Hedgehogs hiberhate......

OK, so, it's been awhile since I've posted......you know....I've been busy.....GOSH!
I did 2 weeks of camp, which was awesome.....and fun....and exhausting and....truly wonderful.
Every year I always say to myself that I will never do 2 weeks of camp again and, yet, I find myself doing it....again and it's always a good thing.
God does amazing work in the lives of those who are there and I feel blessed to be part of it.
This year had a wholly different feel to it.....almost like we were all of like minds and all anticipating.....something....change?....maybe.
It was really cool.
The pastor was awesome and really challenged the kids to be totally transformed into who God wanted them to be.
My favorite pastor phrase this year was this:
"I apologize to you if your pastor says to you that you are the future generation of the Church when, in fact, you are the Church of the here and now."
Loved that.....
My second fave pastor phrase was this:
"People are more important than projects."
Diggin' that.....
I guess, for me, going into the camp thing with all the Mid-East stuff going on gave me this very fresh perspective of the fact that God is in control and His word is Truth and it is happening before our very eyes and we, as Christ followers, need to be more purposeful about evangelism and loving people.
I have a tendency to get caught up in thoughts of eternity when, in fact, God's Kingdom is here and if heaven was the only plus in salvation, then why would Jesus tell us to love one another?
Why would that matter?
It would be like getting all ready for a great vacation and having all the bags packed and the snacks prepared for the trip and all your books and games and toys to make the journey more bearable and then getting in the car and never leaving the driveway.
Ya know????
I'm in for the total life that God has for me and I can't wait for heaven, but, in the meantime, I will serve at the feet of Jesus by serving at the feet of His children.
I'll close with this story told by a summer missionary from Texas that had all of us rolling in the aisles.
"When I was about 8 years old I had a hedgehog for a pet and one morning I got up to find him not moving.
I thought he was cold so I put him outside to "defrost" in the Texas heat.
I forgot about him until my parents came home and asked why my hedgehog was outside?
I told them and they, patted me on my head and softly told me that he was dead and that we needed to bury him.
"No!" I cried.
"He's dead, honey." they responded with firm resolve.
"No, look, he just moved, I swear."
My parents then took a few moments to watch for any movement and there was none, so we buried him.
Years later, when I was at college, I took a Biology class and we were studying hedghogs and guess what?
Hedgehogs hibernate and when they are in hibernation they only breathe once every 6 seconds!
The realization that I had buried my hedgehog alive overwhemed me and I began to cry very loudly and, of course, everyone wanted to know what the matter was so I told them and they met me with reassurances that hedgehogs are excellent diggers and that he probably dug his way out and lived a nice long life.
"Nooooooo," I wailed.
Yes, they reassured me over and over.
"NOOOOOOOO, I killed him!"
No, he dug his way out, it's what they do, they soothed.
"Nooooooo, he couldn't have gotten out." I cried.
Why, they asked.
"We buried him in a coffee can........"

P.S. Hedgehogs hibernate......