Be excited!! I am!!

Wow I’m just so excited.  I feel like I just found out it’s my birthday or something and I never had one before.  I want to jump up and down, I want to shout it out.

Slight problem…..

I’m in a car…..

So no jumping.  And shouting might not be too good either because my Mum is also in the car.  So I just managed to tone it down a bit and speak about my excitement instead.  Probably a wise choice.

Why am I so excited you’re probably thinking.  Or you maybe thinking “uh oh, here she goes again.”

I’m excited because I’m going on my camping week!  Yes, yes, yes!!  Camping with my son.  All the planning and last minute preparations are suddenly all going to be put to the test.

So here it is.  Xavier and I, on our way to the “People Without Limits” Christian Celebration at Detling, and I’m so excited.  So to get everyone in the mood I started singing Xavi a little song about how we’re going on holiday with Jesus. 

The sun is shining as promised and it’s a beautiful day.  Even my Mum’s talk of predicted hurricanes and violent storms couldn’t burst my bubble.

We arrived at Detling and found our allocated patch of grass.  Number 20!  Marked out with a little red peg with, yes you guessed it, the number 20 on.

We unpacked the tent and Mum, Brian and I attempted to erect it with several different variations whilst Xavier went around collecting up all the little red pegs that were marking out the camping pitches.  Good luck finding your pitch now campers. 

So after a few minor abortive attempts we sent Mum off to explore with Xavi whilst Brian and I redressed our tent erection skills.

Eventually we discovered that size really did matter when it came tent poles. With everything in the right place the tent immediately sprang to life with all the bendy bits bending in the right places.  Praise God!

Next job was to blow up the airbed and get everything out of the car.  Nearly there.  My team of helpers went about their tasks diligently whilst I tried to fathom the guy lines, which were proving exceedingly problematic if you wanted them to actually tighten.

Seeing my guy line plight, lack of tent pegs and the thirst of my team, the surrounding campers came to our aid as I knew they would.

Many times over the previous two weeks I had tried to reassure my Mum that we would be fine because we were going to be with other Christians who would help us out if there were any problems.  So when campers from surrounding tents and caravans offered us drinks, tent pegs and assistance I was more relieved that the love of Jesus in their hearts was a reality before my Mum’s eyes than I was about the actuality of having someone solve my minor camp issues. 

With everything unpacked, wind breaks up, bedroom cosyfied, I finally released my helpers who went off in the car leaving us to our own devices. 

Waheyhey I was still so excited.  Xavi caught on to my boundless enthusiasm and practiced going to bed like it was the best thing he'd ever done.

I took little Xavi and I went round to every tent near us and made new friends.  Such fun!

We had a great family to the left who let us cook sausages on their barbecue, a group in a caravan to the right who had made us drinks and assisted us with tent pegs and another family to the rear who Xavier decided to adopt. 

Xavi’s new best friends were seven year old twins, Joshua and Abigail who ran about madly with him dragging their little trolley cases in and out of the tents causing happy havoc. 

Whilst they were having their fun I was having my own kind of fun trying to fit gas canisters to cookers which had happily been supplied for me by the awesome Richard and Fay at the camp store.

Sadly I managed to waste a whole canister as one of my cookers had a faulty valve so we all leapt around like dancing kangaroos as liquid petroleum gas squirted all over us.  It actually had a pleasant cooling sensation in the hot afternoon sun, luckily no one had a lighted match because it would have soon been anything but cool!

Never mind, my utter joy was not to be diminished by a few minor setbacks.  I fried our egg rice on the remaining stove and cooked delicious sausages on our neighbours’ barbecue whilst Xavi made a meal of grass and mud in the remaining saucepan.  Yummy!

Finally we sat down to our first camp meal!  Sausage and rice!  Quite an achievement I felt.  And it really did taste good. 

With our hunger abated we went for another stroll to get ice packs, internet and make more friends before attending the Celebration opening service in the main venue.

And wow, I wasn’t to be disappointed.  There was such a wonderful atmosphere in the hall and a real feeling of God’s presence during the worship.  I found a great spot for me and Xavi where we could dance in the isles to our favourite worship songs.  I think my jumping was jet propelled tonight and we certainly sang and danced our praises out with “I sing because you are good and I dance because you are good”.  Not sure my dancing was particularly good but it’s so wonderful to know that God loves my dancing however bad it is!

 Some of you are probably wondering where the message is in this blog.  Well, sorry to disappoint you but the only message I want to give today is that we should never stop being excited.  Whatever we are doing we should be excited to do it because everything we do is a reflection of Jesus in our lives, of the love of God in our hearts.

So go on, be excited.  I am!

Heavenly Father,

We thank you that we can shout out our praises and you love it Lord.

We thank you that we can come before you and sing out our joy and that you love the sound of our voices, not because we are all have the most beautiful voices but because we sing in praise of your Holy Name, we sing because Jesus made us free.

We thank you that we can dance to celebrate the life we have in Jesus and it doesn't matter if we have seven left feet, you still love us like we are the best dancers on earth.  

We thank you that we will shout, sing and dance before you in heaven and we live for that day.

In Jesus' name I pray,

Amen