foundation for a legacy

 

This past week we celebrated at the annual SpringHill Christmas party.  It is always such a treat to gather all Michigan, Indiana and Daycamp staff and volunteers together and fellowship, something that doesn’t occur often as we are usually the ones serving from several location.  I love this group of people, for the shared vision and commitment to Jesus and kids.

This year our party coordinator/detail extraordinaire Dina, included us on the fun!  All the centerpieces were made by staff/volunteers and were part of a game.  Guess that Christmas Carol…  Mine I  bet will be obvious to you.  I was so excited to put my ‘O little town of Bethlehem’ votives together I was literally the first one to decorate my table, and one of the first ones to the party.   I tried to leave my hands open as to who would join us at our table and prayed that Jesus would bring the right people to the spots.  Well you can imagine my disappointment when after 35+ minutes of mingling not a single person sat at our table!

 

A little crushed and dinner almost ready to begin, two couples discreetly entered in.  Chuck and his wife, one of our creative duo at Site and Enoch and Joan, our Camp founders.  My fears aside, He brought just the right people, I am so thankful.  Even though we were the closest to the buffet line we were the last table called.  I didn’t mind,  I was in awe of the conversation taking place with Chuck and Enoch talking shop about the dining hall renovation.  Of all the conversations I hear around camp about kids, numbers, revenues… these two were talking about details of the building, specifically floor tiles.

Enoch recounted the 8000 tiles he personally laid in the original dining hall and still exist today in the space.  Talk about laying a foundation for a legacy!  I love that such a dynamic and personal leader was willing to get on his hands and knees to serve a place that reaches so many.  What a great example of humility to all who aim to serve.  Being willing to do even the most redundant lowly projects, that get walked on every day, not for recognition because it’s what needs to be done!   Not delegating just doing.  Something both of these men know a lot about.

I don’t think I could have hand-picked two better couples to sit with.  What a delightful evening it turned out to be, plus the girls crushed at family feud!   To pass on the fun, can you pick out some of the carols?

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

“And there, in the stable, amongst the chickens and the  donkeys and the cows, in the quiet of the night,  God gave the world his wonderful gift.  The baby that would change the world was born.  His baby son… And they gazed in wonder at God’s Great Gift, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger.  Mary and Joseph named him Jesus, “Emmanuel” – which means “God has come to live with us.”   – Jesus Storybook Bible

the tangible permanence of a handmade book

I’ve had the privilege of creating a custom guestbook for a place that we love dearly.  A place that is all about guests, stories, and recording God sightings.  It’s a place of change, the kind you want to record to forever remember and pass on to your children.

In an age of computers, facebook status updates, blog posts, and tweets, the moment that it takes to post, fleets just as quickly after read.   This book was made to record and to tangibly hold real memories and experiences recorded in ones own script.  It will go in our founder’s guest house and will serve as a running log, I can’t wait to see the first enteries but even more so the content.   I know from my heart that stories will be written on more than pages but the hearts of our guests and staff.  The weight of the book will reflect the heft of the moments.

This year SpringHill launched their Kids Need Camp campaign.  Today’s children, face more media distractions and spend less time outside or in meaningful spiritual conversation.  I love that SpringHill flips those numbers around for every week a kids spends at camp.  Now that’s something to write about.

homemade lemonade ice-cream with blueberry rhubarb crisp.

I may have used this as a bribe, to get one of my very busy camp friends to come and visit me… it worked! Today she leaves to head up one of our Detroit daycamps teams, which I am happy to say my daughter is FINALLY old enough to attend.  We are excited for camp, and love how this new ministry is reaching more kids and partnering with more local churches, in Indy, Chicago, Grand Rapids, Detroit, Cincinnati and Traverse city… well more places than that, but if you have a kid in 1-4 grades, check out SpringHill’s daycamp – it’s great and has AMAZING staff!

Lemonade Ice-Cream

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup milk

2 eggs

1 can frozen lemonade concentrate, partially thawed

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Using a whisk, beat the eggs and sugar in a bowl.  Slowly add the heavy cream milk, lemonade and vanilla, stir until all is incorporated.  Transfer to ice cream maker and freeze according to directions.  My family thinks this tastes like a lemon creamsicle – yum.

Blueberry Rhubarb Crisp

Fruit filling

4 cups rhubarb

4 cups blueberries

1 cup sugar

3 tbsp flour

1 tsp vanilla

Mix in a bowl and spread in a greased 9×13 pan.  I split mine in two 8×8 pans, and put one in the freezer for when someone drops by… I can effortlessly look like I was expecting them (in theory).

Crisp Topping

1/2 cup cold butter, cut in cubes

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

1 tbsp cinnamon

2 cups old fashion oats

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Mix all topping ingredients and layer on top of the fruit.  Bake at 375’ for 35-40 minutes or until bubbly and rhubarb is tender.  So good – enjoy!

sweet & spicy

Hope you enjoyed your long weekend.   Ours was a bit of both sweet and spicy,  I am still trying to grasp all that we packed into our three-day weekend.  The weather just couldn’t figure out what it wanted to do.  But alas, it’s feeling a bit more like summer around here and I have been making some print notecards for our local farmers market.  I am waiting on my new ink colors in the mail but I just couldn’t resist giving these little peppers a go…

Beyond the spicy weather, the sweet moments included the commencement of our summer meals at camp, family visitors, campfire songs, skits based on our favorite Jesus storybook bible stories, bike rides, swimming, and our first campout of the season.  We also ran our FIRST 5k as a family,  with the youngest in a stroller.   So proud of S, she ran the entire way and finished in 38 minutes!  Not bad for 6 years old!

 

 

flat Braden

My nephew sent me an assignment for his kindergarten class based on the international literacy and community project Flat Stanley.  We hung out with Braden at one of our favorite places SpringHill, see our adventures through our photo journal.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

pressing on through winters ride

Hosea 6:2-4

After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will restore us,
that we may live in his presence.
Let us acknowledge the LORD;
let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises,
he will appear;
he will come to us like the winter rains,
like the spring rains that water the earth.”

 

This weekend I was a camper at SpringHill for the first time!  I dared to attend a winter teen retreat with the junior highers from our church, which proved to be a great time.  What a great weekend of refreshment and a chance to view this place from a new perspective.

I also conquered a new first – I went on a winter trail ride.  I actually have never ever been on a trail ride ever, so to do it in winter was even more daunting for me.  I am not a big fan of horses to begin with the size, strength and their will, slightly frightens me, when I am on and off them.  The snow added another obstacle and another burden (me being the first) for the horse, as it trusted the guide and other horses traveling in front of it to step in the right spots down the right path.

My girls love horses, we visit the barn often in the summer. I have paid little attention in the past to their bodily change for the seasons, all the horses seemed larger and harrier then I remember.  While this seems like an odd detail to focus on, it struck me that their bodies ready themselves for the long season ahead, and they are most likely oblivious to the change.  By contrast we know the taste of each season, and long not only with our bodies but our whole being for what comes next.  We are not created to passively wait for change but ready ourselves by reading the word and putting our faith into action.

As surly as the sun rises he will appear, let us press on to acknowledge him, that he will revive us, restore us, that we may live in his presence.

 

 

a treat sort of a day

Yesterday it was 50 out.  It was also a snow day?

School was called off due to morning ice I presume but  it turned out to be such a gorgeous day that we couldn’t help but enjoy the sunshine.  Camp has its own rhythm outside of summer and on a weekday it is quite tranquil… This makes a great setting for quality time, teachable moments and a little nature discovery.

So we enjoyed the warm weather, snow, longed for our fun summer days and enjoyed lollipops.  These were gifts from friends for their birthday’s but I kept finding reasons to delay the sweet treats.  I think they tasted better after the wait, perhaps as sweet as spring feels after a long snowy winter.