Shindig Memories 2016

This past weekend our family journeyed 12 hours from our homestead to join other families at the East Texas Mini Shindig.  There were 60 families or more there to interact with, fellowship, and create life long connections.  I thought my viewers would enjoy a tour of our experiences at the Shindig…

My husband played basketball with the boys and it was really great to see him so active.  When I met him, he was a basketball player and a car guy.  Through the years as our family grew, he set aside the cars and the sports to raise a family.  Now that our kids are in the teen years, those skills come back for us.  It is almost like we get to relive the exciting, action packed, lifestyle we had when we first fell in love.  Playing with our kids and interacting with other families is pretty amazing.

The second day they had an auction.  Girls that were over 18 would make a lunch and the guys would bid on a lunch.  The money was raised for charity.
The guys did not know who made the lunch they bought, but when they won that bid, they would have lunch with the gal that made it.  ​
At this Shindig, they had this huge structure that was an obstacle course for the kids to climb through.  It was very impressive and had different levels of ability so both young and old could enjoy some of the adventure!
Here are the girls having a go at the course.
Mikey is learning how to work the harness and cables.  The entire time they are locked in to the cables in case they would miss a step, they would not fall 50 feet.
The kids learn to conquer their fear of heights and learn to balance.
Mikey is walking the floating steps…
The course ends with a long zip line.  There goes Mikey!
Another great feature was the GIANT swing.  Junior and Mikey only went once and by their accounts of how scary it was, none of the my other kids wanted to take the free fall of that swing.

Dr. Kent Hovind, Creation Evangelist, was one of our speakers.  I brought my kids up on his creation videos.  He called Miles when he was only 5 years old.  I had asked if he would call my son on his birthday and he did.  12 years have passed but Dr. Hovind did not forget my son!  He remembered his name and everything!  That is impressive.  He spoke about dinosaurs, how they existed with man, the young age of the earth, and even about the garden of Eden.  I love hearing all the accounts of the flood, the scientific evidence to support it and how the Giants bones were found also.

What Dr. Hovind really does, is strengthen your faith in God’s word.  A brilliant mind who can piece together science with creation and always ends with the straight forward gospel.  I strongly suggest you go to their website and get the copy of his creation series.  It is the most excellent science videos for homeschool you can find!  I love them!  And he gives you permission to make as many copies of them as you wish, just to get the gospel out there.

Oh, wait, a GIANT among us????  Yes, Guest speaker, Michael Pearl was there to greet me with his normal antics.  That is how big he is and probably why his nick name is “Big Papa”.  But I am used to looking up to people at my height, my husband is probably even a little taller than Mike!  I am about 5’1″, Mark is 6’5″.  Just to give you an idea of the height difference…
Mike preached about addictions and the brain.  It was very good.  He takes evidence from scientists and therapist and shows us how gossip lights up a certain part of the brain or using a cell phone.  He shows how a person’s mind can be completely altered by the use of pornography.  It is crazy how we humans get addicted to things that create certain chemical reactions in our brain.  It is available on DVD, and it is a must see…
Each night they had a big square dance where the kids of all ages had fun dancing and meeting new people…
They had a nice pool and it was refreshing to see less skin.  All girls and boys wore shorts and a tee shirt to the pool.
The biggest hit in the pool was the game of nine square. The kids had a ball with that…
I even got to play the upright bass in the jam sessions with other musicians.  That was really fun for me.  It has been years since I got to walk the bass lines and it was just like riding a bike, I just picked it right back up after 18 years.  I used to play in jazz combos at a music conservatory in Appleton, WI.  Like I said, when you have older kids, you can do the things you did when you were young.  I am just so thankful that I can actually participate in life again after a 7 year span of inactivity.  Thanks be to God!
Every night we had a potluck.  All the families would bring a dish to pass and we would all sit together and meet other families.
The Shindig was so full of good memories and we can’t wait until our camp is up and running because we will be able to keep this thing going on a small scale.  I hope there will be many more shindigs in the future all over the country.  It is such a good thing to have these opportunities for our families to bond with other like minded families.  What a blessing.  Hope you enjoyed the tour!

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9 thoughts on “Shindig Memories 2016”

  1. $100-$500 ProofreadingServices.com Writing Scholarship

    How great that these family events help unite all of us. This is not only a great way to have some fun, but also a good opportunity to spend time together.

  2. What a hoot! I would love the obstacle course. I’m really not the bungie-jumper type, but harnessed and above ground rather than deep ravine etc. I could be cool with it:) Oh yea, I’m a runt too.

  3. Thanks, Erin, for posting the pics. It was so much fun (after the grind of packing) making such joyful lasting memories for everybody to take home with them!

  4. Looks like so much fun! I hope someday we can go to one of these! Thanks for sharing your pictures!

  5. I am so jealous. Here we sit all alone, no one to relate to and there you have so much fun.
    God bless you and it is wonderful seeing people living and loving the life God gave them. Thank you very much for sharing this with us. We treasure your joy.

    1. I know how you feel. We are very isolated here in north Texas so we must keep our eyes and thoughts on what God has for us to do for him. I am constantly burdened with how bad I’ve got it that we’re not close to like-minded Christians. I make it a point to fight it with doing something for the kingdom instead of dwelling on that. We’ve begun to put on our own shindigs in the past few years & see more popping up every year. Find one near you or start one! It’s a great family vision!

      1. That is a great suggestion. We live in Taiwan and we are involved in the Children’s ministry at our Church. We still speech the language very poorly. But we can try to have Shindig here. May God lead us and help us to do as such. Thank you for your understanding and advice. It is wonderful. God bless you.

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