Come one, come all! It is time for senior high teen camp! This year’s theme: Monster Hunter! These brave campers are giving gentle pats to Scruffy and Boo Boo’s Newfoundland puppy, Nessie Karu–the puddle monster. While she is of course adorable, Nessie has very sharp teeth and seems to grow bigger every day. But there are monsters even more formidable than Nessie with her puppy teeth and whirling destructo-tail!

The theme verse for this week of camp was 1 John 3:8b–“The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.”

Yes, my friends, monsters are real.

During Monday’s chapel, Van Helsing spoke about the deadly and dangerous monster of pride!

There are a whole lot of stories in the Bible about pride. A plethora of cautionary tales. One that stands out for me comes from the reign of Hezekiah, one of Judah’s most godly kings.

 “In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. He prayed to the Lord, who answered him and gave him a miraculous sign. But Hezekiah’s heart was proud and he did not respond to the kindness shown him; . . .” 2 Chronicles 32:24-25a

For almost his entire life, Hezikiah served the Lord fearlessly. He stood up to the mighty king of Assyria, even when Jerusalem was surrounded by armies. He repaired the temple, destroyed idols that had been set up to other gods, and celebrated Passover for the first time in many many years. He watched God do the impossible to save Jerusalem from Sennacherib’s invading army. And yet . . . pride was the monster that put a stain on his bright and shiny reign as King.

When God informed Hezekiah that he was about to die, he wept bitterly and asked for a miracle. God relented and the king was healed. In Isaiah 38 Hezekiah even writes a praise song to the Lord about how “Now I will walk humbly throughout my years because of this anguish I have felt.” Well, Hezikiah’s healing caught the interest of the Babylonian king who sent an envoy to Hezikiah with “best wishes and a gift.”

Then the King who had followed God all his days, who saw miracles, who had just written in poetic form that he would now be extra humble . . . didn’t notice when the monster of pride raised its ugly head.

As part of the Babylonian envoy’s grand visit to Jerusalem, Hezekiah showed them every single one of his treasures.

When the prophet Isaiah asked about the visitors traipsing about the palace and exactly what Hezekiah had shown them, he answered honestly enough.

“They saw everything,” Hezekiah replied. “I showed them everything I own—all my royal treasuries.” Isaiah 39:4b

“Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, ‘Listen to this message from the Lord of Heaven’s Armies: ‘The time is coming when everything in your palace—all the treasures stored up by your ancestors until now—will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left,’ says the Lord. ‘Some of your very own sons will be taken away into exile. They will become eunuchs who will serve in the palace of Babylon’s king.’” Isaiah 39:5-7

After a lifetime of victory, one moment of pride tainted this mighty king’s legacy.

This is why in Psalm 141 David considers the rebuke of a friend so valuable. Even as he prays against the deeds of evildoers, David acknowledges that just a moment of pride can send him on a path to doing evil himself.

“Set a guard over my mouth, LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips. Do not let my heart be drawn to what is evil so that I take part in wicked deeds along with those who are evildoers; do not let me eat their delicacies. Let a righteous man strike me—that is a kindness; let him rebuke me—that is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it, for my prayer will still be against the deeds of evildoers.” Psalm 141:3-5

During Tuesday’s chapel, Van Helsing spoke about the quiet and sinister monster of depression!

Tuesday’s memory verse: “Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.” Romans 12:21

It is so very easy to lose sight of who God is and who we are in Christ.

It is easy to let evil conquer you. It is hard to do good amidst the darkness. But there is One who gives us strength for every good thing and amazingly, He also knows that even as we witness His mighty works, we can still feel incredibly alone. Our God is indeed “A God who sees me” as Hagar put it.

One of the clearest depictions in scripture of how the monster of depression can darken our eyes to God’s love and power and make us forget who we truly are is in 1 Kings chapter 19.

 “Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” I Kings 19:3-5

Of course, this dark time of depression came immediately after the incredible victory at Mt. Carmel where Elijah, standing alone as the single public follower of God, defeated the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah that were regular guests at the queen of Israel’s table.

Just like with the monster of pride, seeing God at work doesn’t make us immune to the monster of depression. I am so very glad that God chose to have Elijah’s struggle recorded in Scripture as well as his encounter with God on the mountain of the Lord afterwards.

“Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?'” 1 Kings 19: 11b-13

“He replied, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.'” I Kings 19:14

“The Lord said to him, ‘Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.’”

As a time of truly horrifying warfare approached, God sent Elijah the names of others who were called. Elijah did not have to make the decisions of a king, his job, to annoint two kings. Elijah was not the only prophet of God, but was given an apprentice. Then God answered Elijah’s heart cry with the final sentence.

“Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”

Elijah was not alone.

During Wednesday’s chapel, Van Helsing spoke about the love-quenching monster of lust.

“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.” Colossians 3:5

In John 8:1-11 Jesus is teaching in the temple courts and the Pharisees and teachers of the law drag a woman before Him.

“Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”

Not only did the teachers fail to bring the man she was committing adultery with, they decided to parade her through the temple in her time of shame in order to trap Jesus. But the passage below shows that God Himself doesn’t just see our sin, He also sees our pain as we are trapped in our sin and offers us the sweet freedom of a new life in Him.

“When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, ‘Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.’

Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.”

“Jesus straightened up and asked her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’

‘No one, sir,’ she said. 

‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.’”

On Thursday, the chapel session was about the crafty and consuming monster of addiction.

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7

God asks a lot of His children, we are supposed to be growing more and more like Him, after all. However, He has never expected us to do so in our own strength. His spirit within is powerful and gives the strength to make good and godly choices.

Friday’s chapel was about The Ultimate Monster.

The Ultimate Monster . . . is you!

The God who can help His people battle the monsters of Pride, Depression, Lust, Addiction, and every monster in between is not frightened by all that we have done and who we have become, even at our very worst.

“’Come now, let us settle the matter,’ says the LORD. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.'” Isaiah 1:18

For God does not fight monsters in the way of book heroes, movie stars, and conquering military powers. God is not a vampire hunter, zombie wrangler, or a battleship facing off against the might of Godzilla.

“For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: ‘I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.'” Ezekiel 34:11-12

The world can do its worst to us and we can become someone we don’t even recognize anymore. As broken as humans can become, we bear the image of God. The Ultimate Monster Hunter looks upon us and He doesn’t pull out a wooden stake, baseball bat, and a nuclear warhead. No, the God of the universe sees us just as we are and even so, He opens up His arms.

Even when those around us are acting in monstrous ways, with our Lord Jesus’s help, we can fight monsters just like He does!

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

Boo Boo

In the heat of late July and early August, amidst record numbers of yellow jackets for the state of Washington, a herd of wonderfully rambunctious junior high campers tumbled into camp.

It truly was a herd!

Between staff and campers, the kitchen fed 95 people this week!

And along with those rowdy kids, Pyro, tumbled into being our camp speaker.

You see, Scruffy thought he had the Middle School Camp 2 speaker all covered, but at the last minute, the plan fell through. Pyro, a long-time camp friend and one of our board members, heard that Scruff was madly scrambling for a new speaker and offered to help out.

This week, he spoke on the life of David.

How David, as the chosen king of united Israel and Judah, was supposed to point ahead toward the coming Messiah. Pyro also spoke of David’s incredible failures and a life filled with war and bloodshed, so much bloodshed that he was not allowed to build God’s temple. However, God still used David. Even with all of his flaws, David’s life and reign did indeed point forward to a completely different kind of King.

During cabin discussion, they talked about the many ways in which Jesus was like David and how He was also different. What would the coming of the Messiah have been like if Jesus was a mighty warrior king? Well, the counselors that I chatted with felt that there would have been a whole lot of bloodshed and much less time spent on talks of turning the other cheek, loving your neighbor, seeing a kind Samaritan as the hero of a parable, and stories about God as a father pulling His broken son into His arms.

What do you think? What kind of Messiah would David have made? Why do you think God chose to come to us gentle, and riding on a donkey, the colt of a donkey?

A week of summer camp provides such a unique chance for discussing God’s word, His love, and His coming to our rescue. Part of this is because of the kind of environment we strive to create at Camas Meadows. Children get to step out of their everyday worlds, form new friendships through shared experiences, and connect with God in a new and powerful way.

In this era of constant stimulation, in a time when tablets, phones, memes, and games dance constantly before our eyes, quiet can be hard to come by.

Those who study how children grow, thrive, and learn are realizing that open-ended play, silence, the great outdoors, and moments of pure simple frolicking are just as important to our learning and growth as classrooms, information, and organized sports.

Summer camp offers an incredible mash-up of organization and chaos, teaching and listening, silence and cacophony. Children escape the everyday world in so many ways. One of which, a mad race against their friends and new acquaintances to eat a banana blindfolded.

Another way campers step away from their everyday world . . . standing in silence in the middle of a mountain meadow, listening to the wind rustle the aspen leaves above them and send the tall grasses swaying against the legs of their jeans.

When Scruffy leads the “Star Trek” to Inspiration Point he sets a timer and the entire group waits in silence, listening to the forest sounds in the darkness and watching the vast expanse of stars that God scattered in all their glory above.

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Psalm 19:1

Giving children a chance to try new things is such a vital opportunity for their growth.

Braving the chilly waters of the dunk tank.

Pulling on that paintball mask and charging through the forest, dodging paintballs, making it to the log at the top of the hill with a pack of new friends.

Taking a chance and singing a worship song that has crazy hand motions.

Children who discover that they are capable of jumping into a new adventure at camp often realize that they are capable of a new adventure with God as well.

All of those new camp adventures also equal shared experiences with cabin mates and camp counselors.

Folks tend to highly undervalue the role of shared experiences in ministry.

Have you ever sat at a table next to a group of good friends?

How do you know they are close?

They have inside jokes they all understand. They don’t have to explain a story because they were all there and just a phrase spoken by one can bring to mind the entire tale for the group.

I have tried to explain camp ministry before and watched people actually look down their noses at the fun camp activities as though they are not vital pieces of the ministry that God uses in such powerful ways. Fun activities are shared experiences.

Believe me folks, those crazy games are so so important as we seek to tell children about Jesus! Kids won’t listen to just anyone talk about God and shared experience is how we show that we are trustworthy voices in their lives. Trustworthy enough to share about Jesus.

The camp program (games, activities, time in nature) is not the ugly step-sister of camp life. Also, chapel time is not the Cinderella of the camp experience. Both are vital parts of camp ministry.

Think about that table full of friends we were imagining before. The people with shared stories that they all understood, shared vocabulary, shared experiences that they could immediately reference and recall how each person in the group changed during the living of those moments.

Who do you like to worship next to and read your Bible with?

Now, who do you go to with your questions about God?

Who do you go to when your heart is breaking and you need someone to lift you up in prayer?

Yeah, me to.

I reach out to the people that I have shared experiences with. People that I know I can trust because we have lived life together. They were trustworthy when I had a squirrel terrorize my cabin, so I figure they will also be trustworthy now.

Every game and hike, every crazy skit and hastily launched water balloon, every goofy hat and goofier dance is a share experience.

Those shared experiences form tight bonds of friendship.

Those tight bonds of friendship show campers that they can trust this group of camp counselors who dedicated their summer to give them a week they will never forget.

Campers who trust, are willing to ask the tough questions; seek real truths about God; risk getting to know Jesus in authentic ways that they were never willing to risk before.

There are no wasted moments at camp.

If just being in God’s great outdoors for a few priceless moments of unstructured play can help refresh our mental health and revitalize our tired bodies, how much more can God use this lovely forest setting to show us His peace, His power, and His love?

If simple shared experiences can form life-long friendships that stand the test of time, how much more can God use those experiences and those friendships to foster a deeper understanding of His son? If a flawed, warrior king can point us toward the King of Kings, how much more will God use the power of the Prince of Peace to do great works in our minds and hearts and everyday lives?

In the gospels, there are several times that Jesus uses parables to describe God as “harvesting where He did not plant and reaping where He did not sow seed.”

As I stare at those baffling words, I think of the terrible things life has thrown at me that still produced good, even though nothing about them was actually good at all.

The death of my father when he was only forty-four.

Watching someone I used to know well descend into a pit of addiction.

Standing by, helpless, as people I love lost their battles with depression.

There is nothing good there. Only pain, darkness, and grief.

Yet God is so very bold. He walks into the terrible and senseless situations around us and He reaps a harvest. He harvests where He did not sow seed and He reaps where He did not sow. God does not even waste the wretched things in this life, how much more will He use the simple beauties of childhood adventures lived well and a week of rambunctious fun boldly dedicated to His name.

An unlikely friendship, daring to reach for hope in a dark time, the ring of laughter in the forest as a group of friends tries to prank another cabin, everything is spiritual my friend because not only do we come together to sing and study God’s word and talk about His way of healing hearts and restoring souls, but we have dedicated each and every moment, big or small, over to our Lord for His use.

The God who can cause flowers to bloom from a heap of rocks can heal our hurts and give us peace in Him. Can you trust Him to do miracles, my friend? Can you trust Him with the tiny moments of fun and the giant moments of heartache? He reaps where He did not sow, how much more when every day is dedicated to Him? How much, indeed!

Boo Boo

Junior B Camp started out bright and sunny with a game in the meadow as campers and counselors met, moved into their cabins, and began a week of summer adventures together.

One of the special elements of this week was the fact that our speaker (camp name Phoenix) had experienced this exact moment herself way back when she was a camper attending Camas Meadows for the first time.

Phoenix went on to become a camp counselor herself, where she got her awesome camp name. She now has a little one of her own and she and her husband work for the Moody Aviation School. So much life has happened since she was last here serving at Camas Meadows. It was so exciting to have Pheonix back in the role of camp speaker.

Monday’s chapel was titled “Who Am I?–Knowing Our Identity”, and Pheonix spoke on knowing our identity.

“Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” Psalm 100:3

The little people in our lives face so much pressure. Everyone wants them to achieve great things: in sports, at math competitions, getting a solo in band, being a drama star, knowing exactly who they are right now and striving for their goals with gusto . . .

Both grownups and children alike, often forget something vital about our identity.

We can rest in an awesome knowledge that is mind-boggling and beautiful. We were made in the image of God and He longs for us to choose Him and to be His very own.

For the morning devotion on Tuesday, each cabin read Psalm 139:1-18 and discussed what it says about who God Himself is.

“You have searched me, LORD, and you know me.” Psalm 139:1

Tuesday’s chapel was titled, “Who Am I?–God’s Masterpiece”.

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalm 139:13-14

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10

Something I love about camp is watching kids step out of their comfort zones in a rush of bravery and try something completely new.

For many children, going to camp is the first time they’ve braved a new activity away from home. A night hike to Inspiration Point to look at the stars, a game of capture the flag in the meadow, or putting on a paintball mask and rushing into the woods with friends for a mighty paintball battle.

As children grow and stretch, it was so amazing to see the way Phoenix paired teaching about who they are in Christ with all their new adventures.

During morning devos on Wednesday, the campers looked at Romans 8:31-39 and discussed what these verses say about who God is.

“Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” Romans 8:34

Wednesday’s chapel was called “Who Am I?–Sin’s Distortion” and one of the key verses was Luke 15:11-24.

“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.” Luke 15:13

“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’” Luke 15:17-19

So often we get distracted by all that we ourselves have done. Our sin, our pain, finding ourselves in a dark and terrible place and not knowing how to get out. How to come home.

But when Jesus told the parable of the prodigal son, His emphasis was not on the son’s terrible choices (although they were numerous and shocking) the story’s crowning moment was the Father’s inexplicable and reckless forgiveness.

The crescendo of the tale was the moment that a man who had every right to never look his son in the face again swept that broken young man into his arms and rejoiced.

“In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:10

And just in case His audience was so hardened that they missed His point, Jesus starts this shocking story with the verse above.

While our mistakes may be scandalous, nothing is more scandalous than God’s capacity to love.

For Thursday’s devo time, the campers studied Ephesians 1:3-14 and discussed what it says about the character of God.

“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—” Ephesians 1:4-5

Thursday’s chapel was “Who Am I?–Confident in Christ”.

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Life feels very big, especially when you are a little person. But knowing that God has made us “thoroughly equipped” for the tasks He asks of us can bring so much peace, even in uncertain times.

For morning devotions on Friday, the campers and their counselors studied Psalm 51:1-12 and asked the question, what does this passage tell us about God?

“Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” Psalm 51:7

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10

What strikes me about this passage is how David trusted that God could cleanse him, even after all that he had done against God’s name and so many innocent people.

It is God’s power and love working within the human heart that accomplishes His good works among us. He is our righteousness, indeed.

The Friday chapel was titled “Who Am I?–Made for a Purpose”.

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2

We love because he first loved us.” I John 4:19

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” I Thessalonians 5:16-18

In the photo below, Phoenix poses with three campers and our new pup Nessie Karu. I want to finish this blog with an encouraging testimony that Phoenix sent to Scruffy and gave us permission to use.

Camas Meadows Bible Camp is such a unique place. It’s a place of belonging for so many people, including myself. As a camper, I came up to camp and learned how important a relationship with Jesus was. I had a lot of head knowledge, but learning about how Jesus wants a relationship with me, was a turning point in my walk with Him. As a counselor, I learned what servant leadership looked like. Jesus is the ultimate example of this – putting others above himself as he died a brutal death on the cross for us. I have taken the idea of servant leadership into my adult life with me. No matter how far up the leadership chain you are, you’re not too good to serve in the dish pit, clean up messes, shovel snow, etc. I had the wonderful opportunity to come back to camp 15 years later as a camp speaker. I walked into the lodge on Monday morning, and it felt like home, even though there were so many new faces. Once you are a part of the Camas Family. you are always a part of the camp family, and this is a beautiful image of what unity in Christ looks like – true Christian community. I am forever grateful for Camas Meadows Bible Camp and the role it has played in teaching and encouraging me to love Jesus, love others and love myself well. 

Phoenix

Boo Boo