Larry and Laura Hoffert

Summer Lovin’

2010-07-18T17:20:09+00:00

One of the things we love is simply being with our friends. It’s a simple thing, yet oh so good. We love their kids, conversations had, food grilled, and simply sharing life together. We are thankful for friends who walk beside us and allow us the privilege to walk with them. Thanks Guys….

May I introduce you….

2010-07-18T17:12:56+00:00

to an incredible group of people who have been pouring their energy, time, prayer, and love into kids for the past four weeks. Our counselors have committed themselves to this journey of personal growth as they seek yo love our campers well and point them to Christ. They have laughed with their campers, uttered countless crazy sheers on the patio, sought the Lord’s wisdom to lead meaningful devotions, cried tears over the hurts of their kids, and continued to grow through the process. This week is our biggest week filled with high school campers. Please pray for our counselors as they lead, encourage, process, and grow.

Strawberry Pickin’

2010-07-11T22:26:32+00:00

One of the summer highlights are the fresh berries from Nelson’s Berry Patch down the road. We love the pick-your-own goodness of it all! Yes, that means fresh strawberry pie on a summer evening….call it spoiled, call it blessed, we call it delicious!

It’s no secret folks…really, very easy. Just make or by a crust and bake it. After it has cooled, fill the shell so that it is heaping with succulent fresh berries. Boil 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, and 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch. Boil and stir until clear. Remover from heat and stir in 2 Tablespoons of strawberry jello powder. Cool slightly and pour over strawberries. Chill in for 2 hours. Happily consume the delectable sweetness (really, it is sweet) with a dolip of fresh whipped cream.

Thursday Nights…

2010-07-11T22:15:16+00:00

Some ask what the days are filled with at camp and sometimes I just can’t figure out how to formulate an answer….countless activities, sessions, mealtimes, camp-outs, devotions, music, cheers, ice-cream, archery, air rifles, rec-activities, wilderness trips, paintball, canoeing, sailing, kayaking, swimming, biking, handcrafts, mini-farm, slingshot, challenge course, high ropes, girls activities, guys activities, prayer meetings, planning, conversations, mini-golf, hiking, climbing wall, mountain boarding, staff worship, cabin clean-up, the list goes on….....exhausting at times, but we love it.

Thursday night of Youth Camps is filled with an all-camp game….Staff dig it and truly get into character and campers love completing each challenge and meeting the characters they encounter. Catch a glimpse…...

(yep that’s Larry…..)

One of my favorite times is when campers are all together with counselors meeting on the patio! (see below….)

Friends and Fam….

2010-07-11T21:36:02+00:00

A few days in PA with friends and family….I’ll just say that Larry is wonderful, and was able to get me a good flight and assured me it was okay to step away. Though it was impossible for him, he insisted that I hang out with dear friends, family, new babies, and those anticipating moves. At times I felt a bit guilty as many asked, “shouldn’t you be at camp?!” However, it was priceless to see friends in person, hold children, hear their hearts in countless joys and challenges in many capacities, laugh, and cry, and simply BE together. My trip was quick, yet so sweet. I am thankful. (A handful of pics as I didn’t take many….)

(blueberry picking eith my sister-in-law and nieces!)

Autumn lost her first tooth!

My dear girlfriends…these are truly AMAZING women!

The People We Get to Work With

2010-07-11T21:30:30+00:00

We count it a huge privileged to be able to work with summer staff who provide leadership to many—-counselors and support staff. Below is a glimpse of their fine faces. Pray for them….for wisdom (not from themselves but from HIM), for patience & perseverance (amidst challenging circumstances and situations that arise), for rest (physically and for their souls), for love (that they would love others well as an outpouring of HIS love.

Too Long

2010-07-11T21:19:45+00:00

Perhaps someday I’ll be a true blogger that updates consistently with insightful thoughts instead of simply updating when I upload my pictures once a month. Too long since our last update….so much has gone on! There have truly been sweet times of counselor training and staff training—training fun?! Yes, we get to work with some INCREDIBLE high school and college age staff, not to mention great year round staff as well! Below are some pics of the annual summer staff social kick off! It is a time to celebrate the summer, spend time getting to know each other, pray for the upcoming months, and enjoy some good eats…

if only you could get a whiff of this

2010-06-01T01:41:41+00:00

I love walking out my front door. The cheesy, overused cliche, “stop and smell the roses” has become a reality at this house. The whiff of our lilac bush makes me linger a bit longer on the front porch. In fact, today it was littered with of handfuls of butterflies and bumble bees lingering too.

It is crazy to think that earlier this same month we woke up to the world covered with snow.

I am amazed at the seasons. Though it may sound nostalgic of sorts, watching my rose blushes bloom reminds me of God’s promises. Those thorny sticks become roses. The overgrown bush in the front forms fragrant purple lilacs. The once dormant, brown earth was preparing to paint the world green. I long for that growth in my own life…

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has from from beginning to end.” Ecclesiastes 3…

Love in the Air…..

2010-06-01T01:24:49+00:00

I am a sap. I tear up when they each exchange heartfelt vows—their voices brimming with the emotion of the pledge to a life together for better-for worse. I can clink my glass with the best of them eager to watch the bride and groom kiss. I save wedding invitations and programs in a file.

Last weekend, we eagerly headed to two weddings in one day. I wanted to get married all over again. (to the same wonderful man of course….) I simply love the celebration of it all and am reminded of the commitment that we made to one another almost five years ago. Despite my sappiness, I know full well, the road in a relationship with another is far from easy…

...But as I take in a wedding celebration, I can’t help but hold Larry’s hand a bit tighter, inevitably get misty eyed, and fall into my husband’s arms with thankfulness.

We had to divide and conquer a bit with two weddings in one day…..yet are so very happy for Mitch and Elizabeth and Carson and Maggie! May you each experience deeper aspects of our great God through your relationship with one another!

My morning musing….

2010-05-11T14:13:20+00:00

I have constantly been feeling that there is far too much do be done. When I don’t accomplish tasks, I feel as through I am letting others down, myself down, and God down. I’ve constantly felt torn, as though there is always more to do. At times I feel defeated, feeling that I could always do more at camp, relationally, in the community, at school, in our marriage. It can be exhausting. I carry these weights of “to do’s” and “should do’s” with me everywhere. And in the midst of it all….I say that I think I understand the gospel….

“The point on which the wold goes astray is imagining that man, however partially defective he may be, still in some degree merits the favor of God by works.” -Calvin…

And then I read Romans 3. Stop reading my silly blog and go read Romans 3. Seriously…God’s word is way better than mine. Just read it…k? It is convicting, yet so very sweet. Such a reminder of my ridiculous misconceptions about so much of my life. It is not who I am. It is not what I do. It is Christ in me. Nothing more. Nothing Less. Christ in me by HIS GRACE. God, give me the faith and grace to embrace this! Is there really peace of conscience in my life because of this truth? When I loose this Christ-like perspective, I fall into the confidence of my own works. God help me. In the midst of it all, I am trying to live by allowing God to order my day, learning how to be sensitive to his spirit. My prayer this morning….

In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
this Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! who took on flesh
Fulness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave he rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life’s first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand.

Be encouraged….Commit to HIM ordering our days…. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xerKqtH_ZEA