I'm setting up for another summer at camp.
A different kind.
This summer, I get to be one of the music guys with Casey at chapel. That's not my only job, but when I think of one of the big things I get to do, that's the first thing that comes to mind, among others. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. I GET TO DO MUSIC with one of my good friends at Center Lake!
I think I'm going to love my job a lot. AGAIN.
I've been at this worship team thing for nine years between vocals and playing at church and at Hope. You'd think I'd feel ready for just about anything when it comes to worship band stuff but I still feel like I'm approaching something brand new.
I was watching a DVD the other day that Pastor Chris loaned me to screen for the church about worship bands. Paul Baloche was the primary teacher on it and one of the things he talked about right at the outset was this idea that in a worship band, being in WORSHIP to God must be the objective. Creating beautiful music and something artistic are absolutely part of the equation, and I firmly believe those are part of worship. In fact, the Psalms talk about playing skillfully to the Lord. Music can be a powerful way to set the mood of people towards thinking about God when maybe they weren't before. And I'll be honest-worshiping God through music is one of my favorite ways to do so.
But that's just it.
I remember once being taught at a worship workshop at church a couple years ago that as a member of a worship band, we have to be worshipers FIRST. As people who lead, we can't ever let it be about ourselves and we have to be just as much a part of the congregation. That's probably my biggest prayer for this summer.
I want to give absolutely everything I can to help make some awesome music for camp. But more importantly, to be a worshiper of our God with everyone that sets foot in the chapel's doors with them.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
God is still God
I recently heard from one of my friends for the first time in weeks. The conversation made me realize that even that can be quite some time when you're submerged from your little social network and your cell phone, whether it's busyness or whatever.
While we were talking, we got on the subject of a mutual good friend, and how things were. Unfortunately, the news wasn't good. REALLY not good, actually.
I'm so sad to hear that. Not to mention a number of people back here at home aren't doing well, my friends who are deployed in the armed forces to dangerous parts of the world, more friends moving far away, and the list of things wrong coming from the magic picture box. And so the list goes on and on. What really has happened to this world?
Yet I'm reminded amid all this great tragedy, sadness, and uncertainty about how God is unchanging and His love is steadfast.
Psalm 66:16-20
16Come and hear, all you who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for my soul.
17I cried to him with my mouth,
and high praise was on my tongue.
18If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
19But truly God has listened;
he has attended to the voice of my prayer.
20Blessed be God,
because he has not rejected my prayer
or removed his steadfast love from me!
Hebrews 10:23-25
23Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Revelation 21:3-4
3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."
I've mentioned in a previous post about how I had to read a book for senior seminar by Rev Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called Strength to Love. It's actually a collection of his sermons and it really does cover a lot in not very many pages. One of my favorite points from that collection had to do with adversity, which not only is relevant to the Civil Rights movement, but to anyone who faces adversity today.
In a nutshell, he taught that just because we pray and wonder about where God IS and wonder WHY bad things happen, doesn't mean that God isn't ministering to the hurting and broken in some unseen way that we can't understand. Just as the prophet Isaiah and the apostle Paul wrote, no one can fully understand the intricate workings of God. It seems God was at work ministering to Joseph every step of the way even while he was in a hole in the ground, left for dead by his brothers or while in an Egyptian prison. Why would it be any different now?
As for my friend who's still hurting and sick months later and has me worried and wondering why, I will keep praying anyway. God is still God and I don't believe He ever abandoned my friend.
While we were talking, we got on the subject of a mutual good friend, and how things were. Unfortunately, the news wasn't good. REALLY not good, actually.
I'm so sad to hear that. Not to mention a number of people back here at home aren't doing well, my friends who are deployed in the armed forces to dangerous parts of the world, more friends moving far away, and the list of things wrong coming from the magic picture box. And so the list goes on and on. What really has happened to this world?
Yet I'm reminded amid all this great tragedy, sadness, and uncertainty about how God is unchanging and His love is steadfast.
Psalm 66:16-20
16Come and hear, all you who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for my soul.
17I cried to him with my mouth,
and high praise was on my tongue.
18If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
19But truly God has listened;
he has attended to the voice of my prayer.
20Blessed be God,
because he has not rejected my prayer
or removed his steadfast love from me!
Hebrews 10:23-25
23Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Revelation 21:3-4
3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away."
I've mentioned in a previous post about how I had to read a book for senior seminar by Rev Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called Strength to Love. It's actually a collection of his sermons and it really does cover a lot in not very many pages. One of my favorite points from that collection had to do with adversity, which not only is relevant to the Civil Rights movement, but to anyone who faces adversity today.
In a nutshell, he taught that just because we pray and wonder about where God IS and wonder WHY bad things happen, doesn't mean that God isn't ministering to the hurting and broken in some unseen way that we can't understand. Just as the prophet Isaiah and the apostle Paul wrote, no one can fully understand the intricate workings of God. It seems God was at work ministering to Joseph every step of the way even while he was in a hole in the ground, left for dead by his brothers or while in an Egyptian prison. Why would it be any different now?
As for my friend who's still hurting and sick months later and has me worried and wondering why, I will keep praying anyway. God is still God and I don't believe He ever abandoned my friend.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Prayer Answered?
Back in 2008, I was in my first year of counseling at Center Lake Bible Camp. It was a great summer, and I was grateful for the healing I badly needed after a rough semester of student teaching.
One of the good experiences I had was counseling my cabin of junior high guys. I had a lot of good times and some crazy, not always good times with them. Based on my experiences at camp (and now teaching school), I relate to middle school and senior high age students just fine. More importantly, I relished sitting down with these guys and talking with them about important things-about the Bible and about God! Not only have it make sense, but they seemed to actually WANTED to talk about it while they were at Center Lake; it MATTERED to the cabin I was working with that week. I also had some good one-on-one talks with my campers, which was encouraging as well.
Two of the boys I had were these guys from across the state that came with their church's youth pastor. They had been at camp a couple times before, so they were familiar with it. Duane told me a little about their church and how it rents camp for a weekend in the winter time. I remember talking to them about the SMT program and they seemed really excited about the chance to be a part of camp's work one day and we even prayed together about it. I had no idea if they would apply or if I would see them as SMTs or not (I discover a number of campers see SMTs and ask about being a part of the program). But, sadly, I didn't see these guys again as high school campers in the years following when I came back as a counselor. So I wasn't exactly sure what to think. I honestly thought they probably wouldn't be back in the summertime. Maybe God's answer to our prayer of them serving at camp was, "No." I felt a bit discouraged when I would think about it, but I was okay.
But maybe it was, "No... not yet." I heard from both of them around Christmas and they were both excited about applying to work at camp as SMTs, just as we had prayed together. And recently, I had from both of them again. My off-the-wall junior high boys (who are now several years into high school and likely considerably taller than I am!) are set to come back to serve at camp this summer after not being around in about three years.
I learned that just because we pray for something that has all the best intentions (the chance to serve at camp IS good!) and it doesn't come to pass right away, doesn't mean that it can't or won't come much later, but perhaps the right time to serve IS in fact later. This instance with these two campers has reminded me that, and how great God's omniscience truly is, not to mention that He DOES in fact hear our prayers and not only that, doesn't forget them. Even years later.
One of the good experiences I had was counseling my cabin of junior high guys. I had a lot of good times and some crazy, not always good times with them. Based on my experiences at camp (and now teaching school), I relate to middle school and senior high age students just fine. More importantly, I relished sitting down with these guys and talking with them about important things-about the Bible and about God! Not only have it make sense, but they seemed to actually WANTED to talk about it while they were at Center Lake; it MATTERED to the cabin I was working with that week. I also had some good one-on-one talks with my campers, which was encouraging as well.
Two of the boys I had were these guys from across the state that came with their church's youth pastor. They had been at camp a couple times before, so they were familiar with it. Duane told me a little about their church and how it rents camp for a weekend in the winter time. I remember talking to them about the SMT program and they seemed really excited about the chance to be a part of camp's work one day and we even prayed together about it. I had no idea if they would apply or if I would see them as SMTs or not (I discover a number of campers see SMTs and ask about being a part of the program). But, sadly, I didn't see these guys again as high school campers in the years following when I came back as a counselor. So I wasn't exactly sure what to think. I honestly thought they probably wouldn't be back in the summertime. Maybe God's answer to our prayer of them serving at camp was, "No." I felt a bit discouraged when I would think about it, but I was okay.
But maybe it was, "No... not yet." I heard from both of them around Christmas and they were both excited about applying to work at camp as SMTs, just as we had prayed together. And recently, I had from both of them again. My off-the-wall junior high boys (who are now several years into high school and likely considerably taller than I am!) are set to come back to serve at camp this summer after not being around in about three years.
I learned that just because we pray for something that has all the best intentions (the chance to serve at camp IS good!) and it doesn't come to pass right away, doesn't mean that it can't or won't come much later, but perhaps the right time to serve IS in fact later. This instance with these two campers has reminded me that, and how great God's omniscience truly is, not to mention that He DOES in fact hear our prayers and not only that, doesn't forget them. Even years later.
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