Sure everyone keeps telling me, “You’re a Scrooge”, “Ba humbug to you”, “Where’s your Christmas Spirit?” And frankly, I’m getting rather sick of it. In fact, those comments probably make it worse. I have Christmas spirit, I want to show and teach to my family and to others what really matters at Christmas. Does my house really need to be visible from a radar image for me to “have Christmas spirit?.” Even Christmas trees and all the decorations and dare I say it, even the many nativity scenes around…. is this all there is too it? Decorate, give some socially conscientious presents, eat way too much food, sing a carol or two and call it another Christmas season? I think we’ve ALL missed the mark somehow. I think that’s why I don’t enjoy all the preparations. And yes, I have thought this for awhile and I’ve done nothing to change. Shame on me. But shame on all of us for letting Christmas simply get out of hand. I mean, my Savior came down to earth in a very humble manner. He choose a stable, a barn, the most humble surroundings to arrive. And how do we choose to celebrate? Big events, tons of decorations, hours shopping for gifts and let’s be honest, gift cards, for others that don’t need anything at all. Doesn’t anyone else find this to be, well, strange?

Well, I’m telling you this all so that people will quit saying I have no Christmas spirit, but also as a form of accountability. This Christmas I am going to do something different. Instead of just complaining I’m going to seek out different ways to celebrate and I’m going to look for humble ways to do that. For starters, this year Christmas day is actually open for just my family to do whatever we want, no gatherings for either side. So we are looking for a place to go and serve others, humbly serve those in need. So if anyone has an idea for a place a family of 4 with 2 small Children can go to serve on Dec 25th, I’d love to hear your suggestions.

Other ways I’m going to change, well, I’m not sure. Don’t think I can get away without any decorations, as my wife might shoot me, but I do want to do something different. Ideas?

PS. I still haven’t started listening to Christmas music yet. Ugh. And the picture is just for Jess

This spring coming into camp I felt very confident and at ease with where God was moving and how I knew that God was in control of everything here. The month of June is and was the hardest month for our family. Due to the camp life, I end up being at camp for most of June and my family ends up being back home. I get to come home most weekends and whenever I get a day off, but it takes it’s toll on the family. I know that this spring has been particularly hard on Dawn as life with Norah and the stresses of her health still very much exist and at times seem to linger. Add to the fact that I am away alot just makes it more difficult for Dawn. While Dawn struggles to deal with everything and handle the kids, pretty much as a single parent, I am not immune to struggles as well. It would seem that not having kids to deal with while working would be nice, in fact it takes it toll on me. Nonetheless, our family survive the month and soon they joined me at camp.
This summer, Dawn has been very excited to get more involved with camp in whatever way works. From getting involved in some admin duties, which she loves, to getting to mentor a bunch of girls, which she loves even more, she has really felt alot more connected to camp and staff than last year. This is awesome. As she has gotten involved more, so her support of what I am doing grows even stronger than before. I am so thankful for my amazing wife and her love and understanding of this wonderful ministry. Praise God!
What has been on our minds lately has been the continued stress of Norah’s health. Some of you may or may not know (from reading Dawn’s posts too), that Norah has some issues with her spine/ribs. She has a curvature of her spine and some fused ribs. We are told that she will have to see a specialist to monitor her growth until she is done growing!! Please pray that things will be alright with this, as the biggest issue is her ribs. If they stay fused then that side of her body can’t grow and develop properly and it makes it very difficult for her organs to grow. If it gets worse then she would have to undergo another surgery. This one would be alot longer and more involved than even the open heart surgery she already had. I can’t begin to tell you how much we want to avoid that! Also, due to the defects she’s had together she recently underwent an ultrasound on her kidneys, as it can be common for these defects to all be connected and for more issues to exist as well. We are waiting on the results right now and are praying that her kidneys are fine.
Lastly, in her recent checkup it was noted that she is only 13lbs!!! They are worried about her weight gain, and we are now tasked with trying to get as many proteins and such into her little body. Pray that Norah will gain weight. She is strong and can actually stand, situp, and take steps when holding our hands, but is just so tiny. All in all, I am finding it more and more difficult to remain peaceful about everything. God has given us amazing peace, but before and during the surgery. We are so thankful for all your prayers and I just feel that I need another dose of God’s people to continue praying for Norah and us as we continue to deal with it all. Thanks.

So there it is. In a nutshell that is our life. And just so you all know, if you are ever near Saskatoon or North Battleford area, we would love to give you directions to Ranger Lake to stop by for a visit. Summer here is going well for ministry, God is doing some amazing things in the lives of our staff and many, many campers. We wish you could all come be witness to His work. Until next time, (which will probably be after camp) God Bless.

As always, the think to take a backseat is this site. Many are probably checking back here for updates on Norah. But she is doing so well that I forget to tell everyone that. She’s great. Growing, getting chubbier everyday. So makes us all smile each day. I wish you could all come cuddle her and see for yourself just how much she has changed. Pictures are cute (I guess I should post more too) but they don’t really show how much she has changed in the past month. She has healed so well that we are starting to pick her up under her arms now. So glad for that. Makes it easier to cuddle with her. Before we know it she will be rolling over.

I wish I could write something profound and earth shattering here. But life really seems to be “back to normal” for the first time in a long time. And by normal I really mean busy. At least that’s what I keep telling myself.

Before you know it, it will be summer and we’ll be moved back to camp for the summer.

In my last post the most pressing prayer request was my job situation. For those that don’t know, my job at Ranger Lake Bible Camp will continue to year round. We are so excited about this answer to prayer. Already I am busy preparing program, brochures, theme for next year at camp. I am excited to use the skills and gifts God has given me here at Ranger. I am also very excited to be doing alot of work with our newest program of the Radio Controlled Trucks. So much so that I bought my own! More on that on another post. So our fears are done away with and I will have a job when our new baby arrives in around 7 weeks!!

So vacation ended and then I got sick! This has been the worse sickness I have had in 10 years. So much that when I went to my doctor they didn’t have record of me being a patient because I hadn’t been in 10 years. I guess sometime ago they upgraded to a new computer system and “old” patients didn’t get put into the system, so I got deleted. Needless to say I ended up at a new doctor in Stonebridge area, which actually helped me, and with very little wait time. After going on antibiotics for awhile the sickness seems to be gone, however, the energy levels aren’t quite there yet. After all these years of not being sick, I realized how blessed I am for my strong immune system. Here’s hoping it returns soon.

So mark this down on your calendars, Daryl is back from summer. Holidays are over, summer camps are done, sickness is gone, so I am officially back. If I have a long time between now and my next post, I blame it only on myself.

And if you are the praying type, please pray for us as my future job here at Ranger Lake is still up in the air and with only two months till October 1st hits, and 3 months until our second child, I am getting abit anxious.

Okay so now comes the real difficult task of actually writing. Seems like so many things have been on my mind lately. Must things related to my new job as spring is a busy time preparing for camp. With long TO-DO lists for the camp, and many projects on the go or needing to start yet before the summer, it seems my mind is constantly scheming, dreaming and thinking up new ideas. So narrowing down something to write about specifically is hard. So for today I will pick…. men…. huh? Is what you are thinking now.

Over the past few months, (largely my new job and our church) I have been witness to ministries being very direct in targeting “men” and “boys” in their respective areas. At Ranger Lake, we have been trying to do more things to reach out to boys, with activities such as RC Trucks, Riflery, and our boys only paintball camps (called D.I.R.T. camp; which means Direct intentional Recreational Training) we are trying to get boys to come to camp, so we can train them to be Men of God. Also at our church, our pastor just shared his vision for the church, one part of the vision is to be intentional in reaching out to men. I have to say that I love this and hope to see more places return to bring manliness back to our boys and churches. As someone who grew up going to “boys club” and learning boys things, like building campfires, shooting, making shelters, etc, etc, I learnt alot from the Godly examples of what it means to be a Man of God. I am extremely grateful for being raised in an environment like this. However, I see many boys, growing up without this example, and (sorry ladies) I see many co-ed environments that are largely led by women (such as kids clubs, worship teams, etc, etc) that aren’t helping to raise men. Young boys in today’s society no longer have a ‘right of passage’ into manhood, and grow up sitting infront of their TVs, internet, and video games, without learning to be a man. It is largely this reason why we see so many ‘men’ in our society that are so childish. It also makes me angry to see how the roles of men and women are so blurred. Sure I am all for equality and do believe in it, but I also believe that God created men and women different for a very good reason. We all know very well the example of a great mother, and how she cares for us, and is there for us when we are little, etc, etc, all those good motherly things. However, how clear are we when it comes to the father, the dad’s? In our society, (take pop culture, like, “The Simpsons” as an example) dad’s are the bumbling idiots, who are dead beats, who never listen, always forget to take out the trash, and are only good for drinking beer and getting into trouble. This is the sentiment that we as a Church need to stand up against. And we don’t all the time. Take the upcoming Father’s Day for example, how many of you have been to a Father’s Day service at church that plays right into society and joins in the “bashing” of dumb Fathers? I have. And I don’t like it. It’s time we as a Church returned to building up men. Tough Men of God. Men who stand for what’s right. Men who look after their familes. Men who aren’t babies and complainers. Men who teach, and train their children. Men who lead their familes. Men who provide. Men who love their wives. Men who are honest and trustworthy. Men who aren’t afraid to get tough when they need too. Real Men of God.

Who’s with me?

So it has almost been 1month at my new job and I gotta say, I LOVE IT! It has been a challenging month just learning the ins and outs of Ranger Lake, but I have so much to be thankful for already. I am working with so much more purpose and direction than I have been in awhile. I feel that my skills and giftings are being tested and that I am being pushed to use them to a greater potential. While its hasn’t been all easy, no its been challenging, but I love that. I want to be challenged to be more effective in the things God has given me. It’s nice to be working with a small group too. The full time staff consists of only four people, one of whom lives out at the camp and I don’t see him much. So between myself, Greg Benson, and Dave Thiessen it makes for a very fun atmosphere to work in. We have had a lot of laughs already, but between the laughs, I get to see a man with a clear mission from God push me to use my gifts to be apart of that mission. The amount of “God Moments” in the past month has given me a new outlook on prayer. WOW is all I have to say. In this short time I have seen some amazing answers to prayers. I can’t wait to see what God is going to do this summer. Man its great to be working back in camp ministry. I forgot just how the environment of camp ministry pushes one to rely solely on God for EVERYTHING. So with that said here are some prayer requests that we have right now.

• Female Senior Cabin Leaders
• Leader in Training (L.I.T.) Director(s)
• Volunteers as we have TONS of work projects to do before camp
• Greg and I as we are in the midst of developing the summer discussion curriculum

Mentorship is one of the areas of camp ministry that made the biggest impact on my life. Through being mentored, my life was changed, which in turn helped guide me into fulltime ministry. Part of my job will be very deliberate in mentoring younger staff members and seeking to establish relationships with them not just during summer, but during the off-season as well. God has given me a vision to help equip, train and mentor young leaders to passionately serve God with their lives. We are very excited to see where God will lead us in this vision.

Promotion
I love making videos, and designing graphics, and this gift will be put to great use at Ranger! At the end of every summer camp week I will produce a souvenir video to sell to campers. This will enable campers to show their family and friends what Ranger is like; we’ve used similar tools like this at YFC and had great results. Already I have had much input in designing the promotional materials for this camp.

Program
There’s more to a camp program that just games! During the summer, campers learn four “skills” every day like archery, wall climbing, backcountry adventure, and horseback riding. Part of my job will be to help ensure that each of these skills are as effective and excellent as we can make them. If they need to be retooled, or updated, I will seek out the right tools and resources to help make them the best they can be. Ranger also runs off-season camps for church youth groups, schools, staff development retreats, and various other groups. I will help plan program and offer leadership training for these groups as needed during the off-season.

We are still responsible to raise funds for my salary, but thankfully, Ranger requires us to raise a minimum of 50% of these funds, and they will cover the rest! If you are interested in supporting the ministry at Ranger Lake, please drop me a note.