Newness and a little of the same old...

I just returned from a camping trip with Discovery Church this weekend. We went over to a place in Eastern Washington and camped out near the Wenatchee (I think) River. It was so peaceful at night to hear the water right behind our tent rushing over the rocks. There were so many families and people of all ages on the trip. My carpool got there late since we had to get off work and get our stuff together before heading out. Lauren (my new friend) and I shared a tent and spent most of the weekend hanging out. She's a nurse so we always have fun conversation topics.

We went rafting with the morning group and had a blast. I've been rafting a ton in many different settings, but this was different. The rapids were surprisingly exciting despite their low class rating. We jumped out voluntarily more than once in order to beat the sweltering dry heat of Eastern Washington...not to mention we stayed drenched since each boat was equipped with their own water gun, so water fights were incessant. Saturday was relaxing. I enjoyed meeting new people and witnessing true community as people took turns watching children, making meals, and cleaning up together.

I didn't realize how much I could enjoy the outdoors in such a raw setting. Normally I'm heading back to a hotel room after witnessing such beauty. But last night I equipped myself with a flashlight, my Bible, and a journal and headed down to the "watering hole" (where you could walk down to the river without weeds and a steep bank). I sat out there by myself, taking it in. It was beautiful, even under just starlight. It was refreshing and comforting to kinda crawl up in God's lap there.

On another note, some things don't change. Boys and girls. Same old, same old. I'm a little disheartened. I wish as a Church, we were better at training people to love each other and establish stable family units. It just seems like there's not enough time to strip people of their life-given scars, rebuild their concept of a Christian home, and then equip them to be part of one in the midst of the practical things like college, jobs, and savings accounts. I would just like to sit all the high school/college kids down and give them a typical Lauren Webb sermonette on who they are in Christ and how to guard themselves and treat other people in dating relationships. Boys...ugh. I can't tell you how many times a week I hear or see or experience a situation where I just wanna yell, "MAN UP!" I'm praying about it. I don't mean to sound so bitter. I'm not. I'm just gonna be praying for renewed hope. And God is faithful.