alas, and I am too well behaved. lol.

Sadness that I have to work today and tomorrow.. I really wish I could just call in and tell them I can’t come in…. just because I really don’t want to work at the nursing home any more. But alas, I must be responsible, and follow through with the fact that I AM on the schedule for those days, and hence I’m responsible to show up. For one day it makes me halfway wish that I wasn’t such a good responsible Christian, so that I could just decide to call in and pretend to be sick and not have to go. Because I am really tired of going to the nursing home at all. I love helping people, and what I DO isn’t all that bad… but having to go to work itself, especially when I’d rather be at camp today, and not missing half a week of training…. (especially since at camp, a week means a lot… I am sort of wondering if when I get back to camp on Sunday, everyone else will have developed their friendships and gotten to know each other… and I’m going to be on the outside….again. I hope that doesn’t happen, but it just might, and it’s going to be sad if it does. Already a couple of people in my "Unit", that I met only Tuesday... I don't think they understand me... like, I was trying to discuss the fact that they likely DID have butter in the middle ages, and hence, butter not existing back then was an erroneous reason for us not to get it with our dinner- and they were perceiving wrongly that I was complaining about not getting it... when really, I was talking about the validity of the reason... *sigh* I was trying to just have fun and discuss something, and the one girl says, "Well, we're not getting butter anyway, so we can just deal with it." and it made me feel bad... because I realized that she thought I was upset about getting no butter.... and I wasn't. And... so now I am betting that I made a bad impression with that girl, because she's apparently not the kind of person who can debate or discuss random little things like that, lol... and *sigh*, now I'm semi-annoyed with myself for seeming to be incapable of acting like everybody else, no matter when or where I am. I'm just the odd duck, a lot of the time.

I'm also slightly concerned that I will end up feeling distanced from others by being the nurse's assistant rather than on the program staff, or the counseling staff... being in my own little group of two, Teresa and I... and being out of the "group" of people who become best friends and such... I don't know. I'm probably worrying too much, and it's probably not going to happen. But I really don't want to feel left out this summer... even though, feeling happy and accepted and liked isn't the POINT of going to camp. It's not the purpose. I need to remind myself of that. Those things may be products..... but the POINT, is to serve God, and to what's right. I need to keep in mind my reason for being at camp this summer.

I want to make a difference this summer in someone’s life. Pray that God will break me, shape me, and mold me more into His image this summer, and teach me to follow Him more closely every day.

Yeah. Well, that should be the end of my chattering for now. I am going to attempt to update my blog regularly... I hope I succeed in updating it frequently.

and hey- if anyone wants to send me mail at camp, that could be fun.. I know that my family is highly unlikely to do so since I will be 15 minutes from home... but still... I ENJOY getting mail from people.
My address at camp will be:

Danette Thompson
c/o Camp Chetek
PO Box 26
Chetek,WI 54728

My email is the same as ever: danette.thompson@gmail.com
I will be delighted to hear from everybody!

~Danete

Off to Camp for the summer....

Hey all.. I have new summer plans!

During the last few weeks, God was really talking to me about my summer... I was feeling like I needed a change- like working at the nursing home for the rest of the summer just wasn't what God had in store for me- like that was too...simple. lol. Or something like that. Anyways... I was thinking about Camp Chetek a lot.. and then last Sunday a staff guy from camp came and preached for our church because Pastor King wasn't able to be there... and he talked about the woman who poured out precious ointment on Jesus head, out of her alabaster jar... and he said something that stuck out to me.. "This ointment cost, as it says elsewhere in scripture, the equivalent of a year's worth of wages. How hard would it be for you or I to give up a year's worth of wages for Jesus?" At the time, my mind argued with that. "It wouldn't be hard," I thought. "If Jesus wanted me to give up a year's worth of money to serve Him- I could do it."
Through the beginning of the week.. I began to think more and more about Camp Chetek... and thought of the reasons WHY I had been saying no to the idea of working there... "I don't agree with their stance on contemporary music"... I thought... (and it's true, I don't...) and "They shouldn't use the KJV for everything.. it's not understandable to today's little kids"... (which is still fairly true,) but these weren't the real heart of my reasons.
One of my main reasons was money. Camp Chetek doesn't pay anything, and so working there I wouldn't make any money during the summer. This really was brought to mind after that message- the idea that... (and I took this from the sermon in a way that was completely not its intended direction, but true just the same.) If the widow could sacrifice a year's worth of wages just to pour ointment upon Jesus head... how much more could I give up a summer's worth of money- only two months, really- in order to serve God in a volunteer position at camp?
My other principle issue had to do with submitting to authority- I didn't like some of the positions Camp Chetek takes on a couple of issues... but as I thought about it, I came to realize- it's all a matter of me submitting to authority. I didn't have to start agreeing with the camp- I just had to recognize that the issues I disagreed on are in fact "freedom" issues, and I have been opposing them because they are a stance that denies the freedom we have to make our own decisions concerning those issues, but that IS a choice- and it's camp taking its freedom to make decisions about them. Yes, I disagree with some of the choices, and the direction they take the issues themselves... but it's within camp's freedom to choose to use the KJV for their bible-camp teachings, and memorization... and it's their freedom to not use contemporary music at all- I can think these things are fine.. but it falls into Romans 14- if those things could make someone stumble, it's better to avoid them if those people are involved, rather than cause stumbling... and I realized that it's what camp is doing- using KJV, it's neutral, and the same with the music- it's sometimes better to be mild and conservative compared to some people, in order that you might not offend others.
I had to decide that I am willing to submit to the rules of the camp- regardless of what I believe. And I did. And I am so excited now about camp- and about what God may do with me this summer. Pray for me that I will let Him lead me and that I will choose to do His will day by day.
I will be working as the nurse's assistant this summer at camp, and I am really excited about it. If you want to know more about what I'm doing this summer, feel free to email me at danette.thompson@gmail.com and ask. :)

In God's grace...
~Danette

Summer plans..

I have summer plans!

I'm going to be a nursing assistant at Camp Chetek this summer. :) I am excited.

It starts in two weeks.. well.. it'd be earlier, except I have a work schedule that won't be over til then.

me is excited!


~Danette

Back and Forth

Sometimes my mind feels like it's playing tug of war... first, I start doing my devotions regularly, and feel encouraged, and am doing well... and then the rope tugs the other way, and I begin to miss getting them done... and I have to tug the rope back, and get back on track, before I fall in the mud in the middle, and lose determination and have to climb out of the muddy pit to start over again. Today is one of those days when I'm tugging the rope back, because I didn't get them done this morning, so I am going to make sure I read my devotions while I have one of my breaks from work today. Romans 6 and Esther 4, today. A friend and I have been discussing our devotions together, and that's what we're looking at today... I love Romans. :)


I am both looking forward to the weekend, and dreading it at the same time. No, I don't work Saturday or Sunday... but Sunday, I take on a completely new adventure: Church pianist. Dawn is suspecting she may be gone from church Sunday, because her baby is soon to be due- and Lori is going to be gone as well, so here I am- the only remaining piano-playing individual, (Well, Scott plays the piano, but I don't think we want him doing accompaniment- it'd be a little difficult to sing with,) who shall be at church... so, yay me. lol. Kind of. I like it when people ask me to do things- I don't appreciate it when they just assume I will, and then sign me up for them- and I don't like being left out of the loop, and everything, either... but being asked to do something that I'm good at, is nice.
Next thing I'd like... would be for someone OUTSIDE of my family to actually want ME to sing with them for special music.. I mean- our church has a ladies' group, and there are more ladies in it now than there have been before- so I know it's not just a super-static group... but nobody asks me to sing... and I have to say, I don't find much to be special, of hearing me sing with Brita, every time we have special music, or whatever. It's just.. well.. family. Maybe it's special to some church people, but to me, it's plain and ordinary.
I must get going, so I can be ready for work, and get there on time, (it starts at 2) and hopefully make it to my grandmother's house beforehand, because she still has my nametag in her garage, waiting for me to come pick it up. lol!

I promise to write some more in-depth musings of a creative nature later...

~Danette

p.s. I suppose I could just share the poem I had fun writing... lol. It's not finished yet- I think I need to double or triple its length to get the meaning into it that I intend.. but here it is:

Bubbles. :)

Floating through the air
without a care
in the world.
Seeming to be so free,
unhindered by worry
and stress.
Rainbow colored iridescence
breath of air
captured
within a film of soap
Floating through the air
thoughtless,
into the soft cool breeze
of the night.

:)

snakey snakey!

The other day, Brita found a northern redbellied snake in the yard... Here are the pictures.

Creativity

Hmm. One of these days I shall write another story. A friend named John thinks I should write a sequel to my Splook story... Hmm.. but what to write next about him?

Splook and the Cinnamon Flies

any ideas??

Cookie Monster Eats a Computer...

http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2007/05/the_muppets_coo.html

this is cool. lol. a very old clip of the original cookie monster... eating something rather different than a cookie. lol ;)

Dandelions

Once again, I write a post of reflection- a post that my lovely friends Amy and Kimmy will love. :)

This time my subject for comparisons is the common, ordinary, everyday dandelion.


Dandelions are like Christians are supposed to be... I was staring at a dandelion the other day, and it just hit me... they are a very good example of how we should live our lives.

Dandelions are bright, and resemble the sun when they are vibrant and alive- their bright yellow heads mimic the immense and powerful sun above, as they bask in it and grow in it. They grow almost anywhere, bringing their lovely yellow cheer to lawns, ditches, fields, parks, flowerbeds, gardens... just about anywhere with dirt, dandelions can grow. Some people don't like dandelions. They call them weeds, and say they want them to go away, and often spray them with weed killer, to rid their yards of the flowers. Dandelions mature into little white puffballs of seeds, which are carried off by the wind to new spots of ground and planted there to grow more dandelions. The spent dandelions then look unattractive... but they fulfilled their purpose, to spread their seeds, to grow more lovely dandelion flowers, and continue onward.
A weed is something that isn't appreciated where it's growing, or that is growing somewhere you don't want it, or something you just don't like. Sometimes people define particular plants as always being weeds- and they usually put dandelions and thistles in this category.

Dandelions make me think of life. Like dandelions bask in and grow in the sun, and even resemble it to some extent... we are to bask and grow in the SON, who is our Lord, and show His character and being to the world.
Like dandelions, we are to be bright and alive in the midst of a dark and lost world. We are to spread the seeds of God's Word- which He uses to bring more people to Himself, taking our seeds and planting them in people's hearts.
Like dandelions, we as Christians are often disliked or despised- those who do not know our God often want us to go away, and some will try most anything to rid themselves of these people called Christians, who spread their Hope to others, grow all over the place, show others their Christ, and help to increase the flock of God's sheep. ;)
Think about dandelions a new way next time you look at one- Let the brilliant yellow of the dandelion remind you to be a bright beacon of joy within our dark and hard world- show people the bright light of the joy, love, peace, and hope that comes from our wonderful God. And maybe next time you see a dandelion, you can thank God for its being there to remind you to shine brilliantly for God.

Matthew 5:13-16
"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

Spring...

I shall soon be writing a post about dandelions, because...well.. I want to... In the meantime, here are 65 new pictures of nature stuff on my photobucket. lol :)

My Photobucket site...

:) There you go.. :)


~Danette