Check out this real fun video about music that you'll know without even hearing any of the lyrics:
You don't even need to hear the words to those songs and you know exactly what song is being played. Maybe some of those you missed, but I'd be willing to bet every single one of you knows at least ONE of the songs in that little medley.
How do you know it that well? How do you know a song so well that you can recognize it without hearing any of the lyrics? The answer is hopefully obvious: you probably have heard that sucker at least 20 times!
Have you ever caught yourself wondering why you can't hear the voice of God? Maybe it's because you haven't spent that much time listening to, really getting to know, the voice of God. Have you considered that you don't hear God's voice simply because you don't know it that well?
2 Timothy 3:16 reminds us that all scripture is God-breathed. Every bit of scripture comes from God. If you want to hear from him, read the bible!
Ever heard of the hash tag "first world problems"?
People complain about their phones, their computers, when things aren't going their way in a drive-through line, when a store has run out of their favorite candy... whatever. This is a good one:
I mean seriously Pringles, why shape it that way!?
Hopefully whenever you read some of those, they'll remind you of your priorities, or maybe what should be your priorities. "First world problems" aren't really problems at all, obviously, but sometimes we have our priorities so mixed up that we let silly little things that won't even matter in an hour affect our entire day. Where do your priorities lay?
We're supposed to train hard in Godliness. Do you train as hard as this guy must to get where he is? Imagine how cool it would be if we trained to pursue Godliness like this:
God saw that light was good, and he separated it from the darkness. Genesis 1:4
For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don't belong to darkness and night.
1 Thessalonians 5:5
For you were once darkness, but now you are a light in the Lord. Live as children of light. Ephesians 5:8
Some of the most beautiful paintings and pictures are of sunrises and sunsets. In fact, the only way the human eye can even see color is when light is shining on an object. With out light, how could we see beauty? In a world that is very dark, and lonely... we are called to be children of light. Yes, the prince of the world (satan) is prowling in the darkness. His aim is to steal, kill, and destroy. For the Lord has placed a light inside of us through his Holy Spirit. And the fruits of the spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness and faithfulness (Galatians 5:22-23). In a world full of suffering, pain, hurt, violence, sorrow, and emptiness WE possess the fruits of the spirt (Light). So let your light shine!
You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. -Matthew 5:14-16
The two greatest commandments: 1. LOVE God. 2. LOVE people.
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a]38 This is the first and greatest commandment.39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”-Matthew 22:36-40
The two greatest commandments have one common word. LOVE.
Well, what does that mean, to love? What is love?
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.5It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
-1 Corinthians 13:4-7
In his book Crazy Love, Francis Chan challenges our character with a this famous passage in the bible.
Go back and read 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 again. This time, read it like this. Every time that the passage says the word Love, replace it with your name.
Example: Brian is patient, Brian is kind. Brian Does not envy, Brian does not boast.....
Gaaaaaa, when I read it like that I just feel like a liar. Don't you? When the bible tells us to LOVE people, It doest say "be nice." Its a call to love, just as we have been loved.
Alright guys, this video has been flying around facebook and youtube in the Christian circles. What do you think? Do you agree, disagree, think some is right? Whatever you think I think the redeeming value of the video is it definitely gets you thinking about the church, religion, and Christ.
I remember when I first heard this bit of immature atheisticreductio ad absurdum. I was in high school, and I didn't respond to it because the Nirvana-shirted, long-banged drama stud who said it didn't say it to me. He was laying it on his friend like it was theist's kryptonite.
My answer then, steeped in C.S. Lewis as I was, would have been along the lines of the nonsense of the question as framed. It is a rhetorical and hypothetical "gotcha" with no sincerity behind it, and in any event, it is sort of like asking, "Does the number nine smell red or yellow?"
My answer today is different. My answer today would not be to skewer the nature of the question but to inject its insincerity with the sincerity of God and all the weight of the gospel.
The truth is that God did make a weight so heavy he couldn't lift it. He did so not by building an immovable force -- we did that with our sin -- but by incarnating the frailty of humanity and willingly subjecting himself to the force. As one of us, yet still himself, he created the conundrum of the incarnate God, bearing a cross he both ordained yet could not carry by himself, becoming condemned in death and also victorious. And God was crushed according to the plan he himself projected from the foundation of the world.
So, can God make a rock so heavy even he can't lift it?
Yes. And he did. For three days only. And then he drop kicked it out of the mouth of the tomb.
Here is a little inspiration from a super cute kid. I wish I could claim he is a Sky 1 camper but I think I don't think he is from around here. His name is CoCo Bean - that is right. CoCo Bean. You saw him in a post this past summer if you follow the blog, but here are his 6, 7, 8, 9 year old (not sure how old really...) thoughts on the real story of Thanksgiving.
Space Unicorn. It is a new Sky Ranch phenomenon and we all love it. We cannot really explain why we love it but we do. And you do. So here it is so that you can enjoy it over and over as you think about camp and the dining hall and how fun meal times are and closing show and how parents thought we were crazy as you all stood up and danced to this fun space unicorn song. Sing it loud wherever you are…
This is a little boy named CoCo Bean. He is super cute and really funny. This is a video clip of Bean telling some knock knock jokes and some riddles. They are almost as good as Jill’s famous joke…she only has one! “What is super mario’s favorite material?” ANSWER: “Denim…Denim…Denim.” (but you say the answer in the tune of the super Mario brothers song) Hilarious or maybe not so much. But this kid is one of a kind!
Want to laugh? This will do it. It’s the top 10 babies on you tube. I guess you can say with Malcolm/Kelly & Jill/Clinton being pregnant, it makes this even funnier. We can’t wait to post videos of our babies and see if they are as funny as the top 10. Hope you get a kick out of this. My favorite is the quadruplets laughing!
Have you ever heard of the Life Map at Sky Ranch? Well, chances are if you are reading this then YOU ARE PART OF THE LIFE MAP! You are part of the story of God, of what He is doing out here at SKY RANCH, of the lives that are impacted in this place...whether that be Van or Colorado or Oklahoma. God is doing something in YOU and through YOU and because of YOU.
The Life Map is our plan to invest in campers and teach God's Word and truth to 5 year old day campers all the way to Sky 1, Sky 2, Sky 3, Morph, Sky 4, Quest, Sigma, and then even to our summer staff! This is a unique plan to serve you and then to teach you and grow you into a leader in Morph, Quest, and Sigma, so that eventually you can serve on Summer Staff and give back and share the gospel with kids....just like your counselors did and do for you. Its a "pay it forward" type of thing...God has a work for you to do, a plan for your life, and Sky Ranch has been and hopefully will continue to be a part of it.
Read Jeremiah 29: 11 - 13. He has a plan but we have a part to play. We cannot just sit around and do whatever we want and sin all we want and then God will make everything perfectly align. That is not what this verse says. It says we will find HIM when WE SEEK HIM WITH ALL OF OUR HEARTS! We can find God. He is there. He is real. He is waiting....all you have to do is open your eyes and look. Seek and you shall find.
Read Ephesians 2:10. He has a work planned for you. Maybe it is reaching out to the girl noone likes at school or being a light on the football team. Maybe it is to go to ,Baylor or to go do Missions. I don't know but how great that God does. He has a plan. He has things for you to do - but first you gotta trust IN HIM and live FOR HIM!
There is just.... Not enough time in the day to clean my room. Not enough time in the day to do my homework. Not enough time in the day to sit down and eat with the fam. Not enough time to text everyone back. Not enough time to keep up with the latest trend. Not enough time to practice enough. NOT ENOUGH TIME TO READ MY BIBLE. NOT ENOUGH TIME FOR GOD.
Right? Thats the story we've been telling and the song we've been singing for, well, forever really. Since the beginning of time. We always want more time and we always stack or schedules so full that we just don't have enough time to do all the things we are suppose to do or want to do in a day, in a week, in a year. Its the #1 excuse for our campers not reading their bibles or going to church or being a part of a community of believers at a local youth group. Its not a good excuse, but its an excuse.
I say its not good because time will NEVER increase. You will never gain another second in the day. When college comes, life does not all of a sudden get easier. When you get a job someday, you don't all of a sudden have 2 hours a day to sit and read your bible. That is just not real life. You have to make time. Make the time in your day for what is most important for you and to you. Sometimes hanging out with friends is way more fun or reading Twilight or watching Glee...but ultimately, time with HIM will never leave you empty. Its not wasted time - its time invested in a relationship that truly is everthing.
So...take the time, make the time and spend some time (10 minutes) with God today. Take your bible to the bathroom with you and read it in the stall if you have to! God does not care where it is, He just wants you to say hello and let Him know what is going on with you. We always tell you its about a relationship with God and relationships take effort to be real. What are you doing today? What can you take off of your schedule to pencil in some Jesus time?
Okay...so obviously, this new Willow Smith video is like THE BEST video ever! I love it! We love it! We really think this summer needs an entire night event dedicated to painting rooms, trees, Oak Haven, or whatever with our hair! Boys can put paint on their ears or something in order to throw paint around. No teachable moment here, just a super cool video that is awesome!
WARNING: Do not try this at home unless you want severe neck pain
Oh man. You have got to take 5 minutes and watch this dance. We for sure need to get a Sky Ranch re-make of this one! It was created to help save the honey bees that are apparently disappearing! I am just thankful we did not have to wear the yellow and black spandex this past summer! YIKES!
It reminds me a little bit of the dancing skills we see on Thursday nights at the JINGLE BELL ROCKIN' Dance! Maybe a little bit of Matt Upshaw meets Cameron Cook meets Dana Lowry meets Corey Gummelt dancing....and add a little Sarah Bouillioun!!!!!! Thats whats up!
