Tell me a little about your family.  

I am Michelle, married to my husband Jim for 25 years. We have 2 daughters, currently ages 16 and 12.  Both girls have enjoyed ballet dancing for years, and our youngest has recently added track and cross country.  

How do you foster a strong connection within your family? 

Early in our marriage, before having kids, a wise friend described to us the importance of having fun and making memories together beyond the mundane of life. For sure, most of life will have schedules and routines, but it’s the extraordinary memories that bond you tightly, give you something to smile or laugh about, and propel you forward when times do get tough. With this wisdom in mind, we have enjoyed being intentional in planning fun memories within our family. One of our favorites has been family camp!

Tell us about your experience at family camp and how it has fostered great memories for your family?

Our first family camp was a Labor Day weekend conference at Pine Cove, when our oldest daughter was barely 3 years old.  We have gone almost every year since then, sometimes to the weekend conferences and sometimes for the full week of summer. Some years we have done both!  

Pine Cove has been a favorite for our family, but we have also been to a fun family camp in Colorado, called Sky Ranch. For several years, God blessed us to help plan and serve as part of a family camp that our church hosted at Carolina Creek and at the Trinity Pines campgrounds.

Family camp is a time to unplug.  Have intentional conversations. Not take ourselves so seriously. Zipline. Horseback ride. Swim. Go cart.  Laugh at hilarious skits. Be silly with themed dress nights.  God creates joy, and there’s a lot of joy at family camp!  There is not a rigid schedule, and we also embrace that.

How has family camp encouraged you, your husband, and your kids in your relationship with the Lord?

The mornings of family camp typically involve speaker sessions for adults and time for the kids to hang out with their friends and college-aged staffers.  It has been a gift for our girls to see these college-aged staffers love the Lord and serve in His name.  As parents, one of our prayers is for God to put older, godly mentors in our girls’ lives that will join us in loving them well and pointing them to Jesus.

 The afternoons and evenings of family camp are a mixture of planned activities and free time.  Planned activities are awesome for spending time with other like-minded families, which can be encouraging for our faith walk. As for free time, being in the middle of nowhere, in God’s beautiful creation alone, creates moments to draw near to Him.  Our entire family would say we enjoy the unhurried time we get to spend with God on our cabin’s back porch. All day long, there are so many opportunities to grow in our relationships with the Lord. 

For a family considering going to a family camp, what advice would you have for them?  

There is usually a wait list for family camps, but don’t let that be a discouragement.  It doesn’t cost anything to get on the wait list, and even if it seems your turn won’t come, it will eventually. I would say to also be flexible and open to different camps. While Pine Cove has been the one we have most attended, there are other great options like Sky Ranch or Kanukukk. There are also weekend options or partial family options (Jim and the girls have attended Father/daughter weekends at Sky Ranch, for example). The weekend options are obviously shorter and therefore a less expensive choice, but we would say they have been some of our favorites. We can’t think of a better place to ring in the New Year than Pine Cove!

Are there any other fun ways you have bonded spiritually with your family that you would like to share? 

A recent experience, and one that will go down in our family’s favorite memories, was being extras during the filming of The Chosen Season 6.  From putting together first century costumes, to touring the sets, and film day, this was a highlight!  We have watched The Chosen series several times through, and highly recommend it for family movie night!  Being on the set felt surreal. Unfortunately, I was recovering from a surgery and our youngest was not quite the minimum age of 13;  so this particular experience was just for my husband, Jim, and older daughter.  However, my younger daughter and I are hoping to do this in the future, and we are definitely excited to watch for a glimpse of our favorite extras when this next season comes out!  We don’t typically shy away from experiences like this that can only involve some of our family. While we are grateful for the times we all 4 get to be together, we have also found one-on-one time to be hugely valuable for deeper conversations and relationship building.  I’m pretty sure my husband and oldest daughter will be smiling and talking about their Chosen experience forever.

Thank you, Michelle, for sharing how family camps have impacted your family in a positive way.  I love how your family is intentional to plan fun events together that also draw you closer to the Lord.  I am sure those special memories will make a positive impact on the generations to come.

For more fun ideas to grow your kids in their love for Jesus, check out the Wallace Family Highlight.