Along The Trail

WE'VE MOVED

For the sake of clarity (my personal/work/converted to teen blog is confusing!) and just needing a fresh start, we have moved to a new blog location! You can now follow along with all the happenings of Whisper Mountain and be encouraged over in this new blog space! There will no longer be posts made to Along The Trail blog. Feel free to subscribe to our new blog if you'd like to get the posts in your email's inbox so you don't miss a thing!

I'm so thankful for your faithful following here! Sharing the road with you all has been a blessing! May you continue to be encouraged in your walk with Christ! 

See you over there!
[ whispermountain.wordpress.com ]

NOW HIRING!

 
[if unable to view above video, click here!]

The time has come for us to begin hiring for our 2015 SUMMER STAFF team! If you've been interested or been waiting for the applications to be ready for use, then head on over to our website to apply!

Ever wondered what it would be like to work at Whisper Mountain? Check out this video for a closer look!

 

As always...our staff is trusting God to pull the right people together to accomplish His work of Proclaiming the name of Christ at camp this summer!

Will you be one of them?

A Big Day + a giveaway

Today's a big day for WM! Big days generally require donuts! Although we've completed 8 summers of camp, today marks the 8th birthday of God providing the land for Whisper Mountain Camp!

Oh my goodness, you guys! Marty prayed for free land and after waiting painfully long and going through some dark days, God provided! God always hears and He always answers -- though never within our logical time frame. Can I get an amen?! (If you've never heard the story of our beginnings, be sure to ask us when you come next time!)

To celebrate WM's Birthday, we have a couple party favors for you!! We are giving away a bundle of goodness for one person to receieve this book, a hoodie, some coffee and a mug. But we couldn't leave everyone else out so we are also offering 25% off your order in our online store!

Use the code Big 8 when you order -- this week only! Offer ends Saturday at 8:00pm. To enter the bundle of goodness giveaway, leave us a comment here telling us your favorite Christmas movie! We will randomly select a winner this Friday!

Thanks for being a part of our journey in camp ministry! We like how we go together like donuts and coffee! Happy Birthday to us!

[Psst...Now leave us a comment so you enter to win! And go shopping!]

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UPDATE >> the randomly selected winner is: 

[email protected] who said...

Charlie Brown :)

 

When Christmas Distracts

Season’s Greetings, beautiful people!

As school is slowly winding down + the rest from Thanksgiving is wearing thin on our restless hearts yearning for the next break, our minds are starting to shift to the upcoming holiday: Christmas. Hearing the word brings glee + excitement, but I want to put focus on the main part of the word – the stem.

Pretty lights, trees, + presents get my attention every year, but these ingredients mix into a tempting appearance shifting my mindset from the truth. Every day we are focused on physical, material, + tangible things instead of the whole reason we are on this earth: Christ. Our minds are easily distracted from the One who created them, and set on our daily routines or challenges. We always somehow find a way (our way) to get the bills paid, gifts bought, or overcome obstacles. Every day we don’t realize the absolute need for God until we are at the breaking point. You know that point where you are on your knees and have finally come to the realization that you can’t do it on your own anymore? It’s true God uses those as turning points for us to look to Him and surrender, but we’re missing the point. It shouldn’t take misery for us to remember that Jesus is there for us, and it shouldn’t take a holiday to remember what Jesus did for us.

God calls us to love Him with a daily, hourly, minutely, secondly love. He wants our love for Him to overflow so much that it turns into an absolute necessity to survive. A necessity like how a deer pants for water--our souls should thirst for God. He wants us to WANT Him. He wants to captivate our hearts so our love for others stems from our love for Him. He places tests in our lives to see how we will handle them, and He may give you too much for you to handle only for you to realize He is the only one who can help you carry it.

But He wouldn’t have to do this--we wouldn’t have to suffer so much--if we would just fix our eyes on Him to begin with. God commands us to do this: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind.” (Luke 10:27). If we truly loved Him the way He commands, our lives wouldn’t resemble the common “It’s going good until I can’t handle something so that’s when I clasp my hands and pray for help” scenario. He wants our very first thought to be of Him when we encounter trials AND when we don’t.

God sent His son--Christ--to die for our sins. This is the reason we celebrate Christmas. He is the very beginning of the word for Pete’s sake! So this holiday season, set your heart + mind on the whole reason for the season:  Jesus coming to the world, to not only die for us, but to live as an example for the world to strive to become daily. However, along with the cliché Christian “reason for the season” motto, think about this: Christmas isn’t the only time to focus on Jesus. My prayer for you is to not only focus on Him this Christmas, but that you wouldn’t stop after December 25^th.

\Author >> Erin| ^^ |Photography >> Cassi|