Puppy Dog Lessons

 Last weekend we loaded up and headed out to a nearby park for some unplugged down time, much needed and much enjoyed.  Besides vehicles packed with what we needed for staying in the cabins, we had all the packing for bringing all three of the dogs with us.  Two labs and one labradoodle came along, much to their delight.  They spent time splashing in the lake, sleeping in the sunshine, and stretched out on blankets.  We packed everything they would need.  And they packed in a few lessons along the way.

Jumping In

My sweet labradoodle pup is more a girly girl than not; more pillow than puddle.  So, while the labs jumped into the lake with abandon, she decided that sitting on the dock with me was just fine.  But, they must have looked like they were having such great fun.  I could see her wanting to join in, but she held back.  Unexpectedly and at a full run, she took off and launched into the water.  Sometimes, you just have to acknowledge the fear and jump in anyway. 

Oh, and she didn’t jump back in later, but she did manage to wade in up to her belly.

Dragon, Pillows, Air Conditioners – Gotta’ Lean into the Little Joys

Don’t leave home without your dragon (a.k.a. safety blanket).  My pup simply will not go to bed without her stuffed dragon.  So, dragon of course went along with us.  Pillows are our friends.  And for many of us, they are kind of an expected part of our bedroom set.  But, just because we are used to it, we don’t want to lose the joy of the feel of a pillow under our heads.  And, when you are in the car, it can feel good to lean into the air conditioner and really soak in the cool air.  Of course, not when you are driving…  It isn’t always the big things that are joys; it is a myriad of little things.

Be Happy To See Loved Ones

Whether I’m gone five hours or five minutes, I get a wonderfully enthusiastic greeting from my pup.  She is so happy that I am back with her.  Don’t forget to show others how happy you are to see them too!

Focus on the Stick

Before a dog can swim out and get a stick in a lake, they have got to know where the stick is.  So, they get focused and wait for it to be thrown, watching for the splash for where it lands.  If they get distracted, they would have no idea of where to look.  It is easy to lose focus, but when we need to keep our eye on the goal, it is time to look at the goal and don’t look away.

 

Don’t Just Notice – Do Something

An evening campfire was feeling better and better as the cooler night temperatures set in.  As we moved our lawn chairs closer, I noticed that my pup was showing signs of getting cold.  Getting ready to leave the fire and take her in, I reached down to pet her and noticed that I was touching two pups.  One noticed that the other was cold and moved over to cuddle in.  Next thing I know, they were both sound asleep and warm and comfy.  I often get so busy, I miss that someone else is having a rough moment.  And, if I miss it, I certainly can’t lend a hand or warmth. 

The dogs went on vacation with us, and taught a few lessons along the way.

Witness to Love in Action

I have been witness these last few weeks to wonderful examples of love in action.  By this, I mean someone taking an action to care for someone else, not for self-gain, but to help someone else gain.  In a time when it is much too easy to hear the news of crimes, agonies, collapsed dreams, wars being waged, and chaos; it is easy to wonder if any act of love by one person can make a difference today.

With that in mind, I wanted to encourage you the way I have been encouraged.  Last week I had the exhausting pleasure of helping at my church’s children’s camp (akin to a VBS).  My opportunity to serve was with the workers’ children who are too young to participate in camp.  There were many hands that went into making this week long camp function, and many chances to witness love in action.  Let me give a few examples… 

Everyone was hungry for snacks or a quick meal by the time the evening camp is about half over.  Each group of kids and leaders are so happy to see a cooler coming loaded with goodies and cold water.  The preparation of the coolers is love in action, taking time and work to plan, prepare, distribute everything, and clean up for the next day.  Food was served, but so was love.

Teenagers serve as big helps during the week, taking on everything from being gophers, extra hands during craft and game times, to members of the worship team.  Not only did I witness these individuals jump in to help, but also do so in such a way that made them examples to point children to, serving with cheerfulness.

“Jesus loves” is one of the games played by the children, as they would roll a ball to each other saying, “Jesus loves…” and then filled in the blank with the name.  Of course there was the glee over getting the ball.  But, there was also each little child trying to decide which friend to send the ball over with the announcement that Jesus loves them.  And, the receiver of the ball would just beam before starting the process again. 

There were many examples, and these comprise just a few, where small acts of love can be impactful in the lives of others.  Children were cared for, adults were encouraged, and a remarkable amount of love was poured into lives with prayers that it spills over in many ways and that these children will have a relationship with Christ – our ultimate source of love.

Keep an eye out – you never know when you might see love in action.

Why is the Sky Blue

   My moment of helping with the Christmas decoration taking down took the form of helping remove the lights from the trees. I’m not sure if the memory was triggered of the sound of the lights and the cord moving against the feathery evergreen branches or something else, but I remembered a moment years ago. I was sitting in a dark room with many others, high school students and camp counselors. Bunk beds lined the walls and the metal structure sounded the rain plainly.

   I was at the Space Academy camp in Huntsville, Alabama. A tornado warning had been sounded and we had all been moved into the dorms of one of the groups. Those metal walls didn’t much to shield us from the sound of the rain and many were starting to get nervous. You could just feel the tension in the room. Quietly, our counselor called us together and asked us if we knew why the sky was blue.
   What? That question caught me, the me that is not so fond of tornadoes, completely by surprise. I wasn’t the only one. Soon we were in a conversation about light spectrums and how light bends and is created as color in our eyes. Being the rather overzealous, passionately curious, intellectual personality types, we just couldn’t resist that conversation. For the counselor, it was rather a brilliant move to distract what could have been a bunch of hysterical teenagers.
   I’m not quite sure what jogged that memory last night, but it did and now I am thinking again about why the sky is blue.

Attention Campers

Last week was Character Camp (like a Vacation Bible School) at my church. Regardless of what it is called, there are lots of kids, games, songs, lessons, and a desperate need on the part of the workers for ibuprofen by the last night. I really enjoyed this camp this year, not only due to the campers I had in my group, but largely due to the co-tent leader. She was wonderful. THANK YOU!!!

As a crowd control method in this squirmy, talkative, hyper, smore addicted bunch of kids, our camp leader would start out with bellowing a great big YOOOOO (a.k.a. yo). The kids and leaders responded in kind with YOOOOOOOOOOO. Some of the kids carried out a bit long at times. Then we received our instructions.
So, YOOOOO - attention campers, here are some camp lessons that I thought I would share.
- Smores are really good, but they taste better if worn on the face. For the very extraverted smore eater, try wearing it as a goatee.  - If you have the chance to pick your own camp spot in an Iowa July, head for the deepest bit of shade you can find with a breeze. You will need lots and lots of bug spray, but the break from the heat is worth it.  - When kids pick out meals a day ahead of time, write down their order. Something else sounds good the next day and they have completely forgotten what they ordered.  - Be dramatic and expressive, be dynamic in your volumes, be silly and laugh a lot.  - Encourage other leaders. We all need it.
- Encourage other campers. They may need it too.  - Don’t overreact when you see blood, it frightens everyone and they are already frightened to see blood.  - If there is a water balloon fight, know who has a secret stockpile of ammunition. Either ally yourself with them, or watch out for them. Unless it’s 100 degrees and then maybe you should go run through the sprinkler.  - Laugh a lot, it is a wonderful release in a tense moment and will also help reenergize you.  - Use good manners, practice what you preach, and model what you expect.   - For the lone boy in a tent of girls, he may say that he is miserable because he is vastly outnumbered, but if you give him a little extra responsibility and some extra attention, he will be just fine.  - At the end of a camp day, go home, kick off your shoes, and lay in the floor. It’s cool, it’s not buggy, and it’s a lot better than falling down from the sheer drain of the day.  - Drink lots and lots of water. Actually, the combination I found working was coffee, water, then a V8 Splash about 4, then more water.   - When you watch your teens in the youth group work hard, in the heat, for no pay and little recognition of the adults around them, you are burst your buttons kind of proud. When they get excited because they just made a little kid’s day, you are leap tall building proud. When they want to make an impact on the life of a kid and work harder and dig deeper, just in case they can, you are over the moon proud.  - Thank the kitchen workers and the clean-uppers, and the traffic controllers, and security-watchers, laundry-doers, and all the behind the scene-ers. They do more than you realize and are absolutely vital.  - As a leader, you need to dance around with the music or most of the kids won’t feel free to do so either.   - Praise lots, pray for patience, and love each camper.