It is summer camp time!!  If you have followed my blog at all you know that summer camp is an important part of who I am and my call to ministry.  I spent eight wonderful summers going to Camp Calumet as a kid, I spent another nine fabulous summers as a counselor/senior staff person at Camp Calumet.  Then during some time off from college I spent three years on the year round staff at Calumet.  All very important in my life and I had many life changing experiences at Calumet.  I also have a great group of friends from Calumet as well.

It is no surprise that as a pastor outdoor ministry is high on my priority list.  Five months into my call I recieved a letter from the Bishop’s office asking me to prayerfully consider serving on the Vanderkamp (local Lutheran/Presb camp) board.  After some conversations with colleagues and after some prayer I decided this was something that God was calling me to do.

So I have been serving on the Vanderkamp Board of Directors for about a year and a half, and I really enjoy it.  I am able to help formulate positive camp experiences for youth in our synod.  I also came back recently after directing a confirmation camp at Vanderkamp for youth in our conference.

But none of that excites me more than seeing my son excited to start his time in camping ministry.  This past Sunday we dropped of Cheese wiz at camp for his first week as a camper at Vanderkamp.  Now this would not of happened if we were in New England.  As much as I am excited for him to experience Calumet and do the same things that I did when I was a camper/staff person.  Calumet does not allow kids to come to camp until they are eight years old.  Vanderkamp allows kids to come as early as six.

He was counting down the days before he went to camp.  We got there on Sunday and he was ready to go.  In the picture to the right he is holding his bear so he can sleep with it at night.  He packed his drum sticks so he can play in the band, he packed his bathing suit and goggles to go swimming and he was very excited to do some boating.

I had mixed emotions on Sunday.  I was sad because I knew that I was going to miss him.  But I was so excited for him.  I know the lasting impact camp has had on my life and I know that it is going to have a lasting impact on his life as well.

This will be the first of three camp experiences for Cheese wiz.  The next will come at the end of July when my parents will take him and my daughter and my brothers children for a week at Camp Calumet.  Then at the end of August we will take our yearly family vacation with friends at Calumet as well.   Our summer will end Labor Day Weekend when we will be at Calumet for the 90′s staff reunion which I will serve as chaplain.

I hope that my son finds as much joy and excitement as I did in his camping experience.  I hope that he sees God working in the camp and in his life as I did growing up.  Even if he chooses not to be on summer staff at Vanderkamp, Calumet or any of the other camps that are out there, I hope he holds these memories close to his heart, because I will never forget the look of excitement, wonder, and love that were in his eyes after I dropped him off on Sunday.

I am a big fan of the blog Ragamuffin Soul.  It is written by worship leader/songwriter Carlos Whittaker.  He has some great stories, he is also a man of faith and a faithful family man.   He posted a video on his blog that I would like to share. The story is that he was out filming a video for one of his albums.  He was playing his guitar and singing when a homeless man came up to him and started to sing and to worship with him.  It just goes to show that you never know when the Holy Spirit will show up.  Click here to read more about what Carlos has to say but first Enjoy the video…..

Popout

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDmibnRyhj4

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GA8z7f7a2Pk

Those of you who came to see a video of me dancing might be disappointed.

But there is a video I would like to share with you that has been making it’s way around the internet.

The video is from the 2009 Sasquatch Music Festival.  It is of a man dancing.  Now that by itself  might not be news.  However, the dancing man is suddenly joined by someone else and before you know there are hundreds of people dancing.  If you don’t believe me check the video out!

This video has been called inspirational, this video been described as a way to promote perseverance and determination within us all.  The reviews I have read have been right on.

But I see something else in this video.

I see this video revealing something about our society in general. I think we as a society are still too quick to judge someone because of who they are, what they look like or things that they might do. For example, the man in the video is not a good dancer, we expect him to fail, we expect him to feel embarrassed by his actions and to sit down.  It reminds me of Susan Boyle, who walked on stage and was almost booed off until she started to sing; and now she is an international star.  We too often look at someone, quickly judge them and then we are surprised when they produce something good.

It doesn’t matter if the person is too fat or skinny, too white or black- or anything else that we use to judge someone it is not right.

This happens in the church as well.  In too many congregations we are quick to judge if “they” walk into “our” church not dressed the way we would like them to be or not act like we think they should.  We start to push them away before we really get to know them and accept them as a child of God.

My prayer is that we can look past that and see who is on the inside. Or like the man in the video – if we think we are not being treated fairly because of what we look like or how we might act in certain situations, that we can keep dancing and doing what we think is right until the crowd starts to follow us.

Don’t Quit

Author Unknown

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won if he’d stuck it out.
Don’t give up, though the pace seems slow -
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man;
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor’s cup,
And he learned too late, when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out -
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are -
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit -
It’s when things seem worst that you mustn’t quit.

The Cold Within

Six humans trapped by happenstance in black and bitter cold. Each one possessed a stick of wood or so the story’s told. Their dying fire in need of logs, the first man held his back, for of the faces round the fire, he noticed one was black. The next man looking cross the way saw one not of his church, and coulden’t bring himself to give the fire his stick of birch. The third one sat in tattered clothes, he gave his coat a hitch. Why should his log be put to use to warm the idle rich? The rich man just sat back and thought of the walth he had in store. And how to keep what he had earned from the lazy shiftless poor. The balck man’s face bespoke revenge, as the fire passed from sight. For all in his stick of wood was a chance to spite the whites. The last man of this forlom group did naught except for gain. Giving only to those who have was how he played the game. Their logs held tight in death’s still hands was proof of human sin. They didn’t die from the cold without, they died from the cold within.

When I was born, I was black
When I grew up, I was black
When I am sick, I am black
When I go out in the sun, I am black
When I am cold, I am black
When I die, I will be black
But you….When you are born, you are pink
when you grow up, you are white
When you get sick, you are green
When youare out in the sun, you are red
When you are cold, you are blue
When you die, you turn purple
And you ahve the nerve to call me colored

Nicole B. Age 12, Miami, FL

Great things to think about. I do not have any authorship. If you know who they belong too let me know.

Self- Affirmations

I belive I am

A unique and precious human being.
My own best friend and my own worst enemy.
A loveable and Loving person.
Capable of realizing my potential.
Self-Respecting.
Responsible for my own behavior.
Learning from my mistakes.
Creating a joyful life.
An important part of the universe.

God’s Rainbow

The falling rain dissolves into mist
And the thunder begins to die
As the sporadic lightning fades
An arch of colors pours from the sky

Rainbows appear after mighty storms
When things look their worst
Just when the skies are darkest grey
Out of heaven does the rainbow burst

God first sent the rainbow to Noah
As a sign that His word is true
The rainbow’s eternal message
Still speaks to me and you

The rainbow is a sign of God’s promise
That he will guide us through any storm
No matter what their form

When you feel battered by life’s storms
And you are filled with doubt and dismay
Just remember God’s rainbow is coming
For its blessing you have only to pray

I wrote this a few years back. It is my attempt at writing like Dr. Seuss:

Tale of Two Towns
The Thuzzlewaps live next to the Muzzlewaps town,
They run and they jump all dressed up like clowns.
Then one day the Thuzzlewaps were mad;
They wanted something they could not have.
The kids of the town wanted to play on some slides,
To swing from bars, to soar and to glide.
The Muzzlewaps kids they could slide all day
“Your kids can’t come over,” The Muzzlewaps would say.
“This is not fair,” the Thuzzlewaps yelled
As all of their spirits suddenly fell.
“We need to get even to settle the score,
Friends of the Muzzlewaps we are longer no more.”
So they planted some flowers and planted some trees,
The Thuzzlewaps town the Muzzlewaps could not see.
They fought and they talked and they talked and they fought.
More and more trees the Thuzzlewaps bought.
The Muzzlewaps yelled from the top of their shacks
“We will cut down those trees with our tree cutting packs!”
The Thuzzlewaps said “these are our trees not yours,
We will not let you come over here any more!”
Pretty soon the trees covered the town,
No more did anyone dress up like clowns.
The elders got together they fought and they swore
Then a small boy said, “Let’s not fight anymore.”
“I wish you would not be so angry and mad;
I wish we all could be happy and glad.”
“Let’s stop this fighting and cut down the trees,”
He said while begging and adding the word please.
The feeling between the two towns was much better,
“Let’s build a big playground,” they shouted together.
They cut down the trees with the tree cutting packs;
Together they built a playground with no holes or cracks.
It was big enough so everyone could play,
The Thuzzlewaps and Muzzlewaps kids played all day.
After awhile things were just like before,
They made a promise that this would happen no more.
They agreed “no more tress between the two towns”
Once again they were happy and there were no frowns.
The Thuzzlewaps and Muzzlewaps continued to play
They would not fight for the rest of their days.

Winner’s Circle Network with Lou Tice – 10/10/07 – “Taking Risks”

Do you consider yourself a risk-taker? I think you probably are, and I will
tell you why.

In one of his books, Leo Buscaglia wrote that, “To laugh is to risk
appearing a fool, to weep is to risk appearing too sentimental, to reach out
for another is to risk involvement, and to expose feelings is to risk
exposing one’s true self.

“To place your ideas and dreams before the crowd is to risk their loss, to
love is to risk not being loved in return. To live is to risk dying, to hope
is to risk despair, to try is to risk failure.

“But all risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk
nothing.

“The person who risks nothing also does nothing, has nothing, is nothing. If
we avoid risk we may avoid suffering and sorrow, but we simply cannot learn,
feel, change, grow, love or live.”

I would agree with Leo Buscaglia. If, out of our fears, we refuse to risk,
we also forfeit our freedom because only a person who risks is truly free.
And, only a person who risks can grow, because all personal growth involves
risk.

If you stay focused on the benefits of the risk, instead of putting all your
energy into worrying about what could go wrong, and if you consistently
affirm and visualize what success will look and feel like, it will be much
easier for you to take the risks you need to take in order to grow and to be
the best you can be.

Lou Tice
The Pacific Institute

Everyone seems to have their day when they have a certain theme for a post. I love stories so I think Sunday’s (or maybe Saturdays’) I will post a story. It might be from my past, a story that I have heard or it might be something that I have come across online or during my years of camp ministry. Here is my first one — I got this from my Shaklee Master Coordinator Bob — I think it is a good lesson for us all.

God’s Coffee

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups – porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite – telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: ‘If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.

Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups… and then you began eyeing each other’s cups.

Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of life we live.

Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us.’God brews the coffee, not the cups………. Enjoy your coffee!’

‘The happiest people don’t have the best of everything. They just make

the best of everything.’

Live simply.

Love generously.

Care deeply.

Speak kindly.

Leave the rest to God.

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups – porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite – telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: ‘If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.

Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups… and then you began eyeing each other’s cups.

Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of life we live.

Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us.’God brews the coffee, not the cups………. Enjoy your coffee!’

‘The happiest people don’t have the best of everything. They just make

the best of everything.’

Live simply.

Love generously.

Care deeply.

Speak kindly.

Leave the rest to God.