The whirlwind

Well, the last two weeks have been a blur. I was at the Maranatha Bible Camp last week, leading worship, doing lots of video and photography, and generally having a great time with the 5th- 6th grade campers from our Church. Jenette and I have led worship many times with many kids, but these kids really were excited about worshipping God. We were both overwhelmed at just the sheer volume of the kids as we sang "I Belong to a Mighty God." I told Jenette that this camp had some of the most "singin'est" kids we had been around in a long time.

It was truly a blessing and a privilege to be involved with the camp. This week, I finished recording the music and my voice on a practice CD for our VBS program. I have also finished two DVD projects that I needed to finish, and have done many other things that I have already forgotten.

Being at the camp for two weeks in a row reminded me that perhaps one of the greatest enemies of pursuing a relationship with God is the busyness of our culture. At camp, with few distractions and the time to really think about the Lord and His Word, kids really are impacted by how wonderful God is and how powerful His Word is.

Since I have come back from camp and have been busy again doing everything I am supposed to be doing, it has left me with at least a small sense of grief. In my mind, I can see the faces of the kids at camp: worshipping, memorizing the Bible, and carefully listening to Bible teaching. I can also see the same kids coming home and watching incredibly stupid TV shows for hours on end on the Disney Channel. Someone once said that stuff like that was "chewing gum for the eyes." Alas.

I spent some time today talking to one of my dear Christian brothers about grieving over the things that grieve God. Sometimes, it takes time away from the cultural whirlwind to recognize that some mourning might be in order. I think many urban Christians don't want to slow down long enough to grieve.

Someone also said that when it comes to kids, "he who spends the most time wins." Whether its the TV or the friends or the parents, time is the key to teaching kids, training kids, loving kids, and raising them to be a Godly generation. Check out my last post to read an article about why generational Christianity is dying in our world.

Thinking about all this led me to play spades with the boys tonight, even though it was late. We had a great time. Tomorrow we will spend some more time together.

Along all the other stuff going on this week, I have started to remake my website from homeschoolbiblestudies.com to studentbiblestudies.com. Both addresses will still work, but I am trying to appeal to a church youth ministry crowd as well. Plus, I'm not sure that most home schoolers are looking for the type of booklets I am offering. I think that perhaps Churches or parents that are doing some kind of small groups for their teens will find my books most helpful. We'll see.

I did get an order for 8 booklets from Maryland! How exciting that God could use my feeble attempts to write Bible studies for teens to glorify Himself through His Word to kids in Maryland! I've never been to Maryland! This kind of stuff excites me and makes me want to keep this little business going.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV)

jc