“Lord, it’s good to be alive.” — Ridgely, circa 1997

This is the heartbeat of the lyrics to a song that played every Wednesday morning in the summer of 2002, my first summer on the leadership team at camp. “It’s good to be alive.” I still believe this, but so much has changed in 23 years… or maybe not. Maybe it’s mostly me that has changed — me, my perspective, and my naivety. I didn’t think as much back then about this question, but I ask myself this a lot as I get older: what is good? Bear with me. Let’s go for a good ride.

If we were asking, “Who is good?” the simple answer I grew up with is a classic one-word answer for the Sunday school teacher — “Jesus!” You could say that, and you’d be right! Jesus Himself said, “No one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18). And the Psalms tell us that “no one is good, not even one” (Psalm 14:3; Romans 3:12). Okay, so now we know who is good (Jesus) and who isn’t (people, including you and me, reader), but the answer to “what is good” is more complex.

When God created everything, He said it was good! He created people and said they were “very good!” (yes, this was before sin entered the world). These are tangible things that God called good, but let’s go a step further. What about some intangible things? “How good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1). “The commandment is holy and righteous and good” (Romans 7:12). Jesus knows that fathers know how to give good gifts to their children (Matthew 7:11). We are to do good works, and there is so much more good mentioned in Scripture.

So far we’re all good, right? It’s not too hard to think of those things listed above and agree that they are good, and with these things in mind, it’s easy to say, “God is good. I will rejoice!” But the complexity comes in when we experience — and hopefully learn and grow through — suffering. Is God still good then? And I’ll say the obvious… suffering is hard.

I don’t want to be a downer here, but as you get to know me, you’ll start to understand that I am authentic. It’s actually a core value in my family. As I reflect on 2025 and consider what is in store for 2026, I cannot escape some really difficult things. A friend of mine lost his life in an accident and left a wife and four kids without a husband and father. Two couples close to us have gone through divorce. In close proximity to our community, we have seen cancer diagnoses, miscarriages, layoffs, financially crippling medical bills, surprise relocations, mid-life crises and depression, wayward children, and tragic loss of life. Where is the goodness in all of this???

Please understand that most of me would much rather be writing this blog post about a really spectacular plan to stick to your spiritual disciplines this year, to really see sunshine and rainbows in God’s abundant material provision, to have all of our prayers answered in really happy ways. But I am feeling compelled to instead acknowledge that Jesus wept — and we will too. What will we do when our family, close friends, or our own selves come on hard times? Who will we trust? As for me, I cling to the hope that is ours for the taking in Scripture. Check this out:

Some who are reading these very words are in the depth of suffering and confusion. 2025 was tough, and 2026 might be tougher. I want you to know that (1) you are loved more than you can possibly imagine — last year, this year, the next, and for eternity after — and also (2) the suffering will not last forever. For those who trust in the saving work of Christ’s death on the cross and His power over death in His resurrection, this temporary life will close someday, and we will be resurrected, glorified, and united with Him in Heaven, and see Him as He is.

I am also praying for you tonight as I write, that you may have relief from your burden and be able to honestly and authentically say, “Not my will, but God’s will be done” (Luke 22:42). If you ever need a hug in 2026 — to mourn the hard or to celebrate the good — you can find me at T Bar M. Remember, when our life is hidden with Christ, even when it’s complicated, this is true: it’s good to be alive — abundantly alive.

- Joe Dalton, Senior Director of Camps

Follow along with updates from Timothy Team 30! The Team is headed to Belize from January 21-28 and will be running day camp ministry in Hope Creek, a village 2 hours south of Belize City. They are partnering with a ministry there, All 4 Jesus, that partners with local schools and churches for gospel opportunities. 

Follow along with updates from our Panama Mission Trip Team!

This March, a team of our summer staff, led by two of our full-time staff members, will head deep into the jungle near David, Panama! Together, they’ll serve alongside local missionaries and share the Gospel with indigenous communities. Our prayer is to spark excitement for following Jesus and strengthen the work already happening through the local church.

When families gather around God’s Word and commit it to memory, something powerful happens: 

Our December Family Verse Challenge 

This December, we invite every family in the T Bar M community to meditate on and memorize Luke 2:8‑20: the story of Christ’s birth. Together we’ll reflect on the shepherds, the angels, the humility of the manger, and the glorious declaration: “Glory to God in the highest… and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” 
Let this passage become part of your family’s ordinary rhythm: at dinner, in the car, on your couch.  

Tips from Our Staff for Practicing Scripture Together 

  1. See it, read it, say it, sing it! Repeat it together at breakfast or on a bike ride – incorporate it into your everyday routines. 
  1. Write it on a large poster board and hang it in your house where you will see it each day. 
  1. Create hand motions together as a family that goes with the verse. Do the motions each time you recite it. 
  1. Write it on your kids bathroom mirrors with a dry erase marker so that it can be read out loud each morning and night. 

1. Go See DAVID Together — Then Talk About Your “Giants.” 
Make one night during break a family outing to see the new animated film DAVID. When you’re home with hot cocoa, take ten minutes to ask: What giant am I trusting God with this next season? 
It’s simple, grounding, and opens the door for meaningful connection. 

2. Alpha vs. Omega Christmas Game Night. 
Share one of T Bar M’s favorite traditions with the people you love. Most families will naturally fall into one team, so make it bigger — invite friends, cousins, neighbors, or grandparents over and introduce them to our favorite red and blue tradition. 

Split into teams, gear up in your colors, and play a few easy, camp-style competitions: 

Keep score, celebrate wildly, and expect the tide to turn at least once. It’s the kind of friendly chaos that feels like summer fun wrapped in Christmas lights. 

3. Family Campfire With a Story Swap. 
Gather around a fire in the backyard or turn down the lights, and light a few candles for an indoor campfire. Invite everyone to share: 

Roast some marshmallows or make oven-made s'mores and you've got instant campfire magic.

4. A “Love God, Love Others” Countdown Chain. 
Make a paper chain with a simple act of love or service on each link and tear one off every morning during the break. 
Ideas: 

It’s a hands-on way to practice the heart of T Bar M at home. 

5. Create Your Own 2025 “Session Video.” 
Just like the end-of-week highlight videos your campers get each summer, make your family’s own version for 2025: 

Kids feel celebrated. Parents see God’s faithfulness. Everyone ends the year remembering the good. 

This past Monday, Alumni Mark Strong hosted his church staff at camp for a planning day. I knew they had a guest coming in to speak to them about good counseling practices. What I didn’t know until I went to see how their day was going was that it was another Alumni, Jeremy McQuown. 

I walked away that day, yes, thankful to see these guys “home” at camp. But more so, deeply thankful for what they were investing their lives in. They are continuing to invest in the Word of God and people… just not as a skit character or on a ropes course. 

It opened a floodgate of thankfulness… for YOU. While we don’t know all the things you are doing since you’ve walked outside the Gates of T Bar M, we do get glimpses and can imagine all the ways you are continuing to live out Christ-Centered Adventure. 

We are thankful for the way you keep… 

Christ in the center of the classroom where you teach, serve students, faculty, and families. 

Christ in the center of the family that you care for, provide for, and love. 

Christ in the center of the office or clinic or shop as you “work in a way that pleases God.” 

Christ in the center of the coffee shop where you lean in to encourage a friend. 

Christ in the center of the team you are leading and shepherding as our Savior would. 

Christ in the center of the wondering what’s next in your life adventure. 

Christ in the center of the hard manual labor you do for your company or employer. 

Christ in the center of your heart and trust when the adventure isn’t going as you thought. 

Christ in the center of the halls and streets where you work and live as you love your neighbors. 

Christ in the center of what you are doing outside the Gates of T Bar M. 

And y’all, this causes my heart to smile so deeply and to say, as Paul said so often, “I thank God every time I remember you.” 

This Thanksgiving, your family at T Bar M is truly thankful for YOU and the way you continue to Love God and Love Others. 

- Kelli Boyd, Director of Alumni and Engagement

At T Bar M, our number one rule is Don’t Waste Fun, and that spirit carries over into our retreat season just as much as our summer camps! You might wonder what happens here when we’re not in summer camp mode—our retreat team shifts gears to serve groups of all kinds, creating spaces where lives are enriched and hearts are renewed.

From church groups and schools to corporate teams and families, we’re privileged to welcome so many through our gates, each bringing their unique story and purpose. Groups experience joy and connection through activities like high ropes, team building, even a little bit of blacklight dodgeball, or simply relaxing on a wooden swing.

We’re also deeply blessed by the work of our Tim Team—a dedicated discipleship program where young adults serve alongside us, learning to lead and love like Christ while serving others. Together, we strive to create an environment where God’s love is evident and each group leaves feeling cared for, inspired, and refreshed.

Even when summer camp is not happening, we get the privilege to witness the Gospel taking root in hearts all over our property. Hear it from Kaiti Hogan, one of our Retreat Coordinators:

"Last week I was walking around property while a 7th-grade school group was on their retreat here. The school had split the students up into smaller groups, and they were meeting all over property doing a devotional with one of their teachers. There were groups meeting on the field, on the basketball court, and even up in the tree weave. It reminded me a lot of the summer when property is full of campers and coaches going through Trail Guide. I loved getting to see these students learning more about God while on this property and knowing that this happens all year long."

Around here, we love the dinner table. Not just because it’s where the food is (though that’s a perk!), but because it’s where real connection happens.

If you’ve ever stepped foot in one of our dining halls at camp, you’ve seen it. Every meal, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, is spent shoulder to shoulder. No screens. No distractions. Just the sound of laughter, stomping feet on benches, and campers swapping stories about the zipline, cabin devos, or who's going to "win" the round of Scraper Head. The table becomes the heartbeat of the day - a place to be known, to belong, and to remember what really matters.

Back home, the rhythm of family dinners can look a little different. Soccer practice, late work calls, a toddler meltdown… it’s easy for evenings to blur into survival mode. Maybe you’ve tried to eat together, and it just didn’t stick. Maybe you’ve thought, what’s the big deal? Or maybe dinner has just become another task on the list.

But what if it’s more than that?

When we sit down at the table - even if it’s just for 20 minutes - we’re doing something quietly radical in today’s world. We’re saying: this family values presence over productivity, connection over convenience.

It doesn’t have to be perfect. You don’t have to have a three-course meal or a devotional planned every night. Sometimes, discipleship looks like a simple question across the table:

Those small conversations are seeds of faith. They’re where our kids learn that Jesus isn’t just someone we talk about on Sundays - He’s someone we can talk to, right in the middle of mac and cheese and spilled milk.

At T Bar M, we see how Jesus uses community to shape hearts. Around every table, campers get a glimpse of what it looks like to live differently; to slow down, to share, to listen. It’s one of the simplest, most beautiful rhythms of camp life… and one that can carry home with you

God continues to write amazing stories. Take a moment to settle in and read this one from the summer. You won't regret it.

Calvin came to pick up his sister from T Bar M last summer and saw how her week at camp affected her. He knew he wanted to experience the same thing.

And he did.

His first year of camp provided all the same wonder and fun—theme nights and traditions, cabin cheers and competitions.

Wednesday night set the same stage as it has for generations: holy and still moments on the field to stop and consider why Jesus died for us and the gift of eternal life He offers us. And Calvin did just that. He sat on the field and considered. His coach went to check on him and asked if there was anything he wanted to talk about. Calvin replied, "Maybe about giving my life to Christ." He said he came to T Bar M knowing it was a place he could talk about that and had been waiting for a year to come so he could have this very conversation.

And they did.

His coach describes that conversation: "Once I had talked with him for a bit about what it means to give your life to Christ, we prayed a salvation prayer for him, and he opened his eyes with a huge smile and said, ‘Wow, that feels better than I thought it would.’”

Calvin and his coach had stayed long past anyone else on the field that evening. When asked if he wanted to go tell his cabin, there was nothing but an enthusiastic YES!

Everyone was showered and tucked into bed when his coach told the cabin the decision Calvin had made. One camper started jumping around cheering, and within seconds, the whole cabin was cheering and telling Calvin how awesome that was. The party was so loud, neighboring coaches came over to join in the celebration.

In a moment of calm, a fellow camper asked what exactly that meant—becoming a Christian. This allowed the coaches to talk more about giving your life to Jesus with campers who had the same questions but didn’t know what to ask.

The night wound down as they huddled in the cabin with Calvin in the middle, and a prayer was said by the coaches. The cabin of boys hugged and high-fived as they went to bed.

It seems Calvin's life was affected as much as his sister’s.

As was everyone’s in the cabin that Wednesday night.

Calvin's story is amazing. As is your story of salvation. Who can you share God’s story in your life with today?

Kelli Boyd, Director of Alumni and Engagement

The Timothy Team has looked different all 30 years we have done it. Of course it does, because there are no two Teams the same. We have new people every year and a new dynamic that shapes the entire team. But it seems like there are common rhythms for every Team, and October seems to be a part of that.

As we sit here in October, the honeymoon phase of the Timothy Team has set sail, and reality begins to set in. The Team has spent 2+ months together, and May is still so far away in camp time. It probably is exacerbated by the fact that it is still 90 degrees outside in South Texas. But this is and has always been one of the most challenging and rewarding parts of this program.

I remember coming to Team and wanting to have deep relationships with my teammates. But I don’t know that I came in wanting to know and to be known by my Teammates. And to know someone just takes time. By October, the Team begins to know each other, and it will only grow for better or for worse. It is so fun to watch as they get to know the things that are wonderful about each other. But humility comes as Teammates learn the “negatives” about each other.

Now is all the more reason to remind our Team and each other what the goal is. It comes back to the words on the gates of T Bar M. The goal is to Love God and Love Each Other. Our Teamers get the opportunity to love each other in spite of flaws and shortcomings. Not just that, they get the opportunity to be loved in spite of their own flaws and shortcomings. And as my Team experience is 15 years removed, I get the same opportunity with my family, community, church, and co-workers. Am I going to love those around me and also be willing to be loved?

Seth McCord, Senior Director of Discipleship Programs