Archives for 2012

25 years ago, my parents started this thing called Family camp at Young Life’s Lake Champion. I remember years of watching Dr. Bados and Blockhead and other classic characters wide-eyed while sitting beside families instead of the normal high schoolers who filled the camp all summer.

In 1997, a few days after moving back into my dorm at Grove City College for my senior year, I drove myself to family camp to serve and be with folks there…and I met my husband who was there serving too.

These days, my sister and her husband run the whole deal. And, we still get the pleasure of being a part of it as do our kids.

This year, 5 of us did the ropes course together while Lydia obliged by sleeping in her stroller. Once I was up there, I realized a mama can show no fear 40 feet up in the trees while helping her 3 children walk wires and logs and other treacherous elements.

Though it may look like an incredible mini family vacation, there’s more to it than that.

Take families away to a beautiful place where volunteers serve them their meals and folks provide goofy entertainment and great kids programming, and something supernatural happens. Phones are turned off, distractions are cleared. And, in the midst of laughter, hearts open up to hear God speak. And, He always does.

You guys are so awesome. Drew is going to be totally smokin’ in the first grade. Ashlyn is going to be amazing in 3rd grade. And, Evan rules the school. So cool.

Can I talk to you a little? I want to tell you a little story from when I was little. When I was about your age, I used to fight with my big sister, Aunt Megan, a lot. We would play together some, but we did fight a lot. Nanma, my mom, would tell us to be kind and to love each other. But, we still fought. Nanma would tell us we had to be friends because other friends would come and go, but we’d always have each other. We didn’t care too much about that though when she said it.

When I was in the third grade and Aunt Megan was in the fifth grade, I heard some kids making fun of Aunt Megan in the hall. I don’t even think she heard them, but I heard them. And, you know what I did? I yelled at them to stop and told them that if they ever did that again, they’d be sorry. I still remember it even though it was a long time ago.

I don’t expect any of you to be made fun of in school. But, there are a lot of kids there who might not have learned how to treat people kindly. There are a lot of kids there who don’t know God loves them and wants them to love Him and love others. And, when kids don’t know those things, kids can do mean stuff. Even when kids do know these things, they may make bad choices and do mean stuff.

If they do that to one of you, I want you to be there for each other. I know you don’t always agree and get along, but when you are outside this home, you need to remember to take care of each other. That’s the best part of having you all together this year; you can take care of each other. Remember that Nanma was right, just like how Aunt Megan and I always had each other no matter what, you guys always have each other.

And, I also want you to keep your eyes wide open to see when there are kids around you who might not have a brother or sister at school to take care of them. If you see a kid left out at recess, teased because he’s different, or sad because he misses home, be a friend to that kid. Please do what you can to make that kid feel better, even if it just means giving him or her a smile and asking if he or she wants to sit with you or play with you.

…because you all do know God. He lives in your heart. And, you have the chance to show people what God is like simply by being kind to them when they need a little kindness. And, that is really something special to be able to show people God. It’s hard sometimes, but because God lives in us, we can do the hard things.

There are a lot of tests in school–reading tests, spelling tests, math tests. And, we want you to work hard in school and do well on those things. But, it’s okay if you don’t. Really. We want you to know that we care much much more about other types of tests. We care much much more about you learning to be kind and generous and forgiving than we do about you learning math and spelling. We care much much more about you protecting each other and protecting the kids around you who need someone to do that for them.

We want to help you learn those things; in fact, it’s our job to help you learn those things. So, come to us. Tell us when you noticed a chance to be brave and be kind to someone even when it may have been hard. Tell us when you noticed a chance to be kind but didn’t make the right choice. Let us tell you that’s okay and help you think about how to do it next time. There will always be next times for you to try again.

Got it?

We love you. Now, go get ready for bed. You have to get up early again tomorrow.