Camp theme

Yesterday I did quite a bit of work developing our camp theme for the year, which is going to be the names of God. Since many of the kids who come to camp don't have a lot of church experience, we are keeping it simple. On Monday we will teach "Creator," on Tuesday "Father," on Wednesday "Jesus," on Thursday "Lamb of God," and on Friday "Holy Spirit."

I'm looking for stories, skits, songs, crafts, etc. that will help the kids understand the different names of God and what each name says about him. I'm especially having a hard time with crafts ..... I have plenty of ideas for just random, fun crafts, but I'd like to also do some crafts that relate to the names of God theme. I absolutely REFUSE to do stupid crafts ..... you know, crafts that are lame, but because they supposedly "teach something" it's OK. I really don't want to waste the kids' time. So I'm thinking very hard, and we'll see what I come up with.

For the camp staff we want to develop a Bible study, also on the names of God, that will take them through the whole summer. We will probably use slightly less familiar names for God .... I don't know if we want to get to deep into Hebrew and stuff, but names like "Jehovah Jireh," "God provides," are really cool. Or "Emmanuel," "God with us." I'm thinking, it would probably be enough to do 2-3 names of God per week (for 6-7 weeks). There isn't a shortage of names, but rushing through them isn't really the point either.

So we need to put together a workbook of sorts with the different names of God we'll be studying, and readings, questions, etc. to go along with each. The idea is that the counselors and other staff will use the books to jump-start their personal devotions, and then the leader of each group (maintenance, kitchen, etc.) will lead devotions where they can discuss what they've been studying about.

I'm really excited about that part, because I know last year I was so exhausted every day that I didn't always have the energy to really plan my Bible reading, and as a result it was pretty scattered. Obviously, one more workbook will not be a cure for my laziness, but I think it could help.

But Ben and I aren't exactly experts on the names of God, of course, so we're going to plug into some of the great resources that already have been written on the topic. I think Kay Arthur is pretty legendary, and I am sure there are more. Hopefully, with those resources to build off, we can come up with something that will really be thought-provoking, practical, and encouraging to our hardworking staff this summer.

I know there aren't a lot of you reading this blog (yet!), but leave any suggestions you have! We are definitely at the "information collecting" stage of the project, so anything goes.....

In other news, it's a beautiful day in Virginia today. Golden sunlight, clear sky, crisp clean air. For a recently transplanted Minnesotan, it's hard to believe it's January ..... it feels like we're in the middle of a beautiful autumn or spring. It seems to good to be true.