Monk's Musings: Thus Far He Has Helped Us!

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it “Ebenezer” (= ‘stone of help’), saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” (1 Samuel 7:12)

Every year, the Netherlands exports billions of tulips worldwide. Every spring, many of the fields around Harlem turn multi-coloured with rows of tulips of every hue and description. As new life appears each spring, we are reminded once again of God’s faithfulness. And as spring returns to Beacon, we are also reminded of God’s faithfulness. In fact, this year 2023 Beacon will celebrate 60 Years of experiencing God’s Faithfulness! It is His camp and He has provided and will continue to do so. Three thousand years ago, after a revival in which Israel returned to the Lord with all their heart, God gave them a great victory over their enemies, and the prophet Samuel set up a stone monument to remind them throughout the years to come that God was their helper. Just as God helped Israel, so we too can say: “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” As He has been with us in the past, so we can trust Him for the future. Not because we are faithful, but because He is.

So let us thank the Lord that we can trust Him as we face the uncertain future, knowing that the One who has helped us thus far will continue to be with us until the end of our lives. He will never fail! He never has and He never will. As we pass milestones in our lives: birthdays and anniversaries, may we always remember that it is by God’s grace that we have come thus far, and it will be by God’s grace that we will continue onwards!

With our best wishes for a spring lived close to our Faithful God,

Andrew “Monk” & Marianne “Tia” Nunn

Into the Woods with Curio: Song Sparrow Spring

“There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” Ephesians 4:4-6

One of the first birds to start singing at camp in the springtime is the song sparrow. Aptly named, this accomplished songster owns a somewhat complicated melody, starting with 2 to 4 short notes, then a trill, followed by several loud double notes at the end. Though only a few seconds long the sweet song is repeated over and over throughout the day, as soon as the bird arrives in early April. A medium-sized, rusty-brown and gray sparrow, it prefers the bushy habitat along the waterfront, from which it proclaims its territory, and serenades a mate. After a brief courtship, the couple starts house searching, choosing a concealed spot in a tussock of grass, or a small bush close to the ground. By May there is a nest with 3 to 6 eggs, and by June the young are leaving the nest. They are still fed by their parents, especially Dad, as Mom gets busy with a second brood. The male continues to sing for most of the summer, when he is not too busy with the family. Though song sparrows don’t overwinter in Muskoka, they often linger into the fall, and can still be heard singing occasionally. These are the young males, practising their songs.

Camp is not the only place where you can hear song sparrows. Once you are familiar with their song, and distinctive ‘chimp’ call note, you may find them where you live in southern Ontario, and elsewhere. The song sparrow is one of the most widespread of the native North American sparrows; (note – don’t confuse it with the house sparrow, which is also common, but is an introduced species, not related to our native sparrows. And house sparrows can’t sing).

Song sparrows are found from Alaska to Baja California, and from Florida all around the east coast and up to the treeline in northern Quebec. If you happen to hear and see them in your travels you’ll discover they may look and sound slightly different. The song sparrows in Alaska and the Aleutian islands are much darker. This darker plumage may be a defense against feather parasites that thrive in humid climates. By contrast, the song sparrows that inhabit Arizona and the southwest are very light coloured, an adaptation to their local environment. There are over 20 recognized subspecies of song sparrow found throughout the continent. These subspecies also show some noticeable variations in their songs, with some having longer intros, or longer trills, or a variation of some kind. But they are all still song sparrows, regardless.

Believers in the Lord Jesus show many variations in how we look and talk, even having different languages, depending on where we are from. But if we have accepted the Lord Jesus as our Saviour we are all God’s children, and part of His family.

Monk's Musings: He Has Done Great Things!

“Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’ The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.” Psalm 126:2-3.

There are many reasons for us to be joyful and praise the Lord! The words above were sung by the Jewish captives who were returning to Zion after many years of exile in Babylon. They had wept bitterly, but now God was restoring them. God had accepted their repentance and graciously brought them back to the place of His Presence. Ultimately this also applies to all of us who are followers of the Lord Jesus: We’ve been rescued from the chains of sin and death. We’ve been forgiven and restored, and God’s plan for our lives is a good one - close to His Presence. Not an easy plan, but a good plan. There will still be trials, but He promises to be with us. There will be joy through the tears as we see Him do great things in our lives. Likewise, the past few years may have been difficult for Beacon, but He has brought us through, and this year Beacon celebrates 60 Years of experiencing the great things He has done! Good reason to laugh and sing for joy!

So let us look back and remember the great things He has done in each of our lives. Not because we are great, but because He is. Not because we are strong or faithful, but because He is. Not because of our weak love for Him, but because of His infinite faithful love for us. Let us cultivate an attitude of gratefulness and of joy. Thankful for His past mercies and blessings, joyful for His presence with us, and trusting Him for the uncertain future we all face. Take a few minutes to sing a joyful song to His Name. Take a minute to pray and praise Him for the great things He’s done in your life!

Let us also express our thanks to those God has placed in our lives to encourage and build us up. Perhaps a cabin leader, or a school teacher, or a youth group leader, or a faithful listening friend. God has done great things in our lives through them, that this is reason to sing for joy, and thank God - but also to thank them! Take a minute to reach out, make a personal phone call, send a hand written card. You may bring a song of joy into someone else’s heart today!

With our best wishes for a spring of joy and singing to Him,

Andrew “Monk” & Marianne “Tia” Nunn

March 25: Beacon's 2023 Annual General Meeting

Beacon's Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held on March 25th at 6:30PM, at Bramalea Alliance Church (905 Central Park Drive, Brampton).

Join us as we praise God for the past year and plan and pray for the future. The evening promises to be one that will warm all of our hearts as we fellowship and reflect on God's faithfulness over the past 60 years of camp!

Please let us know if you plan to attend by emailing ernietw@gmail.com

Into the Woods with Curio: Feeding the Birds

“And my God shall supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

It all started with the turkeys. Six ‘jakes’, as the teenagers are called, started visiting the backyard regularly this winter, picking up the spilled seeds under the birdfeeders.

I always feed the birds in the wintertime. Two or three small feeders are kept filled with sunflower seeds for the chickadees and nuthatches, and equipped with squirrel guards. The suet baskets are loaded up for the downy and hairy woodpeckers. Sometimes I put some mixed seed out for the ground feeding birds, such as juncos and tree sparrows.

Mixed bird seed works for a few sparrows, but soon becomes expensive when six large turkeys are vacuuming it up. I asked at the local feed store for ideas, and they suggested turkey scratch, of course. Fifty pounds for only $18.95, and no tax! I brought a bag home and spread some on the ground. It was gobbled up in no time --they liked it. So did the deer.

A doe and her two grown fawns started to show up at night to scrounge any leftovers. Okay, I thought, I’ll leave some out for them at night. That worked until they started to visit earlier in the evening. I think they told some relatives or friends, because before long there were five deer visiting, even during the daytime. It was getting a little competitive for the turkeys, and for the growing flock of snow buntings. Not the usual bird to visit backyard feeders, they started coming in January. Watching all these beautiful white birds descend from the tree tops down to the ground to feast on the scratch is a sight to behold. As long as the deer and the turkeys aren’t around.

Now there are eight deer waiting for their breakfast every morning. They are so eager to start eating that they hardly move when I go out and put down the scratch. The turkeys are also waiting, and come strutting across the yard as soon as they see the deer eating. The snow buntings are waiting, too, but have to be quick to get down and eat before a deer or a turkey notices them eating and chases them away. It’s a bit of a circus, and has really got away from me. I’m thinking I may have to start a GoFundMe campaign because I’m going through more than a bag of scratch a week!

With my limited resources I should have kept it to the bird feeders for the chickadees. However, God can handle anything, and spring is imminent, along with a more abundant supply of food for the deer and the turkeys and the snow buntings, and many more.

God also supplies us with all that we need, and more. Can you think of ways that He has provided for you?

Monk's Musings: Are You Lost or Found?

“Rejoice with me, I have found my lost sheep… Rejoice with me, I have found my lost coin… his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” Luke 15:1-32).

At the end of each of our camps there are usually some items left behind: skates, shoes, clothing, glasses, books, etc. Then, a few hours or days later, we get phone calls asking whether we have found them! Eventually lost items and their worried owners are reunited, but this sometimes takes a while…

At our recent Family Winter Getaway Camp, we studied some of the Parables the Lord Jesus told. He used simple but profound stories to cast light on eternal spiritual truths. Three of these parables are collected together in one chapter and are quoted above. In each of them, something precious was lost, and after a while, was found back again. Each story tells us something about God’s love for each one of us: The lost sheep reminds us that each of us is lost and desperately needs Jesus, the Good Shepherd, to rescue us. The lost coin story emphasizes that Jesus values us highly, and took the initiative to come and search for us until he found us. The lost son parable clarifies that each of us needs to decide for ourselves to repent and turn to the Heavenly Father for forgiveness; and if and when we do so, we are welcomed unconditionally into His loving arms!

Thank the Lord! He is our Good Shepherd and our Heavenly Father, who loves us and did everything possible to rescue and save us. May each one of us experience the joy of being found by the Lord Jesus! And may we be involved in helping other lost sheep / coins / children to return to God also. This is the main reason Beacon Bible Camp exists: to bring folk to Jesus, and to provide training in leadership and evangelism, so that more lost sheep may know the joy of the Good Shepherd. Perhaps God is calling you this year, to be a part of His Rescue Operation. Take courage and step up in faith!

With all our best wishes from us both and from all of us at Beacon,

Andrew “Monk” & Marianne “Tia” Nunn

Into the Woods with Curio: Snow Buntings

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

(Hebrews 10:24-25)

Snow buntings are winter visitors to Muskoka, seen on and off from November to April. Because they prefer large open fields without deep snow cover, they are more commonly seen south of the region, in southern Ontario. Being birds, they wander, seeking out the food they need wherever they can find it, so sometimes make appearances at the Gravenhurst airport and in farmer’s fields south and east of camp.

Breeding in the high arctic during the summer months, they come south in flocks of as few as 20 to as many as 200 or more for the winter. Muskoka and southern Ontario is their ‘Florida’.

Slightly larger than a sparrow, snow buntings are one of the whitest of songbirds. This is especially noticeable when they fly, though you’ll see some black colouring on their back, tail and wings. When seen close-up, they also have some light brown on their collar and on parts of their head. This is their non-breeding plumage, and serves to camouflage them against the bare ground in the late fall and early winter. They turn whiter as the winter progresses, because the edges of their brown feathers gradually wears off. By April they are just white with black.

Snow buntings are seed eaters, feeding on weed seeds and spilled grain in farmer’s fields. If you come across a flock while out driving along a backroad, take a few minutes to watch their behaviour. You’ll first notice them as they rise into the air. They fly only a short distance before settling back onto the ground, becoming surprisingly hard to see. But their constant movements give them away. Rather than hopping or walking they run short distances, appearing almost mechanical as they move and stop over the snow. They don’t stay on the ground long but fly up frequently, then settle again, possibly as a means of watching for potential predators.

If you see them regularly the flock may seem to grow throughout the winter. This phenomenon occurs as the birds share information in their nightly roosting places, which encourages others of their kind to join them to find the best places to find food.

Sometimes they visit backyard bird feeders. I have watched the flock in my yard grow from one lone bird just over a week ago to almost 50 as I write this. Good news spreads!

It is something that we as believers are encouraged to do as well, that is, get together with other believers to share and support one another, just as the verses in Hebrews 10 exhort us to do.

Monk's Musings: Be Self-Controlled and Do what is Good!

“Teach older men to be… self-controlled… Train younger women… to be self-controlled… Encourage the young men to be self-controlled” … “Eager to do what is good… Ready to do whatever is good… Careful to devote themselves to doing good… Learn to devote themselves to doing what is good” Titus 2:2-6,14 & 3:1,8,14.

At Beacon’s recent Men’s Retreat, we studied the short book of Titus, written to a committed younger man who was a Christian leader, living in a tough society very much like Canada is today. I was struck by the exhortation repeated to both men and women, young and old: We should live a self-controlled life! Not a self-indulgent one, as consumerism would encourage us; nor a lazy or selfish lifestyle, but one that is purposeful and self-controlled. May God help us, as we live out this year, to grow in self-control - in all our habits, our relationships, our character and our walk with God.

Another very evident challenge in Titus is for us to do what is good. Because it is not enough that we should seek to avoid doing evil: The Christian life is meant to be positively filled with doing what is good! Four times we read: be “eager”, be “ready”, be “carefully devoted” and “learn” to do “what is good”! May each of us grow this year in doing what is good - in our family relationships, in how we treat fellow students and workers, in how we invest our life and resources for eternity. May the Lord be able to welcome us on that day: “well done, you good and faithful servant”.

Perhaps God is calling you this year, as part of growing in self-control and in doing what is good to volunteer to serve at Beacon in some capacity that fits with your gifts and talents? Take courage and step up in faith. God will help you!

With all our best wishes from us both and from all of us at Beacon,

Andrew “Monk” & Marianne “Tia” Nunn

Into the Woods with Curio: Community in Winter

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Have you seen any turkeys at camp? These big birds are becoming more and more common in Muskoka, and winter is an especially good time to see them, when they flock together. Well, not entirely together. The ‘toms’, as the males are called, form their own groups, and the hens have their own groups. And the teenagers, known as ‘jakes’, have their own groups, though sometimes they stay near a group of hens. But they are together with others of their kind to help them survive the colder months. Historically turkeys may not have been very common in Muskoka, as they don’t always do well with deep snow. But since wild turkeys were re-introduced into Ontario in 1984 they have expanded their range.

By sticking together in locations that offer adequate food sources, safety from predators, and good places to roost they increase their odds for surviving the winter. A fellow, (and former neighbour) we know in Muskoka feeds over 40 turkeys all winter. Staying near locations that are closer to people helps the birds stay safer from would-be predators, such as coyotes. This same spot is also near a mature coniferous stand, which the turkeys fly into each night for roosting. Yes, turkeys are great fliers, although they are more often seen walking or running along the ground (they can run at almost 20 kilometres an hour!)

Turkeys are not the only animals that gather in groups, of course. Many animals get together in community groups to help them make it through the winter. Other bird species, such as chickadees, goldfinches, snow buntings, and ducks flock together to survive the cold months. The deer in Muskoka go into ‘yards’, which are a series of connecting paths in a hemlock stand for shelter. It is usually near a lake or stream.

For all of these animals it is a mutually beneficial arrangement. As mentioned, the reasons are obvious, such as safety and finding food. But there could be more to it than that. There are many anecdotes about the care some animals have for each other in their group. Science won’t back this up, as love isn’t a measurable scientific thing. But it can’t be ignored.

Beacon is a community, and we are brought together for many reasons. But God’s love is the most compelling, and this shows in its effect on the many people that come to camp and come back, again and again. We all need a community that loves unconditionally, something we will have in perfection when we are with the Lord in heaven.

Monk's Musings: God Really Does Love Us!

The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness…” Jeremiah 31:3.

Wow! 2023 has begun! A chance to refocus and start a new chapter in our lives. To evaluate: how did our last year go? How did our walk with the Lord Jesus grow? Likely we all experienced challenges, with defeats as well as victories. But as we think back, and as we plan ahead, God insists on telling us that He loves us. He loves us as we are, not as we would like to be. He has always loved us, since before we were born. Through our whole life, He has wooed us and drawn us out with unfailing kindness. Sometimes we are aware of His love, often we are blind to it, but as a faithful parent, He goes on loving us, whether we respond in love or whether we ignore Him.

Yes, He is also a God of justice and holiness, a God who should be feared and respected. But love and fear are not contradictory. A joyful wife loves her husband deeply and is confident in his love. But she also has a healthy fear of being unfaithful to him. She realises the irreparable hurt that she could cause him and herself if she trampled his trust and love. But she doesn’t feel trapped into the relationship by fear. Fear does not drive her marriage, love does. And that depends on her own heart attitude. This makes all the difference between a good and a bad marriage, it also makes all the difference between a joyful and a sad Christian. So as we start this New Year 2023, let’s purpose to be more aware of the Lord’s love for us each day, and respond in joyful love to Him!

Remember you will always be welcome to come to Beacon, where we seek to enjoy His creation and warm our hearts to His infinite love in Jesus, so please encourage family and friends to come with you this year!

With all our love in the Lord Jesus Christ,

Andrew “Monk” & Marianne “Tia” Nunn