A Taste of What's Ahead

Here's a little taste of my next blog posting. It's too late to post it all now so keep checking and I'll soon tell you the story of "The Hunt."

Confession is Good for the Soul

Yes, folks, I have to confess - I cheated on my brothers and hunting buddy Craig. I couldn't resist it. I just gave in to my sinful carnage. As you can see in the picture, I started our elk hunt early. My little walk in the woods turned into a full-fledged elk hunt. At least I didn't pull the bow string and let the arrow fly before I came back to my senses and caught myself. Oh, the agony, if I would have carried through with the shameful act. But they say it is as bad to think it as it is to carry it out, right? Woe is me. What will my fellow hunters think of me? Oh well, you know what they say.....

The boys have been busy working on school projects and sports practices. Collin earned a starting spot on the 8th grade offense, playing right tackle. He's really enjoying it so far. They have their first game Thursday evening so it should be fun. (He's #78)

Adam is already working on his basketball skills, amongst his studies and his job at Arby's (and drawing, of course). Unfortunately, he has to work during Collin's game Thursday. He is taking advantage of our home court (the driveway), though. I think he's ready to push right on past football and get to the round ball.

As far as Tamra and me......you know, we're just happy to have all this activity. I was talking to a brother from our Church at the Dillon's gas pump today and we were discussing how fortunate we are to have everything at out fingertips. Yes, gas is high priced, but we still are able to get it. We have all the food we could ever want and we even have the choice of what we want, most of the time. Good water is available to us out of the tap and we always have clothes to wear. God has supplied our every need and sometimes it's easy to overlook that. What an awesome God we have!!

Round and Round We Go

Well, the "big wheel" is turning! The activities of the school year have started and there's no turning back. The boys are both heavily involved in school; Tamra's keeping them, me, the houshold and herself going; and I'm gearing up for whatever comes next.

As you can see in the first day of school picture, the boys are still running very close to being "more taller than Dad." Collin has me by at least an inch and Adam by 3-4 (depending on how much I slouch). Collin said many of the kids asked him what happened and how did he get so tall? (I told him to say that it came from Dad, but I haven't heard that yet.)

Adam is still working at Arby's and will continue to work as much as he can until basketball season. Then, he will probably just work Saturdays. As you can see from the picture, he continues to practice the "jam." He still would like a couple more inches to be consistent at it, but we'll see what happens.

Collin is out for 8th grade football and has survived the first week of practice. The team had a watermelon feed after today's practice and the boys seemed to have no problem inhaling watermelon. There was also a tug of war contest, in case they hadn't expended enough energy.

Tamra found a German Shepherd puppy so we lost her attention and assistance with the watermelon serving immediately. The puppy was thrilled with all the attention. Tamra has been working a couple days a week at Bird's CPA office (it's not so "taxing" to her now that she has the hang of it).

I'm still carrying my camera around and waiting for my big break. (You know the photo that will win me the free trip to Alaska to cover the wildlife of our largest state.) So far, my winnings have been having a few of my pictures published in the KDWP magazine - which I thought was really cool until I read the bi-line on the title page and they put in someone else's name. Hey, it's the thought that counts, right? (Just in case you're curious they are in the July/August issue on pages 40 & 42-44.) I think I heard somewhere that I get an expense non-paid trip to Cassoday, though! Just for my self-gratification though I did include a photo for you that I took Wednesday of an Indigo Bunting. (That's a bird for you non-ornithological type.) They're awesomely beautiful birds, seen rarely by the common Joe.

I've been meditating on some messages that I've heard this last week about being the same Christian everywhere you go, no matter what you are doing. It's been interesting that I've heard this same subject over and over recently. (Maybe God's telling me something?) This is one of my prayers for the new school year and I ask you to lift me up in this. I pray that I'll be like the man who "lived better than he preached."

Live it Louder!

I'm talking about Camp Galilee Oh Eight. Tamra, Adam and I spent most of last week at Bull Shoals Lake in Arkansas at church camp, where Tam and I were team leaders/counsellors for a group a high school and college kids. We had a great time, of course, but more importantly were the lives of the youth that were changed. Kids today are faced with an enormous amount of pressure, which we talked about throughout the week. Praise God that they (we) have a way out, through Him.


Our small group (Team Purple)

Our theme song this week was Let the Redeemed Say So. It's a modern worship song that talks about us being salt and light in the world, showing the world heaven. Our theme Bible verse was taken from Psalms 107:2, Let the redeemed of the world say this .... It was so encouraging to see kids that were initially strangers and rivals come together and be joined under the umbrella of His blood, becoming brothers and sisters in Christ by the end of the week.

The camp members gather for praise and worship.

Once again, the hand of the Lord was upon us the whole week with: brake trouble on the church bus going to camp, rain falling the night of our scheduled campfire and worship time, and the boat having mechanical problems. These minor setbacks showed us that God was in control and we just needed to depend on Him for his timing and guidance. (What a novel concept, huh?)
I'd ask you to pray for our youth as they get ready to return to school this week. They'll be faced with major issues in their lives again and they'll need the Armor of God (Gal. 6:10) covering them and preparing them. I'll be praying especially for our small group: Carlton, Megan, Christopher, Anna, Holly, Sarah, Mark, Wes, and Ciara.

The campfire at our late night worship.

Our team competes in the van pulling contest.

The view of the swimming area on Bull Shoals from the lodge area.

Also please remember our Sunday School prayer requests: 1) Darla's brother; 2) Annessa's mother's friend; 3)Jeanna's Dad Curtis 4) the strike at Beechcraft 5) Richard's son Kevin; 6) Mike & Chris' week.

Remember, as this busy week plays out..... we're too blessed to be stressed!

"Why Doesn't God Answer our Prayers?"

We had all prayed that God would grant us favor in relation to the weather so that the Escape Concert would go as we had planned. We had all worked so hard: planning, soliciting prizes, water, gifts, preparing meals, coordinating, handing out fliers, etc., etc. Now, it was the day of the concert and the projection units weren't working. Six of our team had stayed up all night working on the projection operation. It was cloudy, with some thunderstorms looming off to the west. We, once again, huddled in prayer and asked that the Lord would allow the rains to go around us so that we could have a successful concert.

Looking onto the crowd and the band as the Escape Concert Started


The concert started and a decent crowd had shown up. Sonlit had finished their set and the Butler Brothers were about halfway through theirs. Then it hit. The wind changed to the north, blowing information tables and their paraphernalia everywhere. Rain started and people scattered. The Escape team made a dash for the equipment, holding down tarps and carrying sensitive instruments and amplifiers under the protection of the amphitheater roof. Our audience, our precious audience was running for their cars and leaving before our headliner band DOWNHERE had even had a chance to play. We hadn't even had a chance to allow for the testimonies that we had planned or the alter call that was to be given. Why hadn't God answered our prayer? We had it all planned out to the smallest detail! Didn't God want what was best for us and His Kingdom? We were doing all of this for Him. Or so we thought.


Little did we know that had our projection units been working, instead of already being packed away when the storm hit, the strong winds would have ripped back the protective covers and the projection units and equipment would have been destroyed by rain. Little did we know that because of the weather circumstances, the Dove award winning group DOWNHERE would perform an intimate, worshipful service/concert using an inexpensive sound system from our church and a tom-tom, bucket and wastebasket for drums. Little did we know that a group of around one-hundred people would see and hear one of the most rewarding Spirit-filled concerts that some of us might ever attend.

The High School members of the FBC Youth Group performed a skit during the concert

The group Downhere sings to the crowd under the shelter of the backstage & roof of the amphitheater.

Why didn't God answer our prayer? He did. In more ways than we will ever know. You see, our prayer was our plan, not His. Our prayer was what we thought was best. Our prayer was what we wanted for us and what we wanted for God.

God's answer was better than we could have ever imagined. Praise be to God!!

Be happy in your confidence, be patient in trouble, and pray continually. Romans 12:12

A week of VBS at FBC in ELD

Wow! What an exciting week for both my church family and my personal family. We had Vacation Bible School this past M-F and what a week it was. Our (my) whole family was involved in VBS: Collin attend for his last year; Adam was one of the actors in the skits; Tamra was an assistant in the fifth grade class; and I assisted in the Middle school class and drove a church van to pick up kids each day. The best thing about the whole week was seeing the kids, on Thursday, make first time decisions to bring Christ into their lives - I believe there were 29 total decisions made to follow Christ. Now that is awesome!! The kids also had a mission project and collected enough money to purchase two motorcycles for Pastors in Liberia so they can make better use of their time, instead of spending so much time walking from place to place for their ministry. Again, an awesome deal. As a result, both of our associate pastors will be losing some hair - Pastor Dave shaves his head and Pastor Jim shaves his goatee. (I'll include photos of that in my next posting after I take them Sunday.)

I may have good news! I cleaned my Bluebird nest out and have been noticing that a pair of Blues have been hanging around the house again. This morning I saw the mail enter the house several times, so I'm hoping another nest is pending. I'm taking no chances and am covering the post with plastic guards and taking some other "precautions" against the sparrows.

Have you noticed the moon lately? Talk about a creation miracle. There have been some beautiful moon rises the last few nights. I've been working nights at the Lake this past week, so I've really been able to enjoy them. I also experimented with a different setting on my camera and caught a neat sunset - something different anyway (See photo).

Adam also finished his latest summer art project (See photo). It's his rendition of a life sized LeBron James. Adam spent about a week on it and I think it turned out pretty good. I'm probably a bit biased though.

Collin's latest endeavour is turning the house into a drum rehearsal hall. He is borrowing a trap set from a friend so he can improve his drumming skills for the youth praise band at church. He's kind of a natural at it. I still think it comes from "Uncle" Ernest.

Continue to pray for the VBS kids who just committed their lives to Christ. We'll be following up with them and covet your prayers. Also pray for our Escape concert, featuring DOWNHERE, Sonlit, and the Butler Brothers. It's this coming Saturday, 7/26, at 7 p.m. at the Walnut River Amphitheater at El Dorado Lake. It's free, so bring your kids and prepare to be blessed!!

Again, to blessed to be stressed!

Randy

The Way of the World

It's been a while since I posted a new blog page. Lots has happened in the meantime. The most significant event from my point of view, was the newly hatched Bluebird chicks that I discovered on the morning of July 4th. I was so thrilled that there was actually life that had formed out of those blue eggs. My excitement turned to disappointment, though, as I found that that the nest had been robbed of it's new life on the morning of the fifth. I wanted to be angry at the villain, but then I remembered that nature has a sometimes cruel way of assuring that all creatures may carry on in life.... I am suspecting that a snake crawled up the post where the house was secure; I haven't seen any raccoons around, or any other small mammals that could make the climb. Next year, I'll snake-proof the post.

I survived the Tuttle Creek State Park Country Stampede. It rained all of Thursday night when we worked, so that kept the drunkards pretty much at bay. One word of advice. Don't ever let your children go there without you. (Take my word for it!)

Harvest came and went this year with a few showers, but we still managed to roll on the combines. I'm the designated truck driver/wheat hauler/unloader. This year my niece, Erika, helped me haul and move trucks. We had a lot of fun and got to catch up on middle school stuff! Rod and Dad kept the combines running, holding the record for at least one breakdown every day. (The Lord didn't want us to get too overconfident in our harvesting ability.) Anyway, the wheat is in the bin and we're all the better for it.

The 4th of July at the State Park was very quiet - almost erie this year. We had a pretty good recreational crowd for the holiday weekend, although - about 59,000 visitors. There were no major injuries or issues to deal with, so we were all thrilled. Tamra and I spent the evening of the 4th watching the fireworks with some friends from Church inside Bluestem Point this year. Tamra came away with the conclusion that it's too crowded for her at the Park. We had a good time, though.(We even had a parade in the Bluestem Point Area.)

We also got a chance to attend the annual July 4th celebration at Aulne this year. It was great to see old friends and, of course, sample everyone's ice cream. Bob and the Boys entertained and put on a good show, as usual. The Fruechting brothers shot up a great booming sky show for us. I was fortunate to work days this year so I could be a part of it all.

I've had a few people tell me that they would be leaving comments, but they didn't want to go through the hassle of signing in and all. Does anyone know why my blog requires you to do this, or how to get it changed? If so, let me know.

Have a great week and remember - we're too blessed to be stressed!

Randy