Men's Camp - The Really Long Version

1 John 1:5-7

This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

The weekend of July 25-27 2008 will go down in my life as one of the more significant weekends on my walk with God. Why? The answer is that weekend will always be known as the weekend of attending my first ever Men’s Camp.

Friday July 25

All the men going to Men’s Camp at Stanwell Tops left in groups at different times on Friday due to work commitments. I was in the 5pm group, who met at the Church. We could also be known as the Bubbly Car group as I was the driver! There was Eddie, Joshua, David Kent and myself in the car so the laughter was flowing from the moment we all got in and I told them all in my previous life I used to be a professional stunt car driver so would have us there in no time. I still can’t figure out why everyone had their seatbelts on so quickly…

Anyway, the first stop was Goulburn Macca’s, a restaurant of fine repute that is part of the famous Scottish hamburger chain. Thank you to David Moss who had survived a huge wait in a queue that went back to the doors and got us our meals. This saved us a fair bit of time so after finishing dinner at 7pm we left, David Kent deciding to keep David Moss company on the trip there and joining his car.

We made good time down the Hume until the turn off, and the fellowship was excellent. It was so good in fact that we decided to do a lap of Wollongong, including a stop in a street behind some youth who may or may not have been drinking but probably needed to be reminded by the sight of a white Commodore from Canberra pulling up behind them that perhaps they should be doing something less sinful on a Friday night. After this quite lengthy fellowship, and discovering that my lights on high beam make small animals believe night has turned into day very quickly, we arrived at Stanwell Tops. Praise the Lord that we arrived safely when in 2008 too many do not.

We were just in time for the last half hour or so of the Friday night service by Bro Black. We all wished we had left that little bit earlier because the service was excellent! A great message about brotherly love and that we need to be open with our brothers and share our burdens.

It is one thing too many men do not do well but should learn to do better. We need to share our troubles, to work on them with those that care about us and make ourselves into better men. Is this not what Jesus did? He shared His burdens with many and how great was His life because of it! Ultimately He sacrificed His life for all of our sins.

After the service we all had a Milo. Yes, the drink for REAL men! Well, okay, maybe a couple of us had a coffee. Not sure if that is a drink for REAL men. But no denying though it was a great chance for some fellowship with men from all over the region. I was already loving being at camp; sharing my love of God with so many other men, learning about the scriptures, the great preaching and just time for reflection.

I was in a cool dorm, we all went to bed really late, like I think it was 11pm or perhaps even 11.15pm. Sharing a dorm with Eddie, Ray Z, David Kent, David Moss and Bill was great. Lots of laughs, interesting stories and general light hearted banter. Not like that other dorm. Oh yes, we get to them soon, mwhahahahahahaha…

Saturday July 26

Saturday morning breakfast after morning prayer was bacon, eggs, tomatoes, sausages, cereal and toast. There was again great fellowship, lots of secret men like conversation on topics such as _______ and ________ . Have to say Aaron, Joshua, and Rusty all make some interesting points on some interesting topics…lol…sorry but that as much as I can write. I mean if you weren’t there you weren’t there and the context, like my memory about some other details, could be lost.

Have to say too I didn’t take down any notes on the sermons so I may be a little off centre with what actually was preached. Then again I didn’t take hardly any pictures either, it just became more important to listen to the sermons and feel the love of my brothers in the room, every sermon I knew that every man in that room was listening to every word and like me going wow! Many thanks to Joshua for helping me with what each service was about.

We had a great morning service. Bro Stan preached on watching and praying. We should always be watching our actions and ensuring that we don’t lead ourselves or others into difficult situations. Praying because we should never stop doing this everyday. Bro Black preached on priorities, that we as men needed to get our priorities right. Basically the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. That means too many times we use work as an excuse not to spend time with our families. Sure that is the case now and again but never 5 days a week, 48 weeks a year.

Personally we should never use work as an excuse not to spend time with family, and again in 2008 how common of an excuse is this. No job will ever add time to your life, only take it, and as time is the one thing we all have the same amount of every day we need to appreciate it and spend all the time we can with those we love the most.

After Saturday lunch we had some spare time. Yes, for those who have been to Men’s Camp before it was time for the infamous touch footy game. I had heard so much about it I thought I’d give it a go. After all there was only 3 of us a side, it was touch footy and how bad could it really be? Well once the 120kg+ Islanders started playing I remembered Joshua telling me “…and once the Islanders start playing everything changes”, and it did! There was 6 a side then so my lack of fitness wasn’t so noticeable…ooops….I mean my lack of footy skills. Eddie and Bill are absurdly fit.

No they are. Great to see. And David Kent showed some fancy footwork to get across the line on more than one occasion, and in so doing also get his team the win. Hey, we’re men, of course it was a little competitive. But the best moment was the finish, getting those huge Islander hugs and handshakes was fantastic. They are such fine examples of what it is to be a Christian man, just awesome attitudes and peaceful, respectful and polite men.

Saturday night’s service after a nice dinner was about how nothing is impossible with God in our lives. We need to remember that it is not our life, it belongs to the Lord. And as such we need to die before we can live. And death does not mean physical death, it means letting go of everything from the past. Everything. If we can do this we can really start living, and start achieving anything we want because with God in our lives nothing is impossible. Another fantastic service. We had a BBQ after the service, which was great but I was seriously thinking that I was going to explode from eating so much! Again a great chance to make some new friends and get to know some present ones even better.

Sunday July 27

Sunday morning’s breakfast was again huge. The conversation centred around the now infamous shower incident involving Joshua, Rusty, Leon and Aaron. That other dorm were just all about mischief! Details? As those ABC foreign correspondent reporters say “…details are still sketchy”. I suppose you’ll just have to ask those involved, but let’s say that someone said “It won’t happen overnight but it will happen”. Hmmm…..

Sunday morning service I missed my big chance to sing. It’s a long story, even longer than this one, but let’s say I didn’t know I was being asked, I actually thought that someone else was being asked. Next time I know better and next time I will sing! Thank you though to Joshua and David Kent for asking, a highlight of the weekend for me.

In the service itself “Bro Michael Nassif preached on brotherly love, togetherness, loving wives, stepping out in faith...I'm not sure if he had one main point! Bro Black preached on good decisons/Job. God's banking on us making right choices inspite of blessings.” (Drew 2008). Hey, I cut and paste so I have to acknowledge my sources! It was another excellent service from Bro Black, he was dynamite!

Before I knew it though the camp was over. Time to pack up, say goodbye to new friends (wow can those Islander boys hug and shake hands! You really know they care about you when they hug like that!). After a prayer for a safe journey from David Kent we all left.

We decided to again extend our fellowship so took the more scenic route home via western Sydney. Sadly a major accident at Marulan, 9 cars were involved in atrocious conditions of cold, hail and rain, delayed our arrival home. We all arrived home safely in time for the last bit of the evening service. Praise the Lord for our safe journey though as again we arrived safely at our destination when others that very day had not.

Concluding thoughts? Yes, it was a long post! I loved going to Men’s Camp. For all the reasons I wrote about on Friday. Not one regret. It was the best Men’s Camp I have ever been to. The fellowship, strengthening of friendships new and current, being able to learn about some scriptures that really got to my heart and mind, and of course being able to just share my love of God with so many others was all just fantastic. I really am a blessed man to have had another great experience and further strengthen my relationship with God. Thank you to everyone for reading and to all those who made the weekend what it was.

Till next time, and a shorter post, God Bless.

Not Long Now...

Only another 10 minutes away folks...sorry but that Milo was just too hard to say no to.

Reflection Time

This weekend is my first time going to Men's Camp. I am looking forward to it for several reasons, one of them being a chance for reflection on my relationship with God. I will never forget the sacrifice made for me by Jesus to save me from a life that would have ended who knows how, and I know that life is only really starting for me. It really is. I have told this to many people but I feel that I am standing on the edge of a massive ocean of knowledge, faith and spirituality that I never knew existed, and it is time to explore this ocean and see where the currents of the Lord take me.

Like all oceans though it has all sorts of weather, from calm, sunny days to storms that can last for days that try and blow you off course. Sometimes we only reflect after we have gone through the storm, Isaiah 25:4 is a great verse to read on how the strength of God helps us through any storm. But we also need to reflect when the times are good, when the Lord makes our path smooth and straight. Proverbs 3:6 states:

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy path.

Sometimes we, and I am guilty of this at times, forget to reflect on how God touches us when times are good or even normal, when our path is smooth thanks to His love and spirit in our lives. Much of our lives has become cluttered with all sorts of things: work, study, sport, the internet, entertainment and who knows what else and this has taken away our reflection time in moments of normality and good. Family time is just so important for this reason as by sharing our experiences and adventures in life we also are sharing our reflections and love of God. Think about how many things made sense after we talked about them with our family.

For me, weekends are sooooo very important to spend reflecting. It's great to hear and share stories with family and friends, to reflect upon happier moments and moments that may seem mundane but yet are full of so much depth and meaning that it is only after that God let's us realise how important that moment of time really was.

I will also be looking forward to sharing my love of God with so many others, reflecting with them on what some scriptures may mean or especially for me, discovering verses that I just go wow over. The only constant in life is change so it will be fantastic this weekend at Men's Camp to be able to spend time reflecting on just how important my relationship with God was, is and will always be.

Till next time, God Bless.

My First Post and My First Youth Camp

I have never been much of a writer believe it or not but ever since being born again so much of life has changed thanks to the glory of God. The sacrifice made for me by Jesus made me realise that life may be challenging at times, but it is nothing compared to that sacrifice He made for me so that I could live life in the name of the King of King's and the Lord of Lord's.

So I thought maybe it's time to share my thoughts with a few people, maybe these writings could one day help someone with their challenge, or let others know of how by letting God into your heart, mind and soul that you will be rewarded with riches that are far beyond value than all of the wealth in the world. Every day though I have been confronted by challenges as a Christian, some big and some small, and sometimes this has made the path that God has shown me to follow rocky and slippery, and I have stumbled. But God's love for me, the fantastic friends that I have, the message in the scriptures and not challenging the will of God have all helped me overcome these challenges.

I know that God has been there for me every day of my life. But I also know that my relationship with God will always be a growing one: every single day He will show me something more about Him and His World that will be simply be amazing just by following His path. I will never stop loving God and I will never forget the sacrifice made for me by Jesus that has allowed me to enjoy rewards beyond that of anything in life I ever imagined.

One of these rewards was to attend Youth Camp at Tumut on the weekend just gone. Was I ever blessed to get this invite! Fantastic! Awesome! And that was just my driving! Well so my fellow travellers said.

I arrived late on the Friday night due to work but soon as I did it was great to see so many smiling and welcoming faces. I felt at home straight away and I could feel the love of God in the room, letting us all enjoy that late night cup of hot chocolate. Awesome stuff, I mean is there any better way to spend a Friday night than in the company of great friends, talking about life and God, and playing games? Nope!

It was great to share a room with a great bunch of guys too, lots of laughs and stories. Sorry Joel Taylor for keeping you up next door with all of our talk but be proud of the fact that you walked into that room with the same courage that Daniel had when he walked into the Lion's Den. The courage you showed was awesome! Made me realise that I needed to be more courageous too! Especially as a soldier of Christ Jesus.

The Saturday was huuuuugggggeeeeee! Up early for exercise, citing Ephesians 6:10 -11. A great bit of scripture that one, but hey I could be biased because to me the entire Bible is great! The exercise didn't just get the heart active, it also got the mind working. That was fantastic! Then off to morning tea and our break out session. Being in the 15+ age group we did an exercise based around our understanding of 2 Timothy 2:4.

Wow. I read that and reflected on that and the verse before it for the entire weekend. Still am in fact. It was great to hear everyone else in our group talk about what that verse meant to them, and how we as soldiers of the Lord are not going to come out of every battle with sin and temptation fit and healthy. But as soldiers we can also rely upon support from our brothers and sisters to win the battle. I know I already have relied upon the support of so many in my walk with God, and in my battles against the devil.

After that it was lunch, superbly prepared by David, and what a treat to have camp food like that! Then it was free time for a couple of hours which I spent just talking with some of the youth who provided me with inspiration for some of the battles they have already fought in life and won! You can never be too old or young to learn and to teach.

I was on dinner duties that night so I spent most of the rest of the afternoon and evening with a good friend: Joel Taylor. We had a great time in the kitchen just talking, having fun and helping others. It was an outstanding way to spend that time. Another reward from the Lord. Joel will develop into a fine leader and beacon to many one day, albeit with a very cheeky sense of humour, but he has already taught me much about myself and life. Thank you Joel for being my friend and a great mate. And you aren't too bad at cooking either from what I could tell!

The night flew past with a great service, playing lots of games and talking with friends around the campfire. Wow. It really was turning out to be a weekend to remember. I shared some great conversations with people who love God as much as me, but who also knew the beauty and fragility of life and therefore were lapping up every positive moment they could. Moments like these are to be cherished and savoured for the inspiration they provide and the reminder that right now on this planet someone else is going through a battle that to them seems impossible to win but with God in our lives nothing is impossible.

Sunday morning and more exercise thanks to those who slept in - no need to mention names but I hoped you liked my early morning wake up call! Again the day flew by with another great service, hey they are always great, and another awesome restaurant quality meal. Top stuff! Not to mention some more great times, capped off with two of the moments of the weekend for me: trampoline time with Hannah R and skimming stones with Joel T at the river. Wow, how blessed am I?! No, remind me again! Again! You got it! And I know it!

It was such a wonderful experience to attend Youth Camp. The people I attended the entire weekend with were so prepared to share their emotions, stories, experiences and love for God with me that I felt it to be an honour to be there. The organisation team of Brother and Sister Drew was awesome, the cooking of David the Legend Chef was awesome and the fellowship superb.

So many people made me feel so much love too, and in a world where too many look for excuses to hate and sin thanks to the work of the devil in their lives it was a real pleasure to be with my fellow soldiers of God and to embrace joy and love. I also know that I will never ever walk into a battle with the devil alone. I will have many with me to fight for all that is right and pure, and we will do so in the name of our Lord. And even if I fall wounded, I know from attending Youth Camp that there will be many to help me up, and I too will help them in their battles, and we all will emerge victorious in our battles and enjoy the rewards of God and embrace the love of Jesus.

Till next time God Bless you all.