CAMP: Part XI

     This year, I don't really know what is happening at SGYC. I know there are about 52 campers, and I know that Steve Long is the pastor (which should be great), but beyond that, I'm not sure.

     Why am I not sure? Because all the GBC youth bailed (though I can understand why), and so I didn't have a way to get up there. Which is frustrating, because Ashland and I had worked out that I would visit on the way back.

     Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 has been stuck in my head recently.

     So this week is much the same as any other this summer. Today's been filled with work, and the family went to visit the DeSpains. Today's articles are high school orientations and city fundraisers, and making PDF files of last week's stories. I Skyped with Amanda, Maya and Ellie for a bit this morning. They were "talking" to Uncle Wesley all the rest of the day, Manda said.

UPDATE 7-27:
     From pictures and Facebook posts, it sounded like it went well.

May Sunday

     It was a hot early-summer Sunday. Or maybe that's late-spring Sunday? It's Oklahoma, hard to know the seasons sometimes. Anyway, woke up about 8 a.m. and walked down to the Claremore Assembly of God. Sat in with the Discover the Word-ish old people again, the three women and two men, they were all glad to see me come back, which was nice. "Can we adopt him?" someone asked, meaning me. "That's a good idea," "Let's!" other folks agreed. Snippet of conversation, which is why I love hanging around older folks: "Hey, Stranger," one of the ladies greets another. "'Stranger'?! Who you callin' a stranger?" "Well, I ain't seen you in a week, so...."
     The sermon was from the youth pastor, since they were recognizing the high school and college graduates today. It was fine, in a bland prepackaged way, full of the usual things that are said to Christian soon-to-be-college-students. Got me to thinking about the paths my generation of the GBC youth group and SGYC campers have gone down over the years.

     Lot of Songs of the Day chasing themselves around today - woke up with the Booth Brothers' "He Saw It All" playing, quickly followed by the Cluster Pluckers' "Weapon of Prayer." Those are gospel, which makes sense, at least - it's Sunday, so I tuned the radio into Big Country's gospel show while getting ready. They weren't playing today, but they often do. Grandpa liked listening to the gospel show, and he and Robbie always watched Gaither specials anytime they were on. Others were Rhett Akins' "Katy Brought My Guitar Back Today," Taylor Swift's "Forever and Always," "Words By Heart" from Billy Ray Cyrus, both versions of Swift's "Enchanted" and Nichole Nordeman's "Legacy."

     After church let out I was ambushed by a middle-aged couple named Jim and Jodie who invited me to have lunch with them. I'm fairly certain they were trying to decide whether to set me up with their daughter the Southwest Baptist nursing major, but it wasn't terribly awkward. They're missionaries in eastern Asia on furlough, and we talked for a while about books, particularly speculating on which modern-day theologians could write passable mystery fiction, in the vein of G.K. Chesterton and Dorothy Sayers. We nominated Phillip Yancey and John Piper as candidates who ought to try it, and maybe R.C. Sproul and Ravi Zacharias.

     I accidentally locked myself out of my apartment earlier tonight, which is extremely embarrassing.

Late April Weekend Update

     Yesterday was extremely rainy and kind of cold. It wasn't very productive, but at least it was good weather to go for walks. (The thinking kind. The best thinking spot here is the front steps of the Will Rogers Auditorium. At NSU it was the third-base bleachers at the baseball field.)
     I prowled through the nature reserve and tried to do homework. Then that night caught a movie called Eight Men Out, about the Black Sox Scandal of 1919. I'd always meant to watch that one, so it was cool to finally see it. Saturday Night Live was a rerun from October where Tom Hanks hosted, the cold open was a Trump-Hilary debate. He has a new movie coming out next week called The Circle, it's kind of a thriller based on a Facebook-like company. And Guardians Vol. 2 comes out in two weeks, which is awesome.

     Woke up today at 8 a.m. with the thought "It's been too long since I went to church." So I ponder for a minute if there's anywhere possible to go to (downside of not really making any connections here). Then I remember that there's some kind of Pentecostal church across the road. That's better than nothing, I suppose. So I walk over to the Claremore Assembly of God, which was interesting. The people there were aggressively friendly in introducing themselves during the service (the guy in front of me shook my hand three times), but Sunday school was all right. The greeter pointed out various classes, saying it was an a la carte type of thing; everyone drifted to whichever study sounded interesting. So I see that there is a group doing First and Second Samuel, which seems hard to get wrong, as it's mostly narrative. (Revelation? Eh...not so much.) The Young Adult class sounded too intimidating and awkward, where a ton of "get-to-know-you" questions would be fired my way and everyone would be staring at me. (In theory, a Young Adults Bible-study group of some kind sounds like a great idea, though. But at least at Grace Baptist, most of that group was part of CCF, which made things awkward. Also I didn't quite trust the leader, though Ryan Galdemez said he was a good guy.)
     So the Samuel study turns out to be three elderly women and two elderly men, which is much better. They ask polite basic questions, then go back to their normal weekly discussion and banter. That's perfect for social interaction in a new situation. And old people conversations are the best to listen to. One of the women says about the Young Adults course, "We used to call it the Young Married Couples class, but, uh....then we sort of ran out of young married couples." The section of Scripture studied this week was from 1 Samuel late chapter 19 to the early part of chapter 22, where David and Jonathan make their arrow-firing pact in the middle of one of the many Saul-David clashes. And in chapter 22 a whole bunch of priests were murdered.
     The sermon was from 2 Timothy 3, the pastor emphasized the "these times are awful!" part and kind of skipped over Paul's  "here are my instructions for you, Timothy" bit. But he stuck to the text a pretty good amount, compared to other Pentecostal services I've gone to. The sanctuary was designed round, like at First Baptist-Okmulgee, so that gave a kind of familiar feeling to it. And the acoustics sounded very good. The worship team played a couple choruses, they were shaky theologically but pleasant to listen to. Then they played "Tis So Sweet," which was really good. The lady on the other end of the pew said she graduated from NSU with a MassComm major, which I thought was interesting.
     It was kind of nice visiting an unfamiliar church where you don't know anyone.

     Because voluntarily meeting new people is exhausting, I immediately take a nap after getting some lunch in the dining hall. So then I decide that since it's a beautiful sunshiny day, I may as well practice volleyball for a while. On the way back I run into some people getting an Ultimate Frisbee game started, they ask me to join. I've played with them a couple times, it's the same kind of thing as at NSU my freshman year. There's a group that gets together a couple times a week to play Ultimate on the soccer field, and occasionally I'll join in, because it's exercise. I played better defense than I usual, got a block or two, threw and caught a couple of touchdowns each, though my team lost three of the four games played.

Old stock picture I snapped freshman year, due to Ultimate Frisbee not being a very common photo subject. 

     The Rockets won today's basketball game, the Thunder managed to lose in their typical stupid way. (It's rough being a fan of a team at times.) The NASCAR race at Bristol was postponed until tomorrow because of rain. I need to wrap up readying a presentation over a serial killer named Edmund Kemper for Psych... And I need to finish an essay about southern gothic lit. It's been a long week. I'm tired.

CAMP: Part X - These Are The Days

     Camp is always different, even though it's always pretty much the same. But the 2016 edition of the Sovereign Grace Youth Camp somehow managed to be very much both alien and familiar. The subtitle of this post comes from a little-known song of Keith Urban's, from his album Be Here. 
     For one thing, families were allowed to stay the week, too; that worked out fairly well, for the most part. All 12-year-olds were able to come again this time, and while it was probably too soon for some campers, others had no trouble adjusting to the rhythms of SGYC life during the week at Beth-Eden.

I snapped this one morning in 2012, but it works well as a stock photo.

     It was a little unclear whether we would even be having camp this year, as only three people had signed up by the deadline. So families were allowed to stay the week as well, which added several more faces to mealtimes. 44 campers signed up total, an even number of guys and girls, which was convenient during the Virginia Reel. 14 of those kids were rookies. Only two of the three wings of the guys' cabin were used, and the girls said that about three-quarters of their bunks were empty. For the Tournament Challenge, only four teams were used, which resulted in a rather awkward restructuring of the schedule, and neither Team Black nor Team Yellow taking part this year.
     From Tulsa, our group consisted of returnees Mattie, Caleb, Trenton and Hope, plus our rookie Seth. Lydia Alpert rode with us, too. Lots of people said that it was just too expensive for what they paid for(especially compared to other camps). The price($170) did seem a little steep for the experience. Others said that they didn't feel like going because none of their friends would be there. That makes sense, though I would say that that's when you go for those younger than you, to make sure that they have a good experience. And maybe people didn't come because they didn't want to listen to Curtis Knapp preaching all week.
     Anyway, other counselors (besides Tim and Terry, obviously) were Tom Henry, Brother Larry, Ryan Butler, his brother Mark, Janets Crawford and Pokorny, Rachel Silverberg, her brother Zach and Abbey Underwood.

     It felt extremely strange that Zach Silverberg and Mark were asking me for directions on what proper counselor behavior and camp etiquette is, though it shouldn't have, really. I was there at Beth-Eden for five years as a camper and then this was my fourth year as a counselor, so I knew the procedures and schedule and all that. More just the fact that I was now in kind of a middle rung, between the pastors and the rookie counselors as far as respect and stuff.
     My and Mark's cabin was very quiet and well-behaved for the most part. Even Strobe wasn't too terrible. Caleb's cabin, patrolled by Ryan and Zach S., was the wild and crazy (and much more fun) one this year. They threw Jolly Ranchers as grenades at each other, had pillow fights and candy stampedes, and I think I heard something about wrestling and push-up contests.

     Another strange thing, though by now it shouldn't be strange at all (and mostly isn't any longer) - The vast majority of my generation campwise is married and/or have kids by now.  I knew this, of course, but I think it was driven home since Amanda's second daughter Elora and Shari's daughter Lucy were born the week before camp started. Kaitlin got married this summer, and Matt got engaged. Jon has a girlfriend now(which is awesome and teaseable), the list could go on for miles - I think there's maybe three folks I knew well who are single. And that's all good. It's part of the stage of young-adult life that we're all at now...but in the beautiful misty morning Missouri light cleaning the showerhouse, it really hits home that we didn't pay attention to Taylor Swift's advice.

     Mom and Mrs. Cox drove us up there, and except for getting slightly lost in Springfield looking for a Casey's, we got there all in one piece without anything strange going on. Uh, well, okay....not quite. Caleb and Hope began a staring contest at the Missouri border, and it ended in a draw thirty-six miles (and twenty-five minutes) later. They're still arguing about Simmons' merits as a character on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and that argument began roughly last November. (FYI: I side with Hope on this one. Simmons is amazing.) The boys also chomped through twelve sticks of gum at a time, for some reason. It looked disgusting. But they had fun.
     There were an overwhelming number of Batmans and Captain Americas for theme night(Superheroes), and Markie won the costume contest, as she has every year that it's been held. I was a S.H.I.E.L.D, agent, since I doubted anyone else would fill that niche. But maybe there was a bit of Hydra lurking around the edges - there always is, on the show. And something just didn't quite add up this year, for some reason. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, exactly. Maybe that the routine was almost too routine; most of us could follow the day's progress in our sleep. It's a nice blend of mental and physical exercise, yeah, but maybe the schedule needs a change.

     Standing in line for lunch one day, Mrs. Boyer complained that she was starving, and wondered why, since she'd eaten breakfast a couple hours earlier. Ryan and I pointed out that we'd all been running all over the place, and keeping Super Alert at the same time, which drains a lot of energy. Courtney asked once we got back what the level of focus was, and so I tried to explain it: About the same as for watching Amy, but multiplied in general by however many campers there are, more specifically divided by gender. End result? That takes a lot of energy.

     Curtis's first sermon was on the Ten Commandments, running through a fire-and-brimstone list of all the ways humanity in general could be sinful. It wasn't quite as squirm-inducing as Jeff Johnson's use-the-Bible-as-a-sledgehammer messages, but it wasn't easy to pay attention to, either. And this was made worse by the fact that the counselors' and visitors' benches along the back wall weren't there. So we had to make several rows of chairs, which helped from a discipline standpoint, but made it harder to get rested, too. (If you look at pictures of previous camp years, the counselors in the background of general sessions always look half-dead, due to the constant focus and hustling from place to place. It doesn't matter how good the sermons are, that's just what happens. You take notes if you're feeling particularly awake.)
     The second sermon was a further listing of further sins, and beyond that I had to look up the subject matter on SermonAudio, because I had forgotten the rest of them. The next two sermons(Tuesday night and Wednesday morning) were titled "The Justice of God in Dealing with Lawbreakers," with a main text of Revelation 20:11-15, and "The Justice of God in the Damnation of Sinners," from Luke 16:19-31, the story/parable of the rich man in hell and the beggar Lazarus. All of those are topics which probably should be taught when appropriate, because they're covered in Scripture, but an audience of teenagers and small children seems like the wrong place for those particular sermons. After the talent share things got a little better, "The Mercy of God in Propitiation"(Mark 14:32-36) and "The Mercy of God in Justification"(Philippians 3:1-9). The final two sermons on Thursday night and Friday morning were on the healing of the paralytic from Mark 2:1-12 and the leper in Mark 1:40-46. From experience, I know that no camper listens all that well on Thursday night because of the anticipation of finding out who won the Tournament Challenge and the book-signing time(and being allowed to stay up late). Then on Friday morning there's the dread of having to pack and leave and not see these people for a whole year.

     Brother Larry's tabernacle group sessions to the 18-and-19-year-olds on the need for righteousness were terrific, based on the one I heard on Thursday. Ryan taught a group session on the need for discernment, which I sat in on in the chapel on Wednesday when he was speaking to the 14-and-15-year-olds. That was a good one, too. Tim's group session message was a lightning overview of the Bible's overall storyline, particularly dealing with the Old Testament. The 12-and-13-year-olds paid a lot more attention to that than they usually do.

     Among the family members attending were Ryan's wife Mandi and their sons Eric and Jonathan. I played a lot of air hockey with the boys while supervising swim-time table tennis, and tried to teach them (and campers) ping pong, with varying degrees of success. The Butlers are still a bit too young to learn the game, but the campers did well. Tim's wife Angie and kids Jenna, Caleb and Ben were also there, along with Curtis' wife Catherine and about a million small Knapps. Noah and Ali Johnson were tagging along for the third year in a row, thrilled about going back to Indonesia in September, and another family from Ryan's church in Arkansas were there, a mother and the two politest kids I think I've ever met. The older boy, Chris, latched on to me just like Eric and Jonathan did. That was kind of fun.
     Among the guys I played ping pong with were Nathan Knapp, Michael Henry, Zach Hill, Nathan Underwood, Ethan Stewart, Jon Kobb and Hunter Bebout. And I taught Christopher Underwood how to add topspin to serves, only later realizing how frightening the results of that could be, being as he's an Underwood, and therefore brilliant by genetics at table tennis.

    Dylan and Grace Underwood came to visit Wednesday night during the talent share, bringing their (adorable) sons along to visit with their (many) uncles and aunts. (Further proving my point about us all growing up, as they met as first-year counselors and were married by the next July.) And naturally, those uncles and aunts dominated the talent share, as Jacob, Brett, Markie and Rosie teamed up as the Dischwood Quartet for a couple harmony-filled songs. Also visiting were Alexa and Zach Hankins; it was great to see them again and hang out for a bit. Autumn Brashers also visited.

     I was in charge of cabbage ball again this year, and that went pretty well. It was only twice that I had to call an automatic out for throwing the bat, and I didn't get anywhere near as much flak for my umpriing calls as I did last year(that I could hear, anyway). And most of that flak was good-natured teasing, not disgruntled bitterness. Mark helped out a lot with close calls at first and second bases, and Ryan watched third base when he had time.
     Mattie, Hope, Lydia, Seth and Trenton's Green team stomped all over Blue 10-2 on Tuesday morning, and Caleb's White team pounded Blue 18-7 that night in Worst/First play. (In other events, Red beat White in three sets on the volleyball court, Blue defeated White 14-7 in ping pong and Red topped Green in both Bible Jeopardy and archery.)
    Wednesday's cabbage ball game was won by Green, 9-3 over White, and other even final scores included Red winning volleyball over Blue, Red winning ping pong over White, and Green defeating Blue in volleyball by a 11-5, 8-11, 11-1 score.
     Thursday's cabbage ball action featured Green soundly thrashing Red 12-1 and then Red crushing Blue (to an embarrassing extent) 10-1. It got so out of hand that at one point when Blue asked me about a possible strategy, since they were trying so hard to catch up and we were rapidly running out of time, I said "You're behind by a million miles. Y'all can do whatever you want!" This caused giggles in the assorted fans watching. Also cheerfully laugh-inducing were Abigail's valiant efforts to inspire her team: "We're Blue, team! Like the sky! See that sky? Millions of people have been inspired by skies just like that one to do amazing things, like paint pictures and compose brilliant music! We can win this game! Team Inspiration!!!!" In other events, White beat Blue in archery, Green beat Red in ping pong, White beat Blue in Bible Jeopardy, and Green beat White in volleyball. This set up a tie for first place, as both Green and Red had six points each.  
     Stats for the Tulsa folks, which I figured up while bored one day once we got back: Mattie was 7-11 with 3 RBIs and three runs scored, Trenton was 9-11 with two home runs - including a grand slam - and four doubles, a triple, 6 RBIs and four runs scored. Caleb was a perfect 7-7 at the plate with an RBI and three runs scored, Hope was 5-7 with two doubles, two RBIs and two runs scored, and Seth was 3-9 with a double and a triple, three RBIs and four runs scored.

     Book-signing time went well, there was a lot of ping pong, several chess matches and games of Jenga, plus lots of scurrying here and there, but not very many pictures. There weren't hardly any taken all week, which was unusual. And there were definitely no Nerf gun fights. Mrs. Boyer ran the girls out of the dining hall about 11 p.m., and I let the guys play ping pong for another hour before switching off the lights about fifteen minutes after midnight. Most all the guys were asleep by one; apparently a couple girls stayed awake talking til four, according to a rather disgruntled Mrs. Boyer at breakfast.

     On Friday morning, while the rest of us munched on cinnamon rolls and finished signing each other's books, the final Bible Jeopardy tiebreaker was given to the teams: Name the seven things Jesus said on the cross. After some figuring, the answers were these: committing His spirit to the Father, asking the Father to forgive the people, asking for Mary to be taken care of, forgiving the thief on the cross, asking for water, wondering why He'd been fosaken, and finally "It is finished."
     Both sides got the answer to this question right. (So did Janet Crawford and Mississippi campers, after Googling on her phone.) So the backup emergency tiebreaker had to be put into play: What were the Hebrew names of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? (Nobody had any clue on this one.) The answer, apparently, was Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. The winners were Green, as they got all three right. So they won the Tournament Challenge this year with seven points, while Red had six, White three and Blue one.

     Some of the rookie campers definitely shouldn't really have been there. Some of the family members  probably shouldn't have been there. But there will always be a couple people like that. Lord willing, they'll have picked up something along the week that will change their behavior. Until then, as a counselor, the best you can do is scribble "You are moderately evil. But I hope you have a good year anyway" in their camp books. And then pray for them throughout the year, as you pray for all the kids.
     You always ask yourself, "Was it worth it? Did I actually make a difference in these kids' lives?" The immediate answer, I think this year, for me, was a resounding "No, you didn't. It wasn't worth it this year." But it is still a worthwhile endeavor, I think; it's just that this year was more about survival, with only 44 campers. Mrs. Boyer and Tom Henry were the only folks from St. Louis; even Robin wasn't there this time. At some point everyone will decide that healthwise they just can't do this any longer. Hopefully some of the younger kids will be back as campers when they're old enough, but the number of participating churches has shrunk over the years, and the amount of kids from each church has plummeted. I don't know what the future holds for SGYC, any more than I know what it holds for me personally. But it's been a wonderful ministry in the past, and the Lord has worked very much through the camp. Looking through all these camp-book signings, as it's literally written cover-to-cover again, maybe I did make a difference. It's hard to tell sometimes.

     Mr. and Mrs. Wilson drove us back to Tulsa, and nothing out of the ordinary occurred on the return trip. We ate lunch at a McDonald's in Elkland, and one of the employees was a man with Down's, which I found interesting and awesome. Enjoyed getting to talk with Trenton while we were eating. As soon as we got home I was finishing my final project for my summer course, and then the following Tuesday Courtney and Mattie left for Florida and North Carolina as they went to see Kerra and go to a new (to us) camp called Snowbird in the Appalachians of western North Carolina, which is something like reformed theology at Falls Creek, from what I've heard. The GBC youth group might go there next summer, if they can raise enough money through fundraisers and stuff. Or they might go to Glorieta, New Mexico. That'll all be figured out over the winter/spring.

###

CAMP BOOK SIGNINGS -

"best counselor ever! :) Michael Henry"

(Anna Knapp's signature)

(Daniel Pokorny's signature)

"Great to meet you, Keegan"

"Hi Wesley! It was nice seeing you this year. - Caroline, Isaiah 55:12"

"Thanks for doing cabbage ball! It is so nice to see you each year! Markie"

"Sup, your awesome. - strooobe"

"Dear Wesley, Thank you for being a counselor for such a routy bunch. I had a good time and hope you did to. God bless, Nathan"

"You are the best referee(if that's what it's called in baseball) Hope to see you again next year! Abigail S."

"It was good to see you this past week! Seth" (This was written inside the front cover, as on a different page he had written "Sup dude. You're my sister-" before realizing that Mattie's book was lying right next to mine. We all thought this mistake was pretty hilarious.)

""Hey Wesley, I had a lot of fun having you as a counselor and cabbage ball umpire. I hope you come back next year! - Trenton"

"CALEB!!! YO"

"Wes, good to meet you and call you friend. Zach" (This was Counselor Zach, as his group called him.)

"Hope you had a great week! Abbey U."

"Thanks for letting me slide in cabbage ball and for being a great counselor! - Mary J."

"Wesley, it's always good to see you! Hope you had a fantastic week! Hope to see you next summer. Valley"

"Wesley, you were a great counselor. Thank you! Cara Knapp"

"Your so cool! And a great counselor. - Belynda"

"Gr8 ping-ponging! Jonathan Kobb"

"Wesley, thank you so much for taking time out of your week to counsel us! :) Your a great counselor! Brett"

"Wesley, thank you so much for coming to camp with us again! cabbage ball was a lot of fun. :) - Abbi"

"Thanks for being such a cool counselor, Wesley! - Mattie"

"Had fun during cabbage ball! Zach"

"Dear Wesley, thank you for all you did and for being a great conselor - Lester :)"

"Hey Wes! Good to see you this year! Hunter B."

"Hey Wesley! Thanks for always being such an awesome counselor and for laughing with us tonight. I will pack my slingshot next year :-D - Emily Pokorny" {I had dinner with her and Jon Kobb Thursday night, and somehow we got to talking about weapons, of all things. Emily mentioned that she was a decent aim with her slingshot, and Jon asks, completely serious, "Did you bring it here with you?" She and I dissolve into hysterical laughter.}

"Dear Wesley, Thanks for your love for the Lord & the young people at camp. You have been such a great encouragement to me over the years we've been at camp together. I will never forget the time you sang "Amazing Grace" and it left me in tears. Continue to seek Him first always. God willing - next year. Love, Janet C."

"Wesley, Great week spent w/you! Always encouraging and never dull - that's you! Love you! Miss Terry :)"

"You were a great counselor my first year. Thanks! :) Nathan U." (Like all Underwoods, he has amazing handwriting.)

"Wesley, Thank you so much for giving your time this week to make camp the wonderful thing that it is. You're a great counselor! Hope to see you next year! In Christ, Jacob" (He's basically a lock to be a rookie counselor next year, and it'll be great to work alongside him.)

"Press on toward the goal of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus! Curtis Knapp"

"Wes I had a blast doing cabbage ball with you. God bless you :) Mark"

"Great to see you again this year. I pray the LORD will direct your path. Blessings, Mrs. Janet P."

"Wesley, Thanks for being so stinkin' awesome! You are a great friend! - Hope"

"Hey Wes, Good to see you again this year. I'm glad to see you're continuing faithful in your walk with Christ. - Rachel S."

"Wesley, It is always a joy to see you and to serve with you at camp! May the Lord bless you! Ryan"

"It was great having you as a counselor again - Lydia C. Alpert"

"I'm sure many of the kids tell you this, but you're a very fun and great counselor! I hope to see you next year, Lord willing. - Ethan"

Stories, Discernment and Homework

     This Laura Story song has been stuck in my head an especially large amount for the last couple months. It usually plays pretty often, for whatever reason, but....yeah. I'm just...exhausted. More than usual. Past the energy of complaining. Past "keep your head and keep plowing." At least that ear infection is slowly improving, that's something.

      Almost halfway through the final Harry Potter, which will be something done, at least, once it's finished. This has been an incredibly unproductive week; haven't been able to concentrate on homework at all, and haven't even written up this week's Idol recaps yet. J.K. Rowling's writing has definitely gotten better over time; it's just....something, I don't know. They're all so massively long, for one thing. (Between the seven, they cover roughly 3,600 pages and just over a million words. 1,084,170 to be Hermione-exact.) That takes a lot of energy. And like Martin Cothran wrote once in an editorial in an issue of The Classical Teacher magazine, he was quoting Madeleine L'Engle's opinion of Rowling's books: "They're nice stories, it's just....there's nothing to them." Because there isn't. So they aren't really that harmful, like a lot of people said. They're just empty. Which is much worse in some ways, because there isn't anything to ponder which could be considered worthwhile(though I have no doubt lots of academic scholarly papers and books have dissected elements.)
     I've also been watching handfuls of episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, because it was homework. That was also tiring, but for a different reason. For one thing, I had my critical observation reporter instinct on. And for another, Buffy is what turned Joss Whedon into Joss Whedon; so that was interesting from that standpoint. And they have been very well-written and engaging plotlines; though a lot of Wikipedia research has had to be done to finish the outline of blank spaces between episodes. But even if the makeup of the vampires is really awful as-only-90's-special-effects-can-be on second viewing; vampires are still scary. I mean, I appreciate that Whedon played with and mixed up all the stereotypes and historical depictions into crafting this world and everything, but the concept is incredibly uncomfortable. But as somebody who frequently tries to evaluate pop culture by Biblical principles and mesh them whenever possible, while still striving for and admiring high artistic quality, it's an interesting situation. It's one of those "some people can eat meat sacrificed to idols and others can't" deals like Paul wrote about in 1 Corinthians 8, or the folks at PluggedIn are always arguing amongst themselves about. I'll skip the Buffy section of the Whedonverse if possible, and let others appreciate all the good parts(which, of course, there are lots of).
     But the thing that makes Buffy most dangerous is that it's such a well-told story. Louis L'Amour knew this well, that well-crafted narratives can be bombs. So did G.K. Chesterton, J.R.R. Tolkien, Harper Lee and Agatha Christie, plus a lot of other dead people I can't think of right now. Stephen King knows this. When tales are engaging, with an emotional pull created by following the adventures and trials of very complex characters with a lot of depth, that creates a lot of potential energy. MacGyver would be one of the first to agree that when a bunch of highly-flammable potential energy is bottled up, things will go either very right, or very, very wrong. (Come to think of it, Peter Parker and Norman Osborn serve as good examples, too.) The main premise of "high school is hell", taken literally like it is in the show, is really interesting from a storytelling angle. Never having attended an actual high school, I can't say how accurate that is, and I would be more inclined to say that college is. But apparently Buffy had quite a bit of trouble with that, too. Anyway, for me, the dark side of Buffy is too strong to think it very safe to be around.
     The Harry Potter books contain a lot of magical elements, too, but they strike me as harmless because they are first and foremost not well written enough to pose a danger. The later books have progressed far enough for me to shrug and say, "Huh. That was fine, I guess," and forget most of what happened almost immediately, but the early ones made me angry they were so bad; the fierce kind where I wanted to fire the book as hard as I could into the wall and cry in frustration at society in general for turning these into basically the biggest book series ever.

     Fuller House premiered on Netflix Friday; and they managed to match the tone perfectly. That's pretty amazing. And it doesn't help if you're one of those strange people who dislike Full House, but if you're a fan it's been awesome to see how the Tanners are doing nowadays. And as sitcoms, they both fill a much different niche of the storytelling spectrum; so the goals and expectations are different. Because the world needs more sitcoms which are actually funny, and because the main goal was to literally recapture Full House if possible, Fuller House is a success. (Especially when thrown into contrast with all those other Netflix shows....they are dark. Have mercy.)

     So now I'll get to work on those Idol recaps and then head back to doing homework.

Modeling Christlikeness in a Sitcom-like Stage Family

     The first assignment for Topics of Advanced Composition was for a personal essay. I was missing everyone from the BCM. So this was good(though tough to reexperience everything from this time) to write, and extremely easy to research. It scored a 93, and when I turned in a revised draft, Dr. Dial-Driver gave me a look like, "Really?" That version got a 100 points.

            Talking about the citizens of Pawnee, Indiana, Parks and Recreation’s Ben Wyatt says at one point, “You know, it’s weird. I’ve been to a lot of towns…usually people don’t care about anything. I mean, don’t get me wrong, they’re weirdos, but….they’re weirdos that care” (“Time Capsule”). For a while around the Northeastern State University campus, and to a lesser extent the city of Tahlequah or Cherokee County generally, if “the SWAT team” were mentioned, the speaker likely didn’t mean a squad of heavily-armed law enforcement officers. Instead they were talking about the drama ministry of the Baptist Collegiate Ministries, which was considered as somewhat of a loose cannon amongst the tight-knit community of BCM outreaches. But we cared about each other. And that was important.

            I was a loner growing up, for the most part. Not that I didn’t like people – it’s more just that I like a small group of specific people, and if someone is able to gain my trust in order to be called a friend, then that trust is nearly indestructible. I had acted in middle school musicals with our homeschool co-op and really enjoyed that, but in general, Oklahoma is rather lacking in acting opportunities. So there was just the occasional murder-mystery, and quoting good TV lines with my siblings. But in general, nothing, which didn’t do much to take my mind off a disastrous freshman year of college or the violent implosion of the sarcastic, witty and creative support group that served as our personal Buffy-type “Scooby Gang” for me and my friends in surviving high school.

            The project known as “Students with a Testimony” began when Samantha Hill transferred to NSU around the spring of 2012 from Carl Albert; their branch of the BCM had a drama ministry primarily used as a tool for evangelization, and Sam wanted to continue that work in and around Tahlequah. She obtained the blessing of NSU BCM directors Bob and Debbie Lipscomb, and then the project was off and running. So she set out to round up some team members through word-of-mouth.

     “I pretty much just had to go out on a limb, finding strangers who wanted to be a part of the BCM and say, ‘Hey, are you a Christian? Would you like to share your testimony?’” she said during an interview for an unpublished newspaper article in September 2013. “I was the crazy girl that everyone saw coming and, believe me, they’d run the other way, because they knew exactly what I was wanting to recruit them for.”

Sam tried to recruit me to immediately join the team when I came to Tahlequah in fall 2012, but I declined, since I thought I had better focus solely on schoolwork until I was more adapted to campus culture. Besides, I was more involved at the time with Campus Christian Fellowship, another ministry which has (though no one on either side wants to actually admit it) a fierce rivalry with the BCM. She got about a dozen people to sign up, though; and they performed a handful of shows in churches of various sizes, interspersing testimonies and Scripture with music and comedy sketches.

     Through a mix of gentle pestering by Sam throughout the year and knowing several other people who attended the BCM regularly, together with realizing that CCF wasn’t at all a place where I could grow spiritually, I started going to the Monday-night worship service, and gradually discovered that this was a good organization to be a part of. When fall 2013 started up and the SWAT sign-ups were passed around, I figured that I ought to dive deeper into helping out. It had been forever since I’d acted in anything, and besides, it was a ministry opportunity. The team was made up of mostly new faces this time around, with Haley Ritter co-leading the group with Sam for a semester.

     “I actually heard about SWAT when I first met Sam and Haley, they were telling me about it, and it seemed like a really, really cool way to do ministry,” said Elizabeth Hodge in an interview from September 2013. “I’ve been involved in theater most of my life, but never have done any kind of ministry like this before. It’s a really cool way to spread the Gospel, because you don’t have to go five thousand miles away and spend five thousand dollars.”

     Once we’d gotten the sketches memorized, life quickly turned into something of a sitcom: Friends was blended into Full House and the sketch comedy group Studio C, and then that combination was added to the YouTube series Messy Mondays, as I put it in a blog post simply titled “SWAT.” But we really did become like family. Sam was the mom of the group, Haley the drill-sergeant aunt. And together, they kept things running with a mix of strictness and sweetness. Jacob was the cool older cousin, while Elizabeth, Susan and I were like siblings. Neighbors included the spacey janitor James, four-wheeling Becca, obnoxious Scott (everyone hated him), couple Skylar and Ja Li Si (we gave them a hard time, of course), while Caleb and Holly were always sort of hanging out in the corner. New additions to the cast several weeks in were TJ, serving as the fiery deadpan snarker in addition to doing voiceovers, while Justin turned out to be a jack-of-all-trades, doing everything from locating churches to running sound equipment and acting.

     There were a lot of coffee runs to McDonald’s when someone had a lot on their mind –

“Random coffee runs late at night make for a gem of a night,” Elizabeth tweeted once – and there was entertaining improvisation out of necessity, and malapropisms galore (well-chronicled in my video “SWAT Blooper Reel”). Road trips to and from shows were also very…interesting, to say the least. As Elizabeth said, “The basic theme of all our road trips is, like once we get there, you ask: ‘…But did we die?’ And that sums up everything perfectly.” For example, there was that night we went looking for the invisible church in Sallisaw.

     Having put together a silent project to go with the Lifehouse song “Everything” for a charity fundraiser/talent show, we were invited to perform it at a revival at Deliverance Baptist the next week. We didn’t usually do shows on Wednesday nights unless it was a special occasion, and this definitely counted. Thing was, though, we’d lost several key props between performances, since it was supposed to be a one-time thing. And several people were late, adding to the tension. So we nervously played ping pong to pass the time, then split up, one group racing to Wal-Mart for glass-bottled root beer, the other group flying to Dollar Tree for play-food money. We got to Sallisaw with a half hour to spare, more than enough time to find the church…..except that none of us can find it on our phones’ maps. We did find three other churches, which all turned out to be the wrong ones. So we finally talk Jacob into calling the pastor, where he’s given directions which sound straightforward enough: “At Wal-Mart, turn right onto Maple and then drive a ways, and then another right.” Maple is located, but it leads to a really sketchy-looking neighborhood….and none of us (ten people in three vehicles) had ever been to this city before, so we were completely lost. And by now it was pouring down rain. Susan and I ask for directions from some terrified construction workers at the Assembly of God, which turns out to be another dead end. (Also, we realized once we got back in the car that she was already in costume as Death.) We get a lead on another place it might be, which takes us several miles out of town and past three burned-out buildings which were at one point churches. The search has now taken an hour and fifteen minutes, all five occupants of our car vote for giving up and finding dinner. We relay this information back to the other two cars, and then eat and drive back home to Tahlequah, crying in frustration yet knowing the situation was hilarious. . This experience was recapped in far more detail in my blog post “Getting Lost.”

     Weather slowed the beginning of our spring semester’s schedule, but the execution of the performances was greatly improved, due in part to the addition of Drew and Ashleigh as tech crew and about a quarter of the cast dropping out. We banded together often to cover roles whenever necessary, and strengthened connections with the other BCM ministries, as the more musical of us joined the worship band. Organization-wide lunch hangouts were a staple of Friday afternoons, and watch parties during Thunder games caused much screaming and strangling of pillows. The overall atmosphere was much like working in Pawnee’s Parks Department, and when you enjoy your coworkers, coming in every day is awesome. Most of us spent nearly every nonclass moment in either the BCM’s basement, living room or office. Special SWAT events included Christmas caroling at a senior citizens’ center - three days before Thanksgiving - a birthday party picnic, and a game night featuring intense rounds of Catchphrase and Apples to Apples. An elderly pastor in Muskogee even gave a handful of us marriage advice after the show one night. (”If you live long enough to say ‘Yes, dear,’ you’ll live to learn everything else.”) Pretty good advice.

     After Sam and her husband moved once she graduated, the way everyone planned the leadership transition to take place was for Susan to take over the reins the next year, with me taking the second-in-command role which Haley had filled. But there were a lot of family problems at home, which meant that I had to leave for a semester in order to help out. Susan’s theater duties kept her too stressed to run SWAT properly, so it was absorbed into the worship band, where it limped along for the rest of the year before apparently being shut down sometime in spring 2015. And by then transfers happened – Skylar and I came to RSU, Elizabeth went to NSUBA, Caleb to Southwest Baptist, etc. And life happened, too – Justin and Ashleigh fell in love almost immediately, and their wedding will be held in a couple months. Jacob is engaged now, and Haley got married. Ja Li Si became Miss Cherokee last year, and began dating Sam’s brother. Graduations will begin proceeding in a couple months.

     We weren’t that successful at evangelizing, but we did do well at encouraging those who needed it – whether that was audience members, relatives, friends or castmates – through the spiritual valleys, discouragements, breakups, general insecurity and school panic of this life. We were a team, which doesn’t come up very often. You don’t really get that Parks and Rec vibe in real life very often. And when you do….that ought to be treasured. “A team isn’t a bunch of kids out to win; a team is something you belong to. Something you feel. Something you have to earn,” Gordon Bombay said in The Mighty Ducks. We earned that, and you don’t let those ties fall slack. So we still keep in touch, and have mini-reunions whenever possible. I may be allergic to college, but SWAT has definitely been one of the highlights.

Works Cited

Coburn, Wesley. “Getting Lost”. Blog post. Another Lover of the Blade. Blogger. 21 November 2013. Web. 17 January 2016.

--------------------. “SWAT”. Blog post. Another Lover of the Blade. Blogger. 9 November 2013. Web. 17 January 2016. 

-------------------. “SWAT Blooper Reel”. Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube. 29 December 2014. Web. 17 January 2015.

Hill, Samantha. Personal interview. 9 September 2013.

Hodge, Elizabeth. Personal interview. 9 September 2013.

------------------ (HodgepodgeEH). “Random coffee outings late at night make for a gem of a night.” 7 March 2014. Tweet.

The Mighty Ducks. 1992. Dir. Stephen Herek. Buena Vista Pictures, 1992. DVD.

“Time Capsule”. Parks and Recreation: Season Three. Writ. Michael Schur. Dir. Michael Schur. NBCUniversal Television Distribution. 2011. DVD.

The One About Planned Parenthood's Atrocities

     I know I'm just one more voice in the blogosphere, and I really hate talking about trending topics in real life, because they  become dead news so quickly. But, like the gay-marriage celebration and Confederate flag slamming of a couple months ago, or last winter's post about the dishonesty of social media, sometimes you just have to write.

    I dislike the tone of most of Matt Walsh's blog posts. He writes in a very angry, condescending manner. But a lot of the points he makes I pretty much agree with. It's just that I wish he could find a better way to say it. (This could also apply to talk radio.)
     Most of this Planned Parenthood video-expose thing I haven't paid much attention to, because they sound incredibly graphic, and I'm squeamish. It's why I couldn't be a veterinarian. But I just read Walsh's post about the videos and actions of PP. And it made me want to do three things: Throw up, cry really hard, and try to say something about it, since as the Edmund Burke quote goes, "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing."

     Planned Parenthood is killing people. And then dismembering babies. Sometimes while they're still alive. A nurse says that she's extracted the face of a living human baby in order to reach its' brain for harvesting. This is not science fiction, or even a horror movie. Somehow, this is real life.

     "Always after a defeat and a respite, the Shadow takes another shape and rises again."
     "I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
     "So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But it is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. And already, Frodo, our time is beginning to look black. The Enemy is fast becoming very strong. His plans are far from ripe, I think, but they are ripening. We shall be very hard put to it. We shall be very hard put to it, even if it were not for this dreadful chance."
     This passage is from J.R.R. Tolkien's Fellowship of the Ring, chapter three, page 50. Gandalf continues his speech, leading to this quote ten pages later: "But you have been chosen, and must therefore use what strength and heart and wits as you have."

     Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 10:16-20:  "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves. But be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you."
     In 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18, Paul reminds us to "Pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."  

    "And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" Mordecai asks his cousin in Esther 4:14.
     Maybe we're in 1930's Germany. I'm not Dietrich Bonhoeffer, but I can question what's going on. And I can keep writing, as Professor Semrow urged. Wake up, people. Act against this, somehow. I don't know what to suggest for that; but there's been a lot of protests recently. Maybe if it builds up enough, things will start to happen.

     "It's our choices that make us who we are. And we can always choose to do what's right." - Peter Parker, Spider-Man 3.     

CAMP: Part IX, How Firm a Foundation In Christ Alone

     It's that time of year again: We just got back from the 2015 edition of the Sovereign Grace Youth Camp, and so a recap needed to be written. (See these earlier posts for the first, second, third, fourth and fifth years as a camper, as well as lessons learned while there; and then these for years one and two on the other side of the buffalo fence as a counselor. (That was a figure of speech. Stay VERY FAR AWAY from the buffalo. But y'all knew that already.)

     We had a smaller group from Tulsa than expected; only fifteen, but that still was easily the most of any group. (By state, of course, Missouri had the most people overall.) The guys were Bennett, Wesley DeSpain, Trenton and Caleb, and then rookies in Wesley's brother Bailey and the Coxes' cousin Joe. The girls were Laura, Courtney, Callie, MattieGrace, Vivian, Lydia, and then rookies Chloe(the DeSpains' sister), Kate and Hope.
     There were 25 guys, and about thirtyish girls; the final count was about 57 campers, so by far the smallest year that I've ever seen. I knew all the counselors; Tim, Brother Larry, Tom Henry, Curtis, Mrs. Boyer, Robin, Janets Crawford and Pokorny, Rachel, Miss Kathy, and then new camper-turned-counselors Anne and Abbey. Trevor Johnson spoke during the group sessions, and his wife and kids were back again, too. The camp pastor this year was Mark Webb from Mississippi, and his sermons were from the elements of Jesus' life that Luke looked at specifically, or gave more detail to than others did.
     The camp books had a page dedicated to camp history for the first time; which was awesome. During the counselors' meeting on Tuesday morning we looked at a lot of pictures from 1985(the first year) and heard lots of stories about how awful Camp Sonrise was. (Ryan and Mary had both talked in earlier years about the electrifying showers, and Mrs. Boyer added that her first year as counselor she broke her ankle falling down a hill.)
     Except for sermon notes, and scorekeeping for cabbage ball, I kept absolutely zero written record on what happened during the week. So what follows won't be chronological, and it probably won't be as detailed.

     Things were really fixed up this year; the outer left cabin "ghetto" was walled over(insert complaining here...though it probably was a health hazard). The ceilings and walls of the guys' cabin had received new plywood covering and paint; the cabin had a completely new metal roof, replacing the shingles, and the chapel had gotten a total makeover; lights, paneling, carpet, everything. Most of the mini golf holes had been recarpeted as well. And the concrete of the tabernacle floor had been stained.

     Almost nobody got hurt; which was great, and there weren't very many rule infractions, either. So that definitely helped, too. Forrest did break his nose digging a volleyball on Thursday night, and one girl got pretty dehydrated Monday/Tuesday, but other than that I don't think there was anything serious.
     There was a food fight at lunch on Wednesday, which resulted in pudding splashed across several backpacks, and scrapes caused by fork attacks. But we learned later why that fight took place, and while it wasn't a good thing, it happened for a pretty good reason. Apparently one of the Beth-Eden staff was being a huge jerk in general, and he kept pestering Audrey in particular, causing a general freakout among everyone on the Black team. ("Freakout!" actually became the Black rally cry.) Her brothers and most of the Tulsa guys came to her defense by retaliating at the guy somehow over lunch.

    There were a lot of hijinks in the cabins all week. Caleb Freeland and the Bebouts were playing pranks on everyone, beginning with moving a mattress into the shower. "What are you doing?" "I thought you said there weren't any counselors in here right now?!" Forrest hisses at Caleb. "We're moving this bed into the shower." "Who's is it?" "Drew Brashers's." "Uh-huh....Is it wet?" "Nope! We're just hiding it here." "Why?" "Cause it'll drive him crazy. Is that okay?" I think a minute. "That's hilarious. Go for it." One of the younger Mississippi kids, watching the scene, says, "That guy's my new favorite counselor." Drew then stole Hunter's mattress as payback.
     A couple nights later Caleb F. and Chris Underwood markered on the faces of most people who were asleep, using a Sharpie I'd found in my backpack.
     I think I must've been influenced a lot by Jon to allow/help with those pranks. But it was fun; and they'll remember how they had a blast doing all that stuff. And maybe Jed's comment about the spirit of adventure had something to do with it, too.
     There was also a bunch of Nerf gun battles almost every night; which can be quite intense in such a confined space as the cabin.
     Tim's nephew(and rookie) Matthew kept incessantly setting his flashlight on strobe mode and shining it in everyone's eyes; that was a little frustrating at times. Thus he will likely forever be known camp-wise as "Strobe".
     I went with most of the guys down to the hidden meadow soccer field each day while the girls sang; playing on Tuesday, talking to Christian on Wednesday and serving as a goalie and dealing with a swarm of wasps flying around the whole time on Thursday. I just kept hoping none would land in my hair like that one last year did to Ashland. And the following mangled Scripture came to mind: :"When you encounter wasps of various kinds, consider it all joy; by doing these things for them, you have done them for me." (James 1:2 and Matthew 25:45)

     I was assigned to work cabbage ball solo; which felt weird, taking over Brother Larry's spot there. And also, probably a nearsighted guy whose knowledge of baseball rules is shaky isn't the best candidate for serving as umpire? I tried to call things as best I could, but I got a lot of flak most games. Thankfully, Miss Kathy, Abbey and Janet P all helped out at various points with second-base calls.
     The new cabbage ball I got from Amazon got broken in pretty well; the games used both mine and Brother Larry's well-used mushball, with the switches depending on how play was going. Remembering that Ryan, Dylan and I weighted down the archery targets with chunks of firewood, I pulled a couple chunks out of the woodpile down by the tabernacle to mark the pitcher's circle and Catcher Safety Zone. And not wanting a repeat of the time that Samara got a bat thrown at her ankle(she had a bruise for two months), I created a rule that a flung bat was an automatic out. It wasn't very popular, but no one got hurt.
     White and Yellow started the Tournament Challenge in cabbage ball; their game went back and forth for five innings before White erupted for 18 runs in the final inning; the final score was 25-6, which everyone talked about for most of the week. Mrs. Boyer even opened the lunch line by announcing "if your team got destroyed this morning, go ahead!" (Red was also obliterated in volleyball by Green; as best I could piece together, the final score was 15-8, 15-1, 21-0).
     Red beat Yellow 8-6 in a fast-moving back-and-forth game during Worst/First Tuesday night. (It went seven and a half innings.)
     Red won Wednesday morning 7-4 over Blue in another fast-moving game, which went eight and a half innings.
     In the second Worst/First through Thursday morning mist, Yellow defeated Black in the rematch by a 7-4 score in eight full innings.
     And to wrap things up, Green exploded for 13 runs in an extremely-slow-paced game to beat Black 16-0 in four innings, winning the Tournament Challenge with six points.

     Most of the great camp songs were sung again - Daniel 4:35, "In Christ Alone", "Conquering Now and Still to Conquer", "Are You Washed in the Blood?", the camp "Come Thou Fount", among others.
     For the talent share, the Grace Bible-Tulsa youth group sang a couple songs, including "Come Praise and Glorify"; the Fergusons sang the Chelsea Moon version of "How Firm a Foundation", the Knapps played several awesome fiddle/cello/piano pieces, the Underwoods and Dischers had some fantastic songs, including a teamup effort. Courtney and I did the Studio C sketch Evil Memory Lapse, she as Jemima and me playing Professor Murdoc, drafting Caleb as the soldier and Audrey as my assistant Dr. Jenny Graves, since she'd borrowed Courtney for The Triune Tale of Diminutive Swine last year. My SWAT T-shirt wasn't worn, but I did use it as a prop, on Courtney's suggestion. On a rather disappointing note, there was nothing done by Tim, Mrs. Boyer, or Miss Kathy this year. The talent share went by very quickly, probably 45 minutes until some encore performances, and still there was about a half-hour gap until general session started.
     Rachel said the skit reminded her of Megamind; and Janet C thought it was hilarious, especially since it was clean. Tom joked that I better not go all Hollywood on everyone. Maybe the humor was too subtle or something - Courtney said a lot of people were a bit confused. Caleb Freeland asked me the next day, "Do you guys watch Studio C?" I grin and answer "Yep!" He laughs. "I thought that was one of theirs." (Comparison of our favorite sketches commenced here.)

     Some of the girls asked for a tour of the guys' cabin once we'd gotten it all cleaned up, and their reactions were entertaining. They said it was like visiting a prison. Sure, it's not fancy. But it works. (Besides, footballs and karate kicks tend to break stuff and cause holes in walls and floors...and that's why we can't have nice things.)

     The Gum Tree was freshly decorated, as it should be. (Old picture from several years ago.)

     The general session sermons were from Luke, and going in order from Monday night, from Luke 1:1-4, which was basically an introduction to the book, and educated guesses about the character, life and work of Luke. Much like Mark worked closely with Peter, Luke worked closely with Paul. Luke's Gospel tends to emphasize the same things a lot of Paul's letter did; and it's written as a story in tone(which is why it's always been my favorite Gospel). Each Gospel writer stressed different points, as Mr. Evans' choir explained to Jane Blonde in The Mystery of the Manger, probably to reach different people. Luke was a careful historian and likely personally interviewed many of the key characters of Jesus' story , since he states in v3 that he has "carefully researched everything since the beginning".
     Tuesday morning was from Luke 7:11-16, showing how Jesus' raising of the widow's only son in that little town called Nain connected with Old Testament history. It featured a lot of explanation about the area that Nazareth is in; how drenched in OT events the area is.
     More interesting facts about Israeli geography in Tuesday night's sermon; apparently Jericho and Jerusalem are only separated by about fifteen miles, but Jerusalem is 3,500 feet above sea level, and Jericho is a thousand feet below sea level. And the road goes through an enormous dark canyon the locals call "the Valley of the Shadow of Death". In other words, this was(and is) the perfect place to get robbed. Which is exactly what happens to the traveler in the parable Jesus tells of in Luke 10:25-37. Here's something I hadn't thought about before; maybe the priest couldn't help the man, because he had his own job or task to do at the moment. I suppose that would have been God's will, too, one of those mysterious ways it works sometimes, that the right man would come along. The Levite was probably a kind of priest's assistant, so maybe he couldn't help, either. Or maybe he just didn't want to get involved. And then there's this Samaritan, of all people....Samaritans were kind of halfbreeds, and fully outcasts. Also, they hated the Jews almost as much as the Jews despised them. John Dugas preached from John 4 about the Samaritan woman at the well a couple months ago; that helped a lot in understanding this passage. Anyway, this Samaritan is the one to help the man, and in so doing, serve as the example for what it means to love one's neighbor. The lawyer asking the question that started this parable is looking for a loophole to close off the "neighbors" circle, but Jesus makes it clear that what the law demands is that anyone we come across that needs help is our neighbor. Which is basically everybody. And by helping that person, that is love. It's more of a chosen willful action than it is an emotion, though emotion sometimes goes with the action. Mr. Webb defined it like this: "A self-sacrificing determination to do good for the other person, as God defines what 'good' is."  That's...really specific. And very hard. And highly encouraging. And really convicting. It goes back to the idea of Jesus becoming a servant, really. (Mark 10:45)
     Didn't get any notes on Wednesday morning's sermon on prayer from Luke 11:1-10, but Wednesday night was the entirety of Luke 15 on the parables of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin and the Prodigal Son. I hadn't really connected before that they were all really parts of the same speech; or the common themes of lostness and grace. The stakes keep rising throughout the story; at first it's only one sheep out of a hundred. Sure, you want to find it, but if you don't, it's not a bad shrinkage rate. An individual coin is worth more than an isolated sheep; especially if there's only ten to start with. And then when it comes to people....well, it's hard to measure stakes that high; but it's easy to feel the weight of losing people. There were lots of stories about how dumb sheep are; they're experts at getting lost, they follow the leader all the time, they're helpless without any natural defenses, and they're stupid. It's almost like they stay up late at night in the barn plotting their suicide attempts for the next day. A lot of that....kind of really applies to people, too, spiritually speaking. Which is pretty embarrassing... Anyway, the lost thing is sought because it belongs to the seeker. But in order to find the object, the seeker must expose themselves to the same environment as the lost thing. Which is why Jesus came to live as a man. Grace is the Holy Spirit hunting down that lost object, or the soul of those God has chosen. It's invisible and gradual, but it happens, and as the sought soul draws closer to God, they reflect him more clearly. And the second half of the story of the Prodigal Son, I heard this explained really well on the radio by Ravi Zacharias one time, is that even "good" people need a Savior. Maybe more so, because they usually don't realize that they need him. Self-righteousness will keep you outside of heaven; and no matter what you do, you'll never be good enough to earn your salvation.
     Didn't get any notes on Thursday morning, either; but it was about Zaccheus, from Luke 19:1-10. Paul was said to be 4'11" and bald, so maybe he particularly liked this story, and so that's why Luke included it. But from now on I'm probably going to imagine Paul as Wallace Shawn. Also, this response stood in sharp contrast to the rich young ruler(imagined as Tony Stark, due to one of our SWAT skits), who refused to surrender all his wealth.
      Anyway, Thursday night's sermon was from Luke 23:39-43 about the Thief on the Cross. He mocked Jesus, too; but sometime during the horrific ordeal he changed his mind. Maybe because Jesus prayed for the Father to "forgive them, for they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). That rich young ruler asked what good works he could do to earn his salvation; this dude on the cross can't do ANY good works. And he can't promise to do any in the future, either; because he's gonna die in hours. It's all grace. No one deserves to go to heaven, but some are allowed to go there, because it's a gift. Mr. Webb quoted Matthew Henry the commentary guy, who once wrote that there were "Two thieves there on the crosses along with Jesus. One of them was saved; so that none might despair. But only one was saved, so that none might presume."
     On Friday morning, the last sermon was from Luke 24-13-32, on the Road to Emmaus. These disciples had put their trust in Christ; but things looked extremely dark, and so they were sad(grave), because the world had been shattered and they realized that none of what they thought would happen actually would. They were probably confused, which is why Jesus explained all those Old Testament Scriptures about himself to them. They were ignorant; which doesn't mean stupid, it just means not being able to recognize something obvious. Before we can see God's glory, our eyes must be opened.

     This year, going in, I had a really bad feeling about how things would go. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because almost none of the puzzle pieces last year fit together quite right. Maybe I realized that this would be the beginning of the end of the third generation that I'd known. But it really went pretty well. Bennett called it "a year of healing", which seemed to fit well.
     Everywhere I look at Camp Beth-Eden, there's memories. Talking with Jed and Jon in the cabins(and making Tim really mad by keeping him awake with aforementioned conversations.) Duets with Jake on the trail and in the showers. Square dancing with Madelyn and Ashland. Mealtime chats with Daniel, Ryan, the Davises, the Freelands, the Hankinses or the Taillefers. INTENSE ping pong matches. Ultimate Frisbee mishaps. That tension of Final Jeopardy in Bible trivia. Plotting strategy with Ashland and Matt. Getting lost that first day with Josh, and the terror that was meeting Brother Larry. Jamming during Talent Share practice with me on guitar, Daniel on mandolin and Keely on viola. Learning how to throw a Frisbee from Matt, and then teaching it to Dylan Steeley several years later. The Great Rains of 2009. The Oppressive Heat of 2011. All those volleyball games; from learning to play(and Ash and I using each other as targets) to the "Sharkbait!" rally call to winning the Tournament Challenge to chasing runaway balls through the woods. Talent Share times; that first time to sing in front of strangers, "Temporary Home" with Samara, with the Jedites, and as part of Daniel's and Jed's choirs. Wednesday night in 2012. The Card Ceremony. Courtney and Paige's "Twelve Things of Camp". The momentous Thursday nights of '11 and '12. Experiencing things from a counselor's POV for the first time alongside Jed, Taylor, and Dylan Underwood.
     I was able to appreciate the moment just by living in it, not necessarily having to capture it for later analyzation. I heard a lot of rather-sheepish comments by campers, as they realized I could probably hear them, that us counselors in general were "not as uptight as usual". But also, they knew where the boundaries were, so they didn't try to stretch them too much out of shape. There were times I wanted to yell at some people, sure, but overall everyone was very respectful. It was a blessing to work with everyone again; and very good to be able to serve the campers.

     Other random bits; Square dancing went well, it was fun to dance again. Brad DeSpain and Mickey Buckmaster drove up in record time(three hours and thirteen minutes from GBC parking lot to sitting in front of the dining hall). Mrs. Mueller and Mrs. Wilson drove on the return trip back to Oklahoma, and it felt a little bit like a SWAT road trip, involving McDonald's mixups, a detour through someone's yard and driving in the wrong lane(I definitely thought of our motto.) Gary Long was the special speaker again this year; much to nearly everyone's dismay, but he didn't say anything offensive this time. Bailey DeSpain was accidentally listed in the camp book as a girl. Brother Larry is pretty good at ping pong.

###
CAMP BOOK SIGNINGS

"Enjoy working with you. Mrs. Janet (Pokorny)"

(Drew Blanton's signature)

"Your a good counsalor. John Thomas"

"Jesus said 'in this world you will have tribulation, but BE OF GOOD CHEER! I have overcome the world!' Mrs. Bebout  To my sane and urbane friend!"

"Dear Wesley, Thank you for being such an encouragement to me each year. Your love for the Lord is evident and also your love for the kids. Lord willing I hope to serve with you again next year. Love, Janet (Crawford)"

"Wesley, thanks for the great job you did at camp! May God bless you in the days ahead. - PROV. 3:5 Mark Webb"

"Wesley, good to see you again as a councelor! Loved Cabbage ball you made it even more fun, Grayson H."

"Wesley, you are a very good counselor. I so much appreciate your willing spirit. Hope to work with you again next year. In Christ, Tom Henry"

"Wesley, you are one of those counselors I know will answer any question I have about games or help me out...sorry I have not been more friendly over the week. Thank you for your kindness and encouragement at camp! Keep coming back! Emily P."

"Hey Wes! For a counsler and a brother your not terrible....Love, Courtney"

"Thanks for keeping the belches under control. Yours truly, Benito" (Bennett)

"Wesley, thank you so much for all your work this week. I truly do appreciate it. Please come back next year! Jacob"

"Wesley! Thanks for being a soops cool counselor and letting Yellow win at cabbage ball. U da bomb! Laura F."

"thanks for being an amazing conselor and letting us do pranks :) and for playing soccer with us. Caleb Freeland"

"You are so sweet and awesome! Mary Kate"

"Glad to see you again this year. You're a great cousnelor! - Rachel"

"Thanks for being a good counselor Wesley - Forrest"

"You're a great counselor! Thanks for making the week even greater. - Mattie F."

"Wesley, thanks for being a good counselor! - Joe"

"Thank for being a good counselor and for taking away Strobe's flashlight. Wesley #2"

"Wesley, I hope you had a great time, and was blessed by the preaching! Hope to see you next year. Anne"

"Wesley, your a great counselor, and it was great hanging out this week!! - Andrew B."

(Tim Nehrbass's signature) "Thanks for serving again!"

"Nice seeing you again. Have a great year. - Christian"

"Wesley!! Hey, it was great to see you again!! By the way, you make a great evil doctor. Thanks for involving me in that. Hope to see you next year!! - Audrey Bebout"

"Wesley! You were a great counselor again. :) - Callie"

(Bailey DeSpain's signature)

"Wesley, so glad you could come back this year! You were a great counselor! - Brett"

"Wesley, Run the race with endurance, brother. In Christ, Curtis Knapp"

"Wesley, you were a great co-counselor this week! Hope you enjoyed it! Abbey"

"Great to see you again. May God bless you as you continue your education. See you on Facebook! L. Dean"

"Thanks for calling cabbage ball! Hunter B."

"Wesley! You have grown to such an excellent example of a yougn Christian man! I'm honored to know you! Praying often for you - you have a special place in my heart! Love you! :) Miss Terry"

Too Much Politics

     Just the other day I found myself pulling out loose carpet threads strand-by-strand from the roller of the vacuum so it would work right. Keeping an eye on the trash filling up the containers and taking it out. Making sure there are towels in the clothes washer and milk pails in the dishwasher. Those are the kinds of things I've been doing this summer.
     Oh, and watching Amy. 8-year-old little girls, especially if they have special needs, can take a great deal of watching. But most of the time it isn't too bad.

     There's been a lot of Mario Kart over the last week. That's been fun to watch Caleb and Trevor's excitement about that. And Mario Kart is awesome. So I've been playing it a lot, too.

    A couple of Glory's and May's kittens were picked up by the Nolands this afternoon, so it's good to know that they're heading for a good home.

     Last weekend watched The Barefoot Contessa on Friday night, Inside Out in Okmulgee at the Orpheum, and then Sunday night rewatched His Girl Friday. I'm not a huge Humphrey Bogart fan, and really see nothing attractive about Ava Gardner, so that was distracting, trying to figure out how she was now the world's most famous actress. And it seemed like everybody talked in riddles the whole time. That was confusing. But most of them sounded like they'd be worth writing down on a second viewing.
     Inside Out was strange, but a very good strange. Only Pixar could go into someone's mind like that....And having Amy Poehler and Kyle McLachlan didn't hurt, either. I really enjoyed it.
     His Girl Friday was better the second time(of course, the first time I was editing an essay for a friend while watching). The rapid-fire dialogue was awesome. And Cary Grant is terrific.
    Also rewatched The Incredibles the other night, and it's fine; the dialogue is really good throughout. The jungle of Nomanisan Island is amazingly detailed, and the spy/superhero references are cool, but there's a little too much emphasis on the melodrama in "family melodrama" for my taste. Firmly in the middle of Pixar's pecking order in terms of story.

     Filled out a lot of paperwork at RSU this week. I changed my major to Liberal Arts with a focus in English, so now my schedule is American Lit, Lit Traditions, Poetry Writing and Shakespeare. Those might change, classes have a way of usually doing that, but those are probably what I'll be taking in fall.  w2 (Rags stomped on the keyboard there.) Anyway, not sure what to expect out of those. They could be really good, or really bad. Anyway, I think there's only about three more semesters left.

     The Supreme Court apparently overturned the state's rights to ban gay marriage yesterday...you can't go anywhere on the internet without hearing about it. My first thought? "Well, not really surprised. Looks like there might be a fight on the horizon." I've heard it said pretty often that my generation will probably see the end of the United States, and I kind of agree. I don't really like it, but it's probably true.
     My reaction on Facebook was to quote from J.R.R. Tolkien's Fellowship of the Ring, from chapter three, page 50:
     "Always after a defeat and a respite, the Shadow takes another shape and rises again."
     "I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.
     "So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. And already, Frodo, our time is beginning to look black. The Enemy is fast becoming very strong. His plans are far from ripe, I think, but they are ripening. We shall be very hard put to it. We should be very hard put to it, even if it were not for this dreadful chance."
     Gandalf continues ten pages later: "But you have been chosen, and so must therefore use what strength and heart and wits as you have."
     And also to quote Jesus' words to the disciples in Matthew 10:16-20:
     "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as serpents and as innocent as doves. But be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses yo them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say, or how to say it. At that time you be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you."

     In addition to what seems to be the entire internet bending over backwards to cheer yesterday, there's also been a huge anti-Confederate flag thing going around, which is equally hard to take. I wrote in that post about honesty in social media that it's a lot easier to make your side heroic if you conveniently skip over the more brutal deeds of your own country's people. Reading Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind a couple weeks ago furthered my thinking that had I lived in the 1860's, I probably would have been on the side of the CSA. Ashley's and Rhett's questioning whether they could actually win raised some good points, but I think they potentially could have. As Atticus would say seventy years later in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, "Courage isn't a man with a gun, son. It's knowing that you're licked before you start, but fighting anyway."
     Scarlett probably deserved most of what happened to her; especially after marrying Frank, but I still felt sorry for her at the end.
     So, yeah, back to the Stars and Bars. The CSA might have been in existence as an actual nation only for about five years, but you can't wipe out the most important symbol of a civilization without losing many great treasures. Does that mean you have to throw away ALL Civil War-themed games and apps? (If you're Apple, then yes.) Does that mean tossing out the literature of the South? (GWTW, Mockingbird, all of William Faulkner, Jan Karon, John Grisham, Flannery O'Connor, etc... And not yet, but possibly in the future.) The TV shows? (The Andy Griffith Show, The Dukes of Hazzard, Nashville, In the Heat of the Night, Matlock, etc.) Movies? (GWTW, Hope Floats, Days of Thunder, Steel Magnolias, Mockingbird, Forrest Gump, etc.)  And true country music, as well? (Alan Jackson, Garth Brooks, Miranda Lambert, Collin Raye, Sara Evans....) Brad Paisley's song Accidental Racist would be not allowed, then, too?

     Borrowed Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, from the DeSpains yesterday afternoon and finished it this morning. I didn't like it much(too much like 1984), but it was worth reading. Neil Postman(author of Amusing Ourselves to Death) was right, though - Brave New World is an alarmingly accelerated view of where our society could likely end up. (Lot like Fahrenheit 451 that way.)

     So, right. All those things that I mentioned I can't really do anything about. All I can do, really, right now, is to keep the dishes and laundry running and help take care of Amy, so everybody else can get finished the stuff they need to. Not glamorous, or exciting, or newsworthy, but it needs doing. And it keeps me busy. Too busy to write much, lately.

Ten-Day Verse Challenge

     You don't see those status chain posts much on Facebook anymore. They're still more common than notes, but so it almost everything. Anyway, Mrs. Boyer tagged me a couple weeks ago to do the Ten-Day Verse Challenge, which was fairly simple: post a Scripture verse on Facebook every day for ten days, and tag a different person to keep the chain going each day. A subtle way of working Scripture into life, providing a chance to sprinkle salt into conversations. Which fits the way this sort of thing works in college.

     Day One...
     "So, then, just as you received Jesus Christ as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world, rather than on Christ." - Colossians 2:6-8.
     Tagged was Courtney, and this is one that I'm reminded of often while school is going. It really wants to devour you and capture you.

     Day Two...
     "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of for me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have already taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal in order to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 3:12-14.
     Tagged was Jon, and besides being a Relient K song, this passage goes hand-in-hand with the above passage in terms of day-to-day living.

     Day Three...
     "Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales, but rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise both for this life and for the life to come." - 1 Timothy 4:7-8.
     Tagged was Bennett, and this is one that comes into mind often while I'm working out.

     Day Four...
     "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.'" - James 4:14-15.
     Tagged was Daniel, and this was during that uncomfortable time period when setting up class schedules for next semester and second-guessing yourself about everything.

     Day Five....
     "Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body." - Ecclesiastes 12:12.
     Tagged was Elizabeth, and this was a reference to it being the final wave of projects before finals.

     Day Six...
     "A man's steps are directed by the Lord; how then can anyone understand his own way?" - Proverbs 20:24.
     Tagged was Dylan, and this goes with the uncertainty-about-the-future feeling.

     Day Seven....
     "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." - Joshua 1:9.
     Tagged was James, and finals-time is very frightening and overwhelming.

     Day Eight...
     "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." - 2 Corinthians 4:18.
     Tagged was Ryan Galdemez, and this is kind of hard to do.

     Day Nine...
     "Let the peace of Christ dwell in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your heart to God." - Colossians 3:15-16.
     Tagged was Miss Kathy, because this is one of her favorite verses. And it's another good reminder of how we ought to live.

     Day Ten...
     "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven." - Ecclesiastes 3:1.
     Tagged was Daniel P., and that pretty much covers everything, along with "Fear God and keep his commandments", Solomon...

     Anyway, most of these were verses used to fight those hollow and deceptive philosophies over the past couple years.

Rogers State Report

     This has been an incredibly long week. Like, I woke up this morning and figured up what day it was, and I thought, "It's only WEDNESDAY?"

     Some of that might be the headache I've had since yesterday morning. And probably a lot of it is panic from the onslaught of switching completely from one environment to another. It kind of reminds me of how the hoboes would leap onto the trains as they were moving out of the station during the Great Depression. That's about what classes have felt like so far, three days in. The level of knowledge and expertise on everything feels miles and miles ahead of wherever I am right now. And that's really scary, running to catch up to the train everybody else is on.

     And, fittingly, I suppose, since I'm (I guess?) a Hillcat now, my nerves have been on a feline edge all the time. Especially at night. There's lots of unexpected intruding noises at random times, so my fur stays bristled and ears and whiskers are on high-alert swivel. And I've done that asleep-to-flying-toward-potential-threat-awake thing three to four times a night. Some of that is just not being used to the patterns of neighbors walking through the hallway and slamming doors, and some of it is an instinctual reaction to smells when the heater has been on too long. Oh, yeah, there's a thermostat in my apartment-dorm, which is nice. If I could just figure out how to work it properly...
     It's MUCH better than Ross. (But then again, anything would be.) Except you can't complain about the horrible conditions to the other people in the building you know, and so the natural tight-knit community aspect isn't there, because there really isn't much wrong with the housing conditions. Really the only thing I can think of off the top of my head is that six reflective surfaces in three rooms is too many.

     And there's the fact that the higher elevation there is, the more wind is likely to be blowing there. And that... in Tahlequah I got used to cold weather. (Which doesn't mean I exactly like it now, but I can live with it.) But wind is a different story. I'm a very small-sized person, and if it's strong enough, wind will actually move me from one place to another. (I know this from experience.) Besides, wind is bitingly cold, and that's worse, because it's harder to fight and there isn't really a good way to keep warm. (See Hans Christian Andersen's "Little Match Girl", for example.)

     Folks seem polite, which is nice, I guess. And the dining hall is more cheerfully-designed and seems more professional than the NSU caf. Haven't met anybody yet, but I didn't expect to right off, that takes a long time.
     I think I may have finally figured out why Timothy was prey to "stomach troubles and frequent illnesses", according to Paul in 1 Timothy 5:23. (I've always wondered what he suffered from, and why he was often sick, and why was this detail included in the Bible?) Timothy probably was daily overwhelmed and unbearably tense from the stresses that come from trying to do everything it took to run a church adequately. And from what little we know, he was an only child(no siblings are mentioned), and only children(even more than oldests) are very hard on themselves, striving for excellence in all they attempt. And so he probably would have interpreted "adequately" as "perfectly", which is probably impossible. And then the fact that it's an act of service for the Lord, that probably added to the intensity and strife, so.... This could be way off-base, but it seems like a reasonable conclusion that comes while dealing with a lot of terrifying homework, a massive headache, upset stomach and slight nausea. And being an oldest.

     Anyway, that's about it.... the NSU BCM gang is pulling everything together for spring, and while I had the TV on the first half of the College Football Playoff title game(to catch the new Age of Ultron preview), I missed the preview, didn't really care about the game itself, and then Ohio State beat Oregon. Brad Paisley and DC Talk make for a good soundtrack to study by.