Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Authentic Love: Everything I Learned About Jesus, I Learned from a Child
    Authentic Love: Everything I Learned About Jesus, I Learned from a Child
    Authentic Love: Everything I Learned About Jesus, I Learned from a Child
    Ebook122 pages1 hour

    Authentic Love: Everything I Learned About Jesus, I Learned from a Child

    By Jon Jorgenson

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Jesus talks about having a child-like faith. The phrase always confused me until I spent eight summers working with children at summer camp in northern Illinois. After all that time of trying to teach them about Jesus, I have come to one conclusion: they had more to teach me. I hope they teach you something as well.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWestBow Press
    Release dateMar 10, 2014
    ISBN9781490828312
    Authentic Love: Everything I Learned About Jesus, I Learned from a Child
    Author

    Jon Jorgenson

    From 2005 to 2013, Jon worked with nearly five thousand students ages 8–18 at summer camps in northern Illinois. Responding to a lifelong call to write, Jon is now publishing his first book about those experiences. Along with writing, Jon is an actor and co-founder of The Anima Series on YouTube.com. Currently living in New York City, Jon continues to write, act, and make new friends every day.

    Related to Authentic Love

    Related ebooks

    Inspirational For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Reader Testimony

      Dec 31, 2021

      For as long as I can remember, I have had so-called symptoms of Bi-Polar mood disorder. I can also claim symptoms of PTSD. At risk of giving anything not of God any kind of recognition or sense of pride in itself, I hesitate to write too much about t

      3 min read

    • Article

      Dolly Parton

      May 19, 2023

      Dolly Parton
      5 min read

    • Article

      A Doctor’s Journey

      Apr 19, 2024

      A Doctor’s Journey
      10 min read

    • Article

      The Biblical Tithe

      Jun 25, 2022

      The Biblical Tithe
      3 min read

    • Article

      Do Not Adjust Your Set

      Jan 11, 2021

      Do Not Adjust Your Set
      9 min read

    • Article

      Receiving The Good News Lessons From The Parable Of The Sower

      Jun 12, 2020

      The Bible is the best-selling book of all time. It is the best-selling book year after year, every year. It far outsells any other book, with a whopping 4 billion copies sold over the last 50 years. The mission with which I work, Hellenic Ministries,

      5 min read

    • Article

      Did You Know?

      Dec 30, 2022

      Did You Know?
      1 min read

    • Article

      FAMILY TIME with God

      Aug 25, 2023

      FAMILY TIME with God
      3 min read

    • Article

      Jordan's 'Holy War on Dogs'

      Nov 27, 2017

      Jordan's 'Holy War on Dogs'
      4 min read

    • Article

      News Bites

      Jun 24, 2022

      The average young adult is now about 5% taller than 100 years ago, thanks to changes in health and nutrition. For the first time since 2001, oppressive Taliban orders Afghan women to cover their faces again. Francis Chan hits back at infamous ‘my bod

      1 min read

    • Article

      Women Of Grace

      Nov 18, 2019

      God has an abundant life, and a great future planned for you. His plan is to take care of you, not to abandon you. God says in Revelation 22:13, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” Nothing in your life s

      2 min read

    • Article

      Let It Go

      Sep 26, 2022

      In 2013, Disney released the animated musical Frozen. Its signature song—“Let It Go”—was an instant classic. It wasn’t just Idina Menzel’s astonishing voice but also the song’s powerful message: Sometimes to move forward in life, you need to let go.

      1 min read

    • Article

      Every Day Is a Blessing

      Mar 26, 2022

      Every Day Is a Blessing
      2 min read

    • Article

      His Last Gift

      Nov 25, 2023

      His Last Gift
      6 min read

    • Article

      Meet Sam.

      Dec 1, 2022

      Meet Sam.
      10 min read

    • Article

      Gendereuphoria

      Dec 29, 2021

      Gendereuphoria
      3 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Authentic Love

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Authentic Love - Jon Jorgenson

      Copyright © 2014 Jon Jorgenson.

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

      WestBow Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

      WestBow Press

      A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

      1663 Liberty Drive

      Bloomington, IN 47403

      www.westbowpress.com

      1 (866) 928-1240

      Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

      Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

      Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

      ISBN: 978-1-4908-2830-5(sc)

      ISBN: 978-1-4908-2829-9 (hc)

      ISBN: 978-1-4908-2831-2 (e)

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2014903672

      WestBow Press rev. date: 3/06/2014

      Contents

      Prologue:

      Chapter 1

      Chapter 2

      Chapter 3

      Chapter 4

      Chapter 5

      Chapter 6

      Chapter 7

      Chapter 8

      Chapter 9

      Chapter 10

      Chapter 11

      Chapter 12

      Chapter 13

      Chapter 14

      Chapter 15

      Chapter 16

      Acknowledgments

      About the Author:

      To my Erin, the best counselor I know.

      I discovered Jesus at summer camp, and then I left him there.

      Three years later I came back,

      and found him again…

      in the most unlikely of places.

      Prologue:

      Jumping in the Deep End

      W hen I was in second grade, my mother sent me to an all day sports camp. The rec center near our home in Ann Arbor, Michigan did an annual camp providing a general rinse education on how to play different sports. All kids were welcome, regardless of their athletic ability, their knowledge of sports, or even their desire to attend a summer camp. By the mature age of seven, I was playing baseball competitively and, since I had already made it my sport of choice, I was not excited about the prospect of going to this camp. In fact, I’m pretty sure I cried the whole way there. This was my first real memory of summer camp. I bet you can’t wait to keep reading this uplifting book now!

      Upon arriving at camp things only got worse. When the counselors saw me, they immediately placed me in a group two years ahead with the fourth graders. You see, I never really fit into the category of normal. Being born at eleven pounds, eleven ounces, I was always much bigger than other kids my age, and this being a sports camp, they thought it was safer for me to be with children more my size. You know, so I wouldn’t crush anybody. Truth was, even at the fourth grade level, I was still one of the biggest kids, and being forced into an age group where I didn’t know a single soul only increased the chances of my gigantic body accidentally running over someone. As if this wasn’t enough suffering for an introverted second grade giant to endure, I soon discovered that baseball wasn’t even offered as an option at this torturous Park District day camp. Yes, that’s right: to my disappointment; slow pitch softball and kickball were the closest I would get to exercising my true talents.

      Another activity that everyone except me seemed to enjoy was during the last hour of each dreadful day, campers were taken to the indoor pool to go swimming. It was treated as something of a reward. If we had been good and attentive all day, then the counselors allowed us to go swimming in a dirty, crowded, community pool. What could be better? For many campers, this was the highlight of the day, but for me, it was just another reminder of my inferior age and gigantic proportions.

      Being younger than the other kids meant that they had already passed the necessary swim test allowing them to swim in the deep end, while I only qualified for swimming in the shallow end surrounded by young mothers and their crying babies. The lifeguards on duty, however, did not realize that I was much younger than everyone else, and I certainly was not about to call attention to it. So, I was left with a choice: endure the humiliation of standing alone in the shallow end with my float-ies, which I had to hold in my hands because my arms were too big to fit inside, or take my chances in deeper waters.

      To this day, I still don’t fully understand why I chose the deep end. I can still hear my mind screaming at me as I shuffled towards the edge of the pool, No! No! You idiot! You can’t even swim! But my heart was set on being just like everyone else. These kids would never know that I was different, even if it killed me. I reached the edge of the pool and took a leap of hope. I would call it a leap of faith, but even from the start, I don’t think I believed it would turn out well. Suspended in the air, as if in slow motion, with my eyes closed, I prayed that in the half second before I hit the water I would somehow magically learn to swim. I prayed to God, If I can’t swim, at least let me walk on the water. That would certainly impress the older kids.

      In the moments that followed, two sets of hopes were dashed. If you didn’t guess already, I did not magically learn to swim, nor did I walk on the water. I sank like Peter, and as I hit the water and immediately began screaming and flailing, everyone in the pool, or perhaps everyone in the greater Ann Arbor area, discovered that I was indeed younger than the rest of the campers. My mask had been removed; everyone now knew that I was a fraud.

      In the midst of my hysteria, I had to be pulled out of the water by two equally hysterical female lifeguards and examined by the rec-center EMS (Emergency Medical Services). The feeling of nearly drowning was terrible, but compared to the humiliation I felt afterward, I may have been willing to negotiate a trade.

      Why did I jump in the deep end knowing I couldn’t swim? I’m not sure, but I’m guessing that most of us, including myself, have done crazier things in hopes of being accepted by the crowd. So let me start by saying, this book is not for the crowd pleaser. It is not for those who want to fit in and fade back, becoming one in a million faces. This book is for the misfits, the challengers, the so-called losers who live outside of the norm and long for something more real. This book is for those who want to discover a life that offers something far greater than just fitting in. Because the human spirit, at it’s deepest place, does not desire to fit in, it only settles for fitting in once society has convinced us that it’s our only option. The truth, however, is that there is something better than fitting in. There is something much deeper that we long for at the center of our hearts— to receive the gift of authentic love. This gift is possible and available, even in today’s world. I have seen it.

      For eight summers I worked as a summer camper counselor in the suburbs of Chicago. During those years, I watched and studied and learned from the experts on this subject. Everything I’ve learned about the authentic love of God, I learned from kids and students ages 8-18. These are the misfits. These are the challengers. These are the so-called losers who live outside the norm because they know there is a different way, a more authentic way.

      This is what they taught me…

      Chapter 1

      Just Like You

      I once saw Kobayashi, the famous hot-dog eater, down an entire gallon of milk in twenty seconds. It was unbelievable. You can find it online. Go check it out for yourself, because it is completely worth it. The myth is that the human digestive system cannot stomach an entire gallon of milk in less than an hour, but my boy Kobayashi gulped the thing down in twenty seconds! Whether he was able to stomach it, or whether he helicopter-vomited ten minutes later, those are details I am not aware of. Thankfully, the video doesn’t specify. But regardless, as a self-proclaimed and un-tested competitive eater myself who has an unyielding passion for milk, Kobayashi’s feat is an inspiration to me.

      Summer camp is offered eight weeks out of the summer. There are two types of camp, day camp, for ages 5-12, and overnight camp, for older students. Day camp starts in June and extends through early August. Young children are invited to attend week-long day camps where they learn musical theatre basics, play games, and learn a little bit about God along the way. I was blessed enough to work as a counselor at day camp for eight summers. Five of those summers I was also included on staff for overnight camp, our second type of camp.

      Overnight camp usually takes place around the end of June for only two weeks. Week one is offered to students in the middle school age range, while week two is reserved for high school. On a nearby college campus, campers arrive Monday morning and say goodbye to their parents until Friday. That is when the fun begins. To say the week is fully packed would be a gross understatement. In addition to rehearsing for an hour-long musical theatre showcase to be performed at

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1