It has been the Board of Youth’s privilege for a second year to sponsor youth from OSLC to attend summer camp at Shepherd’s Hill at the Crossroads. This program is made possible by the number of hours volunteers put in at the Hostfest and donations by individuals and boards of the congregation. Thank you to all who give to this great program.

Below is the list of who is attending camp (first initial and last names only for privacy reasons). Full list is posted in the church fellowship hall.

KINDER CAMP (6/12-6/13)
G VOTH

DISCOVERY CAMP (6/12-6/14)
T BENNETT
C KNITTEL
M KNITTEL
S POTTS
E THIELE
K THIELE
La VOTH
Li VOTH

BEGINNER HORSE CAMP I (6/12-6/17)
M KLEBE

CREATION CAMP (6/19-6/24)
H ERIE
T JOHNSON
T POTTS
D STARTZ

SADDLE CLUB HORSE CAMP (6/26-7/01)
R MELCHERT
N TOHM
G VOTH

GUITAR CAMP (6/26-7/01)
T OLSON

FAMILY HORSE CAMP/WAGON (7/06-7/09)
DAHLY FAMILY

GRANDPARENT/GRANDCHILD CAMP (7/10-7/13)
L HAUGEN
S HAUGEN
M A FITCHNER
A HAUGEN
K HAUGEN

ADVANCE HORSE CAMP (7/10-7/15)
M DETLAFF

CHRISTIAN ARTIST CAMP (7/10-7/15)
K KOETTER
M TOHM

KIDS CAMP (7/17-7/21)
A HAYHURST
J LAIB
G VOTH
L VOTH

ENCOUNTER CAMP (7/24-7/29)
S HARBAUGH
T POTTS
T HANCE

LEADERSHIP QUEST (7/31-8/06)
A COYLE
M DETLAFF
A ZOLONDEK

WAKOPA CANOE TRAIL ADVENTURE (7/31-8/06)
J JOHNSON
T JOHNSON
J LAIB

CHRISTIAN ARTIST CAMP (8/07-8/12)
J LAIB

If you have any questions, please contact Pastor Dan.  And don’t forget to sign up to help at Hostfest this September 28 to October 1 so that we can offer these scholarships again next summer!

so yesterday afternoon, i see a twitter feed come in from the david crowder band. they are one of my favorite christian music groups and when i saw their feed, sadness hit. they are announcing their final album and tour i am checking to see how close they come to minot (read – not very) to go see their final concert / worship event and would be curious if anyone else would like to join crystal and i for a road trip to billings or minneapolis?

i think we are blessed here in minot to have two great christian radio stations – klove and kheart – that allow good positive music Christian music into our homes, cars, and offices. for me i have found that when i am listening to music that focuses on God and his love for us in Jesus, i am more focused on him. it helps my attitude be more positive and less likely to get angry at other drivers or my children.

i really think it is one of those “garbage in, garbage out” sort of things. its not that other music is garbage but that their message can place thoughts in my head or encourage activities that are not in line with the Christian faith. when those messages are going in, they also start flowing out. Jesus said that it was not what went into a person that made him unclean, but what came out of him that detestable in the eyes of God. if i put in ideas about drinking and womanizing and lying or cheating or fill in the blank then those ideas take seed in me and start to flow out – or as eugene peterson puts it in The Message translation, they “vomit” out in my life.

but if i am filling my ears with songs of praise as Paul encourages in Ephesians 5:19 then those sorts of godly things will come flowing out in my words and actions as well. it’s hard to become angry when hearing about God setting aside his anger towards sin by sending Jesus for us. it’s hard to have a wandering eye when you hear songs about being careful what your eye sees. by putting good things in through the media we consume (not just music, but TV, movies, internet) it is more likely that good things will come out of us.

i need to run, but as i leave, i am going to leave this video from Casting Crowns as a reminder about garbage in, garbage out and hope that you will consider what you are putting in to your heart through music, TV, movies, internet and worship. as for the david crowder band, they have given us great stuff over the last 11 years and i pray that God will continue to use the gifts he has given them for his glory.

peace out man!

so its a cloudy morning after mother’s day. listening to Gavin singing with the David Crowder*Band  - words not matching up which makes it really interesting

so what’s been on my minds lately? i’ve been wonder how to best pass on faith from generation to generation.  this spring i had a discovery sunday called intentional that had positive response from those who attended but we were small in number. part of my wrestling comes from a study of deuteronomy 6 verses 1 to 9. God thru moses is laying out the passing on of God’s Word from generation to generation which is to be done by parents and grandparents. i think the whole community had a piece to play in the whole thing but it really comes down to parents sharing the Word with their children and living it in their own lives.

long about the 16th century the church took over this role of passing on faith with the creation of sunday school. parents were off the hook for faith formation in their children. but study after study says that parents are the ones who have the greatest influence on the faith formation of their children, not the church community.

thinking back on my own life, it was my parents that had a huge influence on my faith formation. we simply did not miss church or sunday school during the school year. my brother and i learned that it was important because it was important for my parents. i can remember having devotions at home. actually, my memory of that is much stronger than reality. my memory says that we had devotions around the evening meal most every night growing up – my mom tells me it was much less frequent and only for a short period of time. this to me is a huge lesson for all parents – you don’t have to have major devotions that last for 30 minutes every night every year to have a major impact on your children. just doing the best you can to have devotions with your children, even if its just 5 minutes a few times a week or month will influence your children. added to that, if you make your faith life a priority and let your children see it, it will be a priority for them. and its never too late to start!

so my encouragement to you is live your faith in your children’s eyes. it will make a difference. spend time reading even just a couple of verses with them whenever you can. yes i would love for you to do it every night, but even in our home we don’t accomplish that. you can’t do everything      but i get you can do a bit more.    so try to read a bible verse each week with them, repeating it several times a week if you would like. ask them about their high and low for the day – you will learn a lot about your child this way. and close with pray with them, as simply as the “now i lay me down to sleep…” or use the Lord’s Prayer with them. 5 minutes, you have made an impression of faith on them that will carry with them into the future.

moms and dads are the key to passing on faith. God designed it this way and placed it in His Word to remind parents and grandparents of their special God-given role of sharing His Word with the next generation.  its not difficult and the eternal benefit is so great.   may you and your family be blessed in this gift of faith formation to His glory by the power of His Spirit!

PD