Velvet Elvis
Here at camp when I have a chance, I like to read. I’ve already talked about a couple books in past articles, and I’ll be talking about another one today: Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell. Rob came to speak at our chapel service when I was a sophomore at Spring Arbor University. He was one of the most knowledgeable speakers I have ever heard so as soon as his books came out, I began reading them.
Rob Bell is one of those authors that articulates everything going on in my head. I am constantly thinking, but I have no idea how to say what I’m thinking. He is one of the best teachers and explains things so well. One of my favorite subjects he discusses is how we use the word “Christian” as an adjective instead of a noun.
“This happens in all sorts of areas. It is possible for music to be labeled Christian and be terrible music. It could lack creativity and inspiration. The lyrics could be recycled clichés. That “Christian” band could actually be giving Jesus a bad name because they aren’t a great band. It is possible for a movie to be a “Christian” movie and to be a terrible movie. It may actually desecrate the art form in its quality and storytelling and craft. Just because it is a Christian book by a Christian author and it was purchased in a Christian bookstore doesn’t mean it is all true or good or beautiful. A Christian political group puts me in an awkward position: What if I disagree with them? Am I less of a Christian? What if I am convinced the “Christian” thing to do is to vote the exact opposite?”
“Christian is a great noun and a poor adjective.”
Wow! I love it! And here’s the best part.
“This is why it is impossible for a Christian to have a secular job. If you follow Jesus and you are doing what you do in his name, then it is no longer secular work: it’s sacred. You are there; God is there. The difference is our awareness.”
Take this and chew on it this week! Definitely check out Rob’s books. They’re fantastic.
wow
I am completely blown away by the people I will be working with this summer! They are AMAZING! Let’s start with ropes course last week. We have a few of the staff come in early to get trained on our high ropes course. About half of us knew each other but the ones that came in new fit in great. We spent loads of time laughing at meals, playing rock band, and just being ridiculous. Then on monday (after not sleeping AT ALL sunday night) the rest of the staff came in to begin our week of orientation. I remember last year when I was so stressed out about the first day…and then this year had no sleep and the day was GREAT. Our group meshes really well…I haven’t been this happy and content in a long time. I’ve spent so much time smiling and laughing with these people in the past 3 days…all I can say is “wow.” Inside jokes have already started, the quote book is being filled up, and this group just rocks my socks off On top of that, we began our praise band practice today….again…wow. We have some phenominal musicians. Picture this, 3 acoustic guitar players, 1 electric and 1 banjo/harmonica. So different yet but SO good. On top of lovely farmer tans and razor burns….I’m soooooo glad this summer has started!
90 Day Bible Challenge
I started this yesterday…and am already behind. Wow, this is going to be a challenge. It will actually require me to be disciplined (something I have quite a bit of trouble with) but I’m still up for the challenge.
Camp is amazingly fantastic…I can’t say enough how much I love it here. Began setting up my room in the lodge last night…bunked the beds, moved the desk…yeah, it’s gonna rock. Now comes the process of actually moving everything in and getting it all set up. It was a little painful because of the hike yesterday…I’ve forgotten how out of shape I actually am. My hips hurt…and they don’t lie 
But it’s okay, because it’s going to be a GREAT summer!
Hoping to hang with my favorite maintenance guys today…and get a few things done for Journey to the Cross (granted, that’s not til Junior High Camp..but why not get ahead of the game?)
Red Trail and Ticks
So today I began my Journey to working myself up to hiking the megatrail. I hiked the red trail today and honestly, it wasn’t that bad. I thought I would be MUCH more tired after that, but I really wasn’t. Now, we’ll see how I feel tomorrow…that could be a different story. haha. The red trail itself is about 1.25 miles long, but it’s very rugged. (For those of you who have hiked it before, marker #34 is missing and it took me a while to figure out which way I was going…actually, I think that marker was on a tree that fell down). Anyway, the hike was great, but I’m definitely not going right after it rains anymore. I fell and got myself ridiculously muddy….however, one advantage to going while it’s still wet outside…not NEARLY as many ticks as dry weather. At the end of the red trail there’s a grassy area that hasn’t been mowed yet. It’s waist-high grass and that happens to be where ticks hang out. I found 4 on me after my hike today, which is definitely better than any other time. Eh well.
Other than that, I’m so happy to be here putting the finishing touches on this summer. Hayden had a great idea and for those of you working here this summer, keep this in mind. When everyone gets here, they are going to pick a driver (it can be either indycar or nascar) and decorate your cabin with stuff from that driver…the number, sponsor, team etc. At the end of each week, we will have the Hidden Falls 500….more to come on this when everyone gets here.
Today is also the day I start the 90 day Bible challenge. I have a feeling it’s going to be quite difficult..but it’ll be good none the less. I need to start reading more…especially the Bible. I get caught up in books by emerging Christian authors on topics about how the church is not what it’s supposed to be, that I forget to read my Bible. ….
Guess where I’m heading on Sunday?
HERE!!!!
Yes! I can’t wait to be at Hidden Falls for another summer! Last summer was amazing…let’s make this one even better!
Plans for the week?
1. Hike the Megatrail - A bunch of us wanted to do this last year but it takes around 3 to 4 hours and the one Saturday we had planned, it rained. So hopefully a couple of us can hike it this week. For those of you that don’t know what the megatrail is, it begins at the red/yellow trail at Sunset campsite, works all the way around the red trail to the green trail. Head down the green trail switchbacks and hike it until you hit the Orange trail, then take the long way around the orange trail. The orange trail itself takes around 2 hours so this should be fun!
2. Play in the waterfalls - When hiking down to the creekbed off the yellow trail, you can hike up to the waterfalls and slide down them! It’s so fun!
3. Finish ordering everything - this actually shouldn’t take that long, it’s just a matter of getting on the phone and figuring out what we need.
4. Learn Media Shout - This is the one program on my new laptop that I haven’t quite figured out. But I know it’s much cooler than powerpoint so I need to learn this
5. Begin the Bible 90 day challenge - my church here in Indy is doing the 90 day Bible challenge. We are reading the entire Bible in 90 days. Personally, I’ve never read the Bible cover to cover, so I’m gonna give this a shot. It’ll be an amazing challenge.
6. Anything else I can think of that’s not on here - chances are I will find PLENTY I need to get done before staff and campers arrive, I just can’t think of it right now 
Hidden Falls, T-minus 2 days…..and counting….
Smile, you’ll live longer
So, I’ve been in a bad mood all week. Not quite sure why. It’s probably a bunch of different things all combined into one, but this is not normal for me. I’m almost always in a good mood, except this week. However, I’ve noticed that when I smile, I feel amazingly better so I decided to take a look at THIS
There are actually health BENEFITS to smiling, laughing, and being optimistic! That’s AWESOME!
Here’s something else to think about. Look at all these churches that preach the anger of God, and God’s wrath. Yes, God does get angry, look at the Old Testament. I mean, Abraham himself died before he had to chance to see the promised land. However, if there are negative health effects on us as humans for being angry, pessemistic, etc…and we are made in the image of God…I would venture to say that our God is a very happy God. God is love. God is GOOD.
Just a little interesting observation this morning. I’ll be smiling a lot more today…
Kirk Cameron, Bono, Stephen Baldwin
So I know I’ve talked about this site before (Stuff Christians Like)…but this entry REALLY cracked me up…mainly because I’ve met Stephen Baldwin. And seriously, how much hype do we really put on Kirk Cameron and Bono? Haha…check it out
#240. Kirk Cameron
Have you ever thought what it would be like if Kirk Cameron and Bono got into a street fight to see who is the best famous Christian? Just a no holds barred, anything goes donnybrook? No? It’s just me then, huh? Well here is what I think it would look like:
Kirk Cameron:
“Look Bono, even before I became really well known for my Christianity I was providing nice, appropriate laughter to millions of people on the hit show, ‘Growing Pains.’”
Bono:
“Was that the one with Tony Danza? I get those all confused. Well, while you were making sitcoms that paved the way for ‘Two and a Half Men,’ I was touring the world singing songs with hidden Christian meaning to millions of people.”
Kirk Cameron:
“Fair enough, but I have a powerful ministry called ‘the way of the master.’ Not only do we have an official crest and a series called “Hell’s best kept secret,” but my partner has a mustache and everyone knows there is something inherently spiritual about mustachioed men.”
Bono:
“Ha, that is hilarious. I touched more hearts than you’ll ever reach with my Super Bowl performance after 9/11 and I’ve allowed Christian musicians to cover my music for years. I didn’t even gripe when my songs were covered and suddenly deemed acceptable for Christian radio just because a Christian band was doing them. And don’t forget my work in Africa.”
Kirk Cameron:
“Oh please, you have a guy named “edge’ in your band. Who changes their name to ‘edge?’ And didn’t you swear at the grammy’s one year?”
Bono:
“Whoa, low blow, Mike Seaver, low blow. Don’t you have a photo shoot you need to be doing with the Jonas Brothers for the magazine Tiger Beat?”
Stephen Baldwin:
“Guys, there’s no need to fight. I’m the best famous Christian.”
Bono:
“Bio-Dome’s Stephen Baldwin, what are you doing here?”
Stephen Baldwin:
“I have a skate ministry and since Stuff Christians Like refuses to give me my own entry I had to crash your entry.”
Kirk Cameron:
“None of this matters. I’ve just been toying with the both of you?”
Stephen Baldwin:
“Why do you say that?”
Kirk Cameron:
“Simple, I was in the movie version of ‘Left Behind.’”
Bono:
“You win.”
Stephen Baldwin:
“Thanks for having me. Good game. Jon give me a call. I’ll give you a free Rob Roskopp old school skateboard.”
You’ve never honestly had that scenario in your head while you’re pumping gas or mowing the lawn? Not even a little bit?
I am weird.
p.s. Bono’s confession of faith with Bill Hybels was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. That’s how I took it, but I think some other people can make some interesting arguments in the opposite direction.
Update: Tomorrow I’m writing a post about Bono’s faith. And yes that is an autographed photo. And no it is not mine. Unfortunately.
We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things
There’s not much else I appreciate more than GREAT music…and one of my favorite artists just came out with a new CD. Jason Mraz “We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things.” AMAZING!
The guy is probably one of the most creative people I’ve ever listened to. He’s got a very soft voice and is a fantastic guitar player. You may know a couple of his songs.
First of all, “The Remedy.” This was his biggest hit.
Anyway, he new stuff is amazing…very jazzy…and hawaiian (okay not really, but I got to bust out the Ukulele and play along to one of his new songs today) Only in the youth department can you play a Ukulele during work…
Fun with Photoshop
Oh yeah…the Youth Department is the bunch of Pirates