Camp Chronicles - Tuesday

"Involved."

"Thought-provoking."

"Intensive."

"Amazing!"

Those are some one-word descriptions of today's practice. We worked hard today. We had the chance to be real this morning and afternoon with each other, in our conversations and actions. The focus was on our identity IN Christ versus our identity behind our masks.

I'm not going to go through every minute of how our practice played out, but here were some of my highlights of the day:

• Worship time at the beginning of the morning was incredibly freeing. I got to sing out and just let the distractions fade away for a little while.
• We finished choreographing "Masquerade" and I'm just gonna say, it was EPIC. The song tells a story that gives me chills.
• We touched on every song except for two or three today! Specifically, we learned harmonies for "On My Own" and also worked on "Power of the Cross."
• Our devotional time focused on several verses in Romans 8. We discussed the fact that Christ is the only way we can let go of our masks. We aren't able to do it in our own strength (or "according to the flesh" like the passage says) and need to choose to trust Him.
• Over lunch time, we had a guest speaker, Macey Gardner. She talked to us about letting God be in control, using the allegory of a ship. For example, we can let God be the captain and steer the ship, but there are tons of rooms below the deck that no one sees. We can section those rooms off and refuse to let God in. Macey shared her story about giving God control of those rooms that she didn't want to let go of.
• Today we did a dance session that was interpretive in style. We turned the lights off and danced to "In Christ Alone." Jessica talked to us today about how our individual feelings can be expressed through our movement. It's hard to express in words what I felt in that moment while I danced, but I loved every second of it!
• After going back to Eden's house, we got to jump in the pool to cool down before dinner! It was a fun and relaxing break for me.
• This evening, we distressed pairs of jeans. Eden told us to let each rip, fade, or stain that we put on the material represent an imperfection of ours or something we want to hide. She encouraged us to keep the STELLO rules in mind (no gossiping, judging, or fear) while we did this activity. It was a good time for reflection for me and I was able to think about how the imperfections in my life could still be used by God for His glory.

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Thanks for reading! Be praying that the girls will be rested and will keep their voices in good shape. Pray also for our hearts and our motives behind the concert on Friday. God is doing big things this week, and there's still three days left to watch His story unfold!