Today's sermon was one of the best I've heard at church in weeks, if not months.
I remember reading about Samson last fall. The story is familiar enough - Samson has a great big bushy beard and long locks of hair, really strong, and the Philistines' bane. And he does all kinds of crazy stuff wrong.
He violated the Nazirite culinary laws (drinking wine).
He came into contact with dead carcasses (when he ate the honey out of the dead lion).
And of course, there was his problem with women (the prostitute and of course, Delilah).
In short, the man was a total failure. If the story to occur in modern settings, I somehow envision him a freewheeling, hard partying playboy type. Definitely not someone who's supposed to be "holy to the Lord."
But the beautiful thing is, in the midst of his tragic circumstances, despite all his failures, and having previously shown not a care for his his Nazirite vow/calling or position as judge... God still was able to use what happened for good. Samson called not on himself, but on God once more, from whom his strength truly came (as cool as they were, NOT the lion mane of hair or beard that he had).
28Then Samson called to the LORD and said, "O Lord GOD, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes."
I'm thankful that God can, and does, use broken, sinful people for His great purposes. And even better, that we don't stay broken & sinful forever.
1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 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."
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Monday, September 13, 2010
Reading through the Bible... take 2!
So Nate and I had the big plan to read through the Bible.
Nate made it (I'm pretty sure). I had a pretty good start. Then I got my teaching job (which sadly, didn't last), wrapped up tighter than a fly in a spiderweb in work, and didn't keep up with the readings which require an hour to 90 minutes of study. Excuse? Completely, utterly, totally lame. That said... I'm going for it again. Because I want to do it. Badly. I gained some perspective this summer while working with all my kids. I learned plenty about the Old Testament this past spring. But... I want to know more.
And I've gained more already. I remember reading about the sacrificial system that Moses wrote down from God in Exodus and into Leviticus (and beyond), but something really interesting that stuck out to me was how, beyond the idea that many people are familiar with (burnt, sin, guilt, grain, and peace), something that caught my attention was how there were daily offerings given at morning and evening JUST so the people could meet with and hear from God.
That's a LOT of sacrifices. A lot time, energy, and love invested in those animals given as offerings. It's expensive, and although it's most definitely worthy to give them as sacrifices to the Maker of Heaven and Earth, that had to be tough. It makes the 90 minutes I couldn't put in even more sad to think about it. But, it also makes me realize HOW much the gift Jesus gave us meant.
No more killing animals. No more purification rituals. We can have a relationship with God because He's saved us.
I like reading stuff in the Pentateuch a lot, actually. Slogging through the rituals is tough sometimes, but the introduction to Leviticus gave a good reminder why Christians should and NEED to read it - it gives a sense of perspective of WHY Jesus was needed. Why we don't do sacrifices anymore. What the big deal is. And though we might have developed the technology to make shirts of two fabrics (cotton/polyester blend is nice and it works now!), there are still plenty of relevant laws right now from the Pentateuch for Christians. Like loving God with all your heart, soul, and mind. And loving your neighbor as yourself. Jesus himself talked about that.
Nate made it (I'm pretty sure). I had a pretty good start. Then I got my teaching job (which sadly, didn't last), wrapped up tighter than a fly in a spiderweb in work, and didn't keep up with the readings which require an hour to 90 minutes of study. Excuse? Completely, utterly, totally lame. That said... I'm going for it again. Because I want to do it. Badly. I gained some perspective this summer while working with all my kids. I learned plenty about the Old Testament this past spring. But... I want to know more.
And I've gained more already. I remember reading about the sacrificial system that Moses wrote down from God in Exodus and into Leviticus (and beyond), but something really interesting that stuck out to me was how, beyond the idea that many people are familiar with (burnt, sin, guilt, grain, and peace), something that caught my attention was how there were daily offerings given at morning and evening JUST so the people could meet with and hear from God.
That's a LOT of sacrifices. A lot time, energy, and love invested in those animals given as offerings. It's expensive, and although it's most definitely worthy to give them as sacrifices to the Maker of Heaven and Earth, that had to be tough. It makes the 90 minutes I couldn't put in even more sad to think about it. But, it also makes me realize HOW much the gift Jesus gave us meant.
No more killing animals. No more purification rituals. We can have a relationship with God because He's saved us.
I like reading stuff in the Pentateuch a lot, actually. Slogging through the rituals is tough sometimes, but the introduction to Leviticus gave a good reminder why Christians should and NEED to read it - it gives a sense of perspective of WHY Jesus was needed. Why we don't do sacrifices anymore. What the big deal is. And though we might have developed the technology to make shirts of two fabrics (cotton/polyester blend is nice and it works now!), there are still plenty of relevant laws right now from the Pentateuch for Christians. Like loving God with all your heart, soul, and mind. And loving your neighbor as yourself. Jesus himself talked about that.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
We've been tested. But not forgotten.
Psalm 66:8-10, 16-20
8Bless our God, O peoples;
let the sound of his praise be heard,
9who has kept our soul among the living
and has not let our feet slip.
10For you, O God, have tested us;
you have tried us as silver is tried.
8Bless our God, O peoples;
let the sound of his praise be heard,
9who has kept our soul among the living
and has not let our feet slip.
10For you, O God, have tested us;
you have tried us as silver is tried.
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!
I've felt tested. I've prayed. I've asked others to pray for my family and me too. Because I don't enjoy being tested. It's tough.
I don't think we're done. Not yet. But after today, I also look and believe that God is hearing our prayers. And He has not forgotten us.
And what else can I do, as any other time, but rejoice that God is God?
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
It hurts. BAD.
My senior year at Hope, Trygve once taught during The Gathering about Jeremiah, and how incredibly alone and miserable he felt amidst myriad pain and suffering. In short, the question he was asking was, "God, where ARE You? Where is God in the midst of all this?"
[18] My joy is gone; grief is upon me;
my heart is sick within me.
[19] Behold, the cry of the daughter of my people
from the length and breadth of the land:
“Is the LORD not in Zion?
Is her King not in her?”
“Why have they provoked me to anger with their carved images
and with their foreign idols?”
[20] “The harvest is past, the summer is ended,
and we are not saved.”
[21] For the wound of the daughter of my people is my heart wounded;
I mourn, and dismay has taken hold on me.
[22] Is there no balm in Gilead?
Is there no physician there?
Why then has the health of the daughter of my people
not been restored?
[9:1] Oh that my head were waters,
and my eyes a fountain of tears,
that I might weep day and night
for the slain of the daughter of my people!
Jeremiah 8:18-9:1 (ESV)
[42:1] As a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants my soul for you, O God.
[2] My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
[3] My tears have been my food
day and night,
while they say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?”
Psalm 42:1-3 (ESV)
It hurts. It hurts DEEP to watch my family hurting.
Trygve said this question of "God... where ARE YOU?!" keeps God at the center. THAT'S what I want, what I need, and what my family needs.
I need God.
We need Him. RIGHT NOW.
And I will pray.
I will pray AUDACIOUSLY!!!!
For just that.
For Emmanuel. God with us.
And His peace. Which passes all understanding.
And I will rejoice. Because He's already here.
[18] My joy is gone; grief is upon me;
my heart is sick within me.
[19] Behold, the cry of the daughter of my people
from the length and breadth of the land:
“Is the LORD not in Zion?
Is her King not in her?”
“Why have they provoked me to anger with their carved images
and with their foreign idols?”
[20] “The harvest is past, the summer is ended,
and we are not saved.”
[21] For the wound of the daughter of my people is my heart wounded;
I mourn, and dismay has taken hold on me.
[22] Is there no balm in Gilead?
Is there no physician there?
Why then has the health of the daughter of my people
not been restored?
[9:1] Oh that my head were waters,
and my eyes a fountain of tears,
that I might weep day and night
for the slain of the daughter of my people!
Jeremiah 8:18-9:1 (ESV)
[42:1] As a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants my soul for you, O God.
[2] My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
[3] My tears have been my food
day and night,
while they say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?”
Psalm 42:1-3 (ESV)
It hurts. It hurts DEEP to watch my family hurting.
Trygve said this question of "God... where ARE YOU?!" keeps God at the center. THAT'S what I want, what I need, and what my family needs.
I need God.
We need Him. RIGHT NOW.
And I will pray.
I will pray AUDACIOUSLY!!!!
For just that.
For Emmanuel. God with us.
And His peace. Which passes all understanding.
And I will rejoice. Because He's already here.
Monday, August 23, 2010
It STARTS with Jesus.
At church the other evening, Dale showed a clip from a Mark Driscoll sermon. I don't listen to/watch his stuff a ton, probably because I guess I'm not the type to actively seek out sermons on my computer. Whatever exactly that means.
That said... it, as well as the discussion BEFORE I got hugged by my kids covered in a concoction of flour paste, oatmeal, shaving cream, and soggy dog food (yes, crud wars... BLEAGH) really got the wheels turning.
Our actions shouldn't define us. What we're doing shouldn't define us. What SHOULD define us should be found in Christ, and what He did for us. It comes from His sacrifice and the Resurrection.
Jesus --> Saved us --> We change --> Our lives are DIFFERENT (actions)
It STARTS with Jesus. Not us. Him.
That said... it, as well as the discussion BEFORE I got hugged by my kids covered in a concoction of flour paste, oatmeal, shaving cream, and soggy dog food (yes, crud wars... BLEAGH) really got the wheels turning.
Our actions shouldn't define us. What we're doing shouldn't define us. What SHOULD define us should be found in Christ, and what He did for us. It comes from His sacrifice and the Resurrection.
Jesus --> Saved us --> We change --> Our lives are DIFFERENT (actions)
It STARTS with Jesus. Not us. Him.
Monday, August 16, 2010
By streams of Living Water
I feel like I'm still catching up on things of this summer. When you're mostly disconnected, that's probably not an entirely bad thing.
Post-camp, I mad a wild dash to the Grand Rapids-Holland-Muskegon zone for Ben and Lauren's wedding. It was a good time, though the beginning had a rather interesting start-I felt vaguely in a video game where I'm seeking the one elusive spot where you can park in Grand Haven (NO ONE remembered to warn me that my friend was getting married on the weekend of the Coast Guard Festival!), so I totally missed dinner. It did make for an interesting experience to meet up with my friends in Spring Lake.
But I digress. While hunting for presents/a card with Leah up in Muskegon, she and I both got really sick of all the saccharine, cookie-cutter wedding cards that we found at Hallmark at the mall. Wedding card shopping is tough, mostly because of what I described. There's nothing that sets any of them apart anymore, so to do that while staying appropriate takes a bit of patience and hunting, unless you have the time and planning to make your own card or send pictures to the store. I didn't, so I had to wing it. Thankfully, Leah and I *DID* find a card with a passage from Jeremiah (I think it was chapter 31) that stuck as something Ben & Lauren would like.
Oddly enough, Ben & Lauren picked a Scripture (Psalm 1:1-3) for their wedding that was unique, too. Rather than talking about two becoming one flesh or what love is, they took the idea in a completely different direction.
1Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
The minister who performed the ceremony mentioned how she was surprised at this selection, but mentioned how as she studied the passage over and over, how it really *IS* perfect for a wedding, and how it wasn't meant just for the new husband and wife. It was for everyone listening.
And I had to agree - as I sat there, pondering the words of the psalmist, thinking about how a blessed man gains life to the fullest is by the streams of living water and by truly delighting in the teachings from the Word, I thought to myself, "This is what it is. This is what we meant at camp. This is being a rebel. A revolution."
Thanks Ben & Lauren, for a good reminder. Your minister was right - it was for EVERYONE. It was a great wedding (and that was quite a reception arrival - on a SAILBOAT!).
Post-camp, I mad a wild dash to the Grand Rapids-Holland-Muskegon zone for Ben and Lauren's wedding. It was a good time, though the beginning had a rather interesting start-I felt vaguely in a video game where I'm seeking the one elusive spot where you can park in Grand Haven (NO ONE remembered to warn me that my friend was getting married on the weekend of the Coast Guard Festival!), so I totally missed dinner. It did make for an interesting experience to meet up with my friends in Spring Lake.
But I digress. While hunting for presents/a card with Leah up in Muskegon, she and I both got really sick of all the saccharine, cookie-cutter wedding cards that we found at Hallmark at the mall. Wedding card shopping is tough, mostly because of what I described. There's nothing that sets any of them apart anymore, so to do that while staying appropriate takes a bit of patience and hunting, unless you have the time and planning to make your own card or send pictures to the store. I didn't, so I had to wing it. Thankfully, Leah and I *DID* find a card with a passage from Jeremiah (I think it was chapter 31) that stuck as something Ben & Lauren would like.
Oddly enough, Ben & Lauren picked a Scripture (Psalm 1:1-3) for their wedding that was unique, too. Rather than talking about two becoming one flesh or what love is, they took the idea in a completely different direction.
1Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
The minister who performed the ceremony mentioned how she was surprised at this selection, but mentioned how as she studied the passage over and over, how it really *IS* perfect for a wedding, and how it wasn't meant just for the new husband and wife. It was for everyone listening.
And I had to agree - as I sat there, pondering the words of the psalmist, thinking about how a blessed man gains life to the fullest is by the streams of living water and by truly delighting in the teachings from the Word, I thought to myself, "This is what it is. This is what we meant at camp. This is being a rebel. A revolution."
Thanks Ben & Lauren, for a good reminder. Your minister was right - it was for EVERYONE. It was a great wedding (and that was quite a reception arrival - on a SAILBOAT!).
Friday, August 13, 2010
Rebellious thoughts from camp.
Inadequacy. In some ways, I feel like that's the only way I can describe my summer.
"But Tyler, how on Earth can you feel that way? You've done this before. You've been to college. You went in just finishing a teaching job!"
But that's just it.
I loved my teaching job in Ludington. It was the best thing to happen and I was happy to have a positive experience at the secondary level, work with students that were actually MY kids, teach them about singing, and learn more about teaching (and the challenges I'm still facing). But the one problem that had to do with camp that was that I had to rush right off to Tustin. Don was perfectly okay with this, for which I was very grateful. But in some respects, I thought I was going in unprepared for the next phase of life, which took a lot of twists. Staff training went great and I got to meet the rest of the team and reunite with some old friends. And together, everyone made a pretty good team this year.
Week 1... Junior High Camp in Huron. Pastor Jim Lacy, speaker.
My summer started a LOT like summer 2009 - with junior high boys up at High Point. And it was a great beginning this year-I had an absolutely AMAZING tent of guys, and so did Cameron. We could take them just about anywhere, do just about anything with them because they were game for just about anything. I'm still sad we weren't able to pull off camping out on Sunshine Mountain with them because they totally would have loved it!. They were probably one of the most chill group of junior high guys I've had in a cabin/tent yet.
Cameron had a camper in his tent that totally got all geeked about the Bible studies and loved talking about stuff with me - we had quite a discussion about Revelation 21 before our campfire and God making His dwelling with His people. He got all excited just talking about that and the pure thought of living with God someday on the newly-recreated Earth. I really hope Sonny becomes an SMT-he's totally the kind of person that I could see doing it. I really wish I could have had a chance to talk with him some more, but I couldn't. But talking with my guys about stuff WAS awesome.
Week 2... Junior Camp in Pictured Rock. Pastor Ken Nichols, speaker.
For the first time, I didn't have a long move! But I had to switch tents up at High Point (from Huron to Pictured Rock). And it meant switching mental gears - week 2 was our week where camp was completely loaded with younger kids. Though I was technically working with junior campers, it felt at times like I was counseling Pre Camp for the first time in two years just because of the age of some of my kids (they couldn't be more than 8 or 9) and how needy they were, except all week.
Despite some of the bad stupid moments, it was actually a pretty good cabin (one of the better junior cabins I've had-and I've had some rough ones), I had some hilarious moments with them (the best quote of the summer came from one of my kids doing counselor impressions-"Why don't we just SKIP IT!!"), and one of my boys got saved this week at camp, which is the big reason why we do what we do at camp-starting and renewing relationships with Christ. Not a bad week at all.
Week 3... Junior/Junior High Ranch Camp in Buffalo. Pastor Dave Heyn, speaker.
I made the longest move ever (from High Point to Ranch!). As I made the transition, I was praying/hoping a bit before this week began for a number of reasons. Last year's drama with all the campers the week we had girls and guys at Ranch Camp, plus all the rain that made it tough to be outside (and the c-c-c-COLD!) made for a pretty miserable week. I really, REALLY didn't want a bad week for my kids this year. Thankfully, this week was much sunnier, warmer, and despite PLENTY of interaction between the campers (a lot of these kids are in middle school, and one of my once-junior campers is now taller than me, yikes!), the kids had a good week. And despite an age gap of around 5-6 years between my youngest and oldest campers and a good ten-twelve inches in height between them, all the guys got along very well. The guys were LOUD. The girls were LOUD. But it wasn't a bad kind of loud, as I was talking with Carissa, Michelle, and Ethan. It was just... crazy.
Counseling at Ranch Camp is always special just because we're out away from everything else so the kids tend to bond pretty quickly and I've gotten to know some of these kids over the past, well, now three years. Some of them I've gotten to watch literally grow up (and they're taller than I am now, which is a little scary!) I had some really good talks with my guys this year, I really enjoyed praying with them, and also had a reminder about sometimes service at camp is in the behind-the-scenes rather than the fun, obvious things that staffers do. Mandi reminded me of that in a friendly but very clear way.
(I also saw a lot of my former campers from years past on this week, including my dudes from the TC area from my very first week of counseling - they're junior high campers now too, they're getting tall, and it's reminding me how long I've been doing this.)
-Pause, partial staff exit to Mackinac Island for weekend of mayhem-
Week 4... Senior High Camp with Isaiah and Seth in Squirrel. Pastor Ryan Huebner, speaker.
I was really psyched about this for a number of reasons. First, high school camp was loads of fun last year, I learned a ton from the week, and... well, a little more simply,
The teaching was REALLY good-Pastor Ryan challenged the kids (and made me think about how to make all this stuff real in my own life) and so did my fellow colleagues during their talks to the guys about purity. The time of sharing around the campfire was especially powerful and I really enjoyed how real it was. That, I believe, is one of the positive facets being able to serve the older campers. Even though there's more drama and the issues can get more difficult, we can really attack what's going on in people's lives and say, "Hey. This is what this is. And yeah, it IS tough. The Bible says this. Take joy from that alone. And let's live it like this so we're not going home without some sort of idea of what to do."
-Pause, partial staff exit to Ludington during Family Camp for weekend of rest and mayhem-
Week 5... Junior High Camp in Petoskey. Pastor Scott Gardziella, speaker.
The transition from senior high campers (who really ARE exhausting!) was a bit easier this time around-I had junior high the following week! But to be honest, I was a little dismayed to be back at High Point because... it gets lonely way back where no one goes except us. However, I was with Dan again and Colby too, and since it was a trio of tents, we'd be doing stuff together. I also had some campers that I knew from either having had at camp before or from church, so that was exciting. However, this week was a bit taxing for a number of reasons.
I had some campers that just simply have stuff going on. Others didn't, so the tent dynamic was REALLY dichotomous. And this was where teaching really got intense. Again. I had on my mind a lot of the stuff from Senior High Camp and I wasn't entirely sure how it might play into this week, though I was certain I didn't want to just ignore it, since I knew
I talked to a couple of core staff during the week, who knew I wasn't doing well-Becky gave me some good advice along the way and said, "Do a heart check, then." She highly recommended spending some time in prayer, in the Word and finding out where I am and getting my brain, my heart, and so on back where it should be-serving Christ, and my campers, right there and then rather than worrying about me. And it made a difference. Despite it being a tougher week, some of the best conversations I had with campers came from this week. And the kids appreciated it.
-Postlude, staff exuent to First Street Beach in Manistee for enough steak to slay an elephant and a night on the sand and the water (and fish throwing!)-
Appendix... with various staff.
Beach times were great. I ate way too much steak, tons of other snacky stuff, drank tons of pop and let out a couple belches that impressed Don and Sue (yes!), and played some pretty epic volleyball with Kristen, Tiki, Jamie, Candace, Mike, and other people I'm forgetting. Saying good-bye was hard as always because as I've personally experienced twice now, I never know when I'll see some of these good friends again. Sometimes it's not for around a year (or more!), as was the case when Isaiah woke me up from a near-sleep as promised when he arrived for staff training. It's tough-the people you serve with become your greatest friends and separation becomes tough, but I think back to what Trygve taught around graduation in 2008 at Hope: "It's not good-bye. It's until we meet again." How true it us, for those of us who are in Christ.
So I came home for the first week of what Center Lake calls "rental" camps, essentially where churches come, do a week-long retreat at camp on their own, and we provide whatever support they need to run camp. Depending on their needs, it might be a little or a lot. I stayed home the first week and... went camping with the visiting family from NJ. The cousins (and so did Uncle Wade!) asked a zillion things about camp, so I finally showed them two weeks of footage from junior high and senior high camps, including testimonials from campers (thanks Isaac, yours really helped sell it!). Allie and Luke asked Uncle Wade point blank, "We want to go to Center Lake next summer!" I'm praying already.
I returned to Center Lake after that week for Valley Family Church's (VFC) rental camp with its middle school & high school youth groups, as I have every year. It was good to see a number of my friends again and to do camp again. Though it's their camp (and their church staff is getting very good at scheduling and running things by now), they still have us help them out with the more intense areas. So it's fun to come back and help out-I like it and I've come to enjoy working with their staff. They're very appreciative and so are the kids. I got to go on possibly the largest boating outing we've ever taken on the Pine River with Don, Jesse, & Monika and I had the privilege of going in the double kayak (the Stalker). Even cooler, I jumped it over a rock, so I can literally say I jumped the Stalker! As an additional bonus, I got to work the guest High Ropes group from Son-Life Camp & Retreat Center down in Wayland on their Outpost trip - (cool aside: their extra-tall staffer got two solid kicks off the Sky Deck with some coaching from Duane on the Giant Swing and almost landed a third!) I figured after this week and one final service at Temple Hill, I'd be done and returning home, but... Duane asked me, "Tyler, what are you doing next week?"
"Um, nothing yet."
"Would you like to work at camp next week?"
And with that, I was set to come back for another week, this time with Woodside Bible Church network out of the Detroit metro area and its kids camp. It was definitely different than VFC but they were also appreciative and I liked working with them too. Lots of time spent in housekeeping (as with the previous week) and at the flying squirrel and climbing tower. And after Thursday's programming was up, I had myself already packed up and ready to go and had to say my good-byes to everyone who was still there. In a way, I was ready to say farewell for the summer but at the same time, it was hard. But then came the whirlwind weekend-Spring Lake, Muskegon, Coopersville, and Holland all in two days for Ben's bachelor party/prayer night, visiting Leah, visiting Ross (and seeing Matt!), and Ben's wedding! Quite a weekend.
So. What did I take away from one and a half weeks of staff training, five weeks of counseling, one week off, two weeks of retreat hosting/housekeeping, and a whirlwind weekend of visiting friends/watching one of my closest friends finally tie the knot with his wife?
But as summertime has ended: I take away a resolve to know my Bible better. I REBEL AGAINST IGNORANCE!!!!
"But Tyler, how on Earth can you feel that way? You've done this before. You've been to college. You went in just finishing a teaching job!"
But that's just it.
I loved my teaching job in Ludington. It was the best thing to happen and I was happy to have a positive experience at the secondary level, work with students that were actually MY kids, teach them about singing, and learn more about teaching (and the challenges I'm still facing). But the one problem that had to do with camp that was that I had to rush right off to Tustin. Don was perfectly okay with this, for which I was very grateful. But in some respects, I thought I was going in unprepared for the next phase of life, which took a lot of twists. Staff training went great and I got to meet the rest of the team and reunite with some old friends. And together, everyone made a pretty good team this year.
Week 1... Junior High Camp in Huron. Pastor Jim Lacy, speaker.
My summer started a LOT like summer 2009 - with junior high boys up at High Point. And it was a great beginning this year-I had an absolutely AMAZING tent of guys, and so did Cameron. We could take them just about anywhere, do just about anything with them because they were game for just about anything. I'm still sad we weren't able to pull off camping out on Sunshine Mountain with them because they totally would have loved it!. They were probably one of the most chill group of junior high guys I've had in a cabin/tent yet.
Cameron had a camper in his tent that totally got all geeked about the Bible studies and loved talking about stuff with me - we had quite a discussion about Revelation 21 before our campfire and God making His dwelling with His people. He got all excited just talking about that and the pure thought of living with God someday on the newly-recreated Earth. I really hope Sonny becomes an SMT-he's totally the kind of person that I could see doing it. I really wish I could have had a chance to talk with him some more, but I couldn't. But talking with my guys about stuff WAS awesome.
Week 2... Junior Camp in Pictured Rock. Pastor Ken Nichols, speaker.
For the first time, I didn't have a long move! But I had to switch tents up at High Point (from Huron to Pictured Rock). And it meant switching mental gears - week 2 was our week where camp was completely loaded with younger kids. Though I was technically working with junior campers, it felt at times like I was counseling Pre Camp for the first time in two years just because of the age of some of my kids (they couldn't be more than 8 or 9) and how needy they were, except all week.
Despite some of the bad stupid moments, it was actually a pretty good cabin (one of the better junior cabins I've had-and I've had some rough ones), I had some hilarious moments with them (the best quote of the summer came from one of my kids doing counselor impressions-"Why don't we just SKIP IT!!"), and one of my boys got saved this week at camp, which is the big reason why we do what we do at camp-starting and renewing relationships with Christ. Not a bad week at all.
Week 3... Junior/Junior High Ranch Camp in Buffalo. Pastor Dave Heyn, speaker.
I made the longest move ever (from High Point to Ranch!). As I made the transition, I was praying/hoping a bit before this week began for a number of reasons. Last year's drama with all the campers the week we had girls and guys at Ranch Camp, plus all the rain that made it tough to be outside (and the c-c-c-COLD!) made for a pretty miserable week. I really, REALLY didn't want a bad week for my kids this year. Thankfully, this week was much sunnier, warmer, and despite PLENTY of interaction between the campers (a lot of these kids are in middle school, and one of my once-junior campers is now taller than me, yikes!), the kids had a good week. And despite an age gap of around 5-6 years between my youngest and oldest campers and a good ten-twelve inches in height between them, all the guys got along very well. The guys were LOUD. The girls were LOUD. But it wasn't a bad kind of loud, as I was talking with Carissa, Michelle, and Ethan. It was just... crazy.
Counseling at Ranch Camp is always special just because we're out away from everything else so the kids tend to bond pretty quickly and I've gotten to know some of these kids over the past, well, now three years. Some of them I've gotten to watch literally grow up (and they're taller than I am now, which is a little scary!) I had some really good talks with my guys this year, I really enjoyed praying with them, and also had a reminder about sometimes service at camp is in the behind-the-scenes rather than the fun, obvious things that staffers do. Mandi reminded me of that in a friendly but very clear way.
(I also saw a lot of my former campers from years past on this week, including my dudes from the TC area from my very first week of counseling - they're junior high campers now too, they're getting tall, and it's reminding me how long I've been doing this.)
-Pause, partial staff exit to Mackinac Island for weekend of mayhem-
Week 4... Senior High Camp with Isaiah and Seth in Squirrel. Pastor Ryan Huebner, speaker.
I was really psyched about this for a number of reasons. First, high school camp was loads of fun last year, I learned a ton from the week, and... well, a little more simply,
- I was back at MAIN CAMP. That means being near other people and stuff.
- I was with Isaiah (with whom I hadn't counseled since his very first week ever as a CIT back in 2008!) and Seth.
- A number of my high school campers from last year were back yet again!
The teaching was REALLY good-Pastor Ryan challenged the kids (and made me think about how to make all this stuff real in my own life) and so did my fellow colleagues during their talks to the guys about purity. The time of sharing around the campfire was especially powerful and I really enjoyed how real it was. That, I believe, is one of the positive facets being able to serve the older campers. Even though there's more drama and the issues can get more difficult, we can really attack what's going on in people's lives and say, "Hey. This is what this is. And yeah, it IS tough. The Bible says this. Take joy from that alone. And let's live it like this so we're not going home without some sort of idea of what to do."
-Pause, partial staff exit to Ludington during Family Camp for weekend of rest and mayhem-
Week 5... Junior High Camp in Petoskey. Pastor Scott Gardziella, speaker.
The transition from senior high campers (who really ARE exhausting!) was a bit easier this time around-I had junior high the following week! But to be honest, I was a little dismayed to be back at High Point because... it gets lonely way back where no one goes except us. However, I was with Dan again and Colby too, and since it was a trio of tents, we'd be doing stuff together. I also had some campers that I knew from either having had at camp before or from church, so that was exciting. However, this week was a bit taxing for a number of reasons.
I had some campers that just simply have stuff going on. Others didn't, so the tent dynamic was REALLY dichotomous. And this was where teaching really got intense. Again. I had on my mind a lot of the stuff from Senior High Camp and I wasn't entirely sure how it might play into this week, though I was certain I didn't want to just ignore it, since I knew
- It's relevant to junior high guys.
- Ignoring the topics we discussed with during senior high week would NOT be an option. They're part of that whole pie related to what life actually LOOKS LIKE for a Christian who wants to mean what he says about not just praying the prayer to be one and walking away.
I talked to a couple of core staff during the week, who knew I wasn't doing well-Becky gave me some good advice along the way and said, "Do a heart check, then." She highly recommended spending some time in prayer, in the Word and finding out where I am and getting my brain, my heart, and so on back where it should be-serving Christ, and my campers, right there and then rather than worrying about me. And it made a difference. Despite it being a tougher week, some of the best conversations I had with campers came from this week. And the kids appreciated it.
-Postlude, staff exuent to First Street Beach in Manistee for enough steak to slay an elephant and a night on the sand and the water (and fish throwing!)-
Appendix... with various staff.
Beach times were great. I ate way too much steak, tons of other snacky stuff, drank tons of pop and let out a couple belches that impressed Don and Sue (yes!), and played some pretty epic volleyball with Kristen, Tiki, Jamie, Candace, Mike, and other people I'm forgetting. Saying good-bye was hard as always because as I've personally experienced twice now, I never know when I'll see some of these good friends again. Sometimes it's not for around a year (or more!), as was the case when Isaiah woke me up from a near-sleep as promised when he arrived for staff training. It's tough-the people you serve with become your greatest friends and separation becomes tough, but I think back to what Trygve taught around graduation in 2008 at Hope: "It's not good-bye. It's until we meet again." How true it us, for those of us who are in Christ.
So I came home for the first week of what Center Lake calls "rental" camps, essentially where churches come, do a week-long retreat at camp on their own, and we provide whatever support they need to run camp. Depending on their needs, it might be a little or a lot. I stayed home the first week and... went camping with the visiting family from NJ. The cousins (and so did Uncle Wade!) asked a zillion things about camp, so I finally showed them two weeks of footage from junior high and senior high camps, including testimonials from campers (thanks Isaac, yours really helped sell it!). Allie and Luke asked Uncle Wade point blank, "We want to go to Center Lake next summer!" I'm praying already.
I returned to Center Lake after that week for Valley Family Church's (VFC) rental camp with its middle school & high school youth groups, as I have every year. It was good to see a number of my friends again and to do camp again. Though it's their camp (and their church staff is getting very good at scheduling and running things by now), they still have us help them out with the more intense areas. So it's fun to come back and help out-I like it and I've come to enjoy working with their staff. They're very appreciative and so are the kids. I got to go on possibly the largest boating outing we've ever taken on the Pine River with Don, Jesse, & Monika and I had the privilege of going in the double kayak (the Stalker). Even cooler, I jumped it over a rock, so I can literally say I jumped the Stalker! As an additional bonus, I got to work the guest High Ropes group from Son-Life Camp & Retreat Center down in Wayland on their Outpost trip - (cool aside: their extra-tall staffer got two solid kicks off the Sky Deck with some coaching from Duane on the Giant Swing and almost landed a third!) I figured after this week and one final service at Temple Hill, I'd be done and returning home, but... Duane asked me, "Tyler, what are you doing next week?"
"Um, nothing yet."
"Would you like to work at camp next week?"
And with that, I was set to come back for another week, this time with Woodside Bible Church network out of the Detroit metro area and its kids camp. It was definitely different than VFC but they were also appreciative and I liked working with them too. Lots of time spent in housekeeping (as with the previous week) and at the flying squirrel and climbing tower. And after Thursday's programming was up, I had myself already packed up and ready to go and had to say my good-byes to everyone who was still there. In a way, I was ready to say farewell for the summer but at the same time, it was hard. But then came the whirlwind weekend-Spring Lake, Muskegon, Coopersville, and Holland all in two days for Ben's bachelor party/prayer night, visiting Leah, visiting Ross (and seeing Matt!), and Ben's wedding! Quite a weekend.
So. What did I take away from one and a half weeks of staff training, five weeks of counseling, one week off, two weeks of retreat hosting/housekeeping, and a whirlwind weekend of visiting friends/watching one of my closest friends finally tie the knot with his wife?
- I felt completely, utterly inadequate to teach my guys on some of the scariest topics that people face. I knew that I had to talk to them about this stuff, and I didn't want to touch any of it with a ten-foot pole. But somehow, despite all my failings (and the fact that God knew I really didn't want to do any of this), it still worked out. I'm not Moses. I'm not Elijah. Or Jeremiah. But my kids still got the point. And it made a difference.
- I really, REALLY need to know my Bible better. I felt like the parts that I did get through earlier this spring in my attempt to read through in three months I know better than ever. But the rest is still cloudy. And make no mistake, this goal will be a lifelong goal. It's something I know everyone should strive for, but I believe especially as someone who wants to work with kids at youth group and camp that it's possibly even more important.
But as summertime has ended: I take away a resolve to know my Bible better. I REBEL AGAINST IGNORANCE!!!!
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