God's Finger

I can't believe how much snow we've gotten this season! No blizzards like last year, but we've had good snowfall after snowfall. Today starts our first weekend camp at Timber-lee for high school students. We we're worried about not having enough snow for the winter activities.

We were worried...hah! God is so good. Today's storm is finally slowing down after dumping another 8 inches on us.

It's a reminder to me that God is interested & involved in ALL the details of our lives. I remember a number of years ago, we had a group scheduled for a day of ropes course activities. As their day drew near, the weather forecast was not in their favor. The night before, they were predicting "100% chance of thunderstorms." Not looking good.

The next morning, I went over some last minute details with their youth pastor. "By the way, it looks like the weather's going to be a problem today & we may have to cut things short depending on when it hits." "We've been praying all week for today," was his response, "and we're believing that it's not going to affect us."

By 3pm, under blue skies & tall clouds to our north & south, I was getting a little curious as to where our "100%" storms were. I sneaked away to my office where I could check radar images on the web.

As someone who took meteorology classes in high school & college, I couldn't believe what I saw...

The entire region was experiencing strong storms...except us. Looking at the radar image, it was a mass of green, orange, and red, but right through the middle of it, it looked like someone had taken their finger and erased a 20 mile wide straight line right through the middle of it. Animating the map, Timber-lee stayed exactly in the middle of that line.

I went back out to the course to meet up with the youth pastor. "I'm witnessing the answer to your prayers, live on Doppler radar."

Two hours later, as we were finishing the last group of the day, we heard our first rumble of thunder & it started to rain.

Gear Review - Crocs

Ok, so this is what I do once I get back in the office - I write reviews. To be fair, I've got a few minutes before lunch, and I HAVE finished repacking the kits from my caving trip, done some budgeting work, read an article related to universal access of challenge courses (i.e. participants with disabilities), and turned in a handful of receipts to the office.

Back to the review. This may seem like kind of a stretch. I mean, come on, are Crocs really gear? Aren't they those wacky foam slippers that everybody's wearing? If you go online, you'll find sites created by those who absolutely love 'em, and sites with people putting Crocs in blenders. Even The Daily Show made fun of them. So, where do I stand when it comes to Crocs? Originally, I thought they were funny looking & overpriced, especially for a couple pieces of foam.

Then I bought a pair.

I had some extra money, and after hearing enough people rant & rave, I decided to put 'em to the test. I have to admit, they are very comfortable. They don't breathe (at all!), but the abundance of ventilation holes make up for it. They fit loose, but wearing 'em with a thick pair of socks in cooler weather will make the sale for you. It's like wearing air!

Final verdict: I wouldn't go out & spend hundreds of dollars just so you can have one in every color, but like any other piece of gear, there's a right "tool" for the job, and Crocs definitely fill a niche. I'm actually interested in their new line of technical apparel. Somehow they've integrated their material into a woven fabric that's light & breathable. Oh well, that's a discussion saved for a future review.

Merry Christmas!

Good evening & Merry Christmas! I'm away from my computer this evening, but I just wanted to take a few moments to wish all my readers a blessed Christmas. I say "readers" because I just found out that 121 unique visitors came to thedavewave in the last 30 days. That's pretty cool!

As I look back at this past year, I have so much to be thankful for. I'm celebrating my first holiday with our baby daughter, and God has proved Himself faithful in so many ways. He's provided financially through my work here at Timber-lee, plus more than a few photography jobs. He's provided for me professionally through the hiring of a very capable assistant who's helped me greatly, plus my appointment to the Professional Ropes Course Assoc. Board of Directors.

So again, have a blessed Christmas!

Hittin' the books (again!)

Well, it looks like it's official. I'm heading to school again. My last bits of info are en route to Beacon University in Columbus, GA, where I'll be working towards a BA in Organizational Leadership & Management. It's a distance learning program, taken online. I'm both excited & a bit nervous. It's been awhile since I've played the part of student.

Jen & I both think it's a good idea. Educationally, it'll give me more options down the road. My Elim education, though invaluable in preparing me for full time ministry, isn't exactly the kind of preparation desired by some of the grad schools I'm looking into. Trying to get into a MA in Adventure Education or Recreation Management program is a little tough with a Bible school diploma.

God has given me some awesome opportunities over my 10 years in this field. I direct an adventure education program that serves over 30,000 participants annually. I've lectured on numerous occasions at different universities. I'm beginning my second term on the Board of Directors of the Professional Ropes Course Association. I look forward to the doors God can open in the future with a stronger academic background in this field.

I don't need a nap!

Heading back from the cave...

This is kinda fun. I'm writing this on my phone as we drive back from Pop's Cave. We had a good time with students from Badger High School, getting muddy in the balmy 50+ degree temps inside the cave. One student was visiting from Turkey. "Someone take a picture," he said after crawling out a particularly muddy passage, "my mom's never going to believe this!"

I love my job!

Mobile Device Testing

Hey guys, this is a test of my ability to post with my new smartphone. I'm kinda excited as this will allow me to eliminate carrying so many different gadgets. We'll see how it goes...

Speaking at UWM

I'd love your prayers as I speak tomorrow at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. My friend Sean is a professor for a therapeutic recreation class, and he's asked me to speak to the class about my experience with Hodgkin's Disease. I'm supposed to share about what it was like to go through the entire process as a patient, from diagnosis to treatment and everything in between. I also have the freedom to share what an important part my faith played.

Pray that God gives me the words to say. I hope the students see that my relationship with God is much more than a dry religion, that they see that I was able to face cancer because of my personal relationship with a loving God.

Gear Review - Mountain Hardwear Monkey Man Jacket

Being an outdoors professional who's closet looks like a mini-camping store, I've thought of reviewing some of the pieces of gear I pick up from time. Hope you find it helpful.

A month or so ago, I picked up a new fleece. It's been awhile, and I did sell some outerwear on eBay to make room for it. It's the Monkey Man Jacket ($140) by Mountain Hardwear. Now, for those unfamiliar with technical outerwear, you may be choking at the thought of spending that on a jacket. Maybe my review will help explain (BTW, I paid way less - watch for sales!)

The Monkey Man is like a feather-light, unbelievably soft shag carpet fashioned into a jacket. It's made out of Polarguard Thermal Pro fleece, in a weave Mountain Hardwear calls "Monkey Phur." It's not windproof, or even wind resistant. Where this jacket really shines is its versatility. Because it breathes so well, you can wear it in moderate temperatures comfortably. When the wind picks up or the mercury drops, put a shell jacket over the Monkey Man & say goodbye to cold.

It's quickly becoming one of my favorite jackets, so two enthusiastic thumbs up!

We survived!

Ok, it wasn't that bad for us. We picked up a few inches of snow, and the freezing rain covered everything, but the warm temps we had this morning has already melted off the ice. Does look like winter, though.

Hope you like the picture. Before you think, "wow, he was outside last night, trying to find a cool picture for the blog," let me fill you in on what really went into the shot. I turned our porch light on, stuck my head & camera out the door, took the shot & closed the door.

It was cold!

It's a little icy...

Yeah, the snow & freezing rain have been falling for hours now, and everythings coated in a layer of ice. I'll take some pictures tomorrow morning. We were going to catch a performance of our friend AJ tonight, but decided against traveling when the National Weather Service described travel as "impossible" and "dangerous."

Hopefully we can make it to the 3pm show tomorrow.

Calm before the storm...

Jen & I just got done shutting our storm windows & putting plastic over the air conditioner (not gonna need that for awhile!) We're under a Winter Storm Warning, with a lot of snow & ice on its way. I'm sure I'll have more to write later. Are those snowflakes I'm seeing outside my window?

A Father's Love

Olivia got a boo-boo.

Besides crawling around a whole lot, she's now discovered how to pull herself up to stand. While exploring the kitchen yesterday, she pulled herself up on a drawer knob & at some point lost her grip and slid to the floor, hitting her eyebrow on the knob. Boy, did she cry!

I surprised myself when, as Jen was giving her a bath later that evening, I found myself tearing up as I looked at her little smiling face, a red mark and a little swelling above her left eye the only evidence of her injury.

Why the tears? I felt helpless. I couldn't protect her from everything. I wanted to take the injury for her...wow! What an amazing illustration of God's love for us. God did take our place when Jesus hung on the cross for our sins. As a father, I can't imagine what God felt watching His Son die in our place.

But that suffering was necessary. Without Christ's death, we'd not know eternal life. Without trials, we don't experience the "fires" that temper our souls. Without drawer knobs, Olivia wouldn't learn to be careful as she explores her new world.

And I'm sure it's not her last...

Weekend with Olivia

Well, Olivia is down for the night, so I figured I'd take a couple minutes to check in. It's been a nice couple days off from work. Jen let me sleep last night on the couch (I slept there from 6:30pm until 5am this morning!) I am so glad it's this time of year again. Working at camp can be so demanding. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely LOVE what I do, but I've learned that the pace can be physically draining. When you go hardcore for almost 9 months straight, the body demands a vacation after awhile.

Happy Birthday, Vikki!

This is a special post for my sister Vikki, who's celebrating a birthday today. Being the ever-vigilant older brother, I realized that her birthday was coming up...yesterday when I realized it was now November. Since the internet is faster than the postal service, I thought I'd squeak this in under the wire to avoid "belated" status.

Seriously, though, Happy Birthday, Vik. I pray that this year is one marked by God's favor & love for you. We all love you & Olivia can't wait to see her aunt again. BTW, the guest room is finished. Any day, anytime, just let us know.

Father-Son Retreat

Got a chance last weekend to be the event photographer for the father/son retreat here at Timber-lee. Was a lot of fun (and a lot of work!) I'm really happy with how some of the pictures turned out.

iPhone Update

Some cool news made public regarding the iPhone recently. The bullet points:
1. Apple is opening the iPhone up to 3rd party applications.
2. 3G version - much faster than the current phone.
3. GPS enabled for navigation and location-based services.

What does this mean in plain language? I'll be able to load my Bible software on it, the internet & email will download faster, and I'll be able to use it for traveling. No roadmaps necessary, just take my phone. Watch for lower prices next year as well, especially considering production is supposed to increase.

Take the Survey

Just curious, but my site averages quite a few hits from around the country. Not a ton, mind you, but their frequency and location of origin is sometimes surprising (no, I CAN'T tell who's visiting my site, but I do use a Google tool to generate site statistics.) So anyway, I've added a quick survey in the sidebar. Take a few seconds to submit your answer.

Your feedback is important to me. I've treated this site as a way for friends around the world to quickly stay on top of the latest in Dave News, but I don't want to necessarily limit it. I may add more surveys in the future to best determine how to move forward with my site.

A big Dave Wave to you all!

I'm back!

Good afternoon, everyone! It's been a while since my last post, and I have a few minutes to spare, so I thought I'd check in.

Things at camp are going well. We made it through our busiest week of the season last week, and it's nice to know that we're going to see a bit of a slowdown over the coming weeks - not quite as crazy!

I got to shoot photos for a couple friends of mine who got married this past weekend.

Olivia's still growing quickly. She's sitting up on her own. Still not crawling, per se, but man can she scoot! Does kind of this inchworm-like thing. Funny to watch, and makes us very aware of how many things in our home are quickly becoming reachable. Time to do some baby-proofing!

A Tough Call

I'm still dealing with probably the roughest call I've responded to in almost 7 years on the fire department. What started out as our rescue squad being called out for a missing person turned into a two day search involving over 130 people from multiple agencies.

This was so different than the other calls I've responded to in the past. In cases of fire or auto accident, the damages are already done, the property lost, the injuries sustained. In this case, we had a 40 year old autistic, diabetic man with the functional level of a 5 year old who had wandered off from home. To make matters worse, he couldn't speak or respond when called.

While we hoped our efforts would end in finding Kyle & providing the medication he desperately needed, the radio call "Code 99" for the coroner around noon yesterday signalled the end of our search.

It's the first call that's made me cry.

During one emotional moment last night, Jen reminded me that Kyle's with Jesus now, that his thoughts are clear, he can speak, and he'll spend eternity freed from his imperfect, human body.

A merciful God wouldn't have it any other way. Pray for his family as they cope with this loss.

A Weary Thankfulness

As I sit here at my desk, I find myself feeling very...tired. Our internship program is short a few people this year & it means I'm in the teaching schedule more than usual. It's been a long week in the rain, the sun, the heat, and the record cold of the past few days. Couple that with the fact that I'm still recovering from a case of pneumonia...you guessed it. It's been a challenge.

Human beings are a funny bunch when it comes to challenges. I see it all the time on our ropes courses. When we encounter resistance of any kind, our natural inclination is to take ourselves out of the fire. After all, hardship=BAD, doesn't it?

However, God gives us the ability, the grace, to overcome ANY challenge in our lives. It doesn't mean He takes it away. If anything, He wouldn't be the loving Father that He is if He prematurely removed us from the tempering fire of our refining.

I'm tired, but I'm good, and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

Mike & Katie's Wedding

I got to shoot my friends Mike & Katie's wedding up in northern Michigan the weekend of August 18th at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. It was a small wedding, mostly the wedding party & immediate family. The ceremony took place on the beach, about a 2 mile hike from the trailhead. It was absolutely gorgeous, and their wedding was a powerful example of God's love & the miracle uniting of husband and wife.

Learning to be nothing

I thought that was an appropriate title.

I've been examining my life the past few weeks (not a bad thing to do from time to time), and I find myself desiring to be reduced. As I get older and I start thinking of what kind of legacy I'll leave behind when God calls me home, I find myself wanting to be known for one thing, the only thing that truly matters:

He loved God.

Just like a reduction in cooking, moisture is boiled off, leaving a more concentrated product behind. My prayer is that, as God works out this process in my life, that the end result would be a life marked by the unmistakable aroma of Christ.

The cutest baby...ever!

Ok, I know that any parent will immediately think that their children win hands-down any contest determining who's the cutest, but you have to admit that Olivia's developing into some stiff competition. (Ha!)

Seriously, though, I never cease to be amazed at her growth. Right now she's REALLY determined to crawl. She gets so frustrated because she hasn't yet figured out that she has to use both her arms and her legs at the same time! She is learning to shimmy in reverse pretty well.

Bubble snorting

Ok, I know you're REALLY wondering what this post is about. Well, let me tell you what Jen and I have been up to for the last 20 minutes or so. We bought a bottle of bubble solution. The baby books say that infants around Olivia's age are fascinated by bubbles.

Olivia could care less.

Her parents, on the other hand, are having great fun with the bubbles. First of all, if you pretend you're a goldfish & eat 'em, they're a little salty. Not exactly sure of the long term health effects of ingesting small amounts of this stuff. A cool trick, though...try sucking them in through your nose (ah, just got another one!).

We're having WAY too much fun with this.

iPhone - A first look

Jen & I went out for a date this evening. Stopped by a Goodwill store & picked up a cool folding stool for photography work. Can't beat 5 bucks! Later, we went to Pedro's in Brookfield for dinner. Definitely a fun night out.

While we were running around, we stopped at an AT&T store to check out Apple's new iPhone. In a word - AMAZING! It's a bit pricey right now - $499 for the 4GB model & $599 for the 8GB, but some of the tech websites I frequent are anticipating retail prices in the $250 range within a year or so. Still seems like a lot until I figured out it'd take the place of my cellphone, PDA, MP3 player, plus it's got an ok digital camera to boot.

Happy Anniversary

Can you believe this year makes it 7 years Jen & I have been married? Where has the time gone? Think of all the life changes that have taken place - moving from Whitewater to live here at camp, Jen graduating from college, her first teaching job, my promotions here at Timber-lee, and most recently, our daughter Olivia!

Grandma & Grandpa Prowitz (that's still weird to say!) came down Sunday and watched Olivia while Jen and I spent a nice evening in Lake Geneva, sharing dinner and gourmet ice cream cones.

What a night!

I got a fire call at 12:30am this morning for a 2 car 10-50 just north of camp. I ended up doing traffic control, which would've ended just before 2am...had the drunk guy on the motorcycle not come to my intersection. Him falling off his bike was a bit of a clue. I called on the radio for our chief and sheriff deputies to come to the scene. My friend Tony saw the guy toss something into the woods when the sheriff arrived - turned out to be a GUN wrapped in a bandanna. He was promptly arrested and we had to fill out witness statements in case the case goes to trial.

I finally got home around 4am & went to bed.

New camera!

Tee hee! I just got my new DSLR today, a Nikon D80. God has provided a number of photo jobs this summer that have more than paid for this upgrade in equipment, plus I was able to bless a photographer friend with my older camera. In his words, I'm his "new best friend." He's a gifted photographer with a young family & not a lot of extra spending money. I look forward to seeing some of his new shots.

Hallelujah moments...

Hallelujah!

Over the past few weeks I've been having "hallelujah moments." There are so many different things that I look at in my life that make me want to shout "Hallelujah!"

My daughter's smile
My wife's love
God's provision for unexpected car repairs
My job at Timber-lee
My health
Sunsets over Peters Lake
Working with kids at our climbing tower
Friends
Family
Etc.

There is seemingly no end to reasons to proclaim "hallelujah!" to the One who is indeed worthy of all I have, all that I am.

prowitzphoto.com update

Check out the update to my photography website, www.prowitzphoto.com. I had some ideas kicking around my head for the past couple weeks, so I took advantage of some down time while I waited for my truck to be repaired & dove in.

Eight total hours later, the site is up & functioning. Let me know what you think.

Happy Father's Day!

Holy cow! This holiday now applies to me! It was pretty cool to get cards, and a really cool Starbucks photo mug filled with pics of Olivia (she made it herself, with safety scissors I hear!)

I'm so blessed to be given the opportunity to raise such a beautiful little girl.

My Second Wedding

Well sportsfans, I've got my second wedding under my belt. Taking pictures for Ben and Jill was a lot of fun. I almost got sucked into the "wedding photographer zone" again...NO...NO, I SAY!...um, ok, I'm back.


Tried some new stuff this go around. Again, lighting was really dark in the church, so I brought a secret weapon...one of my studio lights with a soft box. Oh, it was nice, especially for the after-service portraits.

Bear Paw Resort Tornado!

Well, the severe weather that was threatening Wisconsin last week (June 7th) missed us, with only a strong thunderstorm blowing through late that evening. Nice lightning, but that was about it.

Northern Wisconsin wasn't so lucky, with large hail and a few tornados. I started to get a little curious that afternoon when I noticed reports of a kayak in a pine tree. White Lake? That's where we do our whitewater rescue training for Timber-lee's widerness trip staff. They had just been to Bear Paw Resort, our traditional training spot, earlier that week. The resort was hit square on by a F3 tornado measured at almost a half mile wide with winds around 160mph. All of the buildings there were severely damaged or completely destroyed.

An example of God's protection: my friends John & Roy were at Bear Paw helping with training that week & were at the resort on the day of the storms. They had almost settled on taking a nap, but decided that they needed to eat, so they went into Antigo for dinner. On the way back they encountered a roadblock. Evidently, search crews were looking for 2 men missing from the resort. "Uh, you're probably looking for us" was John's response & they let them through.

Pray for Jamee, Shirlee, and the rest of the Bear Paw crew. Roy lost his minivan and a bunch of climbing and river gear.

Check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dghx4_iywOY for John's video (no sound) of what they found once they returned from dinner.

My First Wedding Job!

Well, I survived my first wedding photography job. It really was an experience. My friends Ryan and Sarah were married last Saturday. The night before, I went to the rehersal to check out the church, get a feel for how the service was going to run, etc. I tried really hard to "be" a wedding photographer, taking test shots only of traditional-type pictures. The church was small, the lighting was poor, I had to take almost all my pictures using a speedlight.

The pictures sucked. I discovered I'm not a wedding photographer! But what was I going to do? They were counting on me to take their pictures. Then I remembered something Sarah said when she hired me - she loved my particular style & that's why she wanted me to be their photographer.

I just had to be me! When I arrived at the church the next morning, I felt free. I had fun throughout the day. It was a ton of work & I definitely earned every dollar I was being paid.

I'm definitely not looking for a career change, but I've discovered that my key to photographing weddings is to stay true to myself. I love capturing life, and that's what I did last Saturday. Thanks, Ryan and Sarah, for letting me share your special day with you!

Devil's Lake - The Outcome

What a trip! It didn't exactly start out the way I wanted it to. Being the meticulous packer that I am, I pulled out & considered 3 different sleeping bags for the trip...and didn't bring any of them! Needless to say, I got a little chilly Friday night. Tried sleeping, wrapped in my tent's rain fly. By 4:30am the cold was too much & I rested my eyes in the truck. We got up & had our site packed up by 5:45am and were hiking up the bluffs by 6:05am. Sounds early? Not early enough! It was a huge weekend at the park. We got beat by an outfitter who was working with a Boy Scout group, and he grabbed our preferred spot (Misery Rocks.) Sad!

We ended up setting ropes at Cleopatra's Amphitheater. Access was kinda tricky, but we made it work. Group arrived a little after 10am & we spend almost 4 hours on the rock with them. Our group talk with them went really well & God gave me the words to say - you could see it on some of the kid's faces.

Following tradition, Kurt, my friend Paul, and I went to Pizza Hut in Baraboo for pizza and salad bar.

This Weekend

Hey there, davewave fans! I'm writing this during a little break in the action. I've got to pack for a climbing trip I'm leading at Devil's Lake tomorrow. We're taking a confirmation class from a church in LaCrosse climbing and rappelling as part of their "graduation." The rappel is symbolic of their stepping into adulthood & trusting God with their lives. My friend & co-leader Kurt and I are leading a bible study on the rock with them. Pray that God gives us the words to say that communicate God's desire to be a vital part of their lives.

Jen's first Mother's Day!

Wow, our first parental holiday! It was so weird getting Jen a Mother's Day card. That's not a holiday we normally shopped for. Our moms celebrated Mother's Day (and we usually forgot it!)

So many firsts! Soon I'll be celebrating my first Father's Day. I wouldn't trade it for the world!

Five Generations!

For Mother's Day, we went to have pictures taken with five generations of firstborn girls on Jen's side of the family. Pictured is Olivia with Gram (Lila Hubing, where Olivia gets her middle name!) Gram turned 100 recently!

Cool Lightshow

Some strong thunderstorms passed just to the north of us tonight, resulting in some of the best lightning pictures I've taken so far. Definitely gonna make it into the "Best of..." photo book for 2007.

The latest on Olivia

It's a beautiful Spring day outside & I'm spending the rest of my day off at home with Jen and Olivia. We're still trying to figure out the various squeaks, snorts, and cries of her ever increasing vocabulary (the wet flarp sounds she makes from the other end we've got down.)

Though we're definitely lacking in sleep as Olivia currently likes being active after 2am, we wouldn't trade our lil' monster for anything. No matter how tired we are, there's nothing sweeter than than looking into our daughter's eyes & see her smile.

Now, I know you parents out there are thinking, "that's not a smile, they don't smile intentionally when they're that young." I beg to differ, especially when I play the "Towel Game" with her. That's definitely a grin.

Professional Update

Here's kind of a cool thing. Last month I submitted a letter of intent applying for a position on the Board of Directors for the Professional Ropes Course Association (the professional organization that sets construction and training standards for the ropes course industry.) I struggled with sending it for a while, thinking, "I can't apply! I'm just Dave from Timber-lee, I don't have a chance." Well, I finally decided that the worst they could say was "no," so I sent in my stuff.

Well, a couple weeks ago I found out that I was selected amongst other highly qualified applicants for the position. I am now a voting member of the board, serving as the "Organizational Representative."

The first week

Olivia's home with us now. The fact that she's unbeliveably cute makes it a little easier when rocking her to sleep at 2:30am. We are learning to communicate - she makes this little "O" with her mouth & rolls her tongue when she's hungry.

She's here!

That's right, sports fans. Olivia Lila Prowitz arrived at 10:38am Monday April 2nd. She is 8 pounds, 7 ounces, 20" long...and SUPER CUTE! It's unreal (and humbling) to think that I have a daughter, that I get to experience life with this precious gift from God.

Both Jen and Olivia are doing well. Jen had Olivia via C-section (Olivia was breach and the doc thought it best), so we're going to be staying at the hospital for at least another 24-36 hours.

I've taken a lot of pictures, but I won't be able to post them until I get back home. Keep checking back...

2:28am - lt's time!

Good morning! It's almost 5am as I write this on my PalmPilot here at the hospital. We're trying to catch some z's before Olivia makes her arrival. More later...

Yet another hard day at work

Yup, Wednesday was a long day. Ya gotta love it when your job requires you to lead a group of teens on a caving trip. We're working with an area high school in developing their adventure education program. We met the group in western Wisconsin, then led them for a couple hours through Pop's Cave, a well-known cave in Richland Center that we use for our summer programs.

Shutdown Day

It is obvious that people would find life extremely difficult without computers, maybe even impossible. If they disappeared for just one day, would we be able to cope?

Be a part of one of the biggest global experiments ever to take place on the internet. The idea behind the experiment is to find out how many people can go without a computer for one whole day, and what will happen if we all participate!

Shutdown your computer on this day and find out! Can you survive for 24 hours without your computer?

For more information, visit www.shutdownday.org.

The childproofing has begun

Yup, Jen & I went a little crazy yesterday at Wal-Mart. Hopefully nobody got us this as a shower gift. We bought an oven door latch. It's a little like trying to open a bottle of aspirin with a childproof cap on it. Turn cap to align arrows, apply 4.8 pounds of pressure in an upward direction while humming "Yankee Doodle Dandy" in the key of C. And that's just the beginning. There's drawer guards, doorknob guards, toilet seat clips, etc. I only hope I can remember how everything opens.

Death sucks!

My uncle Roger died this weekend.

I've struggled with what to write ever since my mom called me with the news. Roger's children know about & visit my website. I find myself weeping when I think about our family's loss, but I can't imagine what it'd be like to lose a father.

As I think about Roger's passing, there's nothing "fair" about it. He's gone. His loss is painful and it will take a long time to heal. As I process this experience, I find my thoughts returning to two key elements.

(1) Hope. Roger's with Jesus now. No more pain. As Christ-followers, we have HOPE! "Where, O death is your victory? Where, O death is your sting?" Jesus conquered death on the cross for us, that we could know eternal life through Him. The apostle Paul refers to our earthly body as a tent, a temporary dwelling. This isn't it for us!

(2) Hate. Visiting Roger only 48 hours before he died, I was surprised at how much he'd deteriorated in the two weeks since I'd seen him last. Ravaged is the only word I can think of to describe it. To me, the cancer was a graphic representation of the sheer hatred Satan has for mankind, made in God's image.

I'm not going to pretend there's any easy answers. Why didn't they catch it sooner? Why didn't the treatments work? Why did God allow this to happen? I don't know. Because of Adam's sin, sickness & death entered the picture. Someday we're all going to die. For me, it could have been 8 years ago when I was diagnosed with malignant lymphoma, but evidently God has more for me to do here on earth before I get to finish my race & join Roger, Grandpa Berg, and all the others who have gone before me.

But until then, the God of all comfort promises to hide us under the shadow of His wings.

We'll miss you, Roger!

It's here!

It's 12:15am and I just got out of all my extreme weather gear. Now, what were you doing outside in a blizzard at such a late hour you might ask...

Well, this afternoon while belaying at the climbing tower, I got the idea to try climbing in a blizzard at 11pm, using headlamps for light. Never tried climbing in a blizzard before...

Got out to the tower a little before 11pm to wait for the other adventuresome folks who were going to join me. As I waited, I noticed a really faint flash. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. After all, I was standing in a field with 40mph wind gusts blowing sleet into my eyes. A few minutes later there was another bright flash, as bright as a camera flash followed by the unmistakable rumble of thunder. That officially shut down our adventure for the evening.

Oh well, maybe next time!

The blizzard is a comin'

That's right, campers. The strongest snow storm in as long as I can remember is arriving today. We already got the first 4 inches last night in what may end up being over 20 inches by Monday.

Nice. You know it's serious when the National Weather Service says things like, "If you leave the safety of indoors, you are putting your life at risk."

The fun part will be tonight, all snug & warm indoors at 2am, when my fire pager goes off for someone in a ditch who thought they could handle the roads.

Hello, this is Dave...

Can you believe it? I'm sitting right now in the conference room here in Timber-lee's office building, taking last minute calls from parents taking advantage of our "Early Bird" registration special for this year's summer camp. I feel like one of those Time-Life operators with my little headset on. Having the imagination I've been blessed with, I've had a number of fantasy calls go through my mind...

"Registration, this is Dave. CONGRATULATIONS!! You're the 58th caller today. You've won a 60" plasma screen TV!"

"Registration, this is Dave. Today is your lucky day! For the next 15 minutes, I'm registering campers two for the price of one!"

Uh, yeah. I'd probably get fired.

"Registration, this is Dave..."

I Love My Job

Last night I went for a late night hike around Timber-lee with a couple friends. After almost 3 miles, we found ourselves standing on the ice on Peters Lake, looking at deer tracks with the help of our headlamps. As we stood under the stars, listening to owls hooting in the distance, I was struck by the fact that...we were at work! For people who love the outdoors, camp ministry is the best! I think it's our love of the camp environment that gives us the ability to face the trying times that come our way from time to time. The morning "commute" starts by coming face to face with a couple wild turkeys outside my front door. A stressful day in the office can be followed by a sunset kayak trip.

I think it's a riot that all this started when I was "pressured" to go backpacking in the White Mountains, NH while I was in Bible school. Thanks, Ryan, for your persistence.

The Elim Mountain Club rocks!

Olivia Leaped!

During church this morning, we were singing "Your Grace is Enough" & everyone was really worshiping. Jen leaned over and whispered that Olivia was moving around quite a bit. At first we thought it was because of the volume of the music.

I started to tear up, though, when I thought of the account in Luke chapter 1, when an angel told Zechariah (v.15) that his son John (the Baptist) would "be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth." Later in verse 41, when Elizabeth visits Mary, "at the sound of Mary's voice, Elizabeth's child leaped within her."

Regardless of the reason for Olivia's movement, it's my prayer that she would enjoy a relationship with her Heavenly Father to its fullest, learn the contentment found only by residing in His grace, and never be ashamed to "leap" in His presence.

What a night!

As I'm thinking of the title I just wrote, I realize it could set a negative tone. To the contrary, it's been a good night, finished with a 1 1/2 mile run under an incredibly bright full moon & a skyful of stars. Add to that the fact that it's January, I'm running at 11:30pm and it's a balmy 36 degrees...just a beautiful night to be outside. As I was finishing the last quarter mile, I slowed down a bit to watch the wispy cirrus clouds drift overhead, bright silver in color as they're back lit by the moon.

What a night!

"But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can't see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. So nobody has a good excuse." Romans 1:20 The Message