Camp Dwight!!! Day One.

I don't think that any words can sufficiently describe Camp Dwight. Words like: Magnificent, Amazing, Extreme fun, Fellowship, Etc, come to mind, but they just don't cuite capture it.
Rather then just jump around, I'll just tell it in the the order that it happened.
First off, for all you out there who haven't gone to Camp Dwight, or even heard of it I'll give a little back ground. Camp Dwight is a family camp. So the whole family goes. From great-grandpa,(104) to little Baby (3 months). It's a great time of fellowship with other like minded, normal, (complete freak by the worlds standards) christian homeschoolers.
We got there about 3pm on friday so that we would could get a good spot to set our tent up before everybody else arrived. Once the tent was up, we conversed with the Huntfords (who had staked they're claim right next to ours) for a bit and then headed to see who else we wanted to talk too (I forgot to grab my camera so I don't have any photos from the first day, major Oops). After milling around for a few hours enjoying ourselves and waving at the people that were steadily arriving, that glorious dinner bell rang out with a resounding noise, beckoning us to the gazebo where we would take our sup. Diner was a rather interesting taco salad, made with, not tocos, but those thick, almost cup shaped chips. It was REALLY good. I sat with several different people while munching away, talking happily with squires and knights alike who I hadn't seen in several months, and some that I had seen just last week. After dinner everybody started making they're way into the main building for the evening meeting. Mr. Voetburg had heard a man by the name of Jerry Benjamine speaking at some other conference, and liked him so much that he talked to Mr. Johnson about having him come share at Camp. He did come and shared three times, once at each meeting for about an hour. He was really good. His messages were REALLY thought provoking. After the meeting most of the kids started playing carpet ball, foosball, ping-pong, or just talk. Chad Johnson, (Burnells son) decided to do something that I thought was a little funny. He called it "Mingle". It was for all you young singles 18-35, (but I saw several people that I knew weren't quite 18, more like 15) and they all got in a group and then chad would call out a number, and then every body got into a group with that many people in it. I was contented to play carpet ball and talk.
That night Ben, Steven, Judah, Jesse and I slept under the stars out in the exces parking field. After laying there for about half an hour, playing with lights and lasers, it became obvious that we needed to move over about 20 feet to keep from getting run over by cars that were leaving late. I slept soundly, for most of the night.
To be continued, With Photos!

We're Off!!.... Well, almost

CAMP DWIGHT TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited!!! We're all packing stuff into the car (except for me of course, I'm updating all of you, but I will be) I'm hoping Dad will take the netbook so that I can blog while I'm there.
See Y'all there!!!!!

Prequels of something to come, something different this time,

I've ordered something off the Internet, so I thought I'd just tell you what it is... NOT!!! You'll have to wait and see (No hints Peter!). I'm really excited, and just can't wait until it gets here in a few days... OK, maybe I can wait. After all, I don't really have a choice. I'll give you a few hints: It's Small, quite small, it's round, and shiny.
Y'all can try to figure out what it is!! (Except you Peter. You already know)
Until then!
Sir Paul

Exciting Days Ahead!!

I'm really looking forward the the next month!!!! This weekend is the 4th of July, and we'll be going to the Gottshalks or the Boohers to celebrate. Then Ross will be flying in for two weeks!!!Then I turn seventeen (Which is almost as exciting as this next one). Then we have Camp Dwight!!!!!! The BEST three days of the year (I look forward to them more then my birthday)!! Then Ross fly's back (Not looking forward to that one). And then we fly to Pennsylvania for YHEC nationals!!!!
I am super busy right now, as you can guess.
I'm also looking forward to all the great people that I'm going to see at all of these!
Paul

Razor in mouth

I was on facebook last night, and this was one of the ads that came up on the side:

Now to the casual (and possibly public schooled) observer, this would just look like your average razor ad, no big deal. And it wouldn't be a huge deal, except for these six words: "This is NOT your parent's razor!". I took this screen shot right before clicking the little "X" at the top right of the ad and when it asked why I wanted to remove it, I labeled it "Offensive". And it was, to sheltered, home schooled, Christ loving me. I love my parents, a LOT, and would be proud to say "I use a razor that is identical to the one my Dad uses". Even though it's not the newest, or most expensive, or the "Coolest way to shave". It cuts off the little bit of scruff that I have, and that's good enough for me!

But aside from the razor business, what is this ad communicating? 150 years ago most people would have seen the message that they were portraying, other then, "Buy me", They're saying, "You don't need your parents razor, your parents razor stinks!!!! Get this new one that's soooo much better!!!". Now you may say that I'm reading between the lines a little too much, and that that's not what they were trying to say. And on one hand, you would be right, but it's the policy of the matter. They probably would have used a different catch phrase if the culture was one that respected our parents and our parents ideas and ways of thinking. For example, if we lived in a parent honoring society, they might have said something like "Try the best new razor in the US! Your parents will be amazed!

But not so today. Now kids are segregated off to they're respective school rooms at 5 years of age, and from then on taught that they are part of a neighborhood, of a peer group, and that parents are "Old fashioned", and "Out dated". They should go to they're friends for advice, not the wiser generations that have been around for many more years.
Remember Rehoboam (1 kings 12)? What did he do? When the people asked him to lighten they're burdens, he consulted the wise older men, who suggested that he listen to the people. Then his friends or "Peers", and they said he should make they're burdens heavier. And what happened to him because he listened to his friends? He lost almost all of Israel.

So let us honor, respect and love our parents, with all our being. With out your parents, there is no you! Thanks Mom and Dad!!! Love you!

Prequels of something to come

Well I just thought I'd let all y'all (curtsey of Audra - the all y'all thing) that my friend Peter and I are scripting out the... um... script of a short movie! It's going to be about the the kids do while Dad and Mom are out of town, and all that ensues.

Working for God

Yesterday my older brother and I went to home group, which by far, is my highlight of the week. We hade a meeting, followed by a potluck dinner with a few hours of fellowship with likeminded believers! It's such an encouragement to talk to others that share my faith and worldview.

So I was talking to Rudi (Father of six), well, actually he was talking to another father, and I was listening. He was talking about George muller and how he (George) relied on God for his financial needs. So as Rudy was talking about this, I asked how one would know when he was to wait for God to supply the money for whatever the need was, or when one should just go out and make the money (As in work for it. Not counterfeiting). What he then said really stuck with me.
He said that we don't work to make money, we work to further the kingdom of God. When we view work, be it our usual job or working for a neighbor, or even sweeping the floor, as our God given task, He will supply our needs. That totally changes the reason for which work. We go from working for the money to working for God.
I think of Adam in the garden of eden. "And the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden, to dress and keep it." (Genesis 2:15) God gave Adam a task: to take care of the garden, this was his work. Now God could easily have taken care of the garden himself, but he gave charge of it to Adam.
So when we're working, we ought to view it as a task from God: "And whatsoever you do, do it heartily, as unto the Lord, and not to men." (Colossians 3:23)
So basically, when you are about Gods business, he will take care of your finical needs. Take George Muller for example, he was taking care of orphans, not a very lucrative occupation. But the Lord blessed him and provided for his needs.

The Forest from the Trees

Last night, my Beautiful Mother and I were filling the car with gas and My Dad's work, and we saw a bunny over in the grass near one of the buildings. It didn't look like a wild rabbit, more like one that you would see at a county fair. So I slowly walked over to it and bent down with my hand outstretched. The bunny skeptically hopped closer and closer until it was sniffing my hand. I then tried to reach out a little farther to pet it's head, in doing so I scared it and set it to running. After it started hopping away, Mom lamented that it was to bad that I wasn't able to catch it, as she thought it didn't have much of a chance in a truck yard. So we got back in the van and right after we started moving, something in the headlights moved. I looked closer and saw that it was a baby bunny, two of them! "I'm glad I wasn't able to catch her," I said, "she's probably they're mother".

Now your probably wondering, "Why is he talking about a bunny?" but hang with me, there is a point to all this.

When the bunny hopped away from me, my first thought was "That's a bummer, I don't think she'll make it out here for very long", but when we got in the car and switched on the headlights, we saw the baby bunnies. So if we had caught the Momma bunny, the babies probably wouldn't have made it. When she ran away, I was looking at one tree, thinking "Phooey". But when we saw the baby bunnies, we saw the forest; the bigger picture.
When something happens that we don't particularly enjoy, the usual first reaction is "Why?", when it should be "What's the bigger picture here?". Often we will only think about how this effects us rather then how it's going to effect others. We hone in on the situation, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but we need to periodically step back and look at the bigger picture.

Paul

Greetings!

Hello there! And Thanks for checking out my blog. I hope you find it uplifting but also challenging. My purpose for this blog is sort of an outlet for all my ideas, thoughts, and what I think about politics, the Bible, child raising (I am one and am being raised so that might mean I have a good perspective on it or it might mean I still have a long way to go) Etc. So I probably (surely) won't be correct on everything all the time but I hope to be more often then not. So feel free, nay, feel encouraged to comment, tell me if you agree or if  I'm wrong.
Until next time, whence I will talk a little bit about the name of this blog and why I chose it.
Paul