Old New Pics

One of the things I really enjoy doing is taking pictures and then modify them in Paint Shop Pro. I found a spot not too far from here that is simply beautiful this time of year, even though every things tends to be dark and gray right now. There are no leaves on the trees and the grass is plain brown and ugly. But that just added to the beauty of this spot. The water looks black and the trees look very eerie, almost Gothic. Because it was already dark, I decided to print the pictures in Black and White. One of the pictures I even made into an antique looking photo. To me it looks like a scene from an old horror vampire movie with Vincent Price. (No I haven't gone over to the "dark side"). It just amazes me what you can do with a little computer modification.

Hoar Frost

This past weekend we were in the Twin Cities visiting our sons and families. Friday night an eerie fog moved in over the area. The result was that in the morning everything was covered with a glistening white hoar frost. (At least that is what the weatherman called it). I took some time to try to study at Mc Donald's down the road from Eric's house. I wasn't able to concentrate just thinking about the beauty of the landscape, so I quit and went out and took some pictures. This willow tree really caught my eye, covered with white. All I could think was "What a majestic God and awesome we have!"
I also learned another lesson last night. I joined an area photo club and took some of these pictures to the meeting thinking that they were pretty spectacular. That is until I saw some of the work of the members on their websites. I definitely am a novice, but will have fun learning from these pros.

Let It Snow!

What a Christmas. we suppose to drive to the Twin Cities and spend Christmas with our sons, wives and grand children. Then we heard the weather forecast and changed our minds. So far we have about 9 - 10 inches of snow and are expecting quite a bit more before it is over. Recently I purchased a Nikon SLR camera, so I decided to take some pictures today outside. The picture here is of our back yard with all the snow on the trees. The elk just happened to be in the picture when I edited it. (Eat you heart out, Jim Van Voorst).
Actually I rather enjoy the snow. It covers up all the drab ground and and coats the trees with a layer of beauty that man can't create. I almost feel sorry for those who decide to winter in Florida or Arizona or Texas. They miss out on a lot of God's design.

October Youth Night

This past Friday night we had our annual youth night at the Barron Area Community Center in Barron, Wisconsin. There were 30 teens and about a dozen adults in attendance. The Trego Youth performed a drama using Casting Crowns song "Set Me Free" dealing with being set free from the chains of sin in our life through Christ. Paul Frey used that as his theme as he shared with the teens from God's Word. Paul also had a few action games for the teens to do. Attached is a video of one of the games. I guess you could call it "Paper Chase". What ever you call it the kids had a blast. Enjoy and let us know what you think.

Something Old and Something Borrowed

This past weekend I had the privilege of officiating at the wedding of Joanna Larson and Cory May in Shell Lake, Wisconsin. The wedding went very well and we had a great time. What made the day so special is having a wedding for a young lady that we have known since she was 6 or 7 years old. Joanna came to our VBS at Casey Town hall and also to the Bible Club held there. At that time there was a slew of kids in the area and we got to know them and their families over the years. Joanna later became one of our summer missionaries for 3 different years. In 2000 she also went with us to Iowa to help at camp with Bonnie Ellis, one of our AMF missionaries. Joanna has continued to help out at Winsome Bible Camp and that is where she met her now husband.
The other thing that made the day special is the people at the wedding. Many of the people from the Casey area attended and we had a chance to fellowship with them and to catch up on old times. We are amazed at how many of these people have been a part of our lives and our ministry over the years. many of our summer missionaries have come from that one Town Hall: Betsy, Molly, Sarah, and Joanna all came from Casey! Small world - Big God! (The picture was taken several years ago of some of the girls in Linda's teen Bible Study. Joanna, Betsy and Molly are in the picture)

Conversation Starters

Probably 3 or 4 years ago my son, Eric, gave me a t-shirt with 3 green circles on the front. I didn't think much of it until I started to wear the shirt around town. The shirt has been a great conversation starter with the video game crowd, especially teen boys or young men. I was in Mac Donald's one day wearing the shirt and a young man all dressed in black and very Gothic gave me a thumbs up and a hearty "I like your shirt". I have since learned that the logo is from a video game called "Splinter Cell". I have never played the game and have no desire to play it, but I have no problem wearing the shirt. This past week at our "Distad family reunion", my nephew noticed the shirt and we were instantly "friends". We had a good conversation about the game and how things are going in his life. I am not condoning the game, but I am glad that it has opened some conversations that I might not have other wise. God has a way of using unconventional things for His glory.

Camp praises

This past week we had camp in Lake Nebagamon, Wi. with 73 campers and 30 staff. It was a picture perfect weather week and we had the best of staff. God used this week to teach me some great lessons. In the middle of the week we had some tension at camp and even though it was uncomfortable, it was also a teaching moment. Right in the middle of it one of the cabin leaders handing me 3 small yellow decision cards. A couple were for salvation and one for commitment to the Lord. God so graciously showed us that we needed to re-focus our hearts on Him and the reason why we were there - to reach boys and girls for Christ.
The other amazing thing God showed us is that He is sovereign and totally in control. Two of the girls wanted to go home in the middle of the week. I called their mother to talk with her and she could not come because of a flat tire. God had a purpose in keeping those girls at camp. One of them committed their life to the Lord on Thursday. Praise God for "flat Tires" and His sovereignty.