Summer Camp Survival Tip #3- Dress for Success
May 31, 2008 Uncategorized
When it comes to packing clothes for camp it is good to try and anticipate a few things. 1 What type of activities are going on? 2. What is the weather SUPPOSED to be like? 3. How long will you be away? Why are each of these questions important?
1. Activities- I went to a camp where every day the kids had a “water time.” This consisted of a variety of activities but there were two things you could count on. You might get messy, and you would get wet. If you know something like this will happen, jeans might not be your best option. And a white t-shirt may not be good either. Make sure and bring clothes you can get wet and possibly messy in. Also a second towel might be a good idea too.
This is just one example of activities. You may be going hiking, so boots and jeans are called for, or boating and will need water shoes. Find out what type of activities will be going on so you can bring the clothes you need.
2. Weather. You can never predict the weather but you can be prepared for it. Umbrellas, extra jeans, shirts and towels for rainy days. Sunscreen, hats, shorts and light colors for sunny days. Just be prepared for anything.
3. Length- Bring enough clothes for atleast 1-2 days more than you plan on. Odds are you will unexpectedly get thrown in the pool, or play a messy game, or fall in the mud or something. Bringing extra sets of clothes is not a bad idea.
One more tip- One counselor told me the way she survives is by brining an extra shirt and pair of socks for each day. That way, half way through even though you might not be able to shower and change, you can atleast get a fresh shirt and a clean pair of socks for the evening. Not a bad thought.
If you have ideas please respond here or send them to rgmmusic@gmail.com
Summer Camp Survival Tip #2- Get Rest
May 29, 2008 Uncategorized
Camp is stressful, the kids are loud and rambunctious, and it seems like you are always running from one place to another. The best thing you can do for yourself is to get rest. This applies to everyone from directors, to music people, to counselors and even campers.
The camp I still go to the most often usually gathers the counselors on the Sunday before camp starts to go over programming, decorate, setup crafts etc. This is a great time that we reconnect with old friends and make new ones. It is also when the temptation to stay up late playing 42 or spades, or just catching up can be the most harmful. The next day we have 300-500 campers coming in buses, cars and trucks. They are full of energy, mostly from Dr Pepper and Twizzlers, and they are ready to go. You need to be fully rested to be in a good, happy, helpful mood when they arrive.
The first night with kids is also an important time to emphasise going to bed early. Trust me if you don’t start it off at the beginning of the week, you’ll never get them to go to sleep later in the week.
Finally for those of us who do music and don’t have campers it is often a temptation to stay up as well. Don’t do it as much as possible. I have found that there is a correlation between the amount of sleep I have and the amount of voice I have at the end of the week. This year I’ll have three camps in a row so this is very important. Find time in the day to do what you need to do for the next day, make powerpoints, write out chords etc… But when bedtime comes, take that opportunity.
Again if you have summer camp survival tips then please email them to me and I’ll get them up here.
Summer Camp Survival Tips- Part 1
May 28, 2008 Uncategorized
Over the past 10 years I have spent many weeks at summer camp leading music for various groups. Also I have spent many weeks on mission trips with the various churches I have worked in. In all those years, and all those camps there are some things I have learned. Some I have learned by experience, some by watching others. I thought I would take time to write a small series in which I can pass on to you some of the tips that helped me survive, and hopefully you can also share your survival tips too.
Summer Camp Survival Tips
#1 Make a List- If you went to my closet you would see 5 sleeping bags, two pillows and a cot that I really don’t need to have. A trip to my office would show various cords, adapters and discs that are duplicated sometimes several times. Why might you ask? Because somewhere between 2 hours after leaving my house and the time I arrive at my destination I remember that I forgot something.
I do not think it is very possible not to need anything once you get to your destination I found out two years ago there is one thing you can do to minimize the amount of trips to walmart or radio shack that are required upon arrival. This is by making a list before you leave of everything you need.
I do this on the computer in a small spreadsheet. I make a list of all the items, categorize them as best as possible and then create columns for their current location “church” “home” etc and the a column for packed. This way I know before I leave what I need to collect at my house, and what I need to get from the church. I also will make a list of things that need to be purchased like batteries, guitar pics, shampoo etc. Once I arrive at my destination and spend my week at camp then the list also makes it easy to pack back up. I can make sure that I have the same amount of guitar chords, mics, etc that I arrived with and no less, or no more.
Most summers I am doing 3-4 such trips which use pretty much the same amount of items, so it is easy for the next time to pull out the list, make any adjustments and then re-use it again.
If you have tips for Summer Camp Survival email them to rgmmusic@gmail.com. If they are used you’ll get credit and a link to your site, plus the knowledge that you have helped someone else in their Summer Camp Survival.
Tags: camp, Chords, Church, guitar, organize, packing, summer, survival, work
Mission Moment
May 17, 2008 Uncategorized
Tomorrow I will be heading of for the first of my many weeks of the summer away from home. I will be spending 7 days with college students from around Texas as they work to repair homes in the Houston area. We will call Pasadena FUMC home, will sleep on cots, share meals and work together to reconstruct homes and rebuild lives. Some of the lives that will be changed will belong to the clients whose homes are being repaired. Some of the lives changed will be of the students and adults who are doing the repair. It amazes me every year what can happen.
Please pray for each of those attending the camp this year. Pray that homes and lives are truly transformed during the week. Pray that we all go home changed in some way, and closer to the God who changes lives.
One of the churches where I was had that as their mission statement. “To Know and Make Known the God Who Changes Lives.” I pray we may know and make known that God this week.
Green Props
May 15, 2008 Uncategorized
I wanted to take a moment to give some props to my friend Russ Bowlin on his recent blog post. He has spent this last week sharing with us ways that we can live up to our responsibility in the series “It’s Not Easy Being Green.” He begins with this verse:
“The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” Genesis 2:15
From there he gives us around 8 simple suggestions for saving energy, or recycling or other things we can do. When I first thought about posting this I though.. I usually write about worship stuff.. why post this? Then I had a profound duh moment. If worship is how we live our lives in response to God then taking care of the planet is a HUGE aspect of worship.
In fact it has gotten me to think about how we could be more planet friendly in our worship. Things like using LED lights instead of cans on the stage, making books and reusing lead sheets instead of copying them every week. Even something like using chorded microphones instead of wireless ones that use batteries, or find recyclable batteries that work in wireless mics well.
Who knows.. maybe I’ll write that one a little later… for now I redirect you back to Russ’s blog. Oh.. take a look at some of his other posts… they are cool and though provoking too.
Tags: blogs, Russ Bowlin, work, Worship
Vote for Russell’s Song
May 9, 2008 Uncategorized
Dear Friends,
As you may know I have just finished up a 4 song EP called “Unfailing Love.” It is currently being duplicated and will be available in June to be purchased. However you can get a sneak peek and help me out in the process right now. I have submitted the title track “Unfailing Love” to the indie heaven fan favorites chart. The more votes it gets, the higher on the chart it goes. I would be so grateful if you would visit and give a vote for the song. You can vote once per day.. but you can vote as many times as you would like.
Thank you so much, the link is below. The song you are looking for is “Unfailing Love” by Russell Martin. When you go to the site select “View All” and click on view. The song is currently at 107.
www.indieheaven.com/fanfaves
Please feel free to forward this to all your friends.
–
Russell Martin
Tags: Free, Recording, Russell Martin, Songs, Songwriting, Worship
