Writing. Life. Faith.
New content every Friday.
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A Second Camp Story
It was a warm summer evening at camp, and naturally, the Camp Staff had a plan. The campers were gone for the day, so it was just the full-timers. Since our camp is situated on a river, we set off on a canoe/paddleboard adventure. Around twenty of us made our way down the river. Except this wasn’t a pleasure ride. (Keep Reading)
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Fruit at Camp #4: Patience
I thought patience meant not getting frustrated while stuck in traffic, or not slamming the door in your sibling’s face when they come into your room for the fifteenth time. Turns out there’s more to it. The Greek word for patience is Makrothymia, and it has multiple meanings. (Keep Reading)
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Fruit at Camp #3: Peace
Interestingly, the Greek word often translated as peace is Eirene, which refers to the pagan goddess of peace. Given that the Galatians worshipped pagan gods before converting to Christianity, they would have been familiar with the meaning of the word. So often we look at the world and wish for “peace”, as in freedom from war. But God’s peace is… (Keep Reading)
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Fruit at Camp #2: Joy
Before we dive into the “meat” of today, we need to know what Paul means when he calls joy a Fruit of the Spirit. The Greek word we translate as joy is Chara. The word occurs more than fifty times in the Bible, such as when the shepherds saw the star announcing Jesus’ birth, when the man in Matthew 13… (Keep Reading)
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A Camp Story
It was a hot summer day at camp, and naturally, I had neglected to put on sunscreen. Our task appeared simple: move a 26-foot-tall inflatable from the beach to the middle of the river. I’d already spent the morning hunting for missing concrete anchors in the murky water, so we were ready to go. (Keep Reading)
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Fruit at Camp #1: Love
Since I’m only introducing one new word per week, I think it’s important that we understand what each word means. While the English language has one word for love (which is continually being redefined), the Greek language uses four words used to represent love in the Bible. (Keep Reading)
Writing, Life, Faith – Samuel James
2026
Writing, Life, Faith 