40 Days.

Oy. In the days leading up to CAMP, I wondered that if the sky were to fall, would I know? It's really quite possible that I wouldn't have. I would have been working away in my office, unaware of the goings on outside. Meatballs and spaghetti and ice cream and jell-o could have been piled outside my window, but all I would have seen was CAMP.

I'm SO not complaining. I really love the excitement leading up to the event. It's so busy and so full of people and so wait-to-be-organized and so that-needs-to-be-done-now-why-are-you-looking-at-me-like-that crazy.

But it's July 23, and CAMP is over for another year. However, it's not done. Everyone who went to CAMP received a CAMP booklet with 40 days of devotionals and a challenge packed inside.

Pastor Hosea Bilyeu has challenged us to spend 24 minutes a day, seven days a week reading the Bible. He calls it the "7/24 Challenge." We do the same. And we encourage you to use the 40 Days of Devotionals to partake in it.

For those at CAMP, today is Day 9. Read the book of Ruth. It's only four chapters and doesn't even take up three pages in my Bible. Who was Naomi? hint: this has nothing to do with the country mother-daughter act, The Judds. What happened to her husband? And her sons? And her land? And her daughters-in-law? Why did Ruth cling to Naomi, while Orpah (not Oprah!) only kissed her? Who is this Boaz guy, why was he good and how did he turn this clencher-of-a-story around? Would you have done the same?

If you haven't received a CAMP booklet or if you have a friend or family member who would like to take the 7/24 and use the 40 Days to do so, visit Nate's blog to find postings of the devotionals (days 1-5 are posted now). This is also a great place to post comments or questions. For those who haven't yet started the 40 Days of Devotionals, Day 1 begins with The Beginning, Genesis 1:1, a very good place to start, eh? In what order did God create? What was the one thing that God told Adam he could not eat? (fyi, it was not an apple.) What was God's response after making vegetation? What was His response after creating Adam and Eve?

Let us know how it's going.

Julie Johnson, Ridgecrest Baptist Church