I have begun a new blog. No, I didn't really expect you to cheer. Here's the thing. This site was begun as a family blog, which we found was better suited through our mass emails and facebook. So, I assumed the site for personal publishing. But it no longer fits, so I have a new site: notalwaysdeep.weebly.com

Reflection and Water

My journal entry tonight. I rarely share these thoughts. Most often just between me and my Savior. Sitting on a dock, surrounded by water, looking at the sky through Skyview, reflecting on our time with the Cedine family. My soul is refreshed. We have been blessed. We have been stretched. We have been frustrated. We have been enriched. We are thankful God has led us into this ministry. God is at work here, on several levels. Personal. Relational. Corporate. Staff. Camper. Campers. "Every time we open the Bible God speaks." Pastor Kenny. And God's Word gets opened frequently. God speaks and moves often here. What a blessed adventure to join. Yes, ahead is uncertain. It won't be happy and warm and fuzzy most of the time. I am certain we will want to quit. We may be faced with disappointment and discouragement. We may be depressed as Satan seeks to derail us. But. If God called us to this, none of that matters. Obedience. It is the only option. It is the only profitable path. It is the only way to God's promised blessing. So we trust and obey. Neither is easy. Neither makes you feel good all the time. Both are required of faithful servants. A beautiful night to look at the sky, listen to the Universe praise its Creator, thank Him for being my friend.

The Severest School

We started a family conversation like this: "What event or lesson has impacted you this year?" Answers varied from, "House fire," to "Co-workers," to "Stepping out of my comfort zone," to "All the big things rolled into one." Then we talked about the memories generated from those events, both personally and as a family. As we looked back, with no exception, we were thankful for what God allowed. Thankful for His choosing. Thankful to have each other to ride the bumps with. Thankful for where we are now and what God is allowing us to enjoy. But then I read this: "We should remember that one man is much the same as another, and that he is best who is trained in the severest school." (Thucydides) I have no idea who Thucydides is, and I don't much like statements like this. Why? Well, because it lines up with scripture and is truth. The statement was quoted in a book on how the elite Navy SEALs are trained, and turned from ordinary people to exceptional warriors. Said another way, when we experience life's difficult/tragic/heartbreaking/ruthless moments, by God's grace we CAN come out, as Thucydides said, "he [who] is best". Before I go further and you think I'm claiming we've endured life's difficult/tragic/heartbreaking/ruthless moments and have become the best, I will say, for me and my house, "We have not." However, we HAVE been through some difficult things. As we talked we mentally walked through the ones that showed up as familial mile markers for us: House fire Closed ministry door Experiencing (with Seth) unexplained neurological questions and fears (Seth's migraine seizure) Learning we had to move shortly after settling into a home Not knowing within days where our next home would be Difficulty with persons at work Together these were difficult and heartbreaking and somewhat ruthless events, out of our control, that left us wondering what God was trying to do in us, in our family. When talking about the house fire that God used to remove almost everything we "owned", a common response has been, "How tragic." Honestly, the fire was the least tragic for us, even though we experienced (and still do) some very difficult moments of remembering what was lost (pictures, journals, etc.). Back to my point. If people are best when trained in the severest school, then God graciously - NO, lovingly brought each event onto our timeline. Because He desperately loves our family, each of us, and wants to make us elite servants for His honor and attention. STOP!!! I did NOT say that we ARE elite servants. I said God desperately wants to make us that way. So as we talked, we also talked about the impact. What I heard my family, the individuals in my home say was that our collective and individual thinking has changed this year. WE ARE NOT elite servants of our Savior. BUT, our thinking has changed, and we are seeking to obediently submit to God's plan. God's severest classrooms are never fun, but they CAN ALWAYS produce the best. Elite servants. Those who obediently submit to God. Those who obediently want to bring all attention to God, the Holy Spirit, the Son. Final thought. Last January, Michelle and I chose to pick a word that would hopefully define our character by the end of the year. We chose resilience. Then as we talked we decided we didn't like what that might bring. So we settled on "Graceful Resilience." Such a soft gentle improvement, no? So we decided this year to pick something less painful. Or should we? If the best come from the severest school, we should eagerly choose a very tough character quality. Just a thot.

No Agenda

I'm fired up. No, actually, I'm ticked off! Not the best time to be writing my thoughts. And.... here goes. I recently read a social media posting that the public school has no agenda, that teachers do all they can just to get kids to read, let alone get them to believe a certain thing. Well, if this is true, why are we wasting so much money failing? It is the rare public school that graduates excellent students. I'm not talking about academic excellence. I'm talking about excellent students. Young people who are excellent. Not run-of-the-mill introductees to adult society. EXCELLENT.... people. Indoctrination. Like what is portrayed or not, the public school system has an agenda. An aggressive, anti-God agenda. Some schools are "Christian friendly", whatever that means, and some are aggressively against God and anything that hints of God. We used to live in a community with a "normal" public school. I had several Christian friends who worked in that school. They regularly boasted about how many teachers and staff were Christians. I even heard this comment once: "There are so many Christian teachers and staff that [---] is practically a Christian school." Practically? In practice this public school acted as a Christian school? Really? The last time I talked to one of the teachers about the school they said drugs were still a big problem. Sounds Christian in practice to me. Practically Christian. No agenda. Our public school system is NOT seeking to bring our kids to a position of better servants of our Lord Jesus. You may argue that it's not designed for that. Yet Christians keep arguing the benefit of having Christian kids influenced by and influencing the public school. A mission field for young Christians. You, saved and redeemed Christian teacher, may be seeking to build stronger Christians, but our public school system is not. The history of our public school system may have been rooted in good principled thought (yes, I believe at one time a dictionary may have been a major text book, and the Ten Commandments were mandatory memorized material is certain public schools), but we aren't there now, brother. Agenda? Yes. Our public school system has an agenda, as set by the Board of Education (BOE), which is an arm of a fat government. Those who are failing to set strict conservative financially, spiritually, familially sound principles for our nation are dictating to its educational agency what is to be taught and tested upon in our public school system. Yes. Our public schools have an agenda, and it's NOT helping our country develop people of excellent moral character. No agenda? I rarely hear of public schools teaching ANY world view on natural history apart from uniformitarianism (more commonly know as "The Theory of Evolution", which, by the way, it's not a theory. It's an hypothesis - a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation (Google). You have to have abundant evidence for a hypothesis to become a theory. There is no evidence of one life form making the jump to add new information to become a different life form or add anything to it's original state). It's actually a faith system. Hence, the "ism". But the BOE would sooner be called terrorist than admit teaching religion in the public school. No agenda? Teaching only one poorly researched and evidenced world view sounds like an agenda to me. A very narrow minded agenda. Yes, I expect many many reactions to what I have posted. And no, I'm not backing down. This may be a way to reduce my friend count on Facebook. Please, freely respond. I will not block or delete unless you attack other individuals or use unnecessary language.

Why is Sunday a blur?

I keep hearing about how restful Sunday used to be. How it used to be a day of rest. But it has become a day filled with activity, most often good activity, from breakFAST, to many many hours at church, to a large meal after church, to an afternoon absorbing what someone else feels should be your thoughts for the day (tv, cable, movies, video games, social networking, ad nausium), planning for the coming week, finishing up a few tasks from the week of work, finances, emails, online purchases,. Note: I only said "most"; not all good time consumers. Sunday is so jammed with stuff, for many it is no longer restful.

We watch the clock all day, dreading Sunday night when we head for bed, knowing that as soon as our batter worn head hits the pillow Monday will be here. We head into Monday exhausted, frustrated, guilt ridden, weary, stressed, tense, feeling cheated of our "right to relax".

I am going to suggest a different approach to Sunday. Nothing novel, just different. Actually, really really old fashioned. What if you to disciplined yourself to put aside all work, all electronic devices, all media input, all hustle, prepare Sunday lunch on Saturday night (men, I'm aiming that one at you - crock pot meals are easy and wonderful after church), get to bed in time to be early for church, then just relax and let the day flow?

Please?

Here's how it looks at our house, which, by the way, is usually FILLED with noise and chaos and activity and work the entire balance of the week. It actually sort of starts Saturday morning with Saturday chores. Well, no. It starts Saturday breakfast which Michelle and I make before the kids are awake. During breakfast we stop for a VERY simple Family Devotion time. Then, it's Saturday chores until they are done, and usually a Saturday project (interpreted - work that Dad has dreamed up). The reason I took this detour through our Saturday is because I want to show that we wrap up the week by cleaning the house and rooms and kind of "reset" life from the chaos of the week. This "reset" gets us a little more ready to rest on Sunday.

After Supper on Saturday we have a "no media or electronic devices" policy. So, if you plan on hanging with us on Saturday, please hang your phone or computer outside. Note: we will not be held responsible for any wet devices. ;) Sometime before bed, I put roast stuff in the crock pot for Sunday lunch. This way we (read "Michelle") don't have to jam that in before leaving for church. I have a simple recipe if any guys want to know.

We really try to get to church 10 minutes before we are required in place for anything. Really takes the stress out of getting there. And we actually - usually - arrive with real smiles, mostly. If we're early we even take our time walking to the building.

After enjoying a less stress filled morning at church we head home, greeted by the crock pot dinner that is anxiously waiting to be consumed. Everybody helps set the table, sort of. Several of us have trouble staying focused, but then someone calls my name and I'm back in the game.

After lunch, I wash the dishes... well, at least last week I did. Then each of us is free to enjoy the afternoon. Reading, napping, walking... whatever. Just no electronic input. Not even praise and worship music. It's a day of quiet... lots of quiet. Unless of course a wrestling match explodes on the floor. We even go to bed without any electronic/media input.

I will not speak for my family here, but I have noticed that Sunday night I go to bed much more rested, less stressed, having greatly enjoyed the day of rest - rest from work, noise, electronic/media stimuli, busy-ness, frenetic activity.

My first Sunday doing this I actually was scared not to check my email or facebook. I was afraid something would come through that really needed my immediate attention. Really? I have since realized I'm not that important.

So, if you find Sunday less that peace filled and restful, I challenge you. Yes, it will scare the daylights out of you to NOT check facebook even once. And no fair sneaking into the bathroom with your phone or ipad. You will think you have become a freak. That the rest of the culture is racing into the future without you. But facebook WILL figure out how to function without you for one day. Our first Saturday/Sunday of doing this I was very scared to not check my email, check facebook, work on finances. Weirdest thing? Facebook has not been affected at all by my absence. Well, at least no one has said anything. "Hey Bruce... I noticed ALL day yesterday you didn't comment on a single thing I posted." Yeah right.

Ok, seriously. I now relish Saturday night and Sunday. Not because it's on the weekend, but because I know that my mind will get to take a break from all the normal junk that clutters it.

Just a thot...

2014-04-11

This will be the final post we make here regarding our family ministry. At the encouragement of my lovely best friend, Michelle, I will use this site as a place to, well, blog. Stay tuned. And without further rambling...

Cook's Short Order Update

We are moved!! And almost completely unpacked! A friend of ours from our church is renting a farm house to us. It's 5 bedroom, a great yard with trees, running water and indoor plumbing! We are blessed!

Seriously, it is all of the above and we are enjoying the place. There's the normal "old house" stuff: extra residents and stuff to repair, BUT, it's our new home and we really like it. We will try to get pictures of it soon. Just been way too busy... still recouping after the fire. We have guessed we are in the new "normal" now.

Pray for Bryan. He's back in West Virginia. We miss him. Pray for Nate. He is looking for full time work as his recent job did not work out. Pray Caleb as he wraps up his senior year (many hick ups that God allowed - leaving Camp David, house fire, moving twice). We pray that this time will register in his mind in years to come as a time when he learned a new level of friendship with God. Pray for Kaitie as God continues to develop her as a growing young woman of God. Pray for Seth as he continues to grow as God's man. Pray for Michelle as she seeks to reorganize the home and schooling with little time left this school year. Pray for her also as she seeks to get her business, Simply Homespun In Missouri back up after the fire. Pray for Bruce as he seeks to be a godly leader for the family and an asset at work.

We have a friend who senses God is leading them into full time ministry using their skills - medical and criminal justice. Please, if you know of any needs get in touch with Rick and Melinda Rathbun at melindarathbun@gmail.com.

And a final note; could we ask a favor? If you have pictures of us pre-2005, we would be grateful for copies, digital or otherwise. We are slowly trying to collect thousands of prints we lost in the fire.

Gratefully serving with you,
Bruce, Michelle, Bryan, Nate, Caleb, Kaitie, and Seth

Time to move

Cook's Short Order Update

Time is moving about the same speed it always has, like it or not. However, the last few days/weeks have seemed like a blur. We won’t bore you with the details except to say that we should be moving the end of this week.

According to whoever decides these things, our future landlord will be closing on “our” house this Friday. We are excited! We plan to sleep in the house Friday night. We shall see.

Last Thursday, it was so beautiful out that we took a picnic to a nearby lake and, well, enjoyed. When Seth jumped out of the van he jumped up on a boulder, took a deep breath, and with his arms stretched out yelled out, “Freedom!” We have so appreciated the apartments made available for us, but we will be so glad to move back to the country. This time just a few minutes from church.

We have appreciated the many ways many have expressed so much love and care and kindness. Thank you! We still have so much to care for since the fire. We would appreciate your prayer as we work through listing the contents and other details. By God’s grace, we are doing well and growing.

Gratefully serving with you,
Bruce, Michelle, Bryan, Nate, Caleb, Kaitie, and Seth

26 on the horizon

Number 26 is on the horizon. The other day I tried to count all the houses I remember living in since I was born. Course, I could be off by a couple. To my best knowledge, the apartment we are living in now is my 25th home.

After our house fire, Pastor David mentioned to our church family that we need a place to rent. A person heard the comment and was currently in the process of looking at and possibly purchasing a place to rent.

To make a long story short, he wanted to find a good family to rent to, and we are a family that needs a place to stay. God has some details to work out but it looks like 2 weeks from now (or so) we will move to [my] house number 26, AND God has provided so many more things. It's in the country, it has 5 bedrooms, Bunker will get to rejoin us, we can have a garden this summer, plenty of place to play and roam, really a nice place to call home.

Could we ask for one big thing for you to pray about? Closing for our future Landlord is around March 14. He and we would like to wrap this up sooner. Could you pray that if God will be honored that he could close much sooner and we could move much sooner? We have very little to move and are ready. We will have pictures and details as soon as things are final and we move.

Thank you so much for bathing us in prayer during the past weeks/months. We can feel it often. We love you!

Gratefully serving with you,
Bruce, Michelle, Bryan, Nate, Caleb, Kaitie, and Seth

2014-02-16

Cook's Short Order Update

Would it be weird to start an update letter following a total-loss house fire, "It's been pleasant"? Ok, "pleasant" may be over simplifying, but it hasn't been a horrifying experience. Tough, scary, but not horrifying.

Since our home burned to the ground, with 98% of our worldly possessions in it, just over 3 weeks ago, we have experienced many ups and downs, some strong emotions, some peaceful days. But what we haven't experienced is the emotion draining stuff that normally follows trauma.

Please understand, there are 7 in our family, and each of us is interacting with this event differently. One might choose to not talk about things. Another chooses to talk very freely about emotions or struggles or disturbing dreams. Please pray for Dad and Mom as we seek to listen and help each precious gift process through thoughts and struggles and growth. Don't forget, even though Bryan is not living with us, this has affected him as well.

We are working on many many things, building the new life God has put in front of us. Two big hurdles to cross are 1) Finding a place to rent/buy and 2) Itemizing our home's contents (this will be difficult, to say the least, as we think through specific things that are gone).

Many of you have asked, "How can we help? What do you need?" We want to say, "Everything." But that could be dangerous. We don't have that much space :), and we don't want to move it all when God provides a more permanent place. So, for now, we are sticking with just the basics to get through the next few weeks. When God provides a home for us to call "home," for whatever length of time He gives it to us, we will begin posting more specific things that will help us continue serving Him.

As always, prayer is the most needed thing. We have sensed this going on so much as we have navigated the past 3 weeks.

To God be the glory!! Hallelujah! What an AWESOME God and Savior!

Gratefully serving with you,
Bruce, Michelle, Bryan, Nate, Caleb, Kaitie, and Seth

Donations Update

We are overwhelmed with God’s goodness, care, graciousness, kindness, and generosity He is showing us through you all. We have been busy since the fire fielding phone calls, sorting through donations, and accepting people smothering us with love. So many of you are asking, “What can we do to help?” Or, “If you need anything, let us know.”

The truth is, we are just beginning to figure out what we may or may not need. As much as we dislike taking this approach we will begin posting “specific” things that will be helpful. Here are a few ideas that have already been suggested to us. We are not implying that anyone who reads this should do this. Just passing along information.

Gift cards for Walmart, Kohls, Payless Shoes, etc.
There is a savings account opened for us at The Bank of Salem, MO.
Donation page has been begun for us on Facebook. Not aware of where to locate it.
If you live in Rolla, Jim and Tina Balch have offered their home as a collection site.
Please ask sizes before bringing more clothing. We are sorting through piles of blessings right now. Some of us have more than enough blessings to wear, while others are still in need.

To each of you, Thank you! You are wonderful!

Merry Christmas

In the interest of staying off the computer and with each other tonight and tomorrow...

Merry Christmas!

It was really cold and snowing last night, and we walked around for almost an hour before this picture. We're all shivering.

We will pray at lunch today that your Christmas will be war , safe, and full of wonder of the gift of salvation offered to us.

Thank you for being our faithful firends and partners. We appreciate you.

Toothpaste and Fig Leaves

We talk throughout the year about our fellow citizens being good and kind and generous. I normally don't offer my opinion on that, like, "The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked...", or "There is no one good, no not one..."

But doesn't Black Friday tell a different, more accurate tale of who we are? When you squeeze a tube of toothpaste, do mashed potatoes come out? When you squeeze someone looking for a bargain (printed or 'five-finger') won't their toothpaste come out.

People were arrested in a local department store today. We ask, "What have we become?" This question shows our lack of understanding of biblical truth. We have not "become" selfish me-centered jerks. We have always been selfish me-centered jerks.

What we have become are people very good at disguising our toothpaste. Or could I say, covering our toothpaste with fig leaves?

Joy in Frustration

Before I jump into what I am going to write about, let me jump to the end: I have been experiencing joy today. Now, back to this morning.

Woke up tired, cold (conserving wood), slight headache. I picked up our chainsaw to try a couple more things. It hadn't cooperated all weekend, which has put us seriously behind on fire wood.

Nothing.

I called a friend who suggested I should tear apart the carb. Really? I'm no mechanic even by redneck standards. Just don't really know enjuns. But why not. I carefully tore it down, cleaned it, rebuilt it according to my careful pictures I took along the way...

Nothing.

"God, are you aware that we have very little fire wood and I want to keep my family warm?"

"Duh." Not His exact wording, but close.

So I picked up the splitting maul and began on a large pile of logs we've collected to split later. During a break, I called the same friend. He suggested a new spark plug. Really? Really? You think $2.50 will fix my problem?

I called Michelle and asked her to look for one. Then back out to the pile to split more wood. On my way out there I was overcome with peace that it's going to be ok. I asked myself, "Are YOU aware that we have very little fire wood?" I gave myself the same answer God did.

I continued splitting, enjoying the need to be outside, enjoying the brisk air, enjoying the slight snow falling, enjoying the thud of the maul in the oak.

I tell you the truth. I really don't know why I was peaceful and joyful, except that God is maybe changing me? Not sure, just that I was enjoying time.

When Michelle returned home, I grabbed my $2.50 in a box that looked much like a spark plug and proceeded to the tool shed.

"It can't be this easy, but I know God will provide." Another moment of joy filled me.

Now, please don't get me wrong. I'm not filled with joy, nor have I learned what it means to live a joy filled life. I'm simply saying, baby steps. God has allowed me to take one small step toward living in joy even when the bad keeps being bad. As our Pastor David Gidcumb recently preached, "What about when bad things stay bad?"

No, I'm still nervous about having enough fire wood, but I'm not depressed or anxious or trying to cut down trees with my pocket knife. Nope, don't have huge amounts of faith either.

Oh, wait. I have a chainsaw in my hands. Wondered why my arms were getting so tired.

So, I stepped out of the tool shop, cranked it a few times.....

and it worked! Praise the Lord. Thank you, friend, for your advice. Thank You, Jesus, that spark plugs don't cost $250! Thank you, friend of 2 years ago, for providing this trusty chainsaw for us.

And the best part? I had no more joy after the saw emitted it's throaty growl and smoke belched from the exhaust than when I was struggling with it not working.

Wait. No more joy when it worked? That's right. Circumstances aren't supposed to dictate our level of joy. That's what excited me the most. I was happy, but not more joyful. I had a worship service and thanked my Savior for providing.

Just one small step in my spiritual growth.

"... to your children's children..."

As I sit at my desk and work through my daily routine, I can hear the kids in the other room working through their school day with Michelle. Nothing new. We've been doing this for almost 16 years.

What struck me this morning was listening to Seth read from Genesis. But this wasn't for a Bible class or his personal devotions. This was for history.

I sat, pondering for a moment, what he might be reading or being taught if we chose alternative methods for our kids' education. I hear this statement, "I was home schooled but I'm going back to "real" school this year."

Really?

What about learning a reconstructed view of history is "real"? What about hearing lectures from someone other than Michelle or I makes it somehow "real"? What about learning disrespectful attitudes from other kids is "real"? I've even heard this, "I'm too advanced in my studies for my parents." Really? They are so lucky to have you on board.

Some who have chosen other methods of educating their children feel that sharing their opinions on home schooling is ok (and it is), but that my opinion is best kept to myself. The unspoken message out there is, "If you attend "real" school you are free to talk as negative as you like about all other schools, but if you don't, especially if you are home schooled, you need to just be quiet and take it. We'll let you know later if we think you are worthy of listening to." I've actually had conversations in a vehicle (hard to escape that one) during which someone told me we were not doing all that we should by educating our children at home. When I talked about the negatives of where his children were being educated (in much more than the 3 R's), the conversation was cut off.

My turn. I'd like to begin "sharing back". I don't intend to offend. You are free to not read.

What could be more real than learning history from the only book that hasn't been altered since it's original authorship? What could be more real than learning moment by moment from two adults how to process life, both the joys and the frustrations? What could be more real than learning how to respond properly to a brother or sister, all day, every day? What could be more real than learning daily how to run a home? What could be more real than spending large amounts of time as family? Didn't God create a family in the first week?

Have you seen what happens on a daily basis in "real" schools? I have. Scares me. And no, this is NOT preparing them for life. This is preparing them to be average, just like every one else.

Irony of Camp

Cook's Short Order Update

Just A Note
Irony of Summer Camp - the more fun we're having at camp, the less time there is to tell you about it.

I'm sitting in my office at camp, with Michelle, thinking back over the summer days behind us. A couple weeks ago we were having a tough Saturday at home. Our lawn mower had broken several times, consuming much of our Saturdays to repair it. We were frustrated and wondering why, if God cares so much for us, we are scraping to get through the summer. It was the next day that an unexpected gift came through our church, New harmony. That Friday when we arrived home from camp we noticed an old riding mower in the yard. A few phone texts later and we were informed of our new gift to encourage our family. "Thank you," to our newest partner! We appreciate you.

Our summer session is done and the staff have gone home. We miss them but we are excited because of the fervency with which they left here. Not to get away, but to continue to grow in loving Jesus, and serving Him out of that love. That was our thought this summer: "I serve because I love Jesus." What a simple way to live as a Christian. It frees me to serve with a much purer heart.

Please pray for us as we adjust for the Fall phase of our ministry: raising personal partners, recruiting for next year (already???), helping at Camp for retreats and rental groups.


Not Fair
The effects of sin and sinful choices have been glaringly obvious in the weeks that this update has ben silent. Please don't mistake our silence for lack of desire for you to be involved. We have seen a steady stream of children with difficult lives come through this ministry.

Several campers stand out, though. During our first 2 weeks, senior campers are chosen to come back to learn during a week of staff training. Three guys joined us, and two of them returned and serve with excellence! The third was able to serve with us a couple days during he last week. These young men have served and served well. The only thing not fair is that none of us deserve a chance in life. Because of sin we all deserve Hell. But God's grace has given these young men a chance to serve other young men who have no hope. That's sweet!

Please help us help these children by partnering with us. We are currently at 40% persona missionary support (remember, Camp David pays us no salary - all our salary comes from you, our partners, and man, do we ever appreciate you!).

Please... pray
- as we plan support raising trips
- as we plan recruiting visits in churches, colleges, home school conventions
- for strength for our family after an exhausting summer
- that we can figure out our broken dish washer
- for new partners to join us to take us to 100% support - could it be by the first of the year???

Praise the Lord!
- for the superb staff we've enjoyed this summer - really!
- the mower He provided
- some very good Saturdays to relax as family
- a few days to unplug after the summer

Looking Ahead
- September 20-22 - 10 year Camp Anniversary Celebration - open to all
- October 19-21 - October Advance - weekend of challenge for our summer staff

Not planning on this...

Cook's Short Order Update

We apologize for the lateness of this update. We are having some problems with our emailer.

Just a Note:
Several weeks ago we received word that Michelle's sister's, Judy, husband had died. We weren't really planning on making a trip to Indiana this soon before camp. We prayed, planned, prayed, re-planned, prayed, tossed out our plans, then finally went with what we felt was God's plan.

God repeatedly showed us through the trip that He had all things worked out. Extra money for the trip. A short visit in a supporting church. More free literature for friends overseas. A place to stay and rest. Time to visit with family. A place for Nate to stay and be able to work. Provision for our pets. God worked it all for His glory.

As soon as we returned we caught up laundry and headed to Camp David for Counselor Training. Michelle cooked. Bruce led worship and team building activities. Finally, Sunday afternoon, we drove home and crashed. Well, sort of, because Monday we headed back to camp to celebrate the close of the camp's first after school Front Porch Program. Nate and Caleb had served as mentors. We are proud of the time they gave to invest in the lives of 2 young men for several weeks.

We feel like we are finally catching up. But we praise God for providing many blessings along the way, including Pine Ridge Bible Church, Goshen, IN, who just voted to take on some of our monthly support! Thank You, God, and thank you, PRBC family!

Not Fair:
This account is very close to home and just over a month ago. We are using this story by permission from the Rolla Police Department, MO.

What a depressing job. I was dispatched to a store where a male left the cutest little 3 year old girl in his vehicle while he shopped. Windows up and the car off. When I came up she was soaked in sweat. As I was about to slim jim the vehicle opened the father ran up. I got her out and brought her to my vehicle and blasted the AC. I also gave the little girl 5 stuffed animals. I called in the father's name and wouldn't you know, he had a probation violation warrant with no bond.

The little girl started to kind of lose it and was crying and saying please don't take my daddy. Well, with a warrant we don't have a choice. I managed to put him in cuffs and into my vehicle while distracting her so she didn't have to have a permanenet image of her dad in hand cuffs. Mom was called and it took about 30 minutes for her to get there. While we waited for mom, me and the little girl went and sniffed about every single flower that this business had for sale. We were there for a while and I had dispatch call the [store] manager. He told the little girl that she could pick out whatever flowers she wanted. Needless to say, she picked out the prettiest pink flowers they had. All in all, it could ahve been a lot worse.

The gentlemand went for the warrant, the little girl didn't have to see her dad in hand cuffs, and she ended up going with mom and some pink flowers and stuffed animals. Ever wonder why we do stuff like the harlem shake at the parade? It's because the other 99% of the time we have to do stuff like this.
That's Not Fair!

Please help us help these children by partnering with us. WE are currently at 33% personal missionary support.

Please Pray:
- that we will be faithful to our family and God's plan for us
- as we seek friends/churches to partner with us (currently 33%)
- no time to recruit - we just need volunteers
- for guy counselors - we need God's help greatly here

Praise the Lord!
- we have enough girl counselors
- for a fairly restful weekend
- for Pine Ridge Bible Church partnering with us
- for two new partners to take this journey with us

Looking Ahead:
- Leadership Training begins tomorrow
- Staff Training begins in 1 week
- 2 weeks till Senior Boys

Found - more family

Cook's Short Order Update

Just a Note

We appreciate you so here's what we need to know. There are many of you that we never hear from. While we want to be involved in your lives, we don't want you to feel forced to be involved in ours. If you don't really care either way whether you receive our update or not, please feel free to unsubscribe. We won't be offended. In fact, if you have other important things consuming your time, we don't want to take up space in your inbox. So please, let us know.

On the other hand, those of you who regularly email us and keep in touch with us, thank you!

We were at Anutt Community Church yesterday to present the need at Camp as well as our personal need. We were warmly received. God used something in what we said to stir hearts. Many took information about this ministry. We are glad to have met the family at Anutt Community Church. Pastor Chuck, thank you for honoring us with this time!

Not Fair

When parents go to prison, it can precipitate trauma in the life of the child(ren) left behind. Statistically, many of these parents were "raised" by incarcerated parents. This has left them with poor examples for raising their own children. And the beat goes on... unless intervention happens.

Take Jason. His dad's been in prison for most of his life. His dad just got released. Now Jason, who's been the "man" of the home for so many years is trying to adjust to the new "man" of the home, one he's never known, one he knows did something pretty bad a long time ago. His dad doesn't understand why Jason doesn't see him as "Dad". The tension is building. Jason just wants things back the way they were. Dad just wants to be respected and take care of his family but he doesn't have the proper skills. He makes more poor decisions and ends up back in prison. Now Jason's wishing he'd given his dad a chance. It's all his fault this time.

That's not fair.

Please help us help these children by partnering with us. We are currently at 30%.

Please... pray

- as we seek friends to partner with us (currently 30%)
- as we recruit volunteers for this summer (colleges and high schoolers)
- that God will provide for our needs
- that we will be faithful to our family and God's plan for us
- for guy counselors - we need God's help greatly here

Praise the Lord!

- for a great time recruiting at the Home School Convention in Kansas City last week
- for a great visit with Anutt Community Church, MO
- for a fairly restful weekend
- for knowing that our van rim is cracked. Now we can get it replaced - it's been leaking for several weeks.
- for plenty of food to fuel us for His work
- for giving us great people to interview for camp this summer

Looking Ahead

- Father/Daughter banquet this Saturday at CDO - Kaitie will be Bruce's date!
- Presenting our need at Grace Church in Rolla, MO next Sunday
- 6 weeks till camp!!!

No Bunnies Allowed

Short Order Update

What started with a reflection on Good Friday evening, ended visually thinking about our Savior's resurrection today.
One highlight in life for me is serving the Lord's Supper to my family. I cherish every time I am allowed to do this. Good Friday at New Harmony Church provided another such occasion. Carefully chosen songs, a time of freedom for families to take the Lord's Supper together.

Saturday night found us in the living room, flickering candles our only light. We listened to several songs Michelle carefully picked to focus our attention on our crucified, buried and risen Savior.

Resurrection morning culminated in a time of wonderful worship with our church family. When we arrived home we baked cookies where a marshmallow, representing Christ (a little weird, I know), is inserted in a croissant wrap and baked. The mallow melts and "disappears," and the croissant is left empty, just like the tomb on Resurrection Sunday. We each tasted vinegar (like Jesus did on the cross) and salt (for the tears shed during this time). We crushed walnuts (for Jesus' bruised body). We talked about the significance of each visual to this weekend a couple thousand years ago.

There were no bunnies (except some chocolate ones), no hunt for eggs in the yard (but we ate some filled with marshmallows!), no baskets filled with pink "straw." We even decided from here on referring to this weekend as "Resurrection Weekend, and Resurrection Sunday," since "Happy Easter!" generates a much different image after a trip to Walmart.

Thank you to our Pastor, David Gidcumb, for your part in planning these events that our family enjoyed AS a family. We appreciate you!


Not Fair
Not everything inside prison is nastiness and bad. According to Christian Post "Unconditional" was shown inside two Florida prisons last weekend. "Unconditional" is the story of a former maximum security inmate. Why not pray that God will use this story to soften hearts of men and women who are in prison? Why not pray for their "abandoned" children as well?

Cook's Short Order UPdateP

lease help us help these children by becoming our partners. We take you very seriously. We are currently at 30%.


Please... pray
- as we seek to keep our family time precious
- as we prepare to be at a Home School conference this weekend
- as we recruit at several churches this month
- as we seek to be good stewards of every resource God gives us


Praise the Lord!
- for a wonderful celebration of our Savior this weekend
- for a wonderful church to call "home"
- for a good time of sharing with the "Basics" of First Baptist of Salem, MO
- for 2 new financial partners last month
- for warmer temperatures which means less need for wood!
- for so much work being accomplished at camp by volunteers crews!


Looking Ahead
- Several church presentations this month
- Father/Daughter banquet at CDO
- Spring!!!

We can stop now

Short Order Update
I was sitting in a nice warm office, but my toes were cold. There was a slight draft under the door. I wore my chacos thinking this was going to be a really nice warm day!

A few weeks ago, in response to a prayer need we mentioned, a mechanic with a heart contacted us to "look" at our van. I thought, "I don't have time to travel that far for you to "look" at our van. Shame on me for not trusting the Lord.

What the mechanic meant was, "I'd like to look at your vehicle and see what all of my time I can donate, and if I don't need to buy you a new van I can probably donate parts as well."

We now have adjusted rear brakes, new front brakes and rotors, new front bearings, new blower so we have heat!, and several other things tightened and adjusted that were causing other problems. So "now we can stop" worrying about our safety on the road. Friend, thank you!

Please pray for us. We are having difficulty keeping up with everything God is allowing to break, AND be ready for the summer schedule. God has a plan, and we want to graciously submit in joy to His plan.


Not Fair
Depending on the population concentration in your area, or lack thereof, there are, give or take, 9000 children of prisoners within 50 miles of your current spot in any direction! So, as you sit at your computer and read this update, thousands of American children have 1 or 2 parents, and possibly relatives as well, who are incarcerated. Many don't understand where Mom or Dad is. Many don't understand WHY Mom or Dad is not present. Most just don't understand. AND, they think they are alone.

That's not fair.

Your partnership helps us reach these kids with the hope, grace, truth of the Gospel!


Volunteers Needed
We need the following positions filled for this summer:
- Support Staff
- Counselors
- Asst. Counselors
- Angel Counselors
- Games Director
- Worship Leader
- Nurse
- Kitchen Help
- Maintenance
- Life Guard
- Graphics Director
- Photographers
- Videographers
- Sorters/Editors


Please... pray
- as we seek partners to take up our support (currently 30%)
- as we recruit volunteers for this summer (colleges and high schoolers)
- that God will provide for our needs (faithfulness, balance)
- that we will never neglect our family in this work

Praise the Lord!
- for a sweet time at a concert provided by a friend
- protection in travel and warmth and health
- windows that keep out the wind and rain, let in the sun's warmth
- lungs and bones and muscles that still work quite well
- for our van being worked on by a generous friend!!!


Looking Ahead
- Sharing at First Baptist, Salem, MO on March 28
- Presenting at Anutt Community Church in April
- Presenting at a home school conference in April
- 2 1/2 months till Summer Camp!!!

2013-02-26

Cook's Short Order Update

Just a Note:

I'd met this person only through emails and second hand accounts from Michelle from her interactions. During Camp David's recent Banquet For Hope we finally got to meet face to face. What struck me was not meeting, but a comment shared later in the night. This person has their own life, their own schedule, their own cares and concerns, yet, encouraged me by stating that they were regularly praying over one of our concerns. We are so glad to have partners in ministry who pray for us. This is what we need and desire. But don't let it stop there. How can we pray for you?

God provided! Even though God allowed a nasty storm the night of the Banquet For Hope, God provided in His way. Donations were up on several levels, including more campers sponsored than last year at this time! Praise the Lord for providing!


Not Fair

We are finding through experimentation and formal studies that continued interaction between incarcerated parents and their children is vital to the health of people on both sides of the prison bars. Imagine this scenario: "When I left for prison, my 5-year-old daughter didn't understand any of the legal aspects. All she knew was that one day I was there and the next day I disappeared from her life. She felt abandoned." (Pat Nolan, VP, Prison Fellowship

That's not fair.

Intervention is THE key to keeping children of prisoners out of prison themselves. Camp David of the Ozarks offers intervention to children of prisoners during a free week of camp in the summer. Can you help us help Camp David provide this intervention?


Please... pray

- as we seek churches to take up our support (currently 30% support)
- as we recruit volunteers for this summer (colleges and high schoolers)
- that God will provide for our needs
- that our dryer will be fixed under warranty
- that we will be faithful


Praise the Lord!

- for God's provision through the Banquet For Hope
- for safety for many who traveled that night
- for great volunteers to help make this event possible

Looking Ahead

- Lining up college and church presentations
- Presenting at a home school conference in April
- 3 months till Summer Camp!!!