Good morning my camper family,

I don’t even know what day I’m dealing with anymore.  Today, for me, is Friday the 11th.  For you guys I think it’s going to be Saturday the 19th…a week from now.  Easter Saturday.  So, this would be the Easter issue!  So, I guess I need to change the header to something like this:

Good morning my camper family,

How’s that?  So, before we get into the Easter stuff, I have an email that I want to share with you that is somewhat important in the fact that it has been niggling at me.  He called me out on something.  Now, it’s not the first time a reader has called me out on something (not by far!) but this guy gets and deserves my special attention.  He has clout.  You’ll see.  I haven’t asked him if I could use his email, so I won’t use his name.

Impish,

With your background in the military and working with the military, I am confused as to why you have not had any comments or put in any toons about the huge security breach. President Trump’s top defense and intelligence staff  discussed plans to bomb Yemen’s Houthi rebels over Signal, a popular private messaging app. And the national security adviser accidentally invited a reporter into the chat group?

I can recall the many comments and toon about Hillary using a personal email server and she never put military secrets at risk. If this current one happened under Biden, you would have a field day.

And that’s not to mention the “alliance” with Putin and saying the whole thing was initiated by Ukraine.

Navy Vet

Purple Heart recipient

And he’s right.  While some toons did appear in recent issues, I never castigated the current administration for the grammar school behavior that I should have.  As I explained in my last issue, I’ve been in a bit of a … I’m not sure what the right word is … cloud … fog … of depression for quite some time now and it is affecting me in more ways than I like to admit.  But, this pretty grammar schoolish on my own part.  I should have ripped these guys a new one.  THEY SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER.  People have asked me if there aren’t some super secret chat apps that us military types use.  My response has always been to laugh and say, “not that I know about.”  Everything that goes over the air can be compromised.  EVERYTHING.

Which is why you NEVER, EVER, EVER talk about classified on a phone.  Even a “secure” phone isn’t really secure.  Why couldn’t this have been a face to face?

Completely and totally amateur.  But then to have the complete stupidity … no, that’s not a strong enough word, the complete and total asinine stupidity (bordering on purposeful treason) of inviting a reporter into the conversation?!  

Stupidity should hurt.  It certainly should hurt more than it does for most people. 

So, moving on to other things.

This is SO OUTSTANDING!

That would scare me to death!!!  And I’m not afraid of heights!!

And Blue Dragons are a little larger than Red Dragons.

Little Mary was at her first wedding and gaped at the entire ceremony. 

When it was over, she asked her mother, “Why did the lady change her mind?” 

Her mother asked, “What do you mean?” 

“Well, she went down the aisle with one man, and came back with another one.” 

I took my daughter to the doctor for her 2-year-old check up. 

They had her do coordination tests, like stacking blocks, and they watch and see if they walk properly.  

And then the doctor said, “Brianna, can you stand on one foot for me?”  

And she walked over and stood on his foot. 

This is so very true for me every single solitary time.  Maybe not the way I want, but ALWAYS the way I need.

A little while ago, in answer to a question from one of my jail guys, I wrote a quick paper that I thought I’d share with you.  Let’s see if it fits…

What’s the Difference Between an Apostle and a Disciple? ~ Just Bob

I was recently asked the difference between an Apostle and a Disciple.  So, I did a little research and I found out that all Apostles are Disciples, but not all Disciples are Apostles.  Clear as mud so far, right?  So, let’s dig a little deeper.

The Greek word for “disciple” μαθητής (mathētēs) means “learner” or “pupil”.  In the context of Jesus’ followers, it signifies a dedicated follower and learner, someone who emulates the teachings and life of Jesus.  Notice that is present tense.  “A dedicated follower, someone who emulates …” not someone who once did.  Which means that any of us can be and are Disciples. 

The New Testament refers to people who believed in Jesus and followed Him as Disciples.  Another definition could be that anyone who simply follows and devotes themselves to learning from Jesus as a Disciple.

Right, all of us.

Now, on the other hand, the Greek word for Apostle ἀπόστολος (apostolos), which translates to “one who is sent out” or “messenger”, signifies a person officially commissioned on a mission, often with authority from the sender.  The twelve Apostles were Jesus’ closest Disciples and were given authority to perform signs, share revelations, and do other astounding things. 

It was in Luke 6 starting in verse 12 that He first calls them as Apostles.  Read it with me.

¹²One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.  ¹³When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles: ¹⁴Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, ¹⁵Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, ¹⁶Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

So, bottom line, unless you were specifically called of Jesus AND given authority to perform wonderous signs, share revelation, and preach His Word, then you can’t be an Apostle.

But!

(And it’s a pretty good but…)

As a Disciple, you still get to do some pretty cool stuff, just look at the Great Commission for example.

Wait…What’s the Great Commission you ask?

It’s the final instruction that Jesus gave to all the Disciples before He went back up to Heaven until He returns again.  And it goes like this…

Oh wait… turn to Matthew 28:18 and read with me to the end.  ¹⁸Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  ¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

So, yeah…some pretty cool stuff.  As Disciples, that’s what all of us are supposed to do.

Yeah, not too long.  That’s one typewritten sheet of paper.  If you are of a mind, you can comment by email at:

This issue comes out on Saturday.  Yesterday was Good Friday, the day Jesus Christ was crucified, tomorrow is Easter, the day He was resurrected.  

One of the things I never understood was how they could say that he was “buried for three days” or that “after three days he rose again” and things like that, when if he was crucified on Friday and resurrected on Sunday, well … Friday to Saturday is one day and Saturday to Sunday is two days…where’s the third day.  But we find out that by the Jewish way of keeping time, that since he was interred before sundown on Friday, that counts as one day, all of Saturday counts as one day, and since sundown on Saturday actually starts Sunday, that’s the third day, so according to Jewish time keeping, he was buried for three days.

More importantly is all the pain and the suffering He went through for us. 

Only perfection is allowed in Heaven.  No sin is allowed, which means that all of us, because we are ALL sinful creatures, deserve to go to hell.  We are all born in sin because of the sin we inherit from Adam, we inherit our sinful nature.  We can NEVER get to heaven on our own.

In order for sin to be forgiven it requires a blood sacrifice.  That’s why all the Old Testament laws required animal sacrifices on a regular basis for so many different things because they weren’t perfect sacrifices.  

So Jesus comes along to be the perfect sacrifice for everyone.  He is sinless.  He isn’t born with the assumed Adamic sinful nature because He wasn’t born of man.  He was born of woman and the Holy Spirit.  He remained sinless throughout His short life.  He was also God, so He was perfection.  He was the only one who could atone for everyone’s sin.  That’s past, present and future sin.

And He suffered the pain for ALL those sins.  For three hours he was separated from the Father while he paid the price for all that sin…I could go on and on.  Like how before His death  there was no one who died and went to Heaven.  Everyone went to either hades or Abraham’s Bosom also called Paradise.  And maybe we’ll talk about that some other time.

But what do we say on Friday?  Sunday is coming!

Glorious Sunday!  

He rises and spends time with His Apostles and others.  Teaching and giving marching orders… for then and for now.

Why am I telling you all of this?  Because, I too, am a disciple of Jesus and it’s my job.

A five year old boy sat in front of the television, intently watching a documentary about the Civil War. 

When the show ended, he asked his father, “Daddy, what’s a slave?” 

“A slave is someone who works real hard, all day long, for other people,” his dad replied, “without getting paid for it.” 

“Oh, I know!” the boy replied with wisdom. “You mean like mommy.” 

Me too!  I really didn’t think it was big enough to eat me!

Oh come on!  How many of you out there know what that is?

As much as I like Peeps, that sounds disgusting.

A grandmother overheard her 5-year-old granddaughter playing “wedding.” The wedding vows went like this: 

“You have the right to remain silent, anything you say may be held against you, you have the right to have an attorney present. You may kiss the bride.” 

And that’s it my dear friends.  I hope you enjoyed this issue as much as I did.  I think it’s time for me to get a bit more creative and the next issue may be a little more crazy then usual.  Who knows.