The Spirit That Draws...

Day 18 Doxology: If you've been keeping score then you might be a bit disappointed at the lack of post for this year's Doxology Moments.  In truth, it has never been more difficult than it has been this year.

Speaking of this year, I have had the pleasure of assembling an amazing team to help with all the many needs that Camp demands, but with every great team there is a weakness.  Our weakness is the lack of team members.  We need assistants for our food services, our maintenance, and housekeeping.  We have great leaders in place, but need personal to handle the volume of needs.

Speaking of the volume of need, we serve a 1700 acre facility with 70 aging facility buildings along with an infrastructure of water and sewage that was established in the 50's and 60's.  We struggle with the discernment as to how to do this simple things like...cut water off at a certain location; and how to move water away from this buildings; and how to plan for future growth!  In short, growth will never happen without passionate people!

Today's doxology is about a person that has spent his personal time at Camp repairing, mending and shaping Camp for the future.  This person, like you and so many, have the means to be anywhere else on a Monday and Tuesday but decided to spend it here...at Camp!  My Doxology today is this man, and the reminder of the Spirit that draws people to Camp into service!  We could never provide Christ-like service without you!

You like apples?

Part 2!

 Day 15 Doxology: For sure...if you read yesterday's doxology then you were expecting a glorious "Day 2" at Camp when we at some point would reach a glowing crescendo to "Praise God from whom all blessings flow..."  You know what?  It happened!

Today was a day that we learned about our new smoker -the hot spots and air flow.  As much as I could barely contain my excitement, EG was doubly excited.  We cooked all kinds of foods from sausage links to pizza and everything was better than amazing!  

So our praise God moment, our doxology, is the joy that comes from our senses being revived.  The look of the smoker brings excitement of what can be.  The smell of the smoker tells us that what we think could be...increases our excitement of what is coming.  The taste of the food that is produced helps us join hearts in fellowship of Christ-like hospitality and reminds us that the here and the now, as well as the future, is bright.  

There is a lot of unknown at Camp, but the one thing that this Camp team is certain of...there is a powerful future that we can see, smell, and taste!

Thank you for everyone that helped make this smoker a reality!

 You like apples?

Part 1!

 Day 14 Doxology: Ok!  Today's doxology is for better or for worse a part of my bucket list -A competition level smoker.

Today's doxology feels kind of weak, possibly insensitive. However, I've had the pleasure to serve many churches as a clergy person  in the North Alabama Conference, and a phrase that I've thrown around was "Nothing says I love you like pork!"  Your see, I come from a long line of cookers.  My mom was an amazing cook!  My grandmother was an unbelievable cook! My very best friend and I love to cook for our family!  At times I'm embarrassed at the amount of cookers, smokers and fryers that I've personally invested in! Everyone I know loves to eat, and I love to make them happy!

So, today I announce that Camp has a new smoker.  Our, mine and our Food Service Director's, plan is to love you through our food.  We think that the smell of the smoker and the taste of the product we've lovingly prepared will say you are home!  We believe it's all about the experience that adds to our Christ-like hospitality!  

So, today's doxology...today's Praise God moment... is clearly, powerfully, simply a smoker for you. Sure, it's just a smoker, but it's presence will be felt at Camp for a long time.  When I look at it I will process many things.  First, I will think about our mission of Christ-centered hospitality that I've already mentioned.  Secondly, I will think about Nina Reeves.  The Nina Reeves foundation provided the amazing funding to make this purchase possible.  Her love of camp and her trust of us is over whelming and drives continually! 

Today, we give thanks!  But, tomorrow we cook!   I bet tomorrow's doxology might just be a "Part 2!"

We have so much to be thankful for...are you keeping your list as we move closer to Easter?

You like apples? 

Connectedness

 Day 13 Doxology: I believe we are on uncharted waters!  Are we not?  

A friend sent word to me that she was looking for my post and was concerned that she wasn't searching in the correct place.  I was humbled!  In truth, it only took a weeks worth of days before someone noticed my absence.  I'm pretty clear that God knew a little quicker that I had retreated from may goal.  So I missed many days! I have reasons, but I never stop preparing for Easter!  You hear me LORD?

Today, I had the blessing of returning home before the sun set, or sunset.  This seemed to be a different perspective than weeks before!  

In my search for a Doxology moment to share,  and a time in the woods for a bit of a personal moment...I glanced toward the road from our wood hidden home to recognize something amazing.  What I saw was breath-taken!

In the image that I'm sharing, the details are not clearly visible. What prompted me to take the picture was that I was caught off guard by the flashes of light that reflected off of the strands of the many spider-webs.  It was like sparkles!  They were connecting branch to limb, leaf to stem.

It dawned on me the connections that we have are all around!  Today we are more connected than ever yet more isolated than at any point in history!  Have we taken the time to seek out our brother or sister?  Maybe not, because we don't know what to say...say this, I wanted to say I miss you; I care about you; I love you you; How is it with your soul?...regardless!

I am sharing with you a picture of the sunlight breaking through the woods.  What is not visible is the details of the picture.  I pray that you see the importance of the details of a person's life weather visible or not. There are potentially an interstate of connections that we might never see! 

You like apples?

God's Stronger Than Any Knot

 Day 7 Doxology:  There are many images from my day that I could include for your viewing as a doxology moment!  However, there is one that I will share and for ample reason...the origin of this moment was one of my youth years ago.

My wife speaks often about the number of students that have had children that she now has the pleasure of teaching.  Today I was reminded, I'm not the young person I once was.  

Today, I employed a very competent and capable former youth member of a church where I served to cut down expired trees around camp.  Each tree offered their own level of difficulty, but my guys delivered time and again!

While watching their craft, I was caught off guard by their use of ropes...primarily their use of knots!

How amazing is it that something can be put under such stress, but then easily be broken down only to repeat the task time and again?  Today's image is such a knot.  It was created to guard against a tree falling on my house, my friends, or myself.  However, it was created not as defense, but as an offensive measure.   It was meant to guide!

How many times do we use God as a defense rather than as an offensive measure.  God is like a parent and wants for us the best things in our life.  I wished I could have that mother/son relationship restored that I once had...but I can if only I would include God in my thoughts and plans

Greater than any knot, God is fully capable of any huge stress we can conjure.  When undone, the line seems unstressed...do we not need that for our life?  

My prayer is this...whatever it is you feel is too great, too powerful, too strong for you to handle...the doxology of your day is simple...you don't have to do it alone.  God as a knot that will stand the test of time! And that is absolutely Camp Sumatanga.  

You like apples?

The Potholes of Life!

 Day 6 Doxology: How annoying are potholes?  If you have a nice paved or concrete drive then the stress of potholes is not a part of your world.   However, for those of us that have the pleasure of living in the woods, our "driveway wants" are often more than a Homeowner's Association can deal with.  In short, we hate potholes!

I'm not sure if you've given the pothole dilemma much thought, but they usually start very small.  So small in fact, they are often unnoticeable.  It starts as a low spot, and then over time water gathers then low spots becomes larger and larger.  You see, the low spot gathers a pool of water then the tire of your car drops in the low spot then over time, and it's like a pressure washer blowing the dirt and sediments, out and the hole gets deeper and deeper.  To make this a true doxology moment...It's that way with sin in our life.

What starts out small can grow larger until the next thing you know you're having to replace your front end.  The trick is to grade the high places to fill the low places.  Let that sink in for a moment...Grade the high places to fit in the low places. 

If we can take the low places in our life that are constantly causing us grief and fill them with the high more spiritual moments of our life we've reached a balance that we've never had before!  That's why The Walk to Emmaus is so successful.  The Walk to Emmaus is a 3 day spiritual journey to strengthen the Christian leadership in the local church.  It's an opportunity to fill in the low spots with some high spots!

Take the advice from someone that lives a half mile off the road...fill in the potholes of your life, and not just with anything, but with the right stuff!  You like apples?

Tracks of Our Lives

 Day 5 Doxology: Hope you had a great Sunday?  No, no, it's ok that you missed me and the great literary works of the little "praise God" moments of my day!  You shouldn't feel ashamed...I grow on people!

A bit of warning...today's doxology is deep.  Not like that, like this...deeeeeeeep!  Which was how bad a 26,000 lb. truck was stuck trying to get up the hill toward our maintenance area.  Just like everything else you try to do here at Camp; you try to do the simplest thing and you have to fix 4 things before you can do what you set out to do from the beginning.  I told you it was deep!  Today this young man was just wanting to come identify a simple problem on our skid steer, and because he was trying to do something good for Camp and God, he got stuck! 

Ok, that's not why he really got stuck, but sometimes it just feels like your life consist of one step forward and two steps back!  Here's the deep part...But you know, you will get to point in your life and you will look back and you can see the tracks where God was with you all along your journey.  Where it was certain events or people...God is always there!

Now before you starting thinking about that "Footprints In The Sand" stuff...that is not what I am talking about!

For better or for worse we leave stuff behind like footprints...today that is defined as your Carbon Footprint.  The popular, or not so popular, question is how small is our carbon footprint?  Do we burn coal our natural gas?  Do we use alternative power sources such as wind, water, or solar?  I'm not a tree hugger, but sometimes I feel like I should.  I do think that we are having a negative impact on earth.  So the $24,000 question is...how can we live more in line with nature and God?  I believe it is by acknowledging we can have a positive impact of a negative impact on people and nature.  We have to be willing to ask ourselves the hard questions like if a large truck is stuck in the mud, can you hear the sound of as tree falling in the forest?  That's deeeeeep!

Not sure, but I can tell if he get's out or not?  What tracks are you leaving behind?  I pray they're positive!

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