Keep on Keepin' on

This week is my first week back in the office from vacation.. and like many of you, I have no idea what I’m doing.
Today I’ve printed just about everything I’ve worked on during the summer, prepared to meet with two of the four teams I coach, and feel prepared but super unprepared all at the same time. The innermission team is comprised of 3 parents who are much smarter than me and have more experience. I feel like such a N00b...
In light of this, there were a few other “welcome back” things I received since I was away….

-a few leaders have bowed out gracefully. Amazing people. I thank God for their time spent here.
-still in shock from the passing of a friend and neighbour. My next door neighbour suffered a heart attack. I’ll miss him as he too worked in the ministry and understood some of the things I’ve gone through. He’d often joke with me, but more often encouraged me to keep on keeping on… I’ll miss him a lot.
-a few last minute things and requests have come up. Some of which I can work with, some I’ll have to say no to.

Although September might feel like a balancing act where you try to keep many plates spinning and up in the air, I want to encourage you to keep on keeping on. Paul writes in Philippians “I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to things ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus”…

Don’t let the past hold you back, but hold onto the call that God is leading you toward tomorrow.
Till next time

Making the Camp High Last All Year...

For those of us who aren’t slacking off in our offices, I salute you. Summer camp is great and was a highlight when I went as a child.
For those of you who are (like me), you know it’s not really slacking at all. Plan your work, work your plan, man!

Just a thought for those who are having conversations with your kids about the "camp high.”
I know that you’re having those conversations because we’re all having those conversations throughout the year.

If only winter retreat could be all year long
If only every week was like summer camp
If only I didn’t live at home with my parents or siblings
If only I lived in a christian home where everyone loved eachother…

Then I could live for Christ
Then I could stop using marijuana
Then I could open up and be me
Then I could deal with my bitterness and anger...

I’m sure you’ve heard it all..
And I’m sure, like me, you’ve tried to paint a better picture of hope, bunny rabbits and rainbows…

But what if the camp high was never meant to last?

What if we were meant to experience incredible mountain tops as much as we were meant to experience the times in the valley of the shadow of death?
What if we were meant to experience the gambit of emotions that come with having a vibrant spiritual life?
And what if we stopped trying to make the camp high last in order to help our kids survive during the low seasons of life?

Maybe then, God wouldn’t be this old bearded guy who hangs out with cute little bunny rabbits in the sky where everything was just peachy; but a God who would walk through every season of life with them, choosing to be as loud as a thunderstorm one moment and then as silent as an empty tomb the next.

Embrace life… all of it... cause it'll kill you if you don't.

Till next time,