Sheep Are What?

Stupid.

Very stupid.

For those of you that don't know, I was, a few years ago, a junior high sponsor at my church's youth group. What we call "sponsor" you might know as "counselor" or something of that nature. I worked with all of the kids but junior high was my focus. I was doing it for the wrong reasons (like just to stay with the familiar fun of youth group) but that's another entry.

Pastor Gregg has asked me if I would consider returning.

I gave it a trial run last Wednesday and had a great time. Not because I was again in the company of free-spirited youth and all that accompanies them, but because I have things to offer them. I've had experiences between the last time and now that have reshaped who I am. No, that's not right. They removed the layers of the world that have caked on through the years to reveal parts of the man underneath. The man that God created in His image. Adam. Me.

Two nights down and I love these kids already. This is not to say that the road ahead will be easy or that demonstrating God's love to them will be a scoop of ice cream (piece of cake is too cliche for me). Dark and difficult times lie ahead. I know this. It's part of life. But I'd like to, Lord willing, be there with and for these kids during those times in both my life and their own. The amazing thing is that not only can they learn from me, but I from them.

Take tonight for instance.

Tonight's lesson was on the analogy of Jesus being the shephard and us being the sheep. Sheep are, as we learned this evening (though I knew already), stupid. They will eat themselves into lostness. Meaning they will focus on nothing but the grass in front of them until they've eaten themselves away from the flock without a clue as to how they got there. One of the people on the DVD we watched said a sheep once rean into her car. Not that it was standing in the road and she hit it. She had stopped at this point and the sheep just ran right into it.

We began, in small group, discussing the analogy and how it applies. How we as humans, with our finite understanding and severely limited comprehension, are represented by the sheep. We'll indulge ourselves into lostness.

That's why we need a shephard.

That's where Jesus comes in. He's the shephard caring about the entire flock's wellbeing. And not just as a whole but as individual sheep. He provides for our needs all day long.

One of the kids conveyed that he sometimes feels abandoned. Where is God in all this if my prayers aren't answererd? How can I believe in an invisible God when He hasn't helped me out yet? These are all good questions and to use the lesson (both to give the conversation some focus and because it applied), I refered to the shephard.

Sometimes, when the sheep are extra stubborn, the shephard will literally hit them with his staff. WHACK! I'm not a sheep but I'm sure that hurts. But if they didn't get that whack; if they didn't receive that pain, they may have continued on with what they were doing, resulting in a greater pain or perhaps even death. So there's pain. But sometimes it's God pointing us in the direction of safety. Because we were too stupid to see the big picture. All we see is the grass in front of us.

We are the sheep and He is the shephard.

We are stupid and by His infinite wisdom are we lead.

That is if we choose to follow it. Though we are "stupid" and our knowledge is incredibly limited, we are still able to make a choice. Do we go out on our own into lostness and become our own guide? Or do we follow the shephard and trust His direction?

After just a few moments on the evening's scheduled topic, the kids asked some unexpectedly deep questions.

What happens when you die?
Is God the same always or does He change?
What happens when the world ends?
Why did Jesus die for our sin?

It was amazing to go from last week's fairly quiet small group to this week's big discussion. We were supposed to stay on subject (the sheep analogy) but these questions could not go unanswered. So, James (the other sponsor with me) and I answered as many and as best as we could with our limited sheep's knowledge.

They are such great kids. They asked wonderful questions and gave answers I wouldn't expect from someone in junior high (that doesn't even go to church). They are seeking and learning. They're growing and discovering. They're yearning for the truth; for something solid to put their faith into. This world is far too fickle for that. And they know it.

I'm looking forward to my time with these kids.

Lift Me Up

I am going absolutely crazy
But there's no one here to listen
Save the two co-inhabitants in the next room

They, being the source of bitter closing
Would not be a well chosen place
To go and attempt to reopen

She is busy with distractions
Keeping her from hearing my weakened voice
And so I cannot turn in that direction

A friend perhaps or brother
But they two are the seeming source
Of the lock upon my door

I begin to look within
For answers, solutions, comfort
Anything to take me away

And it's there that I find You
It's there that You meet me
In the darkened spaces inside

And You know exactly what I need
To continue walking upright
Above the bitter this night has carried

And You are all I need
To get me through this
Time of difficult travel

Forgive my reliance on fickle and temporary
Rather than Your constant and everlasting
Never failing to provide the necessary

Lift me up

Stowe, VT...Day 1

Some things you should know before you begin:

Besides that this is really long. My grandparents have a time-share in Stowe, Vermont. This year, they were only able to use it through Monday and had to come home Tuesday morning. Upon asking if any of our family would like to use it, I jumped at the chance and immediately called Joe and informed him of the opportunity. We had been wanting a vacation for a little while. And we got it, despite an unsure schedule issue with Joe's time at work.

This may not be as juicy as some entries you've come to enjoy but I will try and avoid the tedious play-by-play (though it will be difficult as this is simply a conveyance of the events of the day) and make it at least somewhat interesting.

This is the account of the first day.


The morning started fairly uneventfully aside from my waking up a half hour late. If it weren't for my mom telling me the time as I lay in bed, I probably wouldn't have even gotten up then. So thanks, mom.

I ran around like crazy putting things in the car. This goes in the trunk, that can go in the backseat, why am I even taking this? My car was already getting full and I hadn't picked up Joe yet. More stuff.

Then it was time for the bikes.

We had spent a good three hours gettingn the Thule racks on my car on Sunday evening. Our mountain bikes, and Joe's road bike, were to accompany us on the trip up to Stowe. Their seats would be a little less comfortable than ours but for a bike I think there is no better place than being out in the 70 mile per hour wind on top of the car. It's exhilerating.

Wait a second...wait, my bike won't fit on here. I'll try the other one. Oh shoot, it won't fit on this one either.

So despite the several hours of bolting, clamping, fastening, tightening and fitting we had done two nights previous, this Pirhana (the bike model) was not going to make it. I had to call Joe and give him the bad news.

Rather than give you a play-by-play, I'll just say that, despite there being an alternative bike rack solution, the decision was made to leave the bikes at home. This would be a hiking week. The heart of man has many plans but the Lord's will prevails. And so it was to be.

Somehow, perhaps due to some time vortex that opened up, we made it through Springfield (Massachusetts) in twenty minutes. It normally takes about forty. So...we were quite surprised (not that we were complaining). It ended up working quite well because the rest of the drive took much longer than we had expected.

We played phone/voicemail tag with my father all morning who had been up with my grandparents for the weekend. But of course we're in Vermont, so service isn't guaranteed anywhere. We ended up pulling off on the exit we last knew their location to be (exit 1 off of 89N). Quechee. Dad had said they were going to check out the Quechee State Park, home of a massive gorge. We had passed an Antique Mall (yeah, really...it's Vermont) before passing the entrance to the park. On the lookout for a white Chrysler minivan, we turned around to head back. Knowing my grandfather, we checked out the Antique place first.

And sure enough, there they were trying various Cabot cheeses, infused maple syrups and meandering around the store to see what it had to offer. The cheese were quite good. The syrups, while interesting, were far from that like-no-other taste of pure maple syrup.

Being that my dad was unaware that our bikes had stayed home and that the racks were still on the car, we decided to have a little fun. While still in the store, a small but opportunistic conversation about the safety of our bikes came up. Joe and I played along. Then we got outside.

"Your bikes are gone," my dad said.
"Already? We just got here," I replied.

My dad's not stupid.

"Alright, where'd you put the bikes?" he asked.

I had to confess that we had left them at home, which he was surprised about until I further explained that they just don't fit right. Joe came out of the store after asking for directions to the Harpoon Brewerey.

"Oh my gosh! Our bikes are gone!!"

But of course my dad already knew. Anyway, trying to avoid another play-by-play again, we exchanged hugs, got necessary directions, suggestions on what to do while we were at the time-share (like not leaving the windows open and food on the table because squirrels will get in...an isolated incident that happened to one place) and so on. After departing, we headed to the Harpoon Brewery.

For that, however, we had to backtrack two exits.

Now, in Connecticut that's fine. That would take all of five minutes. But in Vermont, where there can be over ten miles between exits, it takes a while longer. Vermont is absolutely beautiful but that's one thing I don't like. Highway driving here is so tedious and drawn out. If it weren't, that would make Vermont more populated and I don't think I'd like that. But still...I'm just used to the highways in Connecticut where even in rural areas, it's a quick drive. Whatever.

There were no tours being done when we got there but we did happen upon a specialty beer that we could only get there at the brewery. It's called "Framboise" which means "raspberries" in French. That's no coincidence. It's a raspberry lambic which we have yet to try (I'm writing this on Thursday morning). But wow are we looking forward to it. We would have already if it weren't for the other beers we've picked up here and there and the wines we brought up. No, we're not getting drunk. We just enjoy the drinks. There's flavor in there, ya know.

Upon getting off the highway and nearly entering Stowe, we stopped in at a local winery. "Grand View". I will sum it up by saying that while we were polite and respectful in the tasting room, this is what were both thinking on our way out and really wanted to say:

"Your wines are dull, and you are dull. Good day, sir!"

Next door was the Cold Hollow Cider Mill where we ate fifty cent apple cider donuts (veeeery good) and tried to acquire unpasteurized apple cider. It tastes much better than the regulr pasteurized you can find at any store. And apparently here, it comes with a form we have to sign. Why, you ask? Because when you pasteurize something, you're taking out all of the bacteria, worms, parasites and other things that are potentially unhealthy for you. Whereas unpasteurized still contains those things. But unfortunately the owner/manager could not be found and we were forced to concede defeat (at least for the time being) to health.

Next stop was the Cabot Annex (as opposed to the main Cabot Creamery) where we purchased some cheeses and a bottle of apple cider wine. We skipped Ben & Jerry's (right down the road), though I imagine we'll be in there before the trip is over. They are of course among my favorite ice creams (the others being Edy's, Hagen Dazs, Godiva, and Brigham's). I have expensive ice cream tastes.

We checked in at the Trapp Family Lodge and discovered that it is, according to some survey done, the 376th hotel to stay at in the world (out of the top 500). That's fairly impressive. But of course we weren't staying in the hotel, we were staying in the "guest houses" down below. It's on the side of a mountain and rather beautiful to see, and to look out from at the opposing mountain. I'll get some photographs up here at some point. Perhaps not for years but they'll get here.

Dinner was eaten at "The Shed" where we encountered perhaps the most "goal-oriented" owner/manager we have ever met. That's how Rachel, our waitress, put it. Apparently no one's a big fan of her but she gets things done. Our conversation with Rachel was pleasant and enjoyable. I would say "conversations" since she's back and forth and it could be one subject now and another later but really it's just one big one with pauses in between. We told her we'd be back again (Thursday or Friday because that's when she'll be working next). It wasn't just for her though, the food was great and they brew their own beer. Their porter is delicious as is their "Barnyard Brew"...or is it Farmyard? Well, whatever the agriculturally derived name, it's good.

After coming back, we ate more (we're eating way too much). Cheeses, humus we bought at Shaws earlier, crackers, chips and a pumpkin/maple cream cheese roll/pastry thing I purchased at the cider mill earlier. All good but way too much.

Too much food is a theme developing over our time here. You'll see as more of these entries come.

Falling asleep with my laptop propped up on my legs, I decided to go to sleep. Sorry to those of you who were talking to me at the time. I didn't mean to neglect you.

Anyway...good first day. Let's see if the others can follow.