Fave Vacation Spot?

Well, the family and I are heading out for a Mexican vacation tomorrow...

Hey! What's your favourite vacation destination?

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

I loved pulling my own teeth. When I was a kid, I wiggled every tooth that was loose until it came out, usually on the same day. Come to think of it, I've never liked waiting. I had Jessica's engagement ring for 6 hours before I proposed. And when we raised enough money to start Ranger's new R/C truck skill (Yaaay!) at our fall banquet, it took a fair amount of willpower for me to not run out and buy the new R/C trucks.

This attitude makes its way into every part of my life. When something goes awry in my life, I pray that God will deliver me immediately and take the pain away. Maybe you can relate with my eager (and often impatient) nature. That's why I struggle with verses like this:

"I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry." -Psalm 40:1
"Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him" - Psalm 37:7

I've said it before and I'll say it again. God isn't a science experiment. He has a personality. He does what He wants. Oh, and don't forget that He's all-powerful and all-knowing.

Man... waiting isn't easy, but God operates on his own schedule. Dave and Jan are still waiting on God to sell their house. Brooke and Taylor are still waiting for God to heal their mom. I'm waiting for God to bring my brother back to Himself. And pretty much everyone who's reading this right now is wondering when God will finally answer their prayers.

What do we do?

Wait on the Lord and He will renew your strength.

And so we come, we cry, we watch, we wait, we look, we long for God.

Jesus felt alone too!

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

I was reading through the book of Psalms this morning when I came across this verse. You may recognize it from Jesus’ death; these are the words he spoke before he died. I wondered why Jesus chose to quote this verse instead of say something new to God.

So I kept reading the Psalm (you can read it here if you’d like) and saw the similarities between what Jesus went through and what King David, the Psalm’s writer, were going through: “O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest... all who see me mock me...” and on and on it goes.

Jesus really suffered. Not just physical pain, but a far greater pain: a broken relationship. When Jesus died, all the sins of the world were poured out on him. God the Father can’t be around sin, or shall I say, sin can’t be around him, so he had to turn his back on the world’s greatest sinner, Jesus. Ouch. God didn’t answer Jesus’ prayer and Jesus suffered as a result.

Let me cut to the chase: do you feel abandoned by God because he isn't answering your prayers? Do you know someone who is in great pain and feels like God is distant? Call out to God. He never promised a painless life, but he did promise that he’d never leave us or forsake us. He probably won’t answer your prayer the way you want it answered, but he does work out everything for the good of those who love him. He will carry you through the most difficult times of your life.

If you need prayer for anything, throw your request in the comments or send me an email: greg AT rlbc DOT ca

Commercial of the Day

Here's one of my favourite camp videos from this summer:

What is your favourite video from this summer?

Video of the Day

We're reviving this blog with my personal favourite video from the 2008 DVD's:

Mocha

Well, before the polling site we were using went kaput, Mocha was winning, so that is our horse's name.

So way to go, Dave Thiessen!

Name that horse -Finals

Here are the top 3 names, decided by YOU!

Choose the winner:

Creation Alternatives - Let the madness ensue!

I'll continue to let Mark Driscoll teach us with his thoughts on the alternatives to Christianity. It's totally worth the listen!

Click to listen

And the questions:


Why can we have confidence that believing God created the world is good science?

Why is good reasoning still necessary in a world where truth is often thought of as relative?

Mark says that Paganism (worshipping creation) is the only alternative to Christianity. What makes it so tempting to worship creation instead of the Creator?

Salvation And Election

Mark Driscoll from Mars Hill Church in Seattle is great. And he has some awesome thoughts on how we come to Christ. Give it a listen, read the Scripture, then post the answers to the below questions in the comment section. And just so we're clear, I'm not into criticizing people's views and thoughts, so don't be afraid to share!

Click to listen

The Scripture:

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. " -Eph 2:8,9

And the questions:

1. How do you earn salvation?
2. When a non-Christian ends up in Hell, why do they get exactly what they wanted?
3. If God intervenes and overrides free will to save us, why do we still need to share His message with campers this summer?

Staff Training Series

Our Senior Staff Training weekend on the last weekend of May was amazing. At the end of the weekend, I said that we will post training material on this blog along with interactive questions that I want them to answer.

I realize that most of you who read this blog aren't senior staff... and that's alright! Please stick around; I encourage everyone to participate in the coming discussions. So, as of today, the staff training series begins!

Name That Horse!

Alright, it's been a while coming, but here's the horse naming contest where YOU get to be the judge! I chose my favourite names from each person and made 3 polls. Vote in each of the below polls and the winners from each will compete in one final poll. The winning name from the final poll will earn its creator a $5 gift certificate from the tuck shop!

Facebook

Yes, we finally made a Facebook account. So if you're into Facebook, search for "Ranger Lake Bible Camp"!

Name That Horse!

We added another horse to the flock, but it needs a new name! Here's a picture:
Oh poor, poor nameless horsie. Please leave your name suggestions in the comments. The winner will be determined by a vote, and the winner will get a prize.
Update: The horse is female, so name accordingly!
Update #2: Our Riding Director, April, kindly informed me that this horse is a MALE and is not female. Sorry for the confusion!

Interview Video

Our spring banquet was on Friday, and it was great! Some of our former staff and campers shared about their experience at Ranger. You may recognize them. Enjoy!

link disclaimer: RLBC is not associated/affiliated with any content on YouTube other than its own.

God's amazing creation!

I saw this today... truly one of God's most amazing creatures!

Prove it! (part 1)

I read something shocking today in Revelation:

The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months. He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. -Revelation 13:5-7

Can you imagine the arguments that the Christians (the saints) are going to have to put up with when this happens? I can imagine it:

(Some Guy stumbles onto Christian, who is praying, and...)
Some Guy: "Hey, prove to me that your God exists!"
Christian:"Well, he's working all around us. Look at His creation. This couldn't happen by mistake."
Some Guy: "Ha! You're getting slaughtered! Our beast taunts your God, challenging Him, but he doesn't respond! If your God really existed, He'd defend himself and the ones he loves."

Here's where you come in. What could Christian say to prove to Some Guy that God exists? Let's hear it in the comments.

Registration Station - part 2

Hey everyone,

Camp registration is now OPEN!!! And new this year... online registration. That's right, you can now securely register through our website here. And if you register online and pay your $100 registration fee before April 16/08, you will receive a FREE RLBC T-SHIRT!

Registration Station

Well, I have to apologize: we're doing something different with our camp registrations this year, but a company we're working with on this project is a little behind. We hope to have the information in the mail by Friday!

Until then, feel free to visit our website and choose out the week you want to come for.

New Addition

Hey everyone,

Last night at 8pm, Jessica gave birth to our third child, a boy! His name is Trygve (pronounced "TRIG-vee") and both him and Jess are doing great. But I could use some more sleep ;)

Video of the Day

Seeing that I love making up "alternate" lyrics for P&W songs, this video really hit me...

link disclaimer: RLBC is not associated/affiliated with any content on YouTube other than its own.

It's-a Mario!

My son loves Mario 64. I noticed how intense this love was when I heard him telling his Kindergarten teacher all about Mario and his exploits. God bless her, she's so patient.

He's actually playing it right now as I type this! He's pretty good at it; he can beat Bowser all on his own. Yep, I'm a proud daddy.

Anyhow, I can't believe how often he gets stuck at a part of the game says, "I can't! I can't do it." He'll try once or twice and then determine that all hope is lost, and the only way out of it is to get me to do it for him. In his eyes, he is inadequate.

"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." - Phillipians 4:12,13

The apostle Paul had something to complain about, but he had such an amazing attitude, an attitude of abundance and not scarcity. He was tortured, shipwrecked, imprisoned, etc, etc, but this is what he writes. Why? He trusted that God would supply all of his needs. He knew that at the end of the day, it was God's strength and not his own.

Too many times things don't go as planned and we throw up our arms in frustration and give up. Who gives you strength? We often run into circumstances that seem impossible. How will it get done? Christ and Christ alone. The more we place our trust in him, the more we realize that our glasses are not half full or half empty. They are full!

Next time you find yourself thinking, "I can't," remember who gives you strength. Whose child are you anyways? God is always taking care of us no matter what and we need to rest in that truth.

Website Update

I've updated our website, www.rlbc.ca, to reflect our summer camp dates. Check it out!

God Is Always

Hi! Well things are really busy but I am loving what I am doing. God has really been showing himself to me and filling my cup. The last couple of years I have been pouring out and it is nice to get centred with God again. I love my church it is awesome; every service i walk away amazed, full of joy and tears. The presence of God is definitely in that place and the only place I've felt the same was at camp.

After every service people go up to the front and the pastors pray for them as the rest of the congregation is worshiping. It is so intense: last week we had one adult and five youth come to Christ. I have never felt that at a church before. and every one wants to get to know me.

This week the pastor talked on Malachi 3:10 "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."

Tanya (top right) and her wrangler team

Pouring out, God is always pouring and all we have to do is put our cup under it until its full. But we often only let him fill us half way and then say thats enough, or we pour it out as soon as we get the cup full. Or we hold our cup upside down not getting any in the cup. We need to let God fill us to the top so we can pour it out into others. We need to fill our cups so we can fill others in our schools, workplaces, on the street. if we have our cup half full it drains quickly and we have nothing left for ourselves. We must continue filling it: in the Word, in prayer.

Let God fill you to the top and overflow. Pour into people and let others pour into you. Let God Do It, don't hold him back.

May God Bless Your Socks Off!
Tanya Klippenstine

Tanya was our Riding Director last summer and is currently working at her dream job: training horses full-time

Time to apply!

I updated our staff applications to reflect the 2008 camp dates. Take a look, clear your schedule, and start applying! Coming soon: camper registration (with one suprise!)

LIT Retreat

Ranger Lake Bible Camp and Camp Kadesh are teaming up to bring you the best times and best training of any LIT retreat. Come find out what it takes to be part of the Ranger staff team, try ice-climbing, soak in the hot tubs, eat some delicious camp food, and have tons of fun!
If you're in grades 8-10, download the application for more information!

Basement Reno's

Our Site Manager's house is in desperate need of an overhaul, so we kicked off the renovations by gutting the basement! Here's a video of the event:

link disclaimer: RLBC is not associated/affiliated with any content on YouTube other than its own.
If you want to help rebuild what we destroyed, drop us a line in the comments.

That's why we pray

I scheduled a meeting with a friend yesterday to help me buy something. After waiting 30 minutes, I figured that he'd forgotten our meeting. Doesn't it stink when that happens? With driving time, I took an hour out of my schedule for this, and rescheduling means I have to lose another hour of my time. Frustrating.

While I was busy feeling sorry for myself, I had an inkling to pray about it. "Pray? About something so small, so insignificant?" I thought. "I don't need to bug God about this kind of stuff. I can just reschedule and meet him tomorrow."

Immediately, I was reminded of this truth:

Cast your cares on the LORD
and he will sustain you;
he will never let the righteous fall.
-Psalm 55:22

God wants to know what's on our mind. Whatever - that's right, whatever - is on our minds. I know, I know: he knows what we're thinking already, right? But if we don't pray about it, we don't release it into his hands. In other words, I wasn't giving God the opportunity to work by asking for His help.

I prayed, "God, I know this is silly. I can come back tomorrow. But I'd really like to get this done now, so could you please send someone else to help me?"

3 minutes later, my buddy Jay shows up asking, "What are you doing here?" Incidentally, I knew exactly what he was doing here...

All I Ate For Christmas

I love food. A lot. But make me choose my favourite Christmas meal? Hmm... that's not easy...