Monthly Archives: March 2020

The past few weeks have been very interesting. I turned 60 and had a great party with a lot of friends and family – that was awesome. Before that I went to Europe with my wife and son and visited England and France – that was awesome. But through both of those fun times, lurking behind the scenes and just beginning to make the world take notice, was COVID-19 the Coronavirus. In the weeks since my birthday party the whole world has changed. Literally, the whole world. There are very few countries that have not been impacted directly by the virus – and none who have not been, or will not be, indirectly impacted.

Here at Camp Arnold (where I’m the Camp Director) we have people on Public Health Leave (which I previously did not know was a thing), we’ve cancelled all of our rental groups through at least the end of April, and we unsure of what the future holds. Our primary purpose at Camp Arnold is to provide an amazing summer camping experience for youth. And, during that week, through what we say, do and teach, to show them Jesus. And if we can help them to see how beautiful Jesus is – he will draw them to himself. BUT – we aren’t even sure right now if summer camp will be taking place.

So… we’ve been hanging out in our house a lot; taking walks around camp frequently; we’ve been going to church at places all over the country online (which has actually been very cool); and we’ve started to get kind of used to it. It’s our new normal. And I know it won’t last forever, which is great, but we are trying to find the positive and enjoy being together more than we normally are.

I hope this finds each one of you healthy and feeling blessed. You know you are blessed whether you “feel” blessed or not on a given day. So look for the blessings, love each other well, stay inside, and let’s all look forward to the old normal (with some new wisdom…).

Peace!

Wow… History is being made all around the world with the first pandemic situation in about 100 years. Many people are gripped with fear, greedy people are hoarding necessary supplies making it hard for others, and there is a big veil hiding what is happening in the upcoming weeks.

If feels kind of weird. We can usually make at least some kind of plan for our lives – even if they aren’t terribly specific. I can usually think about what I would like to do with my family on Spring Break. This time of year I would normally be making plans for summer programs at Camp Arnold (where I’m the Director). But right now I can’t even plan to go out to dinner next week, or see a movie, or drive to my daughters house to see my grandbaby (who is the cutest baby ever btw…) – everything is hidden behind that veil.

I was watching Pastor Bob Beeman this morning (on pastorbobscoffeebreak.com – find him on YouTube) and he was reminding us all that God is still in control and that he has promised us peace. So… even though there are SO many things hiding behind the veil right now, so many things I don’t know, so many questions about how the virus will affect me, my family, the people that work for me… I still have peace. Because I know that God knows my future and has promised me that “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” Romans 8:28.

Peace! It’s what’s behind the veil.

Wow! I find it hard to believe I’m turning 60 – it seems like such a big number. A couple of funny things… for one, I don’t feel very different, as a person, than I did at 35 or 40 – and I remember, when I was 35 or 40, looking at people that were 60 and feeling like, “Dang! They’re old!”. So, now I’m that guy. But that is okay ’cause just like yesterday and the day before that I know that I have a God who hold me in His hands. He loves me with an unconditional perfect love and watches over my every step. He even knows how many hairs are on my head!

So I wrote a song about turning 60. I’ll post a link to the video below. You should go listen to it if you haven’t already – especially if you’re getting older, like me. Or, you know, getting older like you! God bless!

Well…. in about a week I will be having a birthday. I will be turning 60 years old. Funny thing is, I don’t feel much different than when I was forty (yeah, I know 40 also sounds ancient to some of you). The years go by pretty fast – especially those busy years when you’re working at a responsible job, raising a family, and being involved in a lot of peripheral stuff. The business can be a lot of fun but it makes the time go quickly. I love all the memories of my family, my job, leading worship at church, leading the scouting program at church, being on the school board, doing projects with my kids, and a lot more. I think I embrace the days a little bit more now since I know how quickly the next ten years is likely to go by. And that’s not a bad thing.

The Bible talks about how we’re like a mist, or a vapor, that appears for a while and then vanishes – or like a flower that blossoms and dies. That’s a not a sad thing in itself, it’s just a reminder that our permanent home is somewhere else! The time we spend here on earth is so short in comparison. The most important thing we can do while we’re here is to point people toward Jesus! We have the unique opportunity to be God’s Ministers of Reconciliation. Being Ambassadors for Jesus. Just like an ambassador that visits America from a foreign country we have the opportunity to help people understand more about our new home. What a cool gift – even the angels don’t have the opportunity to be in the world winning souls for Christ. Only the handful of humans that have really dedicated their lives to Christ and live lives that reflect His love and His glory to the world.

Love others well and be blessed!