twenty: day in the life

My life as a camp director is quite cyclical. Summer camp is all consuming from 7am to 10pm but filled with lots of activity, laughter and people. Winter is slow with bursts of weekend activity and the fall and spring lie somewhere in between. Here's a somewhat typical fall day to answer the blogtember challenge,

Sept 20th: Share a day in the life. Pictures, timelines, stats, however you like.

My alarm typically goes off between 7-7:30 but my fingers usually find the snooze button 2-3... or more... times. I really like the mornings when it's on my terms but when I have to rush to get ready it's not my favorite. Lately I've been trying to exercise or do my daily Bible reading in the morning, even though it's hard to get out of bed I always feel better if I do something. I shower pretty much every morning, this curly hair kind of requires it if I don't want to look mop-like and I like listening to podcasts while I get ready. After breakfast I head out on my "daily commute" a quick walk or bike ride through the wooded trails from my house to my office, usually with coffee in hand. I'm an expert at simultaneous biking and coffee balancing.

Once I get to my office I flip my daily quote calendar, say good morning to the 4 interns I supervise and turn on my computer and coffee warmer. At this time of year we're preparing for 3 women's retreats weekends so I'm planning activities, schedules, decorations, communicating with speakers and bands, as well as preparing for winter youth retreats, mens retreats and wrapping up summer details. While some days are pretty normal at my desk there are many other "less normal days" where I get to live the camp life doing things like making giant chandeliers, interviewing for a tv spot, driving jeeps on the sand dunes, strutting around in giant underwear, smashing cars, investing in the lives of college students, wearing cow costumes, working the top of the zipline and buying hundreds of dollars worth of chocolate. Those are good days :)

In the busy times of year we eat at the camp dining hall a lot but if there aren't meals we head home around 5-5:30 and make dinner. If it's a Monday we're playing volleyball, Tuesdays I lead Bible study at our house and every other Thursday we have our church small group. We also like to take advantage of the beautiful area we live in and watch the sunset on the sand dunes, bike to Lake Michigan or go canoeing when we get the chance. Right now a lot of our evenings end with an episode of Chuck on Netflix.

Overall, I'd say it's a pretty good life.

Living The Camp Life

It was college spring break and with no money or plans, I tagged along with my parents to the annual Christian camping conference. I spent most of the week walking along Lake Michigan, napping, laughing with camp staff and attending sessions.

At the time I had no plans of someday joining the ranks of full-time Christian camping professionals but God did. So here I am, 8 years later (8 years?! How did I get so OLD?!) attending that same conference.
So... a few highlights!

We're camp people. It's what we do. 

1. This year I was asked to present a seminar! And not just one but two, one with a co-worker and one on my own. I struggled with feeling inadequate and unqualified until some wise people spoke truth over my insecurity and challenged me to banish those thoughts. The preparation process was BRUTAL. February and March are typically 2 of the hardest months of the year for a myriad of reasons and this year has been even harder than I anticipated.

I tend to have high expectations for myself and as a result I burned more emotional energy worrying and fretting about doing the workshop well than actually preparing. In the end both seminars went so well and I loved teaching. The response from other attendees was really positive and affirming. Yay!

Title slide from my workshop on theme integration in camping ministry. The whole workshop was spy themed.  

2. It's a family business. If Christian camping had celebrities, my dad would be one. Having both my parents, sister and even my Nana also working at Christian camps meant they were at the conference. My sweet Nana even came to my workshop to support and cheer for me!

3. Unique friendships and heart to hearts. Beth is a friend I met through the camp world. We were both women who started as program directors and got married in the same year. Now she's moved up to an Associate Director and has a baby but the chance to sit down and talk over a meal once (or maybe twice if we're lucky) a year is one of the most life-giving moments of the conference. She just gets it in a way that others can't. Melissa was an intern at the camp where I work when I first got here. She met her husband here and now they both work full-time at another camp, just like my hubby and I. We had a ton of time to talk, laugh, reminisce and encourage one another. We even planned a summer camping trip together! Woohoo!

That's the beauty of the camp world, we're not competitors or rivals, we're supporters, cheerleaders and coaches. There are former neighbors, mentors, babysitters, and co-workers who have moved into another ministry and we get to sit down and connect. It's the body of Christ in the truest sense.

Do you have connection points? Friends in your same stage of life that you can connect with? It's worth it. I'm thankful for this life-giving break in the midst of a crazy season.

Four Seasons of Worship

If you were to ask me my purpose I'd say, "To create experiences and places where people can meet with God." Luckily, the job I get paid for allows, encourages and requires me to do that. 

As the Program Manager at a camp I get to provide camps and retreats where people get away from their everyday mundane and come to experience God. I spend a lot of time running around, solving problems, flexing schedules, directing staff, answering questions and working 12-16 hour days. It's hard and exhausting. 

But then the session starts. I finish the announcements, set down my game props and take off my microphone to sit in the sound booth and watch. 

And then it's rewarding, encouraging and inspiring. 

... when 9-13 year olds run in circles, hold hands, do silly motions and put their arms around their friends, entering as children of God. 

... when 300 women sing in unison and it's like being in a choir of angels

...when teenagers pump their fists, close their eyes and maybe even raise their hands and it's like being at a rock concert celebrating the best artist of all time.

.... when 200 men lift their voices and the sound is deep, loud, rough and raw.

And that's why I do it. And that's why it's worth it.

So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot.            Ecclesiastes 3:22