In the OZARKS, where the Internet is RARE, and the heat is BLAZING

Here at Turkey Hill Bible Camp, finding internet is like finding a burning bush on the North Pole, it just ain’t happening. 

Last weekend I didn’t even have time to post a single jot or tiddle on simplefollower.  Making up for it now by posting twice in one fell swoop.  Impressive, I know.

So here I be at McDonald’s in Jeff City again, my standard portal into the interwebuhshphere.  Camp ended early this week: Friday instead of Saturday.  That’s because this past week was the final Youth camp of the summer and an extra day is given for cleaning up the facilities before Family Camps begin.

I didn’t counsel last week but instead was on, “Grounds Crew.”  We worked on making a new trail down to the lake and other such illustrious activities like weed-wacking, cleaning bathrooms, and raking leaves.

The best part of last week was the staff Bible study sessions.  We spent an hour each morning and an hour each afternoon in the Word.  We used various study techniques like summarizing (we summarized the book of Ephesians), looking at structure (looked at Revelation chapters 2 & 3), examining key words (John 15), and word studies (so do you know the difference between reprove and rebuke? or do you know what the word “Saved” really means?).  It was fun and I learned some things.

Being at camp these past three weeks has been a big spiritual recharge for me.  Mainly because I’m in the Bible so much, and around others who are like-minded.

I haven’t done much other reading, unfortunately.  I’m currently wading through a History of Haiti, which is fascinating.  The history of Haiti is more complex (and bloody) than I realized. 

The only book I’ve finished so far at camp has been Grandpa Jack’s, From Tarshish to Ninevah.  I’d link to Amazon, but don’t think he has it up there yet.  I enjoyed his stories and especially hearing about his faith in writing.  It got me thinking about my legacy of faith and how, in a roundabout way, it had an inauspicious beginning many years ago with a farmer sharing his faith with Grandpa.  I even mentioned that story (and the book) in a staff devotional I led one morning last week.

Let’s see, what else can I write about?  The news.  Well, my knowledge of current events and news is dismal.  Someone mentioned a shooting in Colorado and I assumed they meant Columbine, but then later realized there must have been a more recent calamity. 

I am, however, not in such a bat-cave as to not know that a new batman flick just premiered: The Dark Knight Rises, or some such.  However, I have no interest in watching it, because I don’t like batman, and it looks like a dark movie. 

In other news, I’m being asked (often) what I’m going to do next.  I have some ideas, but they don’t make sense (to others), and perhaps not entirely to myself either. 

I took comfort in John McHoul’s latest post about our lives being Living Sacrifices.  He said, among other things, something may be wrong when our lives make sense.  You have to read the whole artivle to get his context, but the gist was that our lives are in God’s hands, and they’re meant to be given up for Him, which means they likely will not look like the “status-quo” deal. 

Ok, I’d love to hear from you.  You being “anyone” who actually reads this, those few and far between people (like my Mom). 

I’ve only been checking my e-mail once a week, and hardly using the interwebs at all, which you would think would make checking my mail an exciting event as I get the fun of reading an entire weeks worth of personal letters in one sitting, but there’s a funny phenomena that happens when you don’t write other people: nobody writes you!  So my inbox is largely empty. 

Luckily, one person sent me a regular letter at camp, which bolstered my spirits.  And I hear on the grapevine my niece Kailee also sent me a bonafide letter, which unfortunately got detained in the mail, though I took comfort from her thoughtfulness, and even wrote her back, which was tricky since I didn’t know what important things she had written me about.

Lord willing and the creek don’t rise, I should be here two more weeks.

My address is:

Nick Middleton
c/o THRBC
13489 Maires Rd. 301
Vienna, MO 65582