A Gift to My Campers

In less than one month I will be heading with 100 students to summer camp where they will hopefully encounter Jesus in a life changing way. I will be in charge of cutivating spiritual growth for my 15 campers who will be staying in my cabin. I have been praying for them for multipule things; that they will be comfortable at Mazama, that they will find someone to bond with, that I can connect with them, and ultimately that Jesus will rock them and become part of their lives.

I was racking my mind for somehting that I can give each one of them on the first night that they are their so that they know that I care for them and that I am there for them. I searched far and wide for ideas on pinterest and other blogs and then I finally decided that I would make something on my own and then share it with you all.

This is what I came up with...

 

A glittered notebook that the girls can record their experiences in, and stone hearts showing that Jesus cares for all of their hearts. On the first page of their journals, I wrote them a heartfelt note explaining my heart for the week. 

So here we go, this was the process of painting, glittering, sculpting, baking and gluing. 

First, I created the the hearts. 

I preheated the oven to 400 degrees and mixed up in a bowl: 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of salt, and some cold water. 

I mixed it into a dough ball and then grabbed my cutting board and heart stencil.

Then I flattened some dough with a spatula and placed my template on

the dough.

I then used a tooth pick and knife to cutout the heart shape. 

After cutting several of these hearts I placed them about a 1/4 inch on a baking sheet covered with tin foil.

 Then I placed them in the oven for 2 hours.

After 2 hours I removed them and painted them gray to look like stones.

Now, for the notebooks. 

I bought 15 70 page, college rule, notebooks from Walmart for $0.17 each! Then I gathered my supplies.

• The Notebooks
• Paper Towl
• Paint Brushes
• Paper Plates
• Paint
• Newspaper
• Mod Podge 
• Glitter

I painted 2-3 coats of color on each notebook and let them dry for an hour.

After drying I painted a coat of Mod Podge on a corner, while using a piece of paper as a guide. Then I scattered different colors of glitter on each book, and let it dry.

Then finished the glitter with a sealant of Mod Podge.

 Then, after drying for another hour I coated the whole cover with Mod Podge and let it dry.

This is the finished product.

This is the letter that I wrote on each one of the first pages. 

I hope that this helped some of you with ideas of what to give with your campers.

Grace & Peace,

Wishes(Reaches)

Tis the season to become greedy. Just Kidding! but really...

Normally, I can immediately create a christmas list containing things that I have coveted for months, but this year is different. I feel that I don't need anything. This year and in general I have been so blessed with multiple material and non-material things. This holiday season I am focusing on the true reason for the season (I know, cliche) and praising God for every gift I have been given in this life here on earth. 

With that being said, I did end up creating a list of reach items that I would would love to invest in. My family was continually hounding me to create a list so this is the result of the hounding. 

1.  2.  3.  4.  5.  6.  7.  8.

1. I love rings and trees. This is the perfect combo of the two.
2. Walking around campus is frigid. This vest over a sweatshirt would be a nice solution to the cold.
3. I LOVE my jams. Bose speakers would bring my dorm room to life.
4. I have the boots, I want the sock inserts.
5. Lulu yogas. These shall perpetuate my procrastination by making watching American Horror Story much more comfortable.
6. I like the color and jackets.
7. I like glitter, it likes me.
8. I would feel like a badass in this jacket.