from one team can challenge the other team to something, and someone from the other team has to respond by the next meal to take them up on it. Usually it’s a singing contest, or drinking hot sauce, or burping, or rapping, or something like that, but there was one time we had a duct tape contest- one person from each team got duct-taped to the cafeteria wall and the one who stayed on the wall longest won.
And then there are skits- each cabin group is assigned a day to perform a skit, and the directors give points for their favorites. I think the groups who go on the last day have the most advantage because they can incorporate inside jokes and stuff and that usually gets more points. The one evening each of the two large teams has to perform a skit, too- one year my counselor made my friends and I be the chickens in the skit and we literally had to run around on the field flapping our arms acting like chickens! It was so awkward but so funny at the same time!
Anyway I need to go to bed now, so I’ll stop talking!
"Real love is for your good, not for your comfort." -Justin Whitmel Earley
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