Term 1: Sunday Baseline + the Ted 10,000

Sundays at Camp Balcones Springs are special. Campers have a day off from their regular activity programming and instead spend the day all together for some fun, competition, and reflection. Meanwhile, our dedicated Work Crew campers get the day off from their kitchen and maintenance duties to venture outside of camp for some r&r before the next week of work begins.

For those of us back at camp, the first highlight of the day comes with our camp Baseline service. Each Sunday morning at CBS, we gather in our lakeside amphitheater to sing songs together, share cabin skits, and hear a special speech from a visiting camp friend. This term, Jimmy Miller, long-time camper, former summer staff member, and relative of Camp legend Marietta Johnson, gave a speech titled, “Where Does Joy Come From?” Jimmy’s words centered on our summer theme of joy, taken from the bible verse in Galatians 5:22-23 that speaks to the importance and power of joy. We’ve included a copy of Jimmy’s talk below if you’d like to follow along at home.

Where Does Joy Come From?

Has anyone ever seen a scary movie?

What was it?

You know what movie scared me as a kid? The Neverending Story

I’m okay with you laughing at me. Want to know why? It’s because it’s about this kid who starts reading this book, and then the book starts being real, and they are battling a big bad, but it’s not a thing, it’s nothing. Emptiness is consuming this world. And you meet all these cool creatures and they get consumed by the Nothing. And then this horse drowns in the swamp of sadness, and it’s so scary.

Except that in the end, everything is set right. We even get the horse back from the swamp of sadness.

Anyway, you guys got a verse for the summer? Lemme hear it!

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

9 things in that list, and today I want to talk about Joy.

Hey, what is joy?

Did you know it’s not the same thing as happiness? It’s not! It’s something else.

Is anyone here happy all the time? No way! Happiness is conditional.

Happiness is determined by your circumstances. I was sad when the Longhorns didn’t win the national championship in football, but I’m happy when the University of Texas Longhorns beats Texas Tech to win the Softball National Championship two days ago. I’m happy when I get to come to camp. When I’m not at camp, I’m sad. I’m happy when the Rough Riders win. I’m happy when Nintendo releases a new Mario Kart in time for the summer.

These are all good things that happen to me, and in turn, impact my mood.

Joy is something else. What is it?

If we look at the other fruits of the spirit, Joy looks like a pretty good thing. It’s got a seat between Love and Peace. 2 things I like.

But where else do we see joy in the New Testament?

This is where things get real confusing.

James 1:2 - Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.

Romans 12:12 - Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

2 Corinthians 6:10 - As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing;

This is a small sample size, but we could go on as long as you want. Here’s the thing I want to know? Why does joy always seem to be mentioned with terrible stuff?

It seems like joy is always mentioned right before or after the Bible tells us to expect hard times, sorrow, and affliction.

The answer to our first question is right in front of us after all. If happiness is determined by things that happen to us, Joy is independent from our circumstances. Joy is a state of being. It’s a feeling of good pleasure and hope that is dependent on who Jesus is rather than on who we are or what is happening around us.

So how in the world can we have joy when things around us are so bad?

Jesus says in John 16:33 - I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

And Paul writes in Romans 8:28 - And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

These two verses are linked together and tell us both how and why we can have joy.

Jesus says “I have overcome the world.” Paul says “everything ends well. The good guys win.”

That’s the secret. That’s the source of joy. When bad things are happening, when times are tough, we can have joy because we know FOR SURE that the bad times are not the end.

The bad guys won’t win, suffering is not forever, and the sun will shine on us again.

For this reason, even when you are having the worst day, week, month, or year of your life, you can have joy.

Of all the 9 fruits of the Spirit, Joy is both the easiest and most elusive. It’s a gift and a choice.

I can watch the Neverending Story now and not be scared. Why? Because I know the ending. I know that all the characters I love will come back in the end. That the Nothing is banished and the story continues. We have that same promise. Knowing the end of the story gives me joy.

The second highlight of the day came via our annual Ted 10,000 sporting events at Balcones Beach. These swim and relay races are long-standing camp traditions, held every term, and consist of three swim races of various lengths: the Ted 10,000, 5,000 and 2,000. The day also includes a Phun Run road race and a Splash ‘N Dash swim/run relay event. Girls and boys of all ages and cabins are permitted to enter, and the entire event is monitored by lifeguards and coaches to ensure camper safety throughout. After the races conclude, all campers enjoy ice cream sundaes together on Balcones Beach as the sun sets.

We can’t wait for what this next week holds!