Teen Camp is still underway in Colorado, but you can visit our Facebook page for some photos and updates from the week.
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Saturday, July 5, 2014
Next week: Aim Right Teen Camp!
Band-aids. Buckets. Hula-hoops. Feathers. Extension cords. Granola bars. Bibles. Those are just a few of the items that are boxed up and gathered to make the journey of 400+ miles to be part of the Teen Camp experience! You are encouraged to lift up campers and staff throughout the week and cover the week of camp with prayer (see the guide below). Monday, July 7, and Saturday, July 12, will be traveling days, with Tuesday - Friday being spent at the Circle K Ranch in Colorado.
Monday, June 30, 2014
Camper Notes
We asked the children who went to camp at Youth Haven Ranch to write thank you notes to the camp. Here is what a few of them had to say:
I liked the champel [chapel] and the gim [gym]. And also I liked talking about Jesus and God.
Thank you for camp so we can visit you guy[s] and we had a lot of fun. My firet [favorite] thing is the peting [petting] farm. I love You Jesus. I love you camp.
To Desert School. Thank for that week we had together. I will come bakc [back] on 2015.
The camp is in the middle of the desert, but I've never heard a child refer to it as "Desert School" until now. Some of the campers brought back certificates highlighting an important decision they had made -- choosing to accept Jesus as their Savior!
I liked the champel [chapel] and the gim [gym]. And also I liked talking about Jesus and God.
Thank you for camp so we can visit you guy[s] and we had a lot of fun. My firet [favorite] thing is the peting [petting] farm. I love You Jesus. I love you camp.
To Desert School. Thank for that week we had together. I will come bakc [back] on 2015.
The camp is in the middle of the desert, but I've never heard a child refer to it as "Desert School" until now. Some of the campers brought back certificates highlighting an important decision they had made -- choosing to accept Jesus as their Savior!
Friday, June 27, 2014
Loyal and Sacrificial
Penelope Burk, philanthropy expert and president of Cignus Applied Research, recently noted:
"One of the interesting differences between actively religious donors and all others is that even in an economic downturn, they tend to stay loyal to causes. They take down their purchases to support their philanthropy. They volunteer more, and volunteer more in positions of high-level responsibility, such as sitting on boards of directors.”
Did you get that?
"[The actively religious] stay loyal to causes. They take down their purchases to support their philanthropy."
There was no blimp in the sky announcing that He would be observing donations that day. But there He was--deliberately seated in full view of the offering box--people watching. The people came, with their gifts. Large gifts. In fact, many people with many large gifts. It was a great day for fundraising.
But the many with their large gifts didn't catch His attention. It was a woman who gave next to nothing that led Him to say:
"...this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on."
It's a fact that money helps pay the bills around here. It's a fact that donations typically drop during the summertime. It's a fact that it was disheartening to have to cancel a fundraiser that was to be held tomorrow.
But God knows our needs, and He knows the hearts of those who give to His work. He knows that the woman who lives alone on a fixed income and sends a check for $5.00 every few months is giving as sacrificially as she can. And that young family? The one who could be saving for a college fund or a rainy day fund or a nice vacation? They're giving just as sacrificially when they write a check for several thousand dollars.
You might say that they took down their purchases to support their philanthropy.
He dropped out of school at the age of 14. He took jobs as a welder, wood cutter, farm hand, miner, and carpenter. He eventually got into the earthmoving business, building a company that engineered and manufactured earthmoving equipment, using designs and technology that was far beyond its era. He held hundreds of patents. Today he's considered to be the world's greatest inventor of earth moving heavy equipment.
He considered himself to be "God's businessman," and it's surmised that when he sold his company as a multi-millionaire in 1953, he gave away 90% of the proceeds and lived on the remaining 10%. This man--R.G. LeTourneau--said, “I shovel it out and God shovels it back, but God has a bigger shovel.”
You might say that he took down his purchases to support his philanthropy.
We can't all give the same amount, but Scripture is clear: Jesus applauds the one who gives sacrificially. LeTourneau had this perspective: “The question is not how much of my money I give to God, but rather how much of God’s money I keep for myself.”
"One of the interesting differences between actively religious donors and all others is that even in an economic downturn, they tend to stay loyal to causes. They take down their purchases to support their philanthropy. They volunteer more, and volunteer more in positions of high-level responsibility, such as sitting on boards of directors.”
Did you get that?
"[The actively religious] stay loyal to causes. They take down their purchases to support their philanthropy."
There was no blimp in the sky announcing that He would be observing donations that day. But there He was--deliberately seated in full view of the offering box--people watching. The people came, with their gifts. Large gifts. In fact, many people with many large gifts. It was a great day for fundraising.
But the many with their large gifts didn't catch His attention. It was a woman who gave next to nothing that led Him to say:
"...this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on."
It's a fact that money helps pay the bills around here. It's a fact that donations typically drop during the summertime. It's a fact that it was disheartening to have to cancel a fundraiser that was to be held tomorrow.
But God knows our needs, and He knows the hearts of those who give to His work. He knows that the woman who lives alone on a fixed income and sends a check for $5.00 every few months is giving as sacrificially as she can. And that young family? The one who could be saving for a college fund or a rainy day fund or a nice vacation? They're giving just as sacrificially when they write a check for several thousand dollars.
You might say that they took down their purchases to support their philanthropy.
He dropped out of school at the age of 14. He took jobs as a welder, wood cutter, farm hand, miner, and carpenter. He eventually got into the earthmoving business, building a company that engineered and manufactured earthmoving equipment, using designs and technology that was far beyond its era. He held hundreds of patents. Today he's considered to be the world's greatest inventor of earth moving heavy equipment.
He considered himself to be "God's businessman," and it's surmised that when he sold his company as a multi-millionaire in 1953, he gave away 90% of the proceeds and lived on the remaining 10%. This man--R.G. LeTourneau--said, “I shovel it out and God shovels it back, but God has a bigger shovel.”
You might say that he took down his purchases to support his philanthropy.
We can't all give the same amount, but Scripture is clear: Jesus applauds the one who gives sacrificially. LeTourneau had this perspective: “The question is not how much of my money I give to God, but rather how much of God’s money I keep for myself.”
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
The Ranchers
This is a group of campers at the end of the week (last Friday):
And this is a group of campers at the start of the week (yesterday):
Please pray for the 7 campers above; none of them have ever been to Youth Haven before and so were a little nervous when they arrived at camp on Monday. Last night I got a call from a family wanting to know how to reach their child at camp; mom is apparently nervous, too!
Friday, June 20, 2014
Monday, June 16, 2014
Youth Haven and What $5 Can Do
This morning our interns took 8 campers to Youth Haven Ranch for some summer fun. I still find myself occasionally thinking of it as "Youth Heaven," as one little guy who went to camp there used to refer to it. It's not heaven, but it's a great place on earth for kids to begin a relationship with Christ and grow in His truth.
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Aim Right was recently the recipient of an office collection. It's such a cool idea that I thought I'd share it here. Apparently, the dress code is loosened on one day of the week, and employees may wear denim. There's a catch, though. If you wear denim, you must pay $5, with the funds pooled and sent to a different charity each week.
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Aim Right was recently the recipient of an office collection. It's such a cool idea that I thought I'd share it here. Apparently, the dress code is loosened on one day of the week, and employees may wear denim. There's a catch, though. If you wear denim, you must pay $5, with the funds pooled and sent to a different charity each week.
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