What Do You Treasure? Faith, Time, and Summer Camp

In this episode of the HOTLCast, Pastor Matt sits down with Ryan and Carver to unpack the previous Sunday's sermon on treasure from the Book of Philippians. The conversation digs into what we truly value — from sentimental keepsakes to family and faith — and how the way we spend our time reveals what we actually treasure most. The guys also celebrate the transformative power of summer camp, sharing personal stories from both sides of the counselor/camper experience, and encourage families to get their students connected with Summerset Beach Campground (SBC) this summer. Whether you're wrestling with priorities or looking to pour into the next generation, this episode is a warm and honest conversation you won't want to miss. 

Find out more at hotlstrong.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:02

Well, hello there, and welcome to the Hobblecast. This is Pastor Matt, and I am here today with a couple of other people, and we are going to be spending some time talking to you about the things that we heard on and the sermon on Sunday and how that can actually relate to your life. So I am here with Ryan and Carver. Alright, guys, thank you so much for being here this morning. And we are talking about your treasure and how it in it's involved with your life and what you value and what you maybe aren't putting quite as high of a value on. It's basically all of the pieces and parts of what Kyle had talked about on Sunday as we've been going through the book of Philippians. So as you guys heard it, uh as with everything he was talking about on Sunday, what would you say you were able to take away from that? Were you able to look at what he was discussing and able to evaluate kind of what your treasures are, where you're storing them, how you're using them, and where you're putting that emphasis?

SPEAKER_02 1:02

Yeah, I mean, I I think that when we think about when I when I think about treasure, you know, I mean, I think I probably have had a lot of things and stuff in life that I've treasured over time. And really at this point in my life, I'm not really sure. Like I'm I was thinking about that, like, you know, if I if you know something happened, like I I, you know, there was a fire, like I lost everything, like would I would I be distraught, right? And and probably the things that I treasure most in life that is um on some level stuff is probably probably my children, right? They're the probably the things that I treasure the most, right? And you know, as far as the stuff I have lots of treasure. I mean, I have I have like a bunch of my dad's stuff, you know. My my dad passed away about four years ago, and and I have a bunch of his like little relics that are that are super cool that were special to him. So then they they have a like a special spot where they're you know put away and and and locked up and you know, only I know where they are. Um so I I probably would say if I had to pick one thing that is a a tangible thing, it's my baseball.

SPEAKER_03 2:08

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 2:09

Yeah, I know it needs some elaboration.

SPEAKER_03 2:10

A little bit.

SPEAKER_02 2:11

So so so going on about seven years ago, I went through a program, Save a Warrior. You heard me talk about it before, and and and reintroduce me to God, changed my life. And one of like the little talismans they give us there is a baseball, and just representing that life is a game and and that we need to play it for all it's worth. And and so it's like a it's it's like a special gift that you get. And and there's different things to it, you know. I mean, but there's story around it. But my buddy Jake Clark gave me that ball, and that sits on like a little hookup in my kitchen up high, and it's there as a reminder every day. And I would be sad. That would be like probably, I mean, all the all the the the you know, the cool stuff that I have and all the different things I've had over time that is collected in my house that are worth decent amount of money, like my probably four-dollar baseball is the one thing that I would probably have to grieve if I lost it.

SPEAKER_03 3:07

Yeah, because it's more about the sentimental value and the the meaning of it than it is the actual item itself, right?

SPEAKER_02 3:14

Yeah, yeah, it's the story I give it. Like in reality, it's just a baseball. Yeah, you know, but but I give it like magical powers, right? It's like like a talisman, you know. I mean, I I give it like you know, on some low. I mean, Matt's seen it, like you don't even know. I've tossed you my baseball, like give some like Matt Joe, you know, mojo on it before, right? When I when I gave my testimony before a couple years back, like I gave my my ball to Kyle when I went up and talked, and he looked at me like, Wait, wait, you give me a baseball? I'm like, no, this is really special to me. I know it's weird, but it's mine.

SPEAKER_03 3:44

That's awesome. How about you, Carver?

SPEAKER_01 3:47

Um, I think it's I think it's interesting to see how treasures can change over time, like in your life. Like at one point in my life, like some things were more valuable than they are now, and it's kind of like, well, like I put all of this time and attention into this item back then, but like I don't spend any time doing it now, or I don't I don't look at it now, or it's stored away. And it's like treasures can change, and it's like, what are we putting our value and attention into? And I think it is cool with the sentimental value because I feel like items with sentimental value just are more valuable to uh personally, and like other people don't always understand that, but it's like they are they do have value and they do have meaning, and it's just it's sometimes hard to explain that to somebody else.

SPEAKER_03 4:20

Yeah, absolutely. And I think that if somebody's trying to actively figure out, well, what is my treasure? What is the thing that I'm trying to, you know, kind of figure out what that looks like, you need to start by where are you spending your time, like more so than maybe anything else, is what are you putting your time into? What are you investing that in? As a person who has struggled my entire life with ADHD, there are moments that I get hyper fixated on something for a period of time where I'll just be like, I am all in on this. And there have been times where it's been, you know, repairing, you know, retro gaming systems. There have been times where it's been, you know, bread making. There have been times where it's been all these different things. So if you were to look through like the totes in my house that still haven't been unpacked, I've been here over a year now, and I still haven't unpacked everything, but there's all these different totes that I have where you'd be able to see, you know, this thing is, you know, well, this was a period whenever, you know, Matt was really into this, or this is a period when he was really into that. And all of those things exist because in that moment, that thing mattered. That thing was important to me. Now, there are some big rocks. I think that in all of our lives, even though you're substantially younger than both of us, but in all of our lives, there are moments where these big rocks kind of take shape and they take place. Realistically, they should be your faith in God is one of them, your spouse is another, your kids are another, and being able to look at them and say, I value them, they're important, this is a huge part of my life, it's a big part of who I am. But simultaneously, we also look at those things and we're like, okay, what are the things that I'm sometimes sacrificing for other things? And that's a key component of how this plays out, too. In in each of your lives, what are some of the things that you've had to realize I need to sacrifice in order to be putting either God back in the correct position or put my spouse back in the correct position, or put you know, my kids back in the correct position, or even you know, schoolwork, studies, things that you have that are going on in life, what are the things that you've had to look at and say, I am really spending too much time on this particular thing?

SPEAKER_02 6:33

Yeah, I think it's a it's an everyday sort of thing, right? I mean, between in my life, I I spent a I spent a lot of time trying to trying to, you know do what I do to to honor God and to to work with people and and be involved um with our church family. And then I have my four kids and my wife, and and so I spend a lot of time trying to pour into them, and then all the stuff I do with Save a Warrior trying to manage that, that it feels like something that is a constant balance. I mean, what I what I always tell myself is like I I I gotta I gotta keep it, I gotta, I gotta be like a five. Like I'm I'm shooting for a five out of ten. I'm trying to balance it all all the time in a way that is, you know, I I notice it's it's always out of balance, right? Like it seems like it's always out of balance. I I know for me, like things I don't do, I I say no a lot, right? I say no a lot to to a lot of things because I have to. I mean, I love golfing. I I could go golfing every week. I love I love bowling, I love playing cards, I mean, it I love going to the movies. People are calling me all the time. I'm like, please invite me again. Don't take this as I don't want to go. Continue to invite me. I know I've told you no seven times, but please continue to invite me. It's not that I don't want to go, I just can't. I got I got a call yesterday from a from a close buddy of mine who's deep and save a warrior and was like, hey, I I had a guy cancel. I need somebody down in Ohio for next week. Can you come? And I'm like, gosh, I would love to, but I I cannot. Yeah, you know, and and it's like simple things like now. Could I say yes and cancel a whole bunch of things?

SPEAKER_03 8:13

Sure.

SPEAKER_02 8:14

Right? But that's the they're they're the boundaries and the balance, and and it's something that is I think the more intentional we get about life, the more grown up we get about life, the more we have to really have that, you know, I guess discernment to really see what the main thing is. And it's easy to feel like everything's a main thing.

SPEAKER_03 8:35

Yeah, absolutely. And I mean, when you're talking about how you invest your time, like right now we've got a bunch of the pastors that are out at SBC doing stuff for camp, and they are taking time the entire summer for you know, Kyle to be over there, for Cody to be in and out, for Mark to be in and out, where they are spending time investing in the lives of these, you know, kids and teens and students that are they don't have to be doing that. Like that's not part of well, Kyle does because he's the director at SBC, but the rest of them don't have to be doing that because that's not necessarily part of their job, but they see the value in being able to invest into these kids and into these students, being able to pour into them. Carver, you've been going to church camp since like forever. Like it goes all the way back for you.

SPEAKER_01 9:26

I've done it my whole life. I don't remember a time when I haven't done it.

SPEAKER_03 9:28

Yeah. I mean, I think back to like Camp Burton. They're like, you've been to just all these different camps over the years. What do you think about some of the people historically who have fed in and spent that time, whether it's been a counselor, whether it's been a camp director, what has that looked like for you growing up going to camp?

SPEAKER_01 9:47

Oh, it's just it's such a like memorable experience to get to spend time with these adults and these leaders who like who you can tell love the Lord and they're just there to love you the whole week. Like their purpose there is to love God and to just love you, and they're kind of just living that out the entire summer. Like they they kind of give up, I mean, they could be doing anything in the summer. They could go get a different job, they could go on vacations, like but they're giving up their summer to to come and like serve students and just to love on them. And it's it's fun. They have a lot of fun, but it's also a lot of work. Like you're dealing with the campers, like eight campers, and they get tired, and that can get that can get that can be a lot. But like the whole process, they just love them and like learn with them and teach them, and it's just it really is a rememorable, it's a memorable experience for like the students. And like I remember some of my counselors still to this day, because like just the impact they can have on a camper in one week is just it it's amazing.

SPEAKER_03 10:33

Yeah, because realistically, if you look at it, you it's a time away from everything. You don't have your cell phone, you don't have your computer, you don't have any of the the regular technology stuff that's constantly vying for our attention and constantly trying to distract us and pull us away from whatever you go for this week and you are together pretty much the entire time. Like you're with your, you know, fellow campers, you're with your counselor, you're you're eating together, you're bunking together, you're you know, going hiking, fishing, whatever. All of this stuff you're doing together, and it does create this closeness between you and them where even though it is a separate time away where you're kind of pulled from and you're just put into this environment, it's still a great opportunity to kind of reset and start over. And as great as that is for all of the campers, there's something to be said about what the counselors experience during that time too, because they're able to see growth and change and people coming to realizations about what their faith looks like and who God is and how that plays out, and how their lives are not necessarily in line with what God wants for them, but that ultimately there's a way to get there. And all of those things are a truly rich and deep experience. I've often wondered what would that look like as adults, because you think like, well, maybe a marriage retreat would kind of be like, but that's not the same because as an adult, you're still constantly busy, and even though you're away from your cell phone, you're away from the computer, you're away from work, all of those things, even if it's just for a long weekend, you're still processing all of the other stuff that you have to do the very moment you get back. It'd be really cool if there was something that resembled an adult camp that was like this, where you had that opportunity to kind of get away and focus and just kind of be paying attention to the things that are happening and the things that are going on. I wish there was a way to set something like that up. Now, when you were a kid, did you do any summer camps at all, either Christian or secular?

SPEAKER_02 12:40

I I think I can remember I went to like YC, YMCA store camp like one time for like a week in the summer. Um, but I mean, but I I don't really, it wasn't profound, yeah. So there there wasn't a whole lot of lot of connection there. But I I do think, you know, I when you were kind of talking about uh, you know, that idea of like being a counselor and pouring into people, and you know, there's like I I like this the saying popped into my head, like we don't we don't get it until we give it away, sort of thing. And it's so it's so true, like how that is a a 360 sort of thing. Like I know my kids, they went to camp and they're like, oh, you know, it's the most amazing experience ever. Like, you know, they they slept for like a day and a half afterwards, and they they look like they'd just you know been living under a bridge for a month when they got home. But uh they they it was it was like the culminating moment of their life. They're you know, and and and they get to hung out hang out with Mark for a week, and you know, it made I mean you know, Mark Mark got some got some props on that because they he's somebody that has buy-in, right? Like Mark is a super safe person for my kids. They they would trust him with anything.

SPEAKER_03 13:48

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 13:48

And and because he spent a week pouring into him and hanging out and having fun and and and showing like hey, we can love God and actually have a lot of fun doing it. Yes, and and I think in the same right, when you flip that around, I bet you if Mark was here and we asked him, he would talk about how he has an affinity for my children and and how how that was special for him too. So yeah.

SPEAKER_03 14:11

Now you've done both sides of it because you've been a counselor as well multiple times. So which experience for you carried more weight? Was it when you were in as a camper and people were pouring into you, or when you were a counselor and you were pouring into others? Is there a way to kind of quantify which one was a deeper or richer experience?

SPEAKER_01 14:31

I think for me personally, it was when I was the counselor and I could actually like spend a week pouring into the kids because you just you see a different side of the kids when you're like when you're counseling them than when you're you're a kid and just having fun and you're there for the fun. And when you're a counselor, you know, you're pouring into these kids the whole week and you can see like insane changes in just like four or five days. Like they come on Sundays, they're shy, they're timid, they don't really they like they don't really answer questions about God. And by Thursday, you know, they're just they're on fire for the Lord. It's like it's just it's crazy how camp can break down those walls. So just getting the giving the kids a place to disconnect from the world and be somewhere in a godly community, it just can like change them in just five days, and it's just so cool to see. Like I I remember so many campers who are like, this was just crazy to see. Like, I never would have thought I never would have seen this side of you, and camp can just do that. They can just open kids up, and it's it's so cool to see.

SPEAKER_03 15:20

Now, are you what are you doing for camp this year? Are you out there at all for any of the different stuff? Are you counseling? Are you doing anything with that so far for this year?

SPEAKER_01 15:28

Uh I was just out there last night. I spent the whole night out there probably later than I should have. Um yeah, it was fun. I had a lot of fun with uh the high school camps currently going on, so that was fun. It was fun to just be there and see them and see them worship. There's like 80 kids there, so it's it was so cool to see. But my goal is the young teen camp, the middle school week. I'm gonna spend the whole week there just hanging out with our students, and it's it's gonna be so much fun. I can't wait.

SPEAKER_03 15:49

Now, what are some of the things you have prepared for that? Can you share? Like, are we allowed? Can we have a peek behind the curtain, if you will?

SPEAKER_01 15:55

Um, I don't have a lot of things prepared. I just I'm just kind of going to hang out and have fun and make sure the students have fun and just kind of seeing where what what happens and spending a week with them. So I'm just looking forward for the relationship building we can have that week and just kind of all the fun we're gonna have together.

SPEAKER_03 16:08

Very cool. Yeah, if they were allowed to take it, I know that for mine specifically, there'd be a whole lot of rift bound happening. But oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:15

We thought about like we should bro we should build some pre-decks and bring them and teach every single kid there and make this a huge thing in the community. But yeah, but it's just gonna be fun.

SPEAKER_03 16:23

That borders on indoctrination, if we're being fully honest about that.

SPEAKER_02 16:27

They're gonna be Jones and when they come back.

SPEAKER_03 16:30

I just need some more cards, man. Just a couple more. But yeah, it if you are on the fence about whether or not your, you know, your student is interested or wanting to go and be a part of the things that are happening at SBC. We would love to see you get connected with that, get plugged in with it. You know, there's nothing that should be kind of standing in the way. If there's anything that you need assistance with to try and get that figured out, let us know. Like, message the church if you're a part of HODL. We would love to be able to get you connected with something with that. Like we care about you, we care about your children, we recognize the transformative time that camp can be. And we think that spending your time, you know, using your time adequately to be able to help feed into the lives of the young people that are around you is critically important. That's why we've got so many people that view that as being valuable. You know, we talk all the time about how the kids are not the next generation of the church, they're the now generation of the church, and we firmly believe that. So if you're a person who's interested in getting your kids sent off to SBC or getting connected with that in some way, there's still lots of opportunities left. You can check out their website, you can check out the church website. We would love to get you connected with some of those opportunities. So, any final thoughts from either you or you about what is still going on this summer and things that are happening either at the church or at the camp?

SPEAKER_02 17:51

No, I'm I mean, I'm just excited. I'm I'm I'm excited because for me it's always a new adventure. You know, I'm kind of new to this pastor and thing. So it's uh it's cool for me. I I want to I want to be part of everything, right? Like, I'm like, oh, I want to do this, oh, I want to do that. Like, so I'm I'm excited in the future just being able to get part of camp and and be more involved in that too. Not this summer, though. I'm too busy.

SPEAKER_03 18:12

Yeah. I had actually told Lisa the other day, I'm like, hey, you know, I'm starting to realize that I'm kind of getting itchy feet about some stuff. And she's like, oh no, because as soon as I tell her that, she's like, there's something that's going to be coming on the horizon that is like this great big huge idea about something. And sometimes it'll work and sometimes it won't. But she looked at it and she's like, you know, now that I've spent time with both you and Kyle, I feel like I'm less concerned about your itchy feet than his. So it's one of those things where I'm excited to see what this summer holds, both here and for the camp and all of the things that are going to come out of that. So thank you so much. If you want to learn any more information about what's happening at the church or happening uh at all, we would love to have you get connected with us at hodlestrong.com or check out uh Somerset Beach and Campground online, and they will have more information for you there as well. Thanks for joining us on the HODL cast.