Spring Retreat at Camp Meribah

(Click on any of the pictures here for a larger version of them)

We all had a wonderful time on the Spring Retreat at Camp Meribah.

Our Bible classes all centered around being peacemakers. We talked about envisioning God's dream of peace. We looked at what NOT to do, and some of the "stones" that we all need to lay down, as well as what we SHOULD be doing, to be like Christ who brought peace between us and God. On Sunday, Nathan Miller pointed out to us how that what might have formerly been a weakness for us, God can make into a "stepping stone," to help us grow into stronger Christians than we were before.



Meribah itself is really nice. It has a great playground, a super cool A-frame chapel building where the singing is as good as it gets, and an indoor gym. It was never too hot, cold, or dark to shoot some hoops! We also learned that they have a tremendous set of cooks. The kids all signed "thank you" cards for them. They were very touched and appreciated the cards...apparently they don't get "thank you" cards very often for what they do. I was proud of the kids for their attitudes, and also for their willingness to pitch in and help us get the camp cleaned up on Sunday so we could check out.











We also discovered a mutually shared passion for Bocce Ball, which was a popular sport for the weekend. (Hey, if overweight, aging Italian men can play it, why can't we?) Ultimate Frisbee also got pretty intense!

At one point, we had a competition for the teens to come up with "Gumpisms."

Here were the top 6 entries, of the many quality entires we received:

6. Johnston - "Life is like remote controls. You determine if you chose your own path, or if you let someone do it for you.

5. Savannah W. - "Life is like boxing. You keep fighting, even when you get knocked down."

4. Slater - "Life is like a diamond. The shinier you shine with God, people notice."

3. Savannah R. - "The church is like a sunrise. There is light in every direction."

2. Micah - "Life is like x-rays, because you never know what's going on inside of people."

1. Gunter - "Life is like a dirty diaper. It stinks, but you can change it."

James 1:12-18

Last night at our SNAC devo, we worked on memorizing James 1:12-18. As we broke down the verse into different parts, Jake helped us by creating illustrations to remind us of the content of the passage.

James 1:12-18

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial,
because when he has stood the test,
he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me."
For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;

but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin;
and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Don't be deceived, my dear brothers.
Every good and perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,
who does not change like shifting shadows.

He chose to give us birth through the word of truth,
that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.