Raccoon Reminder – Make Your Marriage A Priority

“Raccoon!”

“Hey! Get out of here!”

I yelled this the other night while Leanne and I were camping at French Creek State Park.  We were sitting by the campfire enjoying conversation and pizza pies.  There was a loaf of bread on the picnic table along with cheese, sauce, and pepperoni.  Suddenly, we heard something rustling behind us.  I turned around to find a raccoon on top of the table digging into the loaf of bread.

We were camping here for the weekend without the kids.  Despite the run in with the raccoon on Friday night, we had a very enjoyable time together.  We took walks together.  We kayaked together.  We sat by the fire together.  And we enjoyed spending time together.

We have a goal to go away together without the kids once or twice a year.  We’ve gone to bed and breakfasts.  We’ve gone to marriage conferences (like FamilyLife Weekend to Remember).  And we’ve even traveled to France (to celebrate our 10th anniversary).  This year, we decided to go camping at a nearby campground.

Spending time to together takes planning.  We have to be intentional in order to make it work.  We have to arrange for supervision for our teenagers.  We have to coordinate care for our dogs.  We have to make reservations for a place.  And we have to block time in our schedules for the time away.

Building your marriage takes work.  If you want a successful marriage, you have to be intentional.

If you’re not intentional, wedges will be driven in between you and your spouse.  Distance will sneak into your marriage like the raccoon who surprised us at our campsite.

If you’re married, decide today to make your marriage a priority.

What is one thing you can do today to prioritize your wedding?  When was the last time you got away with your spouse without the kids?  Where did you go?  How did this time away together help your marriage?

Repost: The Gift of Camping

Last night, we returned from another year of Family Camping.  After 11 years, this is still one of the weekends we all look to each year.  The post below was from our trip one year ago.  This year, we went to Hickory Run State Park.  The people were the same.  We shared many of the same stories from the past, and we made plenty of new stories as well.  Our chapel service was a little different this year.  But generally things were similar.  Just add another year to the tally.  Our kids didn’t want to leave when we pulled out of the campsite after dinner last night – we must be doing something good.  We can’t wait for next year!

This past weekend, we celebrated the 1oth anniversary of a great family camping tradition. We’ve been camping with the same four families since the beginning. It’s been amazing to watch our kids grow up together. Isaac was two and potty training on our first rainy camping trip to Locust Lake State Park. Now, Isaac’s eleven, and he’s becoming a wonderful young man. The story is similar for all the other kids as well. It’s truly been a gift to experience the richness of these friendships year after year. I look forward to many, many more family camping trips to come.

Nine out of the ten years, we have camped in a Pennsylvania State Park. Pennsylvania is the only state that has an established chaplaincy program in its state parks. Most years, we have worshiped together at the camp’s Sunday worship service. This year was no different as we walked down to the outdoor amphitheater following a delicious camp breakfast. I love my church, but there is something refreshing about getting outdoors and stripping away the music and lights and air conditioning.

At the service, Chaplain Jason shared from the passage in Romans. Jason’s message provided some great reminders:

¹ Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

³ For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. ⁴ For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, ⁵ so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. ⁶ We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; ⁷ if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; ⁸ if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

Romans 12:1-8

1. I have gifts. I should be sharing these gifts.

2. My gifts are different from other people’s gifts. We all have different gifts.

3. Everyone’s gifts are important to completing the work of the body.

4. I’m not gifted in everything. Saying no sometimes is okay.

I’m sure there were some other great points, but these are the ones that struck me.

What fun family traditions do you have?

How are you using the gifts that God has given you?

10 Things To Avoid On Camping Trips

As you’ve probably figured out based on Friday’s Ice Breaker post and yesterday’s 3 Thumbs Up! post, I am camping this weekend.  I’ve been camping for as long as I can remember with my family and with friends.  Over the years, I’ve learned a few things that should be avoided while you’re camping.  Hopefully, you’ll find this list informative (and somewhat humorous):

1.  Skunks.  They may look like black cats with white stripes, but they’ll cause quite a stink if you get in their way.  I’ve never been sprayed by a skunk, but I’ve been in camp when skunks decided to visit.

2.  Thunderstorms.  Some times you can’t avoid rain and heavy storms, but you should stay away from thunderstorms if you can help it.  I’ve endured several soaking storms on past camping trips.

3.  Bears.  This falls in line with item 1 above.  Keep your food locked up and your trash secured to avoid an unplanned meeting with a bear.

4.  Poison Ivy.  Itch.  Itch.  Scratch.  Scratch.  Need I say more?

5.  Lack of warm clothing.  The nights can get pretty cold if you don’t have the right gear.

6.  Getting lost.  Did you bring your compass and your map?  They might come in handy.

7.  Loud camping neighbors.  I’ve experienced this a couple of times.  Loud camping neighbors can ruin a great camping trip.

8.  Lack of facilities.  I like to rough it, but I’ve learned to enjoy a hot shower as I matured.

9.  Snakes.  I hate snakes.

10.  Rocks and fire.  Rocks under the sleeping bag and hot embers on the sleeping bag can ruin a good nights sleep.

I hope that you find this list helpful.  What else would you add to this list?

3 Thumbs Up! May 26th, 2012

Since I’m off camping this weekend, I thought it would be fun to feature a camping themed 3 Thumbs Up! post.  Each week, I highlight three things that deserve a thumbs up.

Thumbs Up Number 1:  Byron’s Dutch Oven Cooking Page.  Over the past several years, I’ve developed a love for Dutch oven cooking.  Dutch ovens are special cast iron pots that are placed in the coals of a hot fire and used to cook all kinds of food from appetizers to side dishes to entrees to desserts.  Byron’s Dutch Oven Cooking Page has become one of my favorite places to visit to discover new Dutch oven recipes.

Thumbs Up Number 2:  Cabela’s Outfitter XL Cot.  I’m a fairly big guy at 6’6″ and just over 200 pounds.  As I’ve gotten a bit older, my back hasn’t handled sleeping directly on the ground like it used to.  This cot from Cabela’s has become my biggest friend on my camping trips.  The cot gives me a more comfortable sleeping surface that is off the ground.  It also provides some great storage space for flashlights, my journal, and other small things that need to be stored by my side at night.

Thumbs Up Number 3:  The Raven Charter.  Yesterday was my brother’s birthday.  For the past several years, he has been part of a band called The Raven Charter.  TRC is home-based in the Dallas, TX area, and they’ve played at venues all over Texas.  Their brand of alternative hard-edged rock is creative and though-provoking.  Check them out here.  Also, consider picking up their music from iTunes.

What else deserves a thumbs up this week?  Share with the rest of us, so we can all learn and enjoy.

Ice Breaker – Relax

Today, I head out for my annual camping pilgrimage to the Poconos.  I have been making this trip for the past twenty-one years (with only one miss) with the same group of guys who are originally from my home town in New Jersey.  For me this is the perfect opportunity to relax.  On this trip, I’ll go fishing, catch up with some great long-time friends, and I’ll slow down compared to my normally busy pace of life.

For today’s Stretched Ice Breaker question, we’ll continue this theme.

Question:  What is your favorite way to relax?

(For those of you who are new here, an Ice Breaker is a question designed to help us get to know each other.  Each week, I ask a question which I’ll answer in the post.  Then I turn it to the readers to answer the question in the comments.)

I can’t wait to read your answer to this week’s question!

Ice Breaker – The Stretched Community’s Got Talent

Happy Friday!

It’s time for this week’s ice breaker question.  I’ll keep it simple.  In case you forgot, I’ll ask a question that helps us get to know one another.  Then, I’ll answer the question.  After that, it’s your turn to answer the question by entering your response in the comments.  Here goes…!

Question:  If you were to appear on America’s Got Talent (or another talent show), what talent would you bring to the stage?  (And we all have talent, so there should be some great answers here this week.)

My answer:  Dutch oven cooking.  This answer may seem shocking to any of you who knew me as a kid.  When I graduated from college, my culinary expertise was Kraft Macaroni and Cheese and microwaved hot dogs.  Let’s just say, I’ve come a long way.  I enjoy cooking (most of the time) although I don’t get a chance to do it very often.  One of my favorite methods for cooking is dutch oven cooking over hot camp coals.  I’ve cooked up some great breads, casseroles, soups, desserts, pizza, main dishes, and side dishes using my dutch ovens.  I’m hoping I could win the judges over through their stomachs.

Okay.  It’s your turn.  Tell us about your talent in the comments.

Surprise!!!

My wife did it!  She surprised me for my 40th birthday with a party at our house on Saturday night.  And yes, I was surprised.  She sent out invitations, contacted friends, went food shopping, and coordinated the surprise plan with our neighbors, our family, and other friends.  Nobody dropped a clue.  I showed up at our house Saturday night after a day of making Korv (a Swedish Christmas sausage) expecting to take a shower and head out with Leanne and a couple of friends to celebrate over dinner.  When I walked in the house, I was greeted with a house full of friends.  It was such a wonderful opportunity to touch base with some people who mean a lot to me.

There were many highlights to this evening, but I wanted to share a particular detail with The Stretched Community.  One of our good friends, Amy Sullens, made a cake for the party.  Amy did an incredible job representing me on the cake.  On top of the cake was a running shoe (that looked quite realistic).  The shoe obviously represents my running interest.  The Happy 40 Birthday sign on the front of the cake looked just like a runner’s race bib.  On the left side of the cake was a tent and a campfire which represents my love for camping and a couple of camping traditions that go with me each year.  There were two chickens on the back of the cake.  Yep, I still have a couple of chickens.  And finally, the right side of the cake boasted a laptop computer with Stretched by Jon Stolpe on the screen.  My blog made my cake!

All this, and the cake was delicious!

What four things would go on your cake to represent you?  They can be fun things, or you can choose to go deeper.

(If you’re interested in cakes like this, you should check out the Cake Art by Amy Facebook Page.)

The Gift of Camping

This past weekend, we celebrated the 1oth anniversary of a great family camping tradition.  We’ve been camping with the same four families since the beginning.  It’s been amazing to watch our kids grow up together.  Isaac was two and potty training on our first rainy camping trip to Locust Lake State Park.  Now, Isaac’s eleven, and he’s becoming a wonderful young man.  The story is similar for all the other kids as well.  It’s truly been a gift to experience the richness of these friendships year after year.  I look forward to many, many more family camping trips to come.

Nine out of the ten years, we have camped in a Pennsylvania State Park.  Pennsylvania is the only state that has an established chaplaincy program in its state parks.  Most years, we have worshiped together at the camp’s Sunday worship service.  This year was no different as we walked down to the outdoor amphitheater following a delicious camp breakfast.  I love my church, but there is something refreshing about getting outdoors and stripping away the music and lights and air conditioning.

At the service, Chaplain Jason shared from the passage in Romans.  Jason’s message provided some great reminders:

 ¹ Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

 ³ For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. ⁴ For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, ⁵ so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. ⁶ We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; ⁷ if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; ⁸ if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

Romans 12:1-8

1.  I have gifts.  I should be sharing these gifts.

2.  My gifts are different from other people’s gifts.  We all have different gifts.

3.  Everyone’s gifts are important to completing the work of the body.

4.  I’m not gifted in everything.  Saying no sometimes is okay.

I’m sure there were some other great points, but these are the ones that struck me.

What fun family traditions do you have?

How are you using the gifts that God has given you?

Guess Who I Am

This past week, I took a few days off from work to celebrate the start of our kids summer vacation and the end to a remarkable school year for both of them.  We took a couple of days to go camping at French Creek State Park.  It had been a few years since we have camped with just the four of us (plus the dog).  And we really had a great time – spending time together and making many new memories.

One of the memories that I will have of this trip was a game that Hannah and Isaac came up with around the campfire.  I’m guessing that they learned this game at one of their camping experiences last year.  I’m not sure of the exact name of the game, but I think it should be called “Guess Who I Am.”  In this game, the kids wrote down words that represented something on our camping trip.  These words word were then taped to our foreheads so we couldn’t see them.  Our goal was to ask questions in order to figure out what was on our paper.

It was hilarious to listen to the questions and answers as we went around the fire trying to guess who we were.  For the first round, I was a chair.  At one point, I became our newest dutch oven recipe – Hot Dog Pot Pie.  Needless to say, we had some great family time together.  My guess is that this will become a regular campfire game for our family.

Do you go camping?  What do your campfire activities look like?  What other things do you do to create family memories?

Disturbing the Peace – I Would Never Do That, Or Would I?

Last night, my family took a long 12 minute journey north to Green Lane Park to go camping for one night.  It was nice to get away, and it was great to have such a quick trip.  Overall, it was a pretty good trip.  We cooked, we relaxed, we fished, and we enjoyed time around the camp fire.

One of the not so great parts of the trip was late night noise from our neighbor campers.  First, there was a guy blaring the Phillies game so loud that I thought I might be sitting in Milwaukee County Stadium at the game.  Thankfully, he turned it down when he saw our family heading to bed.  Then around 11:30PM, I heard things heating up at another site.  By 12:15AM, these campers were pounding branches against trees and sawing logs and talking with a fairly high volume level.  Well, that was it, I’m not normally confrontational, but I needed some sleep.  So I got up and went across to ask them if they knew what time it was.  I think I was fairly calm, but I was pretty angry.  These young guys seemed to settle down; however, they continued to talk around their fire until after 4:00AM.  Needless to say, I didn’t get a whole lot of sleep.  This part of the trip certainly soured my experience at Green Lane.  Unlike all the PA State Park campgrounds that I have been to, there weren’t any rangers driving around at night to make sure people were quite during the posted “quiet hours.”

Well, I would never do something like those young guys.  Or would I?  As I was cutting the grass this afternoon, for some reason, I thought about a time that I was on a canoe/camping trip with my high school youth group.  As we were camping, I was up late with Brian Willem and James Harton.  We were carrying on late into the night (or maybe it was morning).  All the sudden, Dave Kennedy (one of our youth leaders) scared the C*** out of us when he snuck up and screamed that we better quiet down before he really got mad.

So…I guess those guys at Green Lane weren’t all that different from me.  This thought certainly brought a smile to my face as I finished cutting the grass.  I hope those guys had a good time.  I know I had a blast with Brian and James so many years ago. 

For now, I better get to bed.  I’m exhausted!