Furious

this is my camp post...listen to this song...its our camp anthem (lyrics below)!!

Furious by Jeremy Riddle

Nothing can tear us from
The grip of His mighty love
We’ve only glimpsed, His vast affection
Heard whispers of, His heart and passion
It’s pouring down…

His love is deep, His love is wide
And it covers us
His love is fierce, His love is strong
It's furious
His love is sweet, His love is wild
And it's waking hearts to life

The Father loves and sends His son
The Son lays down His life for all
He lavishes His love upon us
He calls us now, His sons and daughters
He’s reaching out…

… and its waking hearts to life
He is waking hearts to life
He is waking hearts to life

Your love is deep, Your love is wide
And it covers us
Your love is fierce, Your love is strong
It's furious
Your love is sweet, Your love is wild
And it's waking hearts to life

by definition, furious means acting with or marked by or resulting from great force or energy or emotional intensity. doesnt knowing that make the song so awesome??!!? God's love for us is furious! it has force, energy, and intensity. our overall theme for both camps was FLIPPED. we took things that we think as normal and show how God FLIPs that (ie in order to have life, you must loose it. in order to be first, you must be last). this song was perfect for that theme. so often we think of God as this old man in a chair that we have to treat like an elderly grandpa, or as meek and mild devoid of much emotion and drive. when the students started understanding this thinking, their worship and daily bible study became deeper, more meaningful, and sometimes emotional. we saw so many changed lives through teaching about God's furious love for them. 

if you read my post about middle school camp, then you know some of what God was teaching me. before leaving for high school camp, i asked God to continue working in my heart and in my thoughts. part of me was really looking forward to going back to high school camp, becuase i had "already been there, done that" kind of thing. i was going to get to sit back and relax a whole lot more than middle school week. a few things changed just 2 days before camp started! we knew that satan was really trying to put up some major road blocks of discouragement...we knew that some big God things were going to happen! the friday before camp on sunday, we found out our speaker was going to miss a day and a half due to a mandatory work meeting in chicago...!!! we also had two adult leaders back out the day before camp...!! that meant we had to do some quick thinking and some specific praying! our amazing team came together and worked it all out! God led us into an amazing night of worship while our speaker was gone, and myself and our awesome rec leader became adult leaders for condos full of young ladies!

to say that the night of worship softened hearts would be a huge understatement! God used something that we had never planned prior to camp to change the hearts of our students and bring them so much closer to Him. that night set the tone for bryan, our high school speaker, to urge students to go from being a simple fan of Jesus to a full blown follower of Jesus. stories and encouragement from our worship band and leaders helped show students that this life has its ups and downs, but God is always consistent and has walked the road ahead of us. we saw several accept Christ for the first time. we saw most of our students stand wanting to become different...a follower. it was amazing!!!

God had some awesome encouragement for me too. when we had two female leaders back at the last minute, i became a leader for 6 upcoming freshman and co-leader for 4 upcoming sophomores. i was a little bummed. not that i dont like being a leader, i do! i just felt unprepared and super self conscious. i usually like to make matching tshirts, bring decked out water bottles, and team themed headbands/bracelets/etc. i didnt get to be the cool leader. i was self conscious about hanging with "super cool" kids (at least most high schoolers think they are!)...i though i may not be cool enough to hang with them. i will be 30 years old in a few months!! but once i met the girls and we got settled in our awesome condo, God quickly started revealing how much these girls needed me...cool or not! one of my sweet girls revealed in our first group time that her mom had just had a miscarriage the week before camp. she was broken hearted. one of the sweet girls shared how she is trying to overcome self mutilation. one young lady told us that it was her first ever camp and she had never even owned a Bible before. by the end of the week, each of the 10 girls had made some amazing decisions for Christ! they grew together as a group to encourage each other and keep each other accountable. by the end of the week, i was so protective of each of them. i couldnt wait to get back and be a part of their growth in their FLIPPED relationship with God. and...they are all now following me on all my social media and several have said how much they miss me! ;) so cute!

this week restored my calling to be a part of high school youth ministry. not just the admin and event planning, but the small group leading, relationship building, Godly encouraging parts of high school ministry. that restoration will change my student interaction, my worship, my speaking style, my approach to my job...i was FLIPPED. 

this song was one of my camp favorites. my awesome friend amos sang it. it rocked!!! read the lyrics...they are awesome. you will see why it means so much to me! 

With Us by hillsong

VERSE 1:
Before the world
You knew the plans for me
Before my heart believed
You came to my rescue
And now I'm found in love
There's nowhere else to run
You keep my life within
Your mighty hand
Oh God

CHORUS:
There's no end to Your love
There's no end to Your love
You're with us
You're with us
There's nothing in this world
That could take You away
You're with us
You're with us

VERSE 2:
Before I call
I know You'll answer me
You'll make a way
Beyond what I could imagine
What could separate
From the love You give
I put my hope in everything
That You are
Oh God

CHORUS

BRIDGE:
You reign in our hearts
You reign above all
Be lifted on high
You reign in our hearts
You reign above all
Be lifted on high
You reign in our hearts
You reign above all
Be lifted on high
You reign in our hearts
You reign above all
Be lifted on high

CHORUS:

if you have never been a part of a youth camp, you should!! God will change your heart. and you will get to be a part of Him changing the hearts of everyone around you!

God's love is furious for you!!! 

blessings, ALo