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Keep doing some kind of work, that the devil may always find you employed.
—St. Jerome
Time is what we want most, but what we use
worst.
—William
Penn
How we spend our days is, of course, how
we spend our lives.
—Annie
Dillard
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talk about it
 We
all experience it at some point: too much time and not enough to do. What
do you do when you're bored and can't come up with anything worthwhile to
do? Where does your mind turn? How do you start feeling about yourself? Or
what if you're waiting for an amazing week (like a week of summer at
SpringHill!) or an event that's just around the corner, and everything else
you could do in the meantime pales by comparison? Do you sit around and
wait? What do you think God would want you to be doing?
Talk about it with other SpringHill
campers and counselors on the SpringHill MySpace page. Or, if you
have another question you'd like to discuss, email us.
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what you said
· Who
is your greatest influence? 40% of those surveyed say Jesus; 30%
say friends and 15% say family.
·
30% of you say that the influence you would be better without is the wrong
kind of friends; 23% say fashion magazines or media that tell you that you
don't measure up; 15% say television or negative messages from the people
around you.
·
85% say you have a positive influence over your friends.
·
When you think about having free time over the summer, 40% feel excited,
30% feel relieved and only 15% feel bored.
·
Nearly half of you say your summer is totally planned out; 30% say you
have a good idea about what you'll be doing; only 15% don't think
about summer until it's here.
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how
we spend our days
 Add up your days and you have your life. Sounds kind of
simplistic, but look at it this way: if you waste your time, what do you
have to show for it? Not much. God is hoping for a lot more from us.
And, truthfully, we should expect more of ourselves as well. So, how
can you put your extra time to good use? In this issue of The Well, we'll
challenge you with ways to do something for God this summer. And we'll tell
you about all the fun and exciting things coming up at SpringHill —
from Summer 2007 to our awesome new Fall Music
Festival!! You'll find
other inspiring stuff here, too, including some great new music and
book reviews and a chance to speak your mind on our myspace page. Check it
out!
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news @
springhill michigan
Don't miss SpringHillSummer
2007!! Check out the SpringHill summer schedule and all the details about TST. Then, start planning the best weeks of your summer!
Go to the SpringHill website NOW to register!
Interested in being a counselor at SpringHill someday? Consider our TST
neXt program! This new 3-week program for older high school students is
the next step for campers who love kids and want to be involved in
Christian ministry. Students will receive one week of training at
SpringHill, and then serve for two weeks in either Copper Country or
Storybrook or at one of SpringHill’s Daycamps in
Auburn Hills or Novi,
Michigan. Learn more and register on our
website!
Bring your family to
SpringHill Family Camp over Memorial Day weekend, May 25-28,
for an out-of-this-world bonding experience! Spend quality time with your
family playing, learning, talking, growing and worshipping. It'll be the
best four days you spend together all year!
An amazing lineup of
some of today's hottest Christian bands (like Sevenglory, Red Umbrella
and Sidewalk Prophets) will be coming to SpringHill for our first annual
Fall Music Festival September 22 and 23! Bring your whole family to this
awesome, fun-filled event that includes all your favorite SpringHill
activities and three stages rocking with music all weekend long. Check
out the Festival webpage and the Festival myspace page for more details
— and to register!!
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good
versus idle
We hear that
some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are
busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to
settle down and earn the bread they eat. And as for you, brothers and
sisters, never tire of doing what is good.
—2
Thessalonians 3:11-13
Having a whole summer
stretch out before you can feel like such a relief after a long school
year. And, rest after hard work is, of course, a good thing. But do you
ever find yourself, maybe mid-June, experiencing too much of a good thing?
What do you do with an abundance of time?
Without a plan or a
purpose, it’s easy for our extra time to become wasted time. The
Bible calls this idleness. Instead of being busy and doing things for God
and others, our minds and bodies stray. We might become busybodies (gossiping
and getting into other people’s business) or couch potatoes or
self-indulgent in the way we think and behave. God is longing for more from
us. He gives us time as a gift and an opportunity to do good. (And not
doing something bad is still not doing something good.) This is the only
Summer 2007 you will ever have. How will you spend it?
Think
about this: How will you
spend your extra time this summer? Is there something you could do for God?
What keeps you from being productive? Who could help you keep a focus on
doing good? How would you feel at the end of the summer if you had done
something for God instead of becoming idle?
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a
springhill staffer talks to the well
 Dan
Rinke spent two summers as a TST Area Director before he came on staff
fulltime last year as the assistant director for New Frontiers. Clearly a
big fan of summer at SpringHill, Dan talks to The Well about how to keep
summer from becoming boring and how to spend your time well.
The
Well: Tell us about a memorable summer and what made it great.
Dan: When I was in college at Central Michigan
I stayed on campus during the summer and coordinated a conference for high
school students. It was really hard work every day from 9 to 5 but I knew
it was going to pay off. Plus, I had a great time interacting with the high
school students when they came on campus and got to speak about something I
was really passionate about.
The
Well: Why did you choose to come to SpringHill over other things you could
do during the summer?
Dan: I applied to other camps, but SpringHill offered a
leadership development opportunity and a setting that would allow me to
grow. I came back again (and stayed!) because I had such an awesome experience
serving God alongside friends. That just made the experience for me.
The
Well: What do you think God thinks about boredom?
Dan: It's one of the paradoxes of Christianity: God wants
you to work diligently but he doesn't want you to be so consumed by work
that you forget about him. Ultimately I think he wants you to figure out
what you're good at and then go out and do it for him.
The
Well: How do you get out of a rut when you feel bored or feel like you are
wasting time?
Dan: I get out and try new things and meet new people.
Volunteering is also a great thing to do. There's nothing as energizing as
serving alongside other people.
The
Well: What advice do you have for students about how to take time that's
being wasted and do something for God?
Dan:
Get involved in something outside yourself. Check out opportunities at your
local church. It's a great way to deal with idle time.
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now
playing
 Beauty from Pain from Superchic[k]
Originating out of Chicago,
this Christian punk band actually brings together a number of musical
styles to create their unique punk/pop/hip hop sound. SpringHill summer
staffer Khristen Shaffer loves the band’s positive lyrics, especially
how they emphasize being your own person and not conforming to the
standards of the world. Although this album chronicles the band’s
struggles and the painful personal experiences of a lot of the members, the
messages are universally compelling and point to the one and only God who
can make us all whole. Read a longer review of this album and an interview with some of the band members. Also, be sure
to check out the Superchic[k] Myspace page.
 Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges
SpringHill counselor Ansley Howard recently rediscovered this classic.
After twenty-five years in print, The Pursuit of Holiness still
has as much relevance as it did when it was written. Ansley recommends the
book for the way it inspires real and tangible holiness. “We’re
going to fail a lot,” she says. “But the author provides a lot
of encouragement and practical ideas for how to pursue holiness on a daily
basis.” If you’re interested in knowing what holiness looks
like and how to bring the pursuit of it into the real world of your daily
life and decisions, check it out.
 Black by Ted Dekker
Summer is a great time to hit the
books — the ones you want to read. Several SpringHill
counselors delve into Ted Dekker’s novels whenever they have a break
from school. Counselor Justine Kenning recommends Dekker’s Circle
Trilogy, which starts with the book Black. An
adrenaline-packed collision of dreams and reality, Black pushes its hero to
the limits of space and time. It’s ultimately a story of love and
betrayal and good and evil, or, as Justine says, “an amazing
allegory for the Christian life.” If you pick it up, be prepared to
continue the trilogy with Red and White. We dare you to just
read one. Find out more about Black or read a
chapter of Black
on Ted Dekker’s website.
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