Back to church!

As you kick off the new school year, let this video inspire you to get back into church! ...Or to sing your way into church on Sunday. 

 

Keep calm and camp on...

Camp has come to an obvious end because it's SO quiet and calm around here. I walked across camp today and all I wanted was to run across the field giving high fives and cheering with all the cabins as they hike across camp. I longed to ride the famous torpedo one more time, go to one more Pow-Wow (...or Pow-Meow, Pow-Cow...you get it), or wave my napkin in the air at meals to 'Wavin' Flag' one last time. 

I guess it's obvious that we miss our campers and our summer staff. I was reminded that as fun as it would be to make camp year round, I would get too comfortable. Jesus calls us to "go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation" (Mark 16:15) I pray as you are back at home, in your schools, on your sports team, as you are a part of band, or whatever it is you do...that your words and actions would be the love of Christ to the world. Jesus is with you wherever you are and wherever you go. It's good to go out into the world and live for Christ. But I can't wait to do this all over again with you next summer...2013 comin' at ya!

Mustard Seeds.

Have you ever seen or held a mustard seed? They are some of the smallest of all, but the really cool thing about them is that they are considered a symbol of faith. 


One day, Jesus was talking to his disciples when one of them turned to him and said, "Lord, increase our faith." Jesus answered and said, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you." Can you imagine what it would be like to have that kind of faith?

I heard a story about a man who read this verse in the Bible and decided to put it to the test. There was a large tree in his front yard, so he went out to that tree and said, "In the morning when I wake up from my sleep, I want you to be gone." That night the man went to bed. When he woke up the next morning, he went to front door, opened it, and looked out into his front yard. "Just as I thought!" the man said. "It's still there."

Well, first of all, the man didn't have mustard seed sized faith, did he? In fact, he didn't have any faith at all. When he told the tree to be moved, he never expected it to happen. In the second place, I think that the man misunderstood what Jesus was trying to teach his disciples.

Jesus was not suggesting that you and I go around trying to move trees just to prove that we have faith. What Jesus was trying to teach his disciples -- and what he wants you and me to learn -- is that it doesn't take a great faith to produce great results. Why? Because the results don't depend on us, they depend on God. If the results depended on the size of our faith, I have no doubt that we would probably go around bragging about our great faith.

Such a good reminder to not ask for a great faith so that we can do great things -- ask for faith the size of a mustard seed so that we can see God do great things! Father, we pray for mustard seed sized faith. 

Help us to believe and never doubt your power! 

If you smell what I'm cookin'

This morning, when he got off the bus, my roommate stepped in a mysterious puddle. The biggest clue he has as to what this was a puddle of was the scent of his shoe afterwards. He never took the time to find out what exactly the puddle was made of because his shoe smelled so bad he decided he didn't care.

Smell tells you a lot about something. Have you ever tried to eat something that smelled terrible? You'll gag, trust me.

There's a cookie shop I go into from time to time that immediately causes salivation in my gums because I can smell the cookie dough baking the second I walk in the door. As I've previously stated, I think that the cookie dough is WAY better tasting than the cookies themselves, so I always ask the person at the counter if I can have a little. Every time I know the answer will be no, because, as they've told me on many occasions, health code prevents them from serving the cookie dough because it contains raw eggs. But I still ask every single time I'm there. It smells that good.

In 2 Corinthians 2:15, The Bible says that we are the aroma of Christ to the world. God makes us the very scent of his son when we know him. He'll use you to spread the fragrance of his love to the world.

Or you can work against him and act like a smelly puddle while you claim to know Jesus. In this scenario, people will never bother to get to know Jesus because they'll associate him with the scent you're casting, just like how my roommate never bothered to found out what was in the puddle he stepped in. Nobody will care. If it smells bad, it probably tastes bad too.

But if you draw near to Christ and live a life of sincere love for him and the people you know, people will constantly ask what's so different about you and how they can get some of whatever it is you have (just like me when I smell cookie dough).

You're actions will show that you understand how much God loves you. And then people will be like this:

Sea Shells

At any given time, I would rather be at the beach than where I am. Even awesome times would only be more awesome on the beach. I've made several road trips to Galveston, which a lot people tell me is a gross beach that isn't worth the drive, but I go anyways because a gross beach is still better than no beach in my opinion.

Maybe heaven is like the beach. I don't know. Maybe it's like the mountains. Maybe it's like Saturn. I have no idea. Here's what I do know, though. Heaven is not the beach. It's not the mountains. It's not anywhere on Earth or in the universe (sorry, Saturn). 

We get confused about two things about heaven. 

1. That it's comparable to things we know now.

2. That all the cool things to do there will make us happy.

What heaven truly is is our home. It's where we were meant to be. The world we live in is a shell of a home for us. Even the coolest parts couldn't satisfy us forever.

I used to think that in heaven Pokemon would be real. I know someone who once told me that he thinks heaven has a guy doing five back flips on a dirt bike over a Coke machine. Maybe those things exist in heaven, but if they do, I don't think we'll care. The true sweetness of heaven will be finally being able to be around God. Think of it like when someone who's really special to you is around (maybe your grandma, maybe your big brother). You have such a great time just from being around them. They don't even have to do anything, they just have to be there. Being in heaven with God will be like that, but magnified roughly five gajillion times. We'll be complete at last. 

Get hype. He loves you.

Schmergen Dergen Blurgen Blu

"Finkle dinkle doo, romper bomper stomper boo."
-Abraham Lincoln.

The above quotation is the opening sentence of the Gettysburg Address translated into gibberish.

Do you speak gibberish? Of course you do! Everyone does. If you don't know how, all you have to do is make up words and say them. It's the best language ever. Try it, it's fun! I once spoke gibberish for three straight hours.

Gibberish is wonderful, but it often suffers as a means of communication due to the fact that nobody can understand what anyone is saying. Everyone has their own distinctive dialect, and very few words translate directly. Though it is fun, gibberish is one of the most useless forms of speaking.

Speaking in gibberish is kind of like living a life without love. In 1 Corinthians 13:1 it says that being able to speak in every language (that includes languages of men and angels, even gibberish) is like being a loud, annoying cymbal without love. It makes everything you say and do useless and futile, because you've missed the point of life.

God put us on earth for two reasons. Simply to love him and love people. Everything else is meaningless, but sometimes other things seem like they matter more. Check in on yourself from time to time and make sure you're not forgetting how much love matters.

I would like to close with a message from one of our most well respected professors in Gibberish Linguistics, The Swedish Chef.

Memories, oh the memories

When I was a camper at Sky Ranch, I always came on the Fourth of July week. My dad knew how to party on The Fourth, as our garage had a cardboard box that was designated as a stockpiling spot for sparklers and Roman Candles, so if I were going to pass up an opportunity to light my own fireworks in the backyard and eat pizza with my brothers, it would have to be for something significantly more awesome.

And Sky Ranch always delivered. I think the fireworks at camp are amongst the best in the world. As loyal friend of Mickey, I fear it may hurt him if he ever reads this, but I'm going to type it anyways. I liked the fireworks at Sky Ranch better than the fireworks at Disney World. Something about how close we were to them, it felt so personal and special. A unique privilege that only us Cabin 9 boys were entitled to.

My first firework show at camp was on July 4th, 2001. I was eleven years old when we laid our towels out on the grass by lake and watched was technicolor explosions in the twilight illuminated Skywaii. A girl with braces sat beside me and my brother sat behind me. I'll never forget the glory I tasted in that panoramic view of God's creation. 

I'm sure that everyone reading this has a similar recollection, a time when Sky Ranch felt like home. A moment that God gave to you to keep in your pocket forever, frozen in your mind to be revisited once and a while. These moments are elusive, sometimes they're few and far and between. Sometimes the time between them is like an endless desert. 

Well get exSKYted. Because summer's coming, and God is going to write new stories in your life through and about Sky Ranch. The happy days are here again.

Loss

Anyone ever experienced loss? I know I have. Once I lost an entire sandwich. It was tragic.

But seriously, in life we are often going to come up short. Things that matter to us are going to be taken away. And it hurts bad.

At times when we lose things we love or care about, it can feel like God is a mean kid with a magnifying glass trying to burn all of us ants down here on earth, but I think it's important to remember one thing:

"For though he wounds, he also bandages. He strikes, but his hands also heal."
-Job 5:18 (New Living Translation)

God never destroys for the sake of destruction. He never takes away something from you just because he felt like being a jerk. There is love in everything he does, and if he tears something down, it's to build something better.

And if you're in a time of loss, this ALWAYS helps:

Fulfillment

I've heard it said the journey is far more important than the victory. I believe that is true.

Case and point: Cookie dough.

I have never once in my life had a cookie that I thought was as good as the dough that formed it. And in all honesty, I think that the store bought cookie dough is pure weakness compared to cookie dough made from scratch. It lacks love. It lacks work. It lacks personal flavor.

Yet somehow, even the best cookies just aren't enough to satisfy my cravings. I will always want more. My mother's finest baking efforts last a short amount of time, as I must consume them due to their deliciousness. The cookies that I fantasize about just aren't enough for me. And I want more. Always.

Don't think that any kind of accomplishment or prize will make you feel whole. As people, we will always want more. Some people work their whole lives for something they wanted very bad, and when they finally get it, it all falls flat.

Here's my advice.
1.) Make knowing Jesus your prize. Then you already have fulfillment you can't lose.
2.) Enjoy the journey he takes you on, and work hard at it.
3.) When you eat cookies, don't rob them of their potential by eating them without milk. It's a waste of cookies.

But ya gotta have frieeeends

Everyone likes friends, right? Here are a few examples of legendary friends.

Friends are the people that God uses to make us who we are. They bring out the greatness in us when they care about us. And if we're good friends, we'll do the same for them.

God uses your friends to interfere with whatever it is that is stopping you from living the epic life he wrote for you. If you surround yourself with people who care about you, and you do the same for them, you'd be surprised how stinking cool your life will be.

We can understand God's love through our friends, and they can see it through us. Our actions and words are manifestations of the love he's shown us that people can see and feel.

But be careful, because bad company can corrupt good morals (1 Corinthians 15:33). Ask yourself, "Self, who are the people who are close to me? How do they treat me? How do I treat them?"

You teach people how to interact with you. Teach them love.

Story Time

Hey guys, I'm working on these two stories. Let me know which one you like better.

Story #1: There is a boy who really likes football so he watches it all the time and talks about with his friends. Sometimes he plays Madden on his 360.


Story #2: A young child dreamt of playing football every single moment of his life, but his coach wouldn't put him on the team because he was too scrawny. So he went to the gym and trained every single day, and he practiced passing with his dad after he did his homework, and he ran sprints in the parking lot across the street from his house. Then the next year at try-outs, he absolutely blew the rest of the kids out of the water and got a starting position on the A-Team.


Did anybody like Story #1 better? Think about it for a second. Go ahead, I'll wait. I'm not going anywhere.






Nobody? Didn't think so. The problem with Story #1 is that there are no challenges, no desires, and no passions. The main character doesn't even really do anything. He just fantasizes about what might be.

Now ask yourself, "Self, does my life look more like Story #1 or Story #2?" I know that most of the time, mine looks more like the first one. Boring.

Let me tell you something, God is a master storyteller and he has the most excellent, epic adventure waiting for you if you'll just let him write it. That doesn't mean there won't be challenges. What story would Peter Pan have if it weren't for Captain Hook getting in his way? Would Toy Story 3 have been very exciting without Lotso the Bear?

Don't let the life you live be meaningless. Live an amazing story. Chase destiny.

Whenever you're doing something, ask yourself, "Am I writing this story, or is God?" The more you let God do it, the more awesome it will be.

The moral of this story is: never trust a bear that smells of strawberries.

Taste Greatness

I am a total nerd nugget
It's totes true, and I'm not ashamed. I collect action figures, I break down movie scripts into their five key story beats for fun, videos exist of me quoting along with The Parent Trap, and I recite trivia about fake sports out loud to keep myself awake on long drives. I used to keep this information to myself, in fact I even kept it from myself. For years I denied myself the privilege of purchasing items that were "uncool" because I convinced myself that I didn't want them anymore. If you think I was lying to myself, you win a free milkshake next summer. Maybe.

Anyways, when I'm surrounded by people who constantly tell me the things I do are stupid, I notice that I start to believe them, and I become a little bit ashamed of myself. I don't like being me anymore. I just want to be someone else.

Do you ever feel the same? Perhaps you'll take comfort in this fun fact: All of those haters are WRONG. God made you exactly the way you are on purpose. Not to say that we're perfect and never need change, but the very essence of your being (a combination of things like your passions, your joys, your sorrows, your skills) was carefully crafted by God himself, and he hand-picked you to do whatever it is you do. Maybe it's being a football player, maybe it's being a musician, or maybe it's just giving the best hugs in the history of hugging. Nobody in the world can do exactly what you do the way God wants it done. Otherwise, he wouldn't have made you. Don't believe me? Check the facts.

"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you."
-John 15:16


The fruit stuff may be a little confusing. It's not a literal fruit, but a metaphorical fruit. Think of bearing fruit as getting the job done. And the job is spreading God's love. Jesus has work for you in the world that you were custom made to do. So go do that trash and love it!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hey Sky Ranchers! 

Happy (belated) Valentines Day! I read an incredible story this morning about one of my faves, Justin Bieber. I know, I know - some of you aren't big Bieber fans (my husband is one of them - why? I have NO idea!), but whether you are a fan or not this is a neat, inspiring story!

To sum up what he did...Justin Bieber flew to New York to make a little girls Valentine's Day. She is battling a rare form of brain cancer but something that often cheers her up is listening to Bieber's music. He heard of her story and spent Valentines Day hanging out with her, playing board games, and eating cupcakes. He later tweeted that it was one of the best things he's ever done.

This story reminds me to live like Jesus did, to walk as He walked. I am reminded to think of other people before myself, to care about what Jesus cared about, to love people the way He loves people. 

Thank you Justin Bieber for thinking of other people and making a little girls Valentines Day!

"Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others" 

-Phillippians 2:4

Pardon the Interruption!

What startles you? Do you jump when you get scared? Well, Sky Ranch got a tuba for summer 2012...(I know, aren't you so excited for that?!) This is what happens when the Summer Camp Team gets a tuba and some time on their hands! 

I was thankful to be on this side of the scheme...I get scared VERY easily! I did have the hiccups later that day and definitely thought about having Malcolm scare me to get rid of them, but that wasn't needed :)

Goodbye for now - we're going to go practice the tuba because we have no tuba skills.

How Great Is Our God!

A few of us from Sky Ranch had an amazing opportunity to travel to Atlanta, GA to kick off the New Year with some of our summer staff...as well as about 45,000 other people! In case you wondering what 45,000 people looks like here is a picture...

I couldn't even get them everyone in the picture, but yes, all of those people loving God and singing praises to Him about how great He is! The conference was at the Georgia Dome where crowds roar while football is played and touchdowns are scored, but this time 45,000 people were gathered for ONE person & ONE purpose: Jesus.

I wanted to post one of my favorite moments from the week. This is a recording of the live version of the song 'How Great Is Our God' and you've probably heard this song before, but this time people from at least 6 different nations sang together in their native language. It was such an amazing glimpse of what Heaven will be like!

Can God Make a Rock So Heavy Even He Can't Lift It?

by. Jared Wilson

I remember when I first heard this bit of immature atheistic reductio ad absurdum. I was in high school, and I didn't respond to it because the Nirvana-shirted, long-banged drama stud who said it didn't say it to me. He was laying it on his friend like it was theist's kryptonite.

My answer then, steeped in C.S. Lewis as I was, would have been along the lines of the nonsense of the question as framed. It is a rhetorical and hypothetical "gotcha" with no sincerity behind it, and in any event, it is sort of like asking, "Does the number nine smell red or yellow?"

My answer today is different. My answer today would not be to skewer the nature of the question but to inject its insincerity with the sincerity of God and all the weight of the gospel.

The truth is that God did make a weight so heavy he couldn't lift it. He did so not by building an immovable force -- we did that with our sin -- but by incarnating the frailty of humanity and willingly subjecting himself to the force. As one of us, yet still himself, he created the conundrum of the incarnate God, bearing a cross he both ordained yet could not carry by himself, becoming condemned in death and also victorious. And God was crushed according to the plan he himself projected from the foundation of the world.

So, can God make a rock so heavy even he can't lift it?

Yes. And he did. For three days only. And then he drop kicked it out of the mouth of the tomb.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Can you believe it's 2012? The most exciting thing to me about entering into a new year is that my focus naturally turns to SUMMER. The countdown begins....and before we know it...it will be time for summer 2012!!!! I hope you are as excited as I am. I thought I would share this video with you that we often played last summer during Pow-Wow and meals!

Enjoy! Bam Bam Bam Bam Bam Bam! 

Let the countdown begin...145 days until we open the gates to kick off summer 2012!