Building Others Up

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Ephesians 4:29

This verse has been a constant lesson and reminder for me this year. It is so easy to say something that I don't mean. Before I can stop it the deed is done and I have hurt someone that I love. There are several things that I get out of this verse. The first is that we must speak purely. We cannot speak words that would be dishonoring to our Lord. The second is How we talk.

Speak only what is helpful for building others up. We must only speak good things about others. If we cannot, then we must not speak of them at all. In other words, we must keep most of that stuff to ourselves. We can only speak of things if it blesses the person we are talking about. So we can only talk about others if it is good or if they are in need. The person who is listening must benefit from what I have to say. Well that leaves us with very little to say. I guess that is the whole point.

This should change the whole structure of how we talk and how we think. I fail at this often, but think of what a difference it would make if we all strove to do this? This will be a lesson that I will be practicing for a lifetime. Each time we open our mouths we have the opportunity to bless or hurt someone. Let's start building others up.

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I Am Thankful

A few days ago my mom and I pulled into the driveway and we found my dad hauling a big thing into the house. We soon found out that it was a stove. We needed a new stove. Someone just gave it to us. WOW! I love it when God does stuff like that. The stove is definitely a big gift for my family. What a blessing!

This Christmas I find myself being thankful for so many things. We are having a simple Christmas this year. I am glad because Christmas isn't about the gifts. Why do we get so caught up on the material things? The only gift that matters is Jesus Christ and I am SO thankful that he saved me!

I am thankful for:

My parents, family, friends, safety, my home, God's provision, the opportunity to go to college, my job, and most importantly, my relationship with my Savior! May we all focus on the Savior this Christmas.

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Taking Care of Barb

There have been a few times in my life that were key turning points for me. I have been through a few different situations that have changed my life forever. During the summer of 2006 I was a counselor once again at Camp Daniel. If you go to camp long enough you get a camper that will challenge you.Each week has brought it's own set of challenges for me.

I had a camper in a wheelchair that week. Barb was 52 and had cerebral palsy. That week was the worst and best week of my life. That was the first time I had ever done full time care for someone. At first it was really overwhelming. Barb was so patient with me as I was learning how to take care of her. I had to feed her, clothe her, bathe her, and take her to the bathroom. I had to do everything for her. The first couple of days were stressful for me. When I finally let go of that and I truly embraced everything I was doing with her, the rest of the week was a blessing.

There were a few ladies who knew what they were doing and they helped me a lot that week. Thank you Nancy, Katie and Sherry. I couldn't have done it without them. They were such a good example to me of having a servant's heart. The body of Christ is supporting and helping each other at camp. I am continually blessed to see this in action.

It was an honor, a privilege to take care of Barb. Barb taught me so much that week. She taught me about love, patience, vulnerability, and being humble. Something happened that week that I can't describe. Something changed inside of me. As I took care of Barb, God softened my heart and broke me. My life has been forever wrecked in an amazing way, and I will never be the same.

This is a picture of me holding hands with Barb. This picture represents so much for me.

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Being Refined

Before silver can be sold it needs to be refined. The silver is melted and the impurities rise to the top. Then a worker skims the impurities off of the surface. Each time the silver is purified there are less and less of the impurities that rise to the surface. The worker keeps melting the silver until it is completely pure. Pure silver is more valuable than regular silver.

God uses the trials in our lives to refine us. When we are challenged and stretched God peels the impurities away so that we become more like him. God has a lot of work to do in us. We don't know the reasons for the things that we go through but God does. Trust God and know that He is in control. One day you will get to a place in your faith when you will be able to look back on your life. You will realize what God taught you through that experience and how much you grew during that difficult time. I hope that you will embrace each experience and allow him to refine every area of your life.

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Don't Endure Your Life, EMBRACE IT

Don't endure, embrace.

They talk about this a lot at camp. Sometimes it is easy to do just enough to get by. You want the week to be over as soon as possible. We have all been stretched to this point. We are overwhelmed with things and we want to be done with the week. You don't want to fall into this trap because then you will be missing out on what God has for you.

We encourage the counselors to embrace everything that they are going through. You need to embrace the good and the bad things that you go through. You need to embrace the experiences that stretch you. It is so easy for people to go through life being completely numb to what is going on. They do just enough to get by in life. When you let go and embrace the situation, you can truly live and be free. I didn't say it would be an easy thing to do. It may be easier to embrace the good but we must also embrace the things that challenge us. We need to do this because I believe that there is a reason for everything.

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Peeling Away Layers of Selfishness

Every summer Pastor Koch gives a really good message to the counselors before the campers come. He wants the new counselors to understand what camp is about. I am convicted every time I hear this message. There are a lot of things that you will experience during your week at camp. There are a lot of emotions that you will go through while you are at camp.

The campers live a life of pain and suffering. They are very familiar with rejection and they are used to being pushed aside. The campers experience a lot of physical and emotional pain throughout their lives. At camp you get to experience their life and even some of their pain. For one week you are in their world. We are there to love our campers. But there are also a lot of things that we can learn about ourselves throughout the week.

We have three enemies that tempt us: they are the world, Satan, and our sinful flesh. You are your worst enemy. We are so focused on ourselves and what we want. We are selfish and we gratify those sinful desires. The goal of camp is to take the focus off of ourselves and put it on someone else for the week. There are many different ways that we will be stretched and put in uncomfortable situations throughout the week. We go through these things so that we can understand the campers a little better.

Pastor Koch uses the illustration of a clay jar. We are the clay jar and the hard mold is our selfish being. God uses experiences like camp to make a little crack in that jar. God uses camp to peel away layers of selfishness. We are stretched when we experience pain and suffering during uncomfortable situations. God uses those things to give us an understanding about life. It is a good thing to take the focus off of yourself and care for another person. When God uses experiences like camp to peel away our selfish being we can live life and experience things as He intended.

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Family

The atmosphere at Camp Daniel is very special. There are around 100 people there each week so it is still small enough that you get to know everyone pretty well. You can be yourself and you are loved just the way you are. These people become your family in a very short amount of time. At the end of the week you don't want to leave. The friendships you create that week will last a lifetime. Each year you pick up right where you left off.

Things are different at camp. All of the outside distractions fade away. The bottom line is that we love Jesus and we want to show the love of Jesus to our campers. There are Christians at camp from many different denominations and we don't get caught up on the little things. Jesus is the thing that connects us. We are there to love and take care of our campers. We are there to love and support each other. Everyone is stretched and challenged in different ways. Each person has a different level for their breaking point. At camp you get to put your faith into action. The body of Christ is lived out as it should be. Each person does their part and we are there to go through it together. It is a beautiful thing to see others give sacrificially of themselves. When there are so many people serving in this way and giving of themselves, great things happen. We are all pushed to our breaking points and God draws us closer to himself. He takes us to a deeper level in our faith. We are closer to God than we have ever been.

Some people don't like being pushed to their breaking point, in fact, I don't think anyone does. I think that is why some don't come back. There are only a few people who truly understand what is taking place at Camp Daniel. There are even fewer people who truly embrace what they go through and crave more of it. I am one of those people. God opened my eyes. I can see what happens at camp and I can't stay away. I want to be growing in my faith and surrounded by people who want the same thing. Camp Daniel is one of the few places I have found that.

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Worship pt 3

I want to tell you about a few times of when I have seen beautiful worship.

The first story is about a camper named Cathy. Every year she sings an old hymn, all four verses. She sings it with tears in her eyes, looking up to heaven. She sings this song wholeheartedly to her Savior. This will always be a beautiful picture in my mind.

Now I want to tell you about how I experienced worship this summer. For the third week of camp the worship pastor from Living Hope Church gave the message and lead worship in the evening. There was something really special about that week. Worship was really powerful during the evening service. There was this flow to the service and the presence of the Lord was in that place. There were several times every night that I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit so powerfully that it took my breath away, and I had to stop singing. During worship there was a camper named Larry right behind me. He is a really intense person. He shouts the songs like he is at a football game. He is like this all the time. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry because I was feeling so many emotions. He wasn’t goofing around. He was singing with his whole heart. You can only experience worship like this at Camp Daniel.

The last story is about an autistic camper. I was running the power point for worship and this camper was in one of the back pews with his counselor. He was standing up and facing me while he was rocking back and forth. Every once in a while he would turn around to the front and look at the words. Then he would turn back around, and he would say them as he continued to rock back and forth. It was over stimulating for him to face the front because there was too much going on, yet he worshiped in his own way. This is a camper who has been coming for a few years and he is in his own world most of the time. He doesn’t communicate very much with people. Every year the campers get a little more comfortable being there and express more of their feelings. Sometimes you question whether this is making a difference in their lives. He was comfortable enough to worship and that was the first time I have seen him worship. This summer a camper who doesn’t communicate very much with people was worshiping Jesus. I would say there is a lot going on in his heart. God is working, and it takes my breath away.

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Worship pt 2

The morning and evening chapel services are split between slow and fast worship. The morning service is designed for lower functioning campers and the whole service is at a much slower pace than what we are used to. The goal is to have them sing the songs so they really know what they are singing about. This way they can have time to process things and really worship. The message is also very simple with one main point. The evening services are geared toward higher functioning campers. The songs are faster and they are more like what we are used to.

Most of us would like the evening service because it is what we are used to. Everyone has a good time of worship and the service is fun. You have to learn to really appreciate the morning service because it is at their pace. They can be involved with the service and experience worship that really ministers to their hearts. They understand what they are singing about. At this pace, they have the opportunity to lead worship and it is a beautiful thing. There are some that are born leaders and it just comes naturally to them. Others have the opportunity to lead and it is a new experience for them. Leading pushes them outside of their comfort zone. There were many who lead us in worship at camp last summer and it was amazing. There was a blind gal at camp last summer who was born to be a worship leader. I got to experience her leading worship. There is this indescribable thing that happens when they take over the service.

A few of the campers have the gift of preaching. One of the guys who gave a few messages last summer was Jesse. When he got up to preach I didn’t understand a word he said, yet he was getting a lot of reaction from the campers. There were a lot of amen’s and nodding of heads. They understood what he was saying. He is one of them, ministering to them. I don’t have words to describe how amazing that is. He understands them better than anyone else. He knows what they have been through. He has experienced what they have experienced. He can reach them on a level that we will never be able to.

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Worship

I want to describe what worship is like at Camp Daniel. I will do my best to give you a clear picture. Chapel at Camp Daniel can be loud, crazy, fast, slow, and exciting. When you are in chapel the campers do a lot of different things. Some campers sing loudly and some are very quiet. Other campers are singing the wrong words or they are out of tune. Then there are those that clap their hands and stomp their feet and dance around. The dancing thing is mostly for attention. (I sure have some funny stories about that, haha.) And then, to add to the chaos already taking place, sometimes they hand out instruments for the campers to play. So there is always a lot of noise at any given time.

Amidst all of what I would call beautiful chaos or beautiful noise, the presence of the Lord is in that place. It is unlike anything else I have ever experienced. There are so many different and unique ways in which the campers worship. Each one of them expresses their worship differently. I don’t know how to explain it, but they have this ability to be immediately in the presence of God. We are lucky if we even get to that point, and the campers do it right away. I think it is because they don’t have all of this junk in the way like we do. We have to get rid of the junk in our lives. We have to get rid of everything that separates us from God, only then can we get to that place of complete worship.

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Being a Counselor at Camp Daniel

My first experience around people with disabilities was at Camp Daniel. At first, I was really overwhelmed. Those feelings are a normal part of the process. A person is usually overwhelmed when they immerse themselves in a new culture and it takes time to adjust. Five years ago I was a counselor for a week. That was the first time I had immersed myself in disability culture. That week changed my life forever. Camp Daniel is my favorite place to be. Everyone there has become my family. I keep going back because there is something real and genuine there. There is a love and acceptance that flows from everyone. You are free to be yourself.

At camp, Christianity and the body of Christ are lived out as they should be. God always challenges you and pushes you to the next level in your walk with him. He draws you closer to himself. I go to be challenged and stretched, and it never fails. When you first start going, you go to make a difference in your camper’s life. Your camper ends up teaching you a thing or two and loving you more than you thought possible. In the end, it is you that is changed.

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Breaking from Tradition

I always thought Christianity had to look and be a certain way, and then I moved to Georgia. I have changed a lot in the past few years, especially during my time in Georgia. I met people from all over the world. Many of them have ministered to people from different nations and cultures. During my time in Georgia I experienced God in new ways. I learned to worship and pray in new ways. I learned about doing many things differently.

How have we gotten so caught up in the traditions? We have mixed a lot of our culture and traditions with Christianity. Can we distinguish between them? I still believe some of those things are important, but for me, my salvation breaks down to a few basic truths. Do the other things really matter? We will never agree on them. How can we let them divide us? It is time for me to step outside of the box. I am breaking from tradition.

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Encourage Them to be Leaders

For so long, people with disabilities have been used to getting pushed aside. That is how our society has treated them. Many of the people who come to Camp Daniel and Able have experienced much pain and rejection. For many this is the first time that they are told they are loved, and that their life has meaning and value. God has such a special purpose for them. Our society has put them in this box and pushed it aside. People with disabilities are used to living inside this box. It is time for them to step outside of the box.

If someone encourages and believes in you, you are much more likely to succeed. It is time for us to step up and show people with disabilities that we believe in them. If we did this, they would be capable of doing great things for the kingdom. They could rise up and be leaders and teachers of the word. That is why I love Camp Daniel and Able because they have the opportunity to be a part of the body of Christ. They get to use their gifts that God has given them. Some people have the opportunity to preach the word of God. There are always greeters at the door. Many have gotten to lead us in worship, and others are prayer warriors. There are also those that serve and help around camp and do whatever they can.

I hope that more people catch onto this vision because it is amazing and powerful to see them doing ministry. We need to mentor them and show them how to use their gifts. Once we start doing this, great things will happen because we will be including the whole body of Christ.

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Breakthrough

There is one song I have been playing on my iPod a lot lately. Before you read the lyrics, I want to give you a little background. This song is written by Peder Eide. He leads worship at big youth events and conferences mainly in Wisconsin and Minnesota. He is one of the most amazing worship leaders I have ever experienced. He can get everyone and I mean EVERYONE in that conference to do fun motions to the songs. Then during the next song we are on our knees in worship and the presence of the Lord is in that place. Every time I listen to this song I am convicted to do more, to be more. I want to get all of the junk out of my life. I want there to be nothing between me and Jesus.

Breakthrough by Peder Eide

I sing all the songs
I read all about you
I know right from wrong
What does it amount to
If my life doesn't show
How much I love you

I need you to breakthrough
Tear down the walls
Let everything fall
'cus I want to praise you
Nothing between you and me
I need you to breakthrough

I know there is more
I've yet to discover
so many things
you want to uncover
I've been scratching the surface
I want to go deeper

break through the pride
break throuh the shame
I've had enough
of staying the same
break through the fear
open the gate
I'm getting tired
of playing it safe

I need you to breakthrough
tear down the walls
let everything fall
'cus I want to praise you
Nothing between you and me
I need you to breakthrough

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You Are Loved

People with disabilities are used to being ignored and pushed aside. Many experience a lot of pain and suffering. Some of them even experience abuse and neglect. At Camp Daniel, they are told that their life has meaning and purpose. For some, this is the first time they are told that they are loved. That just breaks my heart. Some have not been loved as God intended. I have come to realize that this is the most important thing you can speak into anyone, especially to people with disabilities because this is not how the world views them.

You are loved

You are such a gift from God

You are a unique masterpiece that God has created for a special purpose

Your life has meaning and value, your life has a purpose

YOU ARE LOVED

This is such an important thing that EVERYONE needs to hear. From now on, I want to speak this into the hurting people around me.

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Camp Daniel

I want to share a little bit about Camp Daniel. I will refer to it a lot because camp has become a huge part of my life. Camp Daniel is a Christian camp for people with disabilities in Athelstane, WI. I have spent the last five summers of my life there and it has forever changed my life. Camp Daniel was started twelve years ago by the Piantine family.

There are a wide range of campers. We can have a person with Down syndrome who is completely self sufficient, to someone in a wheelchair who needs full time care. There are also a wide range of ages. The campers are anywhere from 8-70. Most of the camper and counselor ratios are one to one. Some of the guys have two campers because we always seem to have a shortage of guys. We need more counselors! If you are interested, let me know. If you are willing to give up a week of your life, you definitely won’t regret it. That week will change your life forever.

All you have to do is love someone for a week. How hard is that?

Most of the camp weeks are around 100 people all together. They are small enough so there is still that family atmosphere and you get to know everyone really well. There are a lot of fun activities to sign up for. You can go fishing, swimming, bowling, play bocce ball, do crafts and many other things. We also have big group activities like volleyball, kickball, relay games, messy games and the talent show. You get to build relationships with lots of amazing people. And most importantly, you get to share the love of Jesus with the campers.

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No Child is a Mistake

After working with people with disabilities for the last five years, I have come to view them differently. A few years ago, God gave me this epiphany.

Who are we to say that they are disabled? We all have areas and things that we struggle with. We are all disabled in some way. We all have challenges that we face. I have seen them flourish in areas where I am disabled. I continue to be in awe of how God uses them.

No child is a mistake.

God created each person for a reason. He has a purpose and plan for each one of us. Some people don’t know how to act around people with disabilities. Some may feel sorry for them and others think it is someone’s fault. Each one of them is a gift, a unique masterpiece from God. Not one of them is a mistake. There are some truly special people that God has touched, and I believe they are people with disabilities. God put them on this earth to teach us something. There may be more struggles and challenges that they have to overcome, but out of that comes this amazing love for people and life. I soak up every moment I can with them.

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No More of this Sugar Coated Junk

What is wrong with today’s churches?? We have made Christianity convenient for our lifestyle. If we truly believed in salvation, things would be drastically different. We go to church on Sunday morning, have a good time of praise, and then what?? How am I living my life? How can I love the hurting people around me to Jesus?

We have gotten used to going to church on Sunday morning and hearing a message that makes us feel good. This is the kind of message that goes in one ear and out the other. Did I learn anything? Was I convicted? We don’t want to hear the truth, we want a softened message. How did we fall into this trap? Preachers and pastors know they are softening the truth, and yet they continue to do it. This is something that I don’t understand. I have had enough of this sugar coated junk. When I go to church, I want to be convicted with the truth, the word of God. I want to be convicted to go to the feet of Jesus and to weep over my sins and ask for forgiveness. I want to be changed and renewed. Now if that happened every Sunday, that would be something I would remember.

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Stay Faithful

Stay faithful. These are two simple words.

I have never had anything so simple penetrate right to my heart. Almost a whole year ago a pastor said these two words to me. So much time has passed since he said those words and I still think about them a lot. They convict me daily. How did he know that is what I needed to hear? He saw right through me, to the deepest part of my heart. Interestingly enough, this is the biggest thing I have struggled with this year. I have had attacks and temptations that have hit me from many different angles this year. I have struggled emotionally and spiritually this year. I don’t think I have ever had so many personal attacks before. I must be headed in the right direction with this disability ministry thing. There is a war for souls going on. That is why it is so important to stay faithful. I need to stay in the word and keep soaking it up. That is why these two words continue to be so convicting. The more attacks I have, the more important it is that I need to guard myself with the word. I need to cling to Jesus.

I want to challenge you with these two words. I hope that they will convict you and penetrate your heart as they have mine. Stay faithful.

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What is Revolutionary Love?

Revolutionary love is a love that is life changing. This kind of love can only come from one place: the cross. I have experienced the love from the cross and it has changed me. Now how am I going to live this changed life of mine? How am I going to show that I am truly changed or that this love is the real deal?

The closest I have ever come to experiencing this revolutionary love outside of the cross is from people with disabilities. There is this pure love, joy and acceptance that flows from them. This revolutionary love that flows from them is unlike anything else I have ever experienced. I have spent the last five years of my life around people with disabilities. The more time I spend with them, the more I crave it.

This pure love comes from a life of pain and suffering, a life of brokenness. If anyone has a right to complain, it is them. Yet they are some of the happiest people I know and they find joy in the simple things. I have much to learn from them. Out of their brokenness comes something so pure and real, and it has changed my life forever.

These are the people that Jesus hung around with. I want to be like Jesus. He understood the value they brought to this world and to his life. There are only a few people who get it, who truly understand what a gift they are to us and how much we have to learn from them. I don't want to miss out on anything.

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