Summer Update #1

Please forgive me for taking so long to send out an update. As usual once our summer programs start I seem to have trouble finding time for this kind of stuff.

Our summer has been amazing so far. Our numbers this year are not what they were last year, which is a little disappointing, but I have to keep reminding myself that God's view of success isn't always how we view success. To give you a glimpse of the this success here are some comments and stories from our first three RMH sessions.

"It was an amazing experience, one I would love to do again and I think every Christian cadet should experience."

"They [the guides] were beyond prepared, took time to be personal and answer questions, taught through active discussion, lead first by example, were flexible and dependable in all regards. They offered and created a safe place to grow and learn, as well as individually reached out to us."

"Both instructors passionately believed in what they were doing and teaching, and they taught about something that was applicable in everyday life."

"I learned how to pray/spend time actively in God's word. I also gained a keener appreciation of God's love."

"I learned that my spiritual journey has just begun."

"I learned that I need to have a plan as a Christian leader in the military."

"It is a great opportunity to connect with other Christians from a military background and regain support and encouragement for choosing to abide by a Christian lifestyle. Spring Canyon is a wonderful place to unplug from the day to day distractions that often take us off course in our walk with God and refocus on what truly matters in life."

These are just a taste of the comments we've received this summer. It is always amazing and humbling to see the ministry that God does each summer through this program.

Please continue to pray for the groups that we have in each week. Pray that God will use these programs to build His kingdom in these lives and in our military.

Trust in the LORD with All Your Heart!

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.Proverbs 3: 5-6

God has been constantly reminding me of this verse over the last several months. I know it’s a verse that we’ve all heard before, but as I’ve begun to meditate on it (like most scriptures) it means so much more than I used to give it credit for. How many of us really trust in the LORD? It is such an easy thing to say, and such a hard thing to do. We say that we trust God with our finances, but how many of us start to sweat around the 23^rd of the month as our bank account gets tighter? We have been so trained to be individuals, to be self sufficient, that we try to make things happen in our own power, and when that happens we start trusting ourselves and stop trusting in God.

I think the next part of this verse is so profound: “and lean not on your own understanding.” What that means is that sometimes trusting God defies logic. We don’t have to understand how God will come through, we just have to trust that he will. I love that the verse doesn’t say, ‘lean not on your own power,’ it says to lean not on our understanding. Sometimes it’s easy to read this verse and think, “we’ll I just need to sit back, trust God, and wait for him to do it.” Sometimes God will work in our circumstances without our effort, but sometimes He does require action from us. I love the story in Matthew chapter 17 when Jesus and Peter are asked to pay a tax. Jesus tells Peter to go to the lake, catch a fish, and in the fish’s mouth will be a coin to cover the tax. Jesus could have just made a coin materialize out of thin air, or made it appear in his pocket, and paid the tax. I love that he didn’t do that. He required Peter to go catch a fish to get the coin. He required faith and action from Peter. I’m sure that all the way to the lake Peter was thinking, “this is the silliest thing I’ve ever done.” But Peter still went. He trusted in the LORD, and not his own understanding, and Christ made his path straight.

I encourage you to meditate on this verse. Ask yourself, and God, what areas of your life you need to start really trusting. When you do trust, guard yourself from asking the how and why questions. You don’t have to understand the how and the why, just trust and He will make our paths straight.