I’m not going to tell you what to do, but get your kids signed up for summer camp! I may be a little biased regarding the whole summer camp gig since I worked four Summers from 93-96 at Camp Barakel in northern Michigan and even met my wife there in 1993.
I was not privileged to be a camper at a consistent camp when I was a kid and I can pretty much point to everything that is wrong in my life to that one neglected feature of my childhood. I struggle with my temper because I didn’t go to summer camp and learn patience while standing in line for archery. I am overly extroverted because I was never at summer camp where I could get alone in the wilderness to think with the birds and chipmunks. I can tend to be overly competitive because I never was sent to summer camp to learn teamwork. And I even occasionally exaggerate.
But joking aside, there is something very powerful (increasingly powerful) about getting kids unplugged and away from their everyday home life. While I was a counselor at Camp Barakel, I had the opportunity to guide kids into deeper relationships with Jesus and I was even privileged to introduce some kids to Him.
I obviously would recommend Camp Barakel for anyone in Michigan who is looking for a solid camp with a great program. It is a fun place that is out in the sticks, has an amazing facility, but most importantly is run by a staff that all love Jesus and focus on His Word!
I imagine that you could find a higher-octane, program-driven, exhaustion-fest for your kids this summer. But I am not convinced that you could find a camp with a higher focus on investing in the spiritual growth of your child in a very fun environment.
Nobody paid me for this obtrusive advertisement. I love Camp Barakel and it will always be one of my favorite places on the planet!
Camp On!
Check out the Camp Barakel website here for more info: https://www.campbarakel.org/
This made me laugh – literally out loud! But in all seriousness I totally agree that any Christian Gospel centered camp is a great addition to summer and Camp Barakel is the BEST!!
Hey, those are the same years that I was there…what side of the lake were you on?