And thus begins...

...another year at camp wapiti!

This will be my fourth year, but this year has a lot of firsts in it. I am the assistant director this year. Big first. Big change in focus and job description, and this requires a lot more thinking ahead and planning...organizational stuff. Lets say that I am glad for the chance to learn these lessons, the public education system taught me how to survive without planning ahead and to get the best grade vs time studying ratio. I am pretty good at thinking on my feet and can usually come up with something in a last minute scenario, and have a tendancy not to panic as much in pressure situations. These are good things, but the planning and preperation, not so much. I need those skills, and am glad for the chance to grow there. It'll be a journey getting there, but thats what its all about...

Perhaps the biggest change will be that my focus is not on the campers this year. My focus is to make sure everything is in place and prepared so that the staff can focus on their campers. So direct involvement with the campers is not my primary focus, and that will be a challenge, because that is what I have done the last 3 years at camp, and that is who I am. What used to be my main purpose now could be a distraction from my main purpose. So that is an adjustment that must be made.

At LTD training this weekend, I had a great time with the staff and I am stoked to see where God takes us individually and as a team this summer. Its gonna be a good journey, but it won't be all peaches and cream. There is an issue that will be present throughout the summer that at times this weekend caused my brain to just about explode. I mentioned blowing a piston in my last post, this was like total engine meltdown (I just heard the voice of the onboardcomputer of the mechs in Mechwarrior 2 saying "Internal tempereature 1800 Kelvin. Shutdown imminent". Oh yes! those were the days!) But yeah, and the stupid thing is, I know that God is in control and no amount of analyzing or scenario playing will bring me to a better point of understanding here. I know that. But it is still a battle to put that wisdom into action. That war won't be over till Jesus comes back, but until then our faith will always be opposed..

Satan is constantly filling our heads with stuff to think about, and it is very hard to lay those thoughts to rest. Satan is relentless, and I struggle with being dilligent in my resistance, its like the annoying brat of a child who is always asking for candy or toys or animals or food. Its a chore to say no to that forever, and its hard to disregard the millions of thoughts in your head.

But the spirit has power over the mind, and for those of us who have Christ alive in us, there is freedom from the curse of overthinking. People say smoking takes 10 years off your life. That may be true, but I betcha that overthinking takes 15 years off your life and causes another 15 years of your life to be miserable.

When Paul talks about the peace that transcends understanding, I always believed that meant that we could not understand the peace that God gives. I still believe that, but I see that in the literal sense now, that the peace he refers to actually is greater than understanding. Overrides it. Vetos it. Annihilates it. Ignores it. I'm gonna find that whole verse.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Phillipians 4:6-7

hey, check out the next verse!

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. Whatever you have learned or recieved or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."
Phillipians 4:8-9

Those verses speak for themselves. Focus on the eternal, the things of the spirit. The brain will not survive the voyage to the other side of eternity. It will not be needed there for we will feast with wisdom and we will dance with understanding.

The wisest person who will ever walk the planet said this: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding"

If the greatest display of mortal wisdom says his own wisdom is not good enough, then that says something to the rest of us, who are really, really lacking in the wisdom department. Its says something like..."You're screwed." But if he then says, "now the LORD....there's someone you can trust in completely folks." well then that says another thing doesn't it?

Throw up a prayer for all of us at camp as you read this, and pray that in those areas where trusting Jesus is not yet automatic reflex (not yet) that the peace Paul talks about would fall upon us in power. Its my prayer for you as well, wherever you are.

Godspeed and blessings to the Cuba team! Pray for them at 11:45am on friday, they will not make it through customs without God's hand.

Oh and be careful of when you open up your bible, it might be the last thing you do today :)