One summer evening during a violent thunderstorm a mother was  tucking her small boy into bed.  She was about to turn off the  light when he asked with a tremor in his voice,
"Mommy, will you sleep with me tonight?"  The mother smiled and gave him a reassuring hug. 
"I can't  dear,"  she said.  "I have to sleep in Daddy's room." A long silence was broken at last by his shaky little voice:
 "The big sissy."
Don't worry we will make sure to put at least one leader in each cabin for y'all. That way you can be a big sissy but not have to tell anyone.

By the way I AM STOKED. This is how I feel inside.

It's Almost Here!

Parents, this one's for you! I just wanted to let you know that we will be updating this blog while we are at Camp this weekend so you can be hearing about what God is doing in the lives of your students. We are so excited about what God is going to do this weekend in the lives of your students, and I am asking you to commit to praying for the Spirit of God to move in a mighty way that will bring forth organic change in our lives.

Also, Remember the following:
a. We leave from BRIER CREEK at 3:30pm on Friday. Get here ASAP!
b. Pick up will be at BRIER CREEK after the 10:45am worship service in The Bay.
c. That means that ALL STUDENTS will be at our Brier Creek Campus on Sunday AM.
d. Dress Code Policy and Medical Release form are online here.
e. If you have a balance, please bring that with you on Friday.

We love you all!

GET CRUNK

For a while something has really been bothering me and I have to get it off of my chest. It all started on a youth trip to Atlanta where one of my good friends and I were walking around yelling "GET CRUNK". All of a sudden, an older woman who had seen us get out of the church van came up to us and said in a very unpleasant tone "I  though you guys were Christians." Now me, being my quiet and reserved self, totally out of character responded, "I'm sorry. I didn't know Christians couldn't have fun."

Now this whole situation could have been avoided if the lady wouldn't have had a misconception about what the word CRUNK means. I believe there is a common misconception about the word's meaning and now I want to clear it up.

The word CRUNK was officially added to Merriam-Webster's dictionary in 2007. It is an official word and must be taken seriously. Webster's, however, is scared to define the word for what it really is and simply says the word "has fluctuated in meaning"; so, I will take a stand here and tell the true meaning.

CRUNK originated in the south as a short hand form of "cranked up". It means to get crazy like in the sentence, he was so cranked up after he drank 4 redbulls that he wrestled an alligator while yelling "I will cut you". The word was later stolen by rappers who used it in a way related to getting drunk. Christian rappers, such as Cross Movement and Lecrae, have also used the word in their songs, the correct way, and I believe the song "Get Crunk" by Lecrae is an attempt to win the word back from evil for good (though I cannot verify this).

Therefore, I want to challenge each and every one of you to not allow a southern tradition to be used for the devil. Do not let our word be take for evil but rather let us use it for the good it was intended for.

Join with me in getting CRUNK for Fall Retreat. Tell your family, your friends, your goldfish, your teddy bear, and your beanie babies that you are "Getting CRUNK." From the halls at your school, to chess club afterwards, shout it as loud and as often as you can.

P.S. If you are not feeling CRUNK, crunk juice will be provided at camp in both fruit punch and lemon flavors. 

-Brandon Hudson, StudentLIFE intern