Camp Sterling

If I could think of one word for the camp in Sterling it would be FANTABULOUS.

For the past 4 years we have taken a group of teens down to Sterling, Alaska for a teen camp. This camp is run by Resurrection Bay Baptist Church in Seward, Alaska. Teens and churches from all over Alaska come. I think that is one of the main reason I love this camp so much. It is neat when teens from the like faith, who want to serve God and who live in the same state all come together. It is very refreshing. Since our state is so big (the biggest I might add) and spread out we don’t ever all get together besides that one time a year. Fairbanks is the farthest from everyone so that makes it hard too.

 It is a dreadful 12 hour drive. When you’re in a bus full of stinky, annoying, weird teens it isn’t that fun. BUT, lucky me….I was *privileged* to ride down in an air conditioned, nice, comfy Tahoe with Bro. Dave, Lindsay and Liberty. Did I mention there was AC?! Oh, and Katya was with us too! J. I was able to sleep and sleep and sleep a little more! So nice! Liberty and I had some grand bonding time. I get along great with one year oldsJ. That totally boosted the week off. We had to leave at 6:30…in the morning! I don’t think it’s healthy to wake up that early and get in a car and drive. We did it anyway though.

I don’t even know where to begin. Once again we had the greatest cabin ever! Mrs. Davis rocks…enough said. We had all girls from BBC expect one. Campers anyway. Then we had Amber from RBBC and her little baby girl and we had Erica the last couple nights. OH – forgot to mention…..we had HEATERS in the cabins. AND electricity! Of course we didn’t need the heaters seeing how it was in the 80’s. But still! Ok, pardon the excitement but we don’t have all that modern stuff at Camp Victory. Fairbanks people are more….rustic J just kidding. We could actually PLUG stuff into the wall in Sterling!!! Technology these days.

So we had 4 teams this year. I was picked to be the captain of the green team. Each team had a boy and girl captain. Not sure how I got roped into that but anyway. We didn’t really do anything anyway…haha, it was pretty much just a title.

We have preacher boy and singing competition every year. BBC takes most of the 1^st place medals homeJ. There are solos, duets, small group, ensembles and choir competitions. I was in one of the small groups (which we one 1^st place in). It was awesome hearing everybody sing from their heart to God.

My favorite thing about this camp was definitely the preaching! If I had to rank it 1-10, I would give it a 1,000. It is very hard to put into words the Spirit of God that was there and very present. We had a wonderful time in the singing, the preaching and the fellowship of everyone. Bro. Scott Gray came up again this year. He is at the top of the list of my favorite preachers. You could definitely tell that God was there and moving in the hearts of just about everyone there. Most teens walked away from every service with a decision made for the Lord. Bro. Justyn and Rachel Smith came up also for this camp. I was SOOO glad they did! It was awesome getting to see them again! Unfortunately, they couldn’t come up for our camp so I was glad we got to see them the next week. He did a lot of the preaching as well. And of course our very own Bro. Dave preached as well. All three of them were amazing and God worked mightily through all of them and their messages.

As you probably get the picture by now, we had a ton of fun, made lots of memories and can’t wait for next year! I’ll add the pictures later since I don’t have them now J.

Oh and by the way...my birthday is in 5 days. Don't forget. Feel free to send me something!

Camp Victory

Well, hello again blog world! It’s been much too long…but I can explain.

Where to begin? I actually have a list of 8 different posts to do. Now I just have to find some time J. I have been out of town for 3 weeks which is why I have been behind. But hey, that gives me 3 more topics to write about. You might be wondering where on earth I have been. Let’s just say summertime in Alaska is super quick and super busy! Especially at our church. If you blink too fast, you’ll miss it.

We had our 3 teen camps 3 weeks in a row. Yes, that’s where I've been. What a blast! So I’ll start with Camp Victory. I've got to rewind  my mind back 4 weeks to try and remember everything.

It was an awesome week. Our groups of teens this year seem really young. I’m not sure if it is because I’m older or if we really are lacking in the older generation of teens. I think it’s a mixture of both. Most of the teens were in the age group of 13-15. But, we still had fun. I was the counselor of an AWESOME group this year! We totally had the best cabin ever! So many memories. Especially on nights where we stayed up till 4 am and………pranked J. Keep it on the down low though….they still don’t know it was us.

Also, we had a group from Heartland Baptist with us that week. Whew…grand times! They were really cool. I have friendships that will last a long time. *Shout out to Grace*. I don’t think I’ve EVER met someone who is so much like me. Sounds weird but it is true. I’m so so thankful to God for letting our paths cross. Can’t wait till we see each other again! WATCH OUT, WORLD!

The preaching was amazing as always. We had about 6 preachers everyday. God spoke to me each and every time. We truly are blessed to have men of God here in Fairbanks to come out and preach to the teens.

I knew I should of written this sooner. My memory is running low. No Bueno. I have a TON of pictures to post, but unfortunately I don’t have them all at this time. So I’ll only post a few for now.

 

Paintball! 

One of our....slightly dangerous games

Liberty and I

Madelyns artwork

Inside Games

Nehemiah Preaching

Me, Grace and Lacey!

CRAZY!!  

Tape Shyanne? Greatest idea so far!

PART of our fabulous cabin

We are weird

The one, the only.....4AM GANG! 

P.S. My birthday is in 5 days. If you would like to be a blessing, feel free to send me something.

Be an Example

"My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways."  Proverbs 23:26

The first Naval officer killed in the Iraq war in 2003 was twenty-seven year old Lt. Thomas Adams. He was one of seven who died when his Sea King helicopter collided with another aircraft over the Persian Gulf. Lt. Adams was serving as a liaison officer with the British Royal Navy at the time. In serving his county Thomas Adams was following a long family tradition. He was a descendant of President John Adams, and many other members of his family had served the nation from the Revolutionary War to the Civil War to modern times.

Adams’ legacy is a wonderful example of the legacy we can leave for the future by the way we live our lives in the present. President John Adams believed in the United States and devoted his life to helping form and build the new nation. His children and grandchildren followed in his footsteps because of the example that he set for them. By observing his ways the course of their lives was set—in a pattern that has lasted for generations.

Part of God’s plan for His people is that each generation sets an example for the next to follow. Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). Each day we should be aware that there are others watching us, especially in our family and in our church family. They see how we respond to success and victory, and how we respond to difficulty and defeat. They watch our actions to see if they match with our words. They observe our behavior at home to see if it matches our conduct in public. While none of us are perfect, we should strive to continually set a godly example for those who come after us to follow. 

Live in such a way that as your children and grandchildren follow your example, their lives will bring honor and glory to God.

By Paul Chappell

Sista's

The Servant God Uses

"Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" Acts 9:6

       "Lord, what..."

1. Surrender - "to give up"


       "...wilt thou..."

2. Subjection - "to place under"


        "..have me to do?..."

3. Submission - "to yield without resistance"

BEING GOD'S SERVANT IS A....

• Personal matter (Acts 9:6)
• Practical Mission (Acts 9:15)
• Particular Mandate (Romans 12:1-2)

"No reserves, No retreats, No regrets" 

.....till next semester

Hey look Madison....i'm blogging! :)

Well, it's true...i'm done with my Web Design Class! That semester totally went by Über quick! Definitely learned a TON. We learned all about HTML and CSS (sorta complicated to explain). Anyway, I can now say that I can make a website. Since I now know what goes on 'behind the scenes' on a webpage I understand it a lot better. By the way....blogging is WWAAYYYYYY easier! Everything is practically done for you! If you want to see a little what i'm talking about, do this - start a new post and click (top left corner) HTML instead of Compose :). Yes, do that RIGHT now! :) So basically - we had to learn all the coding and what everything means. Fun stuff! Oh, and if you're wondering... 94.6% was my final grade. I think ;).

Grateful to have my pal, CrystalyN take the class with me. We had many laughs (ok, mainly her laughing AT me..smh), lots of fun, crazy stories and grand times!

You're probably wondering what this first picture is. Well, it is my LAST and FINAL Submission!!! So happy to click the little SUBMIT button! So to me that is a BEAUTIFUL picture!!!!! :D

Well, tata for now. I'll try not to let so much time pass between posts :)

Soft Answers

A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.

Proverbs 15:1-2

I read about a study that researchers at Kenyon College conducted among naval personnel. They wanted to evaluate how the tone in which orders were given impacted the response those orders received. What the study showed was that the way in which the orders were given had a greater impact on the response than the content of those orders. The tone of the order went a long way toward determining the response.

When someone received an order in a soft voice, the answer tended to be given softly. But when the order was shouted, the response tended to be sharp as well. Interestingly enough, these findings held true whether the communication was in person or on the phone. It was not so much the facial expression or body language as the tone and volume of the voice that drove the response.

The same principle holds true in our lives, just as we find spelled out in the Scripture. When we speak to those around us with harsh, loud, or angry words, we should expect a negative response. Wisdom guides us to govern and control the way in which we speak to others. This is an especially important lesson for those in leadership positions—pastors, teachers, parents—as the manner of our speech often determines the response as much or more than the content.

We should never shrink from a necessary confrontation or correction. If some behavior needs to be changed or stopped it should be plainly stated. However, this should be done in kindness and love rather than harshness. Jesus was never soft when confronting sin, yet those who heard Him speak were astonished by the “gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth” (Luke 4:22).

by Paul Chappell