I am packing up to go home. I got teased a little here that I had brought no "camp clothes." I'm starting to know what that means. When you pack for camp, you don't bring anything that might bother you if it got stained, torn, faded or lost. So, if it's already on it's way to being in one or a combination of those conditions, all the better. Comfort is the supreme goal (unless you're a teenage girl hoping to be admired by a teenage boy), and modesty is the standard.
While packing, I noticed a familiar tag inside one of my blouses. I've owned other items from this relatively well-known, reasonably priced manufacturer: Sag Harbor.
Is it only me, or does it bother you a bit that there's a women's clothing line called "Sag Harbor?" I mean really! I harbor many sags, but it just seems to be a poor marketing strategy to rub it in!
I should probably Google it to put my mind at rest. Maybe it's a super classy seaside resort place like Cape Cod or something, and I should be familiar with it's exotic location and upscale reputation and feel ritzy when I wear that label. Until such a mental association takes hold, it now just seems like a collection for women of a certain age who harbor sags. But who knows? Maybe that's the demographic the company is aiming for and they've hit their target audience on the nose, or the sag, as it were.
You don't have to go farther than the droop beneath my eyes, or the softening jowls beside my chin--oh, and then there's that chin, itself, with its flappy little companion lolling below it like a skin-toned hammock (by tone, I mean hue, not firmness). We'll stop this depressing review right here. Most of the rest of the sags can be camouflaged with cleverly designed clothing.
But the final blow, the ultimate insult, the coup de grace, is having to wear the label (hidden though it is) at the nape of my neck marking me like a tattoo--as in, I don't just wear sag harbor--I am sag harbor! I really do like that blouse, though. I may just cut out the label.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Monday, July 29, 2013
When We Fall
in a world where broken dreams
and empty promises abound;
where a lasting joy or hope
is seldom ever to be found;
where cheap pleasure masquerades
as an answer to hope's call--
is there a hand to lift us when we fall?
I brought Jesus only brokenness
and emptiness and sin.
but he took the pieces of my life
and offered to come in.
and he made of all those fragments
something whole and straight and tall
yes, there's a hand to lift us when we fall!
and empty promises abound;
where a lasting joy or hope
is seldom ever to be found;
where cheap pleasure masquerades
as an answer to hope's call--
is there a hand to lift us when we fall?
I brought Jesus only brokenness
and emptiness and sin.
but he took the pieces of my life
and offered to come in.
and he made of all those fragments
something whole and straight and tall
yes, there's a hand to lift us when we fall!
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Visible Faith
When God tested Abraham's faith, he waited until Abraham had raised a knife over Isaac's bound body as he was about to slay his only son. Then God intervened with a blessed reprieve and said in Genesis 22:12:
"Do not lay a hand on the boy.... Now I know that you fear God."
Curious, isn't it, this response from God? Didn't an all-knowing God perceive Abraham's faith without having to see it in action? But then, from God's point of view, is faith really faith if it is not visible?
When Jesus healed the paralytic whose friends had lowered him through the roof of the house, the text in Luke 5:20 reveals a similar response by Jesus:
When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friends, your sins are forgiven."
Again, Jesus praises, not just their faith, but the visible evidence of their faith. God doesn't want to have to comb the hidden depths of our hearts to see our faith. He wants to see it in our life.
These real life stories give flesh and bones confirmation to the teaching in James 2:14-26 that faith without action is not faith in the sight of God. He wants to see it.
And I think it parallels the idea of not hiding your light under a bushel. (Matthew 5:14-16) Sometimes we read this passage thinking it is just the world around us that God wants us to shine our light for, but I think most of all, He wants to see it for himself!
"Do not lay a hand on the boy.... Now I know that you fear God."
Curious, isn't it, this response from God? Didn't an all-knowing God perceive Abraham's faith without having to see it in action? But then, from God's point of view, is faith really faith if it is not visible?
When Jesus healed the paralytic whose friends had lowered him through the roof of the house, the text in Luke 5:20 reveals a similar response by Jesus:
When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friends, your sins are forgiven."
Again, Jesus praises, not just their faith, but the visible evidence of their faith. God doesn't want to have to comb the hidden depths of our hearts to see our faith. He wants to see it in our life.
These real life stories give flesh and bones confirmation to the teaching in James 2:14-26 that faith without action is not faith in the sight of God. He wants to see it.
And I think it parallels the idea of not hiding your light under a bushel. (Matthew 5:14-16) Sometimes we read this passage thinking it is just the world around us that God wants us to shine our light for, but I think most of all, He wants to see it for himself!
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Rain and Rivers
This is not a good day to sing "Peace Like a River." After an all night downpour the benign creek that cuts through CampHOPEforKids has become a raging river--nothing peaceful about it.
It has encroached into the low tree line claiming territory that the saplings had thought to be their own. Now those little trees have only their top branches lifted above the muddy swell.
The creek's volume has raised from a hushed trickle to a deafening roar. It's whole personality has changed. Once it was gentle; now it is aggressive and threatening. The transformation took only a few hours.
Swollen waters lap at the door of the oar and life vest shelter. The floating dock is askew and our canoes hang on by tethers stretched taut. It will be interesting to see whether the flood abates as swiftly as the creek was engorged. The evident power is daunting.
Psalm 72:8 May he rule from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.
It has encroached into the low tree line claiming territory that the saplings had thought to be their own. Now those little trees have only their top branches lifted above the muddy swell.
The creek's volume has raised from a hushed trickle to a deafening roar. It's whole personality has changed. Once it was gentle; now it is aggressive and threatening. The transformation took only a few hours.
Swollen waters lap at the door of the oar and life vest shelter. The floating dock is askew and our canoes hang on by tethers stretched taut. It will be interesting to see whether the flood abates as swiftly as the creek was engorged. The evident power is daunting.
Psalm 72:8 May he rule from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.
Our Piece of the Pie
; I think it was Nelson Rockefeller who, when asked how much money it takes to be happy said, "Just a little bit more." It is so easy to think that we are one more thing or one more experience or one more accomplishment or one more acquisition away from true fulfillment and happiness.
Finding contentment with our lot in life is a noble spiritual goal. It is one of the hallmarks of true Christianity. It doesn't mean we can't be dreamers or have goals or ambitions; it means that even while we are hoping for an upgrade in life, we are able to enjoy our current situation fully and remain without frustration even if we never have more. But we live in a world where our eyes are drawn to what we are lacking--especially if we are prone to compare ourselves to others. There's a reason for the phrase, :Keeping up with the Jones's."
Psalm 16:5, 6 Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.
What a great way too live! When we happily accept our possessions, our location, our families--when we give thanks for them instead of complaining about them, contentment is ours. We'll never "have it all" except spiritually speaking.
Romans 8:32
Since God did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, won't God who gave us Christ, also give us everything?
In Christ we really do have it all! We have Divine eternal relationships and real estate in heaven and purpose in this life! Where we live or what we have or don't have as we live out that purpose is really beside the point.
Psalm73:26 ...God the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Psalm 119:57 You are my portion, O Lord....
If we have God, we have everything. What do we get out of living a God-centered life? God himself--and who could ask for anything more? None of us should, but most of us do, With God, all else should be irrelevant. This is not an easy mindset to capture in a world full of stuff! It's inspiring to see Christians who really live out this attitude of joy and contentment. It's amazing.
But what is more amazing, and beyond our comprehension, is that what God gets out of the deal is us--weak, sinful, unattractive, insignificant us. And we are enough for him. We are his delight. We are why he got in the game. For God, it's not about position or possessions. It's about us!
Deuteronomy 32:9 For the Lord's portion is his people.
Finding contentment with our lot in life is a noble spiritual goal. It is one of the hallmarks of true Christianity. It doesn't mean we can't be dreamers or have goals or ambitions; it means that even while we are hoping for an upgrade in life, we are able to enjoy our current situation fully and remain without frustration even if we never have more. But we live in a world where our eyes are drawn to what we are lacking--especially if we are prone to compare ourselves to others. There's a reason for the phrase, :Keeping up with the Jones's."
Psalm 16:5, 6 Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.
What a great way too live! When we happily accept our possessions, our location, our families--when we give thanks for them instead of complaining about them, contentment is ours. We'll never "have it all" except spiritually speaking.
Romans 8:32
Since God did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, won't God who gave us Christ, also give us everything?
In Christ we really do have it all! We have Divine eternal relationships and real estate in heaven and purpose in this life! Where we live or what we have or don't have as we live out that purpose is really beside the point.
Psalm73:26 ...God the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Psalm 119:57 You are my portion, O Lord....
If we have God, we have everything. What do we get out of living a God-centered life? God himself--and who could ask for anything more? None of us should, but most of us do, With God, all else should be irrelevant. This is not an easy mindset to capture in a world full of stuff! It's inspiring to see Christians who really live out this attitude of joy and contentment. It's amazing.
But what is more amazing, and beyond our comprehension, is that what God gets out of the deal is us--weak, sinful, unattractive, insignificant us. And we are enough for him. We are his delight. We are why he got in the game. For God, it's not about position or possessions. It's about us!
Deuteronomy 32:9 For the Lord's portion is his people.
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Camp Clothes
I'm not a camper--never have been. I don't make cowboy coffee or clean fish. Camps have dirt. Camps have campfires and campfires have smoke. Bug spray smells bad. That said, I'm loving CampHOPEforKids and at least I'm not sleeping in a tent.
Now, I have camped a time or two when our kids were small and we couldn't afford a real vacation. By "real" I mean a trip where you don't have to work harder than you do at home. My experience with camping is that everything is harder at camp than it is at home--cooking, washing, dishes, clothes and yourself, and cleaning wounds you wouldn't even have acquired if you had not come camping--all harder!
I came to camp this summer with what I deemed appropriate expectations. I also came with what I considered appropriate camp attire. I had the right number of matching shirts and capris.--no holes or frayed edges. At first, I mostly washed things out in my sink at night and hung them in my room to dry or spread them out to be as wrinkle-free as possible.
It's been three weeks now. I schlep my laundry over to the camp laundromat. I don't bother to separate darks and whites--I can rock drab. I don't notice wrinkles--now my clothes match my skin. Stains make me more relatable to the kids. Delicate cycle? I've forgotten what the term means. My wardrobe has gone from camp-cute to camp-who-gives-a-hoot. I'm a camper!
Now, I have camped a time or two when our kids were small and we couldn't afford a real vacation. By "real" I mean a trip where you don't have to work harder than you do at home. My experience with camping is that everything is harder at camp than it is at home--cooking, washing, dishes, clothes and yourself, and cleaning wounds you wouldn't even have acquired if you had not come camping--all harder!
I came to camp this summer with what I deemed appropriate expectations. I also came with what I considered appropriate camp attire. I had the right number of matching shirts and capris.--no holes or frayed edges. At first, I mostly washed things out in my sink at night and hung them in my room to dry or spread them out to be as wrinkle-free as possible.
It's been three weeks now. I schlep my laundry over to the camp laundromat. I don't bother to separate darks and whites--I can rock drab. I don't notice wrinkles--now my clothes match my skin. Stains make me more relatable to the kids. Delicate cycle? I've forgotten what the term means. My wardrobe has gone from camp-cute to camp-who-gives-a-hoot. I'm a camper!
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Camp Clothes for 95 Degrees F, and 90% Humidity
Please don't tell me that the new 70 is 50. I can't take that kind of pressure. Just let me be my age with all of the attendant implications. I don't have the energy (or the funds) to appear 20 years younger.
Seventy means you have wrinkles and seventy means you go to bed earlier than you once did--even if you worked in a nap that day. Seventy means you don't have the same figure of a twenty-something or the stamina of a teen. Seventy means your hair is thinner, grayer and duller. I'm asking the world around me to lower their expectations!
A friend inquired whether my wardrobe at camp in Philly included shorts. "No!" I replied. "My legs have been banned in 49 of the 50 states. The exception is the state of Florida where apparently little old ladies are encouraged to bare their arms and legs. But I am not in Florida. People should be thanking me for sparing them such a sight!"
I recently told Ron that we have reached an age where no one who reads our obituaries would say, "Oh, what a shame--premature death." I'd like to wear my maturity as naturally and inconspicuously as possible, thank you very much! This is how I embrace my age.
Seventy means you have wrinkles and seventy means you go to bed earlier than you once did--even if you worked in a nap that day. Seventy means you don't have the same figure of a twenty-something or the stamina of a teen. Seventy means your hair is thinner, grayer and duller. I'm asking the world around me to lower their expectations!
A friend inquired whether my wardrobe at camp in Philly included shorts. "No!" I replied. "My legs have been banned in 49 of the 50 states. The exception is the state of Florida where apparently little old ladies are encouraged to bare their arms and legs. But I am not in Florida. People should be thanking me for sparing them such a sight!"
I recently told Ron that we have reached an age where no one who reads our obituaries would say, "Oh, what a shame--premature death." I'd like to wear my maturity as naturally and inconspicuously as possible, thank you very much! This is how I embrace my age.
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Let Me Count the Ways
A new batch of campers arrived at CampHOPEforKids today. This is the crazy day. All the adult volunteers are new and trying to get their heads wrapped around their jobs and locate their supplies and find the camaraderie among the peers with whom they share tasks. The rhythm of camp doesn't start on the first day, but by tomorrow....all will be transformed into a well-oiled machine.
The layers of responsibility will be a dazzling display of coordination. Maybe it would best be called choreography because it's as beautiful as a dance. Campers will be joyfully following their counselors from activity to activity, some arm in arm with a new buddy. There will be laughter and songs and energy abounding. Counselors and volunteers will be pouring on the love and working really, really hard in 90degree temperatures, high humidity and bugs and poison ivy.
I had heard of this camp from many returning campers and counselors. I thought, "That's nice." Now I don't know how to describe it. Here's the best I can do: I feel like I've slipped and fallen in a puddle full of love.
John 13:34
A new command I give you: Love one another as I have loved you, so you must love one another. by this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
The layers of responsibility will be a dazzling display of coordination. Maybe it would best be called choreography because it's as beautiful as a dance. Campers will be joyfully following their counselors from activity to activity, some arm in arm with a new buddy. There will be laughter and songs and energy abounding. Counselors and volunteers will be pouring on the love and working really, really hard in 90degree temperatures, high humidity and bugs and poison ivy.
I had heard of this camp from many returning campers and counselors. I thought, "That's nice." Now I don't know how to describe it. Here's the best I can do: I feel like I've slipped and fallen in a puddle full of love.
John 13:34
A new command I give you: Love one another as I have loved you, so you must love one another. by this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Intimacy with God through Temptation and Repentace
I think there are no prayerful conversations with God more intimate than the ones when we throw ourselves on him to seek his partnership in our repentance. A desparate appeal for his mercy and power to overcome sin defines our dependence on him in the deepest, most vulnerable, crucial, and freeing way. His love is most profoundly experienced through his grace as he freely forgives and joins with us to fight our enemies, our temptations.
Certainly, the command to repent of sin puts the onus on the sinner, but God does not stand aloof. He rushes to our aid when we call.
Satan would love for us to believe that God stands sternly and angrily with his arms folded across his chest and reluctantly accepts us again after we have repented and maybe even done penance. But that is not who God is. Our cries to him meet ears eager to hear and a heart eager to help. He intimately understands our weakness. (Psalm 103:8-13)
He reached down from heaven and rescued me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
He delivered me from my powerful enemies,
from those who hated me and were too strong for me.
Psalm 18:16, 17 (NLT)
His delight in his children remains unchanged even when we are at our worst. Godliness is not defined by perfection, but by repentance, growth, humility, and faith. When we faithfully and humbly turn to him for growth and repentance, his heart connects with ours and his power infuses our life.
The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord.
He delights in every detail of their lives.
Though they stumble, they will not fall,
for the Lord holds them by the hand.
Psalm 37:23, 24 (NLT)
Certainly, the command to repent of sin puts the onus on the sinner, but God does not stand aloof. He rushes to our aid when we call.
Satan would love for us to believe that God stands sternly and angrily with his arms folded across his chest and reluctantly accepts us again after we have repented and maybe even done penance. But that is not who God is. Our cries to him meet ears eager to hear and a heart eager to help. He intimately understands our weakness. (Psalm 103:8-13)
He reached down from heaven and rescued me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
He delivered me from my powerful enemies,
from those who hated me and were too strong for me.
Psalm 18:16, 17 (NLT)
His delight in his children remains unchanged even when we are at our worst. Godliness is not defined by perfection, but by repentance, growth, humility, and faith. When we faithfully and humbly turn to him for growth and repentance, his heart connects with ours and his power infuses our life.
The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord.
He delights in every detail of their lives.
Though they stumble, they will not fall,
for the Lord holds them by the hand.
Psalm 37:23, 24 (NLT)
Monday, July 1, 2013
Next Generation
Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come. --Psalm 71:18
I have reached an age where I give a lot of thought to the next generation. Watching the morality of our culture deteriorate over the last seven decades can fill me with fear for the world my grandchildren will inherit.
It scared me a couple of weeks ago to read a quote by Taylor Swift who said, "Every singer out there with songs on the radio is raising the next generation." I think she may be right about many lives who have no other compass to point them to meaning and wholesomeness. This is really frightening--have you listened to some of the lyrics of the songs kids are hearing? They make rebellion, immorality and meanness seem normal and in many iterations desireable.
Being here at CampHOPEforKids has lifted my heart in a million ways. The young people volunteering here are the best and the brightest. With the future in their hands as instruments of righteousness (Romans 6:13), God can will amazing things.
I have reached an age where I give a lot of thought to the next generation. Watching the morality of our culture deteriorate over the last seven decades can fill me with fear for the world my grandchildren will inherit.
It scared me a couple of weeks ago to read a quote by Taylor Swift who said, "Every singer out there with songs on the radio is raising the next generation." I think she may be right about many lives who have no other compass to point them to meaning and wholesomeness. This is really frightening--have you listened to some of the lyrics of the songs kids are hearing? They make rebellion, immorality and meanness seem normal and in many iterations desireable.
Being here at CampHOPEforKids has lifted my heart in a million ways. The young people volunteering here are the best and the brightest. With the future in their hands as instruments of righteousness (Romans 6:13), God can will amazing things.
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