HAPPY CAMPERS & THE DROUGHT

Time for the days of Happy Campers, for dirty faces and hands, for star gazing and small adventures, hikes to new places. A few weeks back we officially and spontaneously started our camping season. We dusted off the ol' trailer, loaded the kids up and took a ride to Collins Lake. In our home the kids asks to go camping A LOT, "This is campin' weather" is now a popular phrase in our family. I love it. I love it a whole lot.

Steve and I have a hard time resisting the beauty of California. We like exploring new camp areas, so after hearing about Collins Lake from multiple sources and then hearing that they also had ice cream...it was a done deal, we had to finally go! And we loved it

Although I love California and carry the opinion that it's one of the most beautiful places, we're in quite a drought, which is sad to see. This was the second lake we had visited that weekend and the low levels of both were pretty noticeable to say the least. 

A few days later the image of what the drought had done to the lakes had manifested into something much more for me. 

Lord, you are my source. Without you, how long could I go before I am spiritually dry? 

Though sometimes we think our "lake" is fine because it has something in it, without God a drought looms. 

God's love, pours into us, it flows down and fills us. Without him as our source, without tapping into God, we can not possibly fill up with the love that flows from him and into us and out, into the world. See the first and greatest commandment is this, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." (Matthew 22:37-38) and how do we love the Lord? How do we tap into him so that we may not run dry? "For the [true] love of God is this: that we do His commands [keep His ordinances and are mindful of His precepts and teaching]. And these orders of His are not irksome (burdensome, oppressive, or grievous)." (1 John 5:3 AMP)

There is no other source that fills us, quite like that of God. 

No conference, No book, No music. No inspirational speaker. The true source that must fill us is God, loving God with all our hearts, mind and soul. So much so that we follow his commandments, we keep his laws and because we love him, because he fills us, they are not oppressive, or burdensome or grievous. They don't need to be sugarcoated, or hyped up, because true love does not need that.

Friends, I pray that we are filled, I pray that we don't face our own spiritual drought and together, that love that flows from God, overflows us and into the world.