Devotional for Informatics Students

Sunday, August 29, 2010
I have missed every one of you throughout the summer. It’s great to see you all again. God has been teaching me a lesson the last few years, and that is to keep my eyes on Him not the important people in my life. He has demonstrated His immutability to me. He never changes. No matter who disappoints me in my life, He is always there, He is always consistent. I can rely on Him. I can honestly say that almost every person that has worked for me has pleasantly surprised me in different ways. They have stepped up in ways I was not expecting. BUT I can also say that the same people – you – have also disappointed/discouraged me once in a while. If my work life was dependent upon whether you are surprising me or disappointing me I would be on a yo-yo. I would probably slowly begin to lose my mind. God has taught me that we are all human and we all make mistakes. He doesn’t require us to be faultless just faithful. When we mess up we need to pick ourselves up, take responsibility and try again to do our job as unto the Lord.

We don’t expect perfection from you but we do expect you to step up and do your best. Those of you have been in sports may know who John Wooden is. He was a basketball player for Purdue University and a NBL player before he began his coaching career. He is probably most known for coaching the UCLA basketball team through ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period. One of his many life inspiring quotes is, “If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?” I would like you to think about this as you spend this semester on your homework, your sports, your music, your friends, your family. Something else that stands out about John Wooden was his faith.

As you begin this new semester, I hope that you will take time to reflect on your successes and failures of last year and re-prioritize. This is a new slate, a new semester. Decide what is most important to you and talk to God about whether it needs to be adjusted or not. Remember to keep your eyes on God and turn your frustrations over to Him.

Thursday, August 5, 2010 & Friday, August 5, 2010

We drove a couple of hours to Duluth where we planned to stay and kayak on Lake Superior but we couldn't find any place to put in. We spent about an hour driving around Duluth and when we tried to get back on the 53 South there was this crazy detour. We got gas in Superior and ate lunch at Culver's. Then we drove to Chetek, Wisconsin campground. When we arrived we put our kayaks in the Chetek River and kayaked three miles to the dam and back. It took a couple of hours and we saw six bald eagles. They were really close. It was really awesome. There were also a lot of ducks and heron cranes also.

When we got back we went swimming in the pool and then fixed microwave mac and cheese for dinner. Scott worked on his homework and I read before we went to bed around ten. We got up around 8 in the morning and Scott worked on his homework again while I took a shower and read. We got on the road around 11am. According to Garmin we would be home by 6pm so we decided that we would probably head home. I slept half of the way and Scott drove the entire day. We had lunch in Black River Falls, Wisconsin and decided to take 355 home through Chicago, the problem was that it was around rush hour. We were sardines on I 290. We finally made it to the farm around 7:30pm. We left the kayak trailer there and took the camper home to unload in the morning.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

There was an 80% chance of rain so Scott, Alan, and Paul didn't go on their fishing trip. The four guys took the fishing boat out on Eagle w/ the plan for the girls to take the float boat to Connaught Point and we would grill for lunch. I planned to kayak there. We got everything packed and loaded on the float boat including an extra kayak and the float boat started on it's way. I got about 100 yards from the dock and thought I heard thunder. I paddled a little further until I heard it it again. It was getting closer and louder so I turned around to paddle back. When they noticed me going the other direction they came back to find out what I was doing. I told them it was thundering so we decided to wait it out. We looked over Tivo Island and saw lightening strike straight down. We unloaded the float boat again and headed up. The guys still weren't back so we were hoping they went inland to wait it out. I ran back down and took a quick bath. About an half hour to an hour later the guys showed up all decked out in rain gear.

We decided to go to Busters BBQ and then Scott and I were going to head out. Paul was in rare form, and sat by me at the restaurant. All of the guys got a half rack of ribs with three sides. Mom got soup and sweet potato fries. Bridget and Hannah got BBQ Pork with sweet potato fries and I got BBQ beef brisket with onion rings. It was really good but expensive. When we got back Scott and I finished packing and headed out. This time we headed west on 17 to go home. We took route 71 with a plan to stay in Sioux Falls and/or Nestor Falls. It was a fun way to go. It was about an hour longer mainly because you drove through a lot of towns. The scenery was beautiful but the signs terrible. We missed where we wanted to go but it was only about 7pm so we decided to head to the border and spend the night in Orr, Minnesota. It was smooth sailing past the border and we missed the campground but found it after we turned around. It was a small campground probably not worth the $17 we had to pay for it. There were bathrooms and showers but you had to pay for the showers. It was a dime for 4 minutes and a quarter for 9 minutes. The showers were worse than the dorms at Sherman Hall where I stayed at U of I two weeks ago.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

After doing our Bible study, Dad, Hannah, and I went to Dryden. Grandpa gave us ten minutes at Egli's and fifteen minutes at Walmart. While he was at the lumber yard, Hannah and I walked to IGA to get blueberries. There were no blueberries so Hannah and I bought salt and vinegar chips. Then we got lunch there - it was terrible!! When we got back Mom and Bridget had done three loads of laundry.

Yesterday I kayaked out and around the Sunset Island. It was probably about 5 miles. When I got back Paul did donuts around my kayak and figured out how to spray me. When he got tired of it I laid down to sunbath when I heard a motor coming toward me. It didn't sound like Paul so I sat up and so a boat heading toward me. When they noticed me they swerved out of the way and waved. Paul came back to me and said, "Why did they wave to me?" I told him I didn't know that everyone always waves to everyone in Canada. Then he informed me that they almost hit me and they swerved to miss me. I told him I noticed it. He laughed and started doing donuts around me again.

After much cajoling Hannah and Mom quite a bit, I finally convinced them to come swimming. We literally drug Hannah out passed the rock kicking and screaming. At some point she figured out that it was fun so we did it again. This time she swam on her own. After that we all took a bath and then Hannah and I played in the water with Uncle Scott for awhile. As I was leaving. Paul and his friends pulled each other on the kneeboard behind the jet ski. It looked like fun b/c if they turned to sharp on the jet ski the kneeboarder would fly off.

August 2, 2010

Wissmiller - Martinsen - Grove Dinner on the rock

http://picasaweb.google.com/asj405/20100802?authkey=Gv1sRgCPez--yboOmt4wE&feat=directlink

There was a huge storm, wind and hail. I thought our camper top was going to blow off. It only lasted about a half hour. It rained a lot today. We kayaked and Paul and his friends pulled each other on the tube behind the jet ski. We played a couple of card games in the afternoon, Bridget was our entertainment -- she was loopy and had us in stitches. After dinner on the rock we sat around the cabin telling funny stories. It was very relaxing.

August 1, 2010

Sunday we cleaned and made chili. We were expecting Alan and Bridget around 3:30-4pm so after lunch Scott and I set up our kayaks for fishing and headed to Paradise. I caught two northern. It was pretty terrifying. I was just casting in hopes that I wouldn't really catch anything. Scott unhooked the first one I caught which was a decent size. Then the second one that I caught was really scary. It flipped into the air. That was enough for me - I flung my pole and Scott and made him real it in the rest of the way. He lost it before I got a very good movie of it. Then mom and dad showed up so I loaned Dad my pole. He caught a little northern and I never got my pole back.

It was getting winder and starting to look like rain so Scott and I went all the way around the island. It started to sprinkle a little bit but not much. An older couple in a boat from Wisconsin stopped us to ask questions about our kayak. By the time we got in mom and dad were back and inside. Scott and I took our baths and headed up. We decided to rest and as soon as I got cozy in the camper Alan, Bridget, Hannah, and Paul showed up. We visited for a little while and then Alan and Paul put in the jet ski. Paul, Alan, Scott, and I all jet skiied.

After that Mom took Hannah, Scott, and I out on the float boat. We caught about six walleye but only brought 3 home. Dad wasn't very excited that he had three fish to clean.

July 31, 2010

Today we worked on cleaning the cabin and started cooking for the traditional chili when someone comes into camp. Alan and Bridget left around 1:30pm and should be here around 5pm on Sunday. Scott and I continued to work on moving out to the camper so we can stay out there when they arrive. I'm actually looking forward not being slowly eaten alive by spiders. So far I have found at least 6 bites from last night.

Around noon we decided to go fish the walleye hole. Dad and Scott took the fishing boat and mom and I took the pontoon. It was fun. Scott helped mom start up the motor and I tried to tell them we didn't have enough gas but Scott's exact words were, "You have plenty of gas." We headed out to Eagle Island and found about four eagles. I took some pictures. Then we started toward the hole. All of the sudden the motor revved up and I thought mom was speeding up but then it quit and she said that she didn't do any of that. We determined quickly that we were out of gas. I switched tanks and pumped the hose. She tried to start it but it wouldn't start. After a couple of more tries we were on our way again. Once we got to the hole. We put on our minnows and propped our legs up on the side for some sun. We floated through the hole twice and the second time, while they moved to Pufahl Rock we floated around the island. Then we started to discuss our location and wanted to see something so we started up and went around the island. We were going to start casting when the guys started our direction so we quickly threw our poles out and stuck them in Scott's kayak rod holder and propped our legs up so it would look like we were fishing in the middle of nowhere. When they approached the said we needed to move it closer and my lure was only a foot in the water. They went back in and I trolled while mom drove in.

After that we all went to Dryden. Dad bought these huge minnows. I'm really not interested in putting those huge things on a hook. They are about 7 times as big as a regular minnow. While we were there dad heard that there were severe storm warnings out and by the time we returned we could start to see the clouds forming behind the cabin. We went online and saw that they were expecting hail, too. Scott and I put the camper down and secured all the boats. It was starting to rumble so we took our baths and headed up to watch the storm. I videotaped it as it moved across the water.

The four of us played a full round of Shang-Hai Rummy. Despite Dad's crazy antics I still smoked everyone. They were way over one hundred and I only had 70 points. We actually went to bed around 9pm which was a first around here. God protected us from the brunt of the storm. We didn't even get very much wind.