Bible Give Away

I think it would cool to have a fancy Bible...never hurts to enter a contest. Oh yeah, and if you are looking for Bible software, check out Logos. It is pretty awesome and easy to use.

Verse:
John 3:16; Jn 3:16; John 3

Keyword:
Salvation, Jesus, Gospel

With Operators:
AND, OR, NOT, “ ”

Online Bible by Logos

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Blessing

I am taking an Old Testament class right now and we are just finishing the Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible). In many ways these books set the stage for the rest of scripture and humanity. It has been a long time since I have read through these books in sequence, and I have never read them this quickly. That being said, I have learned a great deal and am excited about what else I will learn.

While reading through these books, something very particular stuck out to me: the theme of blessing. God intends to bless. God could have and arguably should have destroyed mankind many times. However, God is always offering grace and blessing. God truly wants to bless his creation.

I miss out on God's blessing all the time. Even when I am in fellowship with God, I am sure he has more blessing to give. It is easy to think that we have to do things to please God. However, I believe that God wants to bless us, and we do things that keep ourselves from that blessing. Go out today and be blessed by the creator that wants to bless you!

Tim

Summer Reflection

My lofty dreams of blogging each week during the summer were just that--lofty. It obviously didn't happen. I had plenty to say and reflect on as I raced through the whirlwind of Holy Spirit and coffee that is summer camp. However, each break I had I fell asleep and never found the energy to write a blog. Before I knew it June, July, and August were things of the past. Now I am "easing into the fall routine" and in theory should have more time to blog. Is this a promise to blog weekly? Maybe. We'll see.

I have now had plenty of time to catch up on sleep and now need to reflect on the Summer. So many things happened. I grew, I learned, I stumbled, I failed--Jesus succeeded! I could write pages and pages on my new experiences, but I will share a few things:

1. I am learning a ton--After a summer of ministry with a new responsibility (Program Director), moving, "growing up" and starting a career, I am constantly amazed at how much there is to learn. I have a lot to learn, and every day there is more and more. I am learning about the little things like meetings, taxes, paperwork, insurance, job descriptions, etc. I am also learning more about the big stuff: I need to pray more, God's word is rich, People need love, etc.

2. I miss camp--Who would think that after 5 weeks of doing camp I would want more? I miss it already. Camp life is great. The spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional wearing is intense, and almost unbearable at time. But Grace abounds. Grace is what makes camp so awesome. I need to chase after camp style Grace more.

3. I am scared to death--God is doing things that I don't understand. He is taking me all sorts of new directions in my life. His Word is constantly fresh. He actually uses me to do stuff, and that blows my mind. I am scared of where following Jesus 100% is going to take me, but I am so eager for the adventure.

Life is great. Life is hard. I smile and I hurt. Following Jesus is not easy, and I definitely don't have it figured out, so it can only get harder from here.

Resting in Jesus,
Tim Karr

Rocks

Staff training 2009 came and left way too fast. Overall I would say that it went well. Everyone is trained and ready to go for camp...I hope! For me, the highlight of the week had nothing to do with “how to be a cabin leader” or one of the many team building activities. The highlight of my week was a little illustration that had big impact.

I have to give glory to God for the great idea. He truly is the God of good ideas. I first started the thought process towards this illustration during a camp conference in March. The speaker challenged us to find a way to use rocks in our camps in some way that had meaning. In the old testament, people would stack rocks and build alters at places of remembrance. I wanted to do something more than say a pile of rocks said, “our camp is awesome!”

Here is what we did: After morning chapel, each future staff member had to go to a rock pile and pick up a rock. The rocks weighed between 5 and 30 pounds. The staff members where then told that they had to take their rock with them everywhere--all day long. There was only one exception: Those canoeing could leave their rock on the beach. Everyone else had to carry their rock with them everywhere.

At first, everyone was having fun, joking, and dressing up their rocks. However, after a couple of hours, everyone realized how much of a pain it was to carry around their rock. For some people, it was just an inconvenience, but for others, it was physical pain. As the day wore on, people were doing anything they could to put do their rock. No one played volleyball...they just sat with their rock.

That evening the illustration was explained. Everyone was told that the rock represented sin. We tend to like our sin at first--we dress it up, play with it, etc. After a while it causes us pain and we want to get rid of it but we can’t. Then finally our sin has such a hold on us that we can’t do anything but sit with our sin.

After the illustration was explained, we invited the staff members to spend time talking to God about the sins in their life that they are unwilling to let go. Then, when they felt that they were ready, they could take their rock and lay it at the foot of a cross that we had placed in our mini-golf course. Then, they would come inside and take communion in honor of our Lord Jesus Christ. Soon there will be a little sign that says “Laying our sins at the foot of The Cross.”

I was thrilled that it went well, but even more, I was impacted by my experience with my rock. It was a great chance to evaluate my life and give some things over to God. Now my rocks and my sins sit at the foot of the cross.

Resting in Jesus,
Tim

***For pictures check out the picture section on www.timandteresakarr.com

Pictures

At camp we have a tradition of taking the best pictures from each year and making a display that we hang with previous years. So this morning I decided I would look through the 1,443 pictures from last year (this is WAY less than we initially got!), and find the best ones to hang on the wall. As I looked through the pictures I was reminded of a few things:

Camp last year was awesome! We had so much fun. So many lives were changed. I saw pictures of campers who had just met Jesus. I saw pictures of staff who God used in the redemption story of someone else. I saw so many smiles. I need to remember that even when the busyness of preparing for a camp season makes me stressed and tired, camp is fun. Camp is a place to smile.
God is moving! Camp is almost here, and God is ready. God is softening our hearts so we can learn from Him. People will meet Jesus this summer. Jesus will repair broken relationships. Jesus will make people happy. God will be glorified.

After looking at all those pictures I am eager to see all the new faces that tell new stories that will come to Cocolalla Lake Bible Camp this summer.

Resting in Jesus,
Tim

Church in the Wildwood

Part of being a missionary is visiting churches and telling them what you do. In part this is to encourage them to become financial supporters, but more importantly, it is encourage them that God is working in a ministry that they are praying for. I am learning to really enjoy this aspect of ministry. What I like the most is when I have the opportunity to not only share about my ministry, but also to preach. It is a joy to see people encouraged through the Word of God.

Last night we visited a little church called Church in the Wildwood. I had no idea what to expect. I had been told it was small. And it definitely was small. There were three pews in a building that couldn’t be more than 200 sq. ft. Apart from Teresa and I, there were 8 people at the service. The bathroom was...an outhouse (but it was a pretty nice one!)

At first we were unsure--We were 5 minutes early for the service and no one was there. In a frantic effort I called the pastor. He said that that was typical. Everyone would show up right on time. And they did. Once the people were there we felt welcome and at home.

The whole evening could not have put me in a better mood. Everyone smiled and greeted us. We sang hymns that I haven’t sang in a long time. We sang some hymns that I didn’t know. There were no announcements. A few prayer requests for friends and families. Nothing fancy. Just a small group of people that gathered together to worship God and encourage each other. When I got up to preach I felt like I was talking to old friends. Sometimes I wonder in churches if anyone is listening or cares about what I have to say. Here, I could look into the eyes of each individual. Share a smile. Share a nod. Share the love of Jesus in a tiny little church.

Will the Church in the Wildwood ever become a multi-campus, technological, trendy church, with a rockin’ band? Probably not. However, when they gather together and sing hymns to the acoustic guitar played by Dan, and someone steps up to preach without a microphone or a power point, Jesus will be pleased--because His people love Him. And they want to be together and worship Him.

I am reminded of the song I sang when I was little “Come to the church in the wildwood, oh, come to the church in the vale. No spot is so dear to my childhood, as the little brown church in the vale.” It doesn’t matter what a gathering of Christians looks like or sounds like. It matters whether we gather in the name of Jesus, just like the do in the little brown Church of the Wildwood.