Thinking Differently

Hello there.

Week One of camp is proceeding very well. Aside from a tropical monsoon yesterday, the weather has been excellent. My cabin this week is a group of very nice guys.

Our campout on Sunday night was good, up until 2am when the storm started. It continued to rain all day. We descended the mountain Monday morning for breakfast and left our tents and stuff up top, hoping the rain would stop for another campout that night. No such luck. The rain continued in force all day, and by 8pm it was coming down extremely hard. We had to tough it out and hike up the mountain to retrieve our stuff. Up top we found mini lakes up to a foot deep in places, and six inches of mud below that. Taking down the tents became and undertaking and the rain made it hard to see. By the time we were ready to descend a half hour later, fast rivers of run-off were rushing downhill.

Once the bottom was reached we were completely waterlogged, as was much of our stuff. Yesterday was a bunch of fun!

Today though, my day off, the rain has halted except for sprinkles. The guys are hiking up Mount Severance, one of the peaks in the Adirondack mountains that encircle Word of Life. Tomorrow we go canoeing, Thursday we are supposed to do the high ropes course on the WOL Island, however the ropes course was 95% destroyed in the recent storm, so not sure if it will be rebuilt in time. Friday we mostly relax.

I am doing well, counseling the oldest guys has given me a nice intro into the summer, and I am actually enjoying counseling.

Not much going on today, just some needed R&R.

Catcha later.

1 hour, 54 minutes

The time is soon approaching. This is a last hurrah before the campers arrive. I have about 8 campers this week and a full schedule. Pray for me. Will be silent until Tuesday.
Peace and grace to you.

23 hours, 14 minutes.

Kids get here tomorrow.

Something new happened in my life: I got stitches. Now, don’t worry, it was a minor cut that was just wide enough to need two stitches. I was chopping wood, and my axe stuck into the log. I had my co-worker use the sledgehammer to force the axe farther into the wood to split the log, and the back of my axehead splintered. A piece of metal jumped up and sliced my arm, just below the bend of the elbow. WOL should pick up the tab on the med bill cause I was working at the time.

Last night we did brother/sister unit time. All the counselors are in units of 8 or so people, and I am in unit 4, so we guys hung out with the unit 4 girls at a campfire. God was moving and we had a wonderful time sharing, singing and connecting. I feel this summer will be life-changing for me and hopefully for many campers. Pray for me and my fellow counselors: T-Ray, Ben, Joe, Geoff, Kyle, Tim, and Flem.

This coming week I have Mountaineer’s which are campers that camp out, go hiking, canoeing, do the high ropes course at the Island, and other adventure stuff. It will be fun for my first week at camp. Tuesday is my day off, so I will be connecting then.

Not much else to report, a big meeting with all camps up at the Island tonight, time off until then.

Peace to you.

Hey all.

I just was switched from my unit to another one, nothing wrong going on, the admin just wanted to more evenly spread talents and abilities.

As a consequence, I worked as a lumberjack all day on the top of the “mountain” behind the school. We were chopping up logs for campouts during the school year.

Still having fun and working. Rodeo tonight!
Peace to ya’ll.

This is nice, posting every day, but I won’t be able to continue posting once camp starts.

Keep praying, I still need attitude help, and am dealing with a personal issue. Tonight in our meeting one of the camp directors, a guy we call Snazzy Nazz, gave us a message about laying aside that which hinders. I’ve got something that is being a hindrance, so I need wisdom in dealing with it.

Not much else happening.

Peace to all of you.

4 Days, 12 hours, 14 minutes until summer camp starts.

We are learning much and working hard preparing for the campers to arrive. I am having trouble being excited about this, though I know I should. I am a little nervous about counseling little kids, but God will be good. Pray for me.

I am getting into World Cup Soccer as well. I can’t play soccer and know very little about the game, but am catching the excitement of the World Cup, and am finding it really fun to watch.

Not much else to report. Keep it real.

the StormRider

..of the clock, that is.

I enjoy some much needed time off this evening and tomorrow all day. I hope to get to WalMart and buy some sandles and a beach towel. I will need both for the upcoming summer camp. I may even buy some swim shorts too, if I can find something cool and cheap.

Last night I went to another beach and enjoyed the prescence of God some more. I watched a troubled sky and just talked with my Father. This I have learned: deep struggles are no respecters of circumstances. Some things come about when you don’t want to deal with them. I am getting ready for summer camp and little kids that need God, but at the same time is dealing with some struggles between myself and the Almighty. Even though I eventually always lose, somehow I need to fight to let go. Like Jake wrestling with the Angel, the struggle is close and personal. It is only before the day dawns that He touches my hip and asks me to give up. I grit my teeth and refuse unless He blesses. He reminds me that I deserve no blessing, but that obedience brings the greatest of rewards. And being the Big God He is, He blesses anyway.

So I am learning and growing, even on the verge of a great challenge. Thanks to all you who are praying and thinking of me, especially the angel with buzzing wings.

~Peace~

A long time ago, another man scribbled in the sand, and His message was profound….

Amidst a mob of madmen
She stood frightened and alone
As hate filled voices hissed at him
That she should now be stoned

But in the air around him
Hung a vast and wordless love
Who knows what loom at his lesson
He was in the middle of

At first he faced the fury
Of their self righteous scorn
But then he stooped and at once became
The calm eye of the storm

It was his wordless answer
To their dark and cruel demand
The lifetime in a moment
As he scribbled in the sand

It was silence it was music
It was art it was absurd
He stooped and shouted volumes
Without saying a single word

The same finger
Of the strong hand
That had written ten commands
For now was simply scribbling in the sand

Within the space of space and time
He scribbled in the sand
They came to hear and see as much
As they could understand
Now bound by cords of kindness
They couldn’t cast a single stone
And Jesus and the women found that they were all alone

chorus

Could that same finger come
And trace my soul’s sacred sand
And make some unexpected space
Where I could understand
That my own condemnation pierced
And broke that gentle hand
That scratched the words I’ll never know
Written in the sand

chorus

song by Michael Card

I work all day today on the devastated WOL Island. Fun, it will be, I suppose. But at least after that and all day tomorrow I will have little to do, hopefully. We shall see.

Have fun, ya’ll.

So I was having a rough day and was wandering about by myself. I found myself on the small beach here on campus, staring out over a dark lake and gray skies.

I was watching my feet as I walked the sand, and before me I saw this message: “Believe God”.

It was exactly what I needed. I spent some time in prayer, and encouraged went on to have a really peaceful night. Thanks to whoever wrote that sometime earlier. God blessed a scribble in the sand.

Other than that, I have been in FirstAid/CPR classes and will be certified once I pass the written exams. How cool. The summer soon begins…

Pray for me, though.