CWE Pre Camp Devos-#10 The Amazing Race

Proverbs 3:5-6

“TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL OF YOUR HEART,

AND LEAN NOT ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING;

IN ALL YOUR WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM,

AND HE WILL MAKE YOUR PATHS STRAIGHT.”

(or “HE SHALL DIRECT YOUR PATHS” – NKJV)

“THE AMAZING RACE”

It was all his fault.  “He” being Eric Rice, a former camp counselor who was then a member of our permanent staff.  Earlier that year, prior to the summer, he got me hooked on watching one of the very first renditions of the popular CBS television show, “The Amazing Race.” Though I can’t remember who the contestants were (the passing of time and events has clouded the specifics of the matter), I do remember thinking that it was pretty cool to be able to team up with someone and race across the world, using all of your wit, strength, patience, and effort in an attempt to be the last team remaining and thus win “The Amazing Race.”  And so it was that months later, as the summer began to wind down, Eric (Captain E) and I began to devise a scheme to be selected as contestants on the next edition of the Amazing Race.  In order to be selected you had to submit a 3 minute video of yourselves that would give the producers a glimpse of the personality, energy, and marketability that your team would bring to the show.  Piece of cake, we thought!!!  What could be more unique than an older (I am really not that old) boss and a young, up-and-coming camp professional?  So we set out to make the most unique Amazing Race audition video that had ever been produced.  And if I do say so myself, it was pretty dad gummed good.  I mean we put everything we could into that 3 minute video.  I blobbed Eric (fairly high I might add).  Eric dropped in on the half-pipe at the skate park (he wound up spraining his ankle pretty badly, but that is another story).  I ate a worm down by the fishing pond, we both kissed a monster catfish, and we had our videographer zoom in on us in the middle of a massive dance party at a Special Event.  To this day, I still think it may have been the most unique audition video ever submitted to the producers of “The Amazing Race.”    

Each of you will, soon enough, begin your own “Amazing Race.”  The Amazing Race that is the summer of 2011, either at Incomparable Camp Ozark or Amazing Camp War Eagle.  You will get an opportunity to blob, to drop in from the half-pipe, to fish, and to dance at a plethora of Special Events.  But mostly you will get an opportunity to impact children and to be impacted by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Like “The Amazing Race,” your personal race will require all of your wit, strength, patience, and effort to be successful.  But unlike “The Amazing Race,” it will require something more: the presence, power, and peace of God acting in your life on a daily basis.  For the last 9 days we have been discussing 2 simple lines of scripture penned thousands of years ago by King Solomon when he was a young adult.  If you truly want to experience an “Amazing Race,” not only at camp this summer, but in your daily life as you move through its various stages, then you must have the guts to make the choice to live for God instead of for man.  You must have the courage to dream the impossible dream, the will to walk the road less traveled, and the understanding that it is only through placing your life in the hands of your almighty Creator that you can truly experience all that life is meant to be.  “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.” 

Are you up to the challenge of this summer?  More importantly, are you up to the challenge of this life…your life?  This summer you can find out by choosing God over self, by trusting Jesus over others, by subjecting yourself to the unknown journey that results in the only known peace that man can achieve, peace with God.  I am very excited for each of you that have been led by God to this unique opportunity.  Though, I am even more excited for what you will learn this summer by trusting Him completely.  

As for “The Amazing Race,” well Captain E and I finished our video, edited it to perfection, and sent it in Fed-ex, overnight, signature required.  We never heard a single word from the producers of the show.  Not one word.  We were flabbergasted.  Of course, the fact of the matter is this: neither of us had even remotely begun to figure out how we were going to leave our families and jobs for up to 3 full months in order to tape the show.  Oh well, life goes on…and, by the way, so does camp.  See you there!!!!!

CWE Pre Camp Devos-#9 The Subway Ride

Proverbs 3:5-6

“Trust in the Lord with all of your heart,

and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge Him,

and He will MAKE YOUR PATHS STRAIGHT.”

(or “HE SHALL DIRECT YOUR PATHS” – NKJV)

“THE SUBWAY RIDE”

I like to travel, always have.  I like seeing new places and experiencing new cultures.  When I visit other places I don’t like to do the “tourist bit.”  I generally don’t do bus tours with a guide speaking on a portable sound system that no one can understand.  I don’t like someone else to tell me what I should go see and what I shouldn’t.  Instead, I like to see the place I am visiting as if I lived there.  I like to experience, when possible, the locale as those who live there do.  I like more of an adventure than an orchestrated experience.  I like to eat where the locals eat, shop where they shop, and travel as they travel.  That is why, whenever I am in one of my favorite cities in the world, New York, I always travel by subway.  My wife and I have a “thing “ about New York.  We first visited this amazing city when we were so poor all we could afford was a cheap flight in the middle of the night on a discounted, now defunct airline called People’s Express.  We stayed in a fairly dilapidated old hotel, ate in local dives, saw a couple of Broadway Shows using half-price tickets and traveled everywhere the way most New Yorkers travel…on foot, on the bus, or by the subway.  Since that first experience, my wife and I have visited New York probably 25 times.  Our accommodations budget has increased slightly, but we still eat at local eateries and we still invariably travel by subway. 

My daughter, Angela, moved to New York and lived on the Upper West Side for about a year (great neighborhood by the way).  Since she is very competitive, whenever we go to New York it invariably turns into a competition between us about who knows the most about New York, how to get around, where to go, and what to do. (Unfortunately, if I have to admit it, she probably is more of a New Yorker than me.)  Be that as it may, I take great pride in the fact that I do not have to use a subway map when I go to New York.  I know where the Red Line goes, which of the trains are express and which are local, which go cross town, the quickest way to Brooklyn (the Brooklyn Tabernacle is a must for a Sunday morning worship experience), and where to get off the Blue line to go to one of the greatest little bakeries in the world (The Magnolia Bakery).  I will tell you a secret if you let me: they are known for their cupcakes but their banana pudding is way better. 

And so it was that Susan and I were in New York with two of our staff members, Gene Monk and Dave Atkins, for a camping convention.  On a free Saturday afternoon we decided to go see the site of the World Trade Center and its aftermath.  No problem.  From our hotel we took the purple line across to 42^nd street, hopped on the Red line and got off at the WTC station.  Piece of cake.  However, as we emerged from the underground tunnel onto the busy street, I briefly hesitated.  “Was it to the right or the left?” I asked myself.  Now at that exact moment, the easiest and smartest thing to do would have been to ask one of the hundreds of locals walking by me on the side walk, but there was absolutely no way on this earth I was going to do that.  I was, after all, a New York expert.  I knew where I was going. So, shaking off the brief moment of doubt, and putting firmly in the back of my mind the logical thought that I should perhaps ask someone just to be sure, I struck off to the left.  After we had walked about a half mile, Susan asked me if I was certain where I was going.  Wrong question…really, really, wrong question.  Smoke coming out of my ears, I boldly declared I knew exactly where I was going and quickened my pace, continuing to walk on. 

How often do we do that in our own lives?  How often do we determine our own path with absolutely no consultation with the one and only God of the universe?  How often do we hear the soft, still voice of the Holy Spirit of God telling us to do one thing, but boldly strike out on our own with blatant disregard for the will of God?  Today’s scripture is the last phrase in this powerful passage from Proverbs that we have now been looking at for almost two weeks.  It is the conclusion, the result, the promise, the prize of all that has come before it.  Today’s passage tells us that if and when we place our complete faith and trust in Jesus as Lord, He and He alone will DIRECT OUR PATHS.  He and He alone will wrap us in His arms and insure that the directions, twists, and turns of life all have a purpose: His purpose.  He tells us today that He will guide us to where He wants us to be.  He doesn’t tell us that it will always be easy.  Don’t ever make the mistake of thinking that when God is in control our life is easier.  HA!!!!  Hardly; straight paths are sometimes steep paths.  Straight paths are sometimes fraught with pot holes.  Straight paths may have challenges all along the way.  But when our faith and trust are in God, each of these paths is His direction and according to His purpose. 

You have a choice to make in life: follow the path of God’s direction or follow your own.  His path has purpose and fulfillment as its ultimate destiny.  Your path has, at its best, short term enjoyment and at its worst, destroyed relationships, emptiness, and misery.  God loves you.  He has brought you to camp this summer.  He has a plan for you for this summer and for the rest of your life.  Trust His plan.  Follow His path and you are in for the adventure of a lifetime.  Trust yourself.  Follow your own path and you are nothing but a nameless tourist on one of those tour buses I detest who see the surface but never experience the adventure.  HE SHALL DIRECT YOUR PATHS…all of them.

As for me and my merry band of tourists looking for the World Trade Center, I finally gave in after walking a mile to the south of the station, asked for directions and was pointed back in the exact direction from where we had originated.  After trudging over a mile back, we finally reached the subway station from where we had started our walk.  We walked 50 feet past it in the other direction and there we were, the site of the World Trade Center.  Let me know if you ever need my guide services when you are in the Big Apple.  I work cheap.

CWE Pre Camp Devos-#8 The Guarantee

Proverbs 3:5-6b

“Trust in the Lord with all of your heart,

and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge Him

and He WILL…”

“THE GUARANTEE”

In the early fall of 1960, an event occurred which forever changed the landscape of professional sports in America.  On September 9^th, the Denver Broncos faced the Boston Patriots in the inaugural game of the upstart American Football League.  For the next 6 years, though scoffed at and ridiculed by the more established members of the National Football League, the member franchises of the AFL began to gain a foothold in professional football.  This foothold eventually lead to a merger with the NFL and the initiation of the very first Super Bowl played in 1967.  Though market conditions had led the more established NFL to reluctantly agree to the merger, there was smugness, a sense of vast superiority, which pervaded fans and, more importantly, journalists from the NFL cities.  The first two Super Bowls had resulted in blow out victories for the NFL representative teams over the AFL and as Super Bowl III approached there was hardly a soul who felt that the AFL, represented by the New York Jets, stood even the slightest chance of defeating the NFL representative, the powerful Baltimore Colts led by the iconic quarterback, Johnny Unitas. 

In the week leading up to the game, all of the focus was on the Colts with the discussion being centered around the theme of whether or not this edition of the Baltimore Colts was, in fact, the greatest professional team of all time.  Not only was little attention given to the lowly New York Jets, but fans had even begun to heckle the Jets as they went about their preparation for the game.  It was against this back drop that the New York Jets quarterback, Joe Namath, in response to a heckler during the middle of a press conference, shot back saying, “We WILL beat the Colts, I guarantee it!!!”  Well, as you can imagine, this added a little spice to the days leading up to the big game.  Writers, announcers, and analysts all decried the outburst by Namath as foolish.  Most thought that the Colts, needing no further motivation, had now been stirred up enough that the game would be a massacre and Namath would be lucky to survive the first series of downs uninjured. 

 The word “will” is a very powerful term.  It connotes certainty, power, finality, and dependability.  For example, when a person contemplates his or her death, they often create a document called a “Will.”  In this document they guarantee their personal wishes so that nothing is left to chance.  The term “will” is much different than its counterpart “shall.”  Will is a term of certainty, dependability, and trustworthiness, while shall is a term of intention.  In today’s scripture we see that Solomon tells us that God is dependable, trustworthy, bankable, capable, and powerful.  Solomon tells us that when we choose to give God our lives He will do what He says He will do.  In my mind this is the crux of this entire passage of scripture: our knowledge of the complete power and dependability of God.  Solomon is saying that when we have confidence in God, HE will never fail us.  When we place our lives in the hands of God, even when we don’t understand the whys and wherefores of God, He is always consistent, always faithful, always trustworthy. 

This summer and for the rest of your life you will experience peaks and valleys in your fellowship with God, your obedience to God, and your own ability to experience God.  But the one thing you will never have to worry about is God’s consistency or trustworthiness.  HE is…HE WILL.  There will be times this summer and times in your life when you absolutely don’t understand “why,” but God does.  HE WILL.  The Bible is full of covenants between God and His people, the Adamic covenant, the Noahic Covenant, the Abrahamic covenant, the Mosaic Covenant, the Palestinian covenant, the Davidic covenant, and the New Covenant.  Some of these are conditional, some unconditional, but all of them are reliable.  All of them are trustworthy. All of them speak to the essence of our faith and this passage.  IF and WHEN we respond to God in faith and trust Him with our lives, HE WILL.  Take it to the bank today, this summer, and throughout your life.  God WILL.  He is absolutely capable and absolutely dependable…end of story.

As for Joe Namath (Broadway Joe as he came to be known), his New York Jets upset the Baltimore Colts 16-7, earning the first ever victory for the old AFL and silencing the critics forever.  He promised and he delivered.  That was one football game.  Joe Namath never got back to the Super Bowl and wound up his career with far more interceptions than touchdowns.  Like all of us, Joe Namath can never be fully dependable.  GOD IS DEPENDABLE…ALWAYS…HE IS THE ONE GUARANTEE YOU CAN ALWAYS TRUST…HE…WILL.

CWE Pre Camp Devos-#7 The Encounter

Proverbs 3:5-6a

“Trust in the Lord with all of your heart,

and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge HIM AND HE…”

“THE ENCOUNTER”

It was one of those days you dream about, even long for…beautiful weather, a beautiful setting, and absolutely no requirement to be anywhere or do anything.  The year was 1996 and Susan and I were in the beautiful Pacific Coast town of Santa Barbara, California.  We were actually there to attend a prestigious high school volleyball tournament in which our daughter, Angela, then a junior in High School, was participating.  But on this gorgeous fall weekday in Southern California, there were no games scheduled and we had no responsibilities whatsoever.  So, we slept in, ate a late breakfast at the hotel and decided to take a leisurely stroll down the sidewalk that paralleled the scenic beachfront.  After we had walked about a mile, simply soaking up the sun and visiting about pretty much nothing, we noticed a crowd gathering in front of one of the beach front hotels.  With nothing else to do, out of curiosity more than anything, we wandered over to the crowd and inquired as to what was going on.  “It’s HIM, they responded, we are waiting to see “HIM.”  I looked over at my wife to see if maybe I was missing the obvious but she simply shrugged her shoulders indicating she was just as clueless as I was about who “HIM” was.  So, not wanting to seem like I was totally stupid, I simply said to my wife, making sure the rest of the crowd could hear, “OOOH, HIM, sure, we can’t wait to see HIM (whoever HIM might be) .” 

We waited with the crowd for about 10 minutes and never really figured out who “HIM” was until slowly, a fleet of black Suburbans began to slowly file down the hotel driveway.  Alongside the black Suburbans were men wearing suits, seemingly all wearing ray ban mirror sun glasses, with ear pieces barely visible, but firmly implanted in one of their ears.  That is when it clicked.  That is when it dawned on me.  “HIM” was really “HIM”…the sitting President of the United States of America, William Jefferson Clinton. 

Now, I don’t know what you think of President Clinton—that is not what this is about. But, I can tell you this much, the display of power surrounding the President of the United States is truly something to behold.  I have met 3 sitting presidents and attended the inauguration of one, George W. Bush, and there is really nothing as awe inspiring as observing the power surrounding the President of the United States of America.  Shortly after we attended the inaugural ceremony of President Bush, Susan and I stood on Pennsylvania Avenue and watched the procession of the President down the avenue amidst the grandeur of the inaugural parade.  Strength and power just oozed from the presidential party…black Suburbans…armored personnel carriers…secret service and marines….all there to protect “HIM.”  It was no different on this sunny morning in Santa Barbara, California.  As the black Suburbans filed out onto the street and were joined by what seemed like dozens of gun boats patrolling the shore, all of a sudden “HE” appeared…the President of the United States of America, Bill Clinton…in shorts, a Razorback t-shirt and running shoes.  “HE,” the President of the United States, the most powerful man in the world, was going for a run along the beach.

You know, it got me to thinking about the fact that “HIMs” and “HEs” appear and disappear, they come and they go…presidents, rock stars, famous athletes, powerful orators.  Their light shines bright for a time and then the title of “HE” or “HIM” is bestowed on another, and so on, and so on, and so on.  However, there is one “HE” and one “HIM” that never changes, never fails, never wavers, never dies.  HIS name is Jesus…Yahweh…Jehovah….the Lord God almighty…the prince of peace.  HE is the great I AM, the Alpha and the Omega, wonderful counselor, the everlasting God.  HE is the being that has no beginning and hence, no end.  HE is the being who created the earth out of nothing and man out of the dust of the earth.  HE is the author of all history, the King of Kings.  HE knows every hair on your head and every star in the sky.  HE and HE alone can part the Red Sea on one day and send manna from heaven to feed His children on the next.  HE can thwart the cause of Satan borne out in the life of Hitler or Hussein, and at the same moment create the blessed cry of a new born baby….and yet, we, His children, often pay more homage to the lesser “HEs” and “HIMs” of this world…the presidents who fail us, the athletes who disappoint us, the famous people who fade into oblivion, the fathers who leave our mother, the dads who are never there, the one and only who suddenly finds another love interest, than we do to the one and only God of the universe. 

Today’s scripture tells us we are to acknowledge the only HIM that matters so that HE can act in our lives out of HIS love and eternal majesty.  Isn’t it about time we quit trusting false Gods, including ourselves, more than HIM?  Isn’t it about time that we acknowledged HIS eternal power, love, strength and will, knowing that HE and HE alone is worthy of our trust and in return will guide us through all of the difficult circumstances of life?  Camp is a great time to realize just who HE is and how much HE loves you and wants you to love HIM.  Think about it, will you?  Understanding and acknowledging who HE is will make a huge difference in your summer.  Believe me, I know. 

And, oh by the way, after “HE” crossed the street and jogged down the beach, Susan and I turned around and started strolling back toward our hotel.  In about 10 minutes we noticed the entourage returning down the beach.  Suddenly, “HE” crossed the street and was making a bee line straight toward us on his way back to his hotel.  “Well,” I figured, “no guts no glory.”  So as “HE” drew within about 10 feet of us, I approached “HIM.”  I was wearing my Mt. Ida Lions baseball cap and Susan was wearing a Corps of Cadets sweatshirt from Texas A&M.  As I approached “HE” said, “Are you from Mt. Ida?”  “Yeah,” I answered, “I own Camp Ozark.”  We then commenced to have a conversation about Camp Ozark where he and Chelsea had visited for an Indian Princesses program.  He then joked with my wife about being an Aggie and after a relatively pleasant 5 minute conversation, “HE,” the President of the United States of America, was on his way.  I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I didn’t vote for him and that I wasn’t going to vote for him in the coming election that fall.  Some things are just better left unsaid.

CWE Pre Camp Devos-#6 The General

Proverbs 3:5-6a

“Trust in the Lord with all of your heart,

and lean not on your own understanding;

IN ALL YOUR WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE…”

“THE GENERAL”

He was a president, who had been a general, who had been a colonel.  He preferred to be addressed simply as “General.”  During the D-Day landing at Normandy, he and his unit had been assigned to take out a German gun embankment that was located 200 feet straight up some cliffs from the landing beach, a very dangerous mission indeed.  He did it.  Just a couple of years later, he, as President, had taken the bold and unpopular steps of making the Corps at Texas A&M non-mandatory, while at the same time admitting women to the previously all-male institution. His actions produced outrage. Powerful alumni demanded his resignation.  It was said that death threats had followed.  He never wavered.  He never gave in.  He was a giant of a man, the most powerful man on campus, if not the state, and I was standing at attention in front of him at barely past 6:00 a.m. in the morning. 

It was early November 1969, and he was mad, very mad…at me.  The night before I, a senior, had attended the freshman football game between the Texas A&M freshman team and the TCU freshman team.  I attended the game because first of all, I like football.  Second, at that point in time there was little else to do in College Station, Texas, on a Thursday night.  And third, because I had been elected and selected to be the Head Yell Leader at Texas A&M for the 1969-1970 year.  As such, I was supposedly “in charge” of the student body at all athletic events…and that is why General Earl Rudder, the president of Texas A&M was mad…at me. 

Toward the end of the game some overzealous freshman cadets had come up with the brilliant idea of jumping out of the stands and “kidnapping” the petite, TCU female cheerleaders which they, in fact, did do…right before my eyes and, as fate would have it, those of General Rudder.  No harm came to the girls.  The freshman cadets simply carried them out of the stadium, put them down and ran off thinking they had completed a great prank.  In the end, the girls from TCU were actually a little flattered by it all.  No harm had been done, but that didn’t matter, not to General Rudder.  And so it was that I found myself standing in front of the General at shortly after 6:00 a.m. on that Friday morning, the sole object of his intimidating anger.  General Rudder did not even “acknowledge” my presence for what seemed to be an eternity, but after a few minutes that seemed more like hours, he calmly, but sternly, looked up at me and simply said, “Mr. Torn, you will travel to Ft. Worth today.  You will seek out each one of these young ladies and their sponsor.  You will apologize to them on behalf of this great institution and you will seek their forgiveness.  You will then return and report back to me no later than 5:00 p.m. today.  Do you understand?”  I “acknowledged” that I did and I left his stern presence…quickly, very quickly.

In today’s scripture, the first portion of verse 6, Solomon tells us to “in all your ways acknowledge…”  We hear that word “acknowledge” often in every day conversation without giving it so much as a passing thought, but what does it really, in fact, mean?  “The private acknowledged the captain with a salute…”  In other words, acknowledge is a show of respect, a recognition of superior rank.  “He didn’t even acknowledge that I was in the room…”  Once again, the term is used as a means of recognition, of appreciation, or the lack thereof, for the presence or input of another.  However, when Solomon uses the word in this passage of scripture, its literal meaning is a little different.  Simply put, it means to submit.  “In all your ways acknowledge…” Solomon tells us.  In all your ways submit.  In everything you do submit, put yourself under the authority of, and do the will of the object of your submission.  Solomon tells us that in everything we do, we are to do it with the conscious recognition that God is our ultimate authority and that we are to think, act, react, speak, and behave in full submission to Him.  “All your ways” does not mean most of your ways.  It does not mean most of the things you do.  It does not mean occasionally or only when it is convenient.  Instead, it means full, complete, voluntary submission.  When we consciously acknowledge God, we consciously serve God.  When we consciously acknowledge God, we consciously “do” God.  When we consciously acknowledge God, we consciously please God. 

This summer you will be asked to acknowledge God hundreds of times each day.  In every interaction with a child, in every reaction to a child, in every relationship with a peer, you will have a choice to acknowledge God, or not.  Your choices will determine your summer.  Your submission will determine your success.  More importantly, your consistent and constant acknowledgement will ultimately determine your destiny.

Oh, and for the record: I did, in fact, make the 3 hour drive to Ft. Worth that Friday morning in 1969.  I did, in fact, locate all 8 of those TCU co-eds and their sponsor.  I did, in fact, issue an apology on behalf of Texas A&M, the students involved, and myself for the behavior of the young freshmen. I did, in fact, receive their forgiveness.  I did, in fact, make it back to General Rudder’s office by 5:00 p.m. (barely).  And so it was that for the 2^nd time that day I stood in front of the great man.  After a moment he looked up at me and “acknowledged” me with a simple one-word question.  “Well?” he asked.  “Sir,” I returned the acknowledgment and nodded my head.  “Thank you,” he responded, “that will be all.”  As I turned to leave, I couldn’t help but notice that a brief smile formed at the corner of his lips as I was dismissed.  I met with General Rudder once a week to discuss matters related to the student body at Texas A&M for the rest of the school year…well almost the rest of the year.  In late March I was summoned back to campus from spring break with the news that General Rudder had suddenly, unexpectedly passed away and I was to serve as a pall bearer at his funeral, which I did.  The funeral was attended by thousands, including the sitting President of the United States of America.  All of us in attendance “acknowledged,” in our own personal way, that giant of a man for the very last time.  I did so by recalling back to that Friday in November and the memory of that brief smile that had crossed his face as I was leaving his office.  And as I did so, a brief smile formed on the corners of my own mouth.

CWE Pre Camp Devos-#5 OF GODS AND MEN

Proverbs 3:5b

“Trust in the Lord with all of your heart

AND LEAN NOT ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING…”

 

“OF GODS AND MEN”

In 1996, seven French Trappist Monks were kidnapped from their monastery in Tibhirine, Algeria, and held for ransom by an Islamic terrorist organization.  When the French government refused to release imprisoned Islamic terrorists being held in French prisons in exchange for the lives of the seven Monks, the men were beheaded.  The identity of the actual perpetrators has never been fully confirmed, though a notorious Algerian Islamic terrorist organization took full credit for the murders. 

“Of Gods and Men,” is a 2010 French film which details the story of how these peaceful, faithful missionaries reached their collective, unanimous decision to remain at their monastery, living in the midst of a village of peaceful practitioners of Islam despite the increasing danger of their circumstances, fostered by the Algerian Revolution, which ultimately cost them their lives.  I saw the film.  I recommend it to anyone who can stomach sub-titles.  In this true story, we are immediately captured by the personal and collective struggle that each of the monks must endure in order to reach his decision regarding “escape and safety” or “remainder and danger.” 

What was striking to me was the amazingly accurate portrayal of the reality of the battle that goes on in the heart of each of us as human beings to one extent or another.  This is the battle deciding to lean on our own understanding or that of God, to have the faith to face uncertainty, discomfort, or in this case, between death for the cause of Christ or to retreat to the human tendency of comfort, protection, and self-preservation.  Again and again, the Monks were warned of the consequences of remaining at the monastery.  Again and again, the Monks came face to face with the real potential of death through encounters with the terrorists and a corrupt Algerian government.  Again and again, they were reminded that the only “sensible” thing to do was to leave, to go home to France, to seek safety.  Yet they remained because their mission was to the cause of Christ, bringing the message of Christ to the peaceful Islamic people of the village who saw Christ in the empathy of the Monks, in their ministry, and in their everyday encounters. 

The film focuses on the very real difference of opinions that initially erupted within the monastery with some of the Monks favoring flight and safety while others preferred to remain.  In the end, they all decided to wait on the Holy Spirit to give them a sense of direction.  When the Spirit impressed upon each of them individually that in remaining they were in the will of God, in spite of all human evidence to the contrary, they decided to stay…all nine of them.  It cost seven of them their lives. 

My prayer for each of us is that we never have to face a decision that could cause us to lose our lives for the cause of Christ; but my deeper prayer for myself is that in all circumstances, I personally believe God enough to follow His will, His direction, and His purpose for my life…regardless of what could potentially happen as a result.  Throughout your life’s walk of faith you will often have to choose between leaning on your own understanding or the infinite, unfathomable wisdom of God.  Perhaps it will not involve a decision of personal safety, but perhaps it will.  How you choose in those situations will chart your course, determine your character, and define your impact on this world. 

This summer you will not always understand why you are doing what you are being asked to do.  You will not always necessarily want to do what you are asked to do.  In those times, lean on God, not your own understanding.  Trust that God has ordained for you to be at camp this summer.  That is where he wants you.  If the only thing you learn this summer is how to lean on God’s provision and plan instead of your own, you will have taken a leap of faith that you will never, ever regret.  As the film closes, we see these haunting words, penned anonymously by one of the martyred Monks, flash across the screen…

“Should it ever befall me, and it could happen today, to be a victim of the terrorism swallowing up all foreigners here, I would like my community, my church, my family, to remember that my life was given to God and to this country.

The Unique Master of all life was no stranger to this brutal departure. And that my death is the same as so many other violent ones, consigned to the apathy of oblivion.

I’ve lived enough to know that I am complicit in the evil that, alas, prevails over the world and the evil that will smite me blindly. I could never desire such a death. I could never feel gladdened that these people I love be accused randomly of my murder…

My death, of course, will quickly vindicate those who called me naïve, or idealistic, but they must know that I will be freed of a burning curiosity and, God willing, will immerse my gaze in the Father’s and contemplate with him his children of Islam as he sees them.

This thank-you which encompasses my entire life includes you, of course, friends of yesterday and today, and you too, friend of the last minute, who knew not what you were doing.

Yes, to you as well I address this thank-you and this farewell which you envisaged. May we meet again, happy thieves in Paradise, if it pleases God, the Father of us both. Amen.”

                “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding…”

CWE Pre Camp Devos-#4 The Hooded Sweatshirt

Proverbs 3:5a

“Trust in the Lord WITH ALL OF YOUR HEART…”

“THE HOODED SWEATSHIRT”

As the clock ticked down, speeding toward the inevitable, excruciating end of the game, and unfortunately the end of the season, I saw out of the corner of my eye a young boy in a maroon hooded sweatshirt.  His hood was pulled up over his head, hands covering his face, sobbing almost uncontrollably.  His paternal grandfather, who had been seated next to him, wrapped his arm around the young boy and attempted to console him to no immediate avail.  His maternal grandmother, seated one row above him, moved into the aisle and also attempted to cheer the boy up.  He would have none of it. 

As I watched, I was saddened and my heart ached for the youngster. After all, I knew the young boy and his family personally.  His mother and father, the head coach of the defeated team, were friends of mine.  The young boy was one of my campers.  But in addition to being saddened, I was in a strange way heartened.  I know, I know, it sounds strange that one would be heartened by the uncontrollable tears of an 11 year old boy, but in the poignant sadness of the moment, I tried to look beyond the emotion, to the source of the sobs, the motive for the tears.  What I saw when I gazed beyond the slumped shoulders, beyond the heaving sobs, beyond the red face, beyond the tears flowing like rivers down his checks, was a complete and total investment of the heart.  The boy loved his daddy…period. Beyond anything else, the boy was hurting…not for his daddy, but with and because of his daddy.  He loved his daddy with all of his heart.

Yesterday we talked about the fact that all of us want to make something Lord in our lives, and we talked about the fact that anytime something other than Christ becomes Lord, life is out of balance, incomplete.  In today’s 5 words of scripture, Solomon gives us the clue as to “how” we are to make Jesus Lord, how we are to avoid the pain, insecurity, and emptiness that comes from making someone or something else Lord of our lives.  Simply and wisely put, as only Solomon can do, we are to trust in Him “WITH ALL OF YOUR HEART.”  Now that is very easily said and to be very frank often overlooked, but, in reality, the reality of your personal day-to-day existence, just exactly what does it mean...“with all of your heart?”  Years and years ago, I heard a wonderful speaker by the name of Roy Fish talk about this subject by comparing total and complete dedication of our heart to different rooms of our heart, each room being a different interest in our lives.  As he made his way through the various rooms of our heart, he explained how some of us had no trouble giving this room or that room to God, no problem trusting him completely with this area or that area of our lives, but that the “trick,” the real challenge, the sometimes painful difficulty, was to trust God with all of the rooms of our heart, with all of the areas of our lives.  Trust is not trust if it is not given completely.  Jesus is not Lord if every part of our life is not dedicated first to Him. 

I am an intense person, with intense passions, intense loyalties, and intense pride.  These are all characteristics that were given to me by God, in order to make me who I am…in Him.  In the world’s eyes, I can use the gifts given to me by God to glorify me or to glorify God.  Only, if I am willing to give him every area of my life, every area of my heart, every passion of my soul, then will Jesus be my Lord.  When I am not willing to do so, He is not.  Think about the areas of your own heart.  Do you give Him your whole heart in your family life but not in your scholastic pursuits?  Are you willing to trust Him with the “rec room” of your heart but not the “bedroom” of your heart?  Are you fully dedicated to Christ in the “attic” and the “basement,” the parts of your lives that are inconsequential to daily living, but fully dedicated to something else?  How about the “kitchen” and “living room” of your heart?  Do you dedicate your “chapel” to God, but your “work room” to your own slovenly, lazy ways? 

Let’s be honest, none of us is fully dedicated to God at every moment of our lives…none of us.  However, only when we are able to achieve complete dedication of our heart to Jesus as Lord, as a mindset and a heart set, do our daily circumstances become irrelevant, our daily comfort levels become irrelevant, the continuing praises of others become irrelevant, and success in the world’s eyes becomes irrelevant.  Only when our entire being is committed to the direction, the comfort, the strength, and the purposes of Jesus as Lord are we able to achieve all that God has planned for us to achieve.

This summer you have an incredible opportunity to influence and impact children for the here and now (and for eternity as well), but you also have an incredible opportunity to learn what it means to trust Jesus with all of your heart.

The little boy in the hooded sweatshirt walked toward the bus arm in arm with his Dad.  The hood was pulled down off his head, the eyes, though still red, were devoid of tears and the sobbing had stopped.  In the minutes since the game had ended he had reconnected with his father and his father had assured him that everything would, in fact, be o.k….and that, that alone was enough, because you see, the little boy trusted his father “WITH ALL OF HIS HEART.”  See you this summer Will T.

CWE Pre Camp Devos-#3 The Social Network

Proverbs 3:5a

“Trust IN THE LORD…”

“THE SOCIAL NETWORK”

Yeah, I saw the movie…pretty good flick, “The Social Network.”  I personally didn’t like it near as much as “The King’s Speech” (neither did the Oscar voters by the way), but nonetheless I watched it and enjoyed it.  Many of you know (since you are my “friends”) that I am in fact a “social networker.”  I do, in fact, have a Facebook page.  Now I am almost certainly not near as active as most of you on Facebook.  I don’t post many photos, and I don’t change my status a whole lot, and I sure don’t make it a habit of writing on other people’s walls.  Nonetheless, I am there.  Me and my over 1,000 Facebook friends and about a billion other Facebook members are there…amazing, simply amazing.  Social Networking has become the primary means of communication for an entire generation of the world’s population, even threatening to make a dinosaur of email.  At camp, we even “broadcast” the Ultimate Solution (don’t worry you will learn the importance of the Ultimate Solution if you don’t know it already) by updating our Facebook status as every event unfolds.  And so it was that I was extremely interested in this story of the birth of Facebook which gave legs to this revolution called “social networking,” and it truly is an amazing story. 

A young Harvard “geek,” Mark Zuckerburg, is dumped by his girlfriend and, feeling rejected, he immediately wants revenge so he creates “ facemash.”  Through this new website, students can go online and rate their preference for the face of one co-ed over another using an algorithm supplied to him by his close friend.  Meanwhile, two twins, members of the Harvard Rowing Team, are working on their own version of social connectivity and Mark Zuckerburg has been contracted to help them develop their site.  As the movie unfolds, Zuckerburg creates Facebook with the help of his friend, and is ultimately sued by the twins and his friend.  This results in broken relationships, lots of money changing hands, and all of the parties winding up very rich but very conflicted and feeling very unsatisfied. 

In the end, to me, it was an extremely sad story.  In the end, to me, it was a true story of the human condition.  In the end, to me, it was a microcosm of the difficulties, challenges and choices that each of us who proclaim to be Christians (yes, I know none of the characters in the movie were likely Christians), must deal with on a regular basis: the challenge of ego, of pride, of power, of money, of fame, of status, of rejection, and the challenge of finding your identity, your personal “facebook,” in something other than Christ.  The fact of the matter, young people, is this: all of us have to make one simple choice.  Who or what is your Lord?  

Yesterday, we talked about the requirement of Christians to trust, to have and act in faith, to rely on, to depend on…something.  And believe it or not, there are only two possible answers to that question.  You can choose to trust in God through the redeeming grace of His Son, Jesus Christ…or not.  That’s it. Period.  End of choice.  Either Jesus is Lord or something else is lord of your life.  Most of us latch on and hold tight to the claim that Jesus is our Savior…and He is.  However, equally important is the question, is Jesus your Lord?  Make no mistake about it, the lord of your life is not necessarily who or what you say it is.  The lord of your life is wherever you find your identity.  Everyone gets their identity, their sense of being distinct and valuable from someone or something.  We as human beings were created not only to believe in God, to claim Him as our Savior, but to love Him supremely, center our lives on Him above anything else, and build our identity in Him. 

 The very first of the Ten Commandments tells us that we are to have “no other Gods before Him.”  To do otherwise is to sin.  Therefore, the primary definition of sin is not just doing bad things, but making good things (family, relationships, career, power, money) into ultimate things.  It is seeking to establish a sense of self by making something else more central to your significance, purpose, and identity than God, in other words making something else your Lord.  Most of us are willing to give Jesus a part of our identity, but hold back on giving him our complete self.  Why?  Because we are asking Jesus to be our Savior but refusing to make Him our Lord.  We have our own ambitions, we have our own priorities, we have our own passions, and we have our own dreams.  We have things that are ultimately more important to us than God.  We can’t allow Jesus to preclude those things because you see, young people, Christianity is the only religion that requires us to completely give up who we want to be and become a new creation, a new self, based on who God wants us to be.  Don’t kid yourself.  That is not an easy decision to make; however, let me speak to you from 62 years of experience.  Everything else you depend on to provide joy and peace and meaning in your life, and I mean everything else, will ultimately fail you.  I don’t care what it is.  Family, Friends, Money, Social Status, Career, Physical Beauty, Power, Fame…none of them are sufficient to provide you the peace and joy that only come when Jesus is Lord.  All of those other things crowd Jesus out for one reason and one reason only.  You trust them more than you trust Christ.  You believe in yourself more than you believe in Him, you care about things more than you care about becoming a new self in Him.  You think that your desires, your thoughts, your rights, your ways will ultimately lead to more happiness than the unknown, uncontrollable, surprising, scary ways of a God who loves you ultimately more than you could ever begin to love yourself.

This summer you can survive by trusting in yourself.  No doubt.  You can have a blast by trusting in yourself.  Absolutely.  You can make friends with kids and staff by trusting in yourself and go home at the end of your time feeling pretty good, or…you can make Jesus your Lord not just your Savior and you can begin an adventure, an experience that is so unlike anything you could ever create for yourself, you won’t know what hit you.  When Jesus is your Lord, life is not always easy, but it is always joyful.  When Jesus is your Lord, life is not always comfortable, but it is always meaningful.  When Jesus is your Lord, life is not always simple, but it is always characterized by peace, security, and a renewed sense of self because you are a new creation, the creation of the Lord of your life, Jesus Christ.  It is not easy, but it is essential.  Think about it, will you?  And, oh, by the way, check me out on Facebook.  Who knows, you might even want to be my friend.  I am, after all, a “social networker.”

CWE Pre Camp Devo #2--THE SWIMMER

Proverbs 3:5a

“Trust…”

“THE SWIMMER”

She is cute…very, very cute.  She has long legs, a long waist, an impish smile, and big beautiful eyes.  She is also very, very, stubborn.  If she wants do something, rest assured she is pretty much going to do it.  If she doesn’t want to do something, well you can rest assured that, in all likelihood, there is not a chance you are going to get her to do it.  She is 3 years old. 

“She” is my granddaughter, Anna Scott Torn, number 8 of 9 grandchildren to whom Susan and I are fortunate to lay claim to.  It is during this time of year that Susan and I get to see quite a lot of our grandkids, all of whom live within 10 minutes of our winter home in Houston, Texas.  It would be nice for me to say that the reason we get to see a lot of our grandkids during this time of year is because they just can’t wait to see “Belba” and “Pops,” the two greatest grandparents in the history of the universe (o.k., maybe I am a little biasedJ), but in actuality, when you get right down to it, what they really like is… our swimming pool.  It’s a great backyard pool for kids, not too deep, a waterfall with rocks for kids to jump off of, a hot tub, and even a beach entry that starts at a depth of zero and gradually increases to a couple of feet before stepping off into a little deeper water.  On any given afternoon you just might find up to all 9 of them having a ball in our pool.  Well up until recently maybe not all 9…more like 8 of the 9.  Anna Scott, it seems, just wasn’t real fond of the water.  Oh she would splash around in the beach entry, usually with both her “floaties” and a life-jacket on.  Sometimes she would even venture in the hot tub so long as Belba or Pops or one of her parents was holding her tight.  But, swim in the “big pool?”  Don’t even think about it.  Not a chance. 

And so it was, on a recent Sunday afternoon, after succumbing to the fatigue that comes from an old man tossing grandkids as high as I could toss them in the water over, and over, I came face to face with Anna Scott, sitting calmly on the side of the pool, life jacket on, with absolutely no thought whatsoever of actually getting in the water.  “Time for a change,” I thought to myself, but what I actually said was “Cottie” (that’s what we call her), “let Pops hold you.”  At first, she wasn’t really sure what to make of that but, after a moment of contemplation, perhaps wondering if she should really “trust” me, she somewhat reluctantly put her arms out and let me pick her up off the side of the pool.  She was fine with that…so long as I didn’t let her actually touch the water, but then slowly, ever so slowly, we began to move away from the side of the pool and get lower, and lower, into the water until after just a couple of minutes, we were smack dab in the middle of the pool and Cottie was immersed as far as her life jacket would let her go.  Now what I would like to tell you is that Cottie had absolutely no problem with this little maneuver, that she knew she was in the arms of her grandfather who loved her dearly and that because of that, any direction he chose to take her would be just fine.  Yeah, sure I’d like to tell you that, but in actuality every time we moved an inch further away from the side of the pool and every time we moved an inch deeper into the water she protested.  Now by protested I don’t mean she reasoned with me and I don’t mean she simply asked me to return to the side of the pool.  What I mean is that she squawked…loud and consistently…for several minutes.  I mean the tears flowed.  She was, after all, moving into the unknown, she was moving into an experience with which she was unfamiliar and she was, to be frank, scared.  She cried, she kicked, she screamed and it was breaking my heart, but we didn’t stop.  We stayed right there in the middle of the pool until, after about 10 minutes, she finally realized she wasn’t going to sink, she wasn’t going to be left alone and she was, in fact, going to be just fine.  Then a strange thing happened.  She started to smile.  Then she started to laugh.  Then she started to splash.  She was experiencing something she had never before experienced, something she had watched 7 of her 8 cousins (Charles Henry is only 10 months) experience time and time again while she sat on the side and watched…she was swimming and she was loving it.

 The most difficult part of the Christian journey is very much akin to the experience of Anna Scott that Sunday afternoon….TRUSTING.  To trust means to rely on, to depend on, and to give up control.  When you get right down to it, none of us particularly like doing that.  It is against our selfish nature, but in order to experience the fullness of God through His grace, that is exactly what we are asked to do in the very first word of this amazing scripture from Proverbs.  Now, a lot of us give lip service to this concept of trust…we say we trust, we act like we trust, we even condemn others for not trusting.  But deep down inside our souls can we actually say we really trust God?  Do we trust Him enough to give up control over our own destiny?  Do we trust Him enough not to stagger and quit when things are not going exactly like we want them to go?  Do we trust Him enough to endure and experience difficulty knowing that in His loving arms, He will not let us sink?  This summer your trust is going to be put to the test.  First, you are going to be asked to trust us and our leadership.  You are going to be asked to trust our knowledge, our experience, our methods, our motives, our passion, and our commitment to working with children.  Some of the ways we do things may seem strange to you.  Quite frankly, some of it you may not even agree with.  Nonetheless, we are going to ask you to trust us.  We are going to ask you to rely on, to depend on…us.  Much more importantly, some of you will experience difficult days…even difficult weeks…even difficult sessions.  Your patience will be challenged, your physical endurance will be challenged, and your emotional well-being will be drained.  In those circumstances, just like in all of the trying times of life, God is going to ask you to trust.  The key is…will you do it, or will you just give it lip service?  Are you fine so long as you are just sitting on the side of the pool or are you willing (even if it is kicking and screaming) to be carried into the unknown by a loving and trustworthy heavenly father?  This summer you will learn a lot about yourself.  More importantly you will learn a lot about the dependability of God…that is, if you are willing to simply TRUST.

 The sun was setting on that spring Sunday afternoon.  All of the other grandkids had climbed out of the pool and were busy eating, playing, or resting.   But there, in the center of the pool, were “Cottie” and Pops.  Cottie no longer needed Pops to hold her.  He would back up and she would swim toward him until she reached one end of the pool, then they would turn around and do the same thing to the other end of the pool.  Every time Pops would start to climb out of the pool, Cottie would look at me with those big dark eyes and in a very quiet voice say, “Pops, will you swim with me,” and back we would go, again and again and again. She was experiencing something she had never before experienced and she was absolutely loving it.  Why?  All because she truly decided to trust. Think about it!

Pre Camp Devo Intro-Day 1

2^nd Timothy 3:16-17

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the LORD with all your heart

   and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge him,

   and he will make your paths straight.

“STEVE”

I first heard about him in the spring of 1988 when my “partner in crime,” Gene Monk, called me from “the road” to question me about a young man who he had just interviewed at a small West Texas college for a summer staff position at Camp Ozark.  Everything about the young man was a plus, Gene informed me.  He had a great personality, solid faith, loved kids, very athletic…the whole package; however, he did have one small issue, a slight speech impediment.  In other words, he stuttered.  After hearing Gene describe all of the other positives about this young man, we mutually agreed that there was certainly no reason to be concerned about hiring him to serve on our staff for the summer of 1988. 

And so it was that in late May of 1988, I met Stephen Wayne Puckett for the very first time.  What a blessing to my life!!!  Steve turned out to be one of the best counselors that we had that summer or any summer for that matter.  He was what we now jokingly refer to as “a man’s man”: athletic, handsome, personable, humble, competitive, and a kid magnet.  At the time, he even had what, believe it or not, was quite the in vogue hairstyle: “a mullet” (for those of you too young to remember what a “mullet” is, it was a hairstyle that was cut fairly short on top and on the sides, but had a longer “flip” in the very back…quite stylish in 1988).  Steve came back to camp for many summers after that first summer, serving as a counselor, Top Staff member, Permanent Staff member (twice) and now, 23 years later as wizened veteran of the camp experience.  To this day, every summer Steve is still able to steal away from his duties as a varsity football coach and teacher in Brenham, Texas, to bring his 4 children to Camp Ozark for first session.  And every summer, without fail, he makes a valuable contribution. 

I can tell you dozens of ways Steve has impacted kids, staff members, and the camp experience as a whole in his 23 years of service, but I will never forget the time that he impacted me personally the most.  It was during that first summer of 1988 and we had requested that Steve share his personal testimony at our traditional Sunday service at the cross.  As I listened to Steve, slightly stuttering, tell the story of how, as an 8^th grader, he had gone out with his father one morning to feed the cows and, after doing his part, at the instruction of his father, he had begun returning to the house to get ready for school when he heard a gunshot.  A few moments later, when Steve arrived back on the scene, he found his father dead from an accidentally self-inflicted gunshot wound.  As Steve described his immediate reaction to the death of his father, who he loved dearly, and the impact it had on him for years to come, I was immediately drawn to the powerful presence, comfort, instruction, and growth that God had imparted to Steve over the years through this horrific tragedy.  As Steve recounted his personal journey through immense sadness, anger, rejection, and finally acceptance of the love of his heavenly father, he recounted how he had relied on one simple passage of scripture, Proverbs 3:5-6.  “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.”  Now this wasn’t the first time I had heard this scripture.   As a matter of fact, as soon as he mentioned the passage, its words came into my mind.  No, having grown up as a regular attender of both Sunday school, church, and BTU (Baptist Training Union), I had committed that particular passage of scripture to memory years before Steve mentioned it at the cross that Sunday afternoon; however, when placed in the context of a 14 year-old, 8^th grade young boy, tragically losing his father and dealing for years with the aftermath and effect of that tragedy, the scripture suddenly and instantly came to life and took on an entirely different perspective for me personally.  It became alive. 

If you work at camp this summer you will hear this scripture.  If I ever perform your wedding ceremony (I have done dozens of them for camp couples) you will hear this scripture.  If you read your Spiritual Emphasis Manual as you are preparing for a cabin devotional, you will read this scripture.  And, for the next 10 days or so, every one of these pre-camp devos will be based on this one simple passage of scripture.  2^nd Timothy 3:16-17 tells us that “all scripture is God breathed and is useful...”  This summer, as we prepare for camp, Proverbs 3:5-6 will take us on a 10 day journey, a journey that will hopefully prepare you for what lies ahead.  Each of you, the summer staff of Camp Ozark and Camp War Eagle, must be prepared to take advantage of the great opportunity and great responsibility that awaits you this summer.  Some of that preparation will be in the form of our all-important orientation and pre-orientation where you will receive intense, necessary, and relevant training that will prepare you to succeed, but pre-orientation and orientation will come soon enough, in their own time.  For the next 10 days, I want you to join me in concentrating on what one little piece of God’s word can do to prepare us for the incredible opportunities that lie ahead.  Every day we will take one little piece of this passage that will allow you to begin to understand what it really takes to succeed at the most amazing job a college young person can have.  If you use these pre-camp devotionals to properly prepare your mind, your heart, and your spirit for the awesome experiences of the summer, you will, no doubt, be an amazing staff member.  I can assure you that no matter what you encounter at camp this summer, deep within the word of the God of all creation you will find the blueprint for success.  I know that each of you is capable, willing, and primed to be the most incredible summer staff member possible.  I look forward to meeting you and experiencing the summer of 2011 with each of you in due time…and, oh, by the way, just in case you’re wondering, Steve  doesn’t stutter anymore.  He is also an amazing father, husband, friend, and servant.  One of my annual highlights will be experiencing camp again with Steve this summer… minus “the mullet,” of course.