Pine Cove Family Camp 2010 Update

We’ve just returned from a week of ministry at one of our favorite places on earth – Pine Cove Christian Camp in Tyler, TX. We have been taking our family there for the past 30 years where Tim has been a Family Camp Speaker. Even though it was over 100* and humid as all get out, we had a fabulous time with our grand daughters and the other families there. There were 37 families there this past week and a record number of children under the age of six. At mealtime, you couldn’t hear yourself think it was so loud in the dining hall. But we love to encourage parents who are in the thick of things and God used the message of Grace Based parenting to bless them and free them up as they parent in the trenches right now.

Two of the moms were counselors for our kids when they were young and now they were so excited to be listening to the message that their campers’ parents used to tell them was “incredible”. One of the other couples there had come to a parenting conference years ago when their kids were small and have been implementing grace based parenting in their home and also teaching it to others in their church. They were back for a refresher course now that their kids were entering the teenage years. We love hearing how God has used the message of grace based parenting in homes and churches over the years. We had nine moms and one dad there without a spouse. Some were single parents, some were military wives with husbands who were deployed and one brave military mom was there with her three children after her husband tragically lost his life in active duty to our country. Everyone shed a lot of tears alongside these courageous parents who labor on their own much of the time. It was also great to have quite a few couples there that are near and dear to our hearts -the pastors and their wives. Some of them stood to share on our last day together that they were weary and battle worn when they arrived at camp, but they were returning to their churches and ministries refreshed, with new perspective and a renewed priority on their own families. God’s grace has a way of lifting burdens, freeing hearts and bringing hope and encouragement just when we need it. It was our privilege to deliver that message this week at Pine Cove. Thanks to all of you who pray for us. God is so faithful.