Takin' It Easy

    Another few days have gone by. Monday, on one hand, was quite exhausting and full of disciplinary issues. However, today was quite the contrast. In fact, Tuesday could described, in my opinion, as an improvement from Monday. Why do I mention this? Well, after serving for 2 and a half weeks now, improvement is something that becomes difficult to see sometimes. I'm not saying that we haven't seen any improvement prior to today--we have. But, rather, I'm just affirming the obviously notable change in overall behavior between Monday and today.

    So a few things. What has been the catalyst for this difference thus far? First and foremost, it's God. I'm encouraged to know that a prayer team has been formed to specifically pray for the entire camp, the kids by name, and even us as leaders. Also, personally for me this week, I've been more disciplined in taking time to rest in His presence in order to filled and ready to serve these kids with His love. Going off of that, I felt led to do devotion a little bit differently today. Typically, we've been going through a beatitude per week. We usually combine that with biblical cross references to support the understanding of the verses that are sometimes difficult to grasp. However, it just sort of hit me yesterday--"pray for them." We'd done that last year once or twice, but I felt called to do it again. So, my devo group (the ones who are misbehaving) which usually has trouble paying attention, carried on fairly well this morning. I started with the Gospel. Then, from there, went on to explain more in detail about praying for certain things/qualities that are godly things like being meek, or humble, or peaceful. This all lead into a time where I asked for specific prayer requests from each kid (there were 4), followed by a sort of laying on of hands for each kid one at a time. It was refreshing. Taking everything and just putting it before our Father. So, that's why today's blog post is "Takin' It Easy." Not because I slacked off today, but because I rested today. I rested in Him, and then as encouraged by our full-time staff member, I moved from a place of rest to go and serve and love the kids well. Such a difference. Not full of worry or anxiety. Not overwhelmed. Not rushed. But rather--rested. Vitalized. Fueled. Filled. Ready. Relaxed. 

    Yeah, a few things went crazy at some times. But, all went well with a mindset of rest. More than that, I was able to see more of what God was doing in each kid's life--especially the kids that I prayed over. 

    More to come!