Decorating for Advent and Christmas took on a new meaning for me this year. This past year we adopted a baby and he has just turned one. This is his first Christmas with us, and I want it to be a special time in his life as well as a period of growth as a person. Conversations that once did not apply to…
Camp for a Week, Friends for Life!
Camp for a Week, Friends for Life!
During one of our college ministry worship services, one of the college leaders led the group in a communion service. Evidently, she had just finished a study on Thich Nhat Hahn, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk. She asked me if it was acceptable to use some of his writings and teachings while reflecting on the communion table. After we chatted a bit, I…
“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” Mother Teresa, an Albanian-Indian nun, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950 with 13 members to over 4,000 sisters, an associated brotherhood of 300 members, and over a million co-workers operating 610 missions in over 100 countries at the time of her…
As I sort through thousands of pictures of campers taken over the course of the summer, I see more than smiles, laughter, and the bonds of true friendship. I see the presence of an active and dynamic God working in shaping the lives of campers, counselors, and staff members. These pictures lift up the power of the church’s outdoor ministry and speak…
I came across this video of the story of a young boy asking his father how much he was worth one evening while trying to catch up with some potential counselors on Facebook. If you have not watched this 3-minute video, I would encourage you to do so now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPq2OW-j1uI As I finished watching the video, a flood of memories of people…
Memories shape who we are, inform our decisions, and provide a foundation for how we engage the world. The input that we consume, the relationships that we pursue, and the habits that we acquire shape our character according to Michael Hyatt. In a culture that is flooded with mass marketing, electronic entertainment and social networking, along with a myriad of options designed…
Have you ever gotten a song stuck in your head for no apparent reason? Songs get stuck in my head usually after I have heard them on the radio, in a movie, or background noise somewhere. However, lately, I have been thinking about a Christmas song, called Mary Did You Know. In this song, the song ponders if Mary the mother of…
Dear SFC Family: As most of you know, Slumber Falls is in a transitional period and doing our best to not have our finances impact our summer camp program or be detrimental to having large retreat groups utilize our beautiful camp. We have already made a lot of improvements through private donations for specific goals and amenities. Slumber Falls will celebrate 60…
One of the most heard suggestions and requests by our churches and guests have revolved around better mattresses. We all know that sleep affects our overall health and wellbeing, and sleep helps us with healthy brain functions, emotional wellbeing, physical health, and increases our ability to function throughout the day. Our ability to engage the world, encounter God, and grow from our…
On my journeys in Africa in during my stint in the Peace Corps, I would often find myself in a local village store in need of supplies. Lined on the make shift shelves would usually contain plastic bags of sugar, rice, loose leaf tea, sometimes dried beans, candles, and a couple notebooks and pencils for school children. The entire contents of the…