Camping Pictures and Poems

Spending a number of relaxing days at a campground with my church family, involving lots of kids and being outside, lends itself to many pictures.

From the kids running about everywhere, 

 

 


 



To fun on the slip 'n' slide,

To the twins,







 

To sweet family interactions,

To the sword-fighting boys,

To making food outdoors,

 
To fun at the beach-



 



 

 In the water,

 


In the mud,

 




 

 









and in the sand-

To lazying in fields creating daisy chains,

 

 






To adorning each other with them,

To nighttime adventures,






 

 












To unending games of volleyball-

Both inside and out-

Even to injuries to make everything more interesting,

To simply enjoying watching people interact,

To exploring the lake,

To many rounds of carpet ball,






 

To watching my little buddies,

To making the rounds-

 








by wagon, 

by bike,

by both,

by stroller,











by foot-

 










To being goofy together,


 

 











To taking walk

 








after walk










until your poor feet are sore:

There's plenty to take pictures of, and too much, in fact.

 
Especially people.

There's portrait

 after portrait

 after portrait

after portrait

 Well...

 You get the idea.

There's lots of opportunity for portraits.

There were so many things to enjoy, most of all fellowship with other believers and with the Lord, that I didn't want to miss. Seeing through the lens of a camera, you notice things you wouldn't otherwise, but you also have a narrowed vision sometimes, making it harder to enjoy the moment sometimes. For this reason I took fewer pictures than I would have.

Good thing, right? Otherwise this post would never end...

One thing I much enjoyed was writing poems with a group of friends. For the first one, we took over the campsite of one family and wrote poems beginning with "For Friendship." This made me think of all that one does because of a friend that one wouldn't otherwise.

And of course I shall add a few more pictures I didn't fit in otherwise.


For Friendship
By Jeannette Beerbower
June 14, 2013

For friendship
Loss of sleep
When there's no need
To count sheep
Though down your eyelids
Want to creep
No sleep
For friendship

For friendship
Tedium endured
Going somewhere
You are bored
On the whim
Of one adored
Tedium endured

For friendship

For friendship
Mental pain
Heartsore for
Another's rain
Longing to lift
Another's drain
Mental pain
For friendship

For friendship
Take delight
Though undesired
In your sight
You now find
That you might
Take delight
For friendship

For friendship
Work undone
Chores are piling
Up a ton
But away from
Them you run
Work undone
For friendship


This exercise was so much enjoyed that I proposed we do it again. We didn't have another starting line, so looking about us all sitting in another's space, I suggested invasion.

What could be more appropriate for the camping trip, where we're all constantly joking about "mooching" off of people, and it's like a big communal picnic, where you go scouting off to see who has the best food whenever you're hungry?

Invade
By Jeannette Beerbower
June 14, 2013

Invasion of the camp
As if a trav'ling tramp
Mooching off of others' food
Sitting there so very rude

Relaxing as if at home
Wherever you happened to roam
Eating whatever is there
Taking over another's chair
Everything we want we raid
Yes, this is indeed how we invade.

Those two ideas summarize much of this wonderful excursion: friendship, which just makes this four-day invasion a joy.

Fellowship with those who know the Lord is sweet.

I can't wait for next year.














And even more, when this joyous fellowship has given us a little glimpse of what heaven must be like, we long for that.