A' Camping We Will Go!

We are camping this week (if living in a cottage for a week counts as camping).  I have idyllic dreams of camping --
            Long hours blogging/journaling on the porch overlooking the lake.
            Morning runs along the wood-lined trails near our cabin.
            Getting ahead on my research/class prep for the upcoming school year.

Oh wait.

I'm camping with a 4-year-old.  

Scratch those plans.

Instead my camp week will involve "Jacie-style" activites --
       Stopping to examine spider webs and stones along the wooded trail near our cabin.
       Playing "motorboat" in the camp pool. 
       Playing "Noah and Mrs. Noah" in the boat-shaped playground.

But still, there's something about camping -- Retreating into the woods, looking out over a serene lake, breathing in nature anew -- that rejuvenates the soul.

And while it might not be quite the idyllic getaway I might dream of,
I get to experience the great outdoors through the fresh eyes of my 4-year-old, 
I get to participate in the always-novel wonder of seeing God work in young lives through the preaching of His Word in a setting free of distractions.

I get to experience camp in a different way -- not as a counselor, not as a camper --but as an adult, a ministry wife  -- a perspective from the outside in.