Hello Friends,

It's snowed here a few days ago!  I can't believe it.  I woke up to two inches of new snow.  And it snowed all morning.  A little strange for the end of April.  Wild.

AS ALWAYS, IF YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME TO READ THE ONGOING STORY, DO US A FAVOR AND BRIEFLY READ THE RIGHT HAND SIDE.

News

The Ongoing Story

 I was talking to a young woman who gave me a haircut this past weekend.  While she was washing my hair, I told her about a restaurant I just came from (American Flatbread in Burlington).  The guy next to me said, “oh, they have great beer!”  And then this woman washing my hair said “yea, but not as good as Das Bier Haus.”  And then I told them how I know this guy in NYC who is the pastor of a church who meets mostly in bars.  Then we got talking about church and what kind of church meets in a bar.

I asked my hair dresser what her ideal church would be like.  She said it would be more accepting of gay people, it would not have so many rules and it would not be so structured (she grew up in the Catholic church).

As I was reflecting on our conversation, I realized that people in general have great, God-given desires.  In general, people want to be rich, we want to be safe and we want to be happy.

I'm betting these are God’s desires for us too.  God wants us to be rich in life or said differently, have enough, wants us to be safe and wants us to be happy.  So it seems to me that the desires are good but I still sense so many lies within these desires.  I think the lies are in what we believe about how we achieve these feelings of contentment.

Consider how we become rich:  It will probably help me to define what I'm calling richness.  There is the obvious wealth that we consider in the material sense.  Cars, houses, food, clothing, in abundance.  I believe God wants us to have enough, maybe even plenty Deuteronomy 8:8-10.  But, I think the way we truly become rich is when we have all we need.  And all we need certainly includes transportation, shelter, food and clothing but it also includes friends, meaningful work, purpose and belonging in life and fun and enjoyment.  I am 99% certain that a career or a great education will never, single handedly, lead to this broader definition of being rich.  And so we begin to see the lie that so many of us believe – the right education which leads to the right job which leads to a big paycheck will make me rich.  Yes, it will give us lots of cash but we won't be rich and won't give us all we need and so we'll still be poor even with lots of cash in our wallet and securities funds.

Second, safety:  One of the greatest examples of a lie I know in our present time about safety is the war on terror.  All over the world we are fighting terror.  Does this seem odd to you that we would fight terror with terror (torture, war and killing)?  Does it seem strange that we would torture, hunt and kill the people who are torturing, hunting and killing us?  I wonder if we’ve ever asked as a society or globe, why are these people hunting and killing? I’ve heard a few different answers to that question that go like this: they terrorize us because they’re jealous of our wealth.  They terrorize us because it is their religion.  They kill us because they’re evil.  Maybe I’m too skeptical but  something about each of those answers seems incomplete and on the third one, completely wrong.  I think it has more to do with not being heard. I believe the best way to dumbfound an enemy is to sit down with them and offer them whatever they need (an ear, a cloak, your life –Matt 5:44, Matt 7:12, Matt 10:28).  I believe that fighting fire with water will always work much better than fighting it with fire (you’ve heard that saying… why would you add fire to fire when you’re trying to put the fire out?).  And similarly, fighting hatred with love or killing with sacrifice will much more often produce the desired result, which is peace (although, maybe that isn’t actually the desired result in so many cases of war…).

Thirdly, happiness:  For me, this is a somewhat mysterious concept.  From waking up happy many mornings but sad other mornings to feeling stung by laughter one moment and pounded by grief later that same day, I wonder how we obtain happiness.  And perhaps that’s just the problem in my thinking… maybe it’s not something we obtain.  Maybe it’s something we receive, a gift.  I am growing ever more suspicious of building my own kingdom… my own empire, so to speak.  I try hard to keep a personal budget, to stay disciplined in exercise and spiritual practices.  I organize my tasks and my life and try not to over commit myself etc. etc.  At some point, life becomes a series of tasks and activities that are designed to control my experience on earth rather than, give, receive and nurture relationships.  Relationships with people and God both seem to be a lot about time spent together and working out our love for one another.  This requires a subjection to the other.  And as we subject ourselves to our relationships our activities change from controlling our experience (and theirs) to being present and available for each other.  I think this has more to do with happiness than we know.

May you experience true richness, safety and happiness as you seek Jesus.  And as the spirit leads, may you join us at camp to do the same.

Brandon

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Happenings

  Annual Benefit Auction coming up - Sept. 25.  It's at camp this year!  Food, Apple Cider and tons of fun... of course in addition to the auction!

 Summer is coming!  Ever wonder what we do for fun at camp?  Check this chart out.

 BBC Assoc Gathering coming up - June 12.  If you have a love for Bethany Birches, please come join us.  It's a day for all those passionate about the little camp on the big hill.

  Association Members, please log in to see the latest minutes and director's reports.  Email Brandon if you need your login info. 

Finance

 To date, we are about $4000 in the red.  This isn't the end of the world yet because traditionally, Spring is a low income season for us. 

 Will you give to help kids get to camp this summer?  Scholarships given to campers makes it possible for the low-income folks around us to get here.

OR

 Can you help us pay for the trips to recruit staff? High quality college-age kids are the heart and soul of the BBC summer program. Help us find them!

OR

 Would you join us at the Auction this year?

OR

Give to the auction this year? 

OR

Pray for us?

OR

All of the above?

:)