Random Thoughts & Musings - 8/23/21

From the Keyboards of Kinz and Llis

OAGGOR, we are BACK!!!!!!! Did you miss RTAM over the summer? XD I’m sure they did. *glares at anybody who DIDN’T miss us terribly* YOU GUYS BETTER HAVE CRIED YOURSELVES TO SLEEP EVERY SINGLE NIGHT THIS SUMMER BECAUSE YOU MISSED US SO BAD!!!!!!!!!!!! 🤣🤣🤣 YES!!! But anyway, we have returned!! And this post is going to be extra special, because we’re going to relate our experiences together at camp!!!!!! YES!!!! Camp was AMAZING!!!!!! I feel like it would PROBABLY be better not to do a ridiculously long intro, because we obviously have a lot to say lol. Yeah, true. 😂 But we have one last thing before we begin!! *recalls Brendan’s “Because there DEFINITELY is such a thing as ‘one last thing’”* XD HAHA!!!! YES!!! Good old Brendan lol. He knows us so well! Yes, he does haha. But today is a very special day! This post is our 15th post!!! 15 blogs ago, Allison and I were amateur writers with a marvelous idea to do a blog. And now . . . we are amatuer writers WITH a marvelous blog!! 🤣 Yeah!!!!!! XD I love writing RTAM. Me too! All of you OAGGOR out there who have nothing to do with your lives, go start a blog with your best friend! It will totally be worth it. XD But anyway, there’s a lot to tell you guys about camp, so without further ado . . . Kinz and Llis Storytelling: Camp 2021 Edition!!

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Psalm 85:6 “Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?”

The theme of camp this year was “Revive Us Again.” It was very fitting because I definitely needed revival. I think we all do at times, and camp definitely helped me! Sometimes I think we start to take on a really depressed viewpoint in relation to Christianity and Christ’s return. We say things like “Oh, Jesus must be coming back soon, because things can’t POSSIBLY get any worse than they are right now.” It’s important to keep in mind that revival can ALWAYS happen. NOTHING is beyond God’s power! (This is a good reminder for me as well, since I catch myself falling into the same trap.) At the same time, I do believe that Jesus is returning soon--after all, that’s what He promised--but that’s still no excuse for pessimism!!

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Camp Memories

1. I feel like we should start retelling our camp experience at the very beginning. (The very best place to start! XD) When I first got to camp, they sent me to the dorms. Allison and her church were practicing for the choir competition at the time, but I was only there for a few minutes before the girls from Allison’s church came in. They were all wearing matching orange shirts, and they were so bright. 😂 (SO. BRIGHT. XD) Allison’s church is really big too, so it was kind of overwhelming to see them all at first. XD Anyway, the girls who came in first immediately stopped dead in their tracks when they saw me and asked, “Are you Kinzie?” I was like, “Yes,” and then they all came and gave my hugs and introduced themselves. 🥰 It all happened so quickly that I didn’t remember a single person’s name, and I had to ask EVERY ONE OF THEM what their name was at some point during the week. 🤣 Anyway, Allison got wind that I was in the dorms (I somehow ended up towards the back of the mob of Temple girls lol), because all of the sudden here she came. It was like the parting of the orange sea! 😂 XD She hugged me so hard I dropped my phone (I was afraid I broke it [As was I!! XD], BUT IT SURVIVED!!!!! XD), and I almost fell. 🤣 Anyway, I was so happy at the time that I started crying as soon as I saw Allison. 😂 I actually managed to stay dry-eyed the WHOLE WEEK until the last night, but we’re not going to tell you guys about the goodbye lol. It’s way too depressing. Yeah, I definitely CANNOT say the same. 🤣 For those of you who know me, I cry a lot, and it was no different at camp with Allison. Especially since they kept preaching good sermons!! 😂 But yeah, the goodbyes were really sad. 😔MOVING ON BEFORE WE GET DEPRESSED! XD

2. One of my absolute FAVORITE parts of the week is always the amazing music competitions! My favorite one is the choir competition, because I love singing, and being in a choir is just so much fun. Anyway, this year we sang “Calvary’s Blood” by Ron Hamilton. As anyone who talks to me even a LITTLE knows, I LOVE listening to Ron Hamilton. XD So, of course, I was THRILLED to be able to sing this song, and even more thrilled when we got first place!! It was awesome. And Kinzie got to sing in our choir as well, so that was probably why we won. 😉 Lol, I seriously doubt it. 😂 I only got to sing the song with them ONCE before we sang it for the competition haha. But it was super fun, and I’m so glad I got to do it! 😃

3. Allison’s church was so nice to me all week! I kind of expected them to keep to themselves and let Allison and me just hang out, but they welcomed me into their youth group. I felt like I was a member of their church all week long, which was really cool! 🥰 My friends all LOVED Kinzie, which was no more than I expected, ofc, but it was so amazing!! I love my youth group!!! Awww! I love them too!!

4. One of my other favorite camp memories was all the things that happened after my friends and I had consumed sugary beverages. XDXDXD For instance, there was one night when we had all had this shaved ice/ice cream concoction (It was AMAZING, btw. IT WAS SO GOOD!!!!! 😋😋😋), and then we were all in the cabin laying on our beds laughing hysterically over nothing in particular. Savvy and I always get the craziest, for some reason . . . XD Anyway, all that to say, I am a different person at camp lol. (You know, this would be a great time to share embarrassing stories in the comments. 🤣) I would like to add right about now that I do NOT go insane after I consume sugar. XD I will laugh more than usual, but I don’t lose my ever-loving mind like SOME PEOPLE I KNOW. *looks at Allison and Savvy, but mostly Savvy* 🤣🤣🤣 XDXDXD Yeah, Savvy probably gets a little worse, but then again, I totally egg her on. XD Yes, you guys go really well together lol. We do! I love Savvy!! So do I! (I would start to get sentimental about what a great trio Lil, Savvy, and I make, but I won’t go on and on about that, since you guys don’t really know them. XD [although we did feature them a while back]) I loved it when Andrew (one of the guys from Allison’s church) was like, “So, why don’t YOU go insane when you have sugar?” Like I was really weird or something. 😂 XD Well, he probably expected you’re like us lol. Haha, probably. You know, most of the best memories involve us, Andrew, and James (my brother) at a meal. XDXDXD We would tell you guys all of them, but there are far too many lol.

5. Obviously, the most important part of camp is the preaching, and it was really good this year! We got to hear from a handful of different speakers, including Bro. Chris Edwards (our favorite!) and Bro. Chris Miller. There were so many good messages, but one that stuck out to probably everybody was when Bro. Edwards preached on the crucifixion. Yeah, that was by far the best message I’ve ever heard. He described how much Jesus went through. It was actually way more than I ever thought, and He did it all for us! The preacher pointed out that at any point during the crucifixion, Jesus could’ve sent 10,000 angels down to rescue Him, and it would’ve been over. But He didn’t! He never gave up. Even when it was excruciating, He kept going. Even when they mocked Him and spit on His face, He persevered. And it was all because He loved us so much. That was the sermon that stuck out to me the most. Sometimes I get discouraged, and I feel like giving up. But now I can remember that Jesus never did, and that gives me the strength to keep going and to stay faithful to the God who loves me.

Well, that was a lot of fun to recount. We had sooooooooo many memories that it was really, really, REALLY hard to pick just a few! Yes, very hard lol. BUT WE DID IT!!!!! And now you guys know a TEENY little fraction of our trip. Yes! We look forward to one day being able to meet all of you, hopefully soon! Goodbye, our lovely OAGGOR!! We love you all so much!! See you! ♥

Until next time!

Kinz and Llis

Check out our website @https://kinzandllis.blogspot.com/