Stop the game.

Here's a helpful hint for all of you youth leaders, children's ministry workers and anyone working with kids in any way: stop the game right when it is the most fun.

I can't take credit for this amazing nugget of brilliance because it was passed down to me, but it's crucial to any kind of youth engagement. Right when the dodgeball tournament is the most fun, shut it down and exclaim, "It's OK! We'll play again soon!" At the peak of the Boys vs. Girls Trivia Challenge, make it known, "Last question!" Shut it down. Leave them hanging. Leave them WANTING MORE.

I love asking the question, "If you could eat ONE MEAL for the rest of your life, what would it be?" I've heard "Steak and potatoes", "pizza", and "burger and fries" more times than I can count. I personally would pick sushi. I love the stuff. I'm glad no one chose macaroni and cheese or fried chicken. Those would get very old very fast. But honestly, what wouldn't get old? Sushi's great -- but every meal for the rest of my life? That's overkill. Pizza's delicious, but I get sick of pizza after eating it three times at a youth group retreat. This is a classic example of "too
much of a good thing."

In life, is there anything that doesn't become "too much" if you had an unlimited supply of it? You can have too much pizza, too much time with one person, or if we're honest, too much "church." Am I right? What can you think of that you couldn't have too much of?

I can only think of one thing: Jesus. He's the only thing that ALWAYS gets better the more you get. The closer you get to Jesus, the better he is. One thing I've come to know over the last few years is that the more I know about Jesus, the more I realize how much more there is to know. He's an infinite, endless, loving God that wants to be in the deepest relationship imaginable with me.

There are so many "good" things that I love experience here on earth. Hunting, golf, and sushi are my favorites off the top of my head. But with all of those things, I can have too much of it. It gets old. It's because those perish and fade. I can even get too much "church" or "youth group" or "camp." But I can never get enough Jesus. He's the only "good" thing that I simply CANNOT GET ENOUGH OF.

Spiritual Lesson from Clark W. Griswold

Does it get any better than National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation when it comes to Christmas movies? Elf, Christmas Story, and It's A Wonderful Life are classics, but there is no movie that tugs on our heartstrings like this one. The tree hunt, Christmas lights, Todd and Margo, Cousin Eddy, and the Crunch Enhancer: a non-nutritive cereal varnish... the list goes on and on, memorable scene after memorable scene. My wife and I had our first "Christmas Setup Night" last night and you'd better believe it included this unforgettable, inspirational tale.

But one moment sticks out above the rest to me:

Clark just got done putting the tree in the living room (little full, lotta sap) and he's laying in bed with his wife, ripping magazine pages out due to the sap on his fingers and his wife mentions that now BOTH sets of parents are planning on staying with the Griswolds for Christmas. Perhaps I'm making Clark seem more spiritual than he is, but it doesn't faze him. He rolls with the punches. He looks at it as a chance to love his family, even though his mother is going to accuse his mother-in-law of waxing her upper lip. He keeps it in perspective.

Christmas is a great season, right? And because we've built it up to be the most important holiday of the year, we get stressed out about it. We need to buy gifts, put up lights, hang the decorations, buy Peppermint Mocha creamer, find a White Elephant gift, and dress up nicer than usual for the Christmas Eve service. Those are just the beginning of the Christmas season to-do list. It weighs on us. How can we keep this in perspective?

1. Jesus is the real meaning of Christmas. Think about the words when you sing Christmas Carols this year. Take more time assembling your Nativity Scene than cutting out snowflakes. Read the Christmas story as a family before opening gifts on Christmas morning. Make it all about Jesus.

2. Wouldn't you rather it be real than perfect? Last night, I put up our Christmas tree and I walked into the garage to grab something. I returned to find the tree ON my wife. Fortunately, it was a small one and didn't injure her, but it was a humbling moment to say the least. I'm not the perfect husband after all. But after the incident, I thought, "I'm going to remember that for a long time." Why? It was real. Families are real. Mistakes are real. And I'd much rather it be real than perfect.

Thanks, Clark. You've helped me keep it in perspective. Thanks for keeping it real.

Maybe I should blog more often?

I talk too much. I'm well aware that being slower to speak and quicker to listen is at the top of my to-do list. I truly am working on that one. Getting married is helping me in that department. There's nothing more sanctifying than a Godly wife who encourages you to be a man who is wholeheartedly pursuing Christ.

Social media has a bad reputation in Christian circles. 

Social media is distracting, it wastes time, it is full of useless information, it contains sinful pictures and ideas, it's addicting, it hinders personal relationships... the list goes on. There are negative repercussions. 

However, the world has never been more connected. When Jesus gave the Great Commission, the only way to communicate what Jesus did was by word of mouth or carrier pigeon. Jesus knew that 2000 years after he ascended into heaven, we'd have this worldwide wireless connection where we can blast whatever message we want to everyone that knows us. No person can deny how impactful this can be. Now, the issue becomes what message are we sending?

I'm not sure how often I'll be posting, but I know what message I'll be sending when I do: "the life appeared." 

1 John says the LIFE appeared. We walk around and get lied to all day by every website, billboard, commercial and magazine that if we do this, lose that, get enough of this and achieve that, we'll have the life we've always wanted. It's all a lie. The LIFE already appeared, he left for a time, and he's coming back. There is no better life than one in love with Jesus Christ. 

5K with Billy Thomas

I didn't want to wake up this morning and drive to Norwalk to run a 5K with my dad and sister, but I braved the wind, rain, and cold weather and made it to the starting line. About a mile into the race, a man came running up beside me and said, "Hey, my sons recognize you from Beulah Beach!" Well that one line turned into a great conversation with Billy Thomas from Norwalk Alliance Church. I found out that his two sons, Jeffrey and Joey, came to Splash Camp last year and are planning on coming to camp again this year! I can't tell you how much that pumps me up!

My favorite part of the race was on mile 3 when Billy and I just started quoting Scripture back and forth to encourage each other to finish strong. Paul says in 2 Timothy, "I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith."

Today, I started out my run really fast -- alot faster than I should have started. But no one would have ever given me a medal for that, right? You don't get a trophy or medallion for starting a race really fast. Fortunately, I was able to labor through the end of the race and finish it. Even though I finished slowly, I finished - and I got my medal.

We're all finishing up something right now, right? For some it's a school year. Others it is simply a week of work. For some, it's probably hard to even look a week ahead and the day is the only thing we're focused on finishing. Just remember that it's not how fast you start the race, but whether or not you finish it. So get out there and finish strong!

Great to see you, Thomas boys! You guys are in a lot better shape than I am!

NEW SLIP 'N SLIDES

We need your help!

After sitting here thinking for hours and hours about a new name for our Slip 'n Slides, I just can't come up with anything good enough! I need some ideas! In fact, I'm so desperate for a good idea that I'm going to give whoever comes up with the winning idea a $20 gift card to the Dock!

Here's the skinny:

- There are two slip 'n slides (one tall one and one short one)

- They both start near the Lodge and go INTO the lagoon!

- They are going to be fast and amazing!

If you have an idea, respond to the Facebook Status post on the Beulah Beach Fan Page!

Can't wait to hear what you've got for me!

Joel

Man Stuff

All you MALE campers out there, be prepared to get your mind blown this summer!

Pink shirts are out. No shirts are IN.

If you show up in a Minivan, it's only OK if your mom is dropping you off. If she's not, you'd better be in a truck!

"No Chapstick Allowed" this summer at camp because men don't wear makeup!

And there is plenty more where that came from... and it's going to be the best, manliest summer of your life where we're going to rediscover what it means to be a real MAN!

Oh - and ladies - don't feel left out. We just hired a new WOMEN'S DIRECTOR for this summer! She is absolutely unbelievable and I can't wait for you all to meet her! I had the privilege of going to college with her at Indiana Wesleyan and she has an extensive background in youth ministry and camp ministry, as she worked at Camp Timberline in Colorado throughout college. I couldn't be happier bringing Becca on board, and it's been so cool to see God putting together the pieces for this upcoming summer!

The BIG 5 awaits you. Come and find out what it is!

Back in the "Camp Mindset"

Yo!

I seriously cannot wait to get back to camp!

Our camp program this summer is going to be better than it ever has before. I'm serious. I've had a few meetings in the last couple days that have PUMPED me up for camp! I can't tell you all the details now, but I can just tell you that we have some amazing speakers this summer and we've built a few new things around the beach that are going to be amazing!

Oh, and better than all that, our staff is HIRED. We are SO excited about who God has put on our team this year. I honestly believe it's the best staff we've ever had and I am so excited to watch God work in their lives this summer!

I can't wait to see you at camp! I'm going to keep letting you in on some hot information every once in a while from now until when camp starts so make sure you come back and check out this blog!

Later,

Joel