The joy of kids, bbq's and sunshine

Tonight was joy. With the weather being so nice there was nothing else to do but to have a BBQ. So minus an actually BBQ we cooked up some awesome steaks, bought some cheese and made some Philly cheese steaks styled burgers. We added some speakers, a basketball net, a few foot balls and 52 pieces of chalk to make a solid 2 hours of laughter and fun with around 40 of our kids and youth combined. 

An advantage of holding camp outside is that we are more in the community which has both positive and negative effects. It can be crazier keeping track of kids and keeping them safe but it is great to see familiar faces passing that we don’t see regularly. Two of my boys from my very first summer walked past tonight with some of their friends, now 15 and much taller than I am they ran over to me for a hug with smiles on their faces still calling me Jello.

For me it was a time of really loving and spending time with individual kids while being surround by many, playing catch with a little 6 year counting every catch he made, we got up to 36. As camp finished up the kids slowly disappeared until we were only left with a mess and two little ladies waiting to be picked up. They smiled sweetly and suggested that they would be able to help me clean dishes if I found them a chocolate bar to eat afterwards. 

Once the basement was cleaned, chocolate enjoyed we headed back outside to enjoy the warm and last light of the day. Kicking a soccer ball around being okay with extending our day. Before long our four formally dressed senior highs arrived back from their day down town meeting CEO’s and hearing their stories. About two and a half hours later we figured it was probably about time to head home.

Tonight was filled with joy and was an evening with a huge sense of presence in the community we work in, but also a clear picture of the sense of community that our camp family is for each other for which I am very thankful.

Cry for control

 “I don’t like that!” she sat bad in her seat with her arms cross in rejection of the words being spoken. She continued to listen as the speaker spoke of our need to recognizing our weakness and our need for the Lord’s strength. As she finished the woman turned to each other around the table to discuss in small groups. Tayler again lashed out, “I am not weak”, she said it spit, “if I was weak I would be dead right now, I don’t like that.” At finishing her outburst she left the table briefly. My fellow mentor and I caught one another’s eye not expecting this reaction from a woman who typically avoids talking about anything spiritual. Upon her return to our table of moms, I began to ask her why she felt that way. She spoke of her past, of experiences, people, situations and lies convinced that she was not weak.

I could hear a cry for control laced in all her words, a desperation of needing to be strong for herself, a fear of submitting and giving that control over. It was such a clear opposition of the truth that I am quite sure that this is an area God has already started His work in.

The fellow mom’s at the table spoke up, sharing their own experiences and stories. As the conversation continued there was such beauty of openness and honesty shared as each woman besides myself struggled with physical diseases and illnesses and battle against health difficulties. Tayler continued speaking her frustrations continually apologizing for her not accepting of the things we believed, “maybe I am just screwed up this morning,” she said.

I assured her that we were happy for her honesty of struggling with it, of my own difficulties of accepting the fact that I need to be weak and humbled before God. We assured her that we had better discussion because of her openness to share.

Ironically our morning session moved on to budgeting through a CAP (Christians against poverty) money course we are doing. A message of weakness and inability in herself continued to be preached as tears were shed. My prayer for this Mom is for her to see weakness not as a bad thing but as a surrender to something far better. I pray that God would continue to use Mom’s Arise to be a place of acceptance and truth. I pray that God would continue to speak this truth into her life and that she would find peace resting in His strength in her life. 

Societies garbage

One of the hardest part of working with young girls is that I cannot change them. I cannot make them stop dressing a certain way, saying certain things or from action in certain ways. I am not their parent and have such little control over these circumstances besides influencing them through love.

A few girls particularly struggle and are influenced greatly by books they read that are filled with nothing but junk and stuff that messes with their heads with pictures and premature images.

I have always struggled knowing how to respond. I do not approve but I cannot do anything to make them stop reading them unless there is a desire for better things. I can ban them at camp but that does nothing for the other 22 hours of every day.

What I have discovered is that there is something that is drawing them to read these books and there is a great need to understand where that desire is coming from as well as the curiosity.  The other day I decided to ask a few questions about the reason she was reading the books. She knows they are not good and refuses to let me read them. So we talked about why she was reading them. We talked about how they made here feel and everything that goes alone with reading these books.

At one point she came across a word she did not understand but told me she couldn't ask me what it meant because it wasn't appropriate. It was such a perfect time of being to tell her that no, I did not approve of the book and I really do not want her to read them. But I was also able to tell her that I wanted her to feel open to talking to me about things. If there were things she is curious about or thing she does not understand I want her to know that she can come to me and ask me.

There is a great need for honesty in this generation. Our culture and society pushes so much garbage at us, it is right in front of our eyes half of the time. Kids, youth cannot get away from it and yet is there anyone helping them to understand the proper place for so many of these things. So they see sex as something beautiful created  by God or do they think of it as they see it on the TV or books or advertisement?

It is not comfortable and it diffidently is not easy but we cannot  afford to not be talking about it and helping kids and youth to understand the  things in a proper, respectful and God created thing.

We cannot waste our time wanting to be comfortable or easy if we are neglecting to respond to what has become a very great need within our culture. Please pray for the scary reality of what this means for many of our youth and for wisdom in speak up and into their lives.