Dunes

This weekend was our middle school retreat at Dunes Bible Camp on the coast in Long Beach, WA (unfortunately, not Long Beach, CA).  Dunes is THE retreat that everyone at this church looks forward to for... years now.  God always does cool things here.  One of our adult leaders, Mike, has been going to this camp for at least 25 years now (both as a student and as a leader). He said this camp always brings back memories because this was the place that he gave his life over to Christ. Pretty cool stuff...

This weekend was particularly special for me. It was the first retreat that I was the worship leader for... something I've always wanted to do. I have to be honest... it went nothing like I had expected and pictured in my mind. Lots of things came up and changed last minute. Some of the songs were not as tight and together as I was hoping. My guitar tone didn't sound quite how I wanted it to. My voice was quickly fading (not that there is much voice to begin with!).  But on a plus note, my friend Nathan Arnold,  who was playing lead guitar, told me that my voice sounded like Neil Diamond. and... I dont think that is a bad thing... is it? (strangely, I now have the desire to go learn some Neil Diamond songs).

All this to say... there were parts of the weekend that I was actually disappointed with. And I tend to beat myself up, probably because I set high expectations for myself.  Thankfully, God did not disappoint. The students still engaged, God's presence was still felt, and decisions were still made.

Lesson learned (or... lesson that I'm reminded of again): God takes my short-comings and uses them. Actually, I'm sure God still would have done what He did this weekend without me as part of it. I just feel lucky/blessed/humbled to have been a part of it. It was definitely a learning experience... and an experience I hope I get another chance at in the future.

Other things learned (reminded) from Dunes: Our identity is in Christ. That's where our value comes from. Every person has hard things they are dealing with... which gives us even more of a reason to love on people. (that one was actually pointed out by a 6th grade student). Another student gave his life to Christ at 1:30am! Cool story.

Song(s) of the Day: It's a U2 kind of day. So... "Beautiful Day" "Pride" "New Years Day" "Where the Streets Have No Name" etc...

"Aha" moment: Spending time with Jon Dickson. My freshman year of college, I was a youth intern at North Hills Church in Phoenix, AZ.  Jon was one of my first students there. Whenever you see a former student do ministry stuff, it's an "aha" moment. But, to get to do ministry with Jon is something even greater! He was pretty cool to be around as a high school teenager. He's even more awesome as an adult. You dont always get to see progress when you are in ministry... but to see how solid a 14 year old turns out 7 years later, and being a part of that (I think?) is amazing.  Props to Larry Schmidt and Jerrod Nunn on pouring into this young man's life.

EVERYONE: You should be mentoring/teaching/encouraging/spending time with and loving someone who is younger than them... that is not a family member. (family too! just someone else as well). Not only do young people need that - but the results are often fulfilling as well. DO IT! NOW! seriously.