The 2008 BlueTreeResources Staff Devotional
BlueTreeResources provides a staff devotional developed for the unique spiritual needs of those who spend their summer days with children and youth. Here is a sample of the 2008 devotional.
Day One
Read: Genesis 1:1-5
Since the creation is now filled with so much beauty and amazing stuff, it is hard to imagine what nothing would be like. Close your eyes and try to imagine void and empty. What would that be like? While it is impossible to imagine nothingness, it is not hard to imagine the sound of the wind. Its sound is known to us as both light breeze and fierce hurricane. Stop for a moment, and listen for the sound of the wind around you. The wind of God came sweeping across the void emptiness and suddenly there was something — light and dark and water. Out of nothing, God created.
Today your campers will arrive. They will sweep like a great wind into the quiet of the camp and fill it with life and energy, joy and tears, laughter and great emotion. And in the midst of these campers will be God.
As you prepare for their coming, stop and feel the movement of God around you. Watch for it in the movement of the trees; listen for it on the playing fields; find it in the community of camp staff. Know that just as God moved over the void and darkness to bring the created order, the power of God will uphold you today and during the week ahead like a mighty wind.
Prayer: Gracious One, uphold me and blow into me your great spirit. Help me to lean into you for my strength. Amen.
Day Two
Read: Genesis 2:4b-7
In the first Genesis account of creation, the breath of God was like a great wind that blew over all of creation. In the second Genesis account of creation, the breath of God was a small puff to fill the human with a spirit and with life. In English, breath and wind and spirit are all different words. However, for the ancient Hebrews breath, wind and spirit were the same word. For them the breath, the wind, the spirit of God was a single life force blown over the creation and blown into each of us.
Stop for a moment and pay attention to your breath as it flows in and out of your body. Imagine pulling the spirit of God into you with each breath. Breathe out your fear and anxieties and worry. They are leftovers you don't need.
Look around you at the natural beauty of your camp. Look at the faces of your campers. Breathe deep. Remember, it is the same Creator that gave life to the creation and to the campers and to you. Remember that the power of God's spirit is always just a breath away. Relax and breathe as you go through today.
Prayer: Creator God, remind me to just stop and breathe today when I need your love and grace within me. Amen.
BlueTreeResources Staff Devotional is copyrighted material and the purchasing camp is given permission to make as many copies as needed within one camp for use by a camp staff during the summer of 2008. Your respect for this policy is expected and appreciated.
Summer Camp Staff Devotional 2008
Provide your summer staff members with the resources they need to strengthen their faith and deepen their own spiritual growth.
Incudes a scripture reading, reflection, and a prayer for each day of eight weeks of camp. You can buy the CD or download and make as many copies as you need for your staff.
Only $40 plus shipping and handling.
Download this order form and send to:
BlueTreeResources
2524 Thicket Greene
Richmond VA 23233