The Great Day

Breakfast Club moved onto the “Mental” side of the four fold way of living. How do we have a Great day every day? It is a “MENTAL” thing… what do we expect out of our days? Expect Greatness, and you will find it.

No day is completely great. There are moments of yuck. Sometimes there are hours of yuck… but in the midst of every bad hour are moments of good things as well. What are we going to focus on, the good or the bad? Our counselors have committed to only focusing on the Good while they are here this summer. Most of the campers are doing the same… it is what makes camp such a happy place.

I gave the example of my father… a coal miners son who had few prospects, but was a genuinely happy and hard working guy. People liked him because he always found good in every circumstance. It allowed him to have an attitude of joyful expectation every day: what good thing was going to happen today? He would expect it to come, and it always did.

We can do this. It is a fact that there are no bad days, just bad moments. Will you let a bad moment ruin your day?

For teenage girls, the temptation is to let the drama run things. Let the bad moment define the day… what a waste. I hope this community gets it. I hope this community adopts the Great Day attitude and that their joyful lives will transform the world… it is the message of light. People who see the good are bright lights in dark rooms, they are used by God for good. We see it at camp and I hope you will see this “spark” when your girls are home in two short weeks.

Anyhoo….

Today began with light rain and cool temperatures. The dining hall was full of sleepy girls bundled up in their sweat shirts and rain coats. Lots of great rain boots were on display, the floor was damp with mulchy dirty water… then out of the blue the speakers blair out a loud song and all of the out of cabin counselors jumped onto their tables and did a “Flash Mob”! It was amazing… about 75 counselors spread around the dining hall dancing a carefully choreographed dance all at once! Joy! It was a great example of the Great Day… intentionally making a moment great for the community. It was amazing.

We finished our Fritata’s with big smiles and lots of chatter about flash mobs we have seen or heard about. I love these things, they are random and intentional… great stuff.

The rain will move out later in the morning, giving us two days of perfection. Highs in the 70’s… sunny… wow. I can not wait.

The last Rest Hour group will come to Margaret and my house today… Bungalows 5 and 6 have been looking forward to this event all summer, I have had about 5 girls to come up to me saying that they can’t wait. Sometimes we wonder if we should cut back on the maddness; these 16 hour days are tough… but all it takes is one minute to bring us back in line. These girls are amazing. To have a personal connection with them is worth the work! Thank you for sharing them with us. They are DELIGHTFUL.

Dinner is the Birthday Ball bash (Incredible menu of pork tenderloin, tomato pie, roasted veggies, fresh bread, and birthday cake). All the girls who have birthdays at camp will sit with my mother at the head table. We have place settings for them, a little birthday present, and serve them a fancy dinner (Laura, the Group Leaders, and I are the waiters). The EP is Camper Talent Show… possibly the best EP of the year. LOVE IT.

The days are flying by, we can’t believe it is Saturday again… in a flash this session will end. There are lots of visitors today (Four tours are scheduled), and I am so glad. Camp is a remarkable place that is best experienced in person. The “layers” of the onion are amazing… first impressions that lead to smiles and gasps of astonishment as they look in on classes and meet the campers and counselors which comprise this community. It is a wonderful place, unique in all the world.

Thank you for making it possible.

Jimboy