This week my family and I were able to attend Family Camp 3 at Iowa Regular Baptist Camp. As always, camp is filled with lots to do. There are messages in the morning and the evening. Time for devotions with your family. But also lots of “camp” things to do. The zip-line has always been a favorite of my son, but this year he discovered gaga ball. And his dusty shoes and scraped up knuckles were all the proof we needed that he had really become a fan of the game. In fact, anytime you saw a little boy with scraped up knuckles, you’d know he’s been playing gaga ball!
I spoke in the mornings on the topic of contentment. In the evenings Chris Anderson spoke on the Psalms as well as a session on missions. His messages were a great reminder of how important singing is to the Lord. God also values honesty in prayer. In discussing Psalms of lament, he said something close to “It’s ok to pray angry, but don’t let anger keep you from praying.” He’s a self-described word-nerd, so I believe he said it better than I just did. Nonetheless, it’s a needed correction. Being angry with God should never prevent us from praying. God knows our very thoughts better than we do. Why then would we let these keep us from the Lord?
Another highlight was an emphasis on reading good books. The program director, Steve Cox, regularly brought up good books he had been reading and the impact reading has had on his life. In my sessions on contentment, I always had a book recommendation to go along with the message. At the end of the end of the week, Steve asked me and Chris to create a short list of recommended books. Between the 3 of us, we had a number of good choices, and even a few that we all chose (none of us talked ahead of time about what we would list).
If you can make the time and manage the resources, family camp might be a great option for a family vacation. The kids have lots of fun things to do. The food is good (not to mention not having to cook for a whole week). Adults have plenty of opportunity to hang out and make new friends. Many of the families from this week of camp have been going to the same week of family camp for more than a decade (one couple was in their 27th year of family camp!).
For those are interested, below is a recommended reading list that was handed out at the end of the week.
Book Recommendations From Family Camp 3
Thoughts Worth Thinking 