…we are watching us women’s beach volleyball in the gold medal match, pouring rain, going nuts.

GO USA!

Another year of the Summit began this morning. We have a large crowd here. It is fun to see these leaders and pastors connecting and learning together.

Well, believe it or not, I am riding in the bus right now with a few students. We have experienced an incredible week. We have all laughed, many cried a few times, some have been challenged in difficult but important ways, others have reuinited with God from running away. It has been another amazing trip.  I look forward to all the conversations, the implementation of some new choices and directions, and the continued journey with these students as we learn how to broadcast back to God all the love that He has so diligently broadcast to us.

I don’t want to give you too much now, as some of you will be waiting to hear it first hand from your loved one. Speaking of which - Lydia, we are on our way…and we miss you so much!

Here is a photo to enjoy.

Students, download, save, and print.

Well, BigStuf is nearly half over. Hard to believe. Here is a brief summary of the talks:

Monday Night: Andy Stanley - If you would Listen and Learn…you will go further, faster. Too many times we confuse the role of friend for advisor. God made friends to be friends. Advisers are people who are further down the road…where we might want to be some day who if we learn to how to seek wisdom from them, can speak truth into our lives to help us get further down the road we want to be.

Tuesday Morning - Fracis Chan - How do we see God? Too many people have a random picture of Him and instead of seeking to understand who He is from the Bible…they just make up what they think He should be like…or don’t even picture Him at all. Visit Revelation 4. Picture that God…and it will change the way you pray, respond, and live around Him.

Tuesday Night - Jarred Herd - What is your life broadcasting? We spend so much of our time trying to “broadcast” so many things that we see as important - then when we take time to step back and look at it - we realize how little we are broadcasting Jesus. James 2:14-24.

Wednesday Morning - Andy Stanley - Principle of the Path = that it is the path/direction that we choose that determines our destination. It is not our intentions that get us there…but the path we choose.  Read Proverbs 7. So often we see these events in our lives (our weekends) as isolated incidents…but, they are all part of the path that we are choosing…and ultimately lead to a destination. Where are you headed?

So far, between these four talks - one of them has connected with each student as they wrestle with God, their life, and their relationship with Him. Last night, many were up until 2:00am talking. Okay, so one girls room in particular found cockroaches.  The singing is awesome. The beach has been fun. I am looking forward to what is next.

And we are here!

Jealous? Now that the bus ride is over, I can finally relax a bit. =)

[view from our room]

mmm hmmmm gooood

We have arrived in Florida. We are about three hours away from our destination. No one has been left behind. But, here are some interesting facts I have discovered.

Out of the 45 on the bus - 29 have iPod brand mp3 player.

Out of the 45 on the bus - 13 hav had a Monster…7/13 had more than one.

So, check back - as we will continue to keep you informed to the best of our ability.

Just a reminder - each student received a copy of the book Crazy Love written by one of the BigStuf speakers. You can also view some of his videos that go with the book at www.crazylovebook.com.

Well, gotta find a place to have some breakfast…and be amazed that these students will drink more monster.

Whew!

These last 36 hours have felt like three days. The students arrived and it has been non stop ever since. It is so amazing my capacity to forget what Camp is like…or I am just getting old and unable to keep up…no comments about that please =).

So, the theme of camp is “story” and we are talking about the story of God. The first night we looked at story and how most of our life is filled with stories. We watch them on screens and televisions. We listen to them within a song. We read them in books (ok, so not very many students read for fun these days - accept the Harry Potter Books). When we meet people, it is their “story” we are trying to understand: where did you come from, what do you like…etc. God has a story, too. Each good story has elements within it: Plot-Conflict-Climax-Resolution. These are the general titles of our sessions from here on out. And so many people just have a few snippets of the story and assume they know His story…or live confused, apathetic, or in-and-out of God’s story.  So, this week at camp, we are asking God and taking time to step inside of His story - and understand the Plot-Conflict-Climax-Resolution. Because when you understand His story it dramatically changes the way you live yours.

Day 2 started with a morning session - Plot: the “fence” of the story that contains the main idea, characters, and the intended goal. We introduced the three movies we will be using to help us understand these elements. In God’s story - we visited Genesis 1. We read about a Creator, a provider, and someone who uniquely created us in His Image (Imago Dei).  Our culture is always telling us that we need to look prettier, better clothing, insisting that we change our features to replicate the impossible. When we begin to understand Imago Dei and God’s story - when we look in the mirror and say “I hate X about me” in a sense we are saying to God “I don’t like the story you have written”. So, step one into God’s story is understanding that He created us (Psalm 139), that everything he creates is intended for good, and that He loves to provide and care for us.

Day 2p.m. we talked about Conflict. We looked at Genesis 3…where sin enters God’s story. We talked about how God created us and loves us so much - that he intended us for much good. But, we reject His story and set out to write our own. We looked at the 10 commandments and took a personal inventory of how we were doing…and no one made it out innocent…because no one is. When we reject God’s story, that means we have selected separation from God as our modus operandi. We cannot just say, “Oh, I love God” and assume he will just forget about the way we live. Sin=Conflict with God and His story. It puts us at odds with Him and ultimately leads to an eternity without Him.  And so last night the room was “intense” and filled with tension as they left trying to answer the question: how will we get back into His story?

…to be continued

So, it is my hope to make this a place where people can keep in touch with what is going on here at “the story of God” fusion camp 2008.