Christmas Dad, Dad Jokes, and Shepherd Dad

Christmas season is upon us!  With it comes holiday parties, tacky sweaters, white elephants, chestnut roasting, cancelled classes, final exams, shouts of “you’ll shoot your eye out,” long drives to see distant family, and Jello molds.  It’s a time that massive families draw together and dinner tables all but collapse under the weight of side dishes and casseroles. Even in the ministry world, December a full month, as the season marks a time to reflect on the year and celebrate the year’s end. It’s during this noisy, busy time of the year, with jingle bells ringing in my ears, that the still, small voice of our infant Messiah whispers to be heard.  I’m grateful that every so often something forces me to stop and listen.

This year will be my third Christmas season as a dad – which further solidifies that I’m no longer the Hamburger-Helper-eating-and-barely-bathing-weekly bachelor Noetzel I was in college and am instead thoroughly a dad.  The Christmas story is a story of a dad far superior to me loving a son far more perfect than mine revealing a plan I could never make to people who don’t understand what He’s up to.  Perhaps as a dad, I should engage the story of a loving Father and his begotten Son – but the characters often feel lofty, and God’s model of Fatherhood humbles my own experience of it.  I have trouble engaging it, because I’m not the hero.  Enter Slugs & Bugs!

Dewey, my little man, loves Slugs & Bugs, Randall Goodgame and Andrew Peterson’s music group out of Nashville.  They write silly, fun, thought-provoking children’s music.  They’ve also happened to write one of my favorite Christmas songs – one that I can relate to.

Shepherd Dad tells of a dad and son who are visited by the angel Gabriel on that hillside outside of Bethlehem.  He tells them to “go and see the king,” and the dad leaves the son in charge of the flock while he goes to the inn to inn-spect (dad joke…) what the angel has told him about.  The song always moves me at this part:

The shepherds found the stable there

in quiet Bethlehem.

But one look in the manger,

and one shepherd turned and ran.

The shepherd dad ran through the streets

back to the fields where tending sheep

he found his shepherd son

he found his shepherd son

and leaping like a mountain cat

he scooped his son up on his back

and said “Hold on tight!

Our savior is born tonight!”

It moves me because it’s a father flinging duty to the wind and running with abandon to draw his son into the majesty of God’s great revelation in Jesus Christ.  It moves me because it’s a father drawing his son into a grand adventure.  It moves me because it’s a dad showing his son how little self matters and how much Christ matters.  This is the kind of dad I aspire to be.

May you be swept off your feet and rushed to the savior’s side this holiday season.

-Matt Noetzell

THE THREEE FLAAMES OF TRIBAL COMPETITION!

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord and not for human masters.

~Colossians 3:23

Don’t you love to hear Jesse’s voice echoing across the pond as he proclaims the goals of our sports program at CWE?  I do.  And not only because Jesse’s voice is the best sound in the whole world, but also because I have loved that mission statement from the first time I was initiated into the CADDO tribe.  I learned a lot through relationships, service and being exhausted my first summer here, but what changed my life was going back to the U of A striving to live out maximum effort, maximum enthusiasm and true sportsmanship in my everyday life.   

I interviewed a former camper last week.  She told me how every year she has tried to convince her little sister to come to camp and every year her sister refuses based on the fact that she hates sports.  The cool thing about this convo was that this girl I was interviewing used to hate sports too.  As we talked, she explained how tribal comp became fun for her as she bought into the 3 flames instead of dreading that hour of the day. 

I was thinking about the three flames because we're almost through the semester, and if you’re like me, you get pumped about school in September when it’s starting:  classes, Bible studies, friendships, working out, all the new activities and goals you have planned for the year.  You’re living the dream and then October hits and your As turn to Bs, you skip the gym, you sleep though quiet times and you’re a little less enthusiastic about your football team.  This is the normal rhythm of life, but if you are a follower of Christ and the Holy Spirit is alive in you, He will empower you to consistently live out Colossians 3:23.

Currently you might relate more with the camper who disliked tribal competition.  We all have things we dread.  For me it’s cleaning.  For you it could be homework, chapter, going home, or a job.  There are always going to be necessary tasks in life.  Are you going to begrudgingly start your paper or attack it with the three flames?  Like the campers you will find the journey more fulfilling if you enter it with an attitude of willingness and excitement. 

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,  for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.  ~Philippians 2:12-13

-Jenny Loyd

“Camp War Eagle, how can I help you? Can you hold while I transfer you? Thank you.”

Who did you just have that minute conversation with?  Well you’re about to find out who the full time office staff is.  We’re the ones who answer the phones, read the mail and gather the faxes.  We stock the shelves, send out the packets and file the paperwork.  We work five days a week, rain or shine, to ensure the business runs smoothly.  You see us through the office window and walking to and from our cars.  We are the office staff and were here to serve you.

Now you can meet this lovely group of ladies: 

Penny-Associate Director of Administration

Penny is our Associate Director of Administration          

And her son Tristan is an Osage sensation.

Spending most of her days in cowboy boots,

She was in a third grade class of one and quite a hoot.

Her high school located out with cattle and berries,

Is the same alma mater as Texas governor Ricky Perry.

Outside of work she’ll watch Tristan play football and wrestle,

And continue to look for ways to be used as God’s vessel.      

Sara- Office Manager

Sara our Office Manager has just begun a life of wedded bliss;

Rich working here with maintenance she just couldn’t resist.

Back in her day she had many talents to show;

Including playing Mary in the Christmas play three years in a row.

As a third grade Girl Scout she was a bowling champ above par,

Then moved on to be a seventh grade track star.

Her dog Benny is a welcome face after a day of working hard.

Our gratitude for her couldn’t be summed up with any Hallmark card.

      

Meagan-Office Assistant/Group Coordinator

Meagan, an Office Assistant and Group Coordinator jockey,

Grew up in Vermont playing rugby and field hockey.

Already a mother of one super cute boy

In March she’s expecting another bundle of joy.

Until then she’ll be re-upholstering tables and chairs

To be sold at boutique shows and the War Eagle Craft Fairs.

At work, church or home, she’s the first to lend a hand,

Her teaching and stories aid in her being so grand.

Michelle-Office Assistant

As an Office Assistant from the Sunflower State,

Michelle rolls in through the front gate.

Of her pet catfish, Finley, she is quite fond.

Through reading and movie watching they share a special bond.

Crocheting happens to be her one special skill;

Many requests for hats and scarves she’s been happy to fill.

After living in the state for little over a year,

She’s thankful for all the friends that she’s made here.

Sydney-Office Assistant/CWE365 Administrator

Syndey has taken a dual role of Office Assistant and CWE365 Administrator;

To multiple offices she serves and couldn’t be doing greater.

Leaving soon for Haiti she has only one wish:

That she doesn’t get stung by another jellyfish.

For her next adventure she has a big choice

She can already check off trying out for the Voice.

As the unnatural chaos of camp has become her norm

She’ll refuse to eat fruit unless it’s in its natural form.

Cheyenne-Office Assistant/HR Assistant/Head Wrangler

Our newest addition, Cheyenne, has the most job titles.

She has the office, HR and Head Wrangler to file.

Graduating from Big Pasture High School she was at the top of her class;

Even if there were only 10 others, it was still a big task.

As she left her hometown of Cookietown, OK

She became an OSU Spirit Rider and polo she’d play.

The best part about her moving to this Arkansas corner

Is that to kids and staff, she’s no longer a foreigner.

Together we enjoy looking up the Word of the Day, learning historical facts each week, keeping up with celebrity news, watching Youtube videos, organizing office potlucks and getting Sonic drinks.  So next time you call, please tell us an interesting fact or joke to share.  It’d truly make our day.

-Michelle