Further Up and Further In

"You were meant to be here and what you do this summer will be enough." My unit leader gave this encouragement to my unit as we began our summer of camp counseling. I had a gut reaction of "that's not true" to the second half of the statement. I knew the first part was true. I had felt a peace about applying to SLS and believed that He had brought me to HoneyRock for this particular summer. His reasons being His own but I had no doubt as to where I was supposed to be. But I realized, sitting on a bench at Black Bear campsite, that I never believed that what I did was enough. I thought in my gap years and since being in college that I had loosened up on my perfectionistic tendencies. I knew I still possessed them but I thought they weren't as strong as they used to be. I gauged this by the fact that I didn't go crazy if every project or task that I completed wasn't done "just right". I knew that I wasn't going to do things perfect...

The ever-present digital clock in the lobby winks at a boy and a girl as the minutes flip by. Standing there discussing conflict styles, family backgrounds, stories from the past, social justice and who knows what more. Just two students on a Christian liberal arts college campus talking about life and sharing story on a Thursday night. Few of the passing students give them a second glance as they stand in front of the lobby doors. Eventually, the girl asks, "Why? Why should I care? What difference does it make?" Frustration and questions bubble from her lips. She doesn't think that it isn't important to try to make wrongs right but wonders at her apathy towards working for justice in the world. She doesn't feel strongly about it and is often ashamed that she does not care much about this or that prevalent social issue in today's global society. "I am just one person and this issue will not likely be solved in my lifetime nor perhaps in many to come. What...

I've just embarked on my junior year so even though I have a year and a half of college to go I think I can still safely stand by my post title. The class I'm referring to is entitled, "The Neurobiology of Stress".  You may be laughing already and that's totally okay. It is an upper level biology class that I am taking to satisfy part of my science gen-ed requirement. The subject material is fascinating though I admit to being a little lost in the details of how the systems work since it's been 5 to 6 years since I took biology in high school. But the irony of my current state of life and the subject material of this class is too much for me. In most situations, you can choose to laugh or cry and I usually prefer to laugh as seen through all of the pictures I have chosen for this post. Nobody told me how stressful junior year would be. And maybe it isn't actually, it's just mine in particular. But I've been at a fairly high stress level since...

Finally, the classic after-you've-been-a-camp-counselor blog post. This list was compiled by myself and my wonderful SLS friends from this summer. I tried to whittle it down to the best and most hilarious. May you chuckle over it and resonate with it, especially if you have ever been a camp counselor. Paint fight you are clean for about 2.5 seconds after getting out of the shower your feet are never clean. Never. having a paint war sounds like the best idea in the world you count jumping in the lake as a close second to actually taking a shower getting up at 6:45am is "sleeping in" you are constantly counting your campers but can never come up with the number you are supposed to have (this was me all summer, not kidding) you have camp songs stuck in your head ALL the time you realize that you outpace your campers in about 5 steps you wear the same 5 outfits for 2 weeks straight you repeat yourself over and over again because there is always one kid who isn...

The fire flickers on Inspiration Point as I stand with my fellow Sierra Sisters facing a semi-circle of our SLS community. We listen to our unit leader, Christina, affirm and challenge us with what she has seen in each of us this summer. We each receive names as part of this closing ceremony. My name is Moonlight, given to me because I reflect the Lord's truth not in a flashy, bright way like sunlight but in a deeper way like moonlight. It fits me so well. Thanks, Christina. You saw me truly and named me aptly. My beloved unit of Sierra Sisters Names have power. We do not take the power of names as seriously in the 21 st century as in olden times when people were very particular about what they named their child. If you were the III or IV, it indicated a great family lineage. If you were named after a saint, it was hoped that you would embody the characteristics of that special saint. Now we call people whatever we feel like. Sometimes with a namesake in min...

"I just want to be a sheep. Baa baa baa baa. I just want to be a sheep. Baa baa baa baa. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. I just want to be a sheep. Baa baa baa baa." One of my co-counselors and I after the paint war This is one of our morning Zacco songs that we sing before breakfast and it continually gets stuck in my head. Being a sheep means being led. This is pretty much the definition of my campers. They are the sheep and my co-counselor and I are their shepherds. We are the ones leading them to quiet waters during their Morning Watch time when they get to spend time with God. We are the ones leading them to green pastures where they can eat and be filled, 3 times a day, all while making sure that everyone gets food before we empty the dish. We are the ones who are giving them spaces to rest and reflect on the events going on around them. The sheep are completely dependent on the shepherds and are in great need of their care. The shepherds, my co and I, in thi...

"99 bottles of pop on the wall. 99 bottles of pop. Take one down, pass it around. 98 bottles of pop on the wall. Etc. etc. etc." "We get to have HOBO DINNER for dinner tonight!" "I've never been so thankful for Port-A-Potties." "The water tastes like iron." "I don't care, it's so good." "Campers will think that you're so tough because you can kill ticks with your bare hands." "So... how long of a detour did we take?" "Pine is  my favorite kind of toilet paper." All of the Res Camp staff women Just a few lovely quotes from our 4 day/3 night wilderness trip we went on this past week. On Monday afternoon, 1 unit leader and her 8 ducklings aka us SLSers, set out into the Northwoods wilderness. We canoed for the first half of the trip then switched gear with another group and hiked the rest of the time. We stayed in 3 different camp sites which was fun since we will be leading campers...