Lessons from the Lows

So, here it is: my first “serious” blog about camp. And Dad told me that my last post was too long, so I’ll try to make this short and sweet.

One of the activities I told you about was the high and low ropes’ courses. I wrote about a couple of the challenges in my previous post, so I won’t be redundant and do it all again. You can go back and read that post again, if you need to.

The lesson of the low ropes, though, was pretty simple – even if the course itself wasn’t. (I tell you, I have never in my life been that sweaty.) The lesson was this:

Teamwork is important – no, vital – to the life of a Christian. When we were trying to get from one platform to another, we had to rely on teamwork to figure out how to get across, and how to not fall off. When we were going through the “spider web” net, we had to rely on teamwork to decide who went through what hole, and who went in what order, and – of course – we had to rely on each other, and trust each other to get through. (Be sure, it takes trust for an adult group-leader to put herself in the hands of a bunch of high-schoolers and let herself be maneuvered through a two-foot-space high above our shoulders. Ms. Pam rocks…)

It took teamwork to cross the “mohawk” trail (the balance-on-the-wires challenge) and it took trust that the “spotters” in front of, and behind you could catch you if you started to fall.
In the church, it takes teamwork to get things done. Right now, our church is getting ready for VBS, and let me tell you – it takes teamwork to get everything together and running smoothly.
Something else about teamwork – it needs leaders. I’ve always thought of myself as a leader, but on the low ropes’ course? Not so much. It was the people who knew what they were doing, and how to do it best that turned out to be our leaders. Lesson learned: don’t lead unless you know what needs to be done.

Jesus said “Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit." (Mat 15:14 ESV)

Now, this is a little out of context – he was talking about the Pharisees, who claimed to lead the people of Israel, but were really just hypocritical “guides” who didn’t know where they were going either.

But the principle still applies. If one blind man leads another, and the seeing man just watches from the sidelines…it’s not going to be pretty. If the inexperienced, the unknowledgeable, the amateurs try to lead the way, while those with experience stand in the wings, not a whole lot is going to get done. Let those people who have sight – learning, wisdom, knowledge – lead. If that’s you – than you lead!

Now, one more modifier.

While our leaders – for example, say Keisha, Tom, and Mike – knew what they were doing, and led well and ably; they were also perfectly willing to listen to other people’s ideas. They didn’t just turn up their noses and say “Humph. We know how this works. You just hush and watch a master.” No, they listened. They were prepared to let untried novices (like yours truly) interject ideas and comments, and were agreeable to putting them into action.

In “real life” this means that leaders don’t always know what’s best. They need to be ready to take input – sometimes very good input – from those who don’t really have a clue, but just might have a good suggestion.

Anyway, that’s my lessons from the low ropes. This was supposed to be a blog on both the low ropes and the high ropes; but I kind of got carried away. We’ll save the high ropes for another day, alright?

Oh, and btw: I hope to be getting some camp pics from my aunt soon. When I do, I’ll try and post some of them here.
‘Til later,

~Trav

Camp Rocks!

I just got back from a totally amazing extended weekend camp. It was so cool, I hardly know where to start, but I really want to blog about it. However, this is just going to be a quick overview. I hope to do a more in-depth blog or two about what I learned later. So here goes:
We left on Thursday, from my uncle’s church. (“We” is I, my brother Nathanael, and my cousins Michael and Rachel.) We drove for about three hours to the camp, filling three church vans with youth and leaders, and doing everything from telling scary stories and scaring gas station attendants, to singing old camp songs and laughing our heads off the whole way. J
When we got there, it was dark, so we couldn’t really see much; but the cabins were super nice and clean, and we all got settled in for the night fairy easily.
The next day, the fun started.
8:30am was breakfast – which, btw, this camp had the best food I’ve ever had at a camp. No bouncy chicken nuggets or damp sandwiches – this was food. Anyway, after brekkers came our morning worship – “Good morning, Lord!” One of the older leaders gave a devotional, we sang a few praise songs, and went to our private quiet times. After that, we joined up with our age group (we were divided into jr. high girls, sr. high girls, jr. high boys and sr. high boys, just FYI) for “small groups”.
After small groups, it was time for lunch, (make sure you get the GermX!) and more great food.
Ah-ah…and that’s when things got interesting. Float trip! I was partnered with my cousin Rachel, which kinda worked and kinda didn’t. Rachel sort of knew what she was supposed to do, and I had the muscles to do it…but not the knowledge. So instead of a straight canoe ride down the river, we had a ziggy-zaggy, go-that-way, watch-out-for-that-tree!!!! Kind of ride. LOL. By the end of the trip, I was so sore…but it was worth it. Definitely a blast.
When we returned from the float trip, we had dinner, and then another small group meeting before evening worship; and then as our last thing for the day, we had a game time called “Night Glow”. Basically, this was when we got to run around outside doing things like playing “capture the flag” with glow sticks, or playing “I Have Never” inside when it rained, or playing a game that has no title but involved candles and water outside (LOL – we love fire…).
Pretty much, that was our general schedule for the weekend, except that on day two, we had a low-ropes course instead of the float trip, and on day three it was a high ropes course.
The low ropes course was a lesson in teamwork. We had to – as a group – overcome obstacles like a “spider web” of rope that you had to get your teammates through the holes…you’ve probably done something like this. You know; you have to get through either without touching the sides (or in our case, without knocking off a forked stick balanced on the top) and once someone has gone through, that hole is “dead”, and you can’t use it again.
Another test involved three small platforms on the ground, where you had to get your entire group onto the first one, and then using two 2x4s, one about two foot long and the other seven feet or so, get everyone across the second, smaller platform and onto the last one. *Gasp* Yes. I know that was a run-on sentence. Sorry. LOL.
Then there were two that were cables stretched between trees that you had to either balance on as a line of linked people or walk across leaning on another person as the space between you got wider and wider. Sorry if that isn’t making sense – I’m tired. If you need clarification, leave a comment, I’ll explain better later.
Anyway, that was the low ropes course.
The high ropes course involved a high rock wall to climb, a log to walk across thirty feet in the air (!!!) and a zip line. Very cool – again, I’ll have to do a special blog about the zip line and stuff. This was on Sunday, after a really amazing morning worship service.
Then today, Monday, we came home. L I’m sad and happy at the same time – yes, I’m glad to be home, but at the same time, I wish camp could have lasted longer. Not only was it awesomely fun, it was also a major spiritual high – constantly learning, thinking about Christ, and worshiping with fellow believers.
Ooh – let me tell you one story, and then I’ll sign off for now. This almost made me cry.
One of the days, during worship, my uncle was teaching. He asked us to bow our heads and close our eyes, and raise our hands if we knew for sure that we had a relationship with Christ. After a second of absolute silence, except for a rustle here and there, he spoke again, and his voice was a little excited and emotional at the same time. He said; “Look up, and look around, guys. Every single one of you has your hand in the air.”
Everyone looks around, and it was like “Wow. We really are in this together.”
So cool.
Anyway, toodles for now. I’ll post more serious stuff later, but for now, just know that it was an amazing time, and I sincerely hope that it has really made a permanent difference in the lives of all of us who were there.
Bye!

~Trav

Summer Thoughts

Note: I wrote this a week or so ago, and it's not so hot anymore. My point is the same though, so I thought I'd go ahead and post it. Happy 4th, by the way. I'll put a "Fourth of July" poem at the end too.


I am really not a big fan of summer. Let’s just put it that way.
Actually, it might be more accurate to say that I detest summer – at least around here.
Don’t get me wrong – I love swimming and fireworks and barbecue and chasing lightning bugs after dark, but it’s just so hot.
And where I live, it’s wet too. Not just rain; but a thick, sticky humidity that clogs up your lungs and makes moving seem like trying to swim through syrup. The hottest part of the day can be like a sauna, and in an old country house without air-conditioning…bleh.
Well, I guess I shouldn't say that. We have a window unit downstairs to cool things off there – in fact, I’m typing this right now sitting not ten feet from it, and it’s blowing a gracious gift of coolness all over the room. But the thing is, my bedroom is upstairs. On the west side of the house. You know that old saying “rise in the east, set in the west”? Yeah – so I get the afternoon sun.
I lay there at night in my bed, my face stuck into the small pocket of moving air generated by my fan in the window, staring up at the stars through a thick layer of haze, and I wonder: if I ever get married, what are the chances of my talking my husband into moving to Wisconsin? Or better yet – Alaska.
But I’m not writing this just to whine – I actually had a point to this blog.
Psalm 74:17 says: “You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth; you have made summer and winter.”
Summer – much as I may dislike it, and even the oppressive humidity and heat – is a creation of God.
Have you ever noticed, that when it’s cold, we long for the summer, (or at least the spring) and when it’s hot, we wish for the winter? We humans are such fickle things – the grass is always greener and all that. But God has a time, plan and purpose for everything. The well known passage in Ecclesiastes tells us:

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.”
I might add: “a time for heat, and a time for coolness, a time to sweat and a time to freeze”!
But God knows what we need and when we need it, He does “great and unsearchable things”, and “sends the rain on the earth”, the snowstorms across the countryside, the hurricanes through the seas, and the heat into my bedroom. God knows what He’s doing, and even in such insignificant-seeming things as the heat of the summer, He has a plan that He’s ultimately working out.
I may detest the summer, and I’d still like to live somewhere that rarely gets above 80 on a hot day, but it’s great to know that my God cares enough to work even in the small things – like the fact that our house does have cool air downstairs, and that there’s this really great thing called Kool-aid that you can freeze and make amazing Popsicles out of. And if we can trust Him in the small things, shouldn’t we be able to trust him with the bigger ones too?
Now…where’s that Alaskan guide-book..?

~Trav

The Smell of Patriotism
7-5-07

Plumes of fiery feathers
Play upon the night air
With cracklings
And muffled roars
And shouted booms
They sing their song
They only last a few seconds
Then pass into memory’s
Blurred oblivion
Bits of cold, soft stuff
Fall from the sky
Like pieces of a star’s pillow
They land, dead and pale
On my upturned face
Moments ago, they were fire
Living, breathing, shining
Now they lay peacefully
On the palm of my hand
In my hair
On my clothes
Only a dim reminder
Of their former glory
And as a blanket
Of thick smoke covers
The whole land
I think that the smell
Of ashes and powder and sparks
Is the most patriotic smell
That there could be.