Camp Blessing Archives - Lauren Sparks

It feels even hotter than a heat wave, but as this publishes, my family and I are on the tail end of a week’s vacation. Did we wing off to Europe, down to Mexico, someplace tropical or are we escaping this southern heat? Nope. It’s college visits for us this year. We went to Montgomery, Alabama and toured Auburn, went to the Equal Justice Initiative‘s museum and memorial and hung out by the pool. Montgomery may not be flashy, but my best friend and her people live there so that’s enough reason for me to visit!

We then hopped over to Nashville to tour Belmont and do the whole music scene. My 17 year old songbird wanted book time in a studio to record a song herself. We also planned a double decker bus tour and a trip to the Grand Ole Opry with a backstage tour. The plan is to let her sing in the famous circle there. I say that’s the plan because I’m writing this all before we leave home.

But let’s back up and take a look at the month gone by:

We decided to go back to my in-laws lake house for Independence Day. We can sit on their balcony or even in recliners in the air conditioning and watch the fireworks over Canyon Lake through a huge picture window. It’s my 4th of July Favorite. Shelby showed the enthusiasm of a toddler seeing the display for the first time. She laughed joyfully, exclaiming “Yay!” over and over again – even though she’s seen fireworks many times before. She made the whole thing so much more fun.

Upon returning home Allie had a day and a half before leaving for All-State Choir Camp at a nearby college. We were able to attend a camp-ending concert which showcased how much these talented kids learned in 3 days time. Then Allie was home for another day and a half before leaving for volunteer training at Camp Blessing.

I took Shelby to Camp Blessing (with the help of my good road tripping friend Terri) the day after Allie went. This week was amazing and meaningful for both girls. Camp Blessing is a Christian sleep-away camp for special needs kids and adults. Shelby has gone for many years now and I cry every year when picking her up knowing that a young person gave away her time to care for my daughter. And this year I not only had a camper, but one of those selfless volunteers as well. What an indescribable gift. Allie wants to go back as staff for multiple weeks next year!

Chuck and I took those kidless days to play a little. We went to a dine in movie for date night, hosted a game night with friends at our house, and I had a day date to another movie with a girlfriend. Fun = rest for me so this was good soul filling time.

Those movies I mentioned? Thor: Love and Thunder and Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris. I found the first one funny (lots of slapstick that some critics are not loving) but not really in keeping with the MCU. The later is so very charming. I don’t know if you can still find it in the theaters, but go if you are able. Especially if you like a period piece and don’t like the foul language and crassness of most modern movies.

At home the hubs and I started the series The West Wing. We never watched it during its network TV run, but knew we would enjoy it since we liked Designated Survivor – another political drama. Not finding The West Wing for free on any of our streaming services, we opted to kick it old school and check out the DVD’s from the library. This worked great until we finished the first season and now wait as someone else has season two check out. Old school problems, am I right?

To fill the time we started How I Met Your Mother on Hulu. I enjoy a traditional sitcom and Chuck tolerates it until we can get back to our drama. We side-tracked into the documentary Janet about Janet Jackson. Originally on Lifetime, you can find it on Hulu or Prime now. An interesting look into this show business family and the 2nd most successful sibling.

I tried the YA drama The Summer I Turned Pretty on Amazon Prime but bailed by the 3rd episode due to repeated F-bombs and other unsavory content. We also checked out The Terminal List – also on Prime – after hearing good things but I couldn’t get past the language again. I also heard it contained a lot of violence, but we didn’t get that far.

That about wraps up July for us. I would love to hear what you have been doing with your summer – or if you have any TV or movie recs to help us pass the time until our next West Wing DVD. Good grief! And as always I love you, I thank you, and I hope this heat wave does not extend to August.

Now for this week’s featured post from the link up!

Lynn J Simpson ministered to me this week with What I Know for Sure. Her thoughts on dreams unrealized and resting in God’s plan felt like a balm to so much of what I’ve been dealing with. Maybe her beautiful words will touch you, too.

1. Sha re 1 or 2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. (No DIY, crafts, recipes, or inappropriate articles.) All links are randomly sorted.

2. Comment on 1 or 2 other links. Grace & Truth linkup encourages community.

3. Every host features one entry from the previous week. To be featured, include this button or link back here on your post (mandatory to be featured, but not to participate).

We encourage you to follow our hosts on their blogs or social media.

MAREE DEE – Embracing the Unexpected
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LAUREN SPARKS
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LISA BURGESS – Lisa notes
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TAMMY KENNINGTON – Restoring hope. Pursuing peace.
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It’s 97 degrees right now at 6:14pm in the Dallas area. It actually doesn’t feel that bad considering most of the month temps reached 100. That’s August in Texas and I say “GOOD RIDDANCE” to it. While running errands, my deodorant outlives its usefulness in the 2 minute walk between building and car. Color me over it! Although we still have a month or two of wearing shorts around these parts, when the calendar turns to September I can at least START to imagine Fall around the corner.

Shelby attended Camp Blessing the first few days of August. The owners and volunteers of this camp for special needs kids and adults do amazing work. Shelby had a fantastic time while Chuck and I helped ourselves to some much needed respite. Allie, my youngest, made the high school volleyball team on the 2nd and started games on the 3rd. I’m excited that she earned her spot, but proud of how hard she worked to overcome her fear and anxiety. To be honest, my girls don’t have to do anything to make me proud. I was as proud as the proverbial peacock they day they were born and they hadn’t done a single thing. If you feel the same way about your kids, make sure they know it.

Our church hosted Brett Kunkle, co-author of A Practical Guide to Culture: Helping the Next Generation Navigate Today’s World. I think I’ve mentioned the book here a time or ten. I can’t say enough good about it. My family also attended a prayer event there called Battle on Our Knees. We spent time in guided prayer for our students, teachers, administrators and parents for back to school. I can’t think of a better way to spend our time. This month has also driven us to our knees for some loved ones fighting through medical and spiritual challenges. Our hearts are a little heavy but it’s so reassuring to know that God carries that load for us.

Mid month Allie and I joined her cousin and my sister-in-law for a little girls weekend. We traveled down I-35 for our other sister-in-law’s baby shower. We ate, celebrated the next Baby Sparks and did a little back to school shopping. When we got back in town we hit the ground running with Freshman orientations for parent and child, fundraisers, meetings, volunteering and a pep rally – all in preparation for the first day of school. Both girls met the challenges of the first weeks with grace and aplomb. I’m so thankful. Allie will be in two choirs this year and had a lake party to get in tune with her new friends (see what I did there?). And next week we have a meeting to kick off another round of Special Olympics for Shelby.

In entertainment news, we took the family and two of Allie’s friends to see Blinded by the Light. So good. This movie, based on a true story, follows a Pakistani teen in England in the 1980’s. Bruce Springsteen lyrics motivated him to rise up from the persecution he faced and the old fashioned patriarchy of his family to chase his dreams. I liked it so much that I woke up thinking about it the next morning. Critics agree with me. Fourteen year old middle class American girls – not so much.

Chuck and I (big Dallas Cowboy fans – don’t come at me, haters) got to tour the world headquarters of America’s team at the Frisco Star. We had such a good time gawking at this state of the art facility and hearing about some of the fun history of the team. Did you know Emmitt Smith’s scouting report shows him to be careless with the ball and lacking work ethic? Please, did you SEE him on Dancing with the Stars? Yeah, me neither. We also saw the back-up QB Cooper Rush and Jason Witten, who is my husband’s favorite player. Probably mine too. I won’t post those pictures because I accidentally illegally took them. I somehow missed the announcement that we could take pictures of anything except other people. Oops.

I just finished reading The Wondering Years by Knox McCoy. I love, love, love the Popcast podcast he co-hosts with Jamie Golden and was stoked when my best friend surprised me with the book. If you enjoy some snarky humor and an unorthodox take on growing up as an evangelical Christian, grab a copy. And use my link. I would so appreciate it. Today, I picked up Sex, Jesus, and the Conversations the Church Forgot by Mo Isom. It comes highly recommended. And last, I’m using Seeing God’s Hand: Through the Art of Sign Language by Connie Rowland in my daily time with the Lord. The author sweetly encourages me through the pages to look for God’s hand in the world. What a timely message for us all today.

And that’s my month. The good, the bad and the sweaty. Thanks for following along. I’d love to hear what YOU did this month. Or what you’re reading. Or watching. Drop me a comment below. Until next time, I love you, I thank you and I pray September treats you well.