ACL Palm Beach, Florida June 10-16, 2012

Pam and I left Bourbonnais at 2pm with Ben as our chauffeur.  It was a fun ride catching up with him.  We walked in checked in our bags, breezed through security, and were waiting for our plan within an hour.  Both flights went great and were ahead of time.  The transfer was short and quick.  The second plan was def newer and much more comfortable.  When we got to our baggage (which came out immediately- mom had to have been praying!), we called Jeff (fellow conferencer) to see if he had arrived and wanted to share a cab.  After we found, him we took about a fifteen minute ride to Palm Beach Atlantic University and landed right in front of the library.  Security came and took our luggage to the OceanView dorm (no oceanview that I can see) and showed us how to use our access keys.  We arrived in our rooms around 11-11:30pm.  Made our beds and settled in for a sleepless night.

The next morning we went to breakfast and then headed to the beach.  They told us it was 1.2miles straight over the bridge but I'm pretty sure it was longer than that.  It was really hot and really humid!  When we arrived to the beach we got right into the ocean.  It was awesome! There were some decent waves and there was a yellow flag which meant medium danger.  We swam for about an hour and then started the trek back.  My shoes must be worn too thin bc the bottoms of my feet felt like blisters.  We went back a couple of blocks south which was shadier.  Then just before crossing off the island we sat on a bench under a tree and cooled down to rest my feet.  As we were crossing the bridge a boat came so they had to lift the draw bridge.  It was really cool!  I can't believe how high it raised the entire road - lamppost and all!  Then this dumb little boat went through - not even sure why they had to lift it!!  Anyway we went back to the room and collapsed before we had to go to the opening dinner at 5pm.  It was pretty much like eating Sodexo.  Then we went and sat outside while everyone introduced everyone else and we had an opening prayer.  Some students came and did the PBA cheer which was cute.  I met a couple of people and then we had ice cream which wasn't very good.  I headed back up and got some work done and went to bed around 9pm - another rough night's sleep.

Tuesday we spent at sessions and eating more Sodexo style food.  We met a lot of people.  I enjoyed visiting with Ruth Kinnersley during one of the meals.  I also met Fern, Barbara, and Karen.  Wednesday, it was more of the same except we went to two business meetings: Liberal Arts and Nazarene Meeting and our poster session.  I met alot of people at the poster session.  Played with QR codes with Karen and Libby.  Talked LibX tool bars with David from Indiana Wesleyan.  Thursday am we skipped an am workshop and walked back to the beach.  It was glorious.  After that we went to workshops and meetings.  Dinner was in the Art Museum.  It was good but we didn't have much time to visit the museum bc it closed at 9pm and the dinner went late.  It was sprinkling on the walk home but Pam and I had a nice chat with Tammy Condon. 

Friday, we went to MacArthur State Park and kayaked.  Steve, Karen, Linda and her sister, John, Pam and I took off for a couple of hours.  John, Pam, and I paddled around the entire island that opened up to the waterway.  Everyone else hung around inside the "cove."  After we finished we took the "tram" (golf cart) to the beach.  It was incredible. It was like being at a zoo.  We walked out of the Mangrove forests to the beach - it was a completely different environment.  The water was beautiful and felt incredible.  As you entered there was a "cliff" of shells that you almost had to jump off to go further in the water.  When the waves rolled over it you could hear "chimes."  It was beautiful.  The water felt great and a couple nice sized waves came and knocked us over.  We weren't even in for five minutes when Steve said we had to go.  It was disappointing but I had probably already gotten enough sun for the day.  We headed back to campus.  Pam went to the Flagler Museum and I went up to the room.  I "im"ed with Hannah for awhile and started to watch Netflix but kept passing out.  I didn't even hear Pam get back.  Around 5pm we met John for dinner and the three of us walked to a Taco place.  After that we went to Sloan's for ice cream and walked along the waterway on the trip back.  It was a nice evening.  Pam and I watched the Adventures of TinTin and then went to bed.  I was up at 2:30am bc it was storming outside and the bathroom sewer stunk so bad that I ended up calling Security.  The guy that called had a name tag that said C. Bible.  I told him he had a cool name. :) He was going to report it and somebody must have done something bc it wasn't too bad in the morning. 

Later Saturday morning, we packed up our rooms ran into Craighton at the library and worked on the computers for a while.

Informatics Bonfire

Informatics End of the Year Bonfire
April 27, 2012 6:30pm

When we are born there is a barrier between God and us.  We cannot have a relationship with Him because God is perfect and has perfect righteousness.  We are not!!  We are born into the slave market of sin. John 08:34, “Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin.”

There is nothing we can do as humans to escape this slave market, we are hopeless and helpless.  The good news is that God has provided a solution - a way out of the darkness.  II Corinthians 05:21, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”  JC came to this earth in perfect humanity and redeemed us from this slave market.  He did all of the work – dying as our substitute on the cross.  We do not have to do anything!!  God’s grace is amazing!  All you have to do is accept JC as your Savior and you will be saved. 

After Christ died on the cross he was resurrected.  This resurrection gives us hope.  Once you accept JC as Savior you will have eternal life!  John 10:28, “and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand.”

I believed in JC as a child but those of you that know me probably have figured out that I am not perfect.  I sin and screw up often.  How can this be if I am a Christian – if I believed in JC as my Savior?  It’s because I’m still a sinner!  Romans 03:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Every time I sin I lose fellowship with God – not salvation just fellowship.  Believing in JC did not make me a spiritual giant who can handle any thing in life.

I often stop myself and think, “What am I doing?”  I don’t want to be this person and yet I often can’t stop it!  Romans 07:15, “For that which I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.”  Did God provide salvation and then just leave me hanging afterwards?  No!  He knows that we cannot function spiritually without His grace and provisions.  All we have to do is name our sins to God and He is faithful and just to forgive us those sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness!  I John 01:09.  How incredible is that?!  My pastor uses the term “rebound” for confessing your sins.  This is his analogy:

Excerpt from Pastor R.B. Thieme's Rebound publication:

Winning a basketball game requires players to shoot and to rebound the ball.  When the ball leaves the hand of a shooter, arches gracefully toward the basket, drops inside the rim of the hoop, and rips through the net, he scores.  But when his shot misses, the ball must be rebounded.  Rebounding recovers the loose ball as it caroms off the rim or backboard.  Rebounding restores the opportunity to shoot, to score, and ultimately, to win.

In the spiritual life every Christian misses shots or sins.  But like basketball, the contest of the Christian life does not end when a believer sins.  God graciously provides the way to rebound from sin, to restore the filling of the Holy Spirit, to recover fellowship with God, and to keep moving in the spiritual life.  Rebound offers the believer an infinite number of chances to be a winner in the Christian life. 

Every time I sin, I can privately name that sin to God and I am forgiven.  I can forget my screw up and focus on God and the amazing promises He has given to me.  I can move on.

Philippians 03:13, “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,” Philippians 03:14, “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Many of you are beginning the rest of your life next week and I hope you’ll keep that verse in mind:  II Corinthians 04:18, “while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”  Remember that as you embark on this new journey in your life that you have a unique opportunity to grow spiritually and set an example to those around you.  I will pray that when you miss a shot (and you will) you will have daily reminders to rebound that ball so that your shots/baskets count in the spiritual life.  I hope I have set this example for you and that you have recognized the grace I have extended toward you as a reflection of the incredible grace God has extended toward me. 

Informatics Fall Meeting

My mom has just started teaching Moses in Sunday School. Since I have studied and taught Moses at least three times, we have been having some great discussions. One of her first lessons was about how Joseph's bones tie into the Moses story. His bones were pretty much to the Jews what the Bible is to us today. Looking at his sarcophagus was supposed to remind them of all of the good choices that Joseph made under tragic circumstances. He was sold into slavery by his brothers and later falsely accused and put in jail. Joseph claimed God's promises and had absolute faith - II Corinthians 5:7, "for we walk by faith, not by sight— "

Our "sarcophagus" is the Bible, the actual Word of God. We are to remember those promises and make daily choices to walk by faith. Our priorities need to be in the unseen not in the seen (friends, family, work, etc.) Every year I remind you to take time to stop and evaluate your priorities remembering that our time on this earth is temporary but our relationship with God is eternal. Every time you have a choice to make take long enough to ensure that your focus is on Him. This is why I chose II Corinthians 04:18 for our "Informatics promise" this year. "While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

Sunday, August 14, 2011 - Monday, August 15, 2011

Scott and I got up at 5am and packed up the camper. We were done at 6:30 so we went down for one last bath. We took off from the cabin around 7:20am. We were at the border for about 5 minutes before we were all back in the US. It was a quiet ride without Paul to entertain us. We stopped at Voyageurs National Park Visitor's Center at Kabetogama Lake. It was really cool. It's a huge lake and there are tons of things to do. You can even take a five hour tour boat ride. If you want to camp there you have to go to an island and stay in a tent. Our next destination was the Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway Visitor's Center near the Namekagon River. We hit road construction right outside of Trego, Wisconsin because they had it down to one lane and everyone was going home. Hannah thought they closed at four so we were racing to get there. We arrived at 4:05pm but they were open until 5pm. Hannah was sworn in and we were on our way to Eau Claire where we had hotel reservations. We made it there around 6pm and all went to Panera Bread for lunch. Lindsey, Hannah, and I went down to the pool. I only stayed for a few minutes because the jets on the hot tub didn't work. The girls were down there for a couple of hours. The bed was terrible, the room smelled like cigarette smoke, and the air didn't work. Needless to say, Scott and I had a long night. We left for home the next morning around 8am. We stopped for gas one time and were home by 1:30pm. It's good to be home!


Picture Links: https://picasaweb.google.com/ajohnsto693/August14_2011?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCOaAm9mj8a2FxAE&feat=directlink

Saturday, August 13, 2011

This morning Scott, Alan, Hannah, and I went fishing. We tried to find a hole off of Connaught Point. We didn't have much luck but it was a beautiful day and fun to be on the lake. I hadn't been able to go past Canoe Island yet so I enjoyed seeing all of the familiar places. We stopped at Connaught Point's beach and went around to Boat Island where Hannah went up and checked the Geocache. She was pretty brave especially since they have been baiting Boat Island for bear season next week. We fished a little more. Scott caught a perch just west of Canoe Island but that was it for the day. We stalked a loon for a little while so I could get some cool pictures. When we got back we cleaned the cabin and camper. Alan, Scott, Hannah, and Lindsey cleaned and put away the two boats. Bridget fixed bacon cheeseburgers for dinner. They really hit the spot. Around 8pm, Hannah and Lindsey worked on burning up the gas in the jet ski while Scott and I kayaked around Paradise Island. We saw about twenty canvasbacks all huddled together on one rock. We got to see Michael but not Martha. We thought we would get to see her before we left but it didn't work out. Don Hartman came and got us to tell us there was a big snapping turtle down by his dock so we all ran down there to see it. He had to shine the spotlight on it.




Picture link: https://picasaweb.google.com/ajohnsto693/August13_2011?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCK2MouaurN_VBA&feat=directlink

Friday, August 12, 2011

Our time is drawing to a close and I'm pretty disappointed. I could probably stay another month! The temperature is 54 degrees this morning and it is foggy. We can't see past our rock on the lake. Scott, Alan, Hannah, and Lindsey went fishing today. Bridget and I moved all of the "junk" back into the new garage and went for a ride. It was a pretty uneventful day.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

When we came into the cabin for breakfast, Alan informed us that we were going to go fishing on eagle. We quickly packed our fishing gear and some snacks and headed out to Dog Island. Alan, Bridget, Hannah, and Lindsey took the fishing boat and Scott and I took the pontoon. With the new motor we got out there fairly quickly - much faster than it would have taken last year! It was hot in the sun but we had a lot of fun. Alan and Hannah probably caught the most, both netting a nice sized walleye. I think Alan's big one was about 4 pounds. Hannah also caught her first northern. Lindsey caught two, I think one was a perch. Scott probably caught 4 or 5 small ones and I caught a perch! Glad I paid for a license for that one! I took a lot of pictures and practiced driving the boat over our "hole." It was nice. We got back to the cabin around 2pm and did our Bible study. Just before our Bible study started it began to thunder and rain. We never got much wind but we needed the little bit of rain we got. The lake is down about 10 inches. Bridget made homemade pizza. It was delicious. We took our baths and then finished our Shanghai Rummy tournament. I won and Bridget took second. It was a good day!

Pictures from the day: https://picasaweb.google.com/ajohnsto693/August112011?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCOuCsOz34q2LrQE&feat=directlink