On Aging

Last week I celebrated my 56th birthday with my family and friends.  I had a great time.  Getting older hasn't really bothered me too much.  In fact when asked what age I would be if I could be any age I choose, I said I would be 50 because at that age I have become comfortable with who I am, lost much of my insecurity, have become financially well-off, and have the good health to do pretty much anything I want to.  It is also a time in my life that the experience of a full career of teaching gives me confidence; I feel very comfortable in my professional life.  So aging has been a very positive process for me up to this point.

I realize that the future holds challenges.  I watch my mom and dad, aunts and uncles, and see that this is inevitable.  But as I watch, I have written here before about how I'm trying to think about the aging process and what lies ahead.  And I've been collecting some thoughts on this from other sources too.  

In a recent interview, Ann Lamott said, “Age has given me what I was looking for my entire life.  It has given me me. It has provided time and experience and failures and triumphs and time-tested friends who have helped me step into the shape that was waiting for me. I fit into me now.”

I would agree wholeheartedly with this statement.

Another interesting perspective comes Tyne Daly (of Cagney and Lacey fame).  She has let her hair go gray and says, “You know, my hair is very upsetting to people, but it’s upsetting on purpose. It is important to look old so that the young will not be afraid of dying. People don’t like old women. We don’t honor age in our society, and we certainly don’t honor it in Hollywood.”  I agree with her and someday soon I'm going to join her, and just let my hair be gray.  I'm just not quite ready yet.  What will be the appropriate age? 60? 65?  We shall see.




And just today I finished The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard (I've been working on this book for months, whew!).  Here's how he sums it up:

Aging, accordingly, will become a process not of losing, but of gaining.   As our physical body fades out, our glory body approaches and our spiritual substance grows richer and deeper.  As we age we should become obviously more glorious.  The lovely words of George MacDonald, once again, help us to imagine this crucial transition:
          
          Our old age is the scorching of the bush
          By life's indwelling, incorruptible blaze.
          O life, burn at this feeble shell of me,
          Till I the sore singed garment off shall push,
          Flap out my Psyche wings, and to thee rush."

These kinds of outlooks are not the norm today, but they are certainly thoughts that I want to cultivate, because I think they ring true with the idea of the new, continuing and abundant life we will find at the end of this one.

So...Happy Birthday to me!

Christmas Eve

We had a lovely Christmas Eve service tonight.  We sang a few songs, read the Christmas story from the Jesus Storybook Bible and had time to visit with our extended church family.  One of the readings we shared was a passage from Ann Voskamp.  I wanted to share it with you here.

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The message of Christmas is this world’s a mess and we can never save ourselves from ourselves and we need a Messiah.

For unto us a Child is born.

The Light never comes how you expect it.  It comes as the unlikely and unexpected—straight into Bethlehem unlikely and the feed trough hopeless, and Christmas whispers there is always hope.  It doesn’t matter how dark the dark is: a light can still dawn.  It doesn’t matter if the world whispers, “There’s not a hint that help will come from elsewhere,” telling us that nothing will ever improve, get better, change.  God favors the darkest places so you can see His light the brightest.

And once the light of Christ shatters your dark, shadows forever flee your shadowlands.  There’s no going back and living in the dark; you live in the impenetrable, safe Light of light, and Christmas never ends for you.  A Christian never stops living Christmas.  True, you cannot light Christmas—because it’s Christmas that lights you.

It’s Christmas that dawns on you, and you only really believe in Christmas when you really live it.  When you light a dark world and the unexpected places with a brave flame of joy; when you warm the cold, hopeless places with the daring joy that God is with us, God is for us, God is in us; when you are a wick to light hope in the dark—then you believe in Christmas.  When you really believe in Christmas, you believe there is really hope for everyone.  When you get Christmas, people get hope from you—they don’t lose it.

Unless you keep passing on the miracle of hope, you live like Christmas is a myth.

So light the Advent candles.  Light them! Light them!

And you can see it, with every lit candle, sparks of the dawning.

Hope catching on everything. 

Advent Thoughts

This year I’ve been celebrating Advent, and I’ve had a hand in bringing it into the services at my church.  I have enjoyed each of the Sundays very much.   I’ve also enjoyed using “The Greatest Gift” by Ann Voskamp.  She is a wonderful writer; her style is so poetic.  She creates some beautiful word pictures. 

I thought I’d share a few of the passages I’ve read from Voskamp and others.  Enjoy!

Hope is not a passive reliance upon God.  Hope is a human act of commitment to and investment in the future.  Hope is an act of human courage that refuses to cherish the present too much or be reduced to despair by present circumstances.  Hope is the capacity to relinquish the present for the sake of what is imagined to be a reachable future.  In the end, hope is a practice that bets on a vision of the future that is judged to be well beyond present circumstance, even if one does not know how to get from here to there.  (Walter Brueggemann)

It’s the whole of humanity who live fixated on facades, blinded to the realest real.  The shiny shell of things can bind you and blind you.  It’s a veiled God who elevates the veiled things; the heart, the interior, the soul.  And it’s a temporal world that elevates the foil and the plastic, the status and the skills, the physical and the tangible—all this concrete mirage.  Humanity obsesses with vapors, not eternity.

The reality is, you can lose your life, your joy if you are beguiled by the world’s rind and blind to its inner reality.  The endless bombardment of ads, gloss, Photoshop—it’s like full-immersion sight lessons, schooling us to have eyes for everything unimportant and unreal.  From Hollywood to Pinterest, the media of this world aggressively schools your soul to see the exact opposite of the way God sees. 

People aren’t bodies; they are hearts.  We could train our eyes to turn everything inside out.

“Why should the eye be so lazy?  Let us exercise the eye until it learns to see,” writes G.K. Chesterton.  Let us exercise the eye until it sees through the fat of things, down to the eternal of things.  Let us exercise the eye by walking with Christ.

There is this call for every Christian to answer His calling to be an ocular surgeon.  Our seeing must cut through surfaces and down to souls.

You could close your eyes and ask it, see it…

Is my life about the heart of things?  Is my Christmas?  Am I deeply absorbed in Him and the heart of things?  Or is my life a shallow absorption with surfaces? (Ann Voskamp)

O God and Father, I repent of my sinful preoccupation with visible things.  The world has been too much with me.  Thou hast been here and I knew it not.  I have been blind to Thy presence.  Open my eyes tht I may behold Thee in and around me.  For Christ’s sake, Amen.  (A.W. Tozer)

Happy Thanksgiving

I just got this article in an email and thought it would be good to share for this Thanksgiving season.

GIVING THANKS WHEN I DON’T FEEL LIKE IT Rick Warren Thanksgiving is a difficult holiday for many. How can you be thankful when your doctor says it’s cancer? How can you feel grateful when the one you love just walked out of your life? Or when you’ve been fired . . . or your dream has collapsed . . . or an economic tsunami has wiped out all you’ve worked for? This year became the worst year of my life when my youngest son, who’d struggled since childhood with mental illness, took his own life. How am I supposed be thankful this Thanksgiving? When your heart’s been ripped apart, you feel numb, not grateful. And yet the Bible tells us “Give thanks IN ALL circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” The key is the word “in.” God doesn’t expect me to be thankful FOR all circumstances, but IN all circumstances. There’s a huge difference. The first attitude is masochism. The second shows maturity. We’re not supposed to be thankful for evil or sin, or the innocent suffering caused by these things. But even in heartache and grief and disappointment, there are still good things that I can be thankful for. I used to think that life was a series of mountain highs and valley lows, but actually we get both at the same time. In our world broken by sin, the good and the bad come together. On the cover of my wife’s book, Choose Joy, is a photo of a railroad track heading into the horizon. Like that photo, our lives are always running on two parallel rails simultaneously. No matter how good things are in my life, there are always problems I must deal with, and no matter how bad things are in my life, there are always blessings I can be grateful for. So what am I thankful for this Thanksgiving? I’m thankful that, although not everything that happens is good, God is a good God. Having had a close friendship with him for nearly 50 years, I know without a doubt that God sees all I go through, he cares, he grieves with me, he is close, and his strength is available at all times.  I’m thankful that, even though I don’t have all the answers, God does. In tragedy we seek explanations, but explanations never comfort. It is God’s presence that eases our pain. I’m thankful that this life is not all there is. It’s not the end of the story. One day God will right all wrongs, even the odds, and settle all accounts. Justice will be served. Evil will not win. I’m thankful for the hope of heaven. I won’t have to live with pain forever. In heaven, there are no broken relationships, broken minds, broken bodies, broken dreams, or broken promises. The Bible tells us “God will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.” I’m thankful for my church family.  For 33 years, I’ve had the privilege of loving, serving, and leading the people of Saddleback Church. But in our darkest hour as a family, they gave all that love back in a split-second, the moment Kay and I returned to speak after a 16-week grief sabbatical.  We can handle anything with prayers and support like that. I’m thankful that God can bring good even out of the bad in my life, when I give him the pieces. It’s his specialty. God loves to turn crucifixions into resurrections, and then benefit the whole world. God never wastes a hurt if we give it to him. Itzhak Pearlman once broke a string at the start of a Lincoln Center recital.  Rather than replacing it, he played the entire concert with a broken instrument. At the end he said, “Sometimes it is the artist’s task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left.” That kind of humility honors God. This Thanksgiving, don’t dwell on what’s lost, but on what’s left.    Bring a friend and your 2013 Thanksgiving gift.

Pastor Rick Dr. Rick Warren Saddleback Church Global P.E.A.C.E. Plan

What I'm Reading

Here's one of the books I am currently working on.  It is challenging and has some very convicting ideas in it.  You can read a good review of the book here.  I just wanted to share a passage I found particularly good.   See what you think.

...I realized that most of my previous attempts at service were much like the garden hose in my hand:  I was in control, dictating how, when, and to whom I would serve.  With my nifty sprayer, I could even stop the water altogether when I felt like it.  The "flow" of Christ's love which I gave to others depended on my mood, the health of my career, and even how much sleep I got the night before.  Mine was (and often still is) a self-righteous, self-gratifying service.  In contrast I noticed a soaker hose in the planter across from me.  It watered the ground completely indiscriminately.  Dozens of holes let the water loose and had no shut-off switch.  Life-giving water oozed out all over the place, like it or not!  To serve like a soaker hose means to pour out Christ's love from every pore of our beings, not concerning ourselves with the timing, the effect it might have on our productivity, or the worthiness of the recipients.  If God has "turned on the water" in our lives, filling us with His life-giving springs, why would we hold them back from anyone?  For fear of running out?  Doesn't He have an infinite supply of living water?

Weekend with the Kanes

We invited the Kanes to spend part of their fall break with us.  Adam and Billie are friends who live in Indiana and who work with us on the leadership team for Camp of the Woods.  They are some of our favorite people in the whole world.  From the first time we met something just clicked with us, and we've been fast friends ever since.  Often when I travel to Indy to help my aunt and uncle the highlight of the trip is spending some time with this family.

They arrived Thursday night after taking a rather indirect route to our house through the back roads of Kentucky and the hills of Tennesse (Adam didn't ask for directions, much to Billie's chagrin).  We spent a relaxed morning on Friday just visiting and then we headed off for lunch at Ichiban.  The boys had not been to a place like this and the looks on their faces throughout the lunch were just priceless.

Amazed at the "egg roll"

Evan gets his rice.

From there we went to the aquarium, and we had a great time looking at this amazing Chattanooga attraction.

At the sting ray pool

Billie with a newly hatched Blue Morpho butterfly

Wading in the water

We came home that night and built a fire outside.  We had many visitors who came along to roast a hot dog, play with the boys, and just enjoy a beautiful fall evening under the stars.  

The next morning we took off early so we could get a jump on the Saturday crowd at Zipstream where Will works.  He was able to be our guide as we tackled the high ropes course and the ziplines.  We had a great time being with him and watching him do his thing.  We all ended up enjoying the course, even though Billie was not so sure it was fun until it was all over.  She said she liked jumping out of an airplane better (makes no sense to me).

Getting our instructions from Will

Our great guide

Me tackling one of the obstacles

Billie smiling early on the course.  Later she was not so happy.

Evan in the tunnel

After finishing at Zipstream we headed on up the mountain for a tour of Point Park.  We had lunch and then headed home to another fun evening of visiting which included several other drop-in visitors.  Phil prepared a special pancake breakfast Sunday morning and then we were off to church.  After lunch our friends departed.  We all had a great time and made some wonderful memories together.  I'm so glad they came and let us share our part of the country with them.

Love this family!!

Dinner with the Nottolis

We had a most wonderful time Monday evening with dear friends Cathy and John.  They have a most beautiful home which they have completely renovated themselves.  It was originally a dormitory for the Illinois Soldiers' and Sailors' Children's Home.  They have decorated it in such a beautiful way that it could easily be featured in a magazine.

Cathy is an amazing hostess.  We sat in her kitchen as she prepared our food with an easy manner that makes me envious.  I am a competent cook, but it always takes great effort for me to pull off a meal.  Cathy makes it all look effortless.  While she worked, we ate a mixture of fruits and nuts that she had arranged on a square white dish.  It looked really classy and tasted delicious.  

The simple dishes she served us included baked acorn squash, broccoli roasted in the oven, and pan-fried grouse that we brought back from Canada.  For dessert she served us lemon pound cake with a berry sauce she created from her own garden, which is one of her passions.

As we ate, classical music played in the background, adding another layer to the classy ambience of our dinner.  We had great conversation that ranged from TV we like (John does a great impression of Festus from Gunsmoke), to the women's movement, to their anarchist atheist neighbor, whom they really enjoy.  

It was a pleasure to pass such a completely perfect evening with these good friends.  Let's do it again soon!

    

It's a Small World

As we were driving home from Illinois today we passed a pick-up truck.  It beeped its horn, but I didn't think it was beeping at us, so I ignored it.  As soon as we passed it, Phil said something about the bad driver speeding up after we just passed him and now he's passing us.  As it drew up beside us we could see that the woman in the passenger seat was holding up a sign that said "Dunlap, TN."  I didn't recognize them, but we smiled and waved.  Then I saw her mouth the words "Mrs. Kiper?"  I shook my head yes.  Such a funny meeting on the road.

This reminded me of some other chance encounters I've had over the years.  A few years ago Phil and I were with a group in San Diego.  We were eating lunch in a nice restaurant right on the water when who should be seated at the table right next to us but my cousin Bob and his family from Indianapolis.  I go to Indy often and hardly see him, and here we are basically having lunch together in California.  We couldn't have pulled that off if we had been aware that we were in the same city.

Another memorable meeting came when I was taking Will and Kathryn along with Kathryn's friend, Ashley, to Nashville.  I was taking them to the state capitol for a tour of the building, and as we were looking around a young lady recognized me.  She was from Dunlap (I can't remember who she was now), and she was serving as an intern for someone there.  She gave us a behind the scenes look around the capitol, and Will even got to sit in the Speaker's chair in the assembly hall.  Afterwards, Will said, "Everyone knows you, Mom.  You're like a celebrity."  It's always good to be able to impress your ten-year-old son.

Yes, its' a small world like the song says. I experienced it once again on the road today, and it always makes me smile.

Canadian Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving Day in Canada.  They celebrate it pretty much like we do.  Since I have such a connection with Canada I thought I'd make this list:

10 Things in Canada That I'm Thankful For

10.  Wildlife.  I was able to see a wolf on the camp road early in my latest visit to camp (and walked it every day alone; how's that for being brave?).  I also watched a weasel carrying off bird carcasses from behind our cabin.  One evening a grouse flew alongside our truck for quite a ways. Always lots of interesting things to see in the bush.

A partridge in a birch tree

9.  Northern Lights.  Although we only saw them a couple of times this fall and they were pretty faint, it is always amazing to watch them.  It is something that not very many people get to experience, so it's very special.

8.  Good friends.  Having been there so many times, we have made some good friends.  We got to worship with some of them, have meals with others, and have great conversations with many.

7.  Kayleigh.  I'm thankful to watch her be the best big sister anyone could ask for.  I love her calm maturity and quiet strength.

Kayleigh

6.  Luke.  No one talks with more enthusiasm than Luke.  And no one punctuates his conversation with more sound effects.  So entertaining.

Luke

5.  Aubrey.  She moves with such grace and skill.  She gave us quite a performance to her favorite Disney music.

Aubrey at Bear Track

4.  Emma.  A most helpful child.  She likes to be close to people; she's touchy-feely.  She kept rubbing my arm saying, "I like feeling your wrinkles."  And when she was working with me and said, "I wish I could be just like you when I grow up," my heart almost melted.

3.  Becky.  She has the gift of hospitality; her home is open to visitors any time.  She manages her household so well; she keeps her kids on task, and her home neat as a pin.

Johnnie & Becky...two of our favorite people

2.  Johnnie.  No one is more friendly than Johnnie.  Go to town with him and he'll know someone everywhere you go.  And no one knows more about fixing things and keeping things running than he does.

1.  The Loon's Nest.  My home away from home, the place is so dear to me and to Phil.  We are very happy there.

Loon's Nest

Jesus and Women (and Me)

Perhaps it is no wonder that the women were the first and the Cradle and the last at the Cross.  They had never known a man like this Man—there had never been such another.  A prophet and teacher who never nagged at them, who never flattered or coaxed or patronized; who never made arch jokes about them, never treated them as “The women, God help us!” or “The ladies, God bless them!”; who rebuked without querulousness (peevishness or grumbling) and praised without condescension; took their questions and arguments seriously, who never mapped out their sphere for them, never urged them to be feminine or jeered at them for being female; who had no ax to grind and no uneasy male dignity to defend; who took them as he found them and was completely unselfconscious.

There is no act, no sermon, no parable in the whole Gospel that borrows its pungency from female perversity; nobody could possibly guess from the words of Jesus that there was anything “funny” about woman’s nature.

But we might easily deduce it from His contemporaries, and from His prophets before Him, and from His church to this day.

 I read these words by Dorothy Sayers, and they’ve been rolling around in my brain ever since.  They make me want to jump up and down for joy at the thought of being treated this way.   It makes me anxious to meet my Savior.  Who’s with me? 

SPEAK!

A couple of weeks ago I had the great fun of speaking at our annual Ladies' Bible Conference.  It was called "My Story."  I presented a lot of ideas that I got from attending a conference by Donald Miller called Storyline.  I have used these ideas for several talks, including at camp this summer.  The ideas have been well received, and I am thankful for the opportunity to share.

The theme verse for our conference came from the book of Psalms:  "Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story."  So I wanted to share a kind of back story to my speaking at the conference.

I became a Christian when I was about 13.  I attended a large church in Indianapolis, and I received great Bible teaching there.  But from very early on, I could feel the urging of the Lord to speak in front of others.  I began by being able to give a testimony when we had Thanksgiving services.  As a teenager, being able to speak up and tell what I was thankful for and praise the Lord was my baby step in beginning to speak.

At school however, I had the same experience most people do.  When I had to give a report to my peers, I was terrified.  I would get sick to my stomach, and worst of all, I would break out in big red blotches on my face and neck.  There it was for all to see...the evidence of my fear.

I was, however, very determined to overcome this fear.  I made myself take drama class in high school in order to become better at being in front of people.  It helped but when I moved on to college speech class I was way out of my comfort zone once again.  Over the course of my college education, I faced my peers over and over as I had to prepare lessons and teach them.  The fear continued to be so great in me that when it came time for student teaching I remember praying, "Lord, if you really want me to be a teacher, you will have to make it clear by helping me through this."  The Lord was so faithful and gave me a strong teacher who helped me through the process.  I am so thankful for His presence at that time in my life, and for this answer to prayer.

But then it was time to take on my first teaching assignment.  It was teaching reading to 7th and 8th graders at the old junior high school in Dunlap.  It was a terrible assignment, and I cried almost every day.  I felt so ill-prepared for what I was asked to do, and I was not up to the challenge that these students presented.  I want to say the students were just mean, but there is no way that is the whole truth of the matter.  Certainly there were several students who took great delight in my agony, but I'm sure there were others who were good and kind.  I just couldn't get my focus off of the bad ones.

The next year took me to fourth grade where I finally found my stride.  I stayed there for many years.  The next step forward came when I began teaching ACE class and began to really work on being a storyteller.  Years in EBC Kids' Club (and AWANA before that) gave me chances to hone those skills too.

And so for me to finally be at this point in my life, the place where I can speak to a crowd of nearly 200 ladies and not turn all blotchy, and even be able to eat my meal before I had to speak, is nothing short of miraculous.  It is a testament to the Lord's patient and persistent work over time.  I know there a lots of people who can speak easily to a group at a much younger age, but for me it's been a process.  And I'm so thankful for God's continual presence throughout it all.

When Tamara asked us to create a piece of art to talk about what we were learning that weekend, that was the story I wanted my art to tell.  So here is my piece:

The red blotches, the word "fear," take to the background as the heart represents "perfect love that casts out fear."  Ps. 19:14 is there: "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer."  I also included words from Jeremiah in which he tells the Lord that he cannot speak.  God assures Jeremiah that He has "put my words in your mouth."  And last but not least, the word "speak," which God has enabled me to do.

Speaking at my church in front of family and friends, including my dear roommate from college, was a wonderful experience.  I am so thankful for all that God has done in my life and continues to do.  "To God be the glory, great things He hath done!"

A Good Life

Phil and his dad at Gene's, a summertime tradition.

Phil’s dad passed away today.

 He was in the hospital about a month, his lungs failing.  We got to visit with him when we came back from Canada, and we are thankful for the time we got to spend with him.

Will called him a few nights ago and Grandpa said in his booming voice, “I find myself in the most peculiar situation.  They tell me I’m dying, but I can’t believe it’s true.”  He was such a character.

Roger Kiper was a carpenter all his life.  He was highly skilled and could finish stairs beautifully and hang doors to perfection.  He was a faithful husband to Dorothy for over 60 years.  He was a good father to his two boys: he provided them with a good life, and trained them in the ways of the Lord.  He has a whole slew of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and he enjoyed them all very much.  He used to say often, “I have such a wonderful family.”

As I spoke at camp this summer I often referenced the movie Big Fish.  The final scene of the movie is the father’s death (the story version of it).  You can watch it here.

Phil’s dad experienced the characters of his life all coming by to see him over the last week or so.  Family and friends have been there to pay their respects. And as the movie says…

“And the strange thing is there’s not a sad face to be found.   Everyone is just so glad to see you and send you off right.”

We feel that way because we know he had great faith in his Savior Jesus Christ.  We can let him go with joy because of the great hope we have in Christ.

Like the father in the movie, he’s left us with a million stories…all of his were true.  And though in life we were sometimes tired of them, in death, they are his legacy to us… stories we will share with each other and pass on in our own ways to our friends and family.  Stories we are thankful to have in our hearts today.

"He Is Building a Palace"

I read a book of selections from the writings of C.S Lewis recently and was really struck by this analogy.  I'm thinking of some of the people I would put on a list of people who fit the description he gives.  I'm happy to know some.

"Imagine yourself as a living house.   God comes in to rebuild that house.  At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing.  He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised.  But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense.  What on earth is He up to?  The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of—throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards.  You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace.  He intends to come and live in it Himself.

Already the new [people] are dotted here and there all over the earth.  Some, as I have admitted, are still hardly recognizable: but others can be recognized.  Every now and then one meets them.  Their very voices and faces are different from ours; stronger, quieter, happier, more radiant.  They begin where most of us leave off.  They are, I say, recognizable; but you must know what to look for. 

They will not be very like the idea of “religious people” which you have formed from your general reading.  They do not draw attention to themselves.  You tend to think that you are being kind to them when they are really being kind to you.  They love you more than other [people] do, but they need you less… They will usually seem to have a lot of time: you will wonder where it comes from.  When you have recognized them, you will recognize the next one much more easily.  And I strongly suspect (but how should I know?) that they recognize one another immediately and infallibly, across every barrier of color, sex, class, age, and even of creeds.  In that way, to become holy is rather like joining a secret society.  To put it at the very lowest, it must be great fun."

C.S. Lewis               Mere Christianity

Sharing the Treasure

I've told you that over the past few Sundays we have been watching a series called "Go Fish" by Andy Stanley.  The last part of this series was called "The One That Got Away".  It was the perfect ending because it challenged us to share the gospel as we leave our summer behind.

Andy used a story from 2 Kings 7 to make his point.  After the city has been besieged for a long time, people are starving.  There are four lepers who decide to take their chances by surrendering to the enemy, but when they get to the enemy camp, no one is there.  God has supernaturally intervened and frightened the army away.  They leave in such haste that they leave all their equipment and supplies behind.  The lepers have a feast and gather items for themselves, but in the end they think of the people back in the city.  They return to let the inhabitants know that the army is gone and there is food and treasure for the taking.

All of us who have been here for the summer feel like we have received a great treasure.  I talked about mine in my last post.  But we leave here feeling the responsibility... no, the privilege... of sharing this amazing place and the work our awesome God did in our lives this summer.  Here are some examples:

Adam left yesterday wearing his superhero cape.  He told us that at home he is an entirely different person and that this time when he goes home he is not going to slip back into his "secret identity."  He wants to be bold about sharing his life and his faith with those around him there.

Sarah and Dayna have taken all the addresses of their campers so that they can send them birthday cards.  They want to keep cultivating the spiritual ground they tilled this summer in the lives of the wonderful girls they were able to counsel.

I am returning home with many projects on my mind.  There's so much I want to do, so much I want to share with friends.  At the top of the list is returning to share our superhero theme using this material.  I can't wait to see the kids and helpers get back into the swing of things in Kids' Club.  It's going to be a great year.

Treasures of the Summer

This summer I've once again collected a few treasures from my time here at camp.  Of course there's the obligatory t-shirts and camp pictures.  But let me tell you about a few special items.  

Adam told the campers he was "The Amazing Adam," but that they
could call him "Double A."

When Adam showed up at camp wearing his "BAM" shirt I was jealous.  I wanted a shirt like that I told everyone, but I wanted one that said "PAM."  Just a few days later I was surprised at supper when I received a package containing this shirt.  Tirzah had copied Adam's shirt and made it for me.  She did a great job.  It has been so fun to see the look on the campers faces when they realize what my shirt says, and all summer people have passed by me and said, "PAM!"  It made me laugh every time.

All summer long I've gotten sweet notes from lots of different people.  This one was from two campers from Junior Week 3.

"Dear, Pam
You are the best storyteller EVER.  Keep doing what your doing.
Ryan & Morgan"

All last year I took time to send every camper a card for their birthday, containing a picture of them from camp.  The first day of Teen Week 1, Lindsay came up to me and handed me the card below.  She said her grandma told her to bring it to me since I sent her a card.  Lindsay did the artwork for the card and won 4th place in her state for her contest entry.  Receiving this card from her created a connection with her.  I was able to talk to her several times during the week.  This card is very special.

Lindsay lives in Louisiana with her mom but spends her summers
in Canada with her father.

As a gift for our service this summer, Johnnie and Becky gave us this book of beautiful pictures from the town of Sioux Lookout.  It was the perfect gift.

These are just the tangible things I could show you that I've collected.  There are so many more intangibles... walking the trails with the kids and having one of them come up and slip their hand in mine, having campers seek me out to tell me about their heroes (and sometimes having them tell me that I'm their hero), sweet moments with summer staffers at meals, seeing many boys and girls receive Christ as their Savior, beautiful sunsets... the list could go on and on.

My heart is full of these treasures.  It has been a wonderful summer.