Weekend Away

This past weekend my wife and our four daughters went away with some of our friends and family on a camping trip. We ended up with six adults and eleven children – all nine and younger – at Barnwell State Park in South Carolina. One may ask how this could be a relaxing experience with all the commotion associated with young children, especially without the aid of electronic entertainment.

A good question and a fair one at that

Needless to say, our trip was not without the random “firm discussion” with the kids nor was it void of the crying associated with being told no at an inopportune time. It was, however, a trip filled with great times with our family and friends and something we plan to do again soon. We enjoyed hiking through the woods, playing on the playground, sitting around the fire, and drowning some worms on the end of a fishing line.

The fish were totally safe with me around

We had fun roasting marshmallows and making s’mores and drinking cup after cup of hot cocoa and instant coffee, with flavored creamer of course.

I mean, we were roughing it but we’re not crazy

We even made it through the 35 deg temperatures Saturday night. One of the best things about the weekend was the fact that we are not just friends and family, we are also all Christ-followers. That may not mean much to some and I’m not one to exclude non-Christians from my life but because we all share the same relationship with Jesus, we were also able to pray, enjoy God’s word together, and talk about things that are on our heart.

And find out that some have not even read my blog – how could that be?

Jesus would often get away with his disciples to rest and to share His heart with them. It’s good for us to spend time with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Could be to share what God has been putting on our heart. Or, to see if others may need an ear to listen to them. Maybe just to relax and get away from the load of the day-to-day. When is the last time you were able to get away, even if it was just for a cup of coffee?

p.s. – I wouldn’t recommend taking eleven kids into your local coffee shop