Should I read with an open mind?

Crystal recently hosted a girls activity at our home. Teenage girls came over, ate snacks, made bookmarks, and talked about reading. She challenged them to read critically. Here are some of the questions one can ask:Bookmarks

  1. What does this tell me about God?
  2. What does this tell me about man?
  3. What does this tell me about sin?
  4. What does this tell me redemption? (how are things made right?)
  5. What is this trying to teach me?
  6. What is this trying to make me feel?
  7. Does this cause me to sin or lust?
  8. Does this make me want to be different than I am?
  9. Does this teach me godly contentment with where I am in life?
  10. Does this draw my heart toward or away from Christ?

In the comments below, let us know some questions you might add.

Man-A-Thon XII s part 3

While at the campsite we spent time eating, hanging out, playing games, eating, laughing, and eating. We also took time to look at how we must accept responsibility in our relationship with God, our family, at work, and with our peers.

 Our campsite was on a point, and we had loons routinely passing by in the evenings. The pesky thing about them was that they were catching fish, while the fishermen in our group were not. It spoiled their idea that there were no fish in the lake.

 We took off early Thursday morning and worked our way back to Brule. We tried a new route and ended up portaging about a mile in one shot. It would have been shorter but we ran into a dried up lake. Below you can tell that Harry had a few questions about what really took place when he tried to step into the canoe.

  We had a great trip and I think it was enjoyed by all – at least it will be remembered by all!

Man-A-Thon XII s part 2

 We woke up on lake time early Tuesday morning. Lake time means sunrise = breakfast, sunset = sleep.

We prepared the bacon and pancakes and then packed up and headed north. We paddled through South Cone lake, Mid Cone lake and North Cone lake.

We were able to evade the first three portages because the water was so high, but we had a pretty long one to Cliff lake. After we made through we settled in for a gourmet lunch of a chunk of sausage from Menards. It was a hit!

We portaged and paddled through Wanahigan lake and then portaged into Winchell lake. The guys kept going and once we found a site they were down for the count. Andrew appreciated what he called the “comfy rock.”

Apparently, after a long day of paddling the guys decided they needed to take a swim.

 By the time supper came around you can guess that everyone was pretty eager to get at whatever Steve S. had prepared. There were never any leftovers!

Man-A-Thon XII s

The Man-A-Thon for the summer of 2012 was a trip to the Boundary Waters. Nine men took off for Brule lake on Sunday evening after church. Our theme for this man-a-thon was “True Men Accept Responsibility.”
Because the limit is nine people for each permit, and no more than 4 canoes to each group, we filled it to capacity. The tricky part was figuring out how to get all the canoes, gear, and guys up there in one piece! I googled “four canoes on a van” but had no relevant hits. I suppose we were heading into uncharted waters. Here is option A.
Steve S., our guide, did all the hard work with figuring out how to get us up there and to the right destination. We eventually settled on option C for the canoes.
We were graciously allowed to use the cabin of a friend up in Lutsen to spend the night, so we didn’t have to throw down our sleeping bags in a parking lot somewhere. We spent the night in Lutsen, and then got to the Tofte station by 8 for orientation and permits.
Caribou trail took us first to Eagle Mountain, the highest peak in Minnesota. On the way there we saw a black bear, but he was too quick to get a picture.

Eagle Mountain is not much of a mountain, but at 2301 feet above sea level, it is the 39th highest state point in the USA (beating out Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa).
Everyone made it up and down, ending a little lighter thanks to the thirsty mosquitoes on the trail.
We got into Brule lake around one at began our paddle to the north west portion of the lake. We were able to make it into camp just before the rain hit, thankfully. It was a little questionable with the zipper technique for paddling of a few of the guys – back and forth, back and forth.