Lessons from Basket Weaving etc

A year ago I didn't know how to weave baskets. A month ago I didn't know how. 3 weeks ago I didn't. Two weeks ago I learned how to weave baskets. So this past week, of course, I was qualified to teach basket weaving, right? lol The camp director thought so. So this past week I taught basket weaving. It was quite the experience. But the cool part was that it went fine. I had help and now that it is over I can look back and wow, it went fine. So the life lesson is that we often learn things the best when we teach them. This is definitely true in witnessing and many things. I guess I knew that already but it was a very tangible thing this past week. Here are my lovely baskets...

I'm having a lot of fun in the craft house.

In other news...here are some random pictures from the past several weeks.

My grandparents on their 65th anniversary during camp meeting.

Me and Jackie before our Saturday afternoon activity.
I'm a deceiver. Jackie is a Bible person.

Snow in Lake Placid!

Flashback to Camp Meeting

(Because I haven't gotten the chance to write this until now...)

Saturday night the 28th of June found me trudging back to the dorm with tears in my eyes. I always get nostalgic at the end of camp meeting. It gets worse as the years go by as each experience builds on the other. I have been blessed to be able to go to the same camp meeting every year of my life. I always want to learn something new each year and I always expect to learn something. And Jesus never lets me down.

Saturday night as I trudged to the dorm I was disappointed with how the week had ended. It had been such a wonderful time. I had been challenged, inspired, and motivated to walk closer to Jesus. And then it ended. Suddenly over.

Near the dorm where I was staying the primary tent was set up. As I neared the dorm I heard the sound of children's voices singing. They were singing praise songs in the primary tent. I stood in the darkness and listened to them and joy filled me. The week of camp meeting may have been over but it comforted me to know that the ministry of camp meeting was going on. Camp meeting has been such a blessing through the years in my life. Hearing those children singing those songs like I did years ago assured me that as long as camp meeting continued, the blessing would be passed on.

Camp meeting is a piece of Heaven on earth. It has been one of the greatest blessings of my life. This year was particularly wonderful and I was so blessed to be able to experience it once again. This year the emphasis was on the Holy Spirit. I was really convicted as to the nearness of Jesus' coming. And am once again questioning where my life is going. Come a year from now I will have to choose a direction. Am I living for myself or am I living for Jesus? If I knew Jesus was coming in 2 years would I change what I plan on doing? If so, why am I not living like that anyway? Should that not be the way we should be living? We also spent a good amount of time at Camp Meeting studying spiritual gifts. That is something I "know" a lot about but rarely think of during normal life. I want to develop my gifts more. Camp is a good opportunity for that. And come the school year Bekah and I are going to have a schedule of prayer topics. Spiritual gifts is going to be included in that. I am excited.

After I had trudged back to the dorm and packed a bit, for some reason 15 minutes later I found myself walking back out of the dorm. I had no reason to go back out. I should have been getting in bed. However, I found myself back in the large tent looking for Bekah who was helping her dad. As I walked in to the tent I saw 3 new friends we had met at camp meeting walking in to the tent looking for us- to pray together before leaving. I don't believe it was a coincidence. We joined hands in a circle and prayed together. I cried again. But this time they were tears of gratitude and joy. God truly understands the needs of our hearts.

I could

I could tell you that staff week was just fine.

I could tell you how wonderful camp meeting was. I could tell you how spiritually amazing it was. I could tell you how I made new friends. I could tell you what a wonderful week it was.

I could tell you how my grandma broke her wrist but even through that turmoil God's grace was very evident.

I could tell you about waking up at 4am to come up here and feeling the lowest I had felt in a really long time- a tumble from the high of camp meeting. I could tell you how I could tell satan was playing on my weaknesses.

I could tell you about teen week. How it has been...interesting. I could tell you how I honestly am not so sure how I feel about being here right now. It is a struggle and I feel very frustrated and a bit disappointed over the whole experience.

But I am tired.

So I will just tell you that.

Camp Memory #1

Waking up with my eye swollen 1/2 shut

(I am being attacked by bugs. It's awful. I do not care if I smell like bug spray all summer. The left 1/2 of my face has a prominent bite on my cheek. A couple by the corner of my eye. One on my eye lid. And it's red and puffy. I look deformed. Yay for long hair to cover.)

Packing Again- Camp Ho

Packing, the story of my life.

(Incidentally, I never pack this neat. I am trying to fit everything in one suitcase)

Belle knew something was happening and kept getting in my way.

(I like her expression: it is so confused!)

(Like my sleeping bag? lol, I've had it a loooong time. Back when I liked carnival colors.)

I guess I'm excited? Sorta? We'll see. lol. For some reason I am skeptical. I'll try to lighten up.:)

In other news, my mother hard-boiled eggs yesterday and one of them exploded:


See ya'll

Dye- For Danielle

I had an interesting dream last night. Kinda goes along with the thoughts of everyone's different perspectives on life. In my dream I was some other ethnicity and wearing semi-traditional clothes. I was either Muslim or Hindu I would guess. And I was engaged to a man of the same ethnicity. I and this man were shopping in a modern strip mall. I presume it was in the United States. Every time I and my engaged would walk outside to go to another store I would take his arm and he would hold my hand firmly as if to steel me from the looks of others. Every time we walked out it was as if a front was put up and we proudly walked to wherever we were going. At the end of the dream his father came and picked us up in his car. The father was wearing even more traditional attire. It was an interesting and peculiar dream.

Anyways! What have I been up to lately? Well. I dyed two shirts. I should have taken pictures of the entire process but I didn't think of it till I was nearly done. I did it on the stove top. First I used a color remover. Then washed them. Then I dyed them. Rinsed them out and washed them again. The only picture I have is of our pink bathtub as I was rinsing the shirts out. Rinsing them took the longest part of the process. I may never throw away a stained shirt that I like again. I will dye it.

Other than that I have gone down to my grandma's nearly every day to help out. We planted 48 tomato plants and I have been setting out her flowers around her house. She always has a plan of how she wants the flowers set out: in a certain pattern. I've been somewhat cooking as well. I say somewhat cause it's always desserts. I've read a few books. Watched a bunch of National Geographics. (Learned about archeology in Afghanistan, the FBI since 9/11, the remaining monarchies of the world, and the search for Kennedy's sunken torpedo boat.) And spent too much time online. I also finally got around to playing my flute yesterday. I should do that more. This coming week I need to think about camp more. I want to have a bunch of worship thoughts ready, especially for the teen week. I think I've been in denial that camp is coming. But alas, it is nearly here.

I wanted to write about my lovely experience last night of wandering around in the fields at dusk. But that deserves a blog of its own and more thought so that will come later.

It's very muggy today: going to be near 90 degrees. Ah, perhaps summer has arrived. I should go make some lemonade.

Postscript:

By popular demand, here is the dyed shirt. Sadly you have no original to compare it to, but you can see it turned out nice.

Perception

I googled for the definition of what "perception" is and amongst various definitions I settled upon the following: The feelings, attitudes, and images people have of different places, peoples, and environments.

And because I fancy myself a student of psychology I will add this: In psychology and the cognitive sciences, perception is the process of acquiring, interpreting, selecting, and organizing sensory information.

I was thinking about how I perceive the world different than every single other person. Certainly some people's perceptions of the world are similar to mine but I do not believe any one person thinks exactly the same way as another person. Because we all have different life experiences, we see things differently based on those experiences.

Our attitudes about life around us and how we interpret the information and experiences thrown at us every day are absolutely unique.

These thoughts came to me recently because I was reading an article defending the move in New York to recognize gay marriages. My initial reaction is "that's ridiculous. this world is going down the tubes." However, I believe it is important to stop and consider where people are coming from. I read the article and from that person's perception of the world, they had come to a very logical conclusion. I disagreed but it was well-thought out conclusion. I sat with the article and pondered this world. I was born in to a Christian Seventh-day Adventist home. I attended Christian schools my whole life. I have a "traditional" family with my parents still married to each other. I have been raised in a middle class white family. I live in the United States of America where freedom/liberty of speech and religion are accepted. I have freedom to travel as I have the means. This absolutely shapes my perception of the world

However, so much of the world does not enjoy these privileges and so much of the world has been raised with vastly different values and ideals.

My point is that we cannot blame people from where they come from. None of us had control of where and to whom we were born. We cannot judge people on how they have been raised. This could easily evolve in to a "what's good for you" - post modern attitude. However, I cannot believe that and be a Christian. There is a danger in hastily judging people. There is also a danger in accepting everything. It seems to be incorrect to say "I'm right" in this world. It is seen as non-tolerant and prejudiced.

But. Yes, we can't judge.. But. There is right. And there is wrong. How does someone come to that conclusion? Can someone come to that conclusion apart from the Bible and God? I'm not sure it is possible.

How do we not come across as nonjudgmental and yet hold to morality in an immoral world?

So much of what bothers me about this western world is the focus on self. We need to feel good about ourselves. We need to accept our selves and let our "inner beauty" shine. We need to be strong. We need to be real. We need not to be ashamed of ourselves. I appreciate the well-meaning behind these sentiments. We should feel good about ourselves. However, that should not come from within. We need to see ourselves in light of Jesus Christ and the worth that He gives us.

*Sigh* I'm not sure if there is any point to these ramblings. They are unorganized and spontaneous. It just seems discouraging. However, we were told that life would be like that. "As it was in the days of Noah..." People are just out for pleasure as they were in those days. Morality has become relative. Everything meant for good is perverted. Those against gay marriage are seen as intolerant and judgmental. Morality cannot be legislated. When the people become immoral so will the laws become more accepting. Anything goes.

But Jesus is coming. We have this hope.


And in light of His promises we must live our lives in the face of what ever may come. We must live as beacons of His truth and His will. And He will do the rest. We just need to be faithful.

(images: http://isg-mit.org/projects-storage/Survey_Perceve&Introduce/perception.gif, http://www.holisticeducator.com/perception.jpg)