The Camp Widjiitiwin themes for 2014. Sizzle is Every Theme, having elements from each summer theme.

The Hobbit

Far over the Misty Mountains cold,
To dungeons deep and caverns old,
We must away, ere break of day,
To seek our pale enchanted gold.

 

Around Widjiitiwin brave and bold,

Under the Longhouse, damp and cold,

We must away, ere break of day,
To seek the dragon and get our gold.

 

The boys were shouting in the west,

The girls were cheering, at our behest,

The campfire was red, flaming high,
The games adventure became our quest.

 

Around Widjiitiwin brave and bold,

Under the Longhouse, damp and cold,

We must go forth, to claim the treasure,

To slay the dragon and get our gold.

Destination: Hawaii

Aloha everyone. Come join us for a little surfing dry land style, enjoy a luau complete with BBQ, pineapples, leis, palm trees and coconuts. Next we’ll head over to the big island to see hula dancers in grass skirts. You’re part of our Ohana, which means family and family means no one gets forgotten. Hawaiian shirts for theme day? Of course!

Once Upon a Time

Once Upon a Time begins our tale of friendship, knights, love and a conquering hero. Come explore the realm, meet the King and Queen and become a princess or prince for the week. Help our brave hero rescue the princess from the dungeon and make things right in the land and reunite the royal family. And of course, they lived happily ever after… at Camp Widjiitiwin.

Sherwood Forest

While King Richard the Lionheart is away we’ll go deep into Sherwood Forest. We’ll find Maid Marian, Robin Hood and his merry band to defeat the Sheriff of Nottingham. You’ll meet up with Little John, Friar Tuck, Will Scarlet, Bold Jane Downey and Alan A’Dale. Your best archery skills will be required along with bravery & good skills with sword and quarterstaff. Are you ready for the adventure of your summer?

I walked down to Widji this morning. It was cold and the snow was deep, over my boots in many places. We’ve had over 30″ (75 cm) of snow in the last few days. Fortunately, I had a nice snowmobile trail most of the way. On my way in I saw a grey squirrel fall (or jump) out of a tree and struggle to get through the deep snow back to the tree. I also saw deer and rabbit tracks and a pileated woodpecker. I went in to pick up a Tuck Shop item that is being given as a Christmas gift.

Camp is quite cold and snowed in and more snow is on the way. There are a few more pictures on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CampWidjiitiwin.

The next time I’ll make the journey is for Widjiitiwin Snow Camp, the first weekend in February 2014. Want to join us?

Just 6 months, 2 weeks, 0 days until and 14 hours camp starts…

I’ve worn a burn rope bracelet for 10 years now. I got it burned on the last season I was the Outdoor Recreation Director at Muskoka Woods (in the fall of 2003). It has faded some and may be a little stiffer now than it was then. It signifies that I am (or was) an honourary member of the guy’s Bible study group called “The Tool Shed“. As the explanation for the name went, it was to remind us that we are all tools in God’s shed for Him to use. As guys, it also reminded us that sometimes we are just tools.

We each have a purpose that God has created for us to do. Ephesians 2:10 reminds us that, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do“. We all need to be reminded that we have something important still to do for God. God is busy creating you into the tool he needs you to be for His Kingdom’s purpose and in His sovereign planning.

I like the idea that God has been planning my work. As I look back on what I have done I can clearly see how each job or situation or circumstance has been integral to the next task I was lead to do. I can see that the culmination of my skills is exactly what I needed for my current role as director of Camp Widjiitiwin. Looking back it is much easier to see the plan. Looking forward requires faith. Rick Warren writes, “God’s plan for your life isn’t a map you see all at once, but a scroll unrolled a little at a time, requiring faith”.

Proverbs 16:9 reminds us that, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps”.

Thanks to Jay Penner and the guys who made me an honourary member of The Tool Shed. I appreciated it and I am still reminded to be a useful  tool available to God for His Kingdom’s use.

I REALLY dislike waiting. And I think we wait way too much in our society. Of course that’s from my perspective. Where does my impatience come from? Partly it’s because we have become accustomed to getting instant service, drive through restaurants with “fast” food, a 1.7 second response time from Google searches and ever increasing internet download speeds. I still remember those crazy sounds when we used to connect to the internet through a phone line and we hoped we would connect at more than 14Kb/second so that we could download a 25 word email in under half an hour.

I have a few suggestions for those times when we have to wait. It could be in the doctor’s office, in line at the Tim Horton’s drive through, at the mall, at home waiting for dinner, for the movie to start, in the car waiting for a family member or friend. It really doesn’t matter where, here are a few suggestions for “those” times.

• Read – I don’t do this enough, yet I see lots of people reading books, magazines, or something on a tablet. Occasionally I remember to take a woodworking magazine or book when I go out shopping with Elaine or the girls. Usually I find one of those benches for dads/husbands and watch the people go by. Reading would be a better investment of my time. Download a Bible app and read that or your emails that have piled up for a while.
• Catch up on Facebook or Twitter – I do a lot of this one. I don’t have a lot of spare time in my work day, so this is good for waiting times. It can also be done while in the washroom. Just saying.
• Engage – with the people around you – This one will mess with the people around you, especially in big cities where no one talks to each other. It doesn’t really matter what you talk about. The weather is easiest, but hopefully you can find something deeper, more meaningful. Of course, it means being vulnerable and taking a risk.
• Write – I start blog ideas as I get them or a line for a letter I’ve been thinking about or a camp program idea. Get a program like Evernote that syncs with your smart phone and your computer. Write an encouragement note or email or text to a friend, your child, a friend, a parent or shut-in. Let someone know you’re thinking and praying for them.
• Pray – I wish I thought of doing this one more. It would be a good discipline to get into. Pray for the people in your life, at work, home and friends. Pray for our country’s leaders, they certainly need it. Pray for your pastor, church and the staff. Pray for your kids! Pray for people’s health, families, direction, wisdom, etc.
• Plan – what better time than when you’re stuck waiting to think about the future and lay down some plans or ideas. Make notes (paper or digital) or send yourself an email with the details.
• Stare at the clock on the wall – I don’t really mean this one, but if you are just truly bored, I suppose you can count the seconds go by.
• A nap is also an option, but you just might miss the appointment you’re waiting for.

With all these ideas, you would think I wouldn’t mind waiting so much. Maybe next time that will be true.

What are you waiting for? How could you best use the time you have been given while you wait?

As we sang Chris Tomlin’s song Everlasting God last Sunday, it got me thinking that not only is our God the defender of the weak, he is also our defender of the week. How does God defend our week? I’m glad you asked. He does it by protecting us from the enemy, providing a way out from sin, providing a hedge of protection (like in the time of Job); in the lonely times when there is no one else around us He is a comfort and companion.

A few verses with this promise:

• Hebrews 13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

• Isaiah 40:28b-31 The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.

• Psalm 140:7 Sovereign Lord, my strong deliverer, you shield my head in the day of battle.

• Psalm 18:2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

• 1 Chronicles 16:36 Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Then all the people said “Amen” and “Praise the Lord.”

• Psalm 68:5 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.

 Everlasting God by Chris Tomlin
I will never leave you or forsake you

Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord
As we wait upon the Lord
As we wait upon the Lord

Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord
As we wait upon the Lord
As we wait upon the Lord

Our God, You reign for ever
Our hope, Our strong deliverer

You are the everlasting God,
The everlasting God,
You do not faint, You won’t grow weary

You’re the defender of the weak
You comfort those in need,
You lift us up on wings like eagles

Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord…

How is God the defender of your week? Find your strength in Him

I have some amazing memories of life at my grandpa’s house. Driving back from a visit to Rocky Ridge Ranch last week I noticed that my grandpa’s old house is for sale. It’s in Speyside. It’s not an overwhelmingly large place. It’s one of those single gas station stops on the side of highway 25, just north of Milton in the Halton Hills. I just had to stop in and walk up the driveway to see it again. The house is different than I remember, but that’s excepted after almost 40 years.

I have some great memories of that house and spending time with grandpa and grandma Greenfield like making maple syrup, grandpa’s workshop, Christmas time and good family times.

Speyside is the first place I remember making maple syrup and it started a long hobby to make it at several camps and in my own backyards. It’s something that I have passed on to my girls and many friends. I remember walking along the line of tapped trees and collecting sap with grandpa and taking it back to the sugar shack to boil it down. The sugar shack stands out with all its steam and boiling sap smelled sweet, like wood smoke and maple. I don’t think it was very big. Maple “tea” is a nice drink when the sap is about 50% boiled down.

Grandpa had a workshop in the basement where he would build things, although not to the standard that grandma would have liked as I recall. The workshop held an allure of so many tools and of course the smell of wood shavings. I don’t actually remember any of the things we built. I think it was more about the time spent. I have some of those same tools in my own workshop including his journeyman’s box from the 1920’s. Pretty cool.

I remember grandma always said we had two options for dinner. If you’re thinking that meant two kinds of meat or an extra dessert you couldn’t be farther from the reality of it. The choice was usually 1. take it or 2. leave it. I do recall that she would feed us a peanut butter and jam sandwich later if we missed out.

Lots of memories. I’m glad I stopped.

This blog post is on the withdrawal feelings after leaving camp, going from community to loneliness where others just don’t understand why you’re always talking about camp and the people you met there. Earlier this fall, Jake Hildebrand coined the term PCDS or Post Camp Depression Syndrome. Its often called “camp-sickness” or camp withdrawal. Whatever you call it you just want to be back at Widji. Its totally understandable. Here are 25 suggestions you might try when you miss camp:

1. crab walk around your house for your mail
2. sing really loud before each meal, even in restaurants
3. go star spinning
4. do your own cabin devos after breakfast
5. bang out rhythms with a spoon during meals
6. refuse to have a shower
7. paint perma-tan onto your feet
8. use a weird utensil to eat dinner
9. write letters to staff or other campers
10. post camp pictures to your Facebook and tag Widji in them
11. write a guest blog for the Widji website and send it to Moose (mike@mycamp.ca)
12. dress up like one of the cabin leaders and post a picture to Facebook
13. dream scream your neighbours
14. do morning monkeys and words of wisdom for your family
15. shout freeze in the school cafeteria and see what happens
16. start a countdown to Widji 2014
17. watch the 2013 summer videos  at https://vimeo.com/campwidjiitiwin
18. clean your room and ask for an ice cream party on Friday night
19. eat pudding without using a spoon
20. cheer for EVERYTHING!
21. have rest period after lunch, maybe not at school
22. bundle up for campfire, sing some crazy songs
23. try to be nice to those around you that just don’t understand missing camp
24. be ready when the camp applications go online in early December (both for campers and staff)
25. come to Widjiitiwin Snow camp January 31 – February 2, 2014 (Blast & older)

You can’t really live the camp life at home. That’s one of the things that makes camp so special. See you in 2014

Camp Widjiitiwin – the way camp was meant to be… relational, central, natural, reaching out, a loving community focused on Christ. It’s like coming home, it’s my camp!