Camp Psalms

This year, my fiance and I are working our way through the One-Year Bible, reading the whole thing from cover to cover. At the end of June, we were nearing the end of Psalms. After making it through Leviticus (long lists of things you shouldn't do) and 2nd Chronicles (long lists of kings who did those things anyway), it was immensely refreshing to get to some poetry- even if it does sometimes reveal a brutally honest look at the whole gamut of human emotion (and a sprinkling of obscure musical terms, selah.)

Also at the end of June, Cherie, Bonnie, and I spent a week with 35 JOY campers and their awesome counselors. We stayed outpost, which meant we cooked over an open fire, walked in a lot of mud, and never had the problem of air conditioning being too cold. This was a big change, but it was a neat experience the kids really enjoyed. What I especially enjoyed was watching growth in campers I've now known for years. It is amazing to watch kids you once comforted comfort others when they're down. Because in one short week at camp, you get to see the whole gamut of human emotion- and a sprinkling of obscure musical terms (Oh kaway oh wuh? A tikki tikki tumba?)

Hm.
Psalms + Camp = Camp Psalms.



Psalm 7:47, a lost psalm of JOY camp
1 How long, O Lord, will the others talk and shine their flashlights long after lights out? Yet Thy mercy is great, and the morning brings pancakes for talkers and sleepers alike.

2We bring our praise to You; we praise You with song, with hand claps, and with elaborate hand motions.

3 The swimmers and hikers raise their voices unto You. The righteous teach patience and safety to the young, and the cadence of their voices becomes like each other.

4 The birds, bullfrogs, and the lawnmowers, they sound Your praise, and the junebugs and the goats.


5 And when I am stuck in the muck and the mire, You are the polka dot rain boots that bring me out of the midst of it.

6 When Your waters pour from the sky, You are as raincoat and dry socks to us.

7 You have chosen us first for lunch in the presence of our rivals, and always are there seconds in Thy bountiful kingdom, as long as we walk and show courtesy to our neighbors.

8 All the superheroes and TV theme songs sing Thy praise to You, O God.

9 You tie us together as knots in a friendship bracelet, O Lord.

10 Your backpack and Your water bottle, they comfort me, and I shall follow the sound of Thy voice and Thy count-off.

11 We shall remember all You have done for us, O Lord, and as the forests echo with the shouts of chapel, we shall live as though each day is Easter.

12 You provide for me in my weariness a hammock under shade trees on a breezy day. You anoint me with sunscreen and fill my ear with birdsong- You restoreth my soul.

(In)dependence Day

Happy 4th of August!

It doesn't have quite the same ring as 4th of July, and there are many fewer fireworks, but it's still a great day to celebrate dependence- which is what I did on Independence Day this year. Not many places want VBS over the 4th of July, but I had a hunch that my Osky site would be just fine- and so they were. It was a small bunch- six girls- but we didn't lose them on the holiday. We all enjoyed celebrating together as a small, close group.

How did we celebrate dependence on Independence Day? Well, it takes a village to raise a VBS.

-Each day my grandparents came, bringing tables, drinks, and other necessities, to help Bonnie and me set up. We discovered this year that with some strategic shade, we could do just fine without the canopy tent we've used in years past. (Tying the puppet stand to a tree so it didn't fall over and having a pond-like puddle from lots of recent rain were two finishing touches that really pulled the outdoorsy River Rampage theme together here in, well, the outdoors. No fancy decorations needed here!)



-Since my extension cord just won't go that far, we didn't use the video portion of the puppet show. Instead, some friends did a fantastic job of acting out the parts. Not just anybody can pick up the part of Jean Michel McDiver, expert survivalist or Max Breezy, meteorologist- but I preferred their live performances to the video.

-With such a small group, we pretty well turned craft time into a team building activity. One person held the cardboard tubes, the other rolled the duct tape. It was a great hands-on reminder of how we need each other!

-We rocked the boomwhackers and other instruments for a sound story about Zaccheus. Making music together is another great way to become a community quickly.

-Normally we eat at a summer lunch feeding site, but this year it wasn't open in July. When I checked to see if we could send someone to pick up lunches, they offered to stay open for us for the days we had VBS! That was really above and beyond- so impressive. The last day of VBS, a friend from church brought us pizza and homemade cookies.

Seeing so many hands working together always reminds me of what church really is- God's people working together to support each other and share God's love with each other. I love joining together God's children of all ages to do just that!

Learning from the Littles

Well, I'm a little behind on my blogging, but allow me here at the tail end of July to take you back to the end of June, where Romper and I went to Orient UMC.

These helpers are awesome. They are super organized and had fun decorating. Brown paper turned into rocks and streamers turned into waterfalls.

One of the extra fun things for me here is that I used to teach in this town, so I get to see some former students- they keep growing up fast, though, so most of them were "too old" for VBS. Personally, I think you're never too old for VBS, but some of them have graduated high school and all, so I guess I can see that.

The kids we did have in abundance were littles. Little littles.

If you've done VBS, or if you have worked with children, or if you have seen children, you will recognize that little little children really change how you have to do things. The difference between a preschooler and a kindergartner is pretty substantial.

Yet Jesus says, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." (Mark 19:14)

Not just children, but specifically little children.
Hm.
What can we learn from little children?


-The world is exciting and awesome and there's always something new to learn. Toilet paper tube binoculars really work. It's all in how you look at things.

-Sometimes you just need a little attention. During science in the afternoon, one little little was crying, wailing, really, for no reason we could see and with no signs of self-soothing. I took her to go get a drink. As soon as she grabbed my hand, she was quiet. She came back and sat on my lap throughout science. Sometimes we all just need someone to notice us.

-Naps matter. One especially little friend went home for nap time and came back refreshed. God rested. Why don't adults think they need to?

-You can be at peace no matter what's going on around you. Our all-day format left some of the little ones tired by the end of the day (those who didn't go home for naps. See point 3.) So, one little girl created her own nap time in her pew. We did the puppet show. She slept. We sang songs. She slept. We left for our next rotation, leaving a helper beside her so she wouldn't freak out if she woke up alone. She slept. We came back and practiced for the program. She slept. How you can sleep through all this noise is beyond me, but she did. When the world is crazy around us, how many of us have that kind of trusting peace?