Useless Hands

I've been out of commission for two days.  After a bout with poison ivy (which was itchy, but not that bad) I have some other type of horrible rash that is on my hands.  Just about anywhere else on my body and I would still be at work, but yesterday I could barely make a fist.  How am I supposed to work with my hands when my hands don't work?

Please take a few minutes to pray that God would heal my hands (and legs that have the same rash) so that I can get back to work.  We have a quickly approaching deadline for the gym and I really need to be there getting things done.

Please pray that financial support will come in so that my wife and I can buy insurance.  I have yet to visit a doctor about this condition and have been using over the counter medicines to treat the problem.

Lastly, please pray that God will give us the ability to get the gym finished on time and that God would be glorified through it's use this summer and going forward.

UPDATE: My hands and legs are pretty much rash free now.  They no longer itch, though if I am very active and get my temperature warmed up a bit, you can still clearly see read splotches where the rash was.  Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.

Finishing Touches

At the camp we've been extremely busy putting the finishing touches on the new gymnasium.  Walls are being painted, the drop ceiling is almost complete in the meeting room, flooring is just about finished.  This is an exciting time.  God has taught me so many different things during this season of my life, but the thing I'd like to focus on today is...

Finishing Touches

When you are building something as massive as this gym (an ordeal that has taken us more than two years), it is easy to start strong.  You have an excitement that is naturally brought about by new experiences. We rise to the challenge. But as the work continues (especially over a long time) passion can wane. Finishing work such as spackle, paint, and trim may become sloppy. This is a shame, because it is, in the end, the thing that most people see and notice. Few people walk into a new building and appreciate the lumber used for the studs in the wall. Few people appreciate the quality of the concrete used in the foundation. I'm certainly not trying to diminish the importance of framing or foundations; the building couldn't stand without them. But it is the crown molding, the shade of blue on the wall, the soft carpet beneath one's feet that most people take note of when they enter a building.

Finishing Well Matters!

Finishing touches done well (or not) are the difference between a beautiful welcoming environment or a noticeably shoddy job. The same is true in life. 

Life is full of transitions. Are you almost done with high school or college? Finish well. Having a 4.0 GPA your last semester will be the icing on the cake along with your diploma (and it will help out your overall GPA as well). Have you given two weeks notice at your job? Giving an extra heave-ho at those last two weeks will really make your recommendations shine in the future. Are you a performer of some sort? Always end with something big, because that is what the audience remembers.

So I encourage you in whatever you are wrapping up right now to end it well. Give that project at work that extra little touch! In your workout, go for an extra two reps! If you are building a gymnasium, make sure those finishing touches are all done right!

It is never too late to give your all.

Top 10 Things To Love About Camp

10. Awesome hikes:

At Shiloh we get to enjoy a beautiful hike to a mountaintop (hilltop for all you west coast/rocky mtn. folks) that overlooks one of the most beautiful reservoir views I've ever seen. Sunrise, sunset, or anywhere in between you won't regret this sort of mountaintop experience.

9. Challenge courses:

How often do you get to rock climb up 50 feet in the air? How many zip lines have you been on? How about some team building or problem solving 20 feet above the ground? Looking for a rush? This is where it's at!

8. Camp food

Many people think that camp food is unhealthy and tastes terrible. You can blame Hollywood for that one. But the truth is, most camps try to offer healthy options for their campers. Not to mention that I can't remember ever walking away from a camp meal still hungry.  Also, s'mores. 'Nuff said.

7. Bows & Arrows:

That's right! Bows & arrows! In NJ it is pretty unusual to have regular access to this stuff. Boys can finally do more than pretend to be Robin Hood and Girls can more than pretend to be Katniss Everdeen. At camp you can learn exactly what it takes to be an archer like the best of them! 

6. Late night conversations:

Sleepover conversations are one of the best things about growing up. But that is only good for one night. At camp, you get to do this for a whole week! Often the hilarity that ensues during these conversations is beyond mention. But I would guarantee that at least one night during your week at camp, something serious worked its way into the discussion and you created a real connection with someone.

5. Music

Most people don't get opportunities to sing out loud other than alone in their own car. But at camp, you can sing loud and proud regardless of the quality your voice. Music helps connect people to a degree that other mediums could never even come close to.

4. Camp fires

I think that my favorite smell in the entire world is that of a camp fire. The smell that lingers on your clothing is earthy and warm and brings back so many great memories. Some music and some time to share about your week make this a special time for a lot of folks. Also, s'mores. Again, 'Nuff said.

3. The Staff

I still remember camp counselors from when I was a little kid. Most specifically I remember a guy named Shane and his brother Tim. They always ran the clinic for R.C. cars. One of the best things about the staff is that you can eventually be a part of it! Some of my co-workers became best friends (and vice versa). That brings me to my next point

2. New friends

I don't think that I could list all of the wonderful people that I met at camp. Those late night conversations help to add depth to a connection that is made while picking teams for dodgeball, singing camp songs, or fighting over that last piece of bacon at breakfast.

1. It can change your life:

A single weekend away at camp can change your life forever. Imagine what a whole week, month, or even a summer at camp can do! During the school year, many kids eat for free at school, but in the summer, for some families they have trouble scrounging up money for the extra meal. For these campers, a scholarshiped week at camp is the only week all summer that they don't go hungry. That can help change a life. Some kid's don't have anyone at home who will listen to them - a "seen but not heard" mentality. Having a camp counselor who will listen to them, encourage them, and believe in them can change a life. Thousands of campers also choose to have a relationship with a God who loves them deeply. Now that is a changed life!

Did I forget anything? Feel like I left something out? Feel free to share some of your memories in the comment section!

Spring Cleaning

I've officially finished my first full week at Shiloh and I can 100% honestly say that I have never felt as sore as I have this past week. The gym construction site was pretty messy and disorganized. It needed some serious TLC and that was what I was tasked to this week. It was time for some spring cleaning (nice since spring has finally decided to arrive this week).

I moved large piles of sheetrock. Sometimes it was moving it only a matter of 10 feet, but if you've never moved a 14'x4' piece of sheetrock I can tell you that it weighs 100.8 lbs and sheets come attached in pairs.
- Now instead of these sheets taking up 56 sq. ft. of floor space they are leaning up against a wall.

I moved all of the yet unattached doors. Most doors in a person's house are hollow so that they are light weight and easy to open. But in a commercial building, all of the doors have to be fire rated and they are heavy and solid.
-Now these doors are set up by size and swinging direction ready to be grabbed when they are needed.

I swept up (and vacuumed up) more dust than I could possibly express.
-Now workers can move around without trudging through (and kicking up) a layer of dust.

I organized all of the tools by type and by task. All of the tools for sheetrocking and spackling are on one table.  All of the power tools (drills, grinders, saws, etc...) are on another table.  All of the fasteners (screws, nails, tape, zipties, etc...) are on yet another.
-Now when someone is looking for an item for a specific task, they don't have to take 30 minutes looking for what they need.

Why am I saying these things? While I do think I am awesome for doing all of these things, that isn't why I'm telling you about it. I want you to know that when you keep your life organized, keep your life clean, you enable yourself and others to better serve those around you.

If your life is crazy and you never know where you are going to be three weeks from now (none the less three hours from now), you are less able to help others. If your car is messy (and I'm speaking directly to myself on this one) you are unable to pick up that old lady walking in the rain with her groceries. If you don't take care of your house it is hard to invite people over for a bible study or a youth group's "night out/in".

What I'm driving at is if you keep a schedule and live a life with less clutter you will be more able to live the life to which God is calling you. Have you ever missed and opportunity to help someone because of disorganization or being messy in some way? What parts of your life might require some spring cleaning?

Errors - or - What Not To Do with Grout.

Error 417: Expectation Failed -

You see, two Saturday's ago at Shiloh I tried to grout a shower stall for the first time ever.  I thought I was doing great.  I got that grout between the tiles.  And I did it pretty fast too!  The problem was that I didn't realize how fast it dried.  Nobody told me that if I waited more than about 30 minutes I wouldn't be able to get the grout cleaned up.  You see, you are supposed to take a damp sponge and wipe the tiles down to clean up excess grout.  I expected to be able to grout the room, then wipe it down.  I was wrong.  You only have about 30 minutes before it has to be wiped down.

Error 449: Retry With -

I tried valiantly with the sponge to correct my first error.  But honestly I was mostly just tearing holes through the sponge because of the amount of pressure that I was adding.  I called my good friend Pete over to help me out (and God bless him he spent a few hours scrubbing with me).  We scrubbed the walls together. It still wasn't enough though. So I decided that we would retry with kitchen sink sponges (the yellow ones with the scratchy green side). It worked a little bit better. But the grout was hardening faster than we could scrub.

Error 462: Destination Unreachable -

This is really what it felt like. I had been scrubbing for hours and had to leave for my nieces first birthday party. I skipped lunch to try to get this done, but I still couldn't finish. I knew that it was over. By the time I could come back a few days later this would be as hard as it would get.

Error 405: Method Not Allowed - 

By this point my arms were kinda sore. The repetitive motion of scrubbing the tiles was pretty tedious. This is when I decided to work smarter - not harder.  I hopped in my car and went to the nearest hardware store where I picked up a brush that attaches to a drill. This was my ticket to the finish line!

All I can say is that it is a good thing I tested it out on an inconspicuous area because it really kinda messed up one of the tiles. The grout was gone, but so was the finish on part of the tile. I knew that this was not an acceptable solution

Error 424: Method Failure -

One of the guys I worked with suggested steel wool. Again though it was exhausting on the arms after two hours or so of hard scrubbing.I took some zip ties and attached the steel wool to the drill in an effort to once again alleviate my arms. It worked for quite a while, but after about 30 minutes it looked like a steel sheep had shed all over the floor. The steel wool just didn't hold up.

By this time our foreman at the gym had heard about my predicament and bought some heavy duty scouring pads. Of everything I have used, so far these work the best. I attached them to the drill and they took the grout off fast, with no negative side affects, but the pads just don't hold up.  Over the course of about 2 hours I went through the three industrial grade scouring pads that I had.

Error 406: Not Acceptable -

Later this week I still have to finish scrubbing this down (I have to find more of those scouring pads first). I know that leaving this long term is not acceptable.  However, I'm trying to clean up my mess. Hopefully I'm finished with this by the end of the week.  

I guess the points I'm driving at are:

1) When you mess something up, you should try to do something about it.

2) Fixing an error can take FAR longer than making one, and
3) Learn all you can about something new before you jump in head first.

Your turn:

When have you ever had to spend time cleaning up after a mess that you've made?  How much longer did it take than making the mess?  Tell us about it in the comments. Also, for those of you who have no idea what all these numbers mean, check out Wikipedia.

The Last Words of Jesus Revisited

Months ago, I had a discussion with a friend about the topic of Jesus last words on the cross and he brought up some interesting points.  However I can't remember who I was talking with, so if you read this post and say, "Hey that was me!", please let me know so that I can give you credit where credit is due.

Tonight I'm not going to tell any exciting stories from camp or go into detail about how a major furniture retailer could be a model for the modern church.  Tonight, on this Good Friday, I'd like you to consider something about Jesus' last words that He said while on the cross.  When I read His words, "It is finished" I always thought that it meant that forgiveness was finally here.  

But does it?

What was finished?  He wasn't dead (or He wouldn't have been talking).  So His life wasn't quite finished.  Were we forgiven already?  Then why did he have to die and rise again?  No, that can't be it.

I'd like to put forth the idea that Jesus was referring to the Father turning his back on Him.  The process would seem to have begun when Jesus cries out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!" and that the process ends when he says, "It is finished."

This is important, because as the Father turns his face away, Jesus feels the pain of living without the Father.  He understands the mortal condition in a new way.  Growing up, my mother always described Hell as not so much the fire and brimstone (though that too), but as a place with the absence of God.  Jesus experienced Hell on that cross when His Father looked away.  He experienced that Hell so that we don't have to experience that Hell for eternity.

Think about this as we head into this Easter weekend.  Be blessed by Jesus' sacrifice.  Glorify the Father for his boundless forgiveness.  And pray that the Holy Spirit will fill you with Joy to the point of overflowing.

More On Confession

This is PART II of my discussion on confession.  For the PART I, click here.

I sometimes feel like the modern protestant church has abandoned confession almost all together because they feel the Catholics took it to an extreme.  But let me tell you, whether you are Catholic, Protestant, Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Pentecostal  or any other denomination, you can take this principle to heart and it will improve the relationships in your life. How do I know that confession is good for us regardless of where we are or who we affiliate ourselves with on any given Sunday?

The bible says so.

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

James 5:16 (NIV) 

When we confess our sin, we do a few things:

1. We heal relationships and break down walls between each other.

2. We remind each other (and ourselves) that we all have our own faults.

3. We create real bonds through our transparency.

4. We can pray for each other better when we really know each other.

Let me tell you though, the best thing about confessing is the freedom that it creates. When you are in a relationship with someone and you can admit imperfections (and I mean specific imperfections) it allows them to see who you really are. When someone knows your faults and weaknesses they can also help you with them. The thing is you have to stick with it. Be open and honest with each other. If you hurt someone, fess up, even if they didn't realize it was you who hurt them.

My wife and I are reading through author Gary Chapman's book, The Five Languages of Apology. First off, I highly recommend the book. And while not dealing directly with the idea of confession, it really makes the aftermath of confession make more sense. Let's face it, if you have been living in a marriage or friendship that hasn't been built on honesty, at first, living more openly will be pretty challenging. Feelings might get hurt, battles might ensue, and white flags might need to be raised. But gaining a deeper understanding of how to apologize and why people need a real apology can only help you.

The picture on the right hand side is the sort of attitude that allows real transparency and genuine confession in a relationship. When you love unconditionally it allows for open expression.  I've seen the first part of the saying many times on the internet, but it really is the second sentence that sums it up for me. "I'll stand by you."
It is simple and yet, beautiful.

So I encourage you, give confession a chance. Let someone that you trust in on your weaknesses and they can help build you up in Christ. You'll be amazed at what can happen. Who knows your willingness to open up might allow the other person to receive the gift of going second.