Pitch Your Tent

Thursday greetings,

Growing up I went to Camp Calvin in Hampton, GA every year.  I still recall singing Kumbaya, The Bear Went Over the Mountain, and Magalina Hagalina.  I loved every minute of the arts and crafts, cafeteria food, canoeing in the murky lake, and swimming in the huge pool.  Archery lessons were fun, and playing with the seemingly millions of tiny wood frogs was entertaining.  But my favorite part of camp was sleeping in the hogans.  A hogan is a hut made of logs and mud, and the ones we slept in where covered in canvas and smelled earthy.

The counselors, on the other hand, slept in tents.  Regular, pegs-in-the-ground tents that, if necessary, could be moved from location to location.  I remember thinking that we had the better end of the bargain as far as housing was concerned - until I learned the counselors regularly slept by the lake, by a fireplace, or out in the field under a thousand stars.

In other words, they had options that really enhanced their camping experience.  We do too.

"...I’ve pitched my tent in the land of hope Acts 2:26 (The Message Version)."

Where are we going to pitch our tent?  Those camp counselors were smart; they didn’t set up over an ant's nest or muddy pit. It was always in a prime location. We have options too.  Are we going to dwell in the valley of fear? Or are we going to set up camp in the lush green meadows of joy and peace?

We pitch our tent in God’s blessed and hopeful land when we decide that no matter what is happening all around us, we will focus on our Lord and His goodness.  And if the going gets rough, we refuse to pull at the stakes and move our tent.

Prayer is the key to keeping us firmly rooted and focused on the Lord!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, we have decided to pitch our tents in the land of blessings.  Whenever we are tempted to move out of that land into a negative one, use your holy hammer to drive those pegs deeper still so that we stay tethered to hope. As the source of everything good in our lives, fill us today until we are too full to move.  In Jesus' name, AMEN~