HoneyRock in the Community

Elizabeth Baltus--Registration Coordinator

One of the things I love most about my job at HoneyRock is
that it allows me time to be involved in ministry in the local church and Three Lakes
community.  One of the ministries I get
to be a part of, and lead, is a high school girls’ breakfast that meets every
other week.  Each week that we meet I
find myself thankful for the role I have specifically seen HoneyRock play in
the lives of some of these girls.  There
are 12 high school girls that attend the breakfast, and of those 12, four have
spent multiple summers at HoneyRock and committed their lives to Christ at
HoneyRock.  As one who works both at and
outside of HoneyRock, I get the privilege of seeing the scriptural truths and
disciplines these girls learned at camp being put into action, affecting their own
lives and the lives of those around them – and it is a powerful and humbling
thing.  It constantly reminds me of God’s
command for us to “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord fully pleasing to him,
bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God…. Let
the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in
all wisdom.... And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name
of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians
1:10, 16-17).

I want to leave you today with that command as well as the
lyrics to a song that speak of this call to live lives worthy of the
gospel. 

“Before the world was made, before You spoke it to be. 

You were the King of kings; yeah You were, yeah You
were. 

And now You’re reigning still, enthroned above all
things. 

Angels and saints cry out, we join them as we sing. 

Glory to God; glory to God; glory to God, forever….. 

Creator God, You gave me breath so I could praise

Your great
and matchless name, all my days, all my days. 

So let my whole life be a blazing offering,

A life that shouts and
sings, the greatness of our King.”

(Glory To God,
Forever, by Steve Fee)

Happy New Year!

Becki Henderson--Administrative Assistant

This morning at devos we read some verses from Proverbs that
I think are good ones to consider at the beginning of a new year.  (We also played a game called “Broken
Telephone” that worked into my theme for the day.  Really. 
It did.)

Proverbs 2:6-11 “For the LORD
gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.  He holds victory in store for the upright, he
is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the
just and protects the way of his faithful ones. 
Then you will understand what is right and just and fair—every good
path.  For wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. 
Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.”

As you look ahead to this new year, thank God for His
promises to give us wisdom and discretion! 
We serve a God who is a shield to us and who protects us.  We can walk ahead into a new year knowing
that He is with us and is watching over us.

When Answers Aren't Enough

Liz Henderson--Program Team Assistant

This morning during devotions John Vandervelde shared with us about several experiences that he has had in the past week all pertaining to the end of the book of Job.  Through conversations, Scripture, and watching Rob Bell's newest Nooma video "Whirlwind" John was struck by the power of Job 40:1-42:6.  John read that passage for the HoneyRock staff this morning.  For those of you who are familiar with the book of Job, you know that Job is a man who suffers to a degree beyond our comprehension.  He struggles and asks God why all these difficult things are happening to him and why he has to suffer.  As humans we have so many questions and we want answers.  Ultimately, it can be in the times where we have no answers that God can free us from our need to know everything.  It allows us to recognize that God is God and we are not. 

After Job questions God in the book of Job, God begins to speak to Job and question him.  God demonstrates his power and might, and after hearing from the Lord and recognizing his greatness, Job is humbled.

If you have time, I would encourage you to check out Rob Bell's newest Nooma video entitled Whirlwind.  It is an incredible video and I think that you will be challenged and come face-to-face with God's power if you watch it.

Boys Adrift

John Vandervelde - Program Director

One way we feel we can help encourage, challenge, motivate, and inspire parents (and others who work with young people) is to pass along resources like books, websites, and articles that we have found to be helpful to us.  We have a section of our website dedicated to this, it can be found here.

Today I'd like to recommend a book to you that has proved very interesting to my self and many other here at HoneyRock.  It is a book called "Boys Adrift" by Leonard Sax.  I encourage you to pick up a copy and check it out.

A Summary of "Boys Adrift" by Leonard Sax - this is taken from Sax's blog:

I have been a practicing physician for 21 years. For the past 17 years,
I have worked in a suburb of Washington DC. Ten years ago, I began
noticing something odd. I'd find a particular family where the daughter
was motivated, hardworking, and successful - while her brother was an
under-achiever. I've now documented this pattern hundreds of times just
in my own practice. Emily is a straight-A student determined to get
into a good college, while her brother - just as smart as Emily - has
none of her drive.

In the past seven years, I have visited over
200 schools around the United States, Canada, and Australia. I have met
with teachers, spoken with parents, and listened to children and
teenagers from every demographic group. I've found that this pattern -
"driven girls, directionless boys" to use Professor Judy Kleinfeld's
phrase - is becoming more common everywhere you look. You'll find it in
cities, in suburbs and in rural areas; among White, Black, and Latino
families; and in affluent, middle-income and low-income neighborhoods.
Boys whose families have recently immigrated from East Asia or South
Asia - from Japan, China, Singapore, India, Pakistan, etc. - appear to
have some degree of immunity to this emerging epidemic. But the longer
those boys live in this country, the more likely they are to begin
manifesting this weird syndrome of apathy and lack of motivation.)

What's going on?

I've
spent every available moment for the past seven years researching this
question. I've published scholarly articles for the American
Psychological Association and the American Academy of Family
Physicians. I've written op-eds for newspapers such as the Washington Post, the LA Times, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and the Philadelphia Daily News;
and I've corresponded with more than a thousand parents and their sons.
I've seen this question grow from my own personal mission to become a
national topic of debate and the central theme of movies such as Failure to Launch.

And
now, finally, I think I've figured it out. I've identified five factors
which are driving this phenomenon. And I've seen what works: what
parents can do to turn this thing around and get their sons back on
track.

The Giving Tree

John Vandervelde - Program Director

The children's book, "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein is one of my favorite stories.  If you haven't read it you should, it is a classic.  For years the book has been discussed by many people trying to understand what the author was really trying to get at.  Some say the book is about a relationship between a mother and a son and that it shows the endless, unconditional love parents have for their children.  Others say it is an environmental book, written to encourage children not to be abusive to the trees who love them so much.  A third opinion is that Silverstein is writing about the abusive ways men treat women; how women give endlessly and men take advantage of that.  Silverstein, who died in 1999, was never totally clear about his intentions with the book; at one point he simply said, "its about relationships".

Christians have found the story to reveal great truth about human relationships with God.  The book is often used in Sunday School classrooms and by preachers in their sermons.  One of the most widely accepted reasons the book was written was that Silverstein was trying to put into words and pictures his understanding of God and Christians.  A widely accepted, yet still contested, story was that Silverstein was good friends with a Catholic author named Brennan Manning and apparently Manning asked Silverstein to write a children's book about God and Christianity.  Manning argues that Silverstein had converted to Christianity and this was a book about that.  

Just to quickly summarize the book for you: There are five phases the book goes through.  In the first phase the tree and the young boy play together joyfully in the forest.  The tree provides everything the boy needs and the boy provides love and gratitude to the tree.  In communion together the boy is happy the tree is happy.  In phase two the boy returns to the tree after being away for some time.  The boy does not play with the tree, he simply needs money.  The tree provides him with apples he can sell for money and the boy walks away happy.  Much time passes and then in phase three, the now middle-aged boy, returns to the tree asking the tree to help him get a house so he can have a family.  The tree meets the boy's need and sacrificially allows the boy to cut off all her branches to build a home with.  In phase four the boy returns as an elderly man wanting to escape from the cares of the world and sail off on the sea.  Again, in the ultimate at of self-sacrifice the tree allows the boy to cut down her trunk to build a boat and sail away.  In the final phase the boy returns to the tree, now a stump and the tree says, "I have nothing left to give you."
The boy replies, " I do not need much now, just a quiet place to sit
and rest." The tree then says, "Good! A tree stump is a great place to
do just that! Come boy, sit down and be happy." The boy obliged and the
tree was happy.

Although the story isn't a full and perfect picture of God, I still find great truth in it.  It helps me to think about how loving and sacrificial and compassionate God is to me.  I challenges me to think about where I am with God now.  Am I that child playing in his branches, totally happy and in great communion with Him?  Or have I become the man who just needs God, takes advantage of Him and consumes Him as a product that helps him meet his needs and makes him feel better? 

I encourage you to find a copy of "The Giving Tree" today and read it - it only takes about 10 minutes.  I think you to will find there is much truth in the few words and simple pictures inside.

"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."  (Ephesians 3: 17-21)

Lessons Learned (A little humor for your Monday) by Guest Blogger Linzi (Cain) Hansen

Linzi (Cain) Hansen--HoneyRock Executive Council

Whenever I am prompted to remember my
"most embarrassing moment", my thoughts flood immediately
back to my very first summer at Honey Rock. I was a budding 9-year-old
girl with an ever-present awareness of her changing body during her
first summer away at camp. I had signed up to do the Solid Rock Club
(check out the website for that definition, it's right next to "Sign
Up For Camp!"), but I hadn't developed the necessary skills to
coordinate the wardrobe needed for such participation. Was I supposed
to change into my bathing suit before my cabin was even awake yet? What
if they were watching me? I didn't think I had enough time to run to
the bathroom to change if I planned to get exactly 7 hours and 45 minutes
of sleep. So I settled on changing into my bathing suit the night before
in my sleeping bag, then just sleeping in it. In those days at Honey
Rock, the unit leader of your particular unit would come around and
sing a song for you before you went to bed. So just as I was getting
into my sleeping bag to change, Leon knocked on our cabin door just
as he did every night. I quickly threw on my suit and my jammies, hoped
that all my plotting would pay off, and joined my cabin. 

The next morning, after getting exactly
7 hours and 45 minutes of sleep, I got up, waggled my way to the rock
(a cross between a walk and a jog), and got to the lake as one of the
last campers in the swimming area. As I was walking to the dock to begin
my swim, I couldn't help but hearing snickering from the campers just
completing theirs. I figured it was because I was the last one in the
lake, and being the last one in anything in junior high is basically
forfeiting any ‘cool’ you might have. Even at camp. But it wasn't
until I got to the edge of the dock that I realized I had my bathing
suit on inside out. Now, that may not sound that embarrassing to you,
and maybe you've worn your bathing suit inside out once or twice for
a little change of pace. But take into consideration that my father
took Honey Rock's advice very seriously
when they suggested you should label your children's clothes with their
names. And that included my bathing suit. So on the inside lining was
written in an artsy diagonal scattered pattern in a handwriting only
a father can produce, “Linzi Carn” and then
right below it “Linzi Cain.” Apparently, the ‘i’ in my last
name had blended a little using the half-inch thick magic marker he
was using. And if in fact, I lost my bathing suit, he didn’t want
Honey Rock looking for Linzi Carn. At that point, I was very thankful
I was the last one swimming. 

So just a word of advice for you parents,
maybe consider the sew-on on labels.