08.23.06

Today’s devotional was written by Dr. Walker Moore who is president of AweStar Ministries in Tulsa, P. O. Box 470265, Tulsa 74147. You may contact Walker at walker@awestar.org or 800.293.7827. Visit their website at www.awestar.org.

God’s Word- He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. - Revelation 21:7.

Reflection- Family experts say there is a common denominator among happy families - they all go camping. I wanted to be a good father so, I took my wife and teenage sons camping. If the Lord tarries another thousand years, I will never do it again.

We started our little outing in Minnesota and finished up at the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. This was the time for our family to spend alone with one another and Mother Nature. It did not take long for us to become the laughing stock of the campground. Their tents had patches; ours had price tags. They had the Wilderness Experts badge from the Boy Scouts; we were holding the instructions and reading them aloud. They had backpacks that were named after mountain ranges; ours were named after landfills. Who would have ever thought that in the middle of the summer it would get near freezing in Minnesota? Our cheap $5 sleeping bags did absolutely nothing to protect us from the elements. There we were, four bodies huddled together, shivering. We were trying to conserve heat. We were not hard to find, just look for the shaky tent. We did not want anymore of this Minnesota "fun", so, we headed south.

But, camping in the woods at the Lake of the Ozarks was no picnic either. Now we were camping in the midst of a heat wave and our tents had become a portable sauna. My family would lay there at night gasping for air while the sweat poured. (At least, our new sleeping bags made great sponges.) When it finally cooled off in the middle of the night, our sleep was interrupted by the loud serenading of locusts. Whoever said the country was quiet has never spent the night in it.

Our family did survive and we learned that one camping experience would last us a lifetime. So for you parents who have not yet taken your family on the camping adventure, let me give you some survivor tips. 

1) Lint from your navel makes a handy fire starter. (Warning: Remove lint from navel before applying the match.) 

2) When camping, always wear a long-sleeved shirt. It gives you something to wipe your nose on. 

3) A two-man pup tent does not include two men nor a pup.

 4) The sight of a bald eagle has thrilled campers for years. The sight of a bald man however, does absolutely nothing for the eagle. 

5) The guitar of the noisy teenager next to your campsite makes excellent kindling for your campfire.

The experts are right: camping does make a family happy. My family will be happy as long as we never do it again.

Insight: Difficult experiences can be used to draw your family closer together.

Prayer: Dear Father, I know that there are going to be difficult days in our family. The enemy wants to divide and conquer. But, as our Great Shepherd please draw our family close around You. During these seemingly impossible days, unite our hearts and spirits with the hope that is found only in You. Amen.