“Bados! Bados! Bados!”…“Drink more MILK! Eat the WORD…”…Hookman, anyone…..Chuck Chicken…. Pants….Synchronized Swimming…Men in Dresses….Camper Ron Dawg….Final Thoughts with Rhett….hobos!….creek hikes…West 40…Haybus…

Any of these things ring a bell? Some of them should if you’ve been on Summer Staff at NLR! And if you haven’t signed up for the Summer Staff Alumni Retreat yet…..What are you waiting for???

It’s June 2^nd ….. noon -8pm… Come re-connect with one of your favorite places in the world with some of your favorite people in the world….

Here is a link where you can download the registration form so we know you’re coming.
http://newliferanch.com/HTML/alumni.html

If you live far, far away, let us know and we can help you find a place to stay!

**what’s your favorite NLR memory?**

The other day I was at my parent’s house, but I got there a bit early before they were home. So I went and walked around the yard for a while. My parents have a great yard. It is nice and big, has lot of trees and flowers, and lots of fun places to play. I remember when we first moved there the whole yard had four trees. We spent a lot of time planting and watering (Mom and Dad even had a map of the yard up in the kitchen with watering zones so that they would know when to water what…I bet our water bills were really high), but it was worth it for sure. It was fun to walk around and see so many things from my childhood. The old sailboat that we used to play in (which has a great history of triumph and tragedy), a big steel rod that was a staff, a machine gun, a spear, and a tent pole, The Fort, one of my first bikes, the bamboo patch, the drainage ditch that turned into a raging river when it rains, trees to climb…lots of memories! It was a great reminder of how blessed I was (and am) to have parents who let me explore and learn and grow outside.

But it was also sad. The whole time I could hear bulldozers all around the neighborhood, tearing up dirt and tearing down trees, all to make room for new houses. These are the woods and the fields that I used to play, build forts, discover ponds with tadpoles, and learn about creation in. Now they will be houses. I know that people need places to live, and they should get to have a great house with a great yard to, but sometimes it’s hard to understand why we have to destroy so much.

We also know and work with Kristen, owner of Upward Bound Gymnastics.

We have two (well three depending on how you count) friends who are business owners. First is John and Libby of Picture Me Studio, and the newest addition to the entrepreneurial club is Kelly. His business is The Balloon Closet. Kelly will be opening a shop in Siloam Springs on the corner of Tulsa Street and Mt. Olive. He will be selling balloon bouquets, as well as providing balloon decoration services for events, businesses, etc. If you are in need of a balloon bouquet, or need decorations for a wedding, party, or event give him a call.

I mentioned in one of those posts below wanting prayer for a back injury, thank you all who have been praying, it is encouraging! I saw a doctor today to talk thorough the results of an MRI. I have a synovial cyst (fun big medical words…) on one of the discs in my back, and it is pushing on the nerves, which is causing weakness in my leg. My favorite part of all of this is this line from a website about it:

Because a synovial cyst develops from degeneration it is not often seen in patients younger than 45 and is most common in patients older than 65 years old.

Oh well…I guess I get to be a medical anomaly. Anyway, the first treatment option is physical therapy, so ill start that soon, and I have to go see a neurosurgeon to find out more about sugary, injections, amputation, etc.

This is all very strange to me…I feel like it should not be a big deal, lots of people deal with back problems all the time, but I guess it becomes a big deal to the person that is experiencing it, especially when you have no idea what the end result will be. I appreciate your continued prayers.

I really like This American Life. The people who put it together are great storytellers, and I think that the show is a good way to try and understand a little bit about how people live and think, the struggles and joys they have, and what they find important in life. Show #188: Kid Logic was really good (you can download it from the website). In particular there was one story that is worth downloading it for (I even drug Beth out of bed to listen to it). This particular story starts around 13 minutes into the show.

Daniel sent this video to me the other day…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8K_NQe57C-k

January seemed to go by really quickly, so did February. Here are some updates on what has been going on in our life recently.

My big project at camp right now is getting online registration up and going. My Dad has been doing a lot of the backend programming for it, and I have been working on the interface. There is a lot of work still to do, but hopefully we will get it going soon. We are getting lots of registrations for camp, and are actually ahead of last year, so its looking like it will be a big summer! I also just finished a summer promo video. For our promo stuff this summer I have been really concentrating on focusing what makes us unique in a crowded camp market, mostly I have been trying to focus on the idea that NLR is about relationships, and is very ministry focused. Watch it and let me know what you think…I would love to get some honest feedback.

Last week Beth and I got to go to our CCCA sectional (CCCA is an organization that works to support Christian Camping). It was really good to get to meet people from some other camps and see what they are doing, share ideas, and get away for a while. The conference was at Shepard of the Ozarks, which is a camp my youth group used to go to for retreats. This time around a bunch of us played Sardines one night in the lodge…it was kind of cool to go back to a place and do a lot of the same things with a whole new group of people.

Two random sites to check out: http://wvs.topleftpixel.com/ and http://www.ottokphotography.com/

Lets see…

I got to go to Colorado a couple weeks ago. A bunch of us from the Ranch went up and spent a week skiing, hiking, hanging out…it is never a bad thing to get to spend a week or so in God’s creation of the mountains. I tried to snowboard…it was a good challenge to say the least! I spent more time on the ground then actually snowboarding, but it was fun to give it a try. The best day was probably a day of snowshoeing, it’s really just hiking, but the snow adds a very unique element that is a lot of fun. I also got to go see my brother for a day or so. He is doing well…teaching coaching, getting ready to go back to school. We went to the Denver Art Museum which was amazing. For starters the building is clad in titanium, so that’s a good start, and it is full of amazing art, if you are ever in the area I would recommend it. A few snapshots from around Denver:

That’s probably about enough life update for now…there are a few things that we would be blessed if you would pray for us about:

• Beth’s continued transition in a new job and practicum for school. Particularity for wisdom as she counsels people, and for growth in her skills as she gains experience.
• For our community group as we learn how to live out our faith as a group of believers, and that we would glorify God in the world around us.
• I am having some trouble with an old back injury and am starting the process of seeing doctors, getting MRIs etc, I want wise doctors who will give good advice as I try to understand what is going on in my physical body.

Check out this article.

Want to start an “I like Book It” campaign? I love reading, and a big part of that training for me was Book It. It’s kind of like training for athletics, if you set small goals and accomplish them then you acquire the skills you need for the game. I have some great memories of getting to go to Pizza Hut with my mom or dad and getting to spend time with them over a pizza, I looked forward to getting pizza and getting to be with my parents. The critics say it promotes obesity and bad eating habits. I suppose pizza is not the best thing in the world for you, but really, a personal pan pizza once a month is fine if your not eating Mcdonalds for every meal and you actually go outside and run around like your supposed to…

I think that I could probably find all sorts of things I don’t like about the way we live embodied in this…

K, end of rant.