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Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life
by Tom Kelley
I started attending Christian Service Camp when I was ten years old. At that time that was the youngest that anyone was admitting a camper for a weeklong program. I remember a kid, who shall remain nameless, that had some sort of nasal problem for which he was being medicated. He brought the medication to camp and the camp nurse made sure he got it every day.
Only problem was his problem became our problem. With nine boys in the dorm plus a dorm dad only one person slept that first night; the kid with the nasal problem. The rest of us lay awake listening to him breath and snore. I am not sure which was more deadly in sound, the weird way he breathed or the saw mill he fired up when he snored. All I know is, for the first couple of days, we had a cabin full of really tired guys.
Over the years I can remember weeks of camp and different retreats that were marked by snorers who made everyone's sleep a chore and somewhat fitful. One retreat I took my elders and deacons on featured a veritable symphony of snoring as four men got it rolling pretty good and I spent most of the night pretending I was leading an orchestra. Recently I went on a retreat in which I was with just one person in a room and he didn't snore. We both slept rather well and felt fairly refreshed when the alarm went off in the morning.
As long as people sleep there will be snoring. I snore from time to time depending on how I am laying in bed. Usually, if I fall asleep in my recliner I snore due to the position I am in. People only snore when they are asleep. But people must sleep in order to gain that precious rest which revitalizes the body after a day of work. Not so with God.
"I will lift up my eyes to the hills - from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither sleep nor slumber." Psalm 121:1-4 We have a heavenly Father who is tireless. Contrary to what my grandmother Tanner used to tell me, thunder is not God snoring. My God is watching over me day and night.
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...He was the Minister of the Minorsville Christian Church located near Stamping Ground, KY.
...Becky and Tom have three children; John, single and in worship ministry in Nicholasville, Kentucky; Sean, married (Jennifer, elementary school teacher) with twins (Grace and Patrick, b.d. 10/31/04) and regional director of Papa John's Pizza in Central KY; Kara, married (Vince Taylor, prison guard) and working with Hospice East in Winchester, KY.
...Tom went to be with the Lord on November 13, 2009 after a lengthy battle with cancer. If you have been touched by Tom's writings please send an email to Tom's son at jkelley@catalystchristian.net
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